Discouraged....

@omgzstef:

Hang in there! Have you had any other conditions checked out besides your thyroid? What is your carb intake like? I was diagnosed about a month ago with Insulin Resistance--my body creates too much insulin because it's not responding to normal levels of it. I found out that I am eating way too many carbs (mainly in the forms of bread, pasta, potatoes, etc.) which causes my insulin to spike again. Make sure you're eating the right amount of carbs and getting most of them from fruits and veggies. If you've been eating more grains lately (regardless of how healthfully you prepared them) it could be causing you to hold onto some of that weight and add some. Let me know what you think!

I would definitely give this a second look Stef. Actually, reading through it, I think this may be my problem! One thing I have considered is trying gluten-free for a couple weeks to see what my body thinks of it. I have a really hard time giving up foods, which I know is a problem, but I know lots of us struggle with it.

Definitely keep track of your measurements. There's a place on MFP to enter them in, and you can find helpful websites to tell you just where to put the measuring tape. I bet you'd forget all about the scale if you saw inch loss!!

Glad lots of people responded to your post. Hopefully you are feeling better!

Lately I’ve been getting a flood of messages all pretty much sharing the same issue: “I’m not seeing the results I want to see.” or “I’m not seeing results anymore.”

Believe me when I tell you…YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Throughout this journey, I’ve hit so many plateaus where I felt my progress hit a dead-end. When I first started out, I was working out so intensely and saw results fairly quickly. All of a sudden, my body wasn’t changing as much as it used to, even though I was working just as hard.

The key components to seeing results are: intensity and changing up your routine.

INTENSITY: Challenge yourself. Working at a steady or mediocre pace isn’t going to get you to your goals as fast as you want them to. No one achieves their dreams by half-assing the work. You probably spend an hour or two in the gym, out of the 24 hours provided in a day…so give it your ALL. Walking out of the gym feeling like you left every ounce of sweat in there is one of the best feelings ever. Keep your heart rate up and the sweat dripping!

CHANGE UP YOUR ROUTINE: Just like everything else, when you do something enough, it becomes easier. It takes less time and less energy to do something after you’ve done it so many times. When your body adapts to running a mile every day or doing the same type of workout, it’ll consume less energy to do that same task, therefore, it’ll burn less calories than it used to. Not only are you lacking the results you want from doing the same routine over and over, but it gets boring and the excitement that was once there in the beginning just vanishes. If you are used to getting your cardio done on a treadmill, then add in some HIIT by doing sprints…or hop on a stationary bike every other day…or challenge yourself on the stairmaster…or take a kickboxing class. Get away from repetitive workouts and make it exciting and fun. Challenge your mind and body!

I too am in the same boat and feeling sad and just want to give up. Totally working my butt off for more than 2 months and watching what I eat, no weight loss at all. BUT my beachbody coach measured me and I lost 15 inches! Now that would sound like a lot but my clothes don't fit any better that I can tell. Ugh I should just stick with it longer I suppose. I want to see pounds gone, darn it~
Good luck.

I read many posts but not all, so I apologize if I am reiterating anything here. Many of us "seasoned" dieters hit these plateaus. I have myself many times which led me to an article. I think we get stuck with that 1200 calorie mentality and I guess we should actually eat more than that. According to ShapeFit, "The key is to increase your calories with highly nutrient dense food to fuel your body! I would recommend not eating any less than 1,500 calories/day and make sure your protein levels are kept high. In terms of diet, I would focus on lean protein sources (chicken breast, turkey breast, egg whites) and lean fibrous carbs coming mostly from non-starchy vegetables (broccoli, mushrooms, yellow squash, green peppers, etc.) Try and limit all starchy carbs from your diet and limit fruit after 6pm, since it contains lots of simple sugars which will effect your insulin levels and hinder your weight loss". I also read some valuable info at http://www.livestrong.com/article/86975-increase-calories-lose-weight/