I'm so fed up of this!! Last year when I tried to lose weight, it seemed to melt off. I lost 15lbs in the space of 2 months. But this time round it feels like i'm getting no where. I've been exercising my butt off, have stopped eating chips, fries, cake, chocolate, sweets and bread and have given up my one vice, alcohol!! But guess what, nothing is happening. Not a single pound in the past 3 weeks. I can't have hit a plateau because I've only been at this for 4 or 5 weeks. This is so dis-heartening. Why is nothing happening? Surely such a drastic change in diet and exercise should have some results, even if it's just a pound or 2?
Help!!
xx

Maybe that's what it is. A drastic change. Your body doesn't know what is going on so it is holding on to everything!!

Have you tired enjoying your favorite foods in moderation instead of none at all? Perhaps that won't be so drastic on your body and it would be more willing to let the weight go...

And another thing....are you drinking enough water?

What diet plan are you following? Could it be you are eating too little?

I know how you feel, I was in a position similar to yours 5 months ago. I wasn't losing as fast as I wanted so I just gave up. But trust me, that is that last thing you want to do. Now I'm even heavier than when I started before. Try tweaking your diet a little and make sure you're getting enough fluids, but whatever you do don't give up!

You can do it!

My first thought is that you're not eating enough.

Based on your height/current weight and my total guess at your age (I picked 25), your basal metabolic rate is 1430 calories per day. (If you don't know, basal metabolic rate is the number of calories your body would burn even if you just stayed in bed all day.)

Since you work out regularly, I used the Harris Benedict equation (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-ca...dict-equation/) to figure out that you need about 2200 calories a day to maintain your current weight.

To lose a pound a week, you need to cut 500 calories per day from your maintenance level of calories, which would bring you to 2150 calories per day. To lose two pounds a week, you need to cut 1000 calories per day from your maintenance level of calories, which would but you at 2000 calories per day.

Hope that helped. (And check my math...I'm generally a moron when it comes to math, even with a calculator!)

hmm... I agree, maybe u've put your body into shock. I've been told before that you have to let your body adjust to a new eating style. If you ate a bunch of junk before and then suddenly switch to super healthy all the time, your body will not like it and not know what is going on. This is a good reminder as I just tried a new eating plan last week (eat clean) and didn't lose anything. It made me discouraged... maybe I should have normal dinners this week to help my body adjust better then switch to healthy dinners every other day or something. Wean my self of the junk!! ~omg it really is like a drug! damn food!

I agree with everyone else maybe your body is just a little freaked out. I am having the hardest time drinking water it is killing me but it has seemed to help. DON'T give up, you will feel so much worse overweight and unhealthy. Think like Bill Murray in What about bob. Baby Steps.

Don't give up. The weight will come off eventually. But, I do totally understand that plateaues can be disheartening.

i'm glad i saw saw this thread tonight. i have been between 178 and 180 for about a month now and it IS really discouraging. all of the above replies have made me relaize that the bigger picture is what is important, and if u keep trying eventually u will see results. thanks ladies.

I've lost six pounds and look like I've lost a lot more - look at my blog. Are you losing inches? Are you measuring, trying on tight clothes or taking pics?

I agree you are probably not eating enough...give your body time to adapt. If you are eating clean and exercising it will come off

I avoid the scale as much as I can and focus on what I look like - that helps a lot

Dont give up, I had lost 14 pounds about a year and a half ago and the weight loss slowed/stopped so I gave up. and gained 38! I still am not back to the weight I started out initially! Just give it time, and watch your calories. It will suck two years from now to know that you could have been so much happier if you would have only stuck with it! It does for me

Thank you for your advise girls! It has helped alot. I think maybe my body is in slight shock, my diet was so awful before and now it is so healthy! I am going to try and eat a bit more (healthy stuff of course!) and I'll let you know how it goes. Off for a run now!
xx

I'm with Staccie. I've officially started my weight loss attempt 5 weeks ago, but my weight hadn't changed for the two months before that either. It wasn't until last week when I did my measurements that I realized I've lost 30.5 inches over all since Feb. even though my weight didn't change until last month! 17 of those inches were from Feb to April. Now, my inches aren't changing as much but I'm down 5 pounds.

I've found measurements to be a great motivator when the scale doesn't want to budge!

Just don't give up!
You always have this site!