I am 29 years old and weigh 208 lbs, size 14, and am 5'6". My high school weight was 135 lbs and a size 7/8. After having my children, my weight fluctuated, and this is the heaviest I have ever been, this is how much I weighed when I was 9 months pregnant. Five years ago I got sick with a virus and lost 50 lbs, weighing 155 pounds and was a size 10, which to me is ideal, and is my current goal weight. I have never been athletic or toned in my life. I have never been a bad eater, and tend to eat sparsely, eating maybe 2 times a day. I have tried dieting, or eating smaller meals more frequently, but I just can't do it, it does not fit in with my lifestyle, I have resigned myself to this. I probably consume an average of 1500 calories a day. I drink plenty of water, and little to no soda or juice.
In MARCH 2010 I started working out after some health problems and headaches in an attempt to feel better. I have an old seperated rib injury that still hurts sometimes, and lifelong knee problems.I started out slow, going 3 times a week, and doing 30-45 minutes of cardio (bike/interval on treadmill), gradually working up to where I am now. I am currently going 4-5 times a week, and excersizing for 1-2 hours a day. I do intervals on the treadmill for 45-60 minutes, around 2-2.5 miles at 3.5-5.5 MPH. I then do various weights and weight machines throughout my whole body at reps of 15x2, for about 20 minutes, followed by 100 crunches using either a balance ball, or old school on the floor. Sometimes I take a Body Pump class when I can fit it in. I am not embellishing any of this, or acting like I do more than I really do, I do this all.
My problem: I feel great, have better posture, and less of an appetite, especially for bad foods. I feel muscles where there used to be none, and am more energetic. I have lost maybe a few inches, and have lost NO WEIGHT whatsoever! It has been MONTHS, and I can't do this anymore. I don't know what to do, where to go, it makes me sick to my stomach to go to the gym everyday knowing that nothing is happening. I cry everytime I try on clothes and do my weekly measurements and weigh in. I give up, I just want to resign myself to be fat for the rest of my life. I don't know what else to do. I break a sweat and get my heart racing everyday, pushing myself further and further.
Have you tried tracking your calories with FitDay or any other online tool? Though I do not log my calories, I have done this when I've hit a wall and am trying to troubleshoot. Also, there's a LOT of calories and sugar in 6-12 alcoholic bevs a week, depending on what you're drinking. That can be a huge chunk of those 1500 calories you aim for. I enjoy a glass of wine 2-3 nights a week and even though it's maybe 150 calories max, it gets put towards my intake.
I do think it would be helpful to log what you eat to get a sense of how much you're eating and to spot things that are sneaking in.
I am not an expert by any means, but I see a couple things right away when reading your post:
First, if you are only eating 2 times a day that is probably not enough. Your body may actually be working against you because it may be in "starvation-mode." Also, this type of eating, whether you eat a lot at a time or a little, will slow your metabolism. Eating 6 small meals evenly spaced is actually ideal, but that's tough for me too, planning-wise. Eating breakfast like you do is great, but you may need to space out your eating a bit.
Also, you mentioned you had recent health problems. If you are working out that much and eating only about 1500 calories, you may have some thyroid issues. Have you had that checked recently?
Finally, it is normal for little weight loss at first when you are adding in things like weights as your body is building muscle that was never there before. If you are continuing to lose inches that's great because your body will become even more efficient with the more muscle you have. However, if the inches lost is slowing/stopping, you might want to visit your doctor.
I am not an expert by any means, but I see a couple things right away when reading your post:
First, if you are only eating 2 times a day that is probably not enough. Your body may actually be working against you because it may be in "starvation-mode." Also, this type of eating, whether you eat a lot at a time or a little, will slow your metabolism. Eating 6 small meals evenly spaced is actually ideal, but that's tough for me too, planning-wise. Eating breakfast like you do is great, but you may need to space out your eating a bit.
Also, you mentioned you had recent health problems. If you are working out that much and eating only about 1500 calories, you may have some thyroid issues. Have you had that checked recently?
Finally, it is normal for little weight loss at first when you are adding in things like weights as your body is building muscle that was never there before. If you are continuing to lose inches that's great because your body will become even more efficient with the more muscle you have. However, if the inches lost is slowing/stopping, you might want to visit your doctor.
Just to clarify, "starvation mode" will not happen if you are eating enough calories everyday, which it appears OP is doing. This is a medical condition that occurs over times of actual starvation and/or fasting.
Also, the 5-6 small meals approach works for lots of people. I am not one of them. I have tried that a few times and I find that when I'm feeding myself all day all I think of is food! I eat a good breakfast (protein with a green smoothie), a big lunch (I work in the restaurant industry and our meals are free, so while it is very healthy, it is also my largest meal of the day) and a light dinner. More than anything, you have to find what works. Experiments of one
I second (or third, rather) that maybe talk to your doc as well as there could be a medical reason.
When I worked out that much during my journey, and I was doing both weights and cardio, I lost hardly anything. I focused on the cardio first, and then moved to weight training when my goal weight was met. Keep in mind that old statement "muscle weighs more than fat!"
[QUOTE=junebug41;3346344]Just to clarify, "starvation mode" will not happen if you are eating enough calories everyday, which it appears OP is doing. This is a medical condition that occurs over times of actual starvation and/or fasting.
Jen,
That's why I put "starvation-mode" in quotations. She is not actually eating so few calories that her body is in that mode, but she is not spacing out her caloric intake and therefore her body may be reacting the same way. If you are not eating at regular intervals, you are in essence fasting and slowing your metabolism. Also, OP states that she is "probably" eating only about 1500 calories per day. This may be the case, but she is not completely sure.
Likewise, what kinds of foods are being eaten and when makes a huge difference as to weight loss. The fact that you consume your largest meal at lunchtime makes a difference for you as you are then active for a longer period after that meal and have much more of a chance to burn it off than someone who goes to bed 3 hours after their largest meal.
I know that it is hard to eat 6 small meals per day. I stated that I also have trouble with it, but that is considered the ideal. Even spacing calories into one more meal per day may make a difference in weight loss.
But you understand that the term does get used very liberally around here when it is actually a serious medical condition that occurs over a long, long period of time? Actually slowing down your metabolism is rather difficult to do, especially if you eat an adequate amount of food every day, no matter the time frame. I do agree that we don't know the whole story and need more details. I just don't want to scare OP into thinking that she has to eat several times a day in order to lose weight. Certainly it has many benefits, but she's not doing any damage by not following that specific rule. But you're right, eating my biggest meal smack dab in the middle of the day may put me in a better spot than if I ate it right before bed!
myboobah- Wow you are doing such a great job on your workouts!! Congrats on the inches lost and feeling better! You mentioned that nothing is happening (in terms of the scale) but remember how much has already happened! You mentioned feeling better, having more muscle, having more energy etc. Those are all such wonderful things! You are more healthy now than before. Your heart is more healthy now. Don't give up after making such amazing progress. I know how upsetting the scale can be at times but try not to let it get you down so much that you want to quit. I think the doctor is a good suggestion too. This is a bump in the road that you will get past.
Slowing down the metabolism is actually very easy to do based on the lifestyles that many of us live. It does not happen overnight, but rather from a pattern of behaviors over time. However, think about how quickly your body's metabolism increases based on behaviors and you can get an idea of how quickly it can slow. Things like eating foods that are high in carbohydrates, fatty foods, and junk foods, eating before bedtime, decreasing sleep, overdoing caffeine, etc. can all slow the metabolism. However, these are all common things that many of us do, or used to do (myself included). It's hard to get that metabolism back up and running like it used to even with exercising frequently as all of these other behaviors can stall our progress.
Bottom line, we all struggle everyday with these sabotaging behaviors or we likely wouldn't be posting on here. It takes a combination of exercise, proper nutrition, and healthier living to really make a lasting difference in weight loss. Good luck to all in your efforts! It's a difficult road, but remember, in the long run, even small steps will make a difference.
Good luck myboobah and don't give up the exercise just because you feel stalled right now. Eventually that exercise will pay off!
myboobah--first, DO NOT give up! You are doing great.
I have a couple of thoughts. I agree with a previous poster that you should try and track your calories and make sure that you really are eating 1500 calories a day. You could be eating more calories than you know.
On the other hand, is it possible you are not getting enough calories every day? I know that sounds strange, but if you are working out a lot, you may need to increase your calories a bit (not by much) to see your weight drop. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but it recently worked for me. I learned that I was buring a lot of calories through exercise and for some reason, my body seemed to want to hold on the weight rather than let it go. The only way to figure this out, though, is to calculate the calories you are consuming vs. the calories you are burning (fitday is good and so is the daily plate).
Finally, I also wonder if your issue stems from a thyroid problem. I actually discovered that I was hypothyroid under similar circumstances as you describe.
I would also check with a dr to see if any health issues are going on!
On the other hand you may have to switch things us and play around a little until you figure out what works for YOU. Everyone is different. Some folks can eat right and lose some can eat what they want and work out and lose some have to watch carbs, calories and workout to lose. I personally have to watch my carb intake workout and watch my calorie intake to lose. For some reason eating a lot of carbs doesnt work for me. I still eat them but I pretty much cut out white and processed foods. Hang in there YOU CAN DO IT!
6-12 drinks a week is a LOT of empty calories. My friend worked out daily and watched what she ate but wasn't losing a POUND. Finally found out she was consuming a few glasses of wine a night. I told her cut out the alcohol- the second she did the weight starting coming off.
-Ditch the drinks. At least pare it down.
Ton of empty calories and it metabolizes weirdly and is detrimental to weight loss. It reduces the number of fat calories you burn (reason being that alcohol converts into acetate and the body burns that off instead of stored fat), increases appetite, and decreases testosterone levels.
-switch up your fitness routine every couple of weeks. Never allow your body to adapt to what you're doing
-Calorie-wise, it doesn't matter how many times you a day. I found it better (for me) to do 3 meals and a 200 cal snack so I'm not grazing throughout the day.
I agree with a lot of what has already been said. I know it's really frustrating (I did a lot of what you were doing for years and saw no results and it was soooo annoying.) Don't give up though. It's gonna happen, you just have to believe it's gonna happen.
So this is how I would go about it:
- calculate your BMR (I didn't read if you had already done so) and track your calories religiously (measure everything that goes into your mouth) for two weeks. Eat your BMR. It doesn't matter when you eat it or when you eat it, just eat your BMR. I personally think the "Zone" macronutrient ratios are the best starting point - 40:30:30 carbs, protein, fat. Aim for that and you can always change it up later.
- Keep up your workouts and your water consumption.
- Ditch the alcohol. It might not just be the calories, it could be screwing up your metabolism. Cut back to a drink or two a week (or cut it out completely if you can). It made a huge difference for me, and I wasn't a big drinker in the first place.
- If after a month of this you aren't seeing any results, go to the doctor and get them to check your hormone levels (thyroid, sex hormones, etc). You might have something going on internally that's screwing up your metabolism.
You really are doing great. Don't get discouraged - I know it's easier said then done. Hang in there. It'll happen for you.
SOOOOOO ready to give up. I need tips and tricks!
