Discouraged and in need of some serious help...

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Nicolette_Karls
Nicolette_Karls Posts: 88
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been on stall mode for about 6 weeks now. No weight lost, no inches changed. Despite drinking all my water, staying under my calories, and making a point to get in exercise at least twice a week, nothing is working. I upped my calories 2/3 weeks ago and started doing more strength training (lots of leg squats and a little bit of arms). I even started cycling my calories to try and boost metabolism. But still, nothing.

If anyone has any ideas that could help me, I am all ears. Because as of late...well I am just about ready to accept my fate.

Here's my background:
Female
19 yrs old
About 5ft 4
Currently 140 lbs
Goal 120 lbs (which is on the lower end; ideally I want to be 130lbs, but set it lower to push myself more)
Current calories are 1,380
I have asthma (so no jogging/running/sprinting for longer than about 5 mins)
My arms hyper-extend (With my hand palm down, I can flip my elbow almost all the way around) which makes arm exercises such as weights and push-ups difficult
My legs also hyper-extend, but is less problematic because my leg muscles are stronger

If you look at my diary (I'm not sure if it's open or not), the past 2 weeks have had a lot more fast food (being home from college and constantly traveling will do that), but even before the barrage of sodium nothing was changing.

If somebody can help me, I would be so grateful. I'm just very, very discouraged right now :cry:
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Replies

  • Nicolette_Karls
    Nicolette_Karls Posts: 88
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    Bumping this in the hopes someone will see it and help me out.
  • crudd123
    crudd123 Posts: 244 Member
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    Your diary is not public! But what I did to break a plateau is I cut my carbs down to 60 a day for a week and I lost 3 pounds! Try playing around with how many carbs you eat a day and see if that helps! Good luck to you!
  • miss_september
    miss_september Posts: 153
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    Try taking a week off from working out. Sounds crazy, but that got me through a couple of plateaus before (it was recommended by a nutritionist I met with). Good luck!
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    You are at a healthy BMI now so any loss is going to take extreme vigilance and patience. I'd cut out the fast food 100%. The calorie counts on those are based on spec portions and I think they give you a lot more in reality. I'd cut down to 1200 calories. If you're not losing at 1380 you're burning less or tracking wrong, assuming no body composition changes. If you're tracking wrong, you'll probably still be tracking wrong at 1200 and eating more than that but you'll be lower and should lose. Whatever you try, give it a month before trying some new idea. It's too hard to tell what's working without really giving one thing a good span.

    I've never heard of loose joints barring someone from exercise. Can you dance? Play Wii? Do yoga? Swim? Walk more? Lots of options!

    Good luck!
  • Nicolette_Karls
    Nicolette_Karls Posts: 88
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    Thanks everyone!

    Mcarter: if course it doesn't stop me from working out. It just makes certain strength training exercises more challenging because my joints are more likely to pop out and become locked or injured. I have actually been doing a lot of exercise lately, as I've been umpiring youth softball (and chasing those kids around the bases is pretty tiring!)
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    I stalled for long long time as well. I thought I logged everything honestly but I didn't. Last month I started really logging, I mean truthfully. and I started losing again.

    I am not saying you are cheating...it's hard to get everything accurate even using the database here. But it might be something you can look into?

    Good luck!
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    Thanks everyone!

    Mcarter: if course it doesn't stop me from working out. It just makes certain strength training exercises more challenging because my joints are more likely to pop out and become locked or injured. I have actually been doing a lot of exercise lately, as I've been umpiring youth softball (and chasing those kids around the bases is pretty tiring!)

    You look terrific. Most of the world does 'resistance training' without ever touching a dumbbell or barbell. Rock climbing, yoga, cycling (uphill for resistance), squats, lunges, crunches, hiking (uphill), gardening (lifting bags of soil and squatting, etc.), parenting (lifting heavy babies), carrying home the groceries ... Don't feel like you need to pump iron to stay healthy! Good job on the umpiring.
  • Nicolette_Karls
    Nicolette_Karls Posts: 88
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    Thanks everyone!

    Mcarter: if course it doesn't stop me from working out. It just makes certain strength training exercises more challenging because my joints are more likely to pop out and become locked or injured. I have actually been doing a lot of exercise lately, as I've been umpiring youth softball (and chasing those kids around the bases is pretty tiring!)

    You look terrific. Most of the world does 'resistance training' without ever touching a dumbbell or barbell. Rock climbing, yoga, cycling (uphill for resistance), squats, lunges, crunches, hiking (uphill), gardening (lifting bags of soil and squatting, etc.), parenting (lifting heavy babies), carrying home the groceries ... Don't feel like you need to pump iron to stay healthy! Good job on the umpiring.

    Thanks. I like to do Wii games (Just Dance 3 is awesome!). And with the umpiring, there are lots of squats! I've been trying really hard to make this work, but I can't seem to drop any weight. I was at 150 when I started, which is "obese" for my height. But it seems ever since I hit that BMI of 24 (barely healthy), I just can't get anymore weight or inches to go. And I'm trying to eat better, as someone before mentioned cutting all fast food from my diet, but I have to travel for umpiring and my sister's softball and the only thing around is fast food. I'm never over my calories either.

    And addressing the earlier comment about only eating 1200, I did that about 8 weeks ago and it sent my body into shut-down. I had no energy, got ill easy, and soon wasn't eating even the 1200. I brought it back up to the 1300's because my body needed it. I'm just getting frustrated =(
  • heyitstilly
    heyitstilly Posts: 6
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    I am definitely in the same position :( I just got into the 24-ish BMI range and now I feel like my body doesn't want to budge! This week even, I decided no carbs and a lot of exercise (3 aerobic sessions, walking dogs for 30 minutes a day) but it made no impact.
  • Nicolette_Karls
    Nicolette_Karls Posts: 88
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    I am definitely in the same position :( I just got into the 24-ish BMI range and now I feel like my body doesn't want to budge! This week even, I decided no carbs and a lot of exercise (3 aerobic sessions, walking dogs for 30 minutes a day) but it made no impact.

    If you find something that works, let me know!
  • angelashay42
    angelashay42 Posts: 286
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    If I were you I would revamp my diet. Cut out all the junk you're eating. No more fast food! That stuff is toxic. It's all chemicals, you might as well be eating plastic. I know you're still within your calories but they are not nutritious calories. You can't get enough vitamins/minerals/fiber on all that junk.

    Try eating 50% fruits and veggies, 25% whole grains (oatmeal, wheat pasta, wheat bread, brown rice) and 25% meat/dairy.

    Believe me, your body will thank you. You will feel better and you'll have more energy.
  • Krys_140
    Krys_140 Posts: 648 Member
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    Have you tried actually going over your calories on one day, then staying within your calories for a few days, then going over again? I forget what that's called, but it has helped a lot of people through a plateau.
  • alvinder_kaur
    alvinder_kaur Posts: 12
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    u can try doin aerobics for high impact for 5 minutes then cool down for 2 min and get back to high impact again... play with your body metabolism... try including oats in your food... have oni oats at dinner and have a healthy breakfast...

    try and see...
  • angelashay42
    angelashay42 Posts: 286
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    If I were you I would revamp my diet. Cut out all the junk you're eating. No more fast food! That stuff is toxic. It's all chemicals, you might as well be eating plastic. I know you're still within your calories but they are not nutritious calories. You can't get enough vitamins/minerals/fiber on all that junk.

    Try eating 50% fruits and veggies, 25% whole grains (oatmeal, wheat pasta, wheat bread, brown rice) and 25% meat/dairy.

    Believe me, your body will thank you. You will feel better and you'll have more energy.


    From the Taco Bell website:
    Ingredients in just the taco shell:

    Ground Corn treated with Lime, Water, Fumaric Acid, Cellulose Gum, Sodium Propionate, Sorbic Acid, Coloring, Dextrose, Carmine, Maltodextrin, FD&C Yellow #6 Lake. Oil: High-Oleic Low-Linolenic Canola Oil, TBHQ Dimethylpolysiloxane (An Antifoaming Agent). White Corn Flour, Water, Fumaric Acid, Cellulose Gum, Preservatives (Sodium Propionate, Sorbic Acid), Coloring (Dextrose, Carmine, Maltodextrin, FD&C Yellow #6 Lake), Trace Of Lime. Oil: High-Oleic Low-Linolenic Canola Oil, TBHQ (To Protect Flavor), Dimethylpolysiloxane (An Antifoaming Agent).

    You don't even want to know what they put in the meat. Make your own tacos at home with real meat and veggies. =)
  • Christine1110
    Christine1110 Posts: 1,786 Member
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    Weightloss if 70% diet.... Building muscle will really help you too.

    If you cut out all processed foods premade & fast foods, sugar, starchy foods, and only eat good carbs ...fruits & veggies. You will lose weight!!
  • 70davis
    70davis Posts: 348 Member
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    bump
  • RenitaDeShanne
    RenitaDeShanne Posts: 20 Member
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    I have asthma also but I exercise at least 6x per week using the elliptical or walking on the treadmill so far I have not had an attack yet. I think you should increase the cardio and lay off the fast foods ( I know it's hard but It can be done). Also consider watching how much carbs and sugar you intake into your system.
  • IcebergRose
    IcebergRose Posts: 1 Member
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    Well - I am about your height - a lot older - and weigh 134kg - I lost just .25 kg last week and I have been careful. I can empathise as it is discourageing.

    Trick is to be honest with yourself and really look at what you are eating carefully - read the packets - weigh your food if necessary and you will find where those tricky calories are hiding. They will be there if you look for them.

    Almost all take away food for me is deadly - any take away in any week seems to stop all weight loss for me and result in weight gain if I am not super careful. While you want to loose weight stay away from take away - eat five to six small meals a day and try to avoid lying to yourself. Pack some snacks in your handbag and prepare your own meals so you know what is in them.

    You have done a great thing by sharing your angst here because we all share similar struggles. My tip - be totally honest with your self so you can face your self denial kindly and gently - the truth will help you see what is hidden from you right now. Then just keep going - you may be eating what you need to stay at this weight so thats nice to know.
  • CrystalDreams
    CrystalDreams Posts: 418 Member
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    I have asthma and I can work out and swim. Its not really an excuse.....
  • steph124ny
    steph124ny Posts: 238 Member
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    I would start by getting your asthma under control. You should be able to go longer than 5 minutes. If you can't, then you probably need your meds adjusted. My daughter has pretty severe asthma, but she is also a competitve gymnast. We've had to stay right on top of it, but your doctor should be able to help you more.

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