I have been working out 2 to 3 hours a day for the past two weeks. I've been pushing myself harder to get past what I feel may be a plateau. But my weight has been fluctuating between 200 and 204 and I'm just SO FRUSTRATED. I've been getting emotional, I keep pushing myself and I'm not trying to quit but it's been so hard. It means so much to me to get past that line and finally weigh in at 199 and stay there. I have never reached below 199 and stayed there since I was a kid.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong and if anyone has any ideas on what I can do to just push past this frustrating weight fluctuation.

The more frustrated I get the harder I workout in the gym but none of it is showing on the scale! Its so hard to push myself to run and just really put my all into my workouts and see my scale not show any change at all. My weight has only stayed above 200. I need help here -- does anyone know any plateau busting diets or something I can give a try?

What's your eating plan like? Are you eating enough to fuel your body for your long workouts? Are you eating too much?

i've been doing Atkins but its made me feeel deprived i want to do something healthy and balanced any advice? any good meal plans out there?

I do calorie counting. It's fairly simple and it's FREE. I track my calories, and even my exercise, at sparkpeople.com for FREE. You can check out more on calorie counting and other eating plans at the Diet Central here - http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/#diet-central

My biggest tip on eating plans is to find something that suits you and your lifestyle that is healthy and doable for life. Good luck

i count my calories tooooo. for me its the only plan i can stick with.

http://weightloss.about.com/od/backt...ntcalories.htm

if you're not familiar with how it works, thats a great article.
best of luck, getting that scale to budge under 200 can seem to take forever!

just fyi that site explains how calorie counting works well, but i wouldnt use any of their calculators to determine you're calorie needs. most are based on government estimates and i think i heard one time that the government isn't always right....

If you are doing atkins, I suggest upping the fat!
Yes indeed, you need the extra calories for the exercise and oddly, the extra fat can help the weight go down better, and make you feel less deprived.
good luck, you can do it

Caliyah -

We are weight loss 'twins' - about the same height, the same starting weight, and at about the same spot. It took me SO LONG to get to onederland - it was initially my goal for Labor Day, then Thanksgiving, then New Years, then I FINALLY made it in May. So I definitely share your frustration. But I was losing crazy inches (I'm a size 12 pants now) and having lots of other NSVs related to fitness. I know it's hard to keep in perspective, but the scale isn't the only (or even the most important) measure.

I've been calorie counting (but not strictly), trying to follow the insulin resistance plan (moderate but not low carb, balancing carbs with proteins, basically) and have really upped exercise - both cardio (running, mostly) and strength training. If you are doing atkins, I imagine you're eating a fair amount of meat and cheese, so the sodium could be throwing you off.

My only piece of advice would be to keep an eye to calories, and perhaps try calorie cycling - eating more one day, less the next. If you feel that atkins isn't sustainable, maybe try this out - even for a week or two, and see how you feel and how the scale responds.

Hang in there! Keep working hard! You can do it!

Exercise is great but you will have more success if you have a diet plan, too. I find that calorie counting works best for me. I plan all my meals ahead of time, this takes about 5 minutes a day to plan my menus and stay within my caloeie allowance .

It may be better to pace your exercise. I stick to walking, mostly, and my diet is heavily centered on fruits and vegetables and moderate amounts of protein and dairy. Try several kinds of exercises and see what your body responds best to. The same goes for food- try different kinds of food to see what helps you lose weight best. Good luck.

Dhani

Well... what's your calorie deficit?

Do you wear a hear rate monitor when you exercise? What does that say your calories burned is? Do you food log? What does that say your intake is?

If everything is correct and you are tracking accurately, I'd next check sodium level -- salt is known for causing water retention. Also, where you are in your cycle -- shifting hormones can cause water bloat too.

And how long have you been stuck here? If just a short time, keep at it. Bodies take time to respond. If a longer time, perhaps a physical to make sure nothing else is going on?

I ended up hypothyroid and honestly -- until my meds for that were correct NOTHING I did moved anything. But once it was right, Calories burned - calories eaten was my calorie deficit.

And racking up -3500 calories was -1 lb on the scale very predictably.

GL!
A.

thanks so much ladies! i'm going to start calorie counting.....my TOM is just finishing up right now so I guess I'm bloated probably..I just started panicking because I'm just so desperate to get over this hurdle. I will keep at it thanks! I think I'm def going off Atkins -- I need carbs in my life.

Good luck, hang in there and don't give up