Am I just not doing it right?
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callerovia
Posts: 6 Member
A little background: I'm down 38 lbs. since February, I'd say about 70% of the way to full-time vegetarianism. I've been following the IIFYM calculator at http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ for the last few months. I don't eat back what I burn at the gym, ever. I stick to the 1,448 or whatever it says. I work a lot, 3 jobs + full time university (online, though.) and have other work-related commitments, so to say I'm busy would be an understatement. I work out hard 3x a week for about 35-45 minutes a crack.
I'm 5'3" and weigh 297.5 lbs. currently, down from 336 in the beginning of February. (Yay?) However, the scale only budging a pound or two a week is starting to bug me. My diary is open for viewing. (Don't judge, you can tell what days I'm stressed from work and which ones I'm not.) One of my jobs is in retail, so I'm on my feet/walking 6-7 hours a day. I have a Polar FT7 on the way in the next two weeks, and I measure my food. I'm getting a food scale soon-ish.
I just got a tub of protein, and I've been doing shakes for breakfast. I try to do a low-carb macro IIFYM plan. (25% C, 35% F, 40% P) which works pretty well. I know people my weight that are losing like 30 lbs a month. So, I get it, slow and steady is cool I guess, but it's driving me nuts when my friends are like, "Oh I'm burning 1,000 calories a day and losing 5 lbs a week."
What can I be doing that I'm not doing or will be doing soon, in the case of the food scale and the FT7? Any advice? I've lost 6 jean sizes (26/28 to a 20/22.) and 2" off my thighs, 2.5" off my biceps...It's just...I don't see it. It's not 'wow' enough. I don't know. What would you do better if you were me?
I'm 5'3" and weigh 297.5 lbs. currently, down from 336 in the beginning of February. (Yay?) However, the scale only budging a pound or two a week is starting to bug me. My diary is open for viewing. (Don't judge, you can tell what days I'm stressed from work and which ones I'm not.) One of my jobs is in retail, so I'm on my feet/walking 6-7 hours a day. I have a Polar FT7 on the way in the next two weeks, and I measure my food. I'm getting a food scale soon-ish.
I just got a tub of protein, and I've been doing shakes for breakfast. I try to do a low-carb macro IIFYM plan. (25% C, 35% F, 40% P) which works pretty well. I know people my weight that are losing like 30 lbs a month. So, I get it, slow and steady is cool I guess, but it's driving me nuts when my friends are like, "Oh I'm burning 1,000 calories a day and losing 5 lbs a week."
What can I be doing that I'm not doing or will be doing soon, in the case of the food scale and the FT7? Any advice? I've lost 6 jean sizes (26/28 to a 20/22.) and 2" off my thighs, 2.5" off my biceps...It's just...I don't see it. It's not 'wow' enough. I don't know. What would you do better if you were me?
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Replies
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A little background: I'm down 38 lbs. since February, I'd say about 70% of the way to full-time vegetarianism. I've been following the IIFYM calculator at http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ for the last few months. I don't eat back what I burn at the gym, ever. I stick to the 1,448 or whatever it says. I work a lot, 3 jobs + full time university (online, though.) and have other work-related commitments, so to say I'm busy would be an understatement. I work out hard 3x a week for about 35-45 minutes a crack.
I'm 5'3" and weigh 297.5 lbs. currently, down from 336 in the beginning of February. (Yay?) However, the scale only budging a pound or two a week is starting to bug me. My diary is open for viewing. (Don't judge, you can tell what days I'm stressed from work and which ones I'm not.) One of my jobs is in retail, so I'm on my feet/walking 6-7 hours a day. I have a Polar FT7 on the way in the next two weeks, and I measure my food. I'm getting a food scale soon-ish.
I just got a tub of protein, and I've been doing shakes for breakfast. I try to do a low-carb macro IIFYM plan. (25% C, 35% F, 40% P) which works pretty well. I know people my weight that are losing like 30 lbs a month. So, I get it, slow and steady is cool I guess, but it's driving me nuts when my friends are like, "Oh I'm burning 1,000 calories a day and losing 5 lbs a week."
What can I be doing that I'm not doing or will be doing soon, in the case of the food scale and the FT7? Any advice? I've lost 6 jean sizes (26/28 to a 20/22.) and 2" off my thighs, 2.5" off my biceps...It's just...I don't see it. It's not 'wow' enough. I don't know. What would you do better if you were me?
A good rate of loss is .5lb-2lbs a week. You're making steady progress in the right direction and your weight loss rate is spot on. You didn't gain all the weight in a few months and you won't lose it all in a few months either. Focus on how far you've come and be proud of your accomplishments so far
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38 lbs in a little more than 3 months? You're KILLING IT!0
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I don't get what you think isn't right?0
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Your friends are either losing a lot of water weight, or losing too fast for it to be sustainable/maintainable. You already know this, but I'll say it anyway: faster is not better; sustainable and successful weight loss requires a LOT of patience. Losing 2 lb/week is excellent for you, and is the most you should be losing in a week anyway. As long as you (accurately) measure everything that goes into your mouth, stick to your deficit for losing 2 lbs/week (and 0.5-1 lb/week for your last few lbs), and hit your macros/micros, you are doing everything right diet-wise. Exercise-wise, you should incorporate resistance training (if you haven't already) to preserve LBM.
Something that might cheer you up a bit: most people I know who have lost 100-200 lbs had to lose fewer lbs between each successively smaller dress size as their weight went down. You will start noticing the difference more often as you get smaller. Even for me - the first 20 lbs were barely visible on me even though I lost two dress sizes, but now that I'm just 15-20 lbs away from my goal weight, I see the difference in as less as 3-4 lbs.
Hang in there. Good luck!0 -
I too think you are doing great. Remember, slower is better to allow your body to adjust--loose skin, wrinkles, etc. Take your measurements once a week and when you get a bit tired or down, go back to see where you were. It's always an uplift for me, since you forget how far you've come. Just keep truckin' along and you'll get where you want to be. Best of luck.
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You are doing great, you didn't put it on overnight and won't take it off overnight either.0
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The scale is moving a pound or two a week?! Failing to see any issues at all. Keep up the good work.0
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Thanks for all the replies everyone!!
I guess I'm just impatient. Looking forward to getting my FT7! 
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I know the wait is hard and you want the weight gone quickly. I also know how easy it is to over think things and get down on yourself. I've been there, a lot. You see and hear about other peoples' success and you want those kind of results; even though you're making wonderful progress, it's easy to convince yourself that you're not doing enough or you're not doing as well as they are. It's so easy to convince ourselves of those things, despite evidence otherwise. However, know that you're doing a freaking great job! Losing up to 2 lbs a week is wonderful. Keep up the good work. It'll all pay off before you know it.0
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