New and already discouraged!
 

Hey everyone, I'm Elaine, I'm 22 years old and live in Boston, MA. I work and go to school full time and have been trying to lose weight since the end of December. I finally got a scale, feeling really hopeful and that maybe I'd lost weight... if anything I'm heavier than I thought I was.
My starting weight is 200lbs, I'd like to get back down to 180, then 170, then 165.
I'm so sad though, I've been so much better with my eating habits for the past month or so, and have been doing the C25K program, hoping to run a 5k in June. I figured all of this combined must've put me in the lower 190 range, but if anything I weight more than I thought I did.
I've gone from getting food out EVERY day (burritos, pizza, nachos, burgers, Wendy's, McDonald's, etc) maybe two meals a day- to NOT eating out everyday, bringing sandwiches on those sammie flat bread things, cutting out sweets and soda, and running 3 days a week. NOTHING!

I was tested for hypothyroidism in January, but they said my levels weren't abnormal enough to do anything. Has anyone else experienced this? I know this isn't a "medical" forum but I'm just thinking it has to be SOMETHING.

How many calories are you eating? I started here last month and was only eating 700-800 calories a day and not losing anything because I was in "starvation mode." The ladies here convinced me I was eating too little, so I bumped it up to 1600-1700 (of course you are much smaller than me) and am losing steadily so far.

Hi, Elaine, and welcome! I am glad you are joining us!

I am hypothyroid. It definitely makes weight loss a struggle.

I wish you the best of luck on your weight loss journey!

Cheers,

J

Hi! I'm sorry to hear that. But please do not let yourself down. This is just the beginning. Try to start by walking a few miles. Check your calories input.

You have started to change your lifestyle. That is awesome! That is something to be proud of! Even if the scale hasn't budged, you are making healthier choices for yourself and that can only lead to good things.

Maybe now you can start looking more at portion controll and cutting empty calories. For me, reading labels is what helps put me on track. I forget that 1 tablespoon of butter has 100 calories or that 2 tablespoons of blue cheese dressing has 160. Reducing condiments makes a huge difference. (why are all the tasty things so bad for us? aaargh!)

Hey girl, I k now what you mean. I am also 22, fulltime worker and full time student. I went from stopping by fast food mexican restaurants once, sometimes twice a day several times during the week to buying my own fruits and veggies and making sandwiches. I struggled with anorexia during my elementary-jr high-and high school days and what I have learned is that sometimes our bodies are just in that starvation mode- like ParadiseFalls said. We have to find our bodies balance. Sometimes that can get 1500-2000 calories, sometimes less sometimes more. It all depends on how active you are and what your body reacts to the best. Generally most people are set with 1700-2000.
Maybe track your food and drink intake for a day and figure out how many calories you are working on right now. Sometimes when we guesstimate how much we consume-we can be way off.

I hope this helps and good luck! I look forward to hearing more about your successes.

Hi Elaine, don't be too discouraged. Doesn't sound like you've been at it too long yet. It took several weeks for me before I noticed any real weight loss. See my intro elsewhere in this forum for details. Keep at it and you will win :).

- D

Hey, dont be discouraged. We are all reaching for the same goal, to be healthy and lose weight! You can do it with a good food and exercise plan that works for you. Keep with the good work and you will get far!

I believe ParadiseFalls had the right question. You'll find your right balance soon. Don't give up. Be patient with yourself.

these sort of habits might be the problem. im trying to give you my best advice, so im sorry if it comes out harsh. sometimes we tend to think that we're doing so much better, even if we're not. you're definitely doing good things by cutting out fast food and sweets/soda. the problem is that you can still get plenty of calories without any of those things! id recommend you start meticulously counting calories. things generally have more calories than you think, so its easy to underestimate. also, the handful of peanuts, or popcorn, etc, during the day adds up so fast. its really important to keep exact tabs on what you eat. websites like www.sparkpeople.com will help you keep track for free.

try counting and then playing around with your calorie intake until you find a level that works for you. at 200 my **estimate** is that you could be eating 1500-1750 calories/day, but not everyone is the same. maybe use an online calorie calculator to get an idea of where to start and then continue adjusting until you find a number that you can live with (without being hungry) and that helps you lose.

also, you'll probably hear this from a lot of people on this forum, weight loss is about 10% exercise and 90% food. its very important to keep track of what you're putting in!

heey
 

Im 23 and also a full time worker and a full time student, on top of that i work graveyard and go to school in the morning/noon time, you can just imagine how hectic my schedule can get. Hang in there though, at the beginning of this year i tipped the scale at 338. but recently i use livestrong.com to track what i eat and my fitness for the day. It really helps me keep track of everything and so far so good. I've lost 9lbs so far. Good luck to you!!!! Hang in there girl. :hug: