New here...and getting discouraged

Hi all, I'm new and happy I found this place.  Hopefully it will bring my spirits up to be around others like me. 

The reason I'm discouraged lately is because on May 6th (over 3 weeks ago) I made the choice to get off my butt and get healthy.  I started at 50 pounds over my goal weight.  I did lots of research on eathing healthy, excersising, and metabolism.  I created what I feel is the perfect diet for me based on my BMR.  I change my numbers weekly to account for any weight loss so that I don't plateu.  Only thing is, I'm stuck anyway.  I've been stuck since last week.  For the last 10 days I've bounced between 149 and 148.  I keep excersising harder and harder, and eathing healthier and healthier, and it still is stuck.  I can't figure out if I'm retaining water....gaining muscle, or if my metabolism is a lost cause.  In the past I lost weight by starving myself.  When I was between 16 and 18 I suffered from an eating disorder and I'm afraid I've messed up my metabolism from that.

I know it's normal to plateau, but so soon?  I've logged every calorie I've eaten and every calorie I've burned.  I eat 6 times a day.  3 meals and 3 snacks, to keep my metabolism burning.  I have been taking vitamins every day and I'm taking in lots of green tea too.  I try to eat heavier in the mornings and lighter in the evenings.  I try to eat carbs at the begining of the day and veggies at the end, and protien with every meal.  I make sure to take in about 30% of my calories as fat.  I excersise every morning.  I weight train before cardio because it helps you burn 10% more fat than weight training after cardio.

I really put a lot of thought into my diet plan, and i was supposed to loose at least 3 lbs every week.  The first week I lost 6 (water weight, I know) the second week I lost 4, but the third week I lost 0 and halfway into my 4th week I'm still at 0.  I don't understand.  I'd be happy to share my numbers with anyone if you think you can help me figure this out.  I don't want to give up, it's been an obsession for me lately.  But I'm feeling a bit down today.  I work so hard and feel like I'm not showing much for it.

Well, I don't know all the factors, but if you are doing the exact same thing every day you might need to shake things up a bit.  Your body might have gotten too efficient.  Maybe have a high calorie day followed by a low calorie day and switch up your workout to have it backwards or at a different time.  Try that for a week and see what happens.

How many calories a day are you eating?

It sounds to me like your doing everything right but your too demanding. Your body won't lose 3 lbs a week every week no matter what you do. Your body will stall and refuse to lose that amount.

I was weight recorder when I belonged to TOPS and I could always tell you what members would gain or not lose the following week by how much they lost in the past week.  If you lose a lot your body just rebels and refuses to go down farther......let up a wee bit. 

If you relax and just keep doing the right thing one day you'll see a 2 lb drop again just out of the blue.  I think the reason you hit this stall out so quickly is because you pushed too hard. The weight didn't come on at 3 lbs a week and it will not go off at that rate.

Try to think that if you only lose 1 lb a week you will be down 52 lbs in a year so if you relax your 40 lbs will be gone by sometime just after xmas and you'll feel grand for next spring.  Keep up the good healthy eating and exercise but relax and don't ask so much of your poor body.

I wouldn't say it's the exact same thing every day. There are days where I eat more carbs at night or I am forced to excersise at night because of scheduling conflicts...but those are my goals and I try my hardes to stick to them.   I never cheat or overeat, and if for any reason I can't excersise, I just make sure to eat less that day.  Could my body really have gotten used to this after only a few weeks?  I expected this after a few months...but not weeks.  So confusing!  I want to take my records to a dietician, but we don't really have many of those around here. 

I should add that I have lost about an inch all over...1 inch in my arms, 1 in my waist, etc.  But that's about normal for a total of 10 pounds lost anyway...right?

Claire - this week my intake total goal is 946.1.  But I eat anywhere between 1000 and 1300 and burn off 400 calories thorugh excersise.  So many times I'll finish the day with an intake total that's under my goal, even though I eat more than that.

It is easy to get discouraged when you don't see results, but you are only in your first month.  It can take your body up to three months to just adjust to your new diet and start taking in food correctly. 

You did not ruin your metabolism.  This will change depending on how you eat.

Remember to drink a lot of water.  You should drink 1/2 your weigh in ounces every day.  Once your body gets used to regular water intake, this will help you digest your food faster.  You must also realize that counting calories is good, but be sure you are not intaking a lot of calories from fat for the first month or so, at least until you metabolism has quickened.  Once you burn faster, harsher calories wont matter because your body wont try to store them; they will just flush out of your system.

Also exercise is very important but in your first month, you should be doing mostly cardio.  Weight training is good for toning your muscles but if they are covered by fat it will only make you look the same size or bigger than you expect.  Remember not to weigh yourself too often.  It is more about how you look and feel, in the early months of your diet the scale can be a deterant.

You are doing everything right, keep it up.  You may just need to give it more time.

Good luck.

Timlin - I know I shouldn't try to loose more than 1-2 pounds per week.  My history of starving myself gets in the way sometimes and clouds my judgement.  I know I can loose it faster, but I also know it's not healthy.  Which is why I developed such a strict plan for myslelf...to stop the temptation to starve. 

5 years ago I did a different version of what I'm doing now.  I lost 11 pounds a month for a grand total of 22 pounds in 2 months....but I went right back to eating huge portions after that and gained it all back in one month...ouch.  On that plan I ate too little and didn't excersise at all.  I like to think that this one is much healthier. 

In all honesty, I'm feeling great, my skin looks better and tighter, I'm starting to see a change in my muscles, I'm loosing inches, but man, when that scale doesn't move for 10 whole days, it sure is scary.  I guess it just makes me feel like I must be doing something wrong.  I'm afraid that I must be eating too much.  I know that I should be able to diet on a reasonable amound of calories every day, but at times I think maybe my body is different and it truley needs much less than most people in order to loose.  My own history supports that, since the only way I can loose weight is to starve myself.  I'm trying so hard this time not to do that.....I'm trying so hard to beat back that little voice inside my head that tells me to stop eating, but when the scale doesn't move, I wonder if maybe it's right.

You aren't eating enough.  Your body is rebelling.

You need to eat AT MINIMUM

1200 calories + what you burn through exercising + extra if you don't sit around at work/home most of the day.

Your goal is too aggressive... and it is a little symptomatic of your former ED coming back.

You have to eat enough to support your basic bodily functions & you need to eat more to compensate for your exercise.

I'm new to the board (as of 10 minutes ago), but definitely not new to weight loss attempts.  I learned a very valuable lesson recently that I think will help you.  Get rid of your scale.  Not permanently, but for a while at least.

When I am in the zone and really focused on trying to lose weight I weigh myself 3 or 4 times a day and if I don't see what I want I sabotage myself.  I'm a bonified emotional eater and that's all I usually need to justify a binge.  I've always known that the number was not what was important, but I could NOT stay off the scale or get it in my head that my measurements and how my clothes fit is all I needed to worry about.  The number is what we've all be trained to use to guage our success.

I finally gave my scale over to my trainer/friend for a while.  She had it for a couple months.  I started to get used to not getting on the scale and finding my proof of loss in other venues...feeling better, more energy, jeans that didn't fit before, loss of inches.  Once I got it back I didn't put it in my bathroom.  I didn't want to see it all the time and have to fight the urge.  I put it in the guest bathroom and now I have to really remember to check it once a week.  It has completely changed how I go about this journey. 

Good luck.

I agree with nightc1.

You are not eating enough, even a completely Sedentary woman needs 1200 calories for all of her vital organs to function.  1000 just plain isn't enough.

If you burn 400 calories exercising you need to eat about 1600 that day.
1600 - 400 = 1200 net calories

Please eat at least 1200 calories on Sedentary days, no less.

Your body is freaking out because it doesn't have enough energy to run.

I second what nightc1 and nocturne said.  Absolutely, you are not eating enough.  That is why your weight loss has stalled.  nocturne said it best.  "your body is freaking out...."  That is why it won't let you lose any more weight.  I understand that it is hard to eat more than that when you are coming from a disordered eating background, but we are here to support you and we wouldn't lie to you.  You really need to get your calories higher than that.

You know, as much as I try to listen, it's so hard to believe that eating more will help me loose weight, it just makes no sence to me.  But....obviously I'm here looking for help and if eating more is what I truly need to do to loose pounds, then I'll do it.  But I'm scared.  I don't believe it will work and I'm scared I'll waste time doing it....but it's just time, and i shouldn't rush weight loss anyway.

I'll be honest though....it really is hard for me to eat more than I already am because I get so full from my meals.  I have to eat snacks to get in the extra calories.  Thank god for the huge amounts of 100 calorie pack "everythings" these days!!

Stick with it! I stalled about 3 weeks into my "healthy eating habits" and much like you worried. It took roughly 2 weeks before the next pound went with no changes to my eating habits. But once i was over the hump... its been 2 weeks with 2lbs gone each week, im back on track to loseing. I to just didnt get the eat more thing. After 2-3 weeks of eating healthy i noticed i didnt get hungery and i was eating about 300 calories (or more) less then i should hav been. So I did what almost everybody here says. recorded every meal, every activity and made sure i ate about 4-500 less calories then i was burning. it worked for me, but i must admit after eating to much for so many years and finally getting to the point i was happy with normal meals it was tough to eat after i wasnt hungry.

but i believe it all now! its working for me.

maybe we should start a thread looking only for stories of people who plateaued & UPPED their cals & started losing weight again that way - then we could point everyone like you to that thread!  b/c i've seen so many people say they did that, but the stories are scattered all about.

good luck

I know it's hard to believe.  But it's true.  You need to eat more to lose more.  It's just the way our bodies and metabolisms work. If we cut our calories too low, our bodies slow down our metabolisms, which means no weight loss and a loss in apetite.  This is another reason why you may not be feeling hungry even though you are not eating enough.

If you are having a hard time getting a couple hundred extra calories in, try some peanut butter.  Or a serving of nuts, or half an avocado in your salad.  Drink an extra cup of milk, or even have another serving of that V-8 juice.  These are things that you can eat if you don't want to feel stuffed, but you need a little more cals.

Is there a search feature here?  I'd love to read some threads where people have had success loosing more weight from eating more.

Try reading the bood, Forever Young Diet and Lifestyle and see what you think. I don't know what kind of Carbs you are having, but the only kind you should be having according to that book, are fruits and vegetables (except potatoes). Forget about any processed foods, like white rice, pasta,  and other processed foods. Brown Rice and Whole grain bread are fine, but in small servings. But hang in there, alll those other people are right when they say, you should be eating at least 1200 calories a day. If you don't your health will decline and your weight will possible stay the same or go up.

duskpoo here is my #1 all time bit of information to lose weight with... are you listening???   Are you ready because it is so important that if you miss it you may never get where you want to be..... ready???? RELAX

You sound so stressed out over this your body couldn't react the way it should if it had to.  Its like going to the doctor for high blood pressure and just before they check it you have an anxiety attack.  Let your body be good with you eating healthy.  you said you are feeling good and your skin and such is looking good so let your body get healthy, you are losing inches and toning up.  Do you want the scale to know you are looking good or do you want the world to know you are good and healthy and looking DYNOMITE! Boosting your calories to a healthy level will be the best way I know of to stay healthy and get what you want (a toned, healthy, good looking body).  It should also keep your mind balanced easier with the right amount of calories and nutrition.

good luck

Thanks josal.  I do get very stressed about this.  I have a very unhealthy relationship with food and weight.  I'm trying so hard to do things right.  I researched for weeks before starting.  I thought I had it all figured out.  I have serious issues with stress as it is and yes, this is starting to stress me out.  It's all I think about all day and all I dream about all night.  And the idea of eating more, even though i"ve been stuck at the same weight for the last 10 days, is starting to put me in a panic. 

Does anyone know of an online source where I can speak with a professional about trying to loose weight?  Is anyone here a professional in the field?

I tagged a few good threads during my first two months here just for this occasion.   Here's one of the MANY success stories of someone who like you wasn't eating enough, came here for advice, reluctantly followed that advice to eat more and then started losing weight again after her body re-adjusted.

Enjoy :)

http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/3577 6.html