Right now I'm doing the 30 day shred. Currently on level 2 day 7. I work out at Curves three times a week. I run/ walk an hour 3 times a week. I've done tabeo a couple times and doing dance cardio too. I think I may look into pilates. For a change, I do a lot of strength training as well. I'm thinking of getting a bike too. I love how I feel after I workout.

yes, i always feel like i'm not doing enough. But then again, feeling and actually doing it is different for me.
Oh...maybe becuz i didn't do what i think is enough, then that's why i always feel like i'm not doing it enough...>"<

Honestly, no. I seem to have hit a routine to my weight loss, and it just motors along.

1. I work out no more than 5 times a week (3 days weights, 2 days cardio). I balance the rest of my week with moving a little more (walking further when parking, getting up from the computer and moving every 15 mins).

2. I eat within 25 cals +/- of the level I've picked for that day. I do this by pre-planning my meals for the next day. I will occasionally change them around during the day, but always within my range. I only specifically aim for protein levels, but I end up with pretty balanced fat/carb/protein when I look at the end of the month.

3. I'm not sure that I specifically think about if a food is healthy or not, however, having said that it's rare that I eat something processed or pre-made. Heck, I've learned how to brine and smoke my own turkey (for lunch meat).

4. I do still keep track of my water intake, but I don't really struggle with it. I'm only paying attention because my routines have changed.

5. I work on getting plenty of sleep. This is sometimes where I fall down, but I'm much better than I used to.


I would be careful of pushing yourself too hard. I think it's great that you're enjoying your exercise, but a little concerned that with all you're doing that you don't think it's enough. Is there a reason for this? Just something to think about. If you're meeting your goals and losing weight, why would you not think it's enough? (just curious)

My thing is that I've lost 4 pounds in the last there months. I can't get below 281. I lose 19 pounds in my first month, but only 4 in the last 3 months.

I've played with my calories, I've played with my exercise routine. I've lost a lot of inches. I've gone from a 22 to 18, but it does get frustrating that the scale won't move. I make myself not worry about the scale, but deep down I wonder if I'm missing something.

You know, I worry about all of that too! I think it is because we want to be healthy so bad, that we would do just about anything to get there. Also, we know that we are the only ones who can make this happen. So, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves. And it is probably too much. Just relax. You can't be any more healthy and still lead a normal life. You are doing it all right!

The danger in doing too much is getting OCD about it.

I've been down this road before. I pushed myself really hard to lose weight, and I always felt bad when I didn't totally live up to "gold standard". It worked, but when I was done I still felt guilty and bad about myself, so I gained the weight back.

I think if you can do well on average, and still feel good when you fail, you're a lot more likely to keep the weight off.

Can I say this really nicely. You're headed for trouble. I'll see if I can find part of my story and paste it in. Specifically with a great start, then deadly slow weight loss.

I started losing weight without counting calories. I had a job where I could control how active I was, so I just made a point to walk around the plant more. For about a year I did no meat, no fat, no sugar, no alcohol, and no formal exercise. I pretty much didn't limit myself as long as it fell within that range. It was basically fruit, veggies, rice/pasta. I cooked with vegetable stock (not oil). For the first 12 months I lost over 100 pounds, and part of that included a 3-week cruise. Monthly losses ranged from 21 pounds to 6 or 7. So at the end of that period I started counting calories (Oct/Nov/Dec) when I lost 11/13/3 pounds. December was the cruise month, plus family dinners. When I started counting calories I used ~1500 as a starting point. And hey the starting months were great. Then:

Jan - 2.5 pounds
Feb - 4.5 pounds
Mar - 4.5 pounds
Apr - 2.5 pounds
May - 3.5 pounds

This is part of it (from my blog) written about after I'd lost 100 pounds originally. You can see the total pounds lost is wrong. I hadn't found my original FitDay log:

"Over the next 5 months I may have only lost 25 – 30 pounds, but I felt great. I was toning up; people noticed more than they had before. I started back to eating a little meat, but kept it under 1500 calories. Early June I had a rough weekend and (long story short) Monday I ended up in the emergency. I’d been walking around (for probably 5 weeks) with infected fluid in my pleural cavity."

Having found the logs I can now add that in April I wasn't happy with the pound a week and cut it to 1400. May I dropped it to 1300 as I continued to increase my exercise intensity. The illness was probably from a flu I'd had in late April. Oh, and I didn't even stop working out. I really thought I was on track, feeling fine, then bam. I eventually gained back about 30 pounds before the end of the year. I had physical pain from the chest tube I'd had during my illness. I gained another 30 over the next year, and a little more after that.

Here's the change this time. I started back to losing weight at 358.2 pounds, eating more, and then raised it.

Dec 07 - 1771 cals - 12.0 pounds down

(no exercise)

Jan 08 - 1994 cals - 9.8 pounds down
Feb 08 - 2045 cals - 8.2 pounds down

(did low grade cardio to this point, usually 90 mins a day, but no other daily exercise - ie. not working, cold winter)

Started lifting weights (heavy ones)

Mar 08 - 2246 cals - 11.6 pounds down
Apr 08 - 2463 cals - 6.6 pounds down
May 08 - 2358 cals - 8.2 pounds down
Jun 08 - 2300 cals - 8.0 pounds down
Jul 08 - 2474 cals - 10.2 pounds down

(July had a maintenance week where I made a point to eat 3000 cals a day)

Aug 08 - 2290 cals - 8.8 pounds down
Sep 08 - 2396 cals - 8.4 pounds down

(Repeated maintenance week 10 weeks later. Was to be 12 weeks but I caught the flu that was going around so decided to pull it forward.)

Oct 08 - pending.... but I know it will be somewhere around eight pounds. I'll never have a 20-lb a month loss, but I'll continue to have lots of 8 pound ones, and that's what counts.

As of September I did lower my calories slightly. I now eat 2000 cals on days I do no formal exercise. I eat 2150 cals on cardio days (2 of them, still mainly just walking with a little jogging for a minute hear and there). I eat 2300 cals on lifting days (usually 3 per week). Most of the weight lost in Jun/Jul/Aug I ate 2150 on rest days and 2400 on any exercise day. That's my one concession to having lost weight.

Wow that was a lot of information. But I think it's important to see that eating a decent amount of food is not the enemy. I have tons of energy for other tasks. I make a point of trying to be more active on the day to day things. During the typing of this post I got up from the computer twice. Once to feed the cats (upstairs) and then back to get my afternoon snack (carrots, hummus, and a drink-alcoholic at that). I feel like I've discovered a secret that I really wish I'd known a few years ago. I have to eat to lose weight consistently. People tried to tell me that as I ramped up my exercise that I had to eat more and I ignored them.

So really, take a good look at how much exercise you're doing and how much food you're eating. I suspect it's too much of one and not enough of the other. Although, make sure you're brutally honest about what you're eating. I tend to weigh most of what I eat. ie. tonight I had 45g of hummus and 6oz of carrots - exactly. I also take 5 minutes each night and plan my meals for the next day. I'm to the point now where I know enough that I can change them on the fly, but having a plan really helps.

I hope some of that helps, and that it didn't come across as a lecture. I just keep thinking that if I knew then what I knew now I'd be finished and maintaining my weight loss instead of continuing my journey. Oh, and going back to reading your response before I posted this, consider making a plan for a month, and then following it. When I started back in December I was all over the place, never really knew what was working and what wasn't.

real- I appreciate your post. But I know for a fact b/c i weigh my stuff that I'm eating 1800 a day. Sometimes I'll do 2000. I don't really like the fact that you say I'm headed for trouble. I think that I'm doing everything healthy and just b/c you were in the hospital doesn't mean I will be. Don't worry, I'm not offended or anything. I have an accountability person that I touch base with daily and she would tell me if she thought I was doing crazy.

I wish I knew exactly how much to eat, but I dont think I'm doing anything to harm myself. 1800-2000 cal seems to have me functioning well. I do have a plan that I stick too as well. I do sometimes wonder if I should eat more just b/c I'm stalled.

Speaking in general here,

I know that we all try to look out for each other. Also, I think it is very important to warn others when headed for danger. But, it is impossible for us to know what is right for you. As long as you are eating healthy foods in healthy amounts, drinking water, and exercising healthy.... your weight will come off soon. Just stick to it! Only u know what works for you....

Here we go--

How is it even possible to go down 2 sizes and not budge even a pound?! That's so insane and understandably frustrating! Have you talked to a doctor or nutritionist who could give you some advice to bust the plateau?

In my opinion, I don't think what you're doing seems unhealthy. You upped your calories, watch what those calories are, and get a good blend of different exercises. As far as the gym goes, I've heard that Curves isn't really the most intense workout you can get. Maybe you need a more flexible gym routine? Or increase the incline on the treadmill when you run?

You have a GREAT attitude and SO much patience. Just make sure you don't get burned out!

I tend to lean to the 'eat a little more' side with as much exercise as you do. What is the estimated ballpark calories per day to maintain your weight if you were sedentary, somewhere around 2500-2600 maybe? (Guessing that in my head, not punching it into anything). With as much activity as you do, that could go up to close to 3000 I imagine? (I don't remember if you have mentioned a thyroid or other problem before taking your metabolism down...) Maybe 1800 calories isn't giving you enough so your body is holding on to what you give it?

You have been working so hard for so long, I know that you are frustrated. I know it will balance out for you soon. Hang in there.

Sorry, for some reason I thought you were eating less. I'm not around here as much as I used to so I could be confusing you with someone else. I just saw the same trend - adding more and more exercise when weight wasn't being lost. If it were a month I'd probably say don't worry about it. After three months though I'd be a little crazy myself.

It might be hard, but why not cut the exercise back and keep the calorie levels up. Depending on the type of exercises you are doing, some of it could be water retention. Although even with that I'd still expect to see some losses. Give yourself a rest for a week to 10 days and see what happens. If you start to lose then when you add the exercise back in you could bump up the calories a little.

Don't get me wrong, I've felt the cardio highs myself, and it's hard to kick the habit sometimes. Oh, and I wasn't suggesting that you would end up in the hospital. Heck, I ignored the warning signs myself. I just meant that adding more and more exercise was a possible problem if you're already stressing your body too much.

Real- I'm sorry. I think I totally misunderstood your post! Funny how that can happen when you're just reading words. I did 2200 for two weeks and gained 5 pounds so I've gone back down to 1800-2000. The last time I was checked for Thyroid was a couple years ago and everything was fine. I'd rather save going to the doctor as a last result. I don't have the money and don't really want to go. I know my body is going to have lose weight soon. There's no way that I can keep losing inches and no weight. It's not possible.

RealCdn- WOW! Send some of your energy over my way!! I barely have the time to exercise, and make all of my meals, never mind plan out the next day. I would love to hear your secret - or how you think I could find some extra time in my life. Currently I get up at 6:10am, shower, dressed, and leave by 7:30am to get to work by 8:30. I am off at 5-5:30, pick up my boyfriend and I'm home by 6:30-7. While I exercise, he makes dinner and we eat around 8pm. After dinner, dishes, pack up my lunch, done around 9pm. I then spend time with my bf, reply to emails, and get ready for bed. And bedtime at 10pm.

here we go again - I have to admit I totally feel like I could do more. I feel like I should be doing more, because like you, I am not losing the most consistantly. I always feel like I should do more and more, and I wonder if to some extent its a part of our society these days.. I mean we see the biggest loser and people are working out for HOURS in a day!! Maybe if we did that we'd get those results... I know that crosses my mind. I dunno, I am rambling!

-Aimee

I KNOW I'm not doing enough. Sometimes I get on here and I feel so inadequate. You guys seem like machines to what I'm doing. You talk about burning 500 cals and 2 hr workouts. The most I'll work out during a week day is 30 mins on the treadmill and maybe dancing around for 45 mins. That is the MOST I'll do. Usually, it's 20 minutes on the treadmill and that's it. And half the time, I make excuses not to do that. The only thing saving me from ballooning to a gazillion pounds is that I can control my eating.

But I understand where you are coming from. I try to look at in context; as much as I want this junk off of me, I didn't put it on in a year, so it's going to take me a bit longer than a year to take it off. Between 10 y/o and 12 y/o, I put on nearly 100 pounds. So I'm giving myself 2 years to get from 235 to 150. Of course it completely possible for me to take of that weight in half that time, But I'm not going to stress about it. Stressing makes me crazy and I do stupid stuff like crash or make myself sick. I say, be patient. You're doing everything right. You keep this up for another six months and just imagine how much you will lose.