[skinniibrittany]

Hey guys!!! This is my first time posting and I guess its because I am at the @point where I am ready to give up. I decided to change my eating habits and cut out a lot of calories on 2/11/11 and have lost 20 lbs
since then. I have been overweight my whole life and have never lost that much weight so I am/was very excited and even began to walk/jog because I was so motivated, but I have been fluctuating between 230 and 227 for the last 9 or 10 days. As you can imagine this has caused me to get to the point of giving up and feeling like its hopeless and I'm meant to be fat but I know that's not true so anyone everyone that can help please do. Thanx in advance and thanx for listening!!!

[hatgirlie]

Losing 20 lbs is wonderful. Don't give up now. You're going through what we all go through. You know the scale isn't going to stay the same. You're either going to gain or lose. How will you feel if you gain all of those 20 lbs back? Cut back on carbs. Add more protein. You can do this! You can never give up. Keep fighting. Make it the priority in your life. Not A priority. THE priority. Good luck.

[skinniibrittany]

Originally Posted by hatgirlie

Losing 20 lbs is wonderful. Don't give up now. You're going through what we all go through. You know the scale isn't going to stay the same. You're either going to gain or lose. How will you feel if you gain all of those 20 lbs back? Cut back on carbs. Add more protein. You can do this! You can never give up. Keep fighting. Make it the priority in your life. Not A priority. THE priority. Good luck.

You are so right...i guess I didnt look at it like that...i dont want to stay at 227 but I really really dont want to go back to 247...thanx for the encouragement...As far as carbs go how do you find a reasonable amount of carbs gave...im not quite sure how that works

[hatethesweatpants]

Our bodies are really funny - I never lost x amount per week. It was always, 2lbs one week, 1lb the next, 0 the next, 3 the next, etc. Hang in there! Have you tried food journaling online with fitday.com or dailyplate? It really helped me to accurately count my calories and not eat too much or too little.

As for carbs, there are so many different opinions on how much is too much or not enough. A good start might be to limit them to 1 serving with each meal (1/2 brown rice, quinoa, oatmeal) and try to keep them whole-grain instead of processed (they're better for you and will keep you full longer). Plenty of people lose on higher carb, lower protein diets as well. It's all about calories, really. I try to stick to a 40/30/30 balance at each meal (give or take a few %, I'm not strict about it)- 40% carb, 30% protein, 30% fat. An online journal like dailyplate can help track that.
http://www.livestrong.com/myplate/

Good luck and ask more questions if you need to! 20lbs is AWESOME!

[skinniibrittany]

***hatethesweatpants
Thanx that makes things a little more clear. I have an app called my fitness pal that tracks my calorie intake and calories burned I just about never go over my calories thats the reason I'm really kind of perplexed about it...I walk everyday plus I have a paper route at night so I'm walking for about 1 1/2 hours then.....someone suggested that for my activity level I'm not eating enough but that sounds crazy to me seeing how I'm just walking not do any intense exercise any thoughts on that?

[hatethesweatpants]

It sounds crazy but can absolutely be true. How many calories are you eating?

[skinniibrittany]

between 1300 and 1500

[skinniibrittany]

1200 i find myself snacking and over eating so i said i wouldnt go under 1300 and i wouldnt go over 1500 but i usually stay around 1400 give or take on different days

[Bac0s]

Hang in there! I've lost 70 pounds, and I've stalled many times along the way. Just keep at and trust the science (take in fewer calories than you burn and you'll lose) and it'll happen. I typically lose several pounds over a week, and then stall for 3 weeks.

[zoodoo613]

You're doing great! Just keep doing what you're doing. 20 lbs. in six (or so) weeks is a lot: you're body might just need to a little time to adjust. The scale will start moving again.

It sounds to me like you're getting enough calories, and as far as the break down of your carbs, different people lose weight all different ways. Protein and fiber will keep you feeling full longer than more processed carbs and might help prevent you from snacking, but it doesn't sound like that's the problem you're having.

[juliana77]

I just got through a stall... I started a few weeks after you. It was very frustrating! Just keep on doing what you're doing and your body will catch up. I am trying to step away from the scale and only weigh once a week. Do you take measurements? That was one thing that kept me going, even though my weight was staying the same I did lose inches during my stall. Hang in there!

[BBB84]

I am at a standstill as well at 21lbs... If the weight doesn't budge after this week, that will make a 3 week stall for me... I may up my calorie intake to see if that helps, I know many MFP users have done it and seen success. Don't get discouraged, remember we didn't gain this weight overnight and we sure wont lose it that fast either. Also remember to check your measurements, you may not see results on the scale but the tape measure doesn't lie. It may give you that extra boost of confidence you need.

[love02]

I started out at 250, a few lbs more than you. I remember it felt like the first 15 melted away with my change in diet. then I finally hit 230 and I seemed to hang there for what felt like forever... I got to 225 and then the lovely TOM came and I went to 230 again. (water weight I assume) I was so discouraged but I knew I wasn't going over my calories. I just kept walking and kept with my calorie counting and the number finally started going down again. So just stick with it. Your doing an awesome job!

[kmac1196]

Ummm...I don't have any real advice for you only to tell you my struggles...I too was eating and tracking and working out and not losing (4 lbs in a month is too slow for me). So, I bought a bodymedia to see my burned calories and all the advice of people here and on other bodybuilding sites were telling me to increase my calories...that they were too low (I was eating 1400-1600). Well the body media says I burn 2854 on a no workout day and between 3200 and 3600 on a workout day. So, when I was eating 1400-1600 I was creating too high a defecit and my body said...UM no! Not letting it go. So I've bumped up my calories in accordance to my burn keeping my deficit at 1000 a day and we'll see how that goes. I will let you know. Again, no advice because I'm not at the other side yet But I think our numbers are the same...5' 4.5" and 228.....so...I'll let you know. Good luck and don't give up....you feel better and less is still less!!!!

[uncontentgirl]

^^ Same thing with me. I was eating between 1100-1200 calories a day, everyday...even when I was working out and burning like close to 3000 calories. I wasnt losing any weight... so I upped my caloric intake to between 1350-1650 last week and calorie cycled and lost almost 3lbs... and that is after plateauing for like 1 month.