i have been at this since july and it's not working! at first, i did lose some weight, but lately, i have been teetering between 138 - 142 pounds, back and forth. but i cannot get below 138. i know it's possible b/c i have been at 130 before, but i can't even get close to that anymore! i have been good at my eating, working out like crazy. i even added an extra day of fat burning cardio, making my workout week 5 days. my cals are good too. but i have lost nothing! i am so angry and frustrated! what is going on? why can't i be losing when everyone here is doing the same things as i am and are losing? i hate this dieting, i am at the end of my rope! please help!!!
gabrielbeth

Just curious - how many calories per day do you eat?

When this happened to me, I began tracking everything in fitday.com, and I started to weigh/measure everything to make sure my portion sizes were right. Perhaps that might be helpful.

yes, i always keep up with my cals on fit day. been doing that for many months now. i eat an average of 1400-1450, some days less, some days more. i don't gorge myself, but i don't deprive myself either. no junk like cake and cookies, that kind of stuff. i really doubt i am doing anything different than any other woman here. maybe it's just stress, b/c being a widow, i am ALWAYS stressed! i just want to lose the weight and that is adding to my stress BIG TIME!!!

Based on your build, 138 might be close to your ideal weight (I know you said you've been 130 before, but realistically how long ago and how long were you able to maintain such a low weight?). The closer I got to my ideal weight, the slower the weight loss. It took me nearly 9 months to go from 140 to 127.

gabrielbeth...your website is breath-taking and heart touching...Bless you and YOUR families hearts...

At 5'6" you have a normal BMI and to be 120 you would be at the bottom of your range. Might I suggest you not worry about the scale and focus on body measurements? Do you do weight training in addition to the cardio? Perhaps weights are not for everyone but it's truly possible at this point that the only healthy changes you will see in your body are through a weight training program.

I agree,you are well within a healthy weight range.

I have found the biggest loser dvd and I love it...it has on their a strentgh and sculpt that is easy and it has helped me tone up just after 6 wks. give it a try and see what you think...

yeah, i do cardio 3 xs a week and weights (better known as bodysculpting) 2 xs a week at the gym. i was about 130 or less pretty soon after my son was born in 2003 and was at 133 when my husband died almost 2 years ago. a year after he died is when i gained this excess weight. i know i can get smaller, it's just frustrating, as you all probably know. i have a closet full of 6's and i can't get into them. i'm sick of 8 - 10's when i got my old clothes sitting there! i know, pretty vain, i just can't help it. i need to get back to the old me before i can even think about getting out in the dating world again. i don't want to be a fat chick anymore. i may be in my weight range they state, but i am still "fat" and you have to remember that they have up'd those weights b/c america is getting fatter. just a thought!
thanks, more suggestions would be great!!!
gabrielbeth

Actually, I believe that recently they revised DOWN the BMI that is the cutoff for obesity. It used to be that 32 was obese...now it's 30. America got fatter because the cutoff moved down.

A size 8-10 is not fat! I can understand your longing to get into a size 6, but I also think maybe you need to cut yourself a little slack.

It sounds like you are putting a lot of pressure on yourself. Since you are so frustrated with the diet, maybe it would be good to take a maintenance break for a few months, then try again.

You could also try some of the suggestions in this post by Charles78: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93510

Also, are you absolutely sure you aren't making any progress? Have you taken your measurements? Had your body fat measured? Sometimes the scale stalls (due to water retention, building muscle, etc.) even though you might still be getting smaller. This has definitely been my experience as I get closer to my goal weight. If you have significantly reduced your body fat % or increased your muscle mass, than it may not be realistic for you to get back down to the weight you were before.

- Barbara

I'll also start by saying that you are definitely not fat. Your weight is normal, I'd kill to be in an 8/10 right now, AND I saw you on John Edwards the other night, and I thought you looked fantastic!
But, we all have to be happy with ourselves, and it's admirable that you are so determined to hit your goal-you're really close!

I would suggest taking a break also. You've been dieting for a while, and exercising pretty strenuously-maybe give your metabolism a boost for a week or two. Eat at your maintenance level for calories, and cut your workouts back to 2 or 3 days instead of 5. You won't gain weight, so you won't be any worse off than your stall what could it hurt? Relaxing about it a little may help your stress level too, and stress really does affect our immune systems as well as our ability to lose weight. Not to mention how enjoyable it might be to not be "dieting" for a little while.....
Vitamin B-12 taken in sublingual form is also supposed to boost metabolism. I just started taking it myself....you can buy it in drops, pellets, or little sheets that dissolve on the tongue at any health/drug store. It's not expensive. Don't bother with tablets or capsules. Most can't be absorbed properly enough to make a difference.
The only other thing I can think of (and what I'm also trying in my desperation) would be to change the types of foods you're eating. There is a definite link between regulating insulin and blood sugar spikes with fat storage. You can try cutting back on the carbohydrate percentage of your daily calories-not just cakes and cookies, but starches like bread, rice, potatos, cereal and pasta can do the same thing to our insulin levels that actual sugar does. Not that those things are bad for us, but we process all carbohydrates in our calories first before we burn any fat for fuel, and cutting back on them may help you break your plateau. Good luck, girl!

i'm also 5'6" and i was exactly where you are. After about 6 months i've gotten down to 131 and won't budge, i am trying to get to 128 and i swear i won't be happy until i reach that goal. But that said i worked out 6 days a week and ate about 1300 calories and realized i was working out too much and not eating enough. So now i do about 30 minutes of cardio every other day and strength train on the others, and eat about 1400 calories, this system helped me shed a few more pounds. Adding more "good fats" has seemed to help too. Rather than having those 100 calorie snack packs, i have an all natural peanut butter and strawberry sandwich. I've also added more fiber.
Even though i still will not be satisfied until i lose those two more pounds the comments i'm starting to get from my friends and family are very encouraging. It makes me realize that maybe i'm obsessing a bit too much and just don't see all the progress i have made. Because other people have really started to take notice. So hang in there, even though i know exactly how you feel. You'll make it.

thanks everyone! b/c of my recent frustrations, i have kind of not been eating as good as usual, but now i am ready to get back into it 100%. with the words of encouragement, i know now i can do it! i gotta just keep truckin' it can be depressing when we are trying so hard and not seeing any results. and with my depression, obsession with the weight, and stress combines, it's even harder. but thanks for your lifting me up and pushing me!!!
gabrielbeth