Need some advice from those that have "been there, done that."
 

Ok so I’m lost here. I am trying not to make this a whiney post, so bear with me this got mighty long.

I tried the Optifast diet in December. 4 weeks into it I decided it wasn’t for me. I lost 21lbs. I went from 292 to 271.I decided I could do this on my own with REAL food. I would count calories and be fine. I gained back 8 lbs getting back on normal food and by February 2010 I was back to 270. I started off at 1900-2000 calories to get used to tracking and counting calories. I lost 5.5 lbs in Feb, then 5 lbs in March. April I started working out: treadmill walking for 45 minutes. I lost .5 lbs in April. I got discouraged so I dropped my calories down to 1400-1600. I got a kitchen scale for Mother’s Day (my request  ). At that point I got very vigilant at weighing everything.

In May the treadmill got pretty easy and boring so I added in 30 Day Shred. I lost 2 lbs in May. I get bored easily, so by June I added in a Cardio Max DVD to the rotation. Basically I was doing 5-6 days of treadmill walking/jogging intervals, then I’d alternate 3 days Cardio Max, 3 days Shred in conjunction to the treadmill. I ended up losing nothing in June. In July I tried to UP my calories, back to 1800-1900. I figured maybe I was doing too much exercise for my intake (what do I know, I’m just playing with numbers at this point.) In July, I was down 3 lbs to 254. I ended up needing a new scale the first few days into August, mine died. My new scale weighed me 6 lbs higher, 259.9 to be exact. With 2 weeks of August left, I quit exercising. Hectic work schedule + 2 week trip to Alaska + 1st time my toddler was flying made me a nervous wreck. I kept vigilant to my calories though. By September 1st I was back down to 257.7 lbs.

I was a daily weigher, but being away from my scale for 14 days I decided to just wait until October 1st to get back on it. I didn’t count calories on vacation, though I made what I feel was excellent choices. Eating out for 2 weeks has its limits, and I did pick up healthy snacks to have on hand otherwise.

Anyway, my whole point is, why is this so hard for me? I went to my doctor in August for a physical. My sugars are fine. My thyroid is fine. I have a vitamin D deficiency, but I’m on supplements for it. I also have problems with bowel movements. TMI I know, but I only go like 2x a week. I make sure to get 25-35 grams of fiber a day. I’m not sure what else to do there. I won’t lie and say I’ve been 100% on plan this whole time, but I can say with honesty that in the past 6 months I’ve only had 1 day a month if that where I blew calories, and even then I’ve never gone above 2600 calories. Which I know seems like a lot, but 6 days out of 180 did that really effect me so? If I decide to have a piece of pizza, it fits into my calories for the day. Oh and I also gave up diet soda back in July, I just drink water and unsweetened ice tea with lemon. I also drink between 90-120 oz per day.

My normal day:

Breakfast:
Oatmeal w/truvia some fruit. Banana or apple.
Or
Yogurt, grape nuts, raspberries
Or
Bagel thin, scrambled egg, ham slice, ½ oz cheese
Or
2 eggs scramble w/1/2 oz cheese, 1T salsa, 2 pieces turkey bacon

Lunch
Tuna w/1T miracle whip, relish, with romaine on low carb wrap. 35g Broccoli, 35g baby carrot, plum.
Or
2 cups romaine, red pepper, red onion, 5 grape tomatoes, 35g carrot, 1 serving crispy tortilla strips, 2tbs dressing (lite never above 70 cal a serving)
Or
Sandwich thin w/ham, mustard, 1oz cheese, lettuce, onion. Assorted veggies, fruit.
Or
Lean Cuisine

Snacks
Various fruits / veggies
Or
1 serving Thin Triscuits w/laughing cow wedge
Or
Yogurt w/grape nuts

Dinner varies a lot. We always have a meat, veggie and starch with a fruit. (I have a toddler so it’s a variety.) If my husband requests something that I know won’t fill me with a single portion size, I make myself a salad and load up the veggies.

Since back from our vacation, I’m working out again. Trying to get back to my 30 minutes of jogging and vigilant on my calories. I fell between 1600-1700 this past week. It doesn’t take work to eat that amount and not feel hungry, so I’m not hitting my 1800-1900 goal. Maybe I should go to 1200-1400? Then, of course, I worry about being hungry. I feel like this shouldn’t be that hard. I’d be ecstatic to go back to 5lbs a month, I’m not even asking for 20 lbs a month! I know, just keep doing good things and it will have to come off, but it’s frustrating. Any advice would be appreciated.

Shylah, you are doing everything right. I would continue to be consistent. It's obvious that you are committed because you have already lost 35 lbs which is awesome. I would consider taking some metamucil to get things movin' and groovin' if you know what I mean. But most importantly you have to believe that losing weight is possible for you. It is! You are doing it--maybe not at the speed that you wish to but you are doing it! You are making sustainable lifestyle changes that result in weight loss.

I can relate. I did have a couple months of good loss in the beginning (10 pounds and 8 pounds), but since then, I have been lucky to lose 3-5 per month. And it's so frustrating when you are on program, working out, doing what should make it happen and it doesn't happen! And I know I've been taking a mini break from this site and reading a bit less here because I get really discouraged when I see people losing amazing amounts of weight.

You are being consistent, and one thing I tell myself is that if I keep up the calorie deficit, it has to come off eventually. It may not be when I want it to be, but eventually I'll get there. I think you should keep doing what you are doing!

The scale is only one tool - it can be very motivating to also take measurements at home. If you have access to a good body fat measurement it also is very helpful.

In addition to counting calories, I count protein/fiber also. Your food plan does have some processed food and is a little carb heavy, but that isnt horrible if you tolerate it ok and are getting enough protein.

Keep up the good work and dont get discouraged that it is a little slower than you would like.

I get normally around 75-95 grams of protein a day, fiber between 25-35. My carbs do have heavier days, but I try to stay around 200. I could probably cut that down a lot. May have to try that.

Thanks for the advice ladies. I will keep plugging along and play with smaller changes. I think I'm going to stick at my 1600-1700 calories though. It's filling me up so why push it right? :)

You seem to be on the right track with your plan. Consistency is really important so give it 100% for a month, with no days off or going over and see what kind of results you get :)

Slower losses are okay. The time will pass anyway. It's taken me over 3 years so far. Just keep plugging along!

I've lost almost 100 pounds now and my body has been fighting me like that a lot of the way. I had to cut back on my cardio a bit and lowered my calories. Now I'm losing again like crazy. It sounds like, if you keep doing what you are doing, the weight will come off because it has been at least following a downward trend. It helps me to graph my weight so I can remind myself that, even if I might have gained a little right now, I'm still losing over all. The graph can also show you how your monthly cycles affect your weight.

Hang in there! You are doing great! Slow weight loss is the best weight loss!

Oh my goodness. Girl, I think you need to go back and read your post like you're not the author. The weight loss progress might not be as fast as you want right now, but you've made so much progress! When it gets boring, you kick it up a notch! You are doing everything right, and you've lost 30 lbs! It might not seem like a lot, but what if you hadn't of gotten on track? You'd be up 30 lbs, you'd still be unhealthy and happy.

I know it's discouraging but try and see how far you've come. You've made an incredible journey and transformation in your way of living and that's more than some people ever achieve, even if they have reached their goal. You're losing weight by changing your lifestyle, not going on a quick fix lose it now diet. You're setting yourself up for long term success and you should be so proud!

I would stick with your 1600-1700, stay on track, and start measuring. You can do this!

I eat 3 prunes every morning, yeah, tmi, ha! you might give that a try, going the natural way.

It is so hard for you because it is hard for everyone. It think about this new journey I have created for myself every minute of every day right now. I am hoping it will get easier- but, for now it is a full time job for me to stick with this plan. The amount of energy to lose one pound is unreal... especially when compared to how easy it was to put on. Just keep at it!

you are doing great! remember if it comes off slow, has a better chance of staying OFF. you have made this a life style. eventually, you will get results. i feel very proud of you, not only for wt loss, but mentally you've made so much progress! thats sooo key.
for me it really is all in my head.
have you thought about strength training? does 30 day shred have that? it sounds like you are doing alot of cardio. i can relate totally a cardio queen. strength training ups the metabolism for the whole day.

I had the same issue with the bowel movements. I found the healthier I ate it naturally went away, but now my body is still very sensitive to not getting enough fiber and I get stopped up. I never realized before what "stopped up" was, as I was ALWAYS "stopped up" and that was my norm. Just being the norm though doesn't make it healthy. I can't tell you how much better I feel now that I'm a lot more regular.

I wouldn't count the grams of fiber religiously if I were you, remember your body is unique. I know MINE is and I think I personally need MORE than the average recommended dose of fiber.

What I do now is not restrict the amount of oatmeal I eat, I eat enough of it until I'm full. I also cut down A LOT on processed carbs, they stop me up! I also don't limit the amount of carrots or broccoli I eat. Again, I eat them til I'm satisfied. Anything that is fiber-full and mostly low/no calorie I don't put restrictions on or measure at all and I try to make sure they're included every single day. (if they're not, I suffer the consequences! but mostly its the oatmeal in the morning for me that helps the most, a large bowl of oatmeal with purevia in it)

Listen to your body and adjust your diet until YOUR body tells you its good enough, use the recommendations as guidelines NOT the letter of the law here. Tailor your diet to meet YOUR needs, not just any average person.


Also, give your body some time to adjust to regularity in that dept :P Its actually not something I set out to do, it was a gradual thing that I just noticed. And NOW I can see that I DO control it. I just didn't realize it before.

Theres a bunch of TMI for you :P But you're not the only one who is "slow" in that dept ^_^

Once you get your diet adjusted in that area though, I can't tell you just how much better I feel! I never KNEW before though, like, I didn't have anything to compare it to and I thought it was just "normal" for me. Well, yeah, it was normal for me but not healthy for me. Now I've got a new normal and its healthy!

I could not agree more! I also eat steel-cut oatmeal for breakfast every morning. I make my own high fiber bread. Luckily I like prunes for a snack and really like cooked cabbage, beans a couple of times a week. I've learned that if I wanted to lose weight that I had to eat a super high fiber diet. That is my body. Also I need quite a bit of water, but water stops me up even more. It stops up my DD23 too! I have to stay on top of it or I'm bloated, gassy and really uncomfortable.