Getting discouraged
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DianeinCA
Posts: 307 Member
I got a wake up call on my weight a few months ago, when I went to the doctor's office. I weighed 141 a few years ago, after a lot of work (diet + exercise) and the doctor said I was up to 168. I think that was with clothes and post-breakfast, but still.
So.
I started tracking my food (first with Lose It, then with MFP) and exercising. I have been lifting heavy twice a week (I recently had to put that on hold, because I've developed a MRI-worthy pain in my right shoulder) and running, at least 20 miles a week.
I never did the 1200 calorie thing. If there's a day I've eaten less than 1400 calories, it's because I couldn't get to the food. Even when I lost weight 4 years ago, I never starved myself -- one reason I like EM2WL's philosophy.
But.
Nothing's happening.
I'm going to put my initial starting weight as 162, because that's what I weighed on my home scale. I'm now 154. I've been 154 for over a month now. I've seen 153.5 and I've seen 155. Over and over and over.
I've figured out my BMR and my TDEE and my cut. I'm writing everything down (using the best estimating I can, obviously -- if I eat at home, I know precisely what it is, but if we eat out I enter every element individually). I'm eating at least 100g of protein a day (which isn't easy). I visit Starbucks once a week now (instead of 3-4), and I don't get a cookie while I'm there, I just get the latte.
And I'm still seeing 154.
My measurements have gone down...a little. I measure at the beginning of the month. I've been feeling so discouraged I did a mid-month peek and they haven't moved since June 1.
Anyhow...I've read the topics and I have a fair idea of what advice I might get. I'm just feeling kind of discouraged now -- do I have to head toward only eat my BMR land? Ugh.
Okay, I'll shut up now. :flowerforyou:
So.
I started tracking my food (first with Lose It, then with MFP) and exercising. I have been lifting heavy twice a week (I recently had to put that on hold, because I've developed a MRI-worthy pain in my right shoulder) and running, at least 20 miles a week.
I never did the 1200 calorie thing. If there's a day I've eaten less than 1400 calories, it's because I couldn't get to the food. Even when I lost weight 4 years ago, I never starved myself -- one reason I like EM2WL's philosophy.
But.
Nothing's happening.
I'm going to put my initial starting weight as 162, because that's what I weighed on my home scale. I'm now 154. I've been 154 for over a month now. I've seen 153.5 and I've seen 155. Over and over and over.
I've figured out my BMR and my TDEE and my cut. I'm writing everything down (using the best estimating I can, obviously -- if I eat at home, I know precisely what it is, but if we eat out I enter every element individually). I'm eating at least 100g of protein a day (which isn't easy). I visit Starbucks once a week now (instead of 3-4), and I don't get a cookie while I'm there, I just get the latte.
And I'm still seeing 154.
My measurements have gone down...a little. I measure at the beginning of the month. I've been feeling so discouraged I did a mid-month peek and they haven't moved since June 1.
Anyhow...I've read the topics and I have a fair idea of what advice I might get. I'm just feeling kind of discouraged now -- do I have to head toward only eat my BMR land? Ugh.
Okay, I'll shut up now. :flowerforyou:
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Replies
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Are you eating at your cut of 15%. Maybe you have to up your calories to get things moving. Try it with a 10% cut instead.
Hope things will get going for you.
Just hang in there. It takes some time for your body to adjust.
Don't give up. You have come such a long way. Hang in there.0 -
Are you eating at your cut of 15%. Maybe you have to up your calories to get things moving. Try it with a 10% cut instead.
Hope things will get going for you.
Just hang in there. It takes some time for your body to adjust.
Don't give up. You have come such a long way. Hang in there.
I would agree with this, especially with the amount of running you are doing.
How many carbs are you taking in a day?0 -
Sounds like you are on the last 10-15 lbs? Those are the hardest and will come of very.slowly. Take a smaller cut like 5 or 10%. Have you increased your exercise lately? If so then it could be water weight. The biggest thing I can ask is: How are your clothes fitting? What are your measurements saying? Can you run further/faster? Are you stronger? Those are the true indicators of success at this point not the number on the scale that only you (and your doctor) can see.0
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I'm shooting for a 40-30-30 (carbs at 40) balance.
My clothes did change a bit at the beginning (from 162 to 154) but they haven't changed at all recently. I noticed that while the shorts I'm wearing fit better than they did when I was 162, they still rub against my thighs.
As I said, the measurements (waist/hip/thigh) aren't changing. I almost wish I hadn't done that mid-month peek to see if the numbers were different, because that's not helping.
I haven't noticed a pattern this time like I did 4 years ago when I lost weight. That time, every time I went out to dinner with my husband and had a cocktail or whatever, I lost weight.
I added someone on MFP who I thought was fairly close to me in terms of age and exercise behavior (heavy on the lifting, etc). I looked at her diary. She's supposed to be aiming for 2000 calories a day and eats 1000. Of course, gets lots of pats on the back every day -- a behavior that bugs the crap out of me around here. "You're starving yourself! Great!" But the idea actually did flit through my mind: Maybe I need to start doing that to get results like hers.0 -
I am sooooo with you. I've been stuck at my current weight for what seems like forever. I'm down to my last 5 - 10 lbs. My pants were feeling looser but I think they got a little tighter again. Like you, I'm very discouraged. I've been wondering if I need drop my calories back down. After all the work I did I hate just sitting at this weight making no progress.0
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Totally with you.. I'm very much in the same position and have been struggling with the last 10-15 pounds for the last few years now. I'm not sure what your stats are but I'm 5'2" and 120 +/-5 lbs.. I run 30+ mpw.
I've been aiming for 45-30-25, which is what was set by my nutritionist.. I've been struggling a lot because she's told me I should eat 1700 cals/day not including the things I eat DURING my runs. This is still less that EM2WL philosophy.0 -
I also recommend upping to 10% and just having some patience.
You'll get there, but we all know those last pounds are the most stubborn!0 -
Something else I've also done in the past week is reset my daily calorie goal to 1500 instead of my cut. Because the numbers MFP was throwing at me after I entered in exercise got me all confused -- "Wait, where am I supposed to be looking?" This way, if I enter in food incorrectly (always a fear), I will be on the lower end of things, hopefully. I keep an eye out for the top range of my caloric intake to be around 1800 (except on major exercise days, like when I run half marathons).
(BMR: 1381 or 1424, TDEE: 2197, TDEE-15%: 1867)0 -
Something else I've also done in the past week is reset my daily calorie goal to 1500 instead of my cut. Because the numbers MFP was throwing at me after I entered in exercise got me all confused -- "Wait, where am I supposed to be looking?" This way, if I enter in food incorrectly (always a fear), I will be on the lower end of things, hopefully. I keep an eye out for the top range of my caloric intake to be around 1800 (except on major exercise days, like when I run half marathons).
(BMR: 1381 or 1424, TDEE: 2197, TDEE-15%: 1867)
What I'm trying is taking the average calorie burn of my daily non-weight workouts (which right now consist of walking for 45 min. or so) and subtracting that from my TDEE cut of 2000 and setting that as my MFP goal. I figure that way I can keep track of my calories burned and be in a better position to notice if my burn would take me below my 1515 BMR.
A couple of thoughts to add, some repeating what others have said:
--have you recalculated your stats at 154? You should recalculate every 5 lbs.
--if you have only a few pounds left to go (and may I say you look FABULOUS in your profile pic), it will indeed take longer to get those off.0 -
My profile pic was actually taken the first time I ran a marathon and I weighed about 143 (3 years ago) -- I'm using it as an inspiration to say, "This is you, you looked like this, you can be there again." It just doesn't seem to be working this time.0
