i have been hovering at 180 for almost 6 weeks. im seriously losing my mind. i did overeat yesterday and im on day 2 of my period, but i jumped from 179.6 to 181.2.

i am SO sick of seeing 180. ive tried less calories, more calories, zig zagging, NOTHING is helping!! im feeling so frustrated that i almost started crying this morning. i was so happy last week when i finally saw the 170s and i convinced myself that i was officially past this 180 slump, and now here i am again. i just feel like giving up, i cant stand seeing 180 any more!! i know im being a real whiner here, and maybe my period is partly to blame, but im just sick of working so hard all week to see myself at 180-182 every weigh in. ugh, i dont know what to do!

OK... deep breath now... Ahhhhhhh...

Just from what you've said, I think I can identify a couple of things you might want to think about.

First, stop weighing every day. I know this will be hard if you're used to it, but it is not helping you. Choose one day a week as your weigh-in day, and do not weigh in between. You are allowing a piece of machinery to dictate your mood.

Second, stop "trying everything." You need to choose ONE plan and STAY WITH IT for a significant length of time. Set a calorie target every day and try to get there. Don't change the target every week, don't change the zooming every week. Just stay with the plan.

And finally, don't go off plan and don't overeat. It sounds like you got real happy about those 170s--so happy you thought you ought to celebrate... and that is kinda messed up, if it means overeating.

Jay

It is most likely the period causing this. I retain the water until the very last day of my period. I know it's frustrating, but I bet you'll see a "whoosh" in a few days. Hang in there until then!

I am so confused?? This is what you wrote last night: And this is what you wrote 12 hours later:

So are you eating 1200 calories a day or are you zig-zagging, eating more and less constantly?

Remember if you ate a big meal last night, the contents are still in your colon. Poop weight....ya know?

well this has been going on for 6 weeks, so its not just a one time thing. i did overeat last night at a dinner party, but otherwise ive been on plan for over a month. i do only weigh myself once a week, on wednesday. after a few weeks i bumped up from 1000 to 1200. i tried zig zagging for a week, to no avail. if this was a one week gain id chalk it up to period/overeating last night, but this has just been going on for SO long, im going insane.

I would say when you try zig zagging, upping calories or even lowering calories (which I don't recommend for you but hey, what do I know?), you should try longer than a week. I usually give it 2 weeks or even 3 weeks then I tweak as neccesary.

If you do the same exercise routine everyday, your body can get in a rut and you will plateau. You might try changing up your exercise routine or trying something different.

Carol

juliastl27, you can expect that if you eat a really big dinner, you'll weigh more the next day. Get a grip now, girl!

All I can tell you is that I'm significantly older than you are, and when I weighed 180, I was eating an average of 1367 cals a day. But it took me a month to lose 3-1/2 pounds. That was a good rate of loss in my book.

Steady on--and if you really think you're "going insane," maybe find a counselor? One who specializes in food issues?

Jay

lol, im not actually going insane. i wrote this post RIGHT after i weighed myself when i was really frustrated. sometimes it is just SO hard. i expected to not lose much after my big meal last night, but i did not expect a 1.6lb gain when id been on plan all week. working hard for 6 weeks with almost no results is really hard, id welcome a 3.5 lb loss/month right now.

Looking at your ticker, it says you've lost 40 lbs. 40lbs!!!! So, can I ask you, what method did you use to lose those pounds? Had you been losing steadily and now been having trouble the last 6 weeks?

Oh and I 'm fairly certain that by you giving up - you'd most likely GAIN weight, not lose. So don't talk like that. It scares me. Seriously. It does.

Awaiting your answer.....

well, im a calorie counter. i kept reducing my calories whenever i hit a plateau, and was losing steadily. but then i got down to 1000 when i hit this one. i didnt want to cut any more. someone suggested i bump up to 1200, and ive been doing 1200. for a week i tried zig zagging, and i gained a bit, so ive been doing 1200 steady. yeah, i know i cant give up, i was just SO frustrated this morning.

You certainly can't cut those calories any further. Even with last nights dinner, your average is still kinda low-ish. Are you certain you're measuring accurately. Serving size wise and each and every bite, lick, taste and crumb?

Also, what KINDS of foods are you eating?

And lastly - what's your exercise routine? It may be time to kick that up a notch. What does your current program look like?

So for the last 6 weeks that you have been hovering around 180 you have eaten 1200 calories/day except for last night? The 1000 and zig/zagging was prior to this? Or am I still confued? According to your log, how may days in a row have you been at 1200, (except yesterday) without a loss?

i was at 1000 when i hit 181. after 3 or 4 weeks (during which i tried zig zagging) of not losing i was told i needed to bump up to 1200 b/c 1000 is too low. ive been doing 1200 for 2 weeks. last week i had a 1 lb loss, and this week i gained 1.6 lb. before i started doing 1200 it was about the same, lose a lb one week, gain it back, etc.

yes, i obsessively count EVERYTHING. im mostly eating whole grains and protein. exercise is tough for me because i have bad asthma, so my routine is just to walk 30-45 minutes/day.

the only thing is, i dont drink much water. i am a confirmed soda addict and i drink tons of diet soda. i know that diet soda isnt healthy, but would switching to water REALLY help with weight LOSS? since diet soda has 0 calories, i cant see switching making a huge difference..