Don't look at how many pounds you lose in one week, just look at the overall loss for the month. 11lbs in four weeks averages out to 2.75lbs/week, so that's really good! Don't get too caught up with how much you think you deserve to lose, either, weight loss really isn't quite so simple as a math equation, any numbers are really just estimates. As long as you're still losing, don't worry about it. Try and not get frustrated, because you're just setting yourself up to get even more frustrated if you hit a plateau, and that's never fun. Try and relax.

I'm completely good with it taking a year. But 6lbs a month will not get me there in a year. I'm going to learn to accept the fact that it might not happen exactly the way I want it too, BUT it will happen.

I'm good now, I promise. No stumbling. =)

That's a great way to look at it

Hey Kim - It really does stink when we work so hard and don't lose as much as we would like. I was up a pound this morning! Very discouraging. I found that when I increased the intensity and duration of exercise I lost a little more. Today, I could only do 30 min. and only burned 200 calories. But that is more than I used to do when I started out. I heard a doctor say that if you burn 200 calories a day you would lose half a pound a week if you didn't increase caloric intake. And that's if you exercise 7 days a week. It's tough sometimes. Good luck!

I've definitely been there and it's frustrating when our bodies just do what they're going to do regardless of how hard we try. But. What I keep telling myself as I go through this journey is that, even if the number on the scale isn't moving as fast as I'd like it too, my body has to be a lot healthier and stronger on the inside. Sometimes it just takes a while for the outside to catch up.

In the meantime you just want to bang your head against the wall sometimes!

I think you are doing great- but my only suggestion is an average of 1400 calories seems kind of low if you are exercising as well. At 243 you can probably go up to an average of 1700-1800 calories a day and still lose- heck probably lose faster- your body might be holding on tighter cuz of a lower calorie deficit.

It's just a suggestion anyways

There's nothing wrong with 30 min of exercise, you just got to make sure to use the most of it.

For example, I worked out for exactly 35 min today at the gym. I did 20 pullups, 20 chinups, DB rows with 25lb dumbbells, heavy DB curls, 15 v ups, 15 roman chairs, PLUS 5 min warmup on the elliptical. That's a **** of a lot in 30 minute!!!

Just use it to the max!!!

It sounds like you have a pretty rock-solid plan in place, and if it sincerely and truly is leaving you satisfied and not "white-knuckling" it, then I encourage you to just keep it up, relax, and let the scale do what it may. In the past when I have lost weight, I swear I'd be the same for 2 or 3 weeks, then all of a sudden be down 6-7 pounds. This time I wouldn't know, because I have been weighing myself only every month or two. Good numbers every time. It sounds to me like your weight loss is right on track where it should be based on what you are doing. (Which I think sounds like an excellent, sustainable way to live).

I know it can be frustrating, but I can't stress enough how important I think it is to just focus on getting yourself into really strong, consistent behavior patterns. Let the pounds fall where they may, because they have no choice but to vanish if you keep it up! As you start feeling better, you can even kick up the exercise a notch or 2, but don't pressure yourself right out of your whole plan!

I read you are good, but still wanted to add my encouragement. You got this!

Thanks everyone. =)

11 pounds in a month is great, congrats! I average around there every month. Is it possible that the slower weeks could have to do with your TOM? I find I lose a bit slowly the week of TOM and then more quickly other weeks. This journey can be frustrating but what is the alternative? Go back to old patterns and perhaps gain or even maintain? Not a good option. This is a change in your behaviour that will have to last forever, so try not to be in too much of a hurry, otherwise it can lead to frustration. You're doing great so keep it up!

I get frustrated too dear. To the point of wanting to throw the scales into the street and see just how many little pieces it will break into
Don't worry
As long as you're staying on plan, exercising, and drinking lots of water, the scales will move in the right direction. One thing to consider on the exercise bit, as you start toning and strengthening your muscles, muscle weighs more than fat, so while you are in fact "loosing fat", you are building muscle. Which is a good thing Also, another thing that saved my scales from being smashed to smithereens was that I started measuring myself And trust me, the tape gives a MUCH more accurate picture of your hard work than the scales does.
Hang in there

Judy

It's hard to burn enough calories in 30 minutes to really make a difference. If you really get your heart rate up and cranking, you might be burning 300 calories (assuming some time to warm up and cool down), but it's probably less than that. Walking for 30 minutes might burn 100-150 calories, which is 700-1050 calories per week -- maybe a third of a pound. This is way diet is generally considered to be more important than exercise. You're doing great with your exercise, and as you get in better shape it can become a bigger contributor to your weight loss. The exercise you're doing still has great overall fitness and health benefits, and you're clearly ROCKING your eating plan to lose 11 pounds in a month!

Another thing to remember about exercise is that the benefits continue well after the exercise session itself is over. There's a thread elsewhere on this board, in the general chat forum, I think, called "You have to see this!" It's a link to YouTube videos of an hour-long show that examines ten diet "rules" and the science behind them.

The researchers put a guy on a treadmill for ninety minutes. He burned 19 grams of fat--puny, right? But they had the same guy come in the next day and lie down under a hood that measured his resting metabolic rate and weight; within 24 hours, he had burned not 19 grams of fat, but 49 grams of fat from that 90-minute exercise session!

If I ever questioned the worth of exercise because it just seemed like so much effort for the calories burned or wanted to quit early because "it's just a few more calories burned," I no longer do.

I'm mostly focused on my diet, and I've been trying to up my exercise slowly. I wasn't saying I should have lost a lot just because of exercise, just that exercising on top of my eating plan should help with weightloss. I usually do at least 30 minutes of cardio. Not walking. I do something that gets my heart rate up and gets me sweating. It may not burn a ton of calories, but it definitely counts for something. I'm super excited because we found a great deal on a Total Gym so now I'm going to start doing more strength training on top of my cardio.

Today is a new day and I'm great! I was just having a mini pity party yesterday and I really appreciate all the support everyone. =)