Getting unspeakably frustrated...

For the last month I've been losing the same lousy pound over and over again! Which wouldn't be bad if I was at/near my goal weight, but I'm not even under 200 pounds - and at this rate I don't think I'll EVER get there!!!!!!!  On the first of June I was 211 pounds... six weeks later I'm still stuck at 207. I don't know what I'm doing wrong :( Yesterday I ate 1500 calories and walked for an hour and a half so I burned 2300 - the scale SHOULD have moved downwards, right? But it didn't - it went UP! The day before that I burned 2500 and ate 1900 (I was very very hungry...) and my weight stayed exactly the same. I'm getting so frustrated I could scream. :( What do I have to DO to keep losing weight?! (no I can't join a gym, go to exercise classes, do aerobics tapes or go jogging - we've got no money and I've got a bum knee that can't handle high impact exercise... I have exactly two choices for exercise - walk, or swim, and I'm trying to do both of them.) And I don't want to go under 1500 calories a day - I've done it and it's too hard to keep up. Today I feel like giving up entirely...

Don't give up.  It may be that your body has gotten used to the "routine."  Try eating more calories one day and less the next, but at least 1500 calories.  Try eating more often during the day so you don't feel hungry.  Pick up some laundry determent or bags of potatoes and treat them like weights.  There are several exercises on the activity portion of this web-site.  Even with a bum knee, you can do curls, extensions, push-ups (against a wall, bed, or table at first), and other upper body strengthing exercises.  The more muscle you build, the more calories you will burn when resting.  Try to get some relaxation too, as stress can also make you retain weight.

Just keep up the good work and don't lose sight of your goal.  You are doing great!

bump

I feel your pain. Don't give up even if you are not loseing right now you are deffinatly getting healthier!!! I think maybe upping your calories for mantinance for a few day's might be a good thing to try.....Also like the above poster try to find things around the house you can do to build muscle so even if you arnt loseing weight you might be loseing inches. I have not lost any weight since I got to my half way point way back but I have gone down a pants size and my legs are more muscular..... maybe take a two week break from the scale and take your measurments instead....Just a few thoughts Either way YOU CAN DO IT!!!!! your body is probably just adjusting!

The most frustrating thing is that I take my measurements once a month... and when I did them last week I realised that my big fat stomach has stopped shrinking and it's not more than an inch smaller than it was in APRIL! I dropped ten inches in about five months, and then nada. :( I feel like I'm failing at this, and I HATE failure!

Today I ate 1500 calories exactly, and burned 2400... now what will the scale do in the morning? (I also kept my sodium down as much as I could... I had a lean cuisine panini for dinner, but I didn't have any other sodium all day.) Here's hoping to see a positive change!

Be sure you are eating enough. If you are hungry a lot, you may have to average a bit higher than 1500. I'm currently working on the "problem" of being too hungry and losing more than I expected. Not a typical complaint, but worrisome because I thought my deficit averaged about 500. if it's averaging more than that (as the weight loss suggests), then maybe something is up?

Sorry, not very consoling to hear from someone who is "worried" about losing too much. But I think we might just both need to eat more. Good luck in finding what will work for you!

Our bodies do become complacent and what worked before slows down dramatically.  What I have done when this happens is work at maintaining for awhile.  I eat more but still stay active and try to appreciate how much better I feel.  I know this is difficult when your trying to get the weight off, but I do think at times we need to adjust to where we are at and then move forward. 

I've lost about 55 lbs. and have never gone below 1800 calories per day.  I know that it's not practical for me to eat less, as I'd never be able to maintain that kind of calorie reduction.  The slower pace of weight loss has helped me to adjust to new and hopefully long lasting change. 

When I get into a rut I also try to reinvigorate myself by reading things that motivate me, trying new recipes and just mixing it up in general.  I remember a while back you posted of being frustrated with your progress, but shortly after you were losing again.  Keep up the great work.

Glory, glory hallellujah - the scale moved in the right direction again! I think the key is that I HAVE to a)keep my calories down to 1500 (it's so easy for them to creep up from there and since my sedentary burn is only 2000 I keep literally eating away my deficit!), b) try to raise my burn about three hundred calories or so for the day, and c) keep my sodium as low as I can, which is probably the hardest part...

I know how you feel but as you can see the scale does finally move.  I've come to realize that my scale won't budge for most of the month but when it does it's usually two or three pounds at t time.  It's mind over matter. 

ps

I've considered that aliens have control of my scale as I have a loss when I don't deserve it and no loss when I've earned one.

hey dude,

 

about the scale "moving in the right direction": this is somewhat illusory considered on a day-to-day basis. A pound of fat is worth about 3500 calories. so even if you're running a deficit of 500 calories a day, it will take a week to lose a pound. So what's likely making the scale go up instead of down is what you've got in your stomach at the time.

Consider: you lose 500 calories in one day (1/7th of a pound), but drink a glass of water (lets say it weighs 1/7th of a pound too) before hopping on the scale. Bam, no weight loss registers, even though you've lost 1/7th of a pound worth of fat.

Bottom line: don't put too much stock in day-to-day measurements. If you just can't help it, try to always measure yourself first thing in the morning, after you've gone to the bathroom and before you have your shower or have eaten anything. That way you'll always be measuring yourself at your lowest weight.

I do... I jump on the scale in the morning after my body wakes up and before I have breakfast and get dressed... if I don't have time to do that, then I just skip the day because I'll get a false reading. I don't put a great deal of store in one single weigh-in, it's the general trend that matters, and it was getting depressing because I realised that it was turning into a flat line! I think I've busted that plateau now... yesterday I ate 1500 calories and did so much exercise that I burned 2700, and the scale's down a whole pound today! (not that I lost a pound of fat overnight, but you know...) Now I'm just half a pound away from my next mini-goal of 205.

I hear you, I do.. I am close to my goal, but I haven't moved in what seems like months.  If anything the scale has gone up.  It looks like you have tried everything.  Calorie cycling, exercise, what about water?  I weigh everyday too.. I didn't for about a month and ended up gaining, and I was super mad.  If I weigh everyday, then I have to hold myself accountable every day... Don't give up! Sorry I don't have any advise to give you!