Seriously discouraged

amyloooo
amyloooo Posts: 28 Member
edited November 11 in Motivation and Support
I've gained two pounds each week for the past three weeks, despite continuing on the same path that's yielded terrific results for the previous six months. Trying to pinpoint all the possible reasons.

1) I could be tiring of the routine, and maybe cheating in little ways. Will try to cut out even the little cheats, and maybe vary the diet and workout routine to "trick" my body. Does that make any sense?

2) Have been doing a little more strength training, but that muscle-weighs-more-than-fat argument only goes so far -- I think? Couldn't account for more than 2-3 pounds over the course of a month?

3) Have been consuming a little more milk.

Any other ideas? Thanks. I guess I should be grateful it's my first hitch. But I always thought my plateau would mean staying even.
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Replies

  • Jamie65toloose
    Jamie65toloose Posts: 152 Member
    Dont get discouraged. I would try to just mix things up a little bit. Eat about 100 calories more a day for about a week. Do a different workout for that same week as well. What workouts are you currently doing?
  • amyloooo
    amyloooo Posts: 28 Member
    Thanks, jtorg. Sounds like good advice. I walk about 70-80 minutes a day, but may need to step up the intensity. Also do lower body (abs and legs) with no weights, and upper body with light hand weights -- each type on alternating days.
  • marquesajen
    marquesajen Posts: 641
    You may want to try jogging or riding a bike, definitely change up your routine. are you eating lots of fresh vegetables and fruit?
  • charneus
    charneus Posts: 66
    Check out my post about the reason you fail at losing weight (under General Weight Loss tips or whatever it is). In it, I talk about how losing weight isn't what's necessary, but getting physically fit is the accomplishment you really need. Losing weight will come naturally.

    You've got the community behind you, though, and we will all win, one day. :)
  • ahavoc
    ahavoc Posts: 464 Member
    you should make your diary public so we can see what you are eating. It would make it easier to give advice
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
    How do your clothes feel? are they getting looser? Not all the time are we going to lose weight, even though we are burning fat and gaining muscle.
  • preachingirl
    preachingirl Posts: 12 Member
    you are not allowed to get discouraged!! :D You have done an awesome job!!!! I was doing teh same workout for several years but not losing a pound. You probably aleady know wht's up, so what is going to be your new goal? New dress, bathing suit? Tell us all how you managed to do so well already please..
  • thistimewillwork
    thistimewillwork Posts: 2
    Dont get discouraged. I would try to just mix things up a little bit. Eat about 100 calories more a day for about a week. Do a different workout for that same week as well. What workouts are you currently doing?

    Do this! You've lost a lot of weight already so it could be that you aren't eating enough.
  • silverpen193
    silverpen193 Posts: 16
    Are you eating and drinking enough? If your calories are too low you will go into starvation mode, and if you arent drinking enough your body will hold onto water weight. I know you may have ruled these out already but thought it was worth repeating as that is what tends to make me hold on..
  • danigirl1011
    danigirl1011 Posts: 314 Member
    Have you ever done re-feeding? I think at this point if i was in this place i would still do the workouts, but i would add more calories for one week. Not saying go crazy eating anything you want, but maybe add in a few more fatty foods (things you love as treats) and go for about 2,000 calories then after a week cut back down to whatever you have been doing. Sometimes it tricks your body like you're starting all over. I do it ever friday/saturday night and still lose 2 pounds per week. I really don't think the milk matters, btw. ;)
  • berniefri
    berniefri Posts: 2 Member
    OK...you have done great and I only hope for results similar to yours as time progresses. I think you have it right, and that your body needs a bit of a break.
    Change it up, workout and what you are eating. You may need to feed your metabolism too. I used to think that was crazy, but it seemed a beneficial thing to do. The trick is not to be so good to yourself that you can't return to your new lifestyle.
    Remember that plateau thing, and the exercise, and maybe you do need to go back to weighing and measuring. Maybe the new weight you have reached needs fewer calories.
    Hang in there, and keep up the great work. I can only aspire to your results so far.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    It's anyone's guess. Let's see that diary.
  • npeters519
    npeters519 Posts: 87 Member
    Don't get too "comfy" make sure you measure and weigh everything you eat so you know your portions are spot-on. I know when I'm getting comfortable in my routine I start to eyeball things and that usually adds up against me.
  • twilightobession
    twilightobession Posts: 101 Member
    I can understand your pain. I am discouraged too. Today and yesterday have been awful. Real life has been so busy that I do not know if I am coming or going. I have not any been able to complete my food dairy for yesterday. So busy yesterday...we had pizza for supper. I know it was bad and what makes is even worse is we did not eat till after 8:30. I did not get my water in yesterday and today is not looking real good either. YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    BUT........WE WILL DO BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Real life is going to happen every day and we just need to work through it.

    I think you need to change things up abit. Do different exercises and change up your diet some. What about your water intake????

    Good luck!!!!!!!
  • amyloooo
    amyloooo Posts: 28 Member
    Really appreciate all the encouragement, everyone. It helps, and I'll try some of these suggestions. Shoot -- I'll try them all (except the contradictory ones (eat more, eat less). Will also figure out how to make my diary public. Thanks again.
  • CynthiaWinnie
    CynthiaWinnie Posts: 28
    You need muscle confusion. Get a trainer, change up your routine. Change the calories consumed in myfitnesspal, drop it by at least 100 pounds. Also when you exercise, change the calories burned to 0. Dont let myfitnesspal add those calories to your total so you eat those calories as well. Put your scale in your basement and dont stand on it for 1 MONTH. It is de-motivating.
  • 2catowner
    2catowner Posts: 94
    I'm seriously discouraged as well. Have not logged in for MONTHS, but have been working out, but obviously not watching my diet. Gave up wine for Lent, hope this helps, trying to keep my caloric intake at about 1500 per day. Doing "burst training" and a new weight training routine. Lifting more/heavier wts than ever before. Let me know if anyone has any suggestions. Also, try to drink lots of water...
  • japruzze
    japruzze Posts: 453 Member
    Your diary isn't open so I can't see what/when you're eating. I've been told on more than one occaission and although I fight it, it has worked every time...Eat more and exercise less. Sometimes you just have too. Now that doesn't means eat an entire pizza but add a 100 or so healthy calories to your normal eating plan and cut back on your exercise 10-20% (time or number of days depending on what you're doing). Drives me crazy but it works.
  • tstorr
    tstorr Posts: 56 Member
    I was on LA Weightloss Diet 6 years ago and was losing and had a plateau and I added a serving of protien a day and I started to lose again. They told me because I worked out that I needed extra protein. I havent seen your diary so I dont know how much protein you get but it was an easy fix for me. And I like to eat meat.
  • amyloooo
    amyloooo Posts: 28 Member
    OK. I've made my diary public. Do most of you choose that setting -- or set to friends only?
  • iwillberipped
    iwillberipped Posts: 27 Member
    Change things up...you can't let your body get into the same habit. It knows what to expect, change your meals around and what you are consuming for a few weeks. Confuse your muscles with a variety of different workouts so it doesn't know what to expect to break through.
  • ingfit
    ingfit Posts: 180 Member
    You should read this thread. It really explains why it happens and how to fix it. Basically the closer you get to your goal, the more you should eat closer to your TDEE (maintenance) calories.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/501511-great-read-on-plateau-ing

    Hope this helps.
  • potluck965
    potluck965 Posts: 529 Member
    Are you measuring your exercise with a heart rate monitor? I pretty much do the dog walking thing as my exercise and when I got an HRM I found that MFP seriously overestimates the calories burned. Also, our bodies adapt well to walking exercises and the more you do and get your body used to it, the less you will burn in any given time period.

    At the very least a good pedometer will give you a better estimate than MFP does on this articular form of exercise.
  • LeeDahlen38
    LeeDahlen38 Posts: 120 Member
    You're not tracking sugar. I would add sugar to your diary then look to see what those 200 Carbs a day yield in Sugar. I know Slimfast if off the charts if you add it to milk. I just went thru this and found out a healthy male on 2000 cals a day should ingest no more than 40g/day. I was taking in about 150 +- in carbs but they were yielding 130g sugar a day!! Since I'm not healthy and on a 1500 I cut it to 30 for me. first week. Just wrote a fact filled blog on this if interested and yep I really did lose 10.5 this week. Lee

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/commander38/view/i-know-you-want-answers-10-lbs-one-week-216578
  • hbkanumalla
    hbkanumalla Posts: 61 Member
    First off, congrats on the 59lbs lost so far!

    I just looked at a few days of your diary and noticed a few things. The first thing is that you haven't been logging water intake. How much water do you drink during the day? Although you don't need to drink tons, drinking water for me has helped

    I'd also recommend adding sodium intake to your diary. For me, I know that I do retain water if my sodium level is high for several days. For that, go to settings -> diary settings -> and add sodium to nutrients tracked.

    These are just my recommendations. I know that's worked for me, but what works for one doesn't always work for everyone. I hope that some of this helps. Also, don't get too discouraged...you're making a lot of progress!
  • amyloooo
    amyloooo Posts: 28 Member
    Oh man. So much to consider now. Maybe I'd best try one thing at a time (you know, in the scientific method sense). Anyway can't say how much I appreciate the informed input.

    I don't walk with a heartrate monitor but do use a pedometer app on my phone. The actually MPH usually averages more like 3.2, a little faster than the "walking dog" rate, but I'm not always feeling like I'm working hard enough.

    And, yeah, the sugar thing. I know in my heart that's a factor, and it has been a recent thing. It may be my answer. But I don't know! (But I'll get to the bottom of it with all your help, thanks again so much.)
  • Tara4boys
    Tara4boys Posts: 515 Member
    Congratulations on your success. There are many good things about your food log. Two things I noticed and they kind of go hand in hand.

    Maybe more fruits and vegetables... there were quite a few days with none. Most of your days have very little fiber.


    Another idea would be go to maintenance for a week and then go back to calorie reduction. Just to give your system a week-off of having to operate at a deficit.

    GOOD LUCK!
  • velvetkat
    velvetkat Posts: 454 Member
    People have had a lot of good tips for you but I thought I would add my 2 cents. Tracking your sodium as well as your sugar would be a good idea as you tend to eat a lot of processed foods and that may be keeping your weight up by retaining more water. Adding sugar tracking too as someone suggested is a good idea. A lot of times people who stall out at their loss are eating too much sugar.
    I have read that people tend to underestimate their calories by 40% and over estimate their exercise by 20% so if you arent using a HRM or a scale to weight and measure your food you may actually be eating more calories and burning less. This is one reason why I PERSONALLY feel that eating ALL your exercise calories is a bad thing.
    Keep at it as you are doing a super job it just needs some tweaking by you to find out what works the best!

    When you try different things people have said dont expect results overnight. give it time to work!

    Good luck!
  • daveandkika
    daveandkika Posts: 1 Member
    Hi! I know I just started this thing here, but I've been watching my weight forever.....and I have a few suggestions for you. I am not at all a Guru or anything like that, but this is what has worked for me for years.
    Try to eat 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day, complete with protein, carbs and fruits/veggies. The ideal would be 3 modest meals plus 1 healthy snack and 1 protein smoothie (look up the Green Monster Smoothie, it is packed with everything you need!).
    Limit your carbs at dinner time, and try not to eat past 7 pm.
    I noticed you often stay well under the calories you should be eating, and you always are way over in protein and way under in carbs and fat. I would try to stay closer to the range suggested. It's ok to stay a little under in carbs and fat, and eat more proteins since you seem to exercise a lot, but I would try to stay closer to the guidelines, because your metabolism needs a certain amount of fat to stay running smooth.
    You need to eat to lose weight!!! You shouldn't feel hungry, you should eat before you feel hungry. That will boost up your metabolism a great deal. As soon as you get up in the morning, have a smoothie or a small apple to kick start your metabolism.
    If you have to eat let's say 10,500 cal per week, try not to eat exactly 1500 cal. per day. Eat one day 1400, one day 1600. Change it up a little, it's another way to trick your metabolism and keep it guessing!
    Drink lots of water.

    This is exactly what I am trying to do. I hope it helps at least a little. Please don't give up. You have done so much and so many people would do anything to get to your results. A small set back is more than normal. You just need to make some small adjustments and you will see, you will be losing again in no time :)

    Let me know how it goes.....
  • getfitnfab
    getfitnfab Posts: 418 Member
    Congrats on losing 59 pounds lost, that is huge
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