Okay, I am on day 12 and I already want to throw in the towel. My goal is to loose about 40 pounds by May 3rd. I know that is alot. I have lost 7 pounds already but I am tired and miserable.

I have been doing the elliptical for 45 min in the morning and then doing it 25 min in the afternoon before a work out video like Barry's Bootcamp or Slim in 6. I have been shrinking but it does not seem to be fast enough!!!

All I can think about is pizza and chocolate!!! I have been eating around 1200 calories a day with lots of protien to help with the muscle recovery after the workouts. I figured that by doing this my body would have no choice but to burn the fat that I am carring. It is just not coming off as fast as it should.

Just wanted to know if others feel like giving up??? I am not going to because I promised myself I would do this for 21 days. (company comes in after that; it is hard to stay on plan when you have house guests!) I also REALLY want to loose this weight before the big vacation.

I guess I am venting and also looking for some inspiration.

Thanks!!

I am on day 86 and I have lost 43 pounds. I CAN'T allow myself to think about throwing in the towel. I run a minimum of one hour on the elliptical and many times as much as two hours.

I have a 140 pounds to lose total with a little more than 100 left to go.

The reason why I cannot throw in the towel? Because I am trying to save my life. I have sky high blood pressure and cholesterol. Lower leg edema, pre-diabetic and according to my doctor a prime candidate for a heart attack or stroke if I don't do some thing now.

I WISH I only had 40 pounds to lose (I would have hit goal last week!)

If you give up you start over at square one again and somebody my age I just don't have that much time left to keep doing that.

If I can hang in there so can you!

I don't get it. 7 pounds in 12 days is too slow? That's 4 pounds a week.

7 lbs in 12 days is fantastic. That's more than most people will lose and it's probably faster than you will lose as you continue. Not to bring you down, but the truth is that you usually lose faster at the beginning due to an initial water loss. If you expect to lose at that rate continually, you will likely be disappointed. Weight loss is usually 1-2 lbs a week on average, sometimes less.

Don't throw in the towel!! You are doing great but I think you are driving yourself a little crazy with your own expectations. Weight loss takes time.

To answer your question for myself, I think about throwing in the towel a lot!! But it's not an option. Where would that leave me? Weight loss is frustrating and slow but it's better than the alternative.

I don't know what your weight is/was at the start, but you are STARVING.
1200 calories with that amount of exercise is too much. Your body will go into starvation mode, and you will have a harder time losing weight than ever.

I can't understand why you think you are not losing weight fast enough if you have lost 7 pounds in 12 days! Thats a lot, unless you are extremely heavy to start with.
To keep this weight off, give yourself a bit of a break. If you eat say 1500-1800 calories instead, you could probably manage this even with houseguests, and not cheat. And you wouldn't feel so awful after your exercise. It is so hard to stay on plan when you are so restricted and working so hard with exercise.

The weight will come off, and stay off if you take your time.
you can do it. and you will look great for your vacation

What's the rush?

I think one of the reasons that I've been able to stick with this is because I made sure not to be too strict, not to totally deprive myself. I'm completely sure I would have given up after a few weeks if I tried to lose it all so quickly. As for your calorie level, some people can stick to that, but I would be starving if I started out that low.

eat something now! you are starving yourself at 1200 cal/ day with that much working out. Keep it up and you will ruin your metabolism so eat more now. Just keep it to whole foods that fill you up.

in my experience when you cut calories and workout super hard it leads to a big binge that sets you way back.

Whenever I have lost weight, it always takes me about 21 days to get in a real groove. After that point the cravings lessen and my routine is pretty established and it seems easier.

I don't know if this applies to others, but please hang in there. I bet it will get easier for you too.

I totally understand where you are coming from but think.....its not the destination, its the journey.Think of all you will learn on your way, about yourself and healthy eating.It is so much information.You need to take the time to soak it all in to make a lifestyle change.Dont give up.Trust me, if you do you will find yourself starting all over again in the future.

Gosh, I have to agree with some of the other posters--your expectations are unrealistic.

A healthy rate of weight loss is usually around 2 pounds a week, not a pound a day... Don't let shows like Biggest Loser make you think any differently.

You are not eating enough to support all the exercise you are doing!

You may think that less food and more exercise is better, but it's not like that. When you stress your body that much, you lose muscle and other tissue as well as fat. You break yourself down! It's no wonder you are tired, hungry, and frustrated.

I'd say, ease up. Make yourself a realistic calorie plan based on your size, age, and activity level. Don't try to lose so fast--fast off is fast to come back, in most cases.

It never hurts to check with a doctor or other health professional, either.

Don't give up--just make adjustments.

Jay

Thank you everyone! The reason my goal is huge is because the vacation is my daughters wish. We are going to Disney World and I know there will be pictures, running around, and I just want to give my daughter everything she wants because she deserves it. That is why the goal is so big.

I ran cross country in college and I know how to eat healthy and as a family we have great eating habits. During all my daughters treaments and surgeries, I let myslef eat whatever because I was stressed and worried. I guess my hope was to not eat as much, especially the breads, and the weight would just start falling off. I am going to revise the plan a bit so I do not get frustrated. However, I still want the end goal!! I want to be able to give my daughter all the piggy-back rides, and running around she wants!!

Thank you!
I love these boards!

i agree with what everyone else is saying. i think most importantly you need to reevaluate your goals. this was a trap that i fell into so many times that caused me to fail. i would always set some sort of unrealistic goal for myself and have everything riding on it. when it became clear it wasn't possible i would become depressed, beat myself up about it, and then give up. this kind of cycle is completely unproductive. set smaller mini goals for yourself that you can reach to keep yourself motivated.
i know you think you need to lose 40 amount of weight by a certain special occasion or target date, but if you scale back your goal to maybe 20 pounds (which i still think is a bit ambitious, to be honest), you may not be your ideal weight, but you will at least be that much smaller than you are now. and that, my friend, is a victory in itself. take them where you can get them. and don't give up!

Why the deadline of May to lose the weight? You seem to be desperate to get it off in a huge hurry and, to me, that's a sign that you aren't going to stick with anything long enough to make a difference. You're off to a fast start and you'll Hare out long before May with the current attitude about weight loss (IMO).

If you allow yourself to try the tortoise approach and shoot for a loss of 1-2 lbs. per week, you'll be able to have more of what you crave in moderation. It won't be so hard and so painful. It won't be as 'fast' but 6 months from now you'll still be losing and the habits you develop will be more likely to stick.

I'd love to be getting my weight off faster but I've finally realized it isn't about how fast it comes off- it's about how long you stick with your changes. If they are reasonable, they are livable. I don't think what you are presently doing will be sustainable for you over the long haul but I could absolutely be wrong. I guess I just wanted to point out that it's OKAY to go at it slow and steady and that particular route is much more likely to end in the results you desire long-term, even if the short term seems harder.

First of all, 12 pounds in two weeks is amazing!

I really do think you
are exercising too much. Overall, once you add in the exercise videos, you are doing an hour and a half. There are numerous studies that show that the body doesn't shed fat after 60 minutes. I also agree with everyone saying you are eating too low.

Also, what if you don't make your goal by May? There is a high chance you won't. Will the vacation be horrible? Will your daughter love you any less? NO. You would still be much healthier and stronger than before. Definitely scale back your goal because you are setting yourself out to be disappointed. When this company comes, will you not keep eating healthy after that? Stop exercising? I have company every now and again, they never know I'm on a diet. I've even visited other family and you could hardly tell. I'd eat my own healthy breakfast, healthy lunch and a scaled back normal dinner. I still lost those weeks. ^_^

And no, I don't feel like throwing in the towel. I know if I do, I will regain and my body will hurt. After what I experienced this last time getting off plan, I know I can never go back. It was stressing my heart too much and heart disease is in my family. When I think about chocolate, I look at my points/calories, and consider if I truly need it/want it. If I figure out if I CAN have it, I do. Same with pizza but I usually get the Kashi pizza and add more veggies.

Also, faster weight loss can damage your skin so much. Normal, safe weight loss is 1-2 lbs a week. There is a chance for plateaus. What will you do if you plateau? Will you give up? You need to lose weight for YOU. Not your daughter, not your family, not the media. YOU.

No, I never want to give up. Doesn't mean I always feel like doing what needs to be done, doesn't mean that every now and then I don't get darn frustrated and tired about having to do it, but giving up is no longer an option for me.

I made the decision to be healthy, I'm in it for the long haul and that is that. I made the commitment. No turning back. No throwing in the towel. Just forging ahead. Luckily, any feelings of the "it's too hard", " I don't feel like it", "why me?", doesn't last very long as I am once again reminded of all the incredible benefits and rewards that come with leading a healthy lifestyle and being a healthy weight.

To the OP, yes revise those goals. They're too steep. Ease up on yourself. Tweak that plan of yours and enjoy that trip with your daughter.