Hi all...I'm just frustrated so the following post is a long whine so please take that with a grain of salt....I just needed to vent:

Well I'm getting frustrated. I've been working my bootie off and eating within my calories and I am not losing! I know...I know...muscle gain...takes time...I know. I've been working out 5-6 days a week for at least an hour for 6 weeks now (30 minutes bike and 30 treadmill with weights 2 X a week). I've been eating between 1500 and 1600 calories every day with only one slip up day (where I was still around 1800 calories). I started at the end of March at 184 and went down to 182.5 and have pretty much stayed there for 3 weeks. I was down to 179 last weigh in and today I'm back up to 181.5!!!! It's probably water weight but it always takes me another week to work that weight back off. It's just frustrating because I've been under 180 3 times and gone right back up within a week. No big jumps on the scale ever for me....except for jumps up. It seems like I can't stay under 180 to save my life.
I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. I have lost 1 lousy inch on my waist and 3/4 an inch on my hips and that's it. Any ideas?? I wasn't great on my water yesterday and I'm trying to do better today. I've all ready had 2 glasses. I'm hoping it is muscle since I was COMPLETELY sedentary before. I just need to be more patient. I was hoping to lose more by now. I'm going to keep trying my best (same workout stuff and calories) until Memorial Day. I was hoping to be 175 then but I'll be happy if I'm just below 180 by then. If not...I'm going to go crazy!!!!

Ok, I feel better now. Thanks for reading....

AmberM

Yup indeedy you need your WATER! It shifted nearly a whole pound for me when I started gulping it down big time!

Also just chill, plateaus happen, keep going with what you're doing. Maybe try different cardio if you're finding it's getting easier. Your calories sound about right for your weight, so don't try and cut any more otherwise you'll go into "starvation mode"! Maybe take an extra day's rest for your body to recouperate. Some people recommend 5 days exercise and 2 days off, just do as your body feels with that I guess!

Keep going, I know it's frustrating (see my name - I'm little miss plateau!) but don't stop keeping on, cos then you'll be even more bummed out!

Good luck!

Hi Amber!

Great job on all the working out and eating well!

I doubt you're doing anything wrong. It took me forever to lose this 30ish pounds... since last July (uh thats like 3.75 pounds a MONTH), with a lot of staying the same and all that. But I just kept it up.

I'd suggest to you to just try playing with your food a little... one thing i tried (my goal is 1500 cals a day) is to just average 1500 cals for the week. So eat a little more one day, alittle less another, etc. Kind of shocks the bod. Another thing I tried was upping my cals for a few days, like 1800 for four days, and then going back to 1500. It definitely helped. Or maybe change when you eat... if you arent eating every 2 to 3 hours, try that. Just play around and see what works for you.

Another thing that helps is shaking up the exercise routine. Even if you really like the treadmill, you can do different things with it. For example, sprints one day -- 2 mins running, then 2 mins walking, and on and on. Then another day you can put the incline all the way up and walk at 4.0 (or whatever). And then another day just jog.... these are only examples, of course. ANOTHER thing I like (and I am going on and on and on...) is incorporating my cardio with my weight training. So I'll do a circuit type thing... one upper body excercise, then one lower body exercise, then one ab, then 5 mins of cardio, and then I do it again. Or if I'm just doing upper body that day, I'll do three sets of shoulder, then cardio, then three sets of back, then cardio, etc...

and drink your water!!! lots!

I know how it feels to be frustrated, but we're here for you and its great that you came here instead of heading for the local mcdonalds (which im sure we have all wanted to do at one time or another). just keep trying your best and the weight will come off!!!!!

Hang in there! Plateaus are really frustrating. Like 2frustrated said, try drinking more water. It made a huge difference for me.

Chances are that you have built up a LOT of muscle since you say you started from nothing. Once I started working out with a lot of cardio (running), I was basically plateaued for a few months! Now I am finally losing again. Losing 1 inch off your waist in six weeks of exercise is certainly not slow -- I usually lose about half an inch every four weeks, so an inch in six weeks is great!

Before you worry about your weight loss slowing down, take a look at your progress with your workouts. Are they getting easier? Are you feeling stronger and healthier? Because being healthy and fit is what it's really all about, more than the number on the scale. The last time I was upset about the scale not moving I thought to myself "Well, it hasn't moved more than a couple pounds for over a month. But in that time, I have improved my speed and endurance for running by a huge amount! So I'm definitely getting more fit." It's hard to convince yourself that fitness is better than being thin sometimes.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2410 has a lot of tips for getting off a plateau. Good luck! Don't forget that if it takes as long to get the weight off as it took to put it on, you're more likely to keep it off!

I just came off a plateau myself after sitting at 166 lbs for almost a month. I just kept reminding myself of how happy I was to be there intstead of where I used to be. Just hang in there you will make it.

Oh and maybe try looking at the way your clothes are fitting. I'm betting with all that excercise there is a pretty big difference. And a way more encouraging way to measure the loss when the scale isn't showing much. I have a pair of pants that don't fit that I periodically try on. It was so encouraging when I was able to get them over my hips for the first time. Still can't button them, but am much closer, and it gives me something to look forward to.

I agree with TannyMc try varying your caloric intake everyday so your body doesnt know what to expect- good luck hun, I definetly know how frustrating plateaus are!