About to give up

gettinghealthy777
gettinghealthy777 Posts: 223
edited September 30 in Motivation and Support
I v'e been walking a month now, most days I go out with a friend and walk 1-2 hours. I am also watching what I am eating. It's not coming off like it should. I am 54. If i did this in my 20's or 30's. I would have taken 20 pounds by now. I am about to give up.

Replies

  • teamnevergoingback
    teamnevergoingback Posts: 368 Member
    Don't give up! You're right, 20 lbs might have came off when you were 20........ but you're not. One month is not long enough of walking for you to just give up on your health! The number on my scale did not change for THREE MONTHS and I'm 22. But I was gaining muscle and losing fat, and muscle weights more than fat. Even by just walking you're still benefiting your life. You could be working up your stamina and endurance.
  • amyd03
    amyd03 Posts: 129 Member
    don't give up. is any coming off if so then it is working.maybe change up your excersie or what you are eating.. it did not take over night and it will take more than that for it to come off. I do not mean to sound ugly saying it like that. if you would like to add me for support i will do my best with helping you
  • sunyg
    sunyg Posts: 229
    I am by no means an expert and I'm sure others who are will respond, but have you thought about incorporating strength training at all? Or doing HIIT?
  • Don't give up! It happens, I think as we age it is harder to come off. But just keep doing what your doing and it will all work out :)..
  • BAMA66
    BAMA66 Posts: 240
    Have you tried the elliptical or bicycle, they take off a lot of calories and are easy on the joints. Don't give up, the best way to lose weight is to switch up your methods and not let your body get used to the same routine.
  • cjjones007
    cjjones007 Posts: 602
    I know it's frustrating - I REALLY do...
    But hang in there with it longer - please!
    you are getting HEALTHY the walking and watching what you eat is HUGE and a fantastic set of steps to be taking - you may not see pounds off the scale but what about inches? Lung capacity? energy levels? surely those are changing right?

    You might want to check your sodium - if you aren't logging - you might want to try it - it REALLY helped me out to figure out where I needed to adjust things for myself - it was a pain at first but now it is so second nature I don't really even realize I'm not doing it (and I rarely miss a day at all)...

    Please let us know how we can support you to continue - the changes you are making are awesome and you should feel the health benefits as well as just watching the pounds!!! :)
    CJ
  • Don't give up! Even if you don't see the weight coming off right away, ask yourself, "Do I feel better?" I think if you are walking daily, you probably have more energy and feel more relaxed, right? Focus on that for right now. Remember that you are making lifestyle changes!
  • ivansmomma
    ivansmomma Posts: 500
    Don't just concentrate on the weight loss. Are you clothes fitting more loosely? Do you have more energy? You are living a more healthy lifestyle. I've been on a plateau for about 3 months now, but I am continuing to eat well and get exercise. Don't let that number on the scale rule your journey. This is a journey, not a sprint. You're doing great!!
  • fionarama
    fionarama Posts: 788 Member
    Don't give up!!! Have you been keeping a food diary, religiously including everything, even nibbles.
    Walking is good but I find you really have to put a brisk pace (get your heart rate up) if you want it to work. Are there hills to march up for instance.
    I was walking a lot but I've given it up as it really wasn't doing anything.
  • kikislove2
    kikislove2 Posts: 71 Member
    You can't give up, because you are helping yourself whether you believe it or not. You cannot compare what happened in your 20-30's to now, because your metabolism is much different. My mom has the same complaints because her weight loss is very slow and hard. But you have no idea how you are building your body and your heart. It may take longer but your body needs it, and you are adding years to your life by making your heart and lungs healthier. Take a look at what you are eating, because I said I was watching what I was eating, until I started logging and found i was eating more than I thought. Reconfigure your workout to add some toning to your routine, or maybe you can pick up the pace and walk for a less amount of time. Re-work your routine and switch it up because the body gets used to doing the same thing and will not produce the same results as it did in the beginning. That is why P90X is so popular, because he introduced muscle confusion. So confuse them so that they don't know what is coming..and just keep going!
  • basschick
    basschick Posts: 3,502 Member
    Maybe your body has gotten too used to walking. Try mixing up your workouts a bit: use some hand weights on your walks, go biking, play tennis, etc. and definitely add in strength training. Building muscle burns fat. You didn't mention how much weight you've lost this month. Even if it's only 2 pounds that's progress! Don't give up! You can do it.
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
    I'm 50 i still have 20lbs to lose , if i give i would just put more on, don't give up you have come this far , just remember 3 steps forward and 1 step back is still moving forward WE can do this!!

    Are you eating to enough?

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficit


    This is just a part of it! please read the link above


    Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
    With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
    With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
    With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
    and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle tone, and reducing fat. This means is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode)


    Also this might be helpful http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/00trayn/view/how-to-bust-a-3-month-plateau-87677

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat



    Good luck on your journey
  • abjelica
    abjelica Posts: 5
    Please don`t, you will be very surprised when results start showing. Your body needs time to adjust. Kudos for going for walks, I lost almost 70 lbs watching my food intake and walking just walking in less than 5 months. Buy pedometer where you could also see how many calories you are burning while walking. I promise very soon you will be very happy that you continued your journey. Keep up you are almost there.
  • u2fergus
    u2fergus Posts: 422 Member
    Don't give up! Even if you never lost a single pound from all this, at least you're not gaining. And even if you gain, at least you're not gaining as much as you would be if you just sat around all day and did no exercise at all. Getting ANY kind of physical activity, whether you see big advances on the scale, is doing you good. You may not be seeing the visible benefit like you did in your 20's of seeing weight melt off overnight, but that's just part of life, I'm afraid. Seriously... what's the alternative? Are you just going to abandon yourself to high blood pressure, diabetes, increased risk of cancer, heart disease and other problems? There is more to life than a number on a scale, so please, please, please keep with it... no matter what. Your family will thank you for it when they get to enjoy having you around for many more years to come!
  • JoBFit
    JoBFit Posts: 81
    Please don't give up! You have made a really good start! I am finding losing weight much harder than I did 10 years ago! Keep going because it will be worth it and you know you deserve to be he best you can be! If you need a new cheerleader I would happily accept a friend request.
    It is tough but things that mean so much are worth sticking at:flowerforyou:
  • aochoa123
    aochoa123 Posts: 299 Member
    Please don't give up. Just because the number on the scale hasn't changed dosen't mean you haven't. How are your clothes fitting?? Have you measured to see if your losing inches?? It is possible to lose inches and not weight. I know that sounds wrong but it happens. Hang in there and you will see results.
  • maybe you need to change some things around.
    how many meals are you having in the day? are you tracking down your heart rate during your walks?
    are you having good sleeping hours?

    don't give up. play with your resources and keep your focus to a goal.
  • anacsitham5
    anacsitham5 Posts: 810 Member
    Don't give up and don't go by what the scales says. Remember a pound of fat may take up a 6x6 inch space but a pound of muscle may only take up 3x3 inch space. The scales may not go down but your body fat probably is. Do you have a scales that calculates it or have your doctor or fitness coach do this? When I was a size 7/8 I weighed 125 lbs. When I was a size 3/4 I weighed 145. The difference was the body fat. I had more body fat when I weighed 125 than when I weighed 145. Don't go by the number on your scales.
  • Ciarn
    Ciarn Posts: 92
    dont give up you have to keep trying
    im 19 and i have been working out 6 days a week and eating right and today i weight in & i haven't lost much weight only 0.6lbs so i know how u feel like all the work you have been doing is for nothing i feel like that too. Right now i hate my scale but im not going to give up, just had some fruits and now ima workout even harder than i did last week. Check your measurement you may not be losing weight but you maybe loseing inches.
  • fionarama
    fionarama Posts: 788 Member
    People are asking if you are feeling better, but its clear you are not. I don't think you should give up totally, but I do think if you've been doing something for two months and its not working for you that affects you mentally.
    80% of weight loss is the diet. I say give up walking if its just depressing/demotivating you and concentrate on diet - open up your food diary (see Settings up the top I think). I do think what you eat as well as how much you eat plays a big part.
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
    Your diet is a healthy diet (I hope) and you're out walking enjoying (from time to time) sunny days.

    You've lost 11 pounds in 30 days.

    And you want to quit because…?

    Could you have lost weight faster when you were in your 20's or 30's? Perhaps.

    And that makes no difference. And it just doesn't matter what you think you could have done 30 years ago, does it?

    What matters is that in 30 days you've lost 11 pounds, right?


    In your profile, you state:
    "I need all the support I can get, I have a long long ways to go. I have been struggling with weight issues for years and I am trying to once again get motivated. I deal with a lot of anxiety which makes it harder but I am not going to let that get in the way anymore."

    Is that statement of yours a demonstration of your determination or are you setting yourself up so that you can fail again. That's called "self-sabotage" and it's not uncommon in chronically overweight people.

    Are you afraid of losing weight?

    You should be thrilled that you've dropped 11 pounds in 30 days 'cause all you've had to do is go for a walk every day and not eat as much.

    Think of it this way. If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll have lost over 50 pounds my Christmas. Is that something you want or are you afraid of change like that?
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,392 Member
    I lost 52 pounds at age 53 - it took me eight months.


    Or you could give up, blame your age, never get any younger, and just keep gaining weight. :ohwell:
  • Mom2rh
    Mom2rh Posts: 612 Member
    You might want to look at how you are eating...I have done some reading about post menopause and it seems like low carb is going to work better. Have you tried that?
  • My weight loss, at 11 pounds is not accurate. I get weighed at my chiropractor, The girl messed up when she first weighed me. It's more like a 5 pound loss. God bless you all for your support, You all have really made me think and look at this differently.. I am not going to give up...thank you, thank you thank you ALL!!!
  • Becca_007
    Becca_007 Posts: 596 Member
    It takes a tough person to stick with a goal and not even consider giving up! How bad do you want to succeed??
    Give up?? But why?? Where else would you go in life that's more important, will save your life, give you such motivating and inspiring people to be around!?
  • ccmulder5
    ccmulder5 Posts: 75 Member
    hang in there.. it's not going to come off if you stop.. you obviously want this if you're here!! so, keep working on tweeking your workouts as well as your food intake and it will come.. I PROMISE!!
  • Sharon1829
    Sharon1829 Posts: 12
    Dont give up. Try going by measurements instead if weight. Even though you might be losing fat you ara gaining muscle and muscle weighs more. I have not been losing alot of weight, however I am shedding fat, gaining muscle and losing inches.
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