Hey, chicks! I've already introduced myself in the Introduction forum, but hello again!

My name is Kate and I'm 31, 5'7" and 160 pounds. Ugh. I have a wonderful husband (who gained a bunch of weight right along with me, bless him) and a beautiful baby girl who is responsible for only about 8 of the pounds I've lost since giving birth to her on 5/4/08.

Anyway, the following have happened in my life since August of 2007:

1. I quit smoking.

2. I got pregnant.

3. I gained an embarrassing amount of weight.

4. I had my daughter and lost about 50 pounds.

5. I went on anti-depressants for post-partum depression and to spare my lovely husband a black eye.

6. I have lost a grand total of four pounds since going on the meds in October.

I know this last thirty pounds is the I'm-pregnant-and-miserable-so-I'm-gonna-eat-what-the-****-I-want-to weight, as well as the quit smoking weight. I lost this same weight in 2002 before my wedding by doing low carb, and then it just fell off. Of course, I was 24 and smoking then.

But I'm so frustrated! The flippin' scale won't move, and I swear I hear it snickering when I step on it. To continue my list theme, the following are what I've been doing:

1. Keeping my calories around 1500-1800 (really trying to stay close to
1,500, but I can't seem to go around hungry like I used to).

2. Exercising 20-30 minutes a day, 4-5 days a week. I use the elliptical and walk outside.

3. Try to drink at least 80 oz. of water a day.

4. Take a multivitamin, omega 3-6-9 supplement and a calcium supplement.

5. Complain a lot about how I'm not losing weight.

The following are ways I think I'm sabotaging myself, but I really don't want to give up (stamps foot):

1. Drink one alcoholic beverage at night (beer or wine) and usually one more than that on the weekend.

2. Have a piece of chocolate or a small bag of chips here and there.

3. Don't keep track of calories on the weekend.

I know these things may be hindering my weight loss, but I feel like I should be losing SOME weight. But, for the first time in my life, the scale is not budging!

I thought it might be the Wellbutrin I'm taking, but they're actually considering marketing it as a weight loss aid! It might be the multivitamin I'm taking, which contains iron. Iron, in case you didn't know, ahem, slows things down considerably in the digestion department. Let's just say I'm having trouble in that area.

So, I know this is a lot for a first post, but what do you think? Any advice? Anything you notice I could do differently? Anybody want to cry with me?

I'm open to anything! TIA!

P.S. I'm not normally so listy.

OK, a couple of things to consider.

You're not far from a normal weight. Really! So to lose weight, you're going to have to go pretty slowly. A body that close to "normal" just won't drop pounds like a body with more to lose.

Given that your losses are already going to be slow, the weekends can REALLY do a lot of damage. I used a similar strategy (count during the week, don't count on weekends), and it worked for MAINTENANCE, but was never sufficient to get me to lose. So you may want to consider really tracking on the weekends. Even if the weekends are a bit higher than weekdays, by tracking, you'll probably still eat less than you are now, and may be able to get some losses.

Calorie counting is good, and helpful, but sometimes, what you're eating matters. Can you give us a sample day's menu, complete with wine/chocolate/etc? Too much processed/refined stuff can stall a LOT of people, and there may be something you can tweak there.

Finally, some people (me included) do not lose when they drink. Period. I don't know if you are one of those people, but you may be.

Thank you so much for such a quick reply and for the very useful information!

I try to keep a rough estimate in my head of what I'm eating on the weekend, but I don't sit down and actually enter it into Fitday. Honestly, this has given me just the leeway I needed to eat too much on the weekends. I guess I need to do more planning and entering and less munchin'. I don't know if I'll have the time to actually sit down and plug it all in, though, and my meals tend to be less structured on the weekends. But I guess if I really want to lose this weight, I've got to suck it up, huh?

What I ate today:

BF:
Bowl of Cheerios with 1% milk
Orange juice
Banana

Lunch:
Ham and Provolone sandwich on whole wheat bread with 1tsp mayo, mustard, cucumbers and lettuce
Single serving bag of chips
Fat free yogurt
Two bite-sized Mounds candies

Dinner:
Lowfat oven-fried chicken
Broccoli and pasta side dish
Multi-grain roll
Glass of white wine

This all totals approximately 1,700 calories, give or take. I know the chips and candy are no-no's, and I'll break up with them, I promise! Even though I'll miss them so much.

BTW, love the picture in your avatar. You look fabulous!

Aww, thanks.

You know, I went through a period where I thought I was doing REALLY well on the weekends, even though I wasn't counting. Then I counted it...turns out, I wasn't doing quite so well as I thought. So it can be good to count, at least for a while, to see if you're on track with where you thought you were.

Your food intake looks decent. I have given up neither chips nor candy, but eat them fairly infrequently. In a perfect world, you'd like to see maybe a few more vegetables (that's a great chip replacement...veggies and hummus. Same crunch, same satisfaction, same calories, better nutritional value)...maybe a salad at lunch or dinner.

It may also be that 1700-1800 is just a bit too high for your body to lose. You are, after all, close to a normal weight. I know that some major fitness experts recommend that you eat around the level of your calculated BMR to lose the last 10-30 lbs. The BMR is the approximate amount of calories your body burns to maintain bodily functions. Your BMR is 1512 based on the stats you provided, so you might be hitting a little high. Something to consider.

Another thought - have you considered strength training? Putting on a bit of muscle won't make you look big...it'll just make you look leaner AND help you burn more calories when you're just sitting around, because it is more metabolically active than fat. I really can't recommend strength training enough!

Yeah, I was afraid my calories were too high. Darn it! Guess I'm gonna have to go with voluminous veggies to stay full and in the 1,500 range.

That makes me feel better to know you haven't given up chips or candy. I can certainly put them on hold or at least a little further out of reach until I reach my goal, but I don't think it's necessary to eliminate treats like that forever. I also have issues with lowfat/nonfat dairy, mayo, etc. I can certainly do 1% milk (or even skim) but lowfat cheese is sketchy to me, and fat free cheese is the devil. Lowfat mayo has an "off" taste to me, and fat free mayo just flat out makes no sense. I really concentrate on portion size with these kinds of things, though, so I can have them.

That's interesting about dropping back to my BMR calories to lose under 30 pounds. Makes sense, though. I do okay at 1,500, especially if I concentrate on volume, i.e. fruits and veggies, whole grains.

I really, REALLY want to get started with strength training. Always have. I just don't know where to start. Any tips?

Have you seen the "Ladies Who Lift" forum? Check it out! Great info for beginners.

I would say this is the biggest issue:

3. Don't keep track of calories on the weekend.

2 days out of 7 is a big percentage. To lose weight, weekend days MUST count.

I'd like to suggest that you switch from mounds candy to a single piece of dark chocolate a day. It's not as much sugar, and dark chocolate is a good Mufa (monounsaturated fatty acid), so very good for you in small quantities...the darker the better as it's lower in fat and sugar.

Chips are all salt and grease and starch...none of which you need now. Foods like chips and french fries should probably be used only as a rare treat right now. If you need to snack on something, get some low fat snack crackers or rice cakes or something.

Also looking at your daily list, you had sugar three times...juice for breakfast (which is a lot more sugar than just a piece of fruit and not as much fiber...try an orange instead), candy for lunch, and then wine for dinner. I know you don't want to give up the alcohol, but alcohol is really not good for dieting, especially if it helps you lose your inhibitions about how much you are eating. Alcohol is burned by the body before fat, so you are delaying your weight loss every time you drink alcohol. Would it be possible to just have one drink on the weekend, instead of every day? Try switch to something like a v8 instead. You can spice it up with hot sauce to make it yummy.

And definitely count those weekend calories. You may be making up for all your good actions during the week. Also the hunger you are experiencing may be caused by the fact that you have not cut enough sugar out of your diet. If you go sugar free for a couple of weeks, you may see that hunger go away. And definitely, push the veggies.

I laughed out loud at your list when I got to number 5!

You can do this...and it's great that you've found this site for help and encouragement.

Hi and welcome!!! You've already gotten great advice.

Your scale doesn't hate you. It's really not the one doing anything at all to you. Ever. In good times and in bad. It's simply a tool that we use in order to determine - well - what we weigh. Remember that YOU are the one who manipulates that scale and makes the choices that you do. I don't say that to make you feel badly, but just to make you aware and conscience of the fact that you indeed control everything that goes into your mouth and everything that you do put in your mouth has consequences. And that everything matters. Everything. And those choices dictate what the scale will or won't do.

I just want to back up my fellow 3FCers and say that without a doubt the first thing that screams out to me - is your weekends.

At your current weight, which is not all that far from "normal", there's really not much room for "error". It's going to take more then just "watching yourself" on the weekends. It's going to take consistiency. It's going to take careful monitoring of your caloric intake. Even one day of "off" eating can without a doubt wipe out the calorie deficit you've created in the other six days. Without a doubt. And a calorie deficit is what we're after. You need to create an appoximate 3500 calorie deficit in order to lose one single pound. You stay on plan for 5 days for example, creating a 500 calorie deficit each of those days - you've created a 2500 calorie deficit. You continue to do that for the remaining 2 days of the week, you create an additional 1000 calorie deficit - there's a pound gone for the week. You instead stop counting on the weekend (2 days or heck, even one), you most likely are eating in ABUNDANCE of what is needed to create a deficit - and BOOM - right there that 2500 calorie deficit is wiped out. Gone. You see, it's not the scales fault, afterall.

And forget mayo - use no fat things to add flavor and moisture to your foods - fresh herbs, chicken broth, seasoned vinegars, mustard, lemon, lime. Experiment. Don't waste precious calories on additives.

With a little tightening of your calories, some experimenting with different foods, increasing your exercise, - you'll actually come to love your scale!

Instead of loosening up on the weekends, I'd plan them out even stricter. Make yourself a nice fruit/no fat yogurt smoothie. Some oatmeal, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar free maple syrup with a sprinkling of walnuts. Have some delicious salmon, baked with lots of spices and lemond juice or sugar free apricot preserves, soy sauce and garlic and a huge plateful of roasted veggies. Have some fabulous chicken breast for dinner. A huge stir-fry, loaded up with scrumptious veggies - like broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, zuchninni, mushrooms, onions, carrots in a great sauce made up of garlic, ginger, soy sauce. Plan out your snacks. Some fresh berries. A veggie platter of baby carrots, cucumber strips, string beans. Dip them in a roasted red pepper dip.

Stick around. This is a great place for information, advice and support. All the best.

One thing that I have found I really enjoy, in place of alcohol- sparkling mineral water. I pour it in a wine glass and sip it with my dinner... and I almost feel like I am drinking sparkling wine. I can't explain it, but it's immensely satisfying... and of course it has 0 calories.

Adding to LittleMoon's post - LaCroix makes a terrific line of 0-calorie sparkling waters - grapefruit, raspberry, plain ... and they do have a satisfying carbonation tickle.

I'd caution about going the no-fat route, because that gets into the realm of what works for some folks versus others. There are metabolic types that thrive on low-fat/gobs of plant-based carbs & protein, and there are also types that will quickly get unbalanced without higher amounts of proteins and yes, even saturated fats. Lots of research being done on this right now - the general theory has to do with where your family lines originate. Many people who hail from equatorial/desert areas tend to be plant-based, and the colder, northern climes may do better on a more carnivore emphasis. Low-fat doesn't work for me ... I might lose some weight, but once I get below 25%, my hair and fingernails start to break, and my skin gets flaky. And let's not go into the crabbiness!

Having read all the success stories (many of them more than once!), I see the common theme that the maintainers have settled into a disciplined routine that WORKS for them - they have found the optimum balance for their lives, and there's lots of variety in how they do it. The sucky part of those last pounds is that finding the balance you can keep for life is still an individual battle. Thank goodness everyone is willing to share and support, because it becomes absolutely clear that no one method is the success formula!

Holy cow, ladies! Thank you so much! I've gotten SO much good advice, and I really appreciate all of you taking the time to respond to me.

Okay, so, the consensus is the weekends are a big problem. Got it. And it completely makes sense. Looking back at the past couple of weekends, I can see where I screwed up all my hard work during the week. So, I need to be even MORE diligent during the weekend. Plan and count and order the steamed veggies instead of fries. I can do that.

Farewell, chips. I really love you, but we're no good for each other.

Farewell, junky chocolate. HEY-LOW, 80% dark!

Farewell, wine and beer every day. Sniff.

Farewell, obsessive weighing. HEY-LOW, non-obsessive, casual measuring tape-ing!

Seriously, again, thank you all so much. This board has SO much information and support. I've lurked for awhile and am continually impressed by all of you.

See ya 'round!

I couldn't agree more. The fats are essential to your health, but you can switch from bad fats to good fats. I don't think 1 tsp of mayo a day will hurt anyone, and it's only 20 calories, but if you made your own mayo out of a better oil that what the store brands use (and use free-range eggs too for lower colesteral), it would be better for you. Or you could just do a quick spritz of olive oil and some seasoning on the sandwich.

I love using oil and vinigar on the lettuce in a sandwich (learned that from Subway), and olive oil is a mufa. I have a spray can of olive oil, and a spray bottle of balsamic vinigar, and lightly spritz sandwich greens, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Also eating a dry sandwich is difficult for me to swallow, so some kind of moisurizer is necessary or I'll choke on it. Learning about MUFAs was a godsend to me, because fats are not only essential to proper nutrient absorption, they also help fill and satisify.

I actually gained 20 lbs on Wellbutrin.Just fyi.Good luck.