Lately, I've been so hungry, worn out, and I feel like I'm not geting anywhere with this diet thing.

I mean, really. I feel like I'm not achieveing anything.

I'm walking at least 45 minutes each day.
Keeping my calories down to at least 2100.
And doing at least 50 sit ups a day.

Yet, I feel like I'm getting nothing out of it. I'm losing motivation and I don't know who else to turn to.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but 2100 calories a day is probably way too high to be losing much. Try cutting back to 1800 and seeing what happens.

Maybe try adding some push-ups in with your sit-ups? They suck I know, but boy they can make your arms look nice and for a lot of women that's where they first start seeing changes.

Hey! Some questions:

- How long have you been doing this?
- How did you arrive at your calories per day?
- Why are you doing so many situps?

Just my opinion here, but 2100 seems really high for you to expect to lose weight. My guess is that you aren't seeing much by way of results.

45 minutes of walking is good! You should keep that up! But, I don't understand the thing with the situps.

Jay

it's hard to tell where it could be going "wrong" for you, but to me it sounds like things are going all right.

Maybe you have too many calories? Maybe you don't have enough of a good balance between fruits, veg, complex carbs, lean proteins, good fats?

How long have you been doing this? Because you do know that you need a lot of patience and understanding with yourself right now. The weight didn't come on over night, it's not going to go away overnight either?

Are you keeping a journal, a food diary or a blog? Have you found a group here that you can post daily to?

Since Monday I have been doing this but I thought for sure that I'd see a quick result because on Wednesday when I weighed myself I was like 2 lbs lighter than I was on Monday. I don't know? I do sit ups because I want to flatten my stomach and tone up a bit. Plus it burns calories. Is 2000 too high? I thought it was good. Well, considering I started out at about 4,000 calories a day I thought I was doing good. The exercising part I'm cool with, it's the dieting that's killing me. Plus, I've cut WAYYY down on my soda intake. I went from about a 2 liter a day to about a glass a day.

Insight?

I think you need to give it more time than just since Monday to see and feel results. Try to focus on this being a long-term thing. That this is what you do now and your body will eventually catch up to your new lifestyle.

Change the way you eat and don't "diet". Do some reading around here and see what others do to get a balance in their eating habits AND cut down on the calorie level.

I also agree that 2100 calories is too high for many folks to lose weight. Every one is different and if you were seeing results, then it would be fine to stay at that level. But since you aren't, you have to consider a change. Personally, I try to stay at or under 1500/day.

Walking for 45 minutes is great! You might want try adding some strength/resistance but I think your main issue is probably the calorie level.

Lol, I'm a slow poster, so my post was a bit OBE by the time I sent it.

One week is way too short a time to see valid results. In general, the scale will fluctuate up and down and can't really be used to judge short term efforts.

If you are having a hard time sticking to the diet because of hunger, you might try drinking more water, having a lowcal soup or salad with every meal, eating more fiber and/or taking a fiber supplement (with more water), etc. Try looking into volumetrics for this approach (bulkier but lower calorie foods).

I agree that 2100 calories is too high. Where did you get the idea that 2100 calories is good for losing ? I would try 1800 if I were you.

Cutting down from 4000 to 2100 is a good thing. At 4000 you were gaining weight. So, at 2100 you are probably maintaining your weight instead of gaining. To lose weight, you'll need to go lower than that. I agree with bargoo that 1800 might be a good upper limit to try.

The idea with exercise is to get your muscles working to improve how many calories you burn every day. You should try to use lots of different muscles, not just your abs. We have an exercise forum here where you could find some tips.

Have you ever tried the Walk Away The Pounds videos/DVDs by Leslie Sansome? Sometimes you can check these out at the library and see what you think. You can do them at home, and some 3FC members really like them.

Try another week. Stay at or below 1800 cals and see how that goes. Don't give up! It takes longer to lose than it does to gain. This is sad but true.

Jay

You've gone from 4000 to 2100 calories and you've lost 2 pounds. Congratulations. Two pounds a week is at the high end of sustainable. Perhaps you'll decide that 1800 is a better target. Perhaps 2100 will work for you for awhile.

If you're hungry and worn out, you may have reduced your calories without improving the food in your diet. Make sure you're getting 5 servings of vegetables and fruits a day, good protein, & whole grains. Make sure you're drinking plenty of water. An abrupt change in diet can take a few days or a couple weeks for your body to get used to. Give it a little time.

It can be really confusing, can't it!

I have learned an awful lot about what works for me over the past three years, but it does take time, and you do have to be willing to give it time. As Velveteen said, it helps to focus on long-term. If you change habits to lose weight and then go back to the "old ways" the weight comes back. Biggest secret the diet industry never tells you.

So, you need patience to figure out how to eat and exercise. Your plan will likely evolve over time, as you try new foods and ways of moving!

When I started calorie counting, I did lose on 2000 calories/day, but I weighed over 280 pounds at the time. Because people who weigh more use more calories for EVERYTHING, bigger people use more calories to maintain their weight, and therefore can lose weight eating more calories than people who weigh less.

My weight isn't that different from yours, and I would lose very slowly (if at all) at 2000 calories/day, so I do think you should try a little less, especially if you aren't losing. 1800 is a good number to try for a few weeks. See how it goes.

Then, if you're hungry, you might want to explore ways of eating food to better satisfy you. For many people veggies are a good food because they are filling! Lean proteins also can keep us full. But a lot of people find that "100 calorie packs," which seem like a good choice, don't keep them full for long... So, read the forums and play around with more filling foods.

I don't have time to address the exercise side of things, but walking is a great place to start! Just know that it doesn't necessarily burn that many calories (estimates are usually high).

And situps can be good for abs, but if you are doing 50 in a row (and I don't know you are), you probably aren't doing a lot for your abs. There are ways to make crunches more intense. You can probably check out the exercise forum for more info.

But again, don't fret! Give yourself some time to figure things out. Try different ways of eating, or different types of food. When you get in the zone and lose the weight, it's a great feeling!