Hi!

Don't be disheartened, I'm in exactly the same position, I can be REALLY good and only lose a few lbs but some months I'll be good and lose say 6lb (although I haven't lost in a long time but that's due to my snacking - oops) Do you think maybe you slip up during time of the month etc? Us females have it rough with hormones sometimes making us stray from our goals.

Plus don't forget, if you've been working out as well it might be muscle that's stopping the scales from moving. Maybe focus on body measurements over a number on the scales?

Hope that helps!

SmellyHippy wrote: »

If you are feeling your trousers getting loose that's progress. Nobody knows the weight on the scale but you. The real progress is how you look and feel.

I could not have said it better! I too used to stress about working so hard, yet not really losing much. So I got rid of my scale, weigh in maybe every two weeks or so ...and use the mirror and my clothing to gauge (SP) how I am progressing. Keep it up and you will be surprised.

How old are you,do you have children? Weight loss slows down dramatically as we age and after children! I say ditch the scale (maybe weigh in once a month) ,get a tape measure and start doing body measurements. You WILL see those numbers change if you are sticking to a calorie deficit and are working out. I've lost about 10 inches overall since February,but only about 7 pound. I look completely different and am much stronger but the scale hasn't moved much. There are many many ways to measure success,your weight is only one of them. Stick to it,you ARE doing the right thing:-)

Think about when you're weighing yourself as well...time of day and time of month. I can see as much as a two-pound difference between morning and night and definitely a difference around my monthly cycles.

If your pants are looser, you're making progress.

tcunbeliever wrote: »

The scale is just a number, take before/after pictures and measurement - many time you will see the changes there before the scale!

Exactly!

Look at the below before and after shot of this trainer in Korea.

Same girl, same weight, 5 months after she started training.

I know exactly how disheartened you feel, as I myself feel the same when I get on the scale. But when I don't think about the weight so much, I can feel my clothes fitting better, and just feeling stronger in general. But change in lifestyle takes time to show and I'm sure it'll pay off in the end!

I am almost scared to measure myself, but I do see how that could be a good tool.

Scales just tell a tiny thing about your fitness efforts. I think you should try do measurements instead. Another good progress that the scale wont tell you is improvement in endurance.

I hit my plateau 2 yrs ago. After a slow but consistent weight loss, suddenly the scale wont change or it did even increase.

The thing is, muscle weighs more than fat. The more you train, the leaner you will be. Yes you might increase weight. But it's not something you should be sad about.
I have a friend and she is always working out. When she step on the scale shes like 3 lbs heavier than her last weigh in (about a month ago). But dang, i can totally see her defined abs. Yes. It's not just about the scale.

The last few pounds are the most stubborn weights to lose. Try carb cycling and interval training. That worked for me cause it tricked my body and i finally escaped the plateau.

And hey, dont beat yourself up to what the scale says. Try to check on measurements and endurance and you wont be disheartened. And btw, are you feeling so much better about yourself now compared to when you arent working out? Yes? Then that is progress.

Keep going.

IF THINK THAT YOU STRUGGLE THAN PLS READ THIS... I'm 39, 5.6, 11.5 (no kids) and I'm a queen of maintenance!!! Never been obese but at the same time I've never felt slim, never wore skinny jeans, chubby toddler, ''big boned'' teenager and ENDOMORPHIC adult! Fighting weight all my life I've learned great deal about diets, nutrition and exercise. I'm sure you are familiar with Dukan diet or the crazy two weeks crush Kopenhagen one? My friends were losing tons of weight, all I could manage was meagre 10pounds within 5weeks time even though I followed it to the dot. Tried high fat low carb, moved to low carb again without any great results. I don't gain but I find it very hard to lose. Last year I stepped up the game and added tennis 5x a week, than I got injured and was grounded for 3 months. At some point in September I decided to challenge the impossible: RUNNING! One of those things filed under 'mission impossible' or 'hate it' or 'never in a million years' - well with a little help from my partner I've actually managed to develop a decent level of endurance with my PersonalBest 10miles, and yet, in terms of weight loss - I'd say 4pounds within a YEAR!!! As far as my eating habit goes: no alcohol, virtually no junk, no fizzy drinks, juices, coffee/ tea with no sugar, no fruits! I love vegetables but gave up potatoes, try to stay clear of bread, pasta and grains. Lean chicken, tuna, smoked mackerel. My only vice is occasional croissant or slice of cheesecake maybe twice a week. Searching for explanation to my struggles I've learned that there are three types of body frames ( ecto-, mezo- endomorph), I happened to be the worst one - Enodmorhp (pear shape with small top and larger bottom), reading further I discovered that in order to lose weight I have to work twice as much as the other two types in terms of diet and exercise.
I was shocked when I found out that my daily calorie requirement is no more than 1400 to maintain my CW. So here I'm hoping that if I track everything I do and eat I manage to shift that bum and disproportionate thighs.
I forgot to add that I've ditched breakfast, which I was eating for my entire life. Just black coffee no sugar followed by run or power walk for at least an hour everyday. I have another flat white at 11am followed by lunch at 1pm and than another two meals consumed before 9pm.

@bookwarm-Thank you for your encouragement:) I've rechecked the numbers: BMR 1474 TDEE 1769 (if sedentary with no extra activity), 2156 for my level of activity. Over those years I've become rather paranoid,by signing up with MFP I hope to get a better idea of how much calories I actually consume daily. You have to admit that those recommendation of 2000 calories per day for a woman is veeeery misleading and should be reviewed because most of women don't do any extra activities. I really admire all those ppl who lost tons of weight but from my perspective it's much harder to get rid of those extra few pounds. Another thing is that current hype with paleo and low carb advocating ''eat as much as you want as long as you don't scoff any carbs no need to worry about calories'', well again it may work for some who are heavily overweight but for all those who struggle to shift 15pounds can be very treachery. Anyhow, equipped with MFT calorie counter and a mobile app tracking my daily activities I hope to see some sort of progress within fairly short of space ( I'm not going to buy any clothes until I drop at least a dress size:)).

arachnofobia7 wrote: »

@bookwarm-Thank you for your encouragement:) I've rechecked the numbers: BMR 1474 TDEE 1769 (if sedentary with no extra activity), 2156 for my level of activity. Over those years I've become rather paranoid,by signing up with MFP I hope to get a better idea of how much calories I actually consume daily. You have to admit that those recommendation of 2000 calories per day for a woman is veeeery misleading and should be reviewed because most of women don't do any extra activities. I really admire all those ppl who lost tons of weight but from my perspective it's much harder to get rid of those extra few pounds. Another thing is that current hype with paleo and low carb advocating ''eat as much as you want as long as you don't scoff any carbs no need to worry about calories'', well again it may work for some who are heavily overweight but for all those who struggle to shift 15pounds can be very treachery. Anyhow, equipped with MFT calorie counter and a mobile app tracking my daily activities I hope to see some sort of progress within fairly short of space ( I'm not going to buy any clothes until I drop at least a dress size:)).

I didn't start to lose any weight until I joined MFP and started tracking my calories rather than worrying about carbs or cutting out all of the foods I love. Well, now that you have a better idea of your numbers, you don't have to starve yourself! Hopefully you see success. Are you planning to do any races since it sounds like you're doing well at running?

I don't run. I've tried it a few times, and wanted so much to love it. About 3 weeks in to C25K, I decided there was no point in forcing myself to run. Maybe someday I'll try again I usually just do dvds at home and go for walks with my husband. You're right about it being tough to burn 3500 in a week! I joined a challenge group to burn 3500 a week and only succeeded in burning myself out. My hubby grounded me from working out for a week, haha. I don't log my walks, but I typically burn 2000-2500 calories a week with the dvds.

Are you using any apps or programs to help train for any races you want to tackle in the future?

@bookworm_847 - I hated running with passion, at high school I loved every kind of activity but running, I could go for miles on a bicycle, or do long yoga sessions (I seem to be more flexible the most of women:), learned how to swim and play tennis, took up pilates and joined gym for weight training. I've tried most of the fitness classes available at the time of my membership, just to realise that I'm not a fun of group excercising. It was until 10 years ago when I got a personal trainer, for the first time he forced me on the treadmill, I used to go for hours on the crosstrainer when working out on my own but never even looked at the treadmills. With his supervision and my mp3 player stuffed with my favourite music for the first time in my life ever I had managed to build up my running time from zero to 45mins!!! This was followed by another 45mins weight training and at that time I managed to lose a bit of weight and tone up nicely. Then I met my partner and I got very comfortable and relaxed both in terms of eating and exercise. At some point we adopted a dog. We've discovered a whole new world of parks, marshes and beautiful canal routes stretched for miles ( all this in LONDON!!!) , carried by the past 'treadmill experience' I tried to do some runs while out and about with the dog but it turned out to be a massive FAIL. I've developed a new prejudice that I'm not made to run outside, it seemed to be extremely hard and uncomfortable at that time. Until one day last year, me and my partner went out for one of our usual long Sunday walks, at some point I felt like doing a bit o running up and down the path, this was when he stopped me saying that I try too hard and too fast (he used to run marathons in his early twenties till he got injured). All he did on that day was to jog along with me for not more than 100m showing me appropriate pace, all of the sudden I've discovered a super slow pace that allowed me to run (or rather trot) for at least 1km. And this is how it all started, the PACE turned out to be the key to the successful start of my running adventure.
But I must admit that I got really motivated when got myself a fitness app MOVES, only when I started tracking my progress in terms of calories, speed and distance my competition loving genes kicked in properly. So to answer your question, at the moment it's just the app that I follow on a daily basis ( this how I can see that MFP calorie tracking may work as well) , I've had a look at a few training programs but since I'm a novice and not going to race against the time then I think that for the time being I'll be working on speed when running 5k and distance whenever I go for 10+ runs. I throw TABATA training here and there, again with great help from an app or just the WALK and RUN method to build up the speed. And I can not overestimate the role music plays in all of this. This is how I get the opportunity to listen to my favourite tracks. For this very reason I didn't enjoy group classes, the music was so not my cup of tea to say the least:) OMG... I could talk for England!!!

@Amunah - congratulation on your results!!! that's really impressive. Now I'm going to be a bit inquisitive for the purpose of my personal research to determine what effects fat loss experience.

1) What is your body shape? hour glass, pear shape, or rather boyish twiggy like type?
2) How tall are you?
3) Would you call yourself slim as a teenager?
4) Are you ''sweet'' or ''savoury'' person?
5) Do you eat ''healthy'' food most of the time?

I'm sorry if I come across too nosy but 160pound is my current weight, I'm 5.6 , big boned pear shaped type of person. Never slim in my entire life, but also never obese ( probably due to being rather active). Battling with weight for entire life. On the other hand some of my mates seem to slim down effortlessly, just by tweaking their food habits and taking extra flight of stairs on the way home. However, all of them are of a different body shape and used to be ''skinny'' teenagers. Therefore I'm not looking for an excuse to my possible lack of sufficient effort but just to confirm my theory on how the weight loss journey is determined by a number of personal factors. Thank you