[stuckinTX]

Hi all. Glad to see such a great support group. Here's my story. I am a 33 YO mom of 1. I weigh 132 and I am 5'5". I am in good health and am struggling to lose my final 5 lbs of fat that is stuck on my waist and rear. I have been in a year long plateau so I got a personal trainer. I work out 3x a week with him and he has me eating 1500 calories a day. I also do cardio 4-5 x per week in addition to my trainer's workout. The problem is that I am still not getting any results!! My frustration level is extremely high because I am putting in so much effort for no results. I am doing something wrong but I am not sure what. I eat a healthy diet, track it with FitDay and eat 6 small meals a day.

[lucky]

Are you certain that you need to lose those last five pounds? The scale can be decieving especially if you are particularly fit and muscular. If you haven't already, I would suggest that you start tracking your measurments rather than your weight. But, keep in mind that there is no such thing as spot reduction so while you may be able to target your waist and rear by strength training for those areas you can't force extra fat from them.

I understand your frustration and I hope you find a solution that makes you happy- even if it is just accepting your current weight.

[stuckinTX]

I am hard on myself, and acceptance is certainly one alternative. But have you ever been just so close to achieving the goal? Getting so close and not getting there makes me feel like a failure. I really want to have the body that I want. I am willing to put the work in, etc. I am just so close and I know that to many this seems silly but it is very important to me and a goal I really want to achieve. I hope that makes sense.

[formerskinnychick]

At 5'5 and 132...you sound like you look healthy and are healthy. But then again I am not you or your trainer. Don't be so discouraged, I am sure it will come off soon. Good luck!

[lucky]

I absolutley understand, stuckinTx. I am the same way myself so I know how frustrated you must be. I didn't mean to imply that you not continue striving to meet your goal or work for the body that you want. My point was just that you may be able to get the body you want (reach your goal!) without losing another five pounds. Tweaking your goal won't make you a failure. After all, there's more than one way to skin a cat!

Regardless, I am sure you will be able to tackle the last five pounds if that is what you want to do. You seem very determined. Just don't let them frustrate you in the meantime. Appreciate your health and body as it is and think of any progress from here on out as gravy. Maybe that way you won't feel quite so discouraged. Good luck to you!

[stuckinTX]

Thanks all. I think I am too focused on the scale. My trainer has me doing weights so I am probably putting on muscle. but I don't understand how the body can add muscle if in a calorie deficit. Maybe I'll post that question in the body builder section. By the way Jawsmom -- what wonderful progress you have made! Did you take before/after pictures?

[3fcuser1058250]

Other than having bragging rights of that 5# you want to lose, what would be the purpose of losing those 5# so quickly? I have those last 10# to lose also and they are the most difficult to lose. Before this 10# I lost 12# in a whole year ... It is discouraging to say the least, so I do understand.

I agree with the others, measure your successes now by how your clothes feel, how your muscles are showing all the hard work you are doing in the gym. Also if you are training in the gym heavy you will build some great muscles that are IMO much nicer to look at than the 5# on the scale... Although weigh-in ourselves is important it's not the MOST important aspect of being healthy...

[lucky]

stuckintx, I wish I had taken before/after pictures! I pretty much hid from the camera before I started losing weight. I know there is a big difference though because when we've had pictures developed recently I've looked through and wondered, "who is that lady?" only to realize that it is ME!

[3fcuser1058250]

stuckinTX -- Here is a great example of NSV (non scale victories)... I decided this afternoon to measure myself because I felt that I handn't moved in progress in a while. Special with that dang scale! So I measured my usual spots, chest, waist, hips, thighs and bicep.

Since January 2005
chest: lost 1.75 inches
waist: gain .25 inches
hips: lost .50 inches
thighs: lost .50 inches
bicep: lost .75 inches
Scale loss: 2 lbs.
Inches lost: 2.75
The above doesn't seem like much BUT .....
Since January 2002
chest: lost 6.25 inches
waist: lost 3.0 inches
hips: lost 4.5 inches
thighs: lost 3.5 inches
bicep: lost 2.75 inches
Scale loss: 16 lbs
Inches lost: 20

Soooo my point here is: In the LONG run, the very LONG run, it seems at times, we do lose inches and weight. We just have to keep plugging away, one day at a time, one minute at a time sometimes it seems... So hang in there, EVENTUALLY you'll win the race.

Also, I imagine that if I would've given up half way through my journey I would not be where I am now... My BF according to one site I use regularly has gone from 26.3% body fat with an "acceptable" level to 21.6% BF with a "fitness" level a hairline away from "athlete" level.... Also in 3.5 years my size has gone from a tight 14 to a very loose 8 bordering on a size 6...

Anywhooo, pretty long winded eh? Sorry about that, I just wanted to put into perspective how important other NSV are... I hope this helps...

Like Jawsmom said take pics, they ARE worth a thousand words!!!