I'm starting to get discouraged :(

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  • ivy2009
    ivy2009 Posts: 75
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    The single most important issues are portion control and knowing the ingredients in your food.. If you are tracking that you ate 4 oz of lean turkey, the you have to be sure it is 4 oz and not 6 or 7 or 8. oz If you eat one cup of whole grain pasta, you have to measure it every time. If it is 4 oz of 2% cottage cheese (1 serving), then be sure it is 2% and also measure 4 oz, not 6 or 7 oz. I even measure my glass of wine so I know how much I am drinking. If you add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to your salad, measure it. If you have a small handful of M & Ms, you may have just eaten 100 calories and not 25 calories that you think you ate. Be sure you watch portion control.

    Be sure you know what is hidden in the foods you eat. Get all sauces on the side and just try a little taste of the sauce. Hold all of the butter and cream. Small amounts of oils are good for you (olive oil, sesame oil. walunt oil.) But measure them. You need them, but only a small amount.

    If you are truly accurate with portion control, and really know the ingredients in the food you eat, you WILL lose weight. if you burn more calories than you consume. It is simple math. Calorie deficit means weight loss over time. How big the deficit determines the amount lost.

    I have found that it usually takes me a good 10 days at least to start to lose weight. There can be a delay as you add muscle for fat (muscle weighs more). Also, women have issues with water retention, so you may at times retain more water in your cycle. But hang in there. At some point the fat will melt off. It is probably just around the corner.

    If for some reason it does not and you have been truly accurate in measuring and counting calories, there is always a small chance of some other medical issue, like underactive thyroid.
  • dj_handwerk
    dj_handwerk Posts: 4
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    try looking at the sodium levels in your food record. you might set a goal to reduce the sodium by 500 less each day. you can look at the foods that are high in sodium and eliminate them or find salt free replacements. I limit myself to 500 mg a day. I find that alcohol will cause me to retain water weight.

    it is discouraging to work so hard for 17 days but don't give up! keep your records and keep up the good, healthy workouts! It will pay off.
  • duke520
    duke520 Posts: 30
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    Stick with it! It takes the body 6-8weeks to figure out, "Oh snap! You're actually doing something now. Alright, let's start doin work!" That is your "reprogramming" phase. Then, on week 7-9 and beyond, you'll start to see improvements. Muscle tone is starting to show, pants start fitting better, etc. That is your improvement phase. Your body will get used to what it's doing, then you gotta mix it up. It took you longer than 17 days to put the weight on. Keep at it and do work!
  • casey72886
    casey72886 Posts: 2
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    i notice your not lifiting weights. Start lifting and that should help.
  • Makgga
    Makgga Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi, this will be my first post. I was discouraged like you and tried lots of ways of dieting. I started my so called new way of eating (I won't call it a diet because I don't feel deprived at all) on the Monday before Easter. Iam 5'5" and weighed 154pounds. Today I weigh 134 pounds and am 6 pounds from my goal weight of 128. I did this all with a book. It's called The Natural Makeover Diet written by Dr. Joey Shulman. Her book has given me the ability to change my unhealthy eating habits and start a new healthy lifestyle. I've actually lost 19 pounds practically only following the book and not exercising. At 6 pounds left to go, I've now decided that I should incorporate some exercise to tone up my more problem areas. Don' t stop exercising but concentrate on your diet. You might be building a lot of muscle which would weigh more than the fat your losing. Try taking you measurements to see if they are changing. If you can, get the book, you can buy it on Amazon. It's a lot cheaper than the fad diets out there. It's changing my life!
  • Kslice39
    Kslice39 Posts: 146
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    I am lifting weights as well, I do it every other day and don't work out the same muscles every time and I change up my routine so I can keep challenging my body . I eat at least 1200 cals a day and depending on how many calories j burned during my workouts I will eat a little bit more. I know it took me almost 20years to pack on the pounds and I know it's going totake years to get back to being 100% healthy and happy with myself. It's just really frustrating when you are literally working your butt of for over 2 weeks and not lose a single ounce. Its even more frustrating when i see other people losing weight and not even exercising but all they did was cut out a soda a day and they have lost 10 lbs or see the girl who complains she is "too fat" when she is the size of my thigh .I thought I would have lost 1-2 lbs by now. I know everyone is different and everyones body responds differently to different things.

    I know there are other people like me out there struggling with this problem as well. I feel like I have an addiction because I live food so much! Lol! I am learning to love food in a different why now.

    I am trying to look at the positives though, cuz you are all right. It's baby steps, not even steps I am learning to crawl first. We are a nation of the word "instant" an if something doesn't go fast enough for us we give up.



    I loved it when a member of MFP said " don't look at it as having to lose 50 lbs, look at it like you have to lose 1 lb 50 times because each pound lost is a reason to celebrate"

    I just wish I could see some change to keep me motivated. Maybe I will start doing measurements instead of the scale. I am so OCD about the scale that I weigh myself every morning(which I know I should not do lol).

    Thank you all for the encouragement :) it means a lot to me. More comments are welcome to!!!
  • dragonflydi
    dragonflydi Posts: 665 Member
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    I am right there with ya. Been working out 5-6 days a week. Doing both cardio and weights. Eating right, mostly fruits and veggies. At one point I was down three pounds, then right back up. WTF.

    The only reason I'm not completely discouraged is that I *know* that I'm living a healthier lifestyle and that feels good. And this isn't about getting to my goal weight as quickly as possible. It's about getting there eventually and staying there because by the time I'm there it'll just be easy because it's a lifestyle.

    Ditto! However, while my weight has stayed the same, my clothing size is shrinking. That tells me I am doing something right :)
  • dragonflydi
    dragonflydi Posts: 665 Member
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    Your food log isn't open, but have you checked out the sodium content of what you are eating? That alone can make a big difference ...
  • ShampooIsBetter
    ShampooIsBetter Posts: 114
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    I have gained some weight this week, but I dont care because my time in the 3 mile went down, my time in the 2 mile went down and I increased the number of times I could do a certain amount of weight in arm curls, military press and bench press before exhaustion. Those things matter to me so much more than what the scale says in the morning.

    I know if I keep bettering my numbers and getting in better shape, the fat will come off.

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