HELP! Frustrated and Ready to Throw in the Towel!!

A little history:

I have been working out with a personal trainer 2 times a week since mid november and working out on my own anywhere from 2-4 times a week on top of that. I do weight training with my trainer and cadio on my own. I have seen a naturopath who has given me a meal plan to help me lose weight which is usually around 1500-1600 cals a day and sometimes I increase that to 1800(because I am working out so much)

Now, I will admit that there are days when I will have a slice of pizze, or a drink or two with my friends on the weekend, but lets face it...a slice of pizza and a glass of wine twice a month are not going to ruin all my efforts!

I am 22 years old, 5'5 and about 160lbs and since I started this routine in November I have lost ZERO lbs! Nothing, NOT A THING! So now im getting frustrated because I didnt expect to see results in the first month, but now im pushing 3 months and not a thing has changed!

I dont know what im doing wrong or what is going on?!  Any advice would be appreciated!

Generally when people think they are making a great effort but still not losing, they are usually either overestimating the amount of cals they are burning while working out, or underestimating their food intake.  Do you weigh out and portion your food?  What kinds of workouts are you doing?  You should be developing a good weight training program so you can build muscle, which will increase the amount of cals you burn even when sedentary.  

It sounds like you've got a good program going--is it possible that you're gaining muscle? You might be losing inches without dropping pounds, as you replace fat with muscle. Have you been tracking your measurements? Body fat percentage? Are your clothes looser?

If not, and you're positive that you're not overestimating your calories, you might want to visit your doctor. It could be a horomonal imbalance.

I used to feel the same way.  Currently I am working out 7 days a week.  That includes 1.5 to 2 hrs of cardio a day.  My history is that cardio is the only thing that gets my weight off.  I am also doing the Joy Bauer diet to the "T."  That means NO alcohol and definately no pizza.  To satisfy a craving especially being around my husband who never gains an ounce I just have a bite of whatever bad food he is eating.  Monday he was eating a chocolate sundai and I had one spoonful.  It really does satisfy the craving.  Cravings are all mental.  Measuring and weighing your food is a definate.  Take your measurements too.  Because if you are working out like you say you may not see a change in weight but you should see a  change in inches.   Last week I actually gained 2 lbs but my measurements showed a 1/2 inch loss.  Weird but true.

What time are you working out?  The best time is in the am.  I work out @ 5:30 am, even on the weekends.  It gets your heart pumping and helps your metabolism get a jump start to buring calories all day.  Get yourself a heart monitor too if you don't have one.  You can track your calories burned while working out.  I try and burn at least 1000 calories a day working out, even if I have to come back in the afternoon after work and get them all in.

Another thing...I have had trainers before and they all try and get you to eat those 1600-1800 a day.  That is ridiculous to me.  I have tried it their way and lost nothing.  I am currently doing 1200 calories a day since 12/29/08 and have lost 6.6 lbs. and 1/2 inch on my waist, chest, thighs, and hips.  I am 5'6 1/2" and 137.4 lbs to date.  My goal is 120 lbs.  It has been slow but consistant and hopefully it will stay off.  Remember that the diet will jump start the weight loss but it will have to be a lifestyle change if you want to keep it off.

Happily Dieting

Thanks for the replies!

I do take my measurements regularily because that was the first thing I thought of when I wasnt seeing any results on the scale, and still nothing has budged there. Maybe a quarter of an inch or so since ive started, but its not consistent.

My clothes feel the same as they always have, not any bigger, so this is why I am so frustrated!

I dont measure my food, but I write down everything I eat (and the approximate portion) and then report back to my naturopath who then tells me if its too much or too litte etc. So even if I was underestimating my cals it wouldnt be by much. As for overestimating my calories, I am only going by what my trainer tells me and some tools on this site (which I realise arent all that accurate) so I usually try to low-ball how many cals I burn in a workout. And my body fat percentage has dropped maybe 1% but that could be due to how hydrated I was at the time it was taken.

I have been tested for hypotyroidism as well and that came back negative, so I just dont know what else it could be? 

A couple of things.  If you are trying to lose weight, your caloric intake is probably too high.  Your trainer is wrong...sorry to say.   I've been through this before, trying to workout, gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.  It's tough to do both effectively because in order to really gain muscle, you have to eat a lot of calories and protein to feed the growth, which doesn't work so well in losing weight.   You'll sometimes get results and sometimes not, but not what you want.  Sounds like he's got you on a textbook muscle building type of diet which isn't what will work for you at this point.

You'd be better off with a two step approach.   In the first phase, cut your calories to around 1200 per day.   If your goal is 140 and you weigh 160 you need to get down that far just to have enough caloric deficit to lose weight.   Do that as long as you have to, to lose as much body fat as you need or want to.   Make sure you are eating well, lot's of fruits, vegetables, fish but you'll probably have to avoid a lot of fats, nuts, seeds, etc for a while because they are so high in calories.  1 TBSP = 100-120 calories!!   Avoid the protein shakes unless they replace a full meal because they can be 200-400 calories depending on what you put in them.   Train with lighter weights (12-16 reps) and do lots of cardio, but mix it up.  Don't do the same routine over and over because your muscles build a memory and find a way to do the same thing by burning fewer calories.  Every couple of weeks change your routine, change machines etc.  When doing cardio, make sure you are hitting your target zone for weight loss which for you should be around 130-150 bpm.  If you aren't hitting that, if you are under that is, you are just wasting your time.   If you do the weights or resistance exercises, you should do them with little rest in between sets, to also keep up your heart rate.

Once you lose your 20 lbs, then take up a more intense muscle building program if that's what you want to do.  Once the fat is gone, you can increase your weights to the 8 rep level and begin to eat more protein to fuel your muscle increase.

One other thing.  At the gym I go to, I see a lot of people working with personal trainers and not working very hard.  They are wasting their time in my opinion.   If you aren't breaking a good sweat, not getting your heart rate up near the 150's, you're just out for a Sunday cruise and not doing yourself any good.  If you've got time and the wind to carry on a light casual conversation, you aren't pushing hard enough.  

Hope that helps...

I'd really recommend measuring out your food. It can be a hassle at first, but you'd be surprised at how much you could be eating depending on the serving size of the food and what you're eating.  One of the biggest problems with losing weight is exercise and how much you're eating. Number wise I think the amount you're eating is fine considering when you exercise. If you try to add a little exercise in every day of the week and eat maintinence every once and a while the weight should come off. I'd really recommend being a lot stricter with your food though. You might be surprised and find out something you though was fine has been sabatoging you!

And if your clothes have been getting looser you're gaining muscle and loosing fat. So your body is improving!

Thank you for your reply, that kinda makes sense.

One thing im worried about tho is the opposite, if I eat 1200 cals and burn 500 at the gym, will I not put myself into starvation mode?

As for the trainer, I do work very hard with him, harder than I would on my own! He pushes hard and I barely have enough breath to make conversation in between sets let alone during them! lol but I know what you mean, there are some girls in there that are paying for a friend basically!

I ran your stats and got that you burn about 1600 calories a day by just being alive.  I suggest that you set your activity level to sedentary and log in all your exercise according to CC's standards.  Then be sure to log in all your food and make sure you stay between 500 and 1000 calories less than CC says you've burned.  Make sure that you are accurately measuring everything so that your numbers are correct.  If you don't have a diet scale you should get one.  I got a very cheap one from Wal-Mart.  It was only $5.00 or so and it's been invaluable to me.  I eat whatever I want but make sure that I stay within my allowance for the day.  If I want ice cream, for example, I have it.  I just make sure I keep my calories down for the rest of the day.  This has been working for me and maybe it will work for you as well!  Good luck!

Please don't listen to people who are telling you to drop to 1200 calories, you are absolutely right this is way too low and you will end up starving yourself specially with the amount you work out.

Also you don't want be doing light weights with more reps....this is a silly myth. Heavy weights, low reps is the way to go. Someone from the fitness forum will be able to explain better than me so I'll just leave it at that. Good luck!

Nice snake Linz...lol.  Linz is right about the weights too.  When I said 12-16 reps I meant you should be struggling to get to 16 but when you do, increase the weight so that you can only do 12.   This will probably only be about 10% less than your max weight for 8 reps.  I see a lot of people at the gym and know a lot of women lifting these little 2.5 and 5 lb weights and that's just a waste of time for the most part.  Lifting lighter weights for large reps is just too easy for the body and burns little calories.  If you can lift it more than 12-16 times, you're wasting your time.  8-12 is slightly better for calorie burn but it's something you have to work up to over a couple of weeks or you could hurt yourself and get discouraged.  It will burn more calories though.

You should also engage in some calorie counting. I know it sucks, I hated it when I did it a few years ago, but it does help.  Once you figure it out over a few weeks, it becomes instinctual and I didn't do it after that.  You might find you are eating more than you think.   I can remember days when I first started that I was eating 4000-5000 calories...lol.  8 slices of pizza and 8 beers at the upcoming Superbowl party really adds up...lol.   Those one or two bad days a week were sabotaging the rest of the week.  

Make sure you are being honest with yourself! I posted pretty much the same thing about a year ago, and eventually I realized that although I SAID I was doing well, I really wasn't. I was estimating too much, not logging enough, and not working hard enough.....and then I changed that and the weight started coming off!

Yea, with working w a trainer, I def wouldnt' go to 1200 (sorry to disagree).....I couldn't imagine living on just that especially on workout days. Maybe try zig zagging cals...one day do 1800, one day 1400, etc.....

Have you taken a break since november? Our bodies get used to what we do, so sometimes taking a few days off in a row, then getting back into it helps.

And finally? Give it time! 2 months is about when results really start to show, and if you've been hitting it since mid NOv, then you should start seeing them real soon!

If you had a plateau then I would think it's because you are not eating enough for the amount you have been working out and your body may need to readjust or you need to up your calories.  However, since you have not lost anything at all, I have a feeling you are consuming more calories than you realize.  I am not saying that you should cut your calories back to 1200 but I think you may not be eating just the 1600 calories that you think you are. 

Every time I have had problems with losing weight it was for that same reason.  I was forgetting about the nibble here or the nibble there that I was eating throughout the day (these were not even entire snacks).  OR when I was not snacking, I was underestimating the portion size of each ingredient I was putting into my foods (which means that I thought I was consuming less calories of course).

I heard a helpful tip from a nutritionist recently, I suggest you carry around a plastic (or eco friendly...) bag with you all day long.  Every time you consume a snack outside of a meal (or would have), put it in the bag.  I mean everything - one peanut, one m&m, one hard candy, handfull of popcorn, 3 pretzels -- whatever it is!!  Then, on day two - start a new bag.  At the end of the week, dump the bags together and see how much is in that bag at the end of the week.

Original Post by caloriequeen86:

I dont measure my food, but I write down everything I eat (and the approximate portion)

I would say this is your answer, right here. Unless you have spent quite a bit of time weighing and measuring food, there is no way your estimates can be accurate--and every little bit counts. Think about it: if you are only 1/10th off on everything, you are still eating 10% more than you think you are. And that would mean, if you think you are eating 2 oz/ of something, you are really eating 2.2 ounces. Now, do you think you can see .2 oz? I don't! Do you think you can easily see the difference between 2 oz and 2.5 oz? Probably not, unless you have become sickeningly familiear with what 2 oz of a given food looks like (yeah, the measuring is a drag!).

Weigh, measure, log. I would bet you will be hungrier and see a weight loss. You can then play with the percentages (I had to increase my fiber a lot to stop feeling hungry) and find a combination that works for you.

One more thing: I really admire you for sticking it out this long without seeing the scale move. You have what it takes and just need to use a few more tools (especially measuring tools, haha) to get it right. Good for you! You will be successful, I'll bet.

Best of luck.

At the beggining of my program, the same thing happened to me. I was doing training 3 times a week with a personal trainer and I was going jogging at least 2 times on top of that. I was followed by a nutritionist and I was writing down everything I was eating. From july until november, I did not lose one pound and my measurements were about the same (a little bit less). After a while, my body understood that I was serious (that's my theory) and I began to lose steadiliy, 1-2 pounds a week. At the end of 6 months, I had lost 18 pounds (all in the last 3 months)... And I have not put it back 2 years later...

After that period of time, I wanted to lose the weight faster... I started crazy diets (800-900 calories a day) and doing crazy cardio. I lost 12 pounds in 3 months... and then I got married and the 12 lbs came back... So my advice: follow your plan, don't get discouraged (I know I was...) and have faith: It will happen....Good luck!

Wow, I'm in the exact same position. except I DO measure & weigh out my food & portions. My RMR was tested at 1788 so I eat ~2000 cals/ workout day (less on rest days). At the time I got my test, I also visited a nutritionist and become a clean eater.

I had been unable to lose any more weight and was getting bored with the gym so I completed two 6-week bootcamps (from July to September), working out 6 times a week. Result: a few inches lost, no change in scale.

Determined, I started meeting with my bootcamp instructor privately and hired her as a PT. I began heavy weight lifting October through December, as advised by a PT = weight gain... which was to be expected since I was building muscle, though I thought after 6 weeks or so, there would be a drop in weight. But no.

So I just started a new program from my PT. This phase of my training is called "Strength Into Muscular Endurance." For the previous 6 weeks, I had been lifting heavy weights to build muscle which will promote calorie burning at rest but also help me with the next phase. She set it out in 3 separate exercises to be done 3 days a week: upper body, lower body & combination/intervals. I will not be using heavy weights for these exercises; instead, I'll be doing more reps with decreasing weights. Here's the part that scares me: I'll be doing 12 reps, then 15, then 20 REPS. So that's 47 reps of each exercise per session! Let me tell you, it's harder.  For cardio, she also wants me to do intervals (ex: 1 min run, 1 min sprint for 45-60 mins), etc.

Next week, my PT wants me to come back in for 3 sessions so we can do each of these exercises. 3 PT sessions in 1 week is not cheap!

However, I have been told that with this program, I WILL see the results I'm seeking (weight, body fat & inch loss).

I asked to have my measurements & BF% taken at one of the sessions next week so I'll let you know if there has been any change. If I've lost bf% and inches, I would credit it to the heavy lifting followed by my current program.

btw, we even have similar stats. I'm 5'6", 168 lbs, looking to get to 150 lbs (though right now, I'd settle for 155!) 

I wouldn't lower your calorie intake to 1,200 a day.  That is too low for you and very unrealistic that you will keep off the weight if you hit your goal.  You most likely will be so hungry that you will give up.

Keep your calories b/w 1,400 to 1,500 a day and give up the slice of pizza and the wine for good until you start loosing the weight!!  Make that a little reward for every 5 lbs you loose or so.

Also, what are you eating?  You could be eating 1,200 calories a day, but they could all be empty calories.  Nothing good for you.

Weigh your food and portions and also eat 5 to 6 small meals a day.  No meal or item should be more than 400 calories.  So at 1,400 a day, you can have the following:

Bfast: 300-400 calories

snack: 100-200 calories

lunch: 400 calories

snack: 100-200 calories

dinner: 400 calories

Play around with your foods and calories through out the day to hit your goal of 1,400.  If you feel you won't be able to make the 1,400 calories because you have been too busy, then drink FAT FREE Milk..... it has calories, vitamins and carbs your body needs.

Eat lots of fruits and veggies to get you metabolism going.

Thanks for all the replies, you have all been really helpful!

A typical day for me looks like this:

Breakfast:

1 piece of whole grain bread with either peanut butter or margarine
1 Egg - Scrambled
1 Glass of skim milk

Snack

Apple + Almonds

Lunch

Salad (with light/low fat dressing)
Tuna or Chicken

Snack

If im working out after work I will have a protein shake here if not just some fruit

Dinner

Varies but either a stir fry, wrap, or meat potato and veggies

I have a tea in the morning with sweetener and drink water all day. I dont think there is a problem with my eating, but feel free to pick it apart and tell me what to fix if there is!

It's hard to give you feed back without knowing portion sizes but here's my take on it.   I'm not "picking it apart" ...lol...just giving you some feedback.  I hope it helps.

Breakfast - Depending on how much butter or peanut butter, could be 400 calories or so.

Snack - Depends on how many almonds.  Almonds are about 163 calories per ounce so let's say one ounce and that's 240 calories

Lunch - Depends on how much tuna or chicken you eat but lets' call the salad 150 calories and the tuna/chicken 200.  That's 350

Snack - A protein shake could be anything but one scoop mixed in one cup of water is around 200 calories so let's call it that.

Dinner - That's a wide range but it's got to be at least 500 calories but depending on size, content, condiments etc. could easily top 750.

So by my calculation that adds up to at least 1690 calories, but with some extra nuts or a couple of small changes or larger portion sizes, it could easily be over 2000.

What I think is missing from your diet is fibre.  It's hard to tell from what you gave me, but it looks like around 15 grams a day.  You should be shooting for 25-30 grams.  Fibre has many benefits, including making you feel fuller longer, slowing digestions, improved nutrient absorption etc.  Fibre is also known to bind with fat in the stomach and cart it through your intestines and straight out, perhaps as much as 100-150 calories a day used up this way.   I'd be introducing more beans/legumes, whole grains (not breads but real whole grains), more fruit and vegetables.  And by vegetables I don't mean salad greens, I mean colourful greens and reds and yellows and oranges.   Salad is a great thing to eat and I eat a big one every day, we all need the roughage ,but many salads don't contain a lot of fibre.  You need to eat 5 leaves of romaine lettuce, maybe 1/3 of a head, to get just 1 gram of fibre.   I think you'll find if you add more fibre at each meal, you might end up skipping one of the snacks and saving some calories.  I'd cut out the bread and peanut butter/butter too if you are trying to lose weight and replace it with plain yogurt and berries for example.  Berries are very high in fibre, very sweet and very low in calories.  Most berries are about 70 calories for a whole cup with 5 grams of fibre and you cant' beat the taste.

Okay I could go on .....but who's still be reading...lol...

Thanks so much Johnny, I will give that a try and see what happens!

Thanks again everyone!

Your eating schedule looks perfectly fine to me and the only other thing I could think of is to totally agree that your fiber does look a little low like Johnny mentioned.  I'm a firm portion person and weigh and measure everything, even after a year solid I can be off on meats so it's the one area I know I have to watch.  It can be a pain but honestly it keeps me more accountable.

I wouldn't recommend cutting to 1200 or losing your protein shakes post workout like has been mentioned.  If you're doing 2 scoops you could potentially cut to 1 but honestly for recovery I see zero issue with doing a full serving because you need it most then.  Hang in there!  You're taking all the right steps, it's just a matter of fine tuning them and getting it all to click.