I don't wanna be one of "those" people...

Ali_TSO
Ali_TSO Posts: 1,172 Member
edited September 28 in Motivation and Support
...but I need help. :wink:

I'm feelin kinda down, but not going back to my old habits. I just feel like I haven't been losing weight the way I should be... I know that it took me a long time to put it on, and it won't go away overnight. So I've been going back through my past weights to see if there were some trends in what I was eating. :frown:

Weight 05/11/11 353 - starting weight
Weight 05/15/11 350 - obviously gonna drop some lbs when you first start...
Weight 05/16/11 348
Weight 05/25/11 346
Weight 06/01/11 346
Weight 06/02/11 350 - right after I got back from out of town, I was going over cals by 200 each day and not drinking water
Weight 06/03/11 348
Weight 06/04/11 345.1

And then my husband and I made a bet on 6/12 that I could lose 15 before he could lose 30. I was still 345 on that day, and haven't lost any weight since. :noway:

With the exception of today, I've been doing good on my sodium....I've hit the gym HARD (hard for me, anyway) every day since last Wed...been doing cardio and weights, and I haven't lost one single pound since last Wed. :grumble: I drink a TON of water, so even on days like today that I was over on sodium, it SHOULD be ok. I don't know... Help? :ohwell:

Replies

  • megala65
    megala65 Posts: 34 Member
    Check your calorie intake. Also, are you getting enough sleep or are you under any stress?
  • sirion2
    sirion2 Posts: 50 Member
    Wow, that sounds really frustrating. Can you try dropping your calories another 100-200/day and see if that helps? I'm a huge believer in reducing food being the biggest component to weight loss. Perhaps you just haven't hit on the calorie number that helps you yet. Are you meal planning? Are you sure you're eating what you're writing down (simple foods that are easy to track)? Lots of fresh food? I'm sorry, but you'll get through this!!
  • Mommawarrior
    Mommawarrior Posts: 897 Member
    If you are hitting the gym hard and really working, you could be building up your muscle and that will cause the scales not to move as fast, but it is a good thing to build muscle. I don't know what to tell ya to do to make the scales move, but maybe just not focus on the scale as much as on your food and exercise.
    Goodluck.
  • icerose137
    icerose137 Posts: 318 Member
    Adding in new excercise routines can completely halt your weightloss progress, but not your fat loss progress. After two weeks of working out check your measurements, you should start seeing results. Good luck and hang in there.
  • angel79202
    angel79202 Posts: 1,012 Member
    I took a peek at your diary and I am wondering if your issue could be sodium? It looks like quite a few days u are over..is this something u can work on maybe? Also may want to start tracking fat..Just some suggestions, hope that helps!
  • Taxmin10
    Taxmin10 Posts: 2 Member
    dont be down focus on positives, you have lost weight and sometimes plateaus happen. try a new diet plan perhaps to shake it up a little?
  • arwamya
    arwamya Posts: 304
    are you eating back your exercise calories? i wasn't and i plateaud for 2 weeks..then i upped my calories and lost almost 2.5 lbs in a week. maybe your body has gotten used to the exercise routine try something else for a week like Zumba or less cardio more weight .. you can do calorie shuffling too.
  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
    You appear to be over your sodium intake by quite a bit on most days. I would try to cut back on the sodium and drink plenty of water. That should help get you going again.
  • fitnesspirateninja
    fitnesspirateninja Posts: 667 Member
    It looks like you lost eight pounds in less than a month. That doesn't seem like you're stuck. Has your doctor told you that you should be losing more than that?

    ETA: I just noticed that you haven't lost anything in 10 days...sorry about that.

    I agree with other posters about cutting back on sodium and drinking lots and lots of water. Watch what you're eating - not just the calories, but where the calories are coming from.

    Good luck!
  • kykykenna
    kykykenna Posts: 656 Member
    All I can add for help is the sodium part...I am allowed 2500mg. If I hit 1700 I feel it, and anything over that.....scale goes up. Every. single. time. By POUNDS. And I drink a lot of water! Try keeping your sodium a lot lower, eat as few processed foods as possible, and check again in a couple days. DONT give up!!!! :)
  • shelli1982
    shelli1982 Posts: 133
    i'm with Angel... try reducing your sodium. I know it says daily goal is 2500, but that is sort of a lot... I find that on weeks I stay under 2000 instead, I usually have better weight loss. People with high blood pressure actually have to stay under 1600, which is even harder, but even though I DON'T have high BP, I aim for 1600 and if I go over, toward 2000, just increase my water a bit.

    Also, if you've been hitting the gym hard, maybe you're gaining some muscle?

    This may be multi-factorial.. but keep it up, don't give up!! You're doing awesome :)
  • JaycrazyRose
    JaycrazyRose Posts: 104 Member
    :wink: They say that you tend to gain weight when you go out of town due to the different foods that you may be eating. But I see that you are going back down again so you are back on track. Also the higher sodium level adds to it as well. It can get really frustrating, that is what we are all here for to help each other through all of this. :smile: :wink: :laugh:
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
    You are over in sodium way to much.
    There are days you aren't even hitting 1000 cals. You need to eat more!
  • Hsanders3961
    Hsanders3961 Posts: 245 Member
    8 pounds in less than a month is nothing to be ashamed of! That's over 2 lbs a week which is great and healthy weight loss. As others said, watch your sodium. But the biggest thing---dont give up! We all have our days where we are frustrated and it can be difficult, but look at the positives. You HAVE lost weight, and you are focusing on making your body stronger, healthier, and more fit--all GREAT things to be proud of. Not every week will be a 'loss' week. Keep on truckin' along! You can do it! :wink:
  • Ali_TSO
    Ali_TSO Posts: 1,172 Member
    Check your calorie intake. Also, are you getting enough sleep or are you under any stress?

    Plenty of sleep, and not a whole lot of stress :)
    Can you try dropping your calories another 100-200/day and see if that helps?
    Are you meal planning? Are you sure you're eating what you're writing down (simple foods that are easy to track)?

    I've actually already done that. MFP told me 1880 cals and I have a goal of 1700 daily. I don't go over it, with the exception of Memorial Day weekend. I do all my cooking, bagging, and portioning of food on Sunday and generally plan meals days in advance.
    If you are hitting the gym hard and really working, you could be building up your muscle and that will cause the scales not to move as fast, but it is a good thing to build muscle.

    I'm thinking that also...
  • Kristy0728
    Kristy0728 Posts: 63
    One of the things that works really well for me is watching my carbs - cutting them where I can. NOTHING CRAZY, I still eat my burger with a bun and my sandwich on bread. :) 4 times a week I have a high protein yogurt/fruit breakfast, salad (with meat and hard boiled eggs) lunch. Even if I am at my calories for the day and exercise, if I have a lot of carbs my weight stays put. Its been a lot of trial and error learning what works best for me. You will figure out what works for you too! Good luck!!!
  • Ali_TSO
    Ali_TSO Posts: 1,172 Member
    You are over in sodium way to much.
    There are days you aren't even hitting 1000 cals. You need to eat more!

    I recently changed around my diary, took out "morning snack", and just made a "snacks" section...which erased a lot from my diary previous to this week. :wink: I eat plenty, trust me! LOL
  • Ali_TSO
    Ali_TSO Posts: 1,172 Member
    and yeah, sodium is something i struggle with. I wish cheese didn't have so much... Any tips for cutting down?
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
    Sometimes one week you'll get set back a small amount of weight, and end up losing a large amount the next week. That's how it happened to me a lot in the beginning. You just need to stay persistent.
  • BrandNewMia
    BrandNewMia Posts: 461
    You are consistently WAY under your calories every day. If I were you, I would try to eat all of my allotted calories AND eat my exercise calories - give it a month, it couldn't hurt! And I agree with PPs, less sodium, more water (aim for half your body weight in ounces - or close to it), and limit the processed foods.

    And your progress so far is nothing to be ashamed of! You are doing great, just tweak your plan a little bit and you'll be back to losing :flowerforyou:
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    I think I'll disagree with a lot of these people and (after looking at your food and exercise diary) say the following:

    IF you are tracking accurately, you are not eating enough. As for what another person said, you are most definitely not building muscle. I would also be hesitant about adding things to the diary like food preparation, unless you are doing some hard core chopping, stirring your food at 100 RPM, etc. though adding in your walking is good.

    Keep going, track everything, increase your walking speed or go longer (check out www.c25k.com), and you will see results.

    edit: I just saw your comment about changing your food diary, thus my food comment incorrect. I wouldn't worry about being over some sodium every day, especially if you drink a lot of water. All sodium does is make you retain some water, unless you consume it in vast quantities.
  • Ali_TSO
    Ali_TSO Posts: 1,172 Member
    I think I'll disagree with a lot of these people and (after looking at your food and exercise diary) say the following:

    IF you are tracking accurately, you are not eating enough. As for what another person said, you are most definitely not building muscle. I would also be hesitant about adding things to the diary like food preparation, unless you are doing some hard core chopping, stirring your food at 100 RPM, etc. though adding in your walking is good.

    Keep going, track everything, increase your walking speed or go longer (check out www.c25k.com), and you will see results.

    Like I said, my diary got screwed up and erased a lot of food from before this week. This week is accurate though. That's why you're seeing a lack of calories some days. I log everything.

    WHY am I not building muscle?.... I've not been logging my weight training, just my cardio since that's where the calories come from, but I've been doing all the machines every time I go to the gym.

    ***Haha, I just saw your edit, so that's why i'm editing...but seriously...I would be gaining muscle, right?
  • hyde1977
    hyde1977 Posts: 476 Member
    I would add Fat to your categories to look at. Well I agree that sodium is very high, take a look at your fat numbers as well.

    Mine was an eye opener!!!!! You are right that with the water you drink you flush some of the sodium out but not that much....

    The amount of water you should be drinking each day Take your weight divide by 2, take that number as the total amount of OZs you need....divide that number by 8 and that is the minimum you need! Make sure you are drinking even more at the gym....outside what your daily amount should be.....

    Watch sodium of course but add fat to your profile....
  • hyde1977
    hyde1977 Posts: 476 Member
    I would add Fat to your categories to look at. Well I agree that sodium is very high, take a look at your fat numbers as well.

    Mine was an eye opener!!!!! You are right that with the water you drink you flush some of the sodium out but not that much....

    The amount of water you should be drinking each day Take your weight divide by 2, take that number as the total amount of OZs you need....divide that number by 8 and that is the minimum you need! Make sure you are drinking even more at the gym....outside what your daily amount should be.....

    Watch sodium of course but add fat to your profile....

    sorry just to add I just did the calculation based on the weight you put in...minimum you should have 21 glasses a day of water!

    When I learned about this I found a huge difference!!!

    Hope this helps!!! You can do it....don't get discouraged!!!!!
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    I think I'll disagree with a lot of these people and (after looking at your food and exercise diary) say the following:

    IF you are tracking accurately, you are not eating enough. As for what another person said, you are most definitely not building muscle. I would also be hesitant about adding things to the diary like food preparation, unless you are doing some hard core chopping, stirring your food at 100 RPM, etc. though adding in your walking is good.

    Keep going, track everything, increase your walking speed or go longer (check out www.c25k.com), and you will see results.

    Like I said, my diary got screwed up and erased a lot of food from before this week. This week is accurate though. That's why you're seeing a lack of calories some days. I log everything.

    WHY am I not building muscle?.... I've not been logging my weight training, just my cardio since that's where the calories come from, but I've been doing all the machines every time I go to the gym.

    ***Haha, I just saw your edit, so that's why i'm editing...but seriously...I would be gaining muscle, right?

    I forgot that you said you were doing weights along with cardio in your original post and I didn't see it logged. The other reason why I say this is because guys lifting heavy and on a muscle gain diet will only gain 3/4 lb a week, if they are lucky. How heavy are you lifting? Machines are a good way to start, but free weights are much better as you will work more muscles at once.
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