Ok i started my weight loss plan a month ago, thinking at least in the first 1-2 months i'd lose 5 pounds a month, and as i get smaller, weight loss would become very slow. Well today, i'm back up to 155, which means i've only lost 3.5 pounds in a month!!! I know my weight can vary by a pound or so just for no reason at all...but come on, this is ridiculous! The reason it's ridiculous is that i've been eating 1800-2000 calories a day, which is about HALF of what i used to eat!! Not to mention i'm eating whole, clean foods and i used to eat 1000 calories worth of chocolate in a day, easily.

I DO admit that i've binged every weekend, but all but one of those binges were just what i would have NORMALLY eaten in a day!! On my binge days i ate 3000-3600 calories, which is what i used to eat EVERY SINGLE DAY. I did have ONE binge that was over that. But that's it.

So it just doesn't make sense that i've lost almost no weight. Oh and i've increased the exercise too...but no it's not muscle mass...i've just been doing a little more cardio than i used to, but nothing extra that would increase my muscle mass.

I was so frustrated that i thought about eating chocolate for breakfast (after my hour-long swim of course) and just giving up. But then i realized i kinda like my new lifestyle. It feels kinda good to exercise self-control and not eating sugar for every meal and in between every meal. So i guess i will just plow on :/

Hey hun, I feel your pain I really do. It can be so frustrating to not see the scale budge! Your binge days may actually be hurting you more than you think. I used to binge on the weekends about the same as you and I managed to stop my weight loss until I quit binging. Another idea is to do a detox. Your body may be a little toxic still from your previous lifestyle. When I hit a plateau I juiced veggies and fruits for a week straight and lost 5 pounds and then continued to lose after that when I went back to eating whole foods (with some exceptions ).

I am glad to see you are not limiting your calories too harshly. You may want to go a little tiny bit lower on the days you do not exercise as much. Keep in mind that based on you stats you are not incredibly heavy so the weight just naturally will come off slower. When I was 250 I could gain/lose 10 pds in 2 days. Now, it takes me much, much longer!

Keep the hope sweety. You sound like you are making some awesome changes and it can be SO frustrating, I know, but eventually it will pay off. Keep up the good work and maybe make 1 or 2 adjustments and you should see results soon. If not, maybe go to the doctor to see if it is not attributed to something else (like thyroid). Hope this helps!

Thanks. You know what... there were ZERO days where i didn't exercise much!! On normal days i'll do two exercise sessions (one before work, one after), some are medium intensity (i.e. a run or a swim for 30-60 minutes), others are low intensity (i.e. a 7-mile walk). There was not a single day where i didn't do at least ONE exercise session. That's another reason i'm frustrated.

But you are right about the binging. I think i will try to not complain TOO much until i stick with this lifestyle MINUS THE BINGES for a month. If THEN I don't lose another 5 pounds, i have something to complain about.

For me, the first few months of cardio or weight lifting can really make me hold onto weight, but I feel better, I look less jiggly, and it eventually passes.

Give it some time - you don't have a lot to lose, but eating well and working out are healthy for your body regardless. You will see positive changes from it if you just keep going and let go of the number on the scale

I definitely feel you there... when you are pushing your body like crazy and notseeing any results it is SO disheartening. Have you measured your waist/hips/thighs/arms? Sometimes weight doesn't budge but inches are lost.

Try to limit to one binge day or a half a binge day. Maybe only 2300 or 2500 cals one day. Just keep moving forward that is all we can do. I heard somewhere that when you hit a plateau your body is really just adjusting itself. It needs time before it can start losing again. That doesn't mean go easy, it means go as hard as you can (like you are doing) until you have broken through.

Good luck!

Mirax--i would not consider 2300-2500 calories a binge day at all. In fact, i do plan to eat slightly more on the weekends (i'm thinking 2200-2300 calories maybe) and i should still be at a deficit on those days. If i were 140 pounds i could see how i can't afford those extra calories, but really, 2300 calories on weekends would still be 1000 less than i used to eat.

Munchy--you are right. Another reason i am doing this is that i horrible gum recession, and starches and sugars are supposed to be really bad for your dental health. So if i don't want to wear dentures by the age of 40 (i may be exaggerating here, but the dentist did say i am already in danger of losing at least 1 tooth), i need to stick with a good diet.

I had a similar experience. I cut out at least 1000 calories of coke a day, full fat sour cream, cheese, etc. I actually gained weight! It took me 2 months to see a loss. Let your body adapt. Keep on making your new lifestyle changes. It will happen.

Soooo good to hear!

You lost 3.5lb! That's great. Your weight is within the range of normal, you're eating near maintenance calories and you're bingeing on the weekend. If I were you I would be THRILLED at the loss.

I'm not eating maintenance calories! I'm eating HALF of what i was eating to maintain at 158.5. In fact, back in October 2011, i weighed 148 while eating 3000+ calories per day!!! (I have no idea how or why). I have a bunch of clothes i bought at that time that do not fit me anymore I guess i have to just accept that that was some kind of lucky aberration, and that i can't expect to be able to overeat all the time, just because i could in the past.

So, you are bingeing, eating near maintenance and almost at goal weight and you complain about only losing 3 pounds?

That's a great loss. When so close to goal weight, losing becomes very very slow. 1 pound a week is considered to be an awesome loss and you are almost achieving that... All well still bingeing on the weekends!

If it makes you feel better I've only lost 6 pounds since Sept.

But the trend is toward LOSING and not GAINING!

You are having a healthy loss and it is generally better to lose it slowly.

it is frustrating to see such little change, but you are making healthy choices, and you have lost. Keep it up. Try to make small changes, eat a little less during your binges, or make htem every other week. Too many changes too quickly will be hard to maintain.

Good luck!!! i feel your pain

I totally understand. The 150's hang around me like a virus...I want to be in the 140's so bad. Right there with you, OP.

Thanks everyone! I think I'm just having one of those days, which scares me because TOM isn't til NEXT week and are things going to get even worse then? After work I was tempted to stay home and eat instead of exercising, which I almost never do, and I knew if I did that I'd end up binging and in a very very bad state. Luckily I forced myself to go out for a walk and didn't binge.