Discouraged

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austinsneeze
austinsneeze Posts: 222 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have gained about 30 pounds the past two years, and I finally decided it's time to change. The past week and a half, I've been exercising daily (at least 30 minutes) and I've been keeping under my calorie limit (1200, or more depending on how much I exercise) and I haven't lost much. I eat healthy meals, and I have healthy snacks every few hours, but I feel like nothing is happening. I am so discouraged!!

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  • hellosteph11
    hellosteph11 Posts: 33
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    Don't give up!

    What kind of exercising do you do? Maybe you should switch it up.
    When I first started working out it took me 3 weeks to see any changes and my weightloss wasn't even close to 10 pounds haha. Sometimes the change is on your body but not the scale.
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
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    I have gained about 30 pounds the past two years, and I finally decided it's time to change. The past week and a half, I've been exercising daily (at least 30 minutes) and I've been keeping under my calorie limit (1200, or more depending on how much I exercise) and I haven't lost much. I eat healthy meals, and I have healthy snacks every few hours, but I feel like nothing is happening. I am so discouraged!!
    You gained the weight in 730 days and you spent 10 trying to lose it. Keep at it. If after a month things still stay the same, try eating more
  • xarla16
    xarla16 Posts: 84 Member
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    Here's how I see it. I gained 48lbs in the last 6 years. I did not wake up one day and suddenly have this weight on (although sometimes it feels like it). I didn't put it on in a day, and it's not going to come off in a day. Be patient, work hard and you'll start to see the results. Be happy about every single pound you lose and make smaller goals to get to your big goal. Remember "haven't lost much" still means that you lost!
  • austinsneeze
    austinsneeze Posts: 222 Member
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    I usually do 30 minutes to an hour of cardio, plus I try to focus on my arms or abs or something.
  • jemachharo
    jemachharo Posts: 144 Member
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    If you open your diary, we might be able to help. It's not just how much you eat, but what you eat. For me, all calories are NOT created equal. I struggled for years. Finally found I have Vitamin D and progesterone deficiencies - both were making me gain weight. I also learned I am allergic to certain foods - they also were making me gain weight. I've had to give up all processed foods - I only now only eat fresh and mostly organic veggies, fruits, and meats. My body does not like starches - bread, pasta, rice, potatoes - I gain like crazy if I eat them (even when staying under my calorie limit).
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
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    It takes a few weeks for your body to adjust to a new exercise program and diet. Some people get fast results, others don't see anything for over a month! You have to be patient, you're making a huge change in your life.
    Give yourself a bit of a break each week from exercise. Give your body time to heal in between sessions. This may actually help boost your losses. Rest is as important, if not more important, than doing the exercise itself! 1200 is a low calorie limit. Generically used, but low for most people. You might have more success with a little more food. Maybe. These are just suggestions!
    Have patience, you'll get there!
  • sk2775
    sk2775 Posts: 703 Member
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    You just started. Give your body some time to get used to all the healthy changes that you are making. Also, try to eat to 1200 or above it (on days that you workout). Give it some more time and you should see the scale start to move down.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    I have gained about 30 pounds the past two years, and I finally decided it's time to change. The past week and a half, I've been exercising daily (at least 30 minutes) and I've been keeping under my calorie limit (1200, or more depending on how much I exercise) and I haven't lost much. I eat healthy meals, and I have healthy snacks every few hours, but I feel like nothing is happening. I am so discouraged!!

    You see that stuff under your "snacks" in your food diary - cut all those out and those calories that you save, stick them into your main meals - fruit, veg, meat, fish, eggs - all these foods I have just listed can be incorporated into your breakfast, lunch and dinner, choose wisely and there is no need for those snacks that are empty calories.

    The weight should then fall off, providing you are not overestimating the calories burned from exercise (if you eat those back) :)
  • austinsneeze
    austinsneeze Posts: 222 Member
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    I think my diary is open. It says "public" on the settings.. but I'm new on this site so I might be wrong! ha http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/austinsneeze
  • austinsneeze
    austinsneeze Posts: 222 Member
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    The problem is, I'm still in high school, so from the time I eat breakfast to the time I have lunch, there is 9 entire hours where I'm not eating. So most of the "snacks" are throughout my day at school
  • RhythmGypsi
    RhythmGypsi Posts: 79 Member
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    You may want to up your calories, m'dear. 1,200 kcal is required by your body per day for basic daily functioning. Going under makes you retain fat because your body thinks that you are starving. Why would it want to give up fat, when it can give up muscle? Fat keeps you warm :) I started at 1,220 kcal and over the past three weeks, I've slowly upped it to 1,400 kcal. By upping, I have lost even more weight per week than I did when I when I was just 1,220 kcal. I will keep upping it until I get to a kcal level that either evens me out, or causes me to gain weight. Then I will back down again.

    The less you have to lose, the harder it is to lose :) Also, do you do cardio? Strength training makes your muscles strong, and revvs up your metabolism, but cardio helps you lose weight.

    Good luck!

    ~ Jen

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    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Weight Loss Tools
  • KidTarget
    KidTarget Posts: 12 Member
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    My wife had a similar experience. She was religiously keeping under her calorie limit, and going to the gym. However, she saw no discernible difference on the scale, although she was losing sizes in her clothing. It turns it appears she was toning the muscle mass she has, and after she got through with the cycle the weight has started falling off. Do not get discouraged keep it up!
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    The past week and a half, I've been exercising daily (at least 30 minutes) and I've been keeping under my calorie limit (1200, or more depending on how much I exercise) and I haven't lost much.

    How much is not much? Unfortunately weight loss is a slow, boring process, and a week and a half is not much to go on. Give it some more time! There's nothing wrong with snacking, as long as you meet your calorie and macro goals, it won't affect your weight loss.

    You might want to start tracking sodium in your diary. If you're getting a lot of sodium that might be making you retain water and mask any fat loss when you weigh yourself. It's also a good idea to start measuring yourself. Although those changes can be even slower than the scale, it can help to reassure you when the scale stays the same but you lose inches.

    If you have set your goal to lose 2 lbs a week, you might want to adjust that to maybe 1 lb a week. 2 lbs is quite an aggressive goal for someone with only 30 lbs to lose (it's more realistic for someone who is very obese.)

    I would also recommend strength training (although this might temporarily stall your loss on the scale even more) - it helps with maintaining muscle and losing fat.

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