confused and discouraged

It sounds like your body is hoarding the calories because of the workouts. You need to do some strength training and a little less cardio for a couple of days. I hit a plateau for almost 4 days and ended up going out to dinner one night and got more protein than I normally take in as well as some starches which I don't usually eat. I also added some aerobics (25 minutes) a few times a week and I'm losing again. Good luck

don't give up!! i don't have any advice for you other than that. you inspire me and i'm sure lots of others because you are working so hard! don't overdo it and be patient with yourself. you're doing great and you're making yourself more healthy for yourself and your family!

I don't know about you,,, but I didn't get fat in 5 weeks. :laugh:

Parience is a virtue. This takes time and stick-to-itiveness. You're doing fine, what you're experiencing is normal and we've all been there. Just relax and stay with it and you'll get there. We're all making progress.

You don't lose this game until you quit playing - so don't.

Here's something I posted a while back,,, read this over and think about the changes you've seen already.

"""Lot of changes since I joined MFP and started a healthier lifestyle,,,

My BP was 150/90, now it's 110/65

My resting pulse was 76, now it's 56.

3 flights of steps used to wind me, now I can climb 10 flights at steady pace.

The first 5 minutes on an elliptical machine killed me, now I do 20 minutes every morning and increase my load by increasing intensity.

I used to suffer from severe sleep apnea, and didn't sleep soundly enough to dream for several years and spent my days dead on my feet. Now I sleep much better and have loads of energy and dream nearly every night.

I spend my weekends teaching motorcycling, which involves hours & hours of walking around on blacktop moving orange cones around - plus a little teaching and riding. Last year I did it at 265 pounds, and it almost killed me. I finished every class feeling completely burned out.

Well,,, This past weekend I taught my first class of the new season, and guess what - it was easy! I mean really no biggie easy. Worked the day job friday. I taught a classroom session Friday night 6-10pm. Then I taught for 14 hours on Saturday, then I did it again on Sunday. I was tired at the end, but not "lay down and die" tired, and that's a great great thing.

I weighed 270 pounds when I started, and now I've been in the low 230's for close to a month. I look and feel much better and I've basically accomplished the health goals I had, but I still want that 200 number. I think 'm at Bank's dreaded phase 4:

"""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! """

So here we are. I'm on a plateau, still working and watching the chow and being careful and yet I'm not reducing much right now, and I'm pretty Ok with that. In my case I'm not really that tempted to fall off the wagon, because I've yo-yoed before and I know how easy it is to lose what I've gained.

Stay with it guys,,, it may take a long time to get where you want to be - and I'm certainly not there yet - but every little bit is better than where you were, and that's pretty good too.

Banks' seminal work:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

One thing I am wondering about is that I do save calories for my nightly vodka and diet coke. Could this be what is keeping me from loosing weight?? I drink more than enough water each day but I do love my wind down drink of the night. just curious.

I don't think there is anything wrong with one drink each night. However, I would suggest perhaps some healthier alternatives like a glass of red wine? If you have your heart set on diet coke and vodka I'd suggest drinking caffiene free diet coke so it won't keep you up at night.

Do you drink a lot of diet pop throughout the day? I've read several threads that diet pop can hinder weightloss ...

Do you want to lose weight?
Do you want to be healthier?

Were you doing either following your former lifestyle?


Have you lost weight?
Are you healthier?

Every ounce lost is a blessing. Why would you want to give up on progress and a healthier lifestyle?

Well Said!!!

Well muscle weights more the fat. That will show on the scale. Keep doing what you're doing and soon you will see a diffence. It took me a long time before is the weight change. Just keep up the good work. You'll get it. Have faith in yourself.

Muscle doesn't weigh more then fat, muscle is lean therefore takes up less room, a pound is a pound.

7 lbs = 24,500 calories.

I like this thinking process.

Also I save my diet coke for my night "dessert" as I call it. I only drink 1 a day and that is the one I choose. The rest of the day is water water water

Is it caffiene free?

Honestly, i don't think a drink a day will hurt your weightloss especially if you are saving some calories for it. Hopefully you make smaller drinks than me. I tend to use big glasses :blushing:

1 lb of muscle doesnt weigh more than 1lb of fat....

I found this article because I see is so many posts people saying that muscle weighs more than fat.

A pound is a pound, no matter what the 2 items are that are being weighed.............

Muscle takes up less space.....




QUOTE:

5 lbs. of fat is much bulkier than the 5 lbs. of muscle, but five pounds is still five pounds. Muscle does not weigh more than fat.

Fat is bulky and lumpy so if you carry an extra five pounds of fat, you'll be lumpier than with five pounds more muscle. A five pound pile of fat will take up more space (volume) than a five pound pile of muscle; but five pounds is still five pounds, so for those of you that don't "get" English, you cannot say one thing weighing a certain weight weighs more than another thing at that same weight. It's a common joke to play on an 8-year old. The correct way to state the muscle weighs more than fat scenario is, "Muscle is heavier by volume than fat."

A woman weighing 150 pounds with 19% fat will look much smaller (and be much healthier) than a woman at 150 pounds with 35% fat. They weigh the same, yet the composition is different. Because muscle is more dense than fat the person with less fat and more muscle will look smaller.

Stop being so obsessed with body weight and start paying attention to body composition. How much body fat do you have compared to muscle? Simply seeing how much you weigh isn't very helpful.

Alcohol is not conducive to weight loss. Ever wonder why they call it a beer belly? I find if I have a coupl of glasses of wine, my weight loss slows down. I have a drink very rarely now and I use dto have them nearly every night.