Dealing with disappointment...

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hptravelgal
hptravelgal Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So, I've been trying! I've stopped the fast foods and sandwich eating( I can eat sandwiches for every meal, I swear!!! ) Water, water, water!!! And I Zumba 2-3 times a week!!! I use this app and register/regulate my food....but still not losing like I'd like... I AM severely stressed(about other stuff, not my weight loss)

I get disappointed cause I feel like I'm doing really well, then BAM!!! The scale smacks me with a reality check. (So then I just wanna go eat a big, fat, cheeseburger...
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Replies

  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
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    Remember: you can eat whatever you'd like but you need to be in a calorie deficit. And you need to weighing the food that you eat (preferably in grams) so that you know exactly how many calories you're eating.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    Not losing as you would like or not losing at all?

    Are you logging your food accurately (do you weigh everything)?
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
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    Are you tracking everything and meeting your calorie and macro goals?

    Are you resting the other 4-5 days per week?

    It sounds like you need to step things up quite a bit.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
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    hptravelgal wrote: »
    So, I've been trying! I've stopped the fast foods and sandwich eating( I can eat sandwiches for every meal, I swear!!! ) Water, water, water!!! And I Zumba 2-3 times a week!!! I use this app and register/regulate my food....but still not losing like I'd like... I AM severely stressed(about other stuff, not my weight loss)

    I get disappointed cause I feel like I'm doing really well, then BAM!!! The scale smacks me with a reality check. (So then I just wanna go eat a big, fat, cheeseburger...

    It doesn't matter if you eat fast food or sandwiches (what's wrong with sandwiches?!) and it doesn't matter if you drink water. If you are not in a deficit, you won't lose. Are you weighing your food? Eating back exercise calories?
  • sinbadfxdl
    sinbadfxdl Posts: 103 Member
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    Daily weight will go up and down. Do not be discouraged! Remain at a daily deficit, keep the sugar down to 9 teaspoons daily to keep your insulin levels at bay and dont forget to drink lots of water.. Less cravings that way. Your weight will drop surely, but only at it's pace. We all want to lose weight right away. You Will see that you will average one to two pounds weekly. It also gives your skin time to adjust instead of sagging.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    sinbadfxdl wrote: »
    Daily weight will go up and down. Do not be discouraged! Remain at a daily deficit, keep the sugar down to 9 teaspoons daily to keep your insulin levels at bay and dont forget to drink lots of water.. Less cravings that way. Your weight will drop surely, but only at it's pace. We all want to lose weight right away. You Will see that you will average one to two pounds weekly. It also gives your skin time to adjust instead of sagging.

    Why limit her sugar when she mentions nothing of insulin problems?

    OP, are you weighing your food? How much, if any, of your exercise calories are you eating back?
  • irenehb
    irenehb Posts: 236 Member
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    Weight loss is not linear, so if you are still losing I don't see the problem.
    Weigh your food, keep a calorie deficit.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Just log as accurately as possible and do the math. 3500 calories = 1 pound of fat. That way you'll KNOW that it can't be fat if you've been eating at a deficit...
  • Optimistical1
    Optimistical1 Posts: 210 Member
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    Have you considered strength training?
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
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    Agree with the above. I won't give up anything for the diet that I won't give up for the rest of my life. As long as I make my calorie targets, I'll lose weight. Now of course if I ate my entire calorie budget in marshmallows or something I'm sure I'd feel awful and be nutritionally deficient, but as long as you eat a decent mix of foods you should be fine.

    As to disappointment - this is a long road, you're not going to lose weight overnight. I'll be happy if I'm done by Halloween next year. But if you do it one day at a time, you'll get there, even if the scale moves slower than you like (or occasionally backwards, as it is wont to do).
  • katie1318
    katie1318 Posts: 59 Member
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    Also, I know it sounds silly, but try not to stress too much. Stress can cause your body to do a number of things that could make it LOOK like your gaining weight (or not losing at the rate you should be). And like everyone else said, just try to make sure you're logging everything accurately
    Don't get discouraged! It's a process, be patient and enjoy the other parts of life when you start feeling stressed over the number on the scale :)
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
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    Unrealistic expectations much?
  • hptravelgal
    hptravelgal Posts: 8 Member
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    Thank everyone for your input. I don't weight any food I prepare, however, if I make a salad, I can measure what's being added and log from that.. Stress is inevitable; I help care for my sick parents (MS/stroke-mom & my dad has cancer of the bone marrow) there is no way to avoid that stress.... I have entered a realistic goal of a lb a week(maybe 2lbs) and had had trouble balancing my calories... On days I workout, I eat more, cause I'm burning it... But, I'm still doing something wrong... It's never been easy for me to lose... Guess it never will be...
    Thanks again for all your help...
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
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    hptravelgal wrote: »
    Thank everyone for your input. I don't weight any food I prepare, however, if I make a salad, I can measure what's being added and log from that.. Stress is inevitable; I help care for my sick parents (MS/stroke-mom & my dad has cancer of the bone marrow) there is no way to avoid that stress.... I have entered a realistic goal of a lb a week(maybe 2lbs) and had had trouble balancing my calories... On days I workout, I eat more, cause I'm burning it... But, I'm still doing something wrong... It's never been easy for me to lose... Guess it never will be...
    Thanks again for all your help...

    I started my weight loss while under a ton of stress, caring for my parents while my mother waited for emergency back surgery to prevent permanent paralysis and was confined to a wheel chair, and my father was battling two kinds of cancer, and also was having major surgery. Plus in general I have a lot of stress. It didn't stop weight loss. You'd be surprised just how easy it is to use a food scale, it's actually easier than measuring, once you get the hand of it. Get one that has a zero or tare function.
  • allenpriest
    allenpriest Posts: 1,102 Member
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    There is a huge difference in calorie goal between one pound per week and two pounds per week. You give no indication of your current size. Two per week may be unrealistic. What's the rush anyway? If you want to hurry and lose so you can go back to what you were doing before then you are bound to fail.
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
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    WEIGH YOUR FOOD and it WILL be easy;-)
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Are you losing at all?
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    edited November 2015
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    I eat sandwiches, fast food and dessert... I'm losing weight. It isn't necessary to give up foods you like.

    I think you probably are eating more than you realize. If you are not using a scale to weigh most of your food, you really don't know how much you are eating. Being under a lot of stress might also be contributing. Are you certain that you log ALL of the food you eat? An emotional eater myself and I know how easy it is to try to justify not logging a bit here or there or to get into the mindless eating state where you really don't realise how much you are consuming.

    I remember seeing my late husband go on extreme diets for a few weeks and then when he had a rough day he would eat one thing that he considered bad and then decide that all was ruined and start to binge. It was sad to see that. Pay attention to that mindset. Why exactly would one meal ruin a week or a month's worth of careful restriction? It won't. It is only one meal. Big whoop. Enjoy it. Get back to work.

    I had a bit of a rough week. Decided to eat maintenance for a few days(for me that is over 3,000 calories so feels kinda like a binge). I logged it all. My diary is open, go ahead and look if you want. Felt better getting it out of my system. Now I can get back to focusing on the weight loss. Sure it slowed me down by a few days or a week but I haven't quit so I am not failing.. get it?

    Losing weight using CICO is really really simple. It's not easy. It will never be easy. That's why a lot of people will not be successful.
  • krithsai
    krithsai Posts: 668 Member
    edited November 2015
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    hptravelgal wrote: »
    Thank everyone for your input. I don't weight any food I prepare, however, if I make a salad, I can measure what's being added and log from that.. Stress is inevitable; I help care for my sick parents (MS/stroke-mom & my dad has cancer of the bone marrow) there is no way to avoid that stress.... I have entered a realistic goal of a lb a week(maybe 2lbs) and had had trouble balancing my calories... On days I workout, I eat more, cause I'm burning it... But, I'm still doing something wrong... It's never been easy for me to lose... Guess it never will be...
    Thanks again for all your help...

    Multiple things need work :
    1 . You have got to weigh food. There's no other way to accurately log your intake. We are shockingly inaccurate with eyeballing portions. Even cups and spoons don't cut it. A good kitchen scale can be bought for around $10 from any store.
    2. 2 lbs a week is a very aggressive goal. If you scale it down to 1 lb, you'll have a better time doing it because you can eat a little bit more. And considering all the stress you already have, you hardly have the bandwidth to cut 1000 calories a day.
    3. Enter your workouts into MFP but consider not eating back 100%. Most people here eat back about 50% because exercise machines and the MFP database are known to overestimate your burn.
    4. One day at a time. If you have one bad day, log it and move on. Focus on making the next one better.
    5. You don't HAVE to exercise to lose weight. Exercise does have other benefits such as improved mood, increased calorie allowance etc. The bottom line is building a caloric deficit.

    Good luck!
  • malioumba
    malioumba Posts: 132 Member
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    shadowfax_c11 wrote: »

    I remember seeing my late husband go on extreme diets for a few weeks and then when he had a rough day he would eat one thing that he considered bad and then decide that all was ruined and start to binge. It was sad to see that. Pay attention to that mindset. Why exactly would one meal ruin a week or a month's worth of careful restriction? It won't. It is only one meal. Big whoop. Enjoy it. Get back to work.

    Losing weight using CICO is really really simple. It's not easy. It will never be easy. That's why a lot of people will not be successful.

    I'm sorry to hear about that, how did he pass?

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