I'm really starting to get discouraged here

I'm really starting to get discouraged here! I've been at this for 5 weeks and officially I've lost 1 lb as of this morning...what am I doing wrong????

I feel like bursting into tears! I'm doing everything right according to all the research I've done and what I've read on CC and still...nothing. I'm eating 1500 calories a day and doing pretty much exactly 300 calories in exercise. What gives? I've calculated my target heart rate and I'm doing aerobics exactly within my limits and still, I have lost pretty much nothing! (I've also included weight training but very light weights for just toning)

I'm only a few pounds out of a healthy BMI (categorized at slightly overweight) but that means I'm still not healthy.

I've been plugging away at this for what seems like forever...I'd be happy even if I only lost 1 or even a half of a pound a week but this is rediculous!

I don't know what else to do. I can't give up now that I know so much about what I'm putting in my mouth, but I don't know what I can change in my routine or when the weight will start coming off.

Anyone, please, thoughts? Ideas? Words of wisdom???

I am right there with you. Everyone said I was eating to few calories at around 1300 and exercising so I increase them to 1500 and I gained weight! I talked to a nutritionist she said that women who are nearing menopause (37-50) have dramatic metobolism slowdowns and that if you fall in that age range you need to eat 5 small meals a day about 4 hours apart and stay at about 1200 calories. And she has a PHD! If this applies to you, age-wise, I suggest lowering your intake. Its working for me.

The closer you get to goal weight, the harder it is to lose the pounds. Just hang in there. Get a measuring tape because you could be toning your body and adding muscle. Obviously this wont help the scale go down...our favorite way to measure goals. Just dont give up, were in it together!

Well, actually I'm 24. During the first 2 weeks I was only eating 1200 calories but also exercising and that's when I lost the 1 lb. and then, after doing a little research, I found out that I should actually be eating more calories and bumped myself up. I haven't lost anything since and it's so discouraging.

I'm doing everything that the medical community, calorie-count, and books and journals tell me to and I'm just not losing weight!!!

yalcekim - I may be toning but I don't think I'm gaining muscle at all. The weights I'm lifting are really light and I do minimal repetitions so it's not really about building muscle for me. Also, all of my clothes fit exactly the same...I'm just exactly the same as when I started all this 5 weeks ago.

When you first start, and the reason why so many people fail, is that you dont see results right away. If you truly are exercising and watching what you eat, then changes are definitely occurrring. You just may not be seeing the reults just yet. Trust me, you will. The first few weeks are the toughest, just hang in there and dont give up...

it may seem like the opposite of what you want to do, but take your current bodyweight and multiply it by about 12, assuming you do light excercise.  This is your calories burned including your excercise, mulitiply it by up to 15 if you worked incredibly hard and by 10 if you did nothing, you be the judge, but actually eating too little casues weight gain by slowing down the body, im sure you understand that already though...but the point im gunna make is that insterad of cutting calories by cutting back on what you eat, eat more and work out harder or more often or for a longer duration.  Excercise continues burning calories even after you stop working out, as opposed to cutting back on eating which does nothing.  Also lift weights regularily, your a woman so your not going to get big, so dont lift light weights for tone becasue ti doesnt work that way.  Do the best weight workout you can and a solid cardio workout 4 days a week.  i hope i helped any questions ill try to help.

smofinator don't get discouraged what has worked for me is staying on a 1200 calorie a day and so far i have lost 14 pounds as of today. Maybe try going back to the 1200 calorie

isabel80 - Even while I'm exercising? I know that is how I got my 1 and only lb off so far but that goes against everything that I've read on here. At this point though I'm getting really discouraged. But I don't want to go into starvation mode and then gain it all back and then some if I up my calories at any point.

smoof - hang in there and stay true to your plan...if you still haven't seen results in a couple more weeks, i would suggest getting your thyroid checked.  all it entails is a blood test and a visit to a nutritionist or endocrinologist. 

last year i trained for a triathlon for about 3 months.  i was watching what i ate, and making sure i had enough energy for the 2 hrs or so of cardio that i was doing each day.  after the race, i had only lost 3 lbs or so after all of that.  the only thought i had was - WTF?!  so i went to see a doctor and found out it was a problem with my thyroid and the TSH levels that my body was producing.  it is usually hereditary (turns out both mom and grandma have it).  the doctor put me on medication, and i have to go every 6 months to make sure my TSH levels ar where they should be.  it is still difficult for me to lose weight, but not as seemingly impossible as before. 

good luck, good job, and keep on keepin on!

  

Smoof, I was losing weight at 1200 and exercise and then I read here about the deficit and increased my calories and stopped losing.  I tried upping my cals changing my workout...anything to break the plateau.  Well, I went back to 1200 even though I exercise and the pounds are coming off.  I find it hard to eat that few of calories because I burn in exercise between 300 to 1000 calories.  So, on days I work off lots of cals I go ahead an up my cal intake.  What I find is you have to experiment until you find what works for you.  Also you may want to change up your workout.  Good luck smoof!

smoofinator, u havent mentioned WHAT ur eating. are u eating 1500 cals of healthy food meaning lots of veggies and fruit or are u eating fats and sugars. because these last 2 get stored as fatty tissue really quickly, sometimes even before u had the chance to burn them off. i'm eating under 1000 cals a day even tho i know its not considered healthy but its worked for me. i dont starve myself tho, i just eat loads of healthy food and try to avoid fat and sugar as much as i can. of course i exercise more too. i've lost more than 20 pounds since april and i feel great about myself and full of energy. hope this helps!

Good luck

smoof,

have you though of just increasing the intensity of your workout, rather than changing your calorie intake or amount of exercise.

However, you should keep in mind other vital elements such as: height, weight, goal weight etc. in order for it to work.

The key to me is that you say you are "supposed to" eat 1500 calories. The calorie numbers on this site are based on averages. However according to the guys who actually put people into those metabolism chambers, an individual's RMR can vary by hundreds above or below the average. You could be one of those below average people. To lose a pound a week, you should have a calorie deficit of 500 calories... but what is missing from this math?  Your actual starting point, the actual amount of calories you ate to maintain your old weight. Since very few people count calories before they go on a diet, no one knows the real starting point... so what number do you subtract 500 from?  If you use the number from this site, it could be off by hundreds of calories. That number is a rough guide only. You try it, then adjust according to what the scale says.

The idea that you should eat back calories for exercise, if that results in your "net" being below 1200, is exclusive to this website as far as I can tell. So far no forum member has been able to show me where it is supported by major obesity specialists or studies.

You should get very precise about your calorie intake for a while, make sure you aren't undercounting, or forgetting to add in some things. As for counting exercise...  it's not like this is a number you can read off a box. Numbers from exercise machines are very inaccurate. So who knows what the real numbers are? Remember too  that all movement, not just intentional exericse, burns calories, so as much as possible move.  Watching TV burns barely more calories than sleeping.

What you do know is that at your current level of calorie intake and your current level of exercise, you are not, or are barely, losing weight. Since my maintenance calories are 1500 to 1600, even with exercise, it doesn't surprise me when women do not lose weight on 1500 calories.  I agree with those who suggest you try eating less and see what happens.

Hey, I know exactly how you're feeling because I'm dealing with the same thing.  It's been about 7 weeks and in the first 3-4 weeks I dropped 3.4lbs...and now nothing, even though I've been eating even healthier than before and doing more exercising (resisitance/cardio).  I suppose it's a plateau and I'm trying to change things up.  A lot of people go through this so I'm trying to look at as a natural part of weight loss and not meaning I'm doing something wrong.  I took before pictures and measured myself, but so far no changes.  My first goal date is August 26th, so I'm hoping to notice some changes by then, because as of now I'm very discouraged.  I'm not an expert on weight loss/fitness so I'm sure anything I tell you you've probably read somewhere on here.  All I can say (and what I'm telling myself) is that I'm doing the right things in the best way I can and that I can never expect to see changes if I stop doing it now.  I'm doing my body good, even if I can't see it.  Maybe take before pictures?  It's not the most fun thing but it may help gain perspective later if you do lose weight but you can't see it in the mirror because you're used to seeing fat.

Do you enjoy your workout?  If you're doing your workout (ex. your cardio) and find you're only doing it to lose weight, try finding something you enjoy more.  I found a walking workout video dvd that I actually find fun (and challenging!), and so even if I feel like I'm not losing weight, I at least enjoy what I'm doing.

I can only really encourage you as others have been doing. If you want to talk more though, you can PM me!

Hi smoofinator,  I see you have lost a few more lbs since you posted on 6/29.  I'm curious what you ended up doing to bring about the loss.

Where do you live? I'll come over right now and we can CRY together!!! I am in the same boat and it is sinking FAST, RIGHT?!?!? This just SUCKS! I feel your frustration. I am only 28 so I don't feel like age should be an issue for me either. I am getting so parinoid that I have something really wrong with me- physically that is inabeling me to lose weight.

I don't know how far you are from your goal- I am only a few lbs but like you I am bustin' a gutt trying to get 'em off!!!

And to make matters WORSE... My husband just came in and started bitching that all of his pants are getting "WAY TOO BIG!" He can't even keep them up!!!... I SO DID NOT NEED TO HEAR THAT THIS MORNING!!!

(((((HUGS))))) HANG IN THERE... WE'LL FIGURE SOMETHING OUT. : (

XOXO

How tall are you?  You could try going back to the 1200 calories and seeing if it starts your weight loss again.  Also, you're in the harder part of the weight loss area, you don't have so much to lose that the pounds fall off.

Have you tried varying your exercise?  Your body might have gotten used to what you do and become very efficient at doing it. Hight Intensity Training seems to be what is recommended to shake some of it up.

One question, are you watching what your drinking?

Drinking enough water really helps. Avoiding the sugary drinks and stuff helps too. Sometimes, its easy to let calories slip by with the stuff we drink.