I exercised hard, ate healthy (sacrificed a lot of time, energy, money, good food) for almost 6-7 months...i know I lose weight slower and lesser than many of my friends and did my best. I mean it. I lost only 6 lbs. and friends said its because I probably gained muscle mass!

I have a weak back and hurt it very bad...so could not exercise for 2 weeks! I gained more weight than I lost! I gained 7 lbs so soon and so easily! Its very disheartening and I know there will will be many more times in life that I would not be able to exercise for sometime. If I gain more weight in just 14 days than I lost over 6 months with the regular exercise, diet etc etc...I feel horrible about myself.

To add to it, every naturally thin person I met always thinks how easy it is to lose weight and overweight people are lazy in general! I never rememebr when I overate as a child, i do not think I ate more than other kids my age or played lesser than kids my age...so why am I the one to have so much trouble losing all the flab? I want to give up! Please help!

Don't give up!! The alternative to all your effort is when you give up and gain so much more back. It will pay off eventually, but will take time. I've noticed from exercising (even a little), I haven't lost very fast but my clothes fit better or that I can keep up with my kids better than before -- have you looked at the NSV's? They are very helpful to me. I get very upset that I'm not losing faster and have been known to gain 5 lbs in a weekend, but that usually goes away in a few days. We didn't gain it overnight (seems like it doesn't it??) so I guess some of us take longer to lose than other which does stink!!

I agree with the skinny people analogy -- unless they have been in our situation they have no idea. As I told my husband once -- I have not consciously chosen to be overweight, out of shape and miserable, really wasn't what I was going for! So, don't pay any attention to them (hard, isn't it), they have their issues too, our's is just noticable on the outside!!!

Keep up the effort, it will eventually pay off -- really

Don't give up! But do make some changes. You say you "ate healthy"--well, it's possible to eat healthy and still be eating too much. Unless you really know how many calories you're taking in, it's way, way easy to be overeating and not know it. Plus exercise, although excellent for staying healthy, does not burn a whole lot of calories, although it does improve your body's ability to burn calories all through the day.

My weight can fluctuate 3 pounds in a day for almost any reason--too much salt, too much water, certain medications, phases of the moon-- no telling. So even if you are up 7 pounds in 2 weeks, that doesn't mean it's all fat.

Try tracking exactly what you eat for a few days--just to have a list. Be sure to include amounts--ounces, serving sizes--and then figure out how many calories each food you ate had in it. There is a good tool online called FitDay if you haven't already heard of it.

Don't give up!

Jay

The good thing about having lost the weight before is that you know you can. Make an art of eating well and exercise gently. We'll be here for you.

I agree with Jay re eating healthy vs. eating to lose. I've always had to "watch what I eat" and so I thought, when starting this to get rid of some pre and post baby weight, I knew EVERYTHING there is to know about losing and maintaining weight. NOT! That's why it took me 5 months to lose 6 pounds. HOWEVER, since joining 3FC and tracking EVERY BITE I eat in fitday.com, and stepping up the exercise a bit, I've lost 14.5 pounds in the past 4 months as of this morning. I never knew how easy it could be until I started my REAL program and before tracking calories I thought I had such little control over my weight. Try calorie counting (as accurately as possible is important) and see how quickly you will lose.

willmakeit;

Hang in there, I think writing down EVERYTHING that goes into your mouth (before you eat it) is a GREAT idea . . . sometimes we don't realize exactly how much we are eating . . . also track what exercises and how long you're doing them . . . bad back, maybe water aerobics . . . very easy on the joints . . . maybe some beginner yoga for stretching and stuff

Either way, don't give up . . . one day at a time . . . and that time and money was not a waste . . . an investment in YOU, a VERY important investment!!!

You can do it!!! just look at your handle "WILLMAKEIT"

you are not a HUGE person, it's natural that you would lose slower and of course gain more muscle....you probably shrink measurement wise and have gone down a size? When I'm 145 lbs. I wear a size 8 or 6 depending on the cut. (I'm 5'5")

don't fall into the pity-mode, be proud of your accomplishments....I WISH I could say that I invested that much time in working out/eating right.

and 7 lbs. might be a flexible number....what TOM? were you taking meds. that could cause water retention? etc.

I did not overeat. I counted my calories (1750-1850) because I knew I wasnt exercising during those two weeks. My back went into muscle spasm and I couldnt even walk or sit properly. It better now but it feels just so discouraging (I cant explain the feeling, i feel like crying) I feel like all my hard work for past 6 months was such a waste and I know it will happen in future where there will be times, I would not be able to exercise/diet as well.

I have skinny friends who loose weight even if they cut down on just butter and sugar for 10 days and here I am exercising my butt off, and eating only certain calories a day and still struggling! There was no TOM, no new medications...

I may look "not that overweight" from my signature but I do not have the courage to move my pointer back to 154 lbs. My height is 5'2". I dont know how or why I became overweight...I feel very low on confidence and needed to vent here.

Thanks for all your support!

I don't know what programme you're on and please, please wait for some other responses before listening to me cos I'm new at this but......

1700-1800 calories a day? Unless you are doing a massive amount of exercise my belief is that you will only maintain your weight at that amount. I'm 5'5" and have to eat 1300-1400 calories a day to lose weight. As you get thinner you need fewer calories to maintain your weight and fewer calories in order to lose it.

I think you may need to re-think your plan but as I said, please don't take my word for it.

I'm also 5'2" and weigh 148.5 (yah, finally in the 140s); I've lost consistently eating a weekly average of 1750 to 1850 calories, so it is definitely a very individual thing here. However, my amount of calories is based on doing a vigorous work out between 2 and 4 times per week, plus walking a lot as I live in the city. So if you were not mobile for those 2 weeks, you would have had to eat less. Anyway, you are NOT your "skinny friends" and neither are we. That's life, we have to work at losing and maintaining (my older sister has NEVER had to watch what she eats and exercising and sweating "makes her sick" (boo hoo) but she's always ranged between a size 0 and 4 while I've had to work hard for a size 6 or 8), and there's nothing we can do about it except give up and get ever larger. Not quite an option if you ask me. Come here often, read the posts for info and motivation, count every bite ACCURATELY (measuring and looking up, not guessing which is what I used to do: no wonder it didnt work), and you WILL lose. Maybe cut back to 1500 calories if you gained on 1700. Good luck, it will happen!

My experience has been similar to doughnut's. If I was eating 1800 cals per day I would be gaining, especially if I couldn't exercise. I have to keep it between 1200 and 1400 to lose, and the closer to 1200 the better.

It really doesn't matter what your thin friends do, you know. Forget them! Bah! Figure out how to make it work for you! You can do it. Don't give up!

Jay

Hey darling, I hope you're not feeling too down right now... You might want to consider the possibility that your body is just where it wants to be. We all know BMI isn't a particularly consistent measure, and you may be at a healthy weight for yourself where you are. If you want to eat like 1600 calories a day for the rest of your life just to maintain a lower weight, then go for it! Anyway, obviously I'm not an expert - and I'm probably totally wrong - but don't TOTALLY rule out the possibility.