[ktetchill]

Hi,

I've been doing the 3 hour diet and was supposed to reach my goal last month, three months after my start date. But ever since i joined a gym my scale hasnt budged. Here's the lowdown:

I intake about 1500 calories a day, i workout 6 days a week and burn 400-475 calories. Strength training 4 days a week.

I keep reading if you hit a plateau you should up your exercise and lower your calories, but it seems like i eat too much food as it is and workout plenty.

I'm starting to get very discouraged, any help and advice would be much appreciated

[aphil]

You are very near to your goal weight right now-and the last few pounds are the hardest to come off. They come off very slowly-not like clockwork of exactly 1/2-2 pounds per week, or whatever the case may have been near the beginning. This is completely NORMAL.

You are also exercising regularly, and your body is going to be improving even though the scale does not show it. This is the reason I urge others not to be so dependant on the scale. The scale does not show abs firming up from all of your abwork, a rear end lifting from those squats and jogging, or those shapely arms and shoulders emerging from doing weights. All it shows is a number. You can be 130 pounds with a great, tight body-or you can be 130 pounds with a jiggly one, and the scale will not know the difference-but everyone around you will. Keep up the exercise!!!!!

I suggest maybe, that you take a front, back, and side view photo of youself in a swimsuit-and take another one in 1 or two months. Since you are exercising regularly, you should be able to "see" changes in your body-even if the scale only budges by a pound or two in that time. It will really help you to see results other than a number on the scale-a number which doesn't know the difference between fat and muscle.

[ktetchill]

thanks for the advice, i'll try that picture idea. I ti s true my abs and muscles are starting to firm up, i just really want to get rid of those last 3 pounds. And i feel like all my hard work is getting me nowhere.

Thanks again

[Sush]

HI!
I lost 20 lbs thru JC and I had a lot of trouble taking off the last few pounds. Don't feel discouraged as your body is trying to adjust to your weight-loss and your present weight. I had a lot of plateaus during my journey. Remember, continuing what you do is important in fighting this FAT battle!! You're already a winner, just hang in there for the last 3 pounds!!
I'm starting my second pahse of my diet to lose 20 pounds form today!!

[ktetchill]

How long did it take you to lose it? Are you working out? It seems like as soon as i started working out is when i stopped losing. But I think at this point i could never give up. This diet has become second nature. I love how much i get to eat.

Thanks for the reply and good luck in your second time around.

[aphil]

Please don't stop working out. Muscle weighs more than fat-so if you are working out heavily it is very possible for you to get smaller in inches (an in the way your clothes fit!) while the scale may say the same.
This is why I recommended using the photos. The scale weight is only part of the story. Your body is definitely making improvements with the workouts. You may find, actually, that after working out for another 3-6 months or longer-that you look so great, that you don't need to weigh 129 after all. A number is just a number, really...and it doesn't say how fit you are.

[ktetchill]

Right now i work out 6 days a week. I have read if you work out too much it can be counterproductive, so i was thinking about cutting back to 5 days a week and just doing an extra 15 minutes of cardio each day. I'm staring my new regimen this week, so we'll see how it goes.

[aphil]

Well, that depends on what you are actually doing for those 6 days a week. It isn't so much how many days a week that you exercise, but what you are doing in them, that would cause it to be too much. I exercise 5-6 days a week, and most of the successful maintainers over in the Maintainers part of the forum do as well.