Okay, so it seems like no matter what I do, I can't lose weight. Recently, I've cut out the diet pills and everything else, have just been watching what I eat, cutting calories back a bit, and adding in a bit of exercise here and there when I can (whereas there was no exercise before). Is it possible I started OUT on a plateau instead of losing some weight and then hitting it? It's been almost a month and everytime I step on teh scale, it's always somewhere between 167 and 170, never the same (I weight myself a few times a week). It feels like I'm going nowhere. A guy friend says that part of it might be stress, which I'm sure it is, but I can't seem to get un-stressed.



Any suggestions, anyone? About anything I said would be nice. I need some encouragement.

Are you tracking your calories? What kind of exercise are you doing? How many calories are you eating per day? Where are those calories coming from?

Maybe you can post what you eat on a regular day, and what type of exercise you do throughout the week so that we can help you out better.

Hey!

Your approach seems somewhat vague from how you've described it. Most folks have to be more systematic. What does "watching what I eat" and "cutting calories back a bit" and "adding a bit of exercise here and there" amount to, really?

For many years I took this same approach, and found I didn't make much progress. To do better, I had to know how much I ate every day and what my target calories were. I had to exercise 4 or 5 days a week.

So, I wouldn't say you're starting out on a plateau. I'd say you probably need to do a little more! You can do it! Start by tracking your foods with a list or with one of the online calorie trackers (such as FitDay).

Jay

I think you need to be more organized about what you're doing. You should actually track what your eating, how many calories eaten, what type of exercise are you doing and how long and how frequent.

If you just sporadically eat healthy and sporadically work out, you won't know what you're doing right or wrong. You wouldn't get in your car and drive across the country without a map, would you? It's the same with weight loss. You need a plan to measure against.

I agree with Jay. It is still possible to eat too many calories by guesstimating and exercise here and there might not be enough to create a calorie deficit. I've found that a plan is essential for weight loss/maintenance (others may have a different experience). Maybe even start for one week recording everything that you eat. The Daily Plate or Fitday are good places to track that. Once you know where you are, you know where to go.

You could also give us a typical day of food. Beware that bites, licks, and tastes add up. I found that I consumed about 300 calories in finishing my kids' plates. That's practically another meal's worth of calories.

I agree with all the above. I had lots of attempts to lose weight that started like that, but to really lose I had to be consistent about eating less and moving more.

As midwife said, track every bite, lick and taste (including what you drink) to figure out what you're currently eating (and maintaining on). Once you know your maintenance numbers, you can start to cut calories to lose.

Same thing with exercise. Set some concrete goals for each week!

Add me into the I agree with all the others list.

I really wouldn't call what you're on a plateau. Just a self-induced one, perhaps. And stress, in and of itself doesn't cause weight gain. If one EATS TOO MUCH because they're stressed, well that's another matter entirely.

It definitely sounds like you must be tigher and stricter with what you're doing. It's obviously not causing enough of a calorie deficit on a consistent basis to provide you with weight loss. Watching what you eat, cutting back your calories a bit - it's just not enough.

One needs to restrict their calories day after day after day. Add in exercise day after day after day. Losing weight IS a doable thing and any one CAN do it. Get yourself a plan. Check out fitday.com or some other calorie monitoring site, start tracking your calories. Add in exercise at least 4 days a week. You'll be on your way, downward that is.

No, I don't think it's a plateau, your in maintenance. You have figured out how much food you can eat, and how much exercise you have to do to maintain your weight at 168ish. Actually that's good news. Because if you hadn't been "trying" you probably would have gained another 10 pounds before you knew it. So far, so good! You have made a great first step.

Now, as the brilliant women above have pointed out, you need to determine how many actual calories you are eating to maintain your 168 pound weight...and then drop your calories to lose. Keep on keeping on!

I like how you put it, Lori, but the problem is, I've really lowered my calorie intake already. Per day, as compared to before, I'm now consuming around 1300 calories a day. For workouts, I have a few DVD's I have (Carmen Electra's Aerobic Striptease It's awesome) and I ride on a stationary bicycle about twice a week. I know the exercise isn't much...but I was kind of trying to ease myself into the bike part of it, starting at 30 minutes at a time, then working my way upwards, since I didn't have much exercise incorporated before this.

I've basically cut fast food from my diet altogether, and when I have to go to a fast food place, I make sure that I've checked the nutritional facts for it first, and even then, I'll normally get the smallest size I can because it fills me up. I hardly drink soda anymore, which compared to before, when I woudl drink at least one a day if not more, is a HUGE step for me. I've added in drinking more water too (sometimes with Crystal Light).

raelin, have you tried intervals? also, up your water and fiber to unreal levels and cut all artificial sweetner...these steps sound simple I know but I promise it works for me LIKE A CHARM

Yes Raelin ... is that your real name? Pretty!
Your battle will probably be against discouragement.

You seem to have a good head on your shoulders and are aware of the many things you can tweak. All you have to do now is stick with it while you try things. I think it's Tom Venuto who recommends trying new things for two weeks. (two weeks??? I'm pretty impatient for that)

Now that you, more or less, have a routine ... just tweak it. And you already know some tweaking options.

And if you have trouble staying optimistic, visit here with us!