feeling discouraged! halp?

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janetpickle1
janetpickle1 Posts: 8 Member
edited April 2017 in Motivation and Support
Hi! I am new here! I am 38 years old, female, 5'8" and weighed 201 when I started trying to figure out how to lose (again!) around mid-February. In 6 weeks I am only down to 196! The boring details: daily calorie goal is 1450 and I do some form of exercise each day - 4 or 5 days a week is 40 to 60 minutes of HIIT and strength training (started a fitness blender 8 week program about 2.5 weeks ago - was doing these videos just sporadically before that) and walking or yoga on the 2 off days (as well as the on days, sometimes). I do often fail to come in at my calorie goal, mostly because of eating out, alcohol and sweets that come in at the end of the day - but not every day! I sometimes feel really sick of the foods I'm eating - it just feels like I've eaten air all day. I basically eat green smoothies, salads, eggs, oatmeal, chicken/fish/tofu and vegetables. I occasionally strongly crave something more substantial. I try to eat more meat but I just really do not like meat. In the last 6 weeks I have gone way overboard twice, like 3,200 calories, I think because of being extremely tired from work and discouraged. My weekly average ends up being about 1,800, since Feb. 23. Do I need to be even stricter with myself? I'm sure the answer is yes, lol! Maybe it will just take a little more time getting used to these new routines and restrictions. The reason I got to be over 200 lbs. is from absolutely not trying at all and eating out, eating dessert, and drinking as much wine as I want - was in a relationship with a really lovely fat man, so compared to him I was still consuming less, so I was probably subconsciously using this info to justify my self-neglect. I must have gotten used to that mentality even though this is the fourth time I am here again, needing to lose, though I have never been this heavy before. 185 was the highest, in the past. I'll keep going, because I must. But I feel confused about how strict I have to be...I feel frustrated at the idea that it requires such stringent measures...i guess i have this idea that "a few minor, sustainable tweaks" would be effective but obviously it is not. Perhaps it is just my age now and the fact I have gained and lost a few times already now. I need some perspective and/or commisseration! Thank you!!

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  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    Agreed^^

  • janetpickle1
    janetpickle1 Posts: 8 Member
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    lol, i edited it to say it was 201 when i started, because i actually realized that it was one pound a week, which yeah, you're right, is not bad! it was actually 201.5. whatever. i guess i really am just being impatient though, no, i haven't ever done a "fad diet," just clean eating. pretty rational. I think I have just been seeing these people say "it's been a month and I've lost 10 pounds" and I was thinking "well if that is normal, what's going on with me?". but basically it sounds like your takeaway is to just be patient.
  • janetpickle1
    janetpickle1 Posts: 8 Member
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    ok, thanks peeps. i hadn't really put it into perspective before posting - 1 pound a weeks is fine i guess. i didn't really realize that the consensus was that 2 pounds a week was "quick."
  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
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    I'm shorter and older than you (and started out heavier), and have been losing at an average of around 1lb per week for over a year now... it does require patience as much as anything else! I'd love for the rest of the weight to just be gone overnight, but that ain't gonna happen so I try to just stick with it and trust the process.

    Some people lose weight every week and others don't - I'm one of those who'll lose a pound or two and then hover around the same weight for maybe 3-4 weeks before I lose a bit more. I could probably work harder at it, but I'm lazy... ;) What I'm doing is working for me, and the slower rate of loss gives me time to learn new habits that I hope will help me to maintain in the future. I also take a "maintenance break" every couple of months or so, to practice my new skills and give me a mental rest from restriction.

    If you're finding that you "crave something more substantial" quite often, you might like to try changing up the foods you eat and see if other things help you to feel more full for longer. The default macros (carbs/fat/protein) that MFP gives you are just that - defaults. You don't have to stick to them, and you don't really have to worry about going over any number except your daily calorie goal unless you have a condition that requires you to limit your intake of something.

    Good luck, and stick with it! Don't look at how far you have to go,look at how far you've already come... and even a few pounds is better than none! :)
  • janetpickle1
    janetpickle1 Posts: 8 Member
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    hey, thanks so much! this is the sort of encouragement i need. i suppose i didn't realize before that one pound a week is totally normal. i think when i've lost in the past, it was more. it just feels like i have made dramatic differences, so that probably led me to expect more dramatic results but like i said in my original post, i suspect that may be because the way i was living before (during relationship) was pretty dramatically neglectful so what i am doing now is actually only a bit more restrictive than what will be "maintenance" lifestyle, eventually. i certainly don't expect anything overnight just wasn't sure if this was normal or not. thanks!!
  • ParanormaLauren
    ParanormaLauren Posts: 69 Member
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    Hey! Mostly meatless here as well. I eat meat maybe twice a week, but other than that...lots of veggies, fruit, whole grains, beans, nuts...the less processed, the better. I find myself spending A LOT of time on Pinterest looking at vegan recipes. Vegan, not vegetarian, because I'm also mostly dairy-free. So much stuff on there to keep my diet interesting, but still easy to follow, healthy recipes. Just made Korean bbq lentils over brown rice the other night. Delicious.

    But like everyone said, you're doing a good job! Keep up the good work. :)
  • janetpickle1
    janetpickle1 Posts: 8 Member
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    thank you!!!!
  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
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    I think it's natural to want to see dramatic results when you feel like you've made big changes to the way you eat! :)

    My very first week on MFP, I lost 6lbs. I was ecstatic! I quickly realised it was mostly water and I couldn't expect to see that sort of thing often. I've had a few weeks where I've lost 2-3lbs or so - I think there was one where I lost 6lbs in 8 days again, not sure why that happened! - and many more weeks where I haven't lost at all or I've gained a little. My weight graph looks like an ECG... ;) (I weigh myself daily.)

    I've come to accept that this is the way my body behaves and that I'm just not someone who can lose consistently every week. So long as the overall trend is downwards, I can learn to live with that.

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