Am I doing something wrong?
 

Losing weight has never came naturally to me. I've worked extremely hard to lose 39 lbs, and yet can not seem to lose any more. I started on WW in July of 2008 and lost 30 lbs from then until January 2009. I stopped WW because my schedule, lack of funds, and wasn't impressed with my new meeting site. I managed to lose the other 9 lbs working at a prison where I literally walked my butt off all day long! from January 09- September 09. Since then I've stayed at around 240 lbs, I have about at 2 lb fluctuation since September at have maintained without exercising and dieting.

Now that I'm trying to manage my foods and exercise more, nothing. NOTHING! I do not want to be stuck at 240 forever, yet it seems that my body doesn't want to move past this hurdle! I'm apprehensive to start a diet because I don't know how (as crazy as that sounds). I've tried to count calories, yet haven't been able to because I get one meal a day where I do not know the calories of it. While one would think it would be simple to find the calories of it, no such luck. I've thought about WW points, but it's hard for me to read the labels here in Hungary as everything is measured by the whole package not portions and I've yet to see any protein numbers listed! I'm debating core, because then I know what to eat.....But I think I might be under eating. I know I had that problem in WW, because I barely ate my points in a day, so I'm apprehensive about the core program because I might not eat enough. I also wonder if this could be the reason I've yet to move past 240.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong, and because of this I'm frustrated but I don't want to give up! Has anyone had an experience like this before? or know of anything I can do to move past my current weight hurdle?

If you're concerned about your lack of progress losing weight, then something may well be out of whack. You say you aren't eating enough? A lot of people are saying this and I'll say it here too.

Take snacks with you. A handful of nuts, a granola bar, some fresh fruit or vegetables... Measure out a portion, put it in a bag and take it with you if it isn't already pre-portioned.

We're here for you... Sometimes it's helpful just to vent about your situation. :hug:

I understand that reading labels is difficult to impossible in Hungary. And I know that you don't like to cook. But do you have a microwave? Could you just nuke a chicken breast? I remember saying that before, so if you've answered that already, I'm sorry. But chicken is chicken. Veggies are low cal the world over. Surely things like that can be found at the local market, things you're already familiar with.

If you're not willing to do that, maybe Nutri-sweet?

Come on! Find a way around this! You can do it!

Sometimes you have to make a guesstimate. You know there a lot of calories in gravies and sauces,also pasta and mashed potatoes. If those meals contain any of those items the meal will have a higher calorie count.Gert a good calorie book and keep it with you. I like calorie king. It has laods of recipes including fast food and restaurant food as well as ethnic food.

Eliana, I remember your post! I've been cooking this week. Added chicken to my salad! My boss also gave me some recipes to make and I bought a cookbook.

I'm contemplating canceling my university meal that I get daily, I think they might be using a lot of salt. Which may be hindering my progress. Maybe then I will be able to calculate my calories and see if I'm eating in a good range. Because right now I have no idea what I'm eating for one meal a day.

I'm just concerned that I haven't lost weight in months! I don't want to stay this weight forever, yet it doesn't seem like I'll loose again!

Thanks for all your support everyone. It helps me to work through this with people in the same boat. While I have a semi-support system at home, I've found that they tend to want me to go to the extreme with the weight loss and it wouldn't be healthy!

Focus on eating more veggies, fruits, and whole foods. Cut back processed foods as much as possible.

Having control over exactly what you're eating helps a ton. Honestly, that means doing it yourself as much as possible.