Like the title says I am running out of steam, 7lb from my first goal 21lbs from my new goal.

I ride my bike for an hour a day, swim one night a week for two hours, eat sensibly and I am not getting no where. I am running out of steam.

I hate my handles, and my bele - i can live with my bum and i hate my legs! Grrrr, contemplated surgery but everyone says u dont need it ur not fat, ur gorgeous, but i cant help feeling fat.

Heres some piccies too for reference:

I started around your high weight and hit my big plateau about where you are (140). I plateaued there for months. It just gets harder to lose weight the closer you get to goal for numerous reasons.

What worked for me was "resting" for a few months. I moved into maintenance mode, increased calories to maintenance level (still eating healthy whole foods, no junk). A couple of months later, I dropped 2 lbs, while eating MORE calories per day then when I originally lost the initial weight.

It is my pet theory that the body starts to try to protect itself when calories are artificially low for a long period of time. The body doesn't know what a diet is, the body can't understand a human being deliberately NOT eating when food is available, it just sees months and months of low calories and reacts accordingly - slowing down the metabolism, holding on to fat reserves. I can't be mad at my body for reacting the way I would want it to react if I was really in a time of shortage.

Instead of finding motivation in weight loss, try to find motivation in your health. You are eating right, you are exercising, you are doing great things for your body. Come post in the maintainer's forum, look at this as practice for the rest of your life.

loopy, can I ask a question what does you calorie count look like. And what does a typical days menu look like. Oh and water intake. Sounds like maybe you need to tweak things a little.

i drink 3 - 4.5 litres of water a day, lol, very regular trips to the toilet. I eat cereal for breakfast, have a cheese or ham sandwhich for lunch, with white bread and no butter and a special k bar, and for tea i have beans on toast, or a ham salad or soup. I try not to snack, but when i do its normally a piece of fruit, and very rarely (once a week if that) a packet of crisps!

What type of cereal are you eating? Instead of white bread how about 100% whole wheat bread. I like to have apples or something as snacks throughout the day. Have you tried Fitday to see where everything is at and where you may need to improve at?

Sounds like you have done very good through all this. Just looks like you need to tweak things a little to further get to your goal.

Congrats on what you have lost so far.

when i started i thought by now id be getting some shape into my body! clearly not!

Do you do any ab exercises? Or toning exercises?

Loopy - I would definitely recommend more vegetables. "Cleaning" up your diet with more whole foods (lean protein, 5+ servings of vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, fruit) would help you accomplish your goals. Really work on eliminating as many processed foods as possible - special K bars aren't "diet" food, they are just glorified candy bars.

Nothing wrong with a sandwich for lunch, but there's a big difference between ham/cheese on white and a roast turkey on whole wheat with spicy mustard, spinach leaves and sliced tomatoes.

Hey there l00py!

It sounds like your routine has gotten stale on you also. Try mixing things up a bit. Glory had some good suggestions for different foods you could eat. You might be able to have an egg for breakfast now and then also--protein is good for you! As for exercise, maybe walk instead of bike a couple days a week. Or go swimming twice a week for half the distance each time. Just some things to make it different for you.

You're at a point now where you really are within sight of your goal. You can make it! You really can!

Jay

X

It sounds like you need to 'shake things up' a bit. Plateaus are the worst....your body gets used to what you're doing and needs a new challenge. You should try some kind of new fun exercise that you will enjoy. Have you tried bellydancing? Or- striptease aerobics? These are fun activities that you'll enjoy and you may even appreciate your body more. (In bellydancing, you actually will look better if you have a little belly.) Try the videos by the bellydance twins, Neena and Veena and the Carmen Electra Striptease aerobics aren't bad. I found a local place that even had pole-dancing classes. That was a workout!

For the diet, you will probably notice a difference right away if you try some wheat breads instead of white. I was ALWAYS a 'white bread' girl, but have recently (just this week) switched to wheat. I've noticed a difference and my digestive system is better than it was. I am by no means an expert on anything... I just have to change things up all of the time or my body gets used to what I'm doing. (Whether it's jogging 10 miles or eating the same thing every day)

X

im not trying to change the subject just a general question about the hula hoop does it burn fat as well as tone? i have ordered one too but it still hasnt came dang the royal mail on strike again and again and again!

X

I have the same belly, so I feel for you. Why don't you add some strength training and ab work, if you haven't already?