Hi. I am very private and all so i never post ANYTHING, but I am desperate and really hope someone has the information that will lead me to the key to open the door to my problem, which is, how in the world can I lose weight? Is my body too "broken" due to things I've done.

I have dieted off and on for the past 12 years. I did Quick Weight Loss long ago (big loss), starvation'ish' (dumb) for about a month ten years ago, Weight Watchers five years ago (little loss), South Beach (inital success), counted calories (lots of success first time but now, none) and had between 1400-1600 and now am in week five of South Beach. I only lost six lbs in Phase 1 (and stayed on it for three weeks). Gained a pound this week and it hurts so much with all my efforts.

I exercise daily, mostly within my target heart rate by walking or running or aerobics or weight program. I work out for an hour a lot of days but at least 30 mins.

I typically eat five servings of veggies and fruits, get fiber, all the suggested stuff. Most importantly, I DO NOT CHEAT when I am trying to lose weight. It's all the times between that I have trouble eating properly, hence my yoyos.

So, does anyone have a medical expert, etc. they can suggest I consult? Or ideas for second level support? This is at a point beyond just adding more veggies, water, exercise, etc. So, I want to find out what I can do to lose weight. I am 30, 5'4" and weigh 157. I really want to get to the 120s.
Is there anything out there for me?

I feel my body is just so broken and that makes me hopeless. I really want any help you can offer, even if it doesn't end up working for me. Thank you so much for reading my ramblings and bearing with me.

It looks like you had a good start with SB 2 pounds a week is considered to be a very good loss . Why not stick with it ? Nobody loses it overnight.

6 lbs in phase 1 of SB is very good. The people who lose more

a) had more to lose than you do
b) typically are making a more radical diet change than you probably were.

At your weight there is little benefit in staying in phase 1 longer than 2 weeks. The purpose of phase 1 is to remove the carb cravings and prepare you to add them in at a lower level.

You are "slightly overweight" which means you may need to be more patient. 1 lb a week would be a very good rate of loss. Now remember this is 1 lb AVERAGE. There are going to be fluctuations. THere are many reasons why you might have gained a lb of WATER this week.

I think you should stay the course and keep plugging away for a couple more weeks before panicking.

Personally I find the combination of SouthBeach and calorie counting to be very powerful

thanks for the encouragement and i agree, no one loses overnight. but even though i am following SBD to a "T" (and carefully reintro. healthy carbs), i have started gaining weight again. this is what happens with each attempt and why i am so frustrated. thanks.

thanks ennay as well for the reply. i will try to not lose hope. best wishes for more success to you and bargoo.

I read your post and can understand where you are coming from. Try doing something different to shock your body.When it comes to exerise your body can get use to the routine. Try something different, running ,swimming,tennis.
This really helps. Dont lower your food intake,Try eating earlier and DRINK Water often.This flushes the fat.
Stay strong, you deserve to be happy. d

I'm going to focus on this paragraph for a moment. If you don't cheat when you're trying to lose weight, then how do you start your yo-yoing? Obviously something kicks you off plan. The big problem then is when you do "cheat" do you get right back on plan? Or do you say "Oh the crap with it, I'm done for!"?

What I'm getting at is that there's nothing wrong with a little "cheat" now and then. Perhaps letting go of an "all or nothing" mentality will allow you to stay on plan forever, without letting a couple little bumps in the road get you down. Go ahead, plan a cheat treat once every few weeks.

Best of luck to you - I hope that you're able to find something that you can stick with through thick & thin!

EDIT: From Jay's response below I can tell that I did not accomplish what I set out to say, because what she said is actually closer to how I feel about the subject.

i'm not sure if i can add suggestions relating to the SB...but it sounds like you are loosing wt. So keep it up. Also, you need to find a plan that works for you long term...in otherwords...you will be doing this the rest of your life. So if sb works...great!. Then keep at it. I would recommend a food journal, just to make sure you aren't over eating. Like i said..i'm not doing sb..so don't really know how it works..but i figure like any plan...you can overeat even with food that's allowed on your plan. So make sure you aren't over eating. Then if you feel as if you are doing right by the plan...and really working out...then give it some time. Some people loose much slower. And finally, you should be checked by a dr. Have bloodwork, have your iron and thryoid tested. You may have an endocrine deficency...or you may find that you don't have any health problems...and you just need to find "what works for you". Remember this is a slow process....so just be patient..i know it is frustrating...but just hang in there.

Hey!

I think you may find eventually that there is little difference between how you eat when losing weight, and how you have to eat to maintain weight. There can't be "times in between" where you go back to your old ways of eating.

Most folks become overweight because they eat too much of calorie-dense foods too frequently, over time. That somehow became "the norm."

To lose weight and keep it off, we seem to have to re-define "normal eating."

I disagree with Faerie about "cheating." If you are truly following a plan you can live with, there is no "cheating"--there are just the foods you choose to eat, and the consequences you choose to accept.

It sounds like you're expecting to lose too much! Six pounds in 3 weeks is about as fast as you can lose and not be doing something unhealthy. So maybe it would help to adjust your expectations.... 1-2 pounds a week average is good.

We have a whole South Beach forum--ask over there, and the members can probably give you more specific information. If South Beach is working, why switch?

Good luck! Your body is not broken, and a one pound gain is not failure!

Jay

Just wanted to add... don't worry about going up a pound. That's probably water or something. Weight loss is rarely linear - everyone has their little ups and downs along the way. I have noticed that I can plateau or gain a bit, but then a week later lose 2 or 3. Just be patient and stay the course, and don't let these little frustrations push you off your program.