Complete frustration!

I would take a copy of your diary to your doctor (I just copy and paste it into excel or you can print it). Have them run some tests to see if you are insulin resistant or if there is anything else wrong. This is what I am going to do next month when I have my doctor's appt.

I have the same issue, and for me, if I have too many simple carbs I will not lose weight...even if I am killing myself in the gym and drinking a ton of water. I've gotten frustrated and given up a million times. This time, I'm not giving up. I'm trying to get most of my carbs from fruits and veggies and I'm upping my protein (since I'm working out so much). I feel better when I'm eating right and exercising regularly. I'm trying not to worry about the scale as much. Also, make sure you are weighing yourself at the same time each week. Our bodies (at least mine) can fluxuate 5 lbs during the day.

It sucks, I know, but don't give up. Even though you aren't losing weight..think of how much better you feel and how much healthier you are getting. Good luck!!

i defiantly agree with people when they say your eating way to many sweets and your sugar is very high so id try and cut down on that and altho it will be hard if your used to alot of sugar it will be worth it.

Also someone said ground turkey instead of the beef which is a great idea and way nicer beef is yukky!

good luck x

Hello me dear,

Right....take note of the first thing I say: Don't fret pet, we can sort this out.

I've had a look over your diary and the things I noticed were:

You are not eating your daily calories, some days you are several hundred calories under.
Your sugar levels are rather high.
You don't drink enough enought water.

I don't know your goals or your stats, or whether you have any medical conditions so purely based on what I've read in your diary, I will say.....If I was in your position, I would do the following (please note I am going on what I know about diet, exercise and nutrition - I'm no professional):

Today is a new day, put a smile on your face and believe in yourself that you can rectify this starting today.
Re-calculate your goals and see if your daily cals is any different.
Measure yourself: chest, tummy, hips, legs and arms - insert the necessary values into the tools on here.
Aim to weigh yourself once or twice a month, no more.
Aim for at least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day.
Aim for at least 10 glasses of water a day (this can also come from tea, coffee, diet drinks, juice - go easy on the latter, they're high in natural sugars).
Cut down on your sugar intake - when we don't burn off sugar, it turns to fat (same happens to carbs)
Vary your type of exercise you do each session e.g. swimming session, cardio session, training session etc

I hope this info helps and feel free to add me, we're all here to help each other!

Sarah

With respect, I would look at the types of food as well as the absolute calories. Aim for more vegetables. Ice creams, chocolate puddings, bars and brownies etc are not helping you reach your goals.

There's a lot of brand name, processed food in there with high sugar and salt values. The word "light" on the label only ever means lightER in fat or sugar...probably with the other increased.

One meal was just chicken breast and a banana. If thats the case, perhaps your meals aren't appealing enough, causing you to snack...or maybe you're not recording the sauce etc?

With respect, I would look at the types of food as well as the absolute calories. Aim for more vegetables. Ice creams, chocolate puddings, bars and brownies etc are not helping you reach your goals.

There's a lot of brand name, processed food in there with high sugar and salt values. The word "light" on the label only ever means lightER in fat or sugar...probably with the other increased.

One meal was just chicken breast and a banana. If thats the case, perhaps your meals aren't appealing enough, causing you to snack...or maybe you're not recording the sauce etc?

I was looking at the same thing. MOST of your calories in a day are coming from very unhealthy places. Fast foods, pizza, ice creams (even skinny cows) brownies, etc. These things are not helping maters at all. By limiting these, you will be doing your body a favor and helping yourself reach your goal.

Also, Are you being honest with yourself about your intake? Are you logging everything?? Every little thing adds up.

Hey there!

I also (along with EVERYONE else, apparently) took a look at your diary and I have a few suggestions.

1. Yes, eating clean will definitely make a change. I would say it probably was a drastic change for your body just to lower your calorie intake and it (originally) didn't matter where those calories were coming from, it just mattered that you weren't eating as much as you used to. But now, your body has become accustomed to this calorie intake which mostly consists of packaged "healthy" food. I would ditch anything in a package and get the right nutrition from the right foods.

2. For your three big meals of the day, make sure 1/3 of your plate is clean, lean protein (turkey or chicken breast, fish, or tofu), 1/3 is a complex carb (brown rice, another whole grain like quinoa, or a sweet potato), and 1/3 is a fibrous carb like broccoli, or a spinach or kale salad. For your snacks, try to have a lean protein like cottage cheese or nonfat yogurt and a complex carb or fruit (earlier in the day).

3. You seem to really enjoy sweets (ME TOOOOO). I had to learn to limit my sweet tooth, though. Start by cutting down to one dessert or "sweet" a day (including the sugar you add to oatmeal...use a natural sweetener like honey instead). Then cut down to having a treat once or twice a week. You'll see MAJOR changes. And believe me, the cravings will cease.

4. Cut out anything white. White bread, white pasta, and white sugar (or brown sugar, for that matter). It provides your body with little to no nutritional benefits and it will continue to disregard it and store it as fat. Replace those empty calories with nutritious food your body can use as fuel and the fat will melt off.

5. DON'T QUIT. It's just a plateau. Everyone has them. You've got this. Keep up the good work. You're health is worth the time and energy you put into it.

Best of luck

As for me, when I eat carbs, I want MORE MORE MORE! And after 3 minutes, I've had 4 pieces of banana bread! And then I'm craving something else to eat 10 minutes later. I tried cutting carbs out completely, but I ended up feeling really lethargic.

So now I try and get my carbs from fruit and a few rice cakes, maybe ONE piece of banana bread. That's it.

I have a huge sweet tooth. To get over the hump of not having so many treats, I make sure to have strawberries, plums, juicy oranges, and other naturally sweet treats around. I found that I can have more volume of sweets this way, and since there are vitamins, minerals, and fiber in the fruit, it's not as bad as processed sugar. (Yes, extremists reading this, I know sugar is sugar but for my life, and probably a few others', it is a process to change a habit of having desserts and substituting fruits is part of the new healthier habit.)

Here's a few other treats I have:
Good Earth Original tea. It tastes like it has sugar, but has none. Add a splash of milk and it's a creamy dessert.
Sugar free Jello with sugar free Cool Whip (but make sure to really measure both in a measuring cup.)
Peppermint tea with a drop of honey and milk (notice my trend in tea; it takes a long time for me to drink since it's hot, and by the time I finish it my craving for the Butterfinger ice cream that my boyfriend is eating has passed.)
Medjool dates with an almond tucked inside (fiber/almond power pack, once you start getting lower on sugars, a date is such a treat!)
Frozen bananas, they taste like ice cream to be now! I've heard of people freezing them as slices and dipping them in sugar-free chocolate syrup (this satisfies the repetitive motion of eating as well as the choc/banana sweetness)

Even more important, though, is that when I look at your diary, I don't see a lot of food. You had a third of a package of broccoli/chicken/pasta? Was that three bites? I'd totally feel under-satisfied after that. Yes you're meeting your calories, but I think your body isn't getting what it needs, hence cravings. Since yesterday I was trying to resist the banana bread, I had a ton of broccoli and a grilled turkey burger patty for lunch. I was so full and satisfied after that I didn't even go over to the fridge and stare at the banana bread in longing. When my body is then full and busy digesting all of that fiber, I don't even think of sweets.

The really most important thing is that you haven't given up. One day at a time.

I can't answer anything regarding your intake levels, if you answer Sheboss's questions, he no doubt will, however. But I can tell you what is working for me, after nearly a year long plateau (last year).

First, I took 2 months off from counting or eating at a deficit. Still tried to eat healthy, but pretty much ate whatever I wanted. I did not work out during these 2 months, and I cut out all stimulants. The idea was to reset my metabolism and give my adrenal glands a break.

Then, as of January 4th of this year, I dropped calories to 1200 and bought a Fitbit to measure my actual energy expenditure. It was much less than I thought, and I burn much less than MFP or the machines say I do when I exercise.

I began to be extremely strict about my logging, weighing and measuring every single bite. No cheat days, no cheat meals. I do allow myself to eat at maintenance once in a very great while, and for 1 week, every three months. AT maintenance, logged, weighed, measured. It's controlled.

I changed my protein and carbs so that protein is at 30% and carbs are at 40%. My #1 goal is to reach my protein level and my #2 goal is to be at my calories and my #3 goal is to not go over my carbs. Lots of veggies help keep me full. Everything else falls into place.

And I increased my workout difficulty. I chose the most difficult thing for me (running) and started doing it. Intervals at first, because I wasn't able to actually run a city block even. But I could run for 30 seconds, so I'd run 30 seconds, walk 30 seconds, run 30 seconds, etc. for as long as I could manage. Eventually, I started actually running, running. A short distance, then next time, a longer one. And I lift weights. Squats, lunges, bench presses, curls, etc. My schedule is Run/Lift/Run/Lift/Run/Lift/Rest.

This is what has worked for me and I've lost an average of 3/4 pound a week since Jan 4. It's lower than 1 pound because I dont' have a whole lot to lose and my TDEE is not that high - only 15 pounds more to go.

Hopefully this helps you some. Good luck!

I would also add that maybe you need to change up your excerise or increase the intensity. Trying pushing a little bit more. Good luck to you. I know how frustrating it can be.