Day 25 and struggling
The_New_Christina
Posts: 818 Member
Ok, So I'm 29...turning the big 30 next Thursday. I've been on MFP for 25 days now and am only down 6 lbs. However that 6lbs I initially lost the first week and a half and I've been going up and down on the scale since then. Yes, I will say I see my spare tire diminishing and my face looks a tad slimmer (not that it was huge to begin with), but when will the pounds start dropping for real? I upped my calorie intake because I figured that might help confuse my body into losing again, but nothing....I'm 235 lbs. 5'3" and havy hypothyroidism. Is it possible to get below 200 by Christmas? I guess what I'm looking for is for that scale to start moving again....Any tips? suggestions?
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Replies
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Stick with it--female bodies are stubborn and take a while to stabilize. Be consistent in the things you know you need to do. My body does not produce consistent results if you look week to week. I have to look at a few months to get a better picture. My period really screws with me.0
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"I just wanted to post something about what to expect during the phases of weight loss.
Overview (why I'm posting this)
Over the course of about 7 months on here, I have seen many people suceed, I have also seen some drop off the map. I expect this is because some succumb to the demon that is temptation, and some to the devil that is dissapointment. I wanted to give a few "heads up"s to both new commers and vetrans to the site. Some may know already, some may not. But either way, if this helps anyone to set more realistic goals in their own head, I feel like it has done it's job.
Phase 1. The start of a brand new day! (or week, or month, or year)
Expectations are sky high, usually so is motivation and intentions. This is where most people lose the most weight. At the start it's not uncommon to see 4 to 8 lb losses per week. The reasons for this are mostly (sorry to disappoint) water weight. You drop excess water quickly, and you can have up to 5 lbs of water weight. The next biggest reason is the fat that is right next to the blood vessels, the stuff that you put on in the last month or three, it will melt like butter usually.
Phase 2. Reality setting in.
At about week 3 to a month or so, people suddenly realize that they are no longer dropping 8, 6, or even 4 lbs a week. This is a crutial phase in your journey. Expect this, it is natural. You have shocked your body by changing both eating habits and exercise routine. Now it has had a little while to become used to the new lifestyle, it's going to compensate. Your body still doesn't believe it's permenant yet, so it will still try to store some fat, so now that it knows how to regulate it's new metabolic levels, it tryies to store fat in earnest. It's not uncommon for people to hit a wall here, no loss for weeks. Expect this as well.
Phase 3. The routine.
At about 2 months or so, your routine is pretty much set, your body is beginning to believe that you really want to STAY the way you are going now. You will start to see more consistant (but lower, usually 1 to 2 lbs a week) loss, also, you should start seeing some muscle tone (depending on how much you had to lose in the first place). If you stop to think, you should realize that you have improved dramatically in your exercise levels. If you do cardio, you should notice how much longer and harder you can work. This is important to realize as it is just as big of an indicator as weight loss. Also, by now you may notice that your clothes no longer fit right. This is also very important. The weight may not be falling off anymore, but you are becomming a smaller person. Weight is arbitrary, if you are building muscle (which your body is doing at a furious pace by now) you won't notice huge losses, but you will notice wholesale changes in the mirror!
Phase 4. Really digging in.
This is where the second wall can happen. You're probably at between 3 and 4 months by now, and if you have gone this far, you feel like you have already suceeded. This is where many people stumble. they are tired of the routine, tired of eating different things from all their friends, limiting their alcohol intake. Basically the shine has worn off. this is when your really need to plant your feet. Maybe change up your exercise routine, make a concentrated effort to find different, but still nutritional food. Talk to people. And examine how far you have come. At this point, no matter how much external motivation you receive, it's all about believing in yourself!
Phase 5. End game.
5 or 6 months in you are probably working on that "last 10 pounds". This can be discouraging for many as it is a slow burn. Remember, your body probably feels like it is where it needs to be, your brain might think you need to lose 10 more, but your body is quite proud of itself now, it feels like it has "Done enough" and it wants to stay RIGHT HERE. The body LIKES to have a little fat around just in case, especially for the ladies (sorry girls, it's just human physiology). If you feel like you still need to lose it, prepare yourself for some guerrila warfare against your body. Design an exercise regimen that is very dynamic, forget the "same thing every day". Make a plan that challenges you both physically and mentally. Make sure you give yourself a day off here and there to just veg. And by all means, remember, muscle burns fat at rest. So get some weight or resistance training involved.
The last 10 may take 3 to 6 months to lose. I know nobody wants to hear that, but it's true. And forget the idea of increasing your calorie deficite, healthy bodies need good nutrition, your body no longer has the fat reserves to handle the large deficites you could when you were 30 40 or 50 pounds overweight. Better to make it a 3 or 400 calorie deficite (NET, please count your exercise calories too!). It may take a bit longer, but your body will like you for it. Plus it feeds those new muscles and keeps them burning fat, keeps your skin healthy (elasticity is important when you want those places that were stretched out to "snap back") and keeps you from getting head aches and depressed.
Conclusion:
this is what I have learned, not just from my journey, but from others as well on here. It saddens me sometimes to see people hit one of these stages and not recognize it for what it is, a part of the process. If we all can have realistic expectations, then we are more prone to win the fight and stay healthy in the long run. Note that some people will hit these stages harder then others, some may take longer, but for the most part, this is the rule that the exceptions will come from. "0 -
"Sugar - White Granulated Sugar, 6 teaspoons" - really ? The sugar and whitener stuff in the coffee look to be things you could live without. In general I would shoot for a bit more protein, quite a bit more fat and less carbs.
The thyroid thing has some groups http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/search?phrase=thyroid I think it'll give you a lower metabolic rate than the equations predict.0 -
Are you taking medication for your Hypothyroidism ?? Hypothyroidism, uncontrolled will certainly hinder your weight loss attempts, however if its controlled, you really can't factor that in.
That being said, I do agree with the first poster, women's bodies are stubborn. Speaking for myself, I usually loose 1-2 lbs during the first month of my diet/exercise program, no matter how hard I work out or how accurately I follow my food intake, my weight just won't budge, then after a month or so my body will finally give in and thats when I can start loosing at a normal pace 1-2 Lbs a week.
You just have to take one day at a time, don't the the scale discourage you, everyday that you eat clean, exercise and take care of body you've achieved an important goal.
Keep going, it will take time for your body to adapt to the changes, just don't give up !!!!0 -
Just looked at your diary,
I think you should think about making some dietary changes to see better results,
Definitely up your protein intake and you should definitely track your sugar, I think you may benefit by reducing your carb intake and inceasing your protein intake.
Cutting back on Sugar, pasta & white flour will surely help you !!
Try eating GREEK yogurt which is far lower in sugar and higher in protein , some low fat yogurts you eat 33g of sugar ....0 -
"I just wanted to post something about what to expect during the phases of weight loss.
Overview (why I'm posting this)
Over the course of about 7 months on here, I have seen many people suceed, I have also seen some drop off the map. I expect this is because some succumb to the demon that is temptation, and some to the devil that is dissapointment. I wanted to give a few "heads up"s to both new commers and vetrans to the site. Some may know already, some may not. But either way, if this helps anyone to set more realistic goals in their own head, I feel like it has done it's job.
Phase 1. The start of a brand new day! (or week, or month, or year)
Expectations are sky high, usually so is motivation and intentions. This is where most people lose the most weight. At the start it's not uncommon to see 4 to 8 lb losses per week. The reasons for this are mostly (sorry to disappoint) water weight. You drop excess water quickly, and you can have up to 5 lbs of water weight. The next biggest reason is the fat that is right next to the blood vessels, the stuff that you put on in the last month or three, it will melt like butter usually.
Phase 2. Reality setting in.
At about week 3 to a month or so, people suddenly realize that they are no longer dropping 8, 6, or even 4 lbs a week. This is a crutial phase in your journey. Expect this, it is natural. You have shocked your body by changing both eating habits and exercise routine. Now it has had a little while to become used to the new lifestyle, it's going to compensate. Your body still doesn't believe it's permenant yet, so it will still try to store some fat, so now that it knows how to regulate it's new metabolic levels, it tryies to store fat in earnest. It's not uncommon for people to hit a wall here, no loss for weeks. Expect this as well.
Phase 3. The routine.
At about 2 months or so, your routine is pretty much set, your body is beginning to believe that you really want to STAY the way you are going now. You will start to see more consistant (but lower, usually 1 to 2 lbs a week) loss, also, you should start seeing some muscle tone (depending on how much you had to lose in the first place). If you stop to think, you should realize that you have improved dramatically in your exercise levels. If you do cardio, you should notice how much longer and harder you can work. This is important to realize as it is just as big of an indicator as weight loss. Also, by now you may notice that your clothes no longer fit right. This is also very important. The weight may not be falling off anymore, but you are becomming a smaller person. Weight is arbitrary, if you are building muscle (which your body is doing at a furious pace by now) you won't notice huge losses, but you will notice wholesale changes in the mirror!
Phase 4. Really digging in.
This is where the second wall can happen. You're probably at between 3 and 4 months by now, and if you have gone this far, you feel like you have already suceeded. This is where many people stumble. they are tired of the routine, tired of eating different things from all their friends, limiting their alcohol intake. Basically the shine has worn off. this is when your really need to plant your feet. Maybe change up your exercise routine, make a concentrated effort to find different, but still nutritional food. Talk to people. And examine how far you have come. At this point, no matter how much external motivation you receive, it's all about believing in yourself!
Phase 5. End game.
5 or 6 months in you are probably working on that "last 10 pounds". This can be discouraging for many as it is a slow burn. Remember, your body probably feels like it is where it needs to be, your brain might think you need to lose 10 more, but your body is quite proud of itself now, it feels like it has "Done enough" and it wants to stay RIGHT HERE. The body LIKES to have a little fat around just in case, especially for the ladies (sorry girls, it's just human physiology). If you feel like you still need to lose it, prepare yourself for some guerrila warfare against your body. Design an exercise regimen that is very dynamic, forget the "same thing every day". Make a plan that challenges you both physically and mentally. Make sure you give yourself a day off here and there to just veg. And by all means, remember, muscle burns fat at rest. So get some weight or resistance training involved.
The last 10 may take 3 to 6 months to lose. I know nobody wants to hear that, but it's true. And forget the idea of increasing your calorie deficite, healthy bodies need good nutrition, your body no longer has the fat reserves to handle the large deficites you could when you were 30 40 or 50 pounds overweight. Better to make it a 3 or 400 calorie deficite (NET, please count your exercise calories too!). It may take a bit longer, but your body will like you for it. Plus it feeds those new muscles and keeps them burning fat, keeps your skin healthy (elasticity is important when you want those places that were stretched out to "snap back") and keeps you from getting head aches and depressed.
Conclusion:
this is what I have learned, not just from my journey, but from others as well on here. It saddens me sometimes to see people hit one of these stages and not recognize it for what it is, a part of the process. If we all can have realistic expectations, then we are more prone to win the fight and stay healthy in the long run. Note that some people will hit these stages harder then others, some may take longer, but for the most part, this is the rule that the exceptions will come from. "
Lots of good info here.0 -
Turtle's info is really great. (Though, for future reference, if you have more than 100 lbs to lose, you have to cycle through some of those phases again and again and again...)0
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I totally agree with TurtleHurdle's reply. I'd also add that you will be more likely to lose if you work harder at it. Everyone is different... I'm taking a very laid back approach to my weight loss, because I know I'll get discouraged if I don't see fast results when I want to. I weigh myself once a week or so and take my body measurements every 2 weeks or so. I see more results with the tape measure than I do on the scale most of the time. I congratulate myself for good food choices and restraint from over eating because that's what I have issues with, and why I gained weight in the first place. I'm in it for the long haul, that means if it takes 2 years to lose all my unwanted weight... so be it. I just want it to stay off. I tend to hurt myself (pulled muscles, etc...) when I push myself too hard to exercise hard. So I stopped doing it for now. I'm working on eating less and walking until the strain of my weight isn't so hard on my body. If you want to lose 35 lbs by Christmas, break it down by weeks or months and try to push yourself for the mini goals. Don't stop trying just because it doesn't happen on your schedule though!! So what if it's a month later... you still reached your goal.
You can do it! Good luck:)0 -
I've decreased my daily calorie intake to wayyyy less than I used to eat and I do daily exercise which I never did before. So I'd assume that this would help me. I guess what I don't want to do is deprive myself 100% of the things I like because knowing myself that would be a quick way to end this journey of losing weight. :frown:0
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Ok, So I'm 29...turning the big 30 next Thursday. I've been on MFP for 25 days now and am only down 6 lbs. However that 6lbs I initially lost the first week and a half and I've been going up and down on the scale since then. Yes, I will say I see my spare tire diminishing and my face looks a tad slimmer (not that it was huge to begin with), but when will the pounds start dropping for real? I upped my calorie intake because I figured that might help confuse my body into losing again, but nothing....I'm 235 lbs. 5'3" and havy hypothyroidism. Is it possible to get below 200 by Christmas? I guess what I'm looking for is for that scale to start moving again....Any tips? suggestions?
First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: I turn 30 on Sunday so I'll celebrate for ya :bigsmile:
Regarding your weight loss journey: DON"T GIVE UP!! You have hypothyroidism which interferes with metabolism, which interferes with weight loss. Make sure this is controlled, get your TSH levels checks regularly, or whatever intervals your endo recommends. This way your meds can be adjusted appropriately. You will struggle a bit more than a "normal, healthy" person with your same stats, but it is NOT impossible. Good luck!!0 -
I've decreased my daily calorie intake to wayyyy less than I used to eat and I do daily exercise which I never did before. So I'd assume that this would help me. I guess what I don't want to do is deprive myself 100% of the things I like because knowing myself that would be a quick way to end this journey of losing weight. :frown:
You do not need to deprive yourself. Your diet looks okay. More veggies and lean proteins can help someone with hypothyroidism (I have it), but it's not 100% necessary. You've been on here 25 days (about 3 weeks) and lost 6 pounds. That averages out to 2 pounds a week. Some of that up and down you saw was the water weight you first lost coming back and then leaving as fat for real. I would weigh in less (once every other week) and take measurements.
You've made some big changes (eating less and exercising). Sometimes your body rebels at first. Just keep taking it one day at a time, stick to your calorie goals and you will get to where you need to be.0 -
beckajw- Thanks for your words of encouragement! I guess if I look at it as 6 lbs in 3 weeks, 2lbs a week it makes sense. I guess since I had initially lost those 6 within the first week and stayed at those 6 lost, I got discouraged. Hopefully by the end of my fourth week I can make it another 2 lbs.0
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"I just wanted to post something about what to expect during the phases of weight loss.
Overview (why I'm posting this)
Over the course of about 7 months on here, I have seen many people suceed, I have also seen some drop off the map. I expect this is because some succumb to the demon that is temptation, and some to the devil that is dissapointment. I wanted to give a few "heads up"s to both new commers and vetrans to the site. Some may know already, some may not. But either way, if this helps anyone to set more realistic goals in their own head, I feel like it has done it's job.
Phase 1. The start of a brand new day! (or week, or month, or year)
Expectations are sky high, usually so is motivation and intentions. This is where most people lose the most weight. At the start it's not uncommon to see 4 to 8 lb losses per week. The reasons for this are mostly (sorry to disappoint) water weight. You drop excess water quickly, and you can have up to 5 lbs of water weight. The next biggest reason is the fat that is right next to the blood vessels, the stuff that you put on in the last month or three, it will melt like butter usually.
Phase 2. Reality setting in.
At about week 3 to a month or so, people suddenly realize that they are no longer dropping 8, 6, or even 4 lbs a week. This is a crutial phase in your journey. Expect this, it is natural. You have shocked your body by changing both eating habits and exercise routine. Now it has had a little while to become used to the new lifestyle, it's going to compensate. Your body still doesn't believe it's permenant yet, so it will still try to store some fat, so now that it knows how to regulate it's new metabolic levels, it tryies to store fat in earnest. It's not uncommon for people to hit a wall here, no loss for weeks. Expect this as well.
Phase 3. The routine.
At about 2 months or so, your routine is pretty much set, your body is beginning to believe that you really want to STAY the way you are going now. You will start to see more consistant (but lower, usually 1 to 2 lbs a week) loss, also, you should start seeing some muscle tone (depending on how much you had to lose in the first place). If you stop to think, you should realize that you have improved dramatically in your exercise levels. If you do cardio, you should notice how much longer and harder you can work. This is important to realize as it is just as big of an indicator as weight loss. Also, by now you may notice that your clothes no longer fit right. This is also very important. The weight may not be falling off anymore, but you are becomming a smaller person. Weight is arbitrary, if you are building muscle (which your body is doing at a furious pace by now) you won't notice huge losses, but you will notice wholesale changes in the mirror!
Phase 4. Really digging in.
This is where the second wall can happen. You're probably at between 3 and 4 months by now, and if you have gone this far, you feel like you have already suceeded. This is where many people stumble. they are tired of the routine, tired of eating different things from all their friends, limiting their alcohol intake. Basically the shine has worn off. this is when your really need to plant your feet. Maybe change up your exercise routine, make a concentrated effort to find different, but still nutritional food. Talk to people. And examine how far you have come. At this point, no matter how much external motivation you receive, it's all about believing in yourself!
Phase 5. End game.
5 or 6 months in you are probably working on that "last 10 pounds". This can be discouraging for many as it is a slow burn. Remember, your body probably feels like it is where it needs to be, your brain might think you need to lose 10 more, but your body is quite proud of itself now, it feels like it has "Done enough" and it wants to stay RIGHT HERE. The body LIKES to have a little fat around just in case, especially for the ladies (sorry girls, it's just human physiology). If you feel like you still need to lose it, prepare yourself for some guerrila warfare against your body. Design an exercise regimen that is very dynamic, forget the "same thing every day". Make a plan that challenges you both physically and mentally. Make sure you give yourself a day off here and there to just veg. And by all means, remember, muscle burns fat at rest. So get some weight or resistance training involved.
The last 10 may take 3 to 6 months to lose. I know nobody wants to hear that, but it's true. And forget the idea of increasing your calorie deficite, healthy bodies need good nutrition, your body no longer has the fat reserves to handle the large deficites you could when you were 30 40 or 50 pounds overweight. Better to make it a 3 or 400 calorie deficite (NET, please count your exercise calories too!). It may take a bit longer, but your body will like you for it. Plus it feeds those new muscles and keeps them burning fat, keeps your skin healthy (elasticity is important when you want those places that were stretched out to "snap back") and keeps you from getting head aches and depressed.
Conclusion:
this is what I have learned, not just from my journey, but from others as well on here. It saddens me sometimes to see people hit one of these stages and not recognize it for what it is, a part of the process. If we all can have realistic expectations, then we are more prone to win the fight and stay healthy in the long run. Note that some people will hit these stages harder then others, some may take longer, but for the most part, this is the rule that the exceptions will come from. "
This is awesome. I'm actually going to save this to remind myself b/c I always get to stage 4 and "take a break" and then end up gaining much of what I lost. I think I've done this around 5 times now. I'm starting back up and will keep this in mind. Thanks for posting0 -
Turtle's info is really great. (Though, for future reference, if you have more than 100 lbs to lose, you have to cycle through some of those phases again and again and again...)
True. :frown:0 -
I've decreased my daily calorie intake to wayyyy less than I used to eat and I do daily exercise which I never did before. So I'd assume that this would help me. I guess what I don't want to do is deprive myself 100% of the things I like because knowing myself that would be a quick way to end this journey of losing weight. :frown:
Thank you tons for posting this. I'm in the same boat as you. I'm 24 (25 in 3 months) and I have hypothyroidism (and insulin resistance). I have been here for 2 months and I've still only lost about 4-5 pounds overall because I'm going up and down on the scale (it's actually 6-8 pounds, but the first week I was here, my family didn't have a lot of money so we weren't regularly meeting 1200 cals. I don't like to count the 3-4 pounds lost sort of starving). Like today. It was my weekly weigh-in and it's saying I've possibly gone up 1-2 pounds when I've been trying to watch what I eat and work out consistently. I've also done measurements, but they barely budge too.
I think us with hypothyroidism have it pretty tough (well, people with hyperthyroidism can have it tough too!). I'm finding out that even medication doesn't always do it's job. I'm not scheduled to see the doctor again until sometime in September, but I'm going to be way more demanding with him when I go. Because he's only testing my TSH/T3 and not my T4. Also, he said a little less than 2 years ago he might test me for PCOS to make sure it's not lurking in the background. He has yet to mention it again since.
Anyways, best of luck. I know how you feel. I came on to the forums looking for hope because of my own discouragement in this journey.0 -
I didn't take a look at your diary but I can speak from experience.
First, I'm right now in the same situation you are. I started exercising and tracking my calories 30 days ago and I lost 4,5 pounds! BUT (and it's a big BUT), I think I changed a lot physically. Take a tape and measure yourself, that's one way to see results. Another is trying on clothes that you thought did not fit you anymore.
Starving yourself, or lowering your calorie intake drastically, is a bad idea. Your body will get used to that amount of calories after a while, and it's going to be really really hard to not gain weight again when you start eating normally. And that's without talking about all the important nutrients that you might not get...
Also, a healthy and long-term weight loss is about 1-2 pounds a week. More than that is less healthy and more easily gained back. So I think overall we are not doing so bad are we?
Give yourself time, and don't give up!
Like several nice members here told me: stop focusing on the scale and focus on your non-scale victories instead!
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I've decreased my daily calorie intake to wayyyy less than I used to eat and I do daily exercise which I never did before. So I'd assume that this would help me. I guess what I don't want to do is deprive myself 100% of the things I like because knowing myself that would be a quick way to end this journey of losing weight. :frown:
'Deprive' is the wrong way to think about it.
I am SO not into suffering and I try never, every to be hungry. I'm a super foody. I eat chocolate when I want it and ice cream when I feel like that too. But it's in moderation.
It's that first bite of anything that tastes the most fantastic. So I have half my favorite truffle or ONE or TWO squares of my favorite Ritter chocolate. I eat a quarter cup of ice cream with cashews or almonds on it for protein to keep me from being hungry and some Greek yoghurt on top that adds extra creaminess. (This is not just me, my 13 year old prefers the taste to whipped cream - and he's a mini gourmet),
You are such a young woman. You're going to have to find the foods you really love and keep those in your diet in moderation. And you're going to have to find better foods that you like and are healthy for the rest of your diet. As my son says - if it doesn't taste good, it's not worth putting in your mouth.0
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