Frustrations!!

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BethBev
BethBev Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I've been keeping my calorie intake under my goal and I've been keeping my activity levels an average of 45mins a day, 9,000 steps, 15 flights of stairs etc yet I'm not seeing any change in my weight!!! Why?? Help!!!

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  • trumpetsarecool
    trumpetsarecool Posts: 17 Member
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    Do you drink plenty of water? If not, this could be a big factor. Make sure the foods you are eating are nutrient dense. Cut out all diet sodas and alcohol unless you have extra calories. Make sure you're eating enough but don't cheat. Snacking adds up if you don't log your daily food intakes. You may just be on a plateau; keep pushing!
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
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    Don't keep your calories too far under your goal-count.
    Also, take your measurements in addition to stepping on the scale. Particularly if you're doing any kind of weight-lifting/resistance training that scale will lie to you because it can't tell muscle from fat or fat from water, or really, it can't tell anything. Take your measurements and the tape won't lie. :)
  • no_russian
    no_russian Posts: 893 Member
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    How long has it been? Keep it up and results will come.
  • sarahoneill5855
    sarahoneill5855 Posts: 1 Member
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    I share your frustrations! I went from 270 to 215 in the past 5 months but have not been able to drop a single pound for two weeks now. I prepare all my own food, measure everything with a food scale, and log everything to make sure I stay within my 1350/day budget. Plus 70-90 minutes of exercise per day, 6x per week.
    The worst part is searching for "weight loss plateau" and finding tons of sites that accuse you of overeating without realizing it or try to convince you that the plateau is a myth. It's not a myth.
    One popular strategy is to eat at maintenance for a week, then return to your calorie deficit. I am afraid to try this, because I am worried that if my body wants to hoard calories right now, I might actually gain weight at "maintenance" calorie intake. Also, I have worked very hard to get my body/mind accustomed to a lower calorie intake. It has finally stopped sending me signals to eat constantly. I am worried that I'll undo my hard habit-building work if I give my body a taste of a higher calorie intake again.
    I use an elliptical at home and might try to incorporate some HIIT (high intensity interval training) into my workout pace. I have heard this works well for weight loss and for pushing past plateaus.
    I am curious to see what strategies you try out and which ones work for you! I feel your pain!
  • BethBev
    BethBev Posts: 8 Member
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    I think my problem is my lack of water! I'm ashamed to say that I drink LOTS of diet pop! :( Now that you've mentioned that and trying to not keep my intake calories too close to what I've burned could also be the issue.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    trumpetsarecool wrote: »
    Do you drink plenty of water? If not, this could be a big factor. Make sure the foods you are eating are nutrient dense. Cut out all diet sodas and alcohol unless you have extra calories. Make sure you're eating enough but don't cheat. Snacking adds up if you don't log your daily food intakes. You may just be on a plateau; keep pushing!

    There is absolutely no reason to cut out diet soda, unless you have a medical condition or you find it makes you eat more.



    If you are not losing weight, you are not in a calorie deficit. How are you calculating your calorie intake? Do you weigh all of your food? If not, you may be eating more than you think.
    BethBev wrote: »
    I think my problem is my lack of water! I'm ashamed to say that I drink LOTS of diet pop! :( Now that you've mentioned that and trying to not keep my intake calories too close to what I've burned could also be the issue.

    Diet soda DOES count towards your fluid intake.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
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    I looked at your diary and I really have to wonder if you really are charting everything you eat. I saw one day where you had something like a Clif bar for breakfast, a Whopper for lunch and then a side of fries for dinner.

    If I tried to do that I would be ravenous. So I can't help but wonder if you're charting everything or if you're leaving things out. Either way, you can't out-exercise a poor diet. Where are your fruits and veggies? Where are your eggs, meats, and whole grains, etc.?

    Certainly you can lose weight eating only Twinkies as long as you stay in a deficit, but realistically you shouldn't. Your body has to draw its nutrients from somewhere. You need to fuel it properly, or at least give it a shot.
  • Floridaman789
    Floridaman789 Posts: 109 Member
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    Diet soda is empty calories
  • bendyourkneekatie
    bendyourkneekatie Posts: 696 Member
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    Floridaman789 wrote: »
    Diet soda is empty calories

    What?
  • Equus5374
    Equus5374 Posts: 462 Member
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    Floridaman789 wrote: »
    Diet soda is empty calories

    Correction: Diet soda is no calories.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
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    I looked at your diary and you are eating a lot of cliff bars and fast food. The bars have a lot of insoluble fiber and the fast food has a ton of sodium. That would totally mess with my stomach. It would be a perfect storm of hurty bowels. Inflamation can make you retain water. Sodium has the same impact.

    I'm not on the whole food bandwagon. I eat processed stuff, but you might fair better with some more nutrient dense foods like fruit, lean meats, and such.
  • BethBev
    BethBev Posts: 8 Member
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    enterdanger wrote: »
    I looked at your diary and you are eating a lot of cliff bars and fast food. The bars have a lot of insoluble fiber and the fast food has a ton of sodium. That would totally mess with my stomach. It would be a perfect storm of hurty bowels. Inflamation can make you retain water. Sodium has the same impact.

    I'm not on the whole food bandwagon. I eat processed stuff, but you might fair better with some more nutrient dense foods like fruit, lean meats, and such.

    I actually really do log everything I eat BUT (and I know this isn't an excuse by any means) I'm a full time college student, I work 2 part time jobs on campus (it's a regional campus so we have no access to any type of food hence the cliff bars), I'm really not home at all except for when I go home to sleep and study. I just really need to figure out a way to eat better while on the go.
  • misskarne
    misskarne Posts: 1,765 Member
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    Floridaman789 wrote: »
    Diet soda is empty calories

    Geez, seven empty calories a day. Oh no. However will I cope.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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  • mis1022
    mis1022 Posts: 109 Member
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    Yes trying to eat healthy on the go is a project. But remember fruits are the best portable snacks, apples bananas, oranges are my recent favorites. My husband loves mini cucumbers to eat as a potable snack. He also is on the go all day and looks for ideas.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
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    When I used to do field work and knew I would be out all day, I would pre-log and pack a breakfast/lunch/snack and bring a bottle of water. Stayed on track and away from the greasy fast food. And saved money too. I did eat a lot of peanut butter, apples, bananas, carrots, eggs, cheese, yogurt cups, nuts - stuff that was easy to carry and log.
  • BethBev
    BethBev Posts: 8 Member
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    mis1022 wrote: »
    Yes trying to eat healthy on the go is a project. But remember fruits are the best portable snacks, apples bananas, oranges are my recent favorites. My husband loves mini cucumbers to eat as a potable snack. He also is on the go all day and looks for ideas.
    emdeesea wrote: »
    When I used to do field work and knew I would be out all day, I would pre-log and pack a breakfast/lunch/snack and bring a bottle of water. Stayed on track and away from the greasy fast food. And saved money too. I did eat a lot of peanut butter, apples, bananas, carrots, eggs, cheese, yogurt cups, nuts - stuff that was easy to carry and log.

    Thanks! These are all excellent ideas I'll keep in mind the next time I go grocery shopping. :smile:

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