I finally got my act together after about 3 years and have been watching my diet and exercising for the past 5-6 weeks. I don't have a "perfect" diet, but I think I am doing not too bad. I occasionally track in FitDay and seem to be on target. I am also on my 36th day without sugar. I exercise for 45-60 minutes 5 days a week and usually garden or mow on the weekends. I lost around 4 pounds my first week and since then have only lost 2 and I have noticed no difference in how anything fits.

I guess I always just assumed that at the start of a lifestyle change you would see a pretty good drop in weight before stalling. Especially since I had a HUGE sugar problem and didn't exercise at all.

I also have been having a lot of knee discomfort (swelling, pain, and popping) that has been really frustrating in the exercise realm.

Anyways, any words of advice or encouragement?

First of all, Welcome!!!

Second of all, you sound like you're doing just fine. It is normal to start a diet and lose a little bit more than after a week or so on a diet. To be healthy, you shouldn't lose more than 1-2 pounds per week. I don't know your weight or how much you are trying to lose, but look at it this way. Say you want to lose 30 pounds. How long do you figure it took you to GAIN that weight? Certainly not in 2 or 3 weeks! It will take just as long (or slightly longer) to lose the weight.

As for your knee, I don't know. I have bad knees myself so I just stay away from activities that make them hurt.

Good luck! I think you're doing great!

Hey there,

Do you mean you've lost 2 pounds in the past 5 weeks? If so, that's a bit too slow, you're right.

One thing you could try is to list everything in FitDay every day, not just occasionally. If you go too high a couple of days every week, that could slow down or stall your weight loss. Be sure to count beverages that have calories, like milk, beer, etc.

Try exercises that are not weight bearing to give your knees a rest. An exercise bicycle is good that way. And use an ice pack if you have active swelling.

Good luck!
Jay

hi, i think you are doing wonderful...you, like i was, are doing everything pretty much right...i lost nothing...i was doing treadmill at home 5 days a week, work out with a personal trainer 2 days a week and tracked my food through weight watchers everyday...everyone kept saying i was doing well...but no weight was coming off...one thing i did was start keeping track of my measurements...is been 12 weeks..i have only lost one pound (i just found out i needed thyroid meds so that should help alot) but i have lost inches in all areas...so even though the scale isnt showing much my measurements are and that helped me alot not to give up....good luck keep up the hard work you will be successful....christina

Hi and welcome. Swimming is good for knees, though I've never been partial to it - wrecks the hair/makeup etc. I have a bad knee (ie. I've had 4 arthroscopies done on it), and the best thing I have found is the elliptical trainer - it's easier on my knee than even walking.

As for feeling like you're stalled, I think a lot depends on how much you need to lose. Those with less to lose often see results more slowly. Be patient - even if it comes off slowly, it's still coming off, and you're improving your health in the meantime.

I think I added the weight tracker right...I don't know. But I am currently 182, down from 188. I would like to get back to 125 which was around a size 8 for me (I'm short and small-boned).

I had a thyroid test nearly two years ago because I was really tired all the time and both my parents have hypothyroidism. It didn't come up with anything then but we found rheumatoid arthritis instead (though I don't think that is what is causing the knee problem).

You are right though. I had my DD 3 years ago and never lost the weight after her but instead packed on pounds on top of the pregnancy pounds.

Oh, and yes, it does mean that all I've lost for the past 4-5 weeks is 2 pounds.

I know exactly where you are coming from. I've only lost a very small amount, which has been fluctuating over the last couple of weeks. I do know though I've lost the inches round my waist and hips, so as is mentioned above, if you track your measurements you'll most likely find that they have altered even if the scale hasn't. I've been told it can take a while for the weight loss to show itself on the scale.

I've got osteoarthritis in my right knee. I can no longer use the exercise bike because even after a few minutes my knee is really painful and it stays painful then for a couple of days, so I pesonally wouldn't recommend an exercise bike. I have been doing lots of walking though and that doesn't seem to hurt my knee

Rhemuatoid arthritis can cause knee problems, though I believe it typically affects many joints & you're most likely to notice it with your hands first. Hopefully your doc put you on some sort of therapy to keep it under control.

Depending on what sort of exercise you've been doing, your weight loss could've been stalled by replacing fat with muscle, which is not necessarily a bad thing since it slightly boosts your metabolism.

I'm currently on a 3-week plateau myself ~ though I did take a mini weeklong break from vigorous exercising 2 weeks ago. Now that I'm back on track and even more mindful of my exercise/eating habits, hopefully I can bust throughout that can make my mini & ultimate goals. So don't keep up the good work yourself!

Hi sixpence! Congrats on the lifestyle change and the loss so far!

As for wanting to speed up the loss, you've lost 6 lbs in about 6 weeks? That's not a bad rate of loss, actually, especially if you're not being too strict on your diet. You shouldn't be losing more than 1-2 lbs a week if you're going to do it healthily and maintain your weight loss. Remember, this is all about making changes you can keep up after you reach your goal. As for sugar, you may have cut out refined sugar by itself but are you paying attention to the amount of sugar in the food you are eating? There is a lot of hidden sugar in food... especially bread, fruit, yogurt, cereal...any of that. I'm not saying you should cut those foods out, but just keep track of them. FitDay is really good if you use it every day. I have to do a lot of customization but it's worth it. If you're only doing it every once in a while, though, it's not really going to help you out much.
As for the knee, I also have a knee problem that runs in my family... both my dad and little sister have had to have surgeries for it and I probably will eventually. So try to go for low-impact exercises. Swimming is awesome, or using an elliptical trainer, biking, or step aerobics are all relatively easy on your joints.
Measuring yourself is a good idea too, since you might be replacing fat with muscle, which weighs more but takes up less space.

Above all, don't get discouraged if what's on the scale isn't what you think it "should be". There is no norm for weight loss, everyone loses differently. The important thing is to keep making healthy choices and exercising and focusing on whether you feel better. The number on the scale should be secondary. You're losing weight! You're eating better! You're getting healthier, and that's awesome. Keep it up!!

sixpence~I thought you meant you were losing 2 pounds a week. 2 in 5 weeks is a bit of a stall. Can you give us your typical daily diet so we can see what could be tweaked?

I hear yah on the slow weight loss thing, it's taken me a YEAR to lose 32 pounds!!! It's been pretty painful at times. However it's staying off, even when I went WAY off on a summer vacation, I didn't gain a pound from it. I don't really have a good answer for you, I've just accepted that this is a slow process for me.

Have you gone to the doctor to make sure everything is working properly? I went for blood tests to check out what was going on, they didn't find anything though. Also on that sugar quitting thing, are you making sure everything is without sugar? Thats a huge thing for me as well, and there is sugar in bread, I even found it in PLAIN yogurt! Artificial sweetners can also cause a stall in some people's weight loss, I even know people who gain from it.

How's your water intake? It's SO important to make sure you are getting enough of it, it gets everything moving and working properly.

I think you've got some great advice, you just gotta figure out what will work for you.

-Aimee

If your losing 2lbs a week, that is really good --- especially if your not on a strict diet and/or excercise regimen. I am on a pretty strict regimen and I've been losing 2lbs a week. Yes, there are many days that I want this weight to come off faster! But they say that those who lose between 1-2lbs a week tend to keep the weight off for good. So try looking at it that way......

As for your knee, well I have bad knees also and all I can advise you is stick with excercise that doesn't bother your knee. Maybe an ellipetical, recumbant bike or water aerobics?

Good Luck!!

Nancy

You're right, I do need to go check my measurements and I will make a Dr. appt. next week because I need a check-up anyways/

I think I usually average around 6 8oz. glasses of water a day...up from drinking none. So I'm working on that.

I guess a typical day might look something like this:
Breakfast: 1 cup of Cheerios with FF milk, strawberries, and 6 oz. OJ

Lunch: either leftovers from dinner or a turkey sandwich (using bread from Trader Joe's, no sugar or HFCS but it does have some honey) and an apple or grapes and 8 oz. unsweetened iced tea

Snack (my biggest downfall): air-popped popcorn or an apple with natural PB or (my weakness) 1 serving size of parmesan goldfish crackers

Dinner: varies, but is usually something like chicken stir fry or WW spaghetti and salad or fish, rice, and veggies...casseroles are what deterred my FitDay usage the most...got tired of putting in all the ingredients

I know I really need to up my vegetable intake...that's the hardest for me because I really don't care for salad all the time.

Anyways, keep the tips coming. Thanks

sixpence~yes, you do need more veggies, but they don't have to be salads. Try steaming or roasting some vegetables and serve with a grill chicken breast for dinner. I also love raw veggies (carrots, celery, pea pods, peppers) dipped in a LITTLE dressing.

Try omitting the bread and having your sandwich on either a ww tortilla (La Tortilla has 50 calorie ones) or a Flat Out Bread. That will save calories.

Omit the OJ and eat an orange or other fruit.

I'm a HUGE casserole lover as well. Have you looked at the Cooking Light website to get some lower calorie/lower fat recipes?

I don't think your snack is bad. I just wonder what serving size you're having at dinner. Do you measure/weigh things or just eyeball the portion size. I'm wondering if perhaps what you think you're eating is actually more than a serving size. It is VERY easy to do.

When I wuld not eat salads I would eat frozen veggies with garlic on them I love garlic so it made them tolerable over time I used less garlic and now I love salads. When I was having troble with my jaw the other week i could not wait to eat salads again.