I wish I were cheating...

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Giantess
Giantess Posts: 213 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Because then at least I would understand why I am not losing weight.

For the past six weeks, I have turned my life upside down. Counted every calorie and done an hour of really hard cardio 6 days a week.

The scale has not budged from 286.

Is it possible to just stay this fat forever no matter what I do?! I mean, six weeks of running three miles a day should just not have Zero effect on a person's body. Right?

I took measurements--they have not changed. I tried on clothes that were tight to start with--they're still tight. I took photos before and later--they all look the same.

I'm so discouraged. My doctor, when I told him, had the following to offer. "Huh. Bummer. Well, keep doing it anyhow. Your resting heart rate is down, that's good."

Has anyone ever been in this position before? What did you do?! I'm getting so discouraged. If my body won't change when I work so hard, what's the point? I might as well eat pizza every night and sit on my butt all day for all the good this lifestyle change is doing me.

*mutter*resting heart rate can bite me*mutter* I just wanna fit into my jeans from last year!!!

Replies

  • KatyRing
    KatyRing Posts: 84 Member
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    hang in there! it actully might help to lay off the excersize for a day or too.. your body can adjust to what you are doing. you can also try zig zagging calories to higher, lower...just to boost that metabolism.

    personally when i am stuck i restrict the hell outta my carbs and i usually budge.
  • time2runnn
    time2runnn Posts: 252 Member
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    What is your net calories after workouts? Is it possible you are eating too little?
  • alise_lmx
    alise_lmx Posts: 292 Member
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    If you open you food diary it would be easier to give you suggestions... Are you sure you are logging EVERYthing? When I started I didn't log very faithfully even though I told myself that I did. And sometimes it takes a while when you start for your body to adjust.

    Edited to add: don't give up! Try not to get discouraged. I think everyone here has faced setbacks and the people with the most success are the ones who plowed through the hard times, even if the scale wasn't moving. If you keep it up, you will be successful.
  • prismedrano5
    prismedrano5 Posts: 1
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    Get your thyroid checked.
  • kristarablue
    kristarablue Posts: 707
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    have you thought about making your diary public, maybe people might have suggestions. I know I have messed with my macros and calories often just to see what will happen...usually with good results. Have you taken measurments to see if those have changed as well, this may be a good indication if your body is reshaping. Keep it up, don't stop trying.
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
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    It IS a total bummer. But it happens. I've only lost 5 pounds since May. That was painfully slow. It was a struggle to stick with it when I wasn't seeing the results I wanted. But I was not going to give in. I was not going to let it beat me. What helped was more closely tracking ALL my nutrients. Fat, carbs, protein, fiber, sodium. And making sure I ate enough calories.

    When the scale doesn't budge, I have to find my motivation somewhere else. I try on something from my closet that once didn't fit. I think about how far I've come. I think about my energy level, and how much more energy I have. I'll go get a hug from my husband; he's so good at encouraging me. I may even vent on the MFP boards a bit. Don't give up! It will happen eventually.
  • LivLovLrn
    LivLovLrn Posts: 580 Member
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    So you have been doing this for six weeks total? Did you diet or exercise before that? Without seeing the kinds of foods you are eating it is hard to say also. If you are eating fresh fruits and veggies, drinking lots of water and staying away from refined/processed foods as much as possible then I agree that you should have your thyroid checked. However, if you are staying in your calories but still not eating well, not drinking your water etc, I say keep at what you are doing but make some changes to your diet. Your body may be in starvation mode and hanging on to everything in self defense.
    Also, if you have not dieted much before, your body may need an adjustment period. That time period is different for everyone. Once your body adjusts you should see some great improvements.
  • amclark37
    amclark37 Posts: 19
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    Amen sister! Your preaching to the choir! I just finished my pizza. Same thing happened to me. I was working off 1000+ calories a day and tracking every calorie that passed my lips and I actually gained weight. I tried eating 1400 cal instead of 1200 cal and ended up 11 pounds heavier than when I started !! So today I gave in to Mr. Pizza but tomorrow I will try again i guess. My Doctor sent me to a medically supervised dietician but my appt isn't until 9/15. At this rate I will be 250+ before I get there!
  • historyfan1
    historyfan1 Posts: 1 Member
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    Have you calculated you target heart rate? If you are not walking fast enough to get your heart rate in the target zone example 120 beats per minute, then you are not burning as many calories as you think or chart. Also take a day off from your diet once per week, eat normal but don’t overdo it. You might want to look into a personal trainer it helped me.
  • Giantess
    Giantess Posts: 213 Member
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    Thanks for the replies. : )

    KatyRing: I did lose a TON of weight last year restricting carbs--and then I had horrible full-body cramps, exhaustion, digestion problems, and finally a doozy of a stomach flu that had me eating dry toast for a week. A week in which I gained ten pounds. Even with all the puking and...other stuff. Just from dry toast and water!! Carbs certainly do hate me, but...

    I gave up the low-carb thing, and I try and just stick to whole-grain low GI type carbs.

    Prismedrano: I actually had my doctor run blood work for thyroid problems this week, he says it's a possibility. Test results still not in, I guess, because they have not called. I've been tested in the past and they've never found anything, but I've never had this much trouble with the scale before! Usually I lose a little and then get lazy and give up. This time I'm really sticking to it and have no results. It's the weirdest thing.

    Alise: I am logging all liquid and solid calories, and if I don't have an exact count, I try and find something similar and err on the side of caution--I round up, in other words. If I have samples at costco, for example, I'll add an extra 200 calories to my count, even if I didn't eat that many. How do I open a food diary? Is it in the privacy settings? I just joined today and started logging, so you won't see much, but I've been doing the calories manually all this time. My desk is covered with little post-its covered with calorie counts, haha!

    Tabby: Maybe? I don't know. I am 6'1" (thus the name, g-heh!). I have been calorie cycling 2280-2736 calories per day, and according to the workout calculator, I do around 900 calorie workouts. Although I don't always go all the way up to that calorie level, I never go below 2000. My doctor said that under no circumstances should I go below 2000, since I'm kinda gigantor lady and that 2000 calorie thing was a guideline for people smaller than I.

    *shrug*

    I guess I'm just wondering if you've all seen stuff like this before, or have experienced it. I did do my run today despite feeling terribly sorry for myself, and have no plans to stop. But it would be nice to know that there's hope at the end of the tunnel, you know?

    Edit: Figured out how to make my food diary public, but you won't see much there yet. Just my breakfast. Again, thank you everyone for the suggestions.
  • alise_lmx
    alise_lmx Posts: 292 Member
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    glad you figured out how to open your food diary. Obviously we can't tell much from one day (and most people here aren't medical or fitness professionals so always take what people tell you with a grain of salt), but today looks good so far. One thing I would suggest (that was suggested to me by one of my mfp friends) is to add sodium to your nutrients tracked. It's somewhere in the settings, if you are having a hard time let me know and I can tell you exactly how to do it. Sodium can cause a lot of water retention and on days that I have a lot of sodium in my diet, I ALWAYS gain a few pounds and keep it on for a few days.

    Also, drink lots of water. I used to HATE water and couldn't drink much, now I pretty much always drink 8 glasses a day and I think it really helps with my weight loss (it will flush the sodium out too).

    Another suggestion is that if something isn't working, please don't give up... try to read a lot on the internet and in books/magazines about nutrition, exercise, etc. I feel that the more educated I get about these things, the more it helps me to stay motivated and just know what is going on with my body.

    And lastly, add some friends and stay active on the forums, it keeps you motivated and there have been so many days that my mfp friends have helped push me through a bad day! feel free to add me if you'd like! :)

    Good luck!! you are taking the first steps and honestly they are the hardest. You should feel very proud of that!
  • Giantess
    Giantess Posts: 213 Member
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    Thanks! I took you up on the friend request, too. : ) Usually I can stay positive just because the exercise and healthy food make me feel emotionally better, but some days, especially as the weeks pass and no changes occur, I get all cranky and weepy and why-me-y.

    I know I'll keep at it, I just need to adjust my goals to fitness rather than weight loss. No point in setting myself up for bitter rants like the above post, heeh.

    My father always told me life isn't fair.
  • alise_lmx
    alise_lmx Posts: 292 Member
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    I can totally relate to the crankiness. Trust me, I have had MANY of those days. It can be so frustrating to not see results when you feel like you are working so hard. Have you taken measurements too? A lot of people see results that way before the scale moves. You will probably have to make a lot of small adjustments as you go along, you will find what works for you. The important thing is to keep on trying. Eventually you will find the right combination of diet and exercise! Everyone is different and everyone has their own path.

    Ask lots of questions if you need to or search the forums if you run into a plateau, because there are tons of good suggestions from people here. But like I said before, sometimes you have to take it with a grain of salt ;)
  • Giantess
    Giantess Posts: 213 Member
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    I have taken measurements, yeah. They have not budged even a centimeter (I did them in both CM in and IN). The before and current photos I took look identical also.

    The only changes I have seen have been to my heart rate. I guess dragging almost 300lbs up and down hills for three miles every day has some impact on my cardiac health.

    :D
  • ansonrinesmith
    ansonrinesmith Posts: 755 Member
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    I see VERY little in what you are recording in your diary.
    Could be you are way over or way under what you think you are taking in.

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