HELP!!! I am so stinking frustrated I don't know what to do

Hi all,

So I am new to this website, but found in my searching for some answers.  Short Bio - 41 yr old at 170 lbs.  I have been trying for 2 years to get down to a healthy weight  - 150ish.  I am atheletic and really do enjoy working out.  Two months ago, i joined a morning boot camp workout program and it's 5 days a week - intense workouts.  The routines vary to include all muscle groups and go through interval training.  I love it - it pushes me to do things I wouldn't do alone.  Calorie burn is 500-600 a day.  Problem is the scale is not moving!!! I know some of it is muscle building, but come on!  My clothes are actually tighter, I feel fatter and I don't understand it at all.  I am so incredibly frustrated this morning all I want to do is cry.

I've done my homework, BMR is 1530, which means to maintain, I would need to take in between 2200 - 2500.  I've been tracking my calories and I am way below that.  In fact, yesterday - honest to goodness, caloric intake was 1150.  That varies, some days it's up to around 1700.  I can't believe that 1200 would put me into that dreaded "starvation mode". 

What am I doing wrong?? I working so hard and getting nowhere.  I am not going to give up, I am going to continue it but I need some additional help I guess.  Whatever is going on right now is NOT WORKING!

you're not alone.  I'm in the same boat.  Been on this site since 4/7/09...not progress... I'm 55 and need to lose 20.  My BMR is 1445....I eat on average 1200 - 1500 a day.  Work out 4-5 days a week.  I'm taking thyroid meds and doctor says levels are good.  Can't seem to get any weight off and am just as frustrated as you are....We'll hang in there and keep trying together.  DON"T GIVE UP!! 

DON'T GIVE UP!! I went through the same thing you're going through.  I started doing CrossFit training to get in shape.  Its also intense and after a couple of months I wasn't losing any weight regardless of the training or calorie-counting. I started to gain weight from muscle AND my clothes were getting snug!!  I was soooooooo angry and frustrated, but I stuck with it.  It took about FOUR MONTHS for the scale to move and my clothes to start fitting loose.   Just be patient and stick with it and you'll get the results you want!  GOOD LUCK!

Sounds like your body is in starvation mode.  You need to eat more.  I know that sounds funny, but you serisouly do.  I gained weight and work out at least 5-6 days a week.  My friend told me that sometimes you need to gain weight to lose weight...it doesn't make it easier.  Woman do not want to see the scale going the other way!:)  Good luck, chin up...and eat more! 

Hi, I can have a 1,000 calorie a day deficit for a week or more and actually gain weight or stay the same. This always happens if I am lifting heavy. For some reason my body retains water and I look kind of bloated. It takes a few weeks for my body to get adjusted to the routine and the weight comes off. So if you are like me and doing a work out that isn't just 100% cardio your body is probably retaining water and building muscle.

Maybe becuase you are doing such intense workouts that your getting more muscle mass. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat. Don't worry so much about the scale, worry more about the size. However, it seems to me that you are not eating enough. Start worrying more about WHAT you eat, not just HOW MUCH you eat. Also add in more cardio. Maybe it will help you burn more fat. :) Good luck and DON"T GIVE UP!

Maybe your workouts are too intense, too often? Your body might be fighting to hang on to everything, because you are pushing your self pretty hard. Can you switch out 1-2 workouts a week with jogging, yoga, or reformer pilates? And are you carefully measuring your food - weighting and counting everything?

I used to eat at maintenance when i did strength training, only to find that I got bigger and weighed more, as my muscles got larger. It was only by resting a bit that I started to lose weight.

>>I've done my homework, BMR is 1530, which means to maintain, I would need to take in between 2200 - 2500.  I've been tracking my calories and I am way below that.  In fact, yesterday - honest to goodness, caloric intake was 1150.  That varies, some days it's up to around 1700.  I can't believe that 1200 would put me into that dreaded "starvation mode".<<

Okay this post confuses me, and I kept thinking I had a point but when I started typing I couldn't grasp it.

Something is not adding up and I can't put my finger on it.

Original Post by rozie06:

Sounds like your body is in starvation mode.  You need to eat more.  I know that sounds funny, but you serisouly do.  I gained weight and work out at least 5-6 days a week.  My friend told me that sometimes you need to gain weight to lose weight...it doesn't make it easier.  Woman do not want to see the scale going the other way!:)  Good luck, chin up...and eat more! 

This sounds like me, but I don't like it. I don't know how to really eat more without feeling sick and i'm gaining. 

Change it up a bit! Maybe you need to give yourself a little zig-zagging to get the scale to cooperate.

You could try doing your intensive workouts every OTHER day, and zig-zagging your calories to keep your body on it's toes. Every time I reached a stagnant point, as soon as I started doing different stuff everyday, the body started to respond.

Give it a shot?

xo ari

eat a lot of protein for breaky, lunch, diner, & snacks +fresh salad & lots of steamed veg.  about 4 Tbls of brown rice with 2 early meals & drink 1+gallons of water per day & tada lose a load of weight.

good luck Tjlo. 

 Ps just so you know since you asked what you are doing wrong  prolly has to do with what your cals are/were made up of as in processed food/carbs vs. lean protein.

You can do it.

The first 2 months of doing this, I eeked out a 3 lb loss.  And don't get me wrong, I was thrilled -- it was better than nothing.  But I do an intense hour long workout 6 days a week.  Then I went to my parents' house for 2 weeks for Passover.  In those 2 weeks, I got in about 5 workouts and had a lot less control over what I was eating.  Ever since then, I've been losing a little over a pound a week.

It seems counterintuitive, but sometimes your body just needs a break from a rigorous workout regimen.  Try taking a week off of boot camp.  Walk or swim instead, something less intense.  Then go back.

Original Post by rozie06:

Sounds like your body is in starvation mode.  You need to eat more.  I know that sounds funny, but you serisouly do.  I gained weight and work out at least 5-6 days a week.  My friend told me that sometimes you need to gain weight to lose weight...it doesn't make it easier.  Woman do not want to see the scale going the other way!:)  Good luck, chin up...and eat more! 

 Oh for crying out loud.  I can't beleive you people.

Original Post by fitmom4life:

Original Post by rozie06:

Sounds like your body is in starvation mode.  You need to eat more.  I know that sounds funny, but you serisouly do.  I gained weight and work out at least 5-6 days a week.  My friend told me that sometimes you need to gain weight to lose weight...it doesn't make it easier.  Woman do not want to see the scale going the other way!:)  Good luck, chin up...and eat more! 

 Oh for crying out loud.  I can't beleive you people.

 Dont hate yo because she is right.... its called a metabolic tune up.  As in kick it in...considering many have dieted theirs down to uhhh nothing.  got to turn it up.  ps not to offend just saying

I agree with you crazydiamondchrysalis, her stats don't add up.

lilwags08: Could you provide more information about yourself?? You mentioned you are 41, and weigh 170 lbs. with a goal of weighing 150 lbs. How tall are you?? How much weight are you looking to lose each week?? Finally, what is your current waist size?? The reason I'm asking about such things is that the information you provided in your first post doesn't quite add up. There are a couple of BMI calcuators I use, one that goes beyond just your BMI index, and I would like to plug your stats in to see what they say about your losing weight. If you could provide the extra info. I would really appreciate it. We can see whether if it's the diet part or the exercise part that needs to be adressed.

Spammer alert!

And yes, measurements would be helpful.

Original Post by theychangedmyname:

 Dont hate yo because she is right.... its called a metabolic tune up.  As in kick it in...considering many have dieted theirs down to uhhh nothing.  got to turn it up.  ps not to offend just saying

 I can't even understand your post. 

For the record, if your metabolic rate was "down to nothing", you'd be dead.  You don't have that much control over it - you might like to think you do, but you don't.  And at her level of calories, no one would be going into starvation mode.  Yeesh.

Not long ago I asked the same question (Can someone please explain why...) It is terribly frustrating that by cutting calories and working out that you could actually be gaining weight.  That is the advise everyone gave me was to up my calories.  I too was consuming between 1100-1300 a day and since I have started this program I have gained 7 lbs. (& my clothes are tighter) I have to admit I am very afraid of upping my calories because I am so afraid of gaining even MORE weight.  But everyone has said the same thing so I'm thinking they must be right.  I belong to a gym and talked to my trainer regarding this( & no I don't work out everyday with a trainer, it's part of the membership and allows me three visits with her).  She too said I need to start eating 1600-1800 calories a day.  I just wanted you to know that I feel for you and your frustration....I have wanted to throw in the towel many times but I know I just need to be patient and hope that everyone is right.  I went to the gym on Saturday in tears because of all the frustration.  Thinking that I am going to work so hard for an hour 1/2 for what?  to gain more weight?  But....I cannot think like that any longer...I pulled myself together and I am determined to do this!  I am not as young as I used to be and it's just going to take me longer but atleast I know I am doing things the correct way.  Please keep in touch with me as we are in the same boat!  I wish you the best!!