[Firecracker777]

I am having the hardest time losing weight in my life. I've gained and lost significant amounts in the past. Dropping and gaining 50-70 lbs. In the past year I have had some short motivated weeks of trying but have given up after about 3 weeks so I don't expect to see any major improvements.

I signed up for a gym in the first week of November. I have been going about 4-5 times a week. I am not counting calories to the dot but just trying to be aware of what I am eating. My goal is 1450 but I am sure I am going over a little bit but I figure I am not including those calories I burned during exercise and I also think 1450 is low for what I weigh. Also, my snacks aren't anything crazy. Like I am not over eating the calories by a whole bag of chips. It may just be a handful of like grain/could-be-mistaken-for-birdseed chips or a string cheese. My meals are pretty healthy as I am trying to stick to whole foods and nothing really processes.

I know what I need to do to lose weight. I've done it before but this time it just doesn't seem to be working. I have had a party almost every weekend since I started this time and have had a lot of wine. I try to counter those parties by not eating anything before except 2 eggs for breakfast so I am not starving.

I've lost 7.3 lbs since 11/6. I guess I should be happy with that progress but I feel like most of those pounds came off in the first few weeks and now these past 3 the scale has just gained and lost the same 2-3lbs. This is so frustrating

[midnight12]

Firecracker, It sounds like you've hit a plateau. I keep hearing that changing up your workout and your food can help break that cycle. Doing this has helped me when my weight loss has stalled. Maybe it will help you too. It seems as time goes on in our lives, our bodies become more used to being overweight and more resistant to losing. I've found it takes more effort now to lose than it used to years ago, so I try to adjust my habits, and re-adjust them as I go along. Don't let the body get too used to the same thing every day. We have to be a bit tricky! My over-all lifestyle is not as active as it used to be. Exercise which includes aerobic and strength training is good for helping to break through a plateau too. I've also adjusted my preferences for different types of food-- protein and many veggies for fiber... They both help satisfy. Don't give up... double down, as they say. You can do it!

[TooManyDimples]

Don't know how old you are, I'm 32 and it is much MUCH harder for me to lose weight now than it was for me in my 20's. It's like my metabolism decided it was done when I hit 30. =P

Maybe try counting calories to the dot for a week and see if that makes a difference? It's real easy to eat more calories than you realize when you're not monitoring it completely.

[novangel]

Use myfitnesspal to track calories on the dot. You'll be surprised by how much you may be going over in daily allowance and then you can adjust from there.

[RetroRabbit]

Plateaus are common with losing large amounts of weight. Don't let it discourage you! Also, remember that the first couple of weeks, you will lose water weight quickly so there will be a decent drop on the scale that probably won't continue. Also, a 7.3 lb loss since 6 Nov is about a lb a week- a very healthy rate to lose weight!
I agree that mixing up your workout could help. I don't know what your routine is like, but if you tend to stick with cardio, anaerobic exercises would be amazing to incorporate. Building and toning muscle will strengthen your bones as well as increase the amount of calories your body must expend just to maintain itself.

Also, while you may be consuming an ideal caloric target on your weekend parties, wine can easily make you retain water for a couple of days, especially if you're drinking late in the evening and don't drink a lot of water with it. When you get a free weekend, try to skip alcohol, or make sure you drink lots of water, and see if that makes a difference.

Best of luck!!

[TripSwitch]

I had to stop drinking alcohol... No more empty calories... I had to weigh and measure and TRACK everything I ate... I had to keep a detailed food log and turn it in to a nutritionist every week for review... I had to step on a scale every week and have my weight tracked by someone else to get results... I got a Fitbit and started walking A LOT... Then I started running A LOT... Now I'm working with a personal trainer and lifting free weights 2 or 3 times a week and those workouts leave me wondering sometimes if we might have to call 911 by the end of them... Seriously, losing this weight has been a FULL time job! All this... And it took almost 2 years to lose 60lbs! Oh, and did I mention I was hungry A LOT...

AND keeping it off is taking JUST AS MUCH WORK... It really is relentless! Unfortunately... Once you've been fat... Your body ALWAYS wants to be fat AGAIN... You can shrink your fat cells... But they are still there just waiting to be plumpted right back up! It really sucks... I desperately want some liposuction to suck them out... I mean I know I could always go back to overeating and get fat again... But at least in the meantime I could be rid of the bazillion that seem to be constantly crying out to please "FEED ME"

If I had known it would be this hard I would have NEVER allowed myself to get as fat as I did... I really just always thought it would be "easy" to lose weight... How wrong I was... I seriously worry that it's only a matter of time before I'm overweight again... I mean why should I be one of the like only 5% that actually keeps the weight off that they lost? It really is depressing...