feeling discouraged

raebear79
raebear79 Posts: 17
edited December 17 in Health and Weight Loss
So I am 33 years old and have 3 kids under the age of 6. Love my babies of course but not thrilled with the way my body is. I try to go to the gym 3 times a week and get some sort of activity daily. My calorie intake is set at 1200 and I generally stay within my limits. The problem is my weight doesnt really seem to be changing. I just keep going up and down by 1-2 pounds. I weigh myself every day and get so discouraged when the numbers are not going down. What am I doing wrong? My gym workout is about 30min cardio, 20 min of weights and 10 min of stretching. Any suggestions..I am trying to be patient but I get fraustrated when my hardwork produces no results.

Replies

  • CleanCarol
    CleanCarol Posts: 26
    I understand the frustration of trying to lose weight!

    It took me some time to get into the groove, and now I see the weight falling off of me. I was exercising, watching what I ate, etc. and did drop a clothing size, but basically was maintaining my weight. I learned that I needed to eliminate some foods from my diet completely (starchy carbs), increase water intake, and double my veggies. I do eat about 1600-1800 calories a day currently - but in my workouts I burn between 400 and 600 calories (and I work out 6 days a week). On my rest day, I cut back on my calories consumed to about 1200-1400 calories.

    I only weigh in once a week. I personally prefer to go by my measurements. I keep a pair of pants the next size smaller in my closet and try them on once a week, and when they fit, I put a smaller size pair of pants in the closet for the next "fitting." Each week I notice how I can zip them when I couldn't before, or I can get them over my hips when I couldn't before....

    I have also noticed that as I build muscle, I need to re-evaluate what my ideal weight should be. People look at me and think I weight 30-40 pounds less than I do. My ticker says I need to lose 80 total, but that could easily be unrealistic for me at this point.

    If you are able to, try consulting with a trainer at your gym to review your exercise plan and food journal. They are trained to do that! You aren't that far from your goal, so unfortunately it won't fall off in a week. But with consistency, it will go away.

    Good luck!

    Carol
  • bsinno
    bsinno Posts: 344 Member
    trust the process. it took time to gain the weight, it will take time to loose it as well. keep drinking lots of water and try not to eat too late at night!! its so hard to work out with kids, i only have 1 and it seems impossible some days!!!
  • Coco_Puff
    Coco_Puff Posts: 823 Member
    Are you eating back your exercise calories? Also find out what you BMR is and never eat less than that or you will cause your weightloss to stall. Once you find out what your BMR is make sure you net at least at many calories each day. If you still find the scale is not moving, keep up with your measurements and how your jeans are fitting. The scale will lie to you.
  • Rachiebee7
    Rachiebee7 Posts: 9 Member
    I am the same, last year for my holiday i was on weight watchers and lost 7 lbs but that took from march to july and i was sticking to it and exercising an hour 4 days a week i was wondering what was going on and started weighing myself every day but now im weighing myself when i first start the exercise routine (christmas i cant exercise lol) then weight myself every 8 weeks and just measure myself everyweek, its hard but i feel better i feel like my life isnt ruled by a number on a scale, my clothes feel slacker and i lost an inch on my waist and inch on my hips last week.
    It takes your body a few weeks to get used to the metabolism change, make sure your eating enough, not too much and not too less. aim for a lb a week and keep at it, also change your exercise every 4 weeks to challenge your body...xxx
  • rjo921
    rjo921 Posts: 130
    :smile: Like many that have posted on this thread....I know what it feels like and be discouraged. You are doing everything correctly....watching what you eat...exercising...getting enough rest....and you see nothing. I have been there....actually I am still there. But you cannot give up on yourself. Like some have said it takes a while for your body to get used to moving more. And I know that some have stated whether or not you are eating enough....if you are exercising....then 1200 might not be enough. And the scale is not really your friend. (I know that from experience) There are so many variables...water weight that changes every day...that time of the month...etc. I take my measurements the 15th of every month....and that's it. The scale might not budge....but if I keep loosing those inches that ends up being a heck of a lot better for you. Again, don't feel discouraged....keep up the fight!
  • cleavagefurrow
    cleavagefurrow Posts: 47 Member
    First off, don't weigh yourself every day. You'll get overly excited and overly discouraged way too easily. Weigh yourself once a week, and at the same time of day (e.g. every Wednesday morning at 8am after you pee and before breakfast). But don't use the scale as your only guide. Record you measurements and compare them weekly as well. You might be making more progress than you think.

    Second, make sure you're logging your calories and exercise correctly. Sometimes we think we're eating fewer calories than we actually are, or that we're burning more calories. If you're not sure about your food portions, you could always get a food scale. I found that is helping me accurately measure my calories.

    Third, don't give up!!! You can do it!! :) Losing fat the healthy way is a slow process, and the less you need to lose, the slower it can be. Be patient and keep logging your calories and exercising!
  • raebear79
    raebear79 Posts: 17
    Thanks to everyone that responded..I really appreciate the suggestions and encouragement. I have had body image issues since I was a young girl and it is hard to not beat myself up when I look in the mirror. I need to give myself more time to make changes. I think my first step is only weighing myself once a week. That way my focus can be more on a healthy lifestyle and less on the number. I am also going to try to increase the number of days I work out. I have acheived my goal weight before so I should be able to get there again...however i am a few years older and now have 3 kids so it may take longer then i would like
  • raebear79
    raebear79 Posts: 17
    Wish I could go back to basic training/bootcamp...lost tons of weight then. Of course it was non-stop exercise from sun up tp sun down and food was very regulated. Need my drill sgt. yelling at me to get my butt into shape:laugh:
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