anyone else not getting anywhere?

I am right there with you on this....Its been about 3 months for me and the scale fluctuates between 5-7 lbs. Maintaining when trying to lose sucks lol. I just keep remembering that it will come off eventually. I weigh only once or twice a week and just know that as long as i am still working out and watching my food intake its better than gaining! Hopefully my body will kick in and shed some more soon since I have about 100 lbs more to go :P Good luck!

Have you tried to change up your eating? What I mean, have you tried eating more? In my history, people under eat because that is the old stigma but as we progress, we find it's better to eat more to fuel your body properly to lose more and burn more calories.

I'm just getting started however; in the past when I've experienced this situation, I really watched my carb intake and it finally busted a move! Take a week with very low carb, high protein and LOTS of water and see how it goes for you. Good luck!

80% of your weight loss is calories. Exercise helps, but one or two bad days a week and you won't lose. No "cheat" days. My sis in law has lost 5 lbs per month consistently (for 3 months) because she watches her calories religiously and walks/exercises. There is no secret to people who have lost 20-50-100 lbs on this site. It's calories in vs. calories out, and you have to be consistently under in order to see results.

Also, we'll need to see your diary. Go to Settings > Diary Settings > Diary Sharing and change it to Public.

Lastly, 30 Day Shred can help! I'm doing it now with my sister-in-law and it's a workout. Give it your all though and you WILL have results! Guaranteed.

80% of your weight loss is calories. Exercise helps, but one or two bad days a week and you won't lose. No "cheat" days.

This. Even maintaining, I can really only afford one cheat "meal" most weeks. A whole cheat day every week would make me start to slowly gain back. The secret is: you have to load up on protein and fiber so you stay full and are not as tempted to cheat and you have to find somewhat healthy foods that you actually like. I'm a picky eater, so for me, this involved lots of trial and error. Now I actually look forward to a meal of Cuban black bean soup and a salad with tempeh and my favorite dressing almost as much as I used to look forward to a big plate of pasta. It took me a long time to get to this point.

Seems like you are extremely active. I would suggest lets try a different approach to yoru eating. If you are interested, please use the tool (top of the site) and post your BMR. There are some methods where you eat consistantly instead of eating back your exericse. Other stuff you can do is alter your carbs/protein/fat ratios.

<raises hand> Me, me, me!

It's probably been at least six months since I've seen any real loss. I try to tell myself that simply by maintaining for such a long time and not gaining is, at least for me, a small victory. I'm not yo-yoing and I can tell my body is changing and toning. I have to focus on those positive things or I will beat myself up too much about not losing.

Not giving up is the toughest hurdle to jump - don't give up!

The problem with calories... Just posted this on my blog today! http://growordie.net/?p=459

No loss since June is unacceptable. You need a new plan. How many calories are you eating?

ya think?!

i'm set for 1600 calories per day, which is a 1.25 pound loss per week according to mfp. on workout days i burn between 500 and 700 calories and eat back at least half, if not all of those calories.

as for a plan....well, that's what i'm trying to work out. and just for the record, i've lost more than that 3 pounds on my ticker - i lost 28 pounds on mfp between august 2010 and june 2011, but aside from that 3 pounds on my 'new' ticker that was also lost in june, i've been stuck. i did not work out consistently over the summer because that is when i work full time, but i have been back at it since early august.

you will not find me eating a salads and grilled chicken everyday. i'm trying to do this in a way that i can maintain for life, so that means i won't be swearing off pizza or chocolate forever. i do eat fairly well and typically stay within my calories, though i'm not the type that will kick myself because i ate popcorn at a movie. my eating habits have not drastically changed since when i was losing consistently every week, though i have upped my water intake and eat more salads for lunch (vs. frozen pizzas, which i ate twice a week when i was losing weight).

so i am kind of stumped, but i'm not giving up. i know that i'll figure out something, and ya'll are giving me plenty of great advice to try, too. i hope that no one is taking this as a 'doom and gloom' post - even with this stalled weight loss, i'm incredibly happy with my success all the same. i've lost 31 pounds total, and as soon as i get over this loooong hump, i'll lose the same over. i can see that i'm shrinking, and my clothes seem to be fitting more loosely each day. i'm nearly to the last notch in my belts. i'm almost to 20 pound dumbbells in my strength training classes. i can jog a 5k in 35 minutes, and i start training today to improve that time.

there are so many other benefits to this, it would be silly to fold just because of a number. but i still want to figure out how to get it moving again. that would be the icing on the cake!

Nor should you swear off pizza and chocolate. Look at my diary and you will see how I feel about that. What is your bmr?

No loss since June is unacceptable. You need a new plan. How many calories are you eating?

ya think?!

i'm set for 1600 calories per day, which is a 1.25 pound loss per week according to mfp. on workout days i burn between 500 and 700 calories and eat back at least half, if not all of those calories.

as for a plan....well, that's what i'm trying to work out. and just for the record, i've lost more than that 3 pounds on my ticker - i lost 28 pounds on mfp between august 2010 and june 2011, but aside from that 3 pounds on my 'new' ticker that was also lost in june, i've been stuck. i did not work out consistently over the summer because that is when i work full time, but i have been back at it since early august.

you will not find me eating a salads and grilled chicken everyday. i'm trying to do this in a way that i can maintain for life, so that means i won't be swearing off pizza or chocolate forever. i do eat fairly well and typically stay within my calories, though i'm not the type that will kick myself because i ate popcorn at a movie. my eating habits have not drastically changed since when i was losing consistently every week, though i have upped my water intake and eat more salads for lunch (vs. frozen pizzas, which i ate twice a week when i was losing weight).

so i am kind of stumped, but i'm not giving up. i know that i'll figure out something, and ya'll are giving me plenty of great advice to try, too. i hope that no one is taking this as a 'doom and gloom' post - even with this stalled weight loss, i'm incredibly happy with my success all the same. i've lost 31 pounds total, and as soon as i get over this loooong hump, i'll lose the same over. i can see that i'm shrinking, and my clothes seem to be fitting more loosely each day. i'm nearly to the last notch in my belts. i'm almost to 20 pound dumbbells in my strength training classes. i can jog a 5k in 35 minutes, and i start training today to improve that time.

there are so many other benefits to this, it would be silly to fold just because of a number. but i still want to figure out how to get it moving again. that would be the icing on the cake!

Hummm - we are about the same as far as weight - what activity do you have your level set at - that might be the problem...I have mine set at sedentary and it gives me 1400/day - what I attempt to do is eat about 1300 on the days I don't work out and go to 1400 + on the days I do work out and record only my calorie loss for my workouts..

One thing you have to remember is MFP does everythign on calculations so they may not be right...I have calculated my BMR at about 1560-1600 on three different calculators... if I go by that number than eating 1400/a day won't lead me to a lb a week loss...hence why I usually eat under on the days I don't work out

Also do you have a HRM that accurately does your calorie burn - don't go by gym machines or MFP...I find both overestimates for me...you don't have to wear your HRM all the time - I bring it out every few weeks and strap it on to get a general idea of calories burned...for example I know I burn on average 10 calories/min on the elliptical when I am in the middle of it...so if I do 35 minutes I put in 300 calories (to account for the warm-up) not the 475 calories MFP says it is...I go to a kickboxing class 2x's a week and I will bring it out about every 8th class or so to verify the calorie burn...

I went through that phase, but during that time, I was kidding myself, I was eating like crap, and simply put, no matter how much I exercise, you can't out exercise a crappy diet. so, how's your diet?

Are you sure you're not undoing your diet on the weekends when it seems that you don't log? I know I do, because I do log, and one night at the bar can blow a couple days of caloric defecit.

[Excellent read ... well said ... and thanks, I've been here for awhile and needed that.
quote]
"I just wanted to post something about what to expect during the phases of weight loss.

Overview (why I'm posting this)
Over the course of about 7 months on here, I have seen many people suceed, I have also seen some drop off the map. I expect this is because some succumb to the demon that is temptation, and some to the devil that is dissapointment. I wanted to give a few "heads up"s to both new commers and vetrans to the site. Some may know already, some may not. But either way, if this helps anyone to set more realistic goals in their own head, I feel like it has done it's job.

Phase 1. The start of a brand new day! (or week, or month, or year)
Expectations are sky high, usually so is motivation and intentions. This is where most people lose the most weight. At the start it's not uncommon to see 4 to 8 lb losses per week. The reasons for this are mostly (sorry to disappoint) water weight. You drop excess water quickly, and you can have up to 5 lbs of water weight. The next biggest reason is the fat that is right next to the blood vessels, the stuff that you put on in the last month or three, it will melt like butter usually.

Phase 2. Reality setting in.
At about week 3 to a month or so, people suddenly realize that they are no longer dropping 8, 6, or even 4 lbs a week. This is a crutial phase in your journey. Expect this, it is natural. You have shocked your body by changing both eating habits and exercise routine. Now it has had a little while to become used to the new lifestyle, it's going to compensate. Your body still doesn't believe it's permenant yet, so it will still try to store some fat, so now that it knows how to regulate it's new metabolic levels, it tryies to store fat in earnest. It's not uncommon for people to hit a wall here, no loss for weeks. Expect this as well.

Phase 3. The routine.
At about 2 months or so, your routine is pretty much set, your body is beginning to believe that you really want to STAY the way you are going now. You will start to see more consistant (but lower, usually 1 to 2 lbs a week) loss, also, you should start seeing some muscle tone (depending on how much you had to lose in the first place). If you stop to think, you should realize that you have improved dramatically in your exercise levels. If you do cardio, you should notice how much longer and harder you can work. This is important to realize as it is just as big of an indicator as weight loss. Also, by now you may notice that your clothes no longer fit right. This is also very important. The weight may not be falling off anymore, but you are becomming a smaller person. Weight is arbitrary, if you are building muscle (which your body is doing at a furious pace by now) you won't notice huge losses, but you will notice wholesale changes in the mirror!

Phase 4. Really digging in.
This is where the second wall can happen. You're probably at between 3 and 4 months by now, and if you have gone this far, you feel like you have already suceeded. This is where many people stumble. they are tired of the routine, tired of eating different things from all their friends, limiting their alcohol intake. Basically the shine has worn off. this is when your really need to plant your feet. Maybe change up your exercise routine, make a concentrated effort to find different, but still nutritional food. Talk to people. And examine how far you have come. At this point, no matter how much external motivation you receive, it's all about believing in yourself!

Phase 5. End game.
5 or 6 months in you are probably working on that "last 10 pounds". This can be discouraging for many as it is a slow burn. Remember, your body probably feels like it is where it needs to be, your brain might think you need to lose 10 more, but your body is quite proud of itself now, it feels like it has "Done enough" and it wants to stay RIGHT HERE. The body LIKES to have a little fat around just in case, especially for the ladies (sorry girls, it's just human physiology). If you feel like you still need to lose it, prepare yourself for some guerrila warfare against your body. Design an exercise regimen that is very dynamic, forget the "same thing every day". Make a plan that challenges you both physically and mentally. Make sure you give yourself a day off here and there to just veg. And by all means, remember, muscle burns fat at rest. So get some weight or resistance training involved.
The last 10 may take 3 to 6 months to lose. I know nobody wants to hear that, but it's true. And forget the idea of increasing your calorie deficite, healthy bodies need good nutrition, your body no longer has the fat reserves to handle the large deficites you could when you were 30 40 or 50 pounds overweight. Better to make it a 3 or 400 calorie deficite (NET, please count your exercise calories too!). It may take a bit longer, but your body will like you for it. Plus it feeds those new muscles and keeps them burning fat, keeps your skin healthy (elasticity is important when you want those places that were stretched out to "snap back") and keeps you from getting head aches and depressed.

Conclusion:

this is what I have learned, not just from my journey, but from others as well on here. It saddens me sometimes to see people hit one of these stages and not recognize it for what it is, a part of the process. If we all can have realistic expectations, then we are more prone to win the fight and stay healthy in the long run. Note that some people will hit these stages harder then others, some may take longer, but for the most part, this is the rule that the exceptions will come from. "
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