I'm not sure if this is the proper forum for me, but figured what the heck! In April of 2003 I weighed 268 lbs, and through changing my eating habits only (no gym time) I was down to 226 lbs. by September of 2003. I didn't lose any addtional weight until 2007, when I lost 20 lbs. after adding some gym time.

Now here I am in 2008, at 202 lbs., and that scale stubbornly refuses to move. I feel as though I am starving myself and exercising myself to death, with no results.

I can't seem to find the right balance between eating and exercising. For instance, I am a teacher, and I can't eat 5-6 mini meals a day.....but that's what works best? And I do cardio and lift weights, but even though my clothes fit differently, I've gained 5 lbs?

I am 5'7, 202 lbs. and have a large frame. I'd like to get down to 150 by next July. HELP!

Welcome to 3FC!
Congratulations on your success so far, you are doing great!

So, what exactly are you eating? How many calories, and what does a typical day look like? Seeing that will give us an idea of how to help you.
Possible you aren't eating enough, if you are starving.

When lifting weights, it is not unusual to gain weight from water retention for a while, so don't get discouraged there.

First off, welcome! And congrats on choosing to change yourself. What kind of diet plan are you following? Are you just trying to "eat healthy", counting calories, or subscribing to a specific diet?

Hi, thank you for replying!

I'm not following any specific plan. Today I had a whey protein shake, 1/2 cup of oatmeal and an orange for breakfast......cheese stick for a snack during morning recess.....an apple, a boiled egg and a yogurt for lunch.....apple for snack.....then 2 grilled chicken legs, 1/2 cup rice and a cup of brussel sprouts for dinner.

Maybe I'm not eating enough? I'm definitely hungry right now, and it's time for me to go to bed....it's 10pm here, and I need to get up at 5:30am.

oh, and I usually do eat a little more for lunch, but I grabbed my "snack bag" instead of my "lunch bag" today! I like to have a spinach salad with 1/2 cup black beans, a little avacado and salsa for lunch.

Welcome to 3fc! Congrats on losing! You'll like it here...lot's of folks with ideas, support and caring.

Funny we have the same goal, same weight, and same height...welcome

Welcome and good luck!

Welcome to the group. I have found some wonderful advice and support here. Great ideas.

evilredheadchiq - do you count calories, or do you just make meals? It might help to start logging your food to see how much you are really eating in a day.

How much exercise do you do?

I am thinking around your height and weight you could probably eat around 1800 calories to start with and see if you lose, but others may chime in here with an opinion as well.

to the forum!

Hi everybody!

I don't "officially" count calories, but I have a general idea....for instance today I had a protein shake (110), a serving of Kashi Go Lean (~140) with 1/2 pint of 1% milk (~50) for breakfast......cheese stick for snack (70)......3 cups spinach (?) with 1/2 cup black beans (~150), 1/2 cup fresh pico (35), and 3 jumbo olives (25) for lunch.....small orange for snack (?)......4 oz. ribeye (?) and 1 cup green beans (?) for dinner. That's a good representation of my daily food consumption.....though most of the time it's chicken or fish instead of steak (it was on sale, and I haven't had any for a while!). Maybe I'm not eating enough?

I try to exercise every day....at least 30-45 minutes on the elliptical and then lifting weights.....I'm usually at the gym 1-2 hrs. when I go.

First at 66 pounds lost - that is FANTASTIC!!

I'd recommend that you try actually counting calories for at least a week without changing anything else. I use Fitday.com - it's free and kinda annoying at the beginning but it gets much easier once you have the stuff you eat all the time in there. I enter a lot of custom foods - makes it easy to find them. A spreadsheet or a note book will work just as well....but I like the nifty reports and I like that it calculates my percentage of calories from Carbs, protein and fat. Anyhoo - you might be surprised at the calorie difference when you have to actually write it all down. I'm not saying you are like me, but I have a tendency to lie to myself when I'm not logging.

You might be under or over where you should be, but it's too hard to tell by estimating. Check out this handy sticky that might help you figure out the right number of calories for you.

Another place to look for ideas might be how many calories are you burning at the gym? If you are going intensely with circuit training you burn way more calories than something like walking. Not that there's anything wrong with walking, just that you have to have a LOT of incline on the treadmill to get your heart rate up into a cardio zone.

Hope this helps.

.. Sorry, I'm a spaz. I meant to start a new topic. ::blush::