How do you start over diffrently when you have already "Started over" 5 times ?
 

aw :hug: that sounds really tough. You WERENT made to be fat, you CAN lose the weight, and we WILL help you :)

Lets have a look

1800 calories sounds around right for your weight, 45 grams of fat doesnt seem excessive...

How much sodium are you taking in?
You say you are a very active person, how much exercise exactly are you doing?

Since its only been a week, its possible you havent seen a change because you've kicked up your exercise and are retaining water, or because your sodium is a tad high and youre retaining water. Just because you havent lost this week doesnt mean you should give up :hug:

You should NEVER give up and decide to just stay fat. :(

Many of us have started over more than once, failed and started again. You just have to keep going and find something, a mix of foods and movement, that works for you. That takes time and it's no easy journey. But you have to keep trying for yourself.

Just because the scale isn't moving the first week does not mean it won't. Even though you're calorie counting, are you doing things we know won't be good for weight loss, like eating white pasta and not having enough fruits and veggies? Are you drinking all the water you need to be?

What about the amount and intensity of your exercise?

Please don't give up. There is a reason this may be moving slow and when you find it, you can get things moving and feel better.

Are you drinking water? That is the only thing that really seems to jump-start my weight loss. I definitely notice that I don't lose very much when I am slacking on my water. Plus, too much caffeine causes me to retain water and slows down my weight loss as well!

**Edit** I failed to mention that I have started on many different diets and given up about a month into them. Saying that I'm dieting never works for me. Now I say that I am making a lifestyle change. When I eat something, I ask myself if this particular food is going to benefit my body and will it help me to become the person that I visualize myself as. I'm worried about having health problems in my 30's from carrying around extra weight and I would like to have kids in the future, so I see my 'lifestyle change' as a way to ensure that my future will not be sabotaged by me...if that makes any sense.

The real key is to not give up! Also check your measurements. I noticed a drop in my spare tire area way before the scale started to move.

I think you need to review your exercise- chasing around after the kids and the st bernard is a good start! But you need to get in a good amount of time each day where your heart rate is up all the time. Maybe you can take you st bernard for a jog for 45 mins a day? Anything to get that heart rate up and those lungs puffing :carrot: Mulching sounds like pretty good exercise too

Chickie makes a good point about water too. And for the sodium, perhaps log it in a note book just to make sure that its at the level you think it is? I know that my estimations are often off, even though im 100% sure im accurate :dizzy:

Since TOM started this past week too its entirely possible that the water retaining properties of it are masking your progress :)

That is so true! When I finished my last TOM, the scale instantly dropped 4 lbs. I was shocked. :D

You're doing so well, do you really want to ruin all the work you've put in? Believe me, I know it's hard! Especially after all you're going through right now. I hit a plateau for FOUR weeks recently and I was so discouraged, I felt like a total failure. I was eating too little calories by worrying too much! Just relax and do your best to eat right and exercise and the weight will come off. You're doing everything right, it sounds like and with TOM it's totally expected that you would retain some water.

I agree with the suggestion to take measurments and look for changes in that because I know my inches change when the scale is being stubborn. Maybe try dropping down just 100 calories or upping exercise to maybe at least half an hour 3-5 times a week? Hope the scale turns in your favor!

Weight loss is a strange beast! It is so slow or even non-existant some weeks then it seems like the lbs can melt off the next week. You have to be in it for the long haul to see real results!! You did not gain that weight in 1 week and you will NOT lose it in a week either. Perhaps sit down and really lay out a plan for yourself. Do you track everything your eating to get 1800? If you are not tracking accurately(which is common) you might be taking in more than you realize. I also agree with other posters you might need some more planned activity. Perhaps take the kiddos or dog for a planned walk for 30 minutes a day and bump it up as you get more use to it. Daily activity can def. help but will not replace intentional exercise like carido and weight lifting.

If you need more support I suggest you check out a Weight Watcher meeting- I am member and love it. I really like the support, advice, accountabiltiy that my meeting provides as well as celecbration when I lose or reach a milestone. It is just another way to count calories really- Usually the first meeting is free if you want to check it out- Many locations have a monthly pass where it is $39.95 per month and it includes online access.

What ever you decide I know you can succeed. Just don't stop trying that is true failure!

I can't tell you how many times I started over. Part of what makes this time different, is that I decided that there is no starting over, there is just continuing. Part of "starting over," was getting discouraged and binging before starting over. That fast, binge, remorse, start over, fast, binge, remorse..... cycle had to go.

I'm losing very, very slow. I'm not even averaging 1 lb per week, but that's ok - I will eventually get to goal. Some people don't lose every week, instead they lose a couple pounds or even only one pound one week, and nothing the next. Sometimes it takes a couple weeks. I can tell you that I sometimes do feel like I'm "failing" because half a pound a week or less, just doesn't seem like success (you don't see women bragging about it in women's magazines), but I've failed my way to a weight loss of more than 70 lbs (which I've never done before). This is the longest downward trend I have ever had. Some of it has been long stretches of maintaining, rather than losing - but even that is progress, because (except for a couple years when I did decide not to diet) I've really only ever had two modes: losing weight and gaining weight.

I would recommend a food journal. It helps me a lot. Write down every bite, and how you're feeling too. Sometimes you can see patterns emerge - are you always hungry at a certain time? Do some foods trigger cravings or binging? Are you eating out of boredom? Are you telling yourself positive things or negative things? If you skip a day of journaling, don't get mad at yourself, just pick up where you left off. The same if you step off plan a bit, if you get mad at yourself, you'll be more likely to have that little binge before starting over again the next day (or next Monday). If you just pick yourself up without that "might as well eat whatever I want for the rest of the day and start fresh tomorrow," you may be surprised at how much progress you can make (without being perfect, sometimes we think we have to be perfect, when we only have to be consistently better).

Best wishes

HI and thanks all for the advise.

My Main issue is not having time to exercise.. If any of you are caregivers for other family members you understand what i am saying.. I am physically on the Go from 5:15am till 11:30pm when i give my grandparents their pills for the night and then i walk down to my house( we live next door in the woods) and then i get a shower and then in bed by 12:30 and then start all over at 5:15.. I wish i could exercise like you all do.

WIth taking care of the grandparents and my mom i dont have time for myself. And i am not about to let anyone else take care of them. The way i look at it is they always toook care of me so that is the least i can do for them.

I am hoping by sept. when our son starts kindergarten then i will be able to take our 2 year old and walk back and forth to my parents and grandparents more. We will see what happens..

Thanks again all!!

Shannon, how are you measuring and weighing your food? If you will post your daily food journal, we can get some idea of what you are eating. I was also in the caretaker role for many, many years. The problem with that is that I was miserable. I, me, myself just was not on the list--well, I was at the bottom. It basically meant that I, me, myself never got a turn! So, I put I, me, myself at the very top of the list. You know what? By not allowing anything to come before my sleep, nutrition and exercise I have become so much more able to do for others. It is not a novel thought or an original one, but one that has proven very true for me.

Hi Shannon,

I think that as a couple of people suggested adding in some structured excercise could really help, even 20 mins 2 or 3 times per week...

I also think that you could look at cutting calorie intake down a little - not a lot, but maybe by 200 - 300 calories a day - at the end of the day reducing calorie intake a little, and increasing excercise will make you lose weight...hope I am not being too blunt, but I know that if you try this for a week, along with drinking more water as suggested - you WILL lose weight this week!

You should also trying filling up on fruit and vegetables in lieu of processed foods, both for weightloss, and general health!