I have been trying for months now with calorie counting, exercise, gym membership... and yet I am still right where I started weight wise. I do feel somewhat fitter from the exercise, but why am I not losing weight? I should have lost at least 20 pounds by now! I was thinking it could have had something to do with having gall bladder surgery in March and having my body go through starving for a few weeks, but that was a while ago so it shouldn't be affecting my metabolism still, right? All I know is I'm getting really frustrated and discouraged like I am doing all this work for nothing.
Have you had your thyroid checked? I couldn't lose weight and had my thyroid checked-turns out I have hypothyroidism. Now that I'm on treatment for it, I've lost 24 lbs.
It's very hard to advise you without knowing how much you're eating. Also keep in mind that calorie counting is an acquired skill- it's not unlikely that you might be eating more than you're counting.
I also recommend checking in with a doctor to get your thyroid checked- it's a pretty easy test and appointment.
I am very sorry that you are not seeing the results you would like. I know first hand how unbelievably frustrating it can be to be doing everything you should be doing and killing yourself doing it, and to not see results. If you provide more information we might be able to advise you. We would need your age, height current weight, desired weight. Level of activity and frequency of activity, and an overview of your diet.
Hey Cloudy--that really bites! Could you try a week of eating just measured, packaged food--like yogurt, Lean Cuisine, frozen veggies--plus some fruit--at the calorie level you want to eat, and see what happens? Sometimes online calorie counters underestimate mixed-ingredient foods made at home, or in restaurants, and this way you'll know for sure how many calories you're getting.
Oh, also, charts and meters on exercise machines can really overestimate calories burned. They also don't differentiate between total calories burned, and calories burned above what you would have used just sitting there. So when you figure out your calorie allowance, use "very light" or "light" activity level, and let any calories you burn above that go towards weight loss. (Not that you're not doing all this already--but when you're being good, and still stuck, you have to start going after the nitpicky stuff!)
There are dozens of possible reasons, so I'd recommend as others have suggested, seeing your doctor to ask for tests to rule out metabolic/endocrine disorders.
Even if you do not lose an ounce, you are NOT doing all this work "for nothing." You are reaping many health benefits, even if you don't lose an ounce. The number on the scale is one benefit, and it's not even the most important, just the most convenient.
I spent a life time of dieting, losing a little and gaining a lot... all because I'd give up when I felt that I was "doing all this work for nothing." Sadly, I wouldn't have given up if I truly understood that all that work was not wasted, I was just looking in the wrong place (the scale) for my rewards.
You can do "everything right" and still not lose. And you can gain great benefits to health and appearance without losing a pound. So make sure you have a goal other than a number on the scale. Getting stronger, getting leaner, they're all great goals but a little difficult to measure (but you can measure them).
I don't know why you're not losing. I don't know why "this time" it took me two years of effort to start losing (I was very sick when I started).
Personally, for me I had to change they way I dieted. For most of my life, my goal was scale-based. And when the scale didn't respond the way I wanted to, in the time frame I wanted it to, I'd always eventually give up because I felt I was, "doing all this work for nothing."
This time I realized that none of the effort is wasted. It all has benefit, benefits I can't always see (like dropping my risk of heart attack, increasing my life expectancy) and some I can see, but only by keeping good records so I can look back and SEE the progress (fewer breakouts and clearer skin, less pain, better sleep, inches lost...)
I also decided that weight loss couldn't be my only goal, and couldn't even be my main goal, because I drove myself crazy when it was. So I decided that I was going to add healthy behaviors to my life. Healthy behaviors that I knew woulde benefit me regardless of whether or not weight loss resulted (this is where the HAES movement really helped me. It reminded me that even if I couldn't lose weight, I could look and feel better with exercise).
I only made changes that I could make comfortably and could commit to regardless of whether or not weight loss resulted. I hoped that weight loss would be a side benefit, but I couldn't make it the direct goal. Instead, it was one of many possible rewards I could receive as a result of the healthy changes.
By taking weight loss off the table, it actually made weight loss easier. At first the benefits/rewards I received weren't weight related. I got stronger and healthier, but I wasn't losing any wieght. In fact, for two years, my rewards didn't include weight loss. Although in those two years, I didn't gain, which was actually quite an achievement for me. Unfortunately, I could gain much more rapidly than I could lose, so that even though I spent more time dieting than not, my weight continued to climb.
Just "not gaining" was an incredible acheivement worth protecting. And so I had to make "not gaining" my first and foremost goal.
When I was comfortable with one change, I made another, and another.... and finally started getting rewarded not only with better health and appearance but with weight loss.
But I'll tell you as great as the weight loss has been, the other rewards have been better (I just never realized it, because our culture makes it all about the number).
Even though we make it about the numbers, the number has no intrinsic value, and I think on some level we all know it. The number is the ideal, but it doesn't translate into practical value. How we look, how we feel --- that's where the REAL value is, so why aren't we putting the real values out there as our goals?
In a nutshell, our cultural view of weight and weight loss is all screwed up. We value something that has no intrinsic value, and don't give a fig about the most valuable elements (health, fitness, longevity, strength, stamina, and even beauty and appearance).
Value what has tangible value, and it starts to feel great, even when the numbers don't move, because you realize the numbers aren't everything.
Also, if weight loss isn't the goal, then when the weight loss doesn't progress as fastly as you'd like, there's never a reason to give up the healthy changes, because you're not doing it for the weight.
In a very real way, I've lost 105 lbs without trying to lose a single pound. My efforts weren't aimed at weight loss, weight loss was the side benefit of my real goals, to get healthier and have more fun doing it.
I didn't make any changes that I couldn't be comfortable with forever. I didn't kill myself at the gym, I slowly added more and more physical activity that I could enjoy (and the more I enjoyed it, the more I was able and more I wanted to do).... I didn't eat foods I hated (I did try a lot of foods I didn't like, and I even tried them many times, because I learned that my tastes do change over time, so I try foods again that I didn't like before, on the chance that I might like them now.... and what do you know, many of my most-hated foods... such as brussels sprouts... have become my most-loved foods).
Ironically, I had to give up TRYING to lose weight in order to DO it.
Maybe this isn't true for you, but it's worth a shot, because it's an amazingly rewarding way to live. I really do feel like the weight loss has been effortless, because I've made the changes so gradually, they don't even seem like changes.
Maybe this isn't for you, and I'd make one more suggestion and that is to experiment with different carbohydrate levels. I can lose more easily on low-carb (and get to eat more calories, with less hunger).
Still, I would suggest remembering that weight loss isn't the only, or even the most important goal, it's just the easiest to measure.
I agree so strongly with everything kaplods said, she gives the best advice. I am having the most success I ever had with weight loss as an adult and I think it is only because I didn't start with the intention of losing weight. I found out I had high cholesterol and started eating better purely for my health. My portions were still large at first, but I only ate things that I thought would improve my health in some way. Portion control came later and weight loss followed once I was able to keep everything in balance. Now I keep chugging along, regardless of what the scale says, and barely feel like I've put in much effort at all. I'm eating delicious fresh foods and leave all of my meals quite satisfied.
I've learned that patience is a huge part of successful weight loss. We've been conditioned through diet aid advertisements and unrealistic reality shows to expect big numbers to drop week after week, but that just isn't how weight loss works for the vast majority of people.
What works from person to person varies wildly. Part of the process is figuring out how your body wants to be fed. Experiment, read up as much as you can on nutrition (considering different schools of thought on the topic), listen to what your body is telling you, try not to get too frustrated, and don't give up!
I have lost 60 pounds in the past after my first son, so I know how it's done. I calorie count, as I said in the original post, and was doing 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of weight training five days a week (though I've slacked after months of no progress). There has to be something else going on because this fat won't budge and I know from experience that it should with what I'm doing. I can't do too low of calories because I have a child still nursing, but I'm eating healthy foods, no fast food, no soda, no sweets... I am going to make a dr appointment to see if something else is going on with my body. I am also going to try the body blueprinting that customizes your eating and exercise plan to your body and see if that will help me out any. I will keep you posted on progress or lack thereof.
I feel your pain. I lose weight so slowly I want to throw in the towel several times a month. I feel like I am killing myself only for the scale to move a pound or less a month, it's very frustrating.
I've had my thyroid tested and it's fine. I guess having a kid, age, and medication has screwed me. I'm just happy that the scale is moving in the right direction even if it takes a year.
Good luck at the doc, I hope they have answers for you. I'm also going to look into body blueprinting; I have never heard of that before and it sounds interesting.
I was having this same problem and it turned out I wasn't eating enough calories to match the amount of exercise I was doing and because my body wasn't getting enough calories, it was holding onto weight. I weigh 280 and I eat 2200-2300 calories a day and do the treadmill 3 times a week as well as walk my dogs daily and I lose an average of 1-2 pounds a week. If its not a thyroid problem, perhaps take a look at the amount you are eating and raise it a bit. Try this for 2 weeks until your body gets used to the change and see the scale moves. I also don't have a gall bladder anymore. Oh, I have a side suggestion for not having a gall bladder - because your body has trouble producing bile without a gall bladder, I take a digestive aid which has ox bile in it. Ox bile is the key ingredient. This helps your body digest fat. I eat good fats from avocados and almonds. It's really good for your body to eat good fats- it helps you burn fat, believe it or not.
Well, that's my two cents! If you have any questions, just PM me
I have struggled my entire life to lose weight, so this past may I deceided to start riding my bike, I found that for me high intensity interval training is the only thing that works. I go as fast as I can for about 30 sec to 1 min, than slow down for a bit, and do that over and over, I also walk/jog this way too. So far I am down 24lbs, I have never been able to lose! Maybe this might work for you too! Good Luck
I Can't Lose Weight! What's Wrong with Me?
