ugh!!! argh!! I'm SO discouraged. I have been working SOOOO hard lately, for the past month, doing hot yoga 5 times weekly, eating my daily calories in the form of salads and lots of kale and healthy things, no pop, no crap food.

I have lost maybe 3-4 pounds.

and because my friend wants to take me to a piano concert and said it would be "fun to dress up" I just tried on some clothes to try and find something to wear and NOTHING FITS and everything looks horrible and I'm like WHY WHY WHY? I would think that even if I've only lost 3-4 pounds I've lost inches! The hot yoga I have been consistently doing 3-4 times per week for months now, and in the last month stepped it up to 5x weekly.

I'm just so discouraged. It seems like I've fought SO HARD to just lose 3-4 pounds and I'm thinking, why is it this hard??? Am I doing something wrong?

Not to mention, the friend who asked me to the concert has been doing Isag*nix and says the pounds are "literally melting off" and she's never felt better in her life. Great. Not that I wish her badness, but I'm so envious. :-(

Ahhh....that's all. Just wanted to vent! Thanks for listening.

Hey, take a breath. If yoga is teaching you anything you should cultivate a bit of calm for a moment.

Now, here's a list of things to consider.

1) A possible stall in weight loss. Maybe you're body is just holding onto some weight, who knows? You're still losing, roughly 1lb a week and that's what most of us are striving for.
2) Calories. Maybe you've been miscounting some calories or they're sneaking in somewhere. If you haven't taken a serious look at your food log recently maybe it's time to check it again.
3) Are you eating too many calories? Where are you getting your calorie count from? Maybe it's time you adjusted those. I see you've lost 20lbs and as you lose weight you have to refigure your calories for weight loss.
4) Building muscle from all the yoga. You might be losing some fat but putting on some muscle so it's not showing such a bit drop on the scale.

There are a lot of reasons, but it's very important that you realize 3-4 lbs is not failure AT ALL. Not even close. Maybe there are things that could help speed it up a bit, like refiguring your calories, but it's much better to lose the rate you're losing.

Also, give it a little more time. You're body isn't always so predictable and some weight may fall off soon, so don't give up just yet.

You can do this, and isn't it better to lose 3-4 lbs a month than nothing, or worse, gaining it back?

Hang in there!

I haven't tried hot yoga, but looking into it, I would have guessed that it would be really good at improving flexibility and eliminating water weight. I'm not sure I would think it would be great for fat burning (something cardio would help with that) or losing inches (something with a strength training element would help with that).

So, now that you're in a 5x a week habit, what about switching it up a bit? Stick with your hot yoga 3x a week since you obviously like it and the other two days do a mix of cardio and strength training. Maybe add in a long walk on the 6th and 7th days.

The other thing that may be required is to watch the intake of calories. Eliminating junk food was huge for me -- but it really just meant that I stopped gaining. To lose weight, I had to get a handle on portion sizes as well.

Keep in mind that 3 or 4 pounds a month is excellent weight loss. I rarely averaged more than that for my entire journey. I have previous experience with losing weight more quickly and my contention is that fast pounds come back but slow pounds stay off.

So did you figure out something to wear to the concert? When I was only twenty pounds down, I went to a dress up event in black slacks, a sparkly top, and black velveteen jacket. It was maybe not my dream outfit, but it was plenty good enough for the occasion and just getting out improved my mood and how I felt about myself as the kind of person who gets out and does fun things.

3-4 lbs a month SUCKS, but its pretty average. my body will give up 5 lbs at the MOST.

its pretty hard for women to build enough muscle to actually show on the scale in only a month, so im guessing its either just water weight or you're body just doesnt want to work with you and 3-4 lbs/month is about all its giving up right now.

i also agree with a previous poster - make sure you're tracking your calories correctly!

Why not try a different exercise routine. Shaking things up a bit might help the scale a long. Maybe go for some cardio and some lifting?

I'm stuck at around 180, too ._. You're not alone. I feel like sticking my head in a garbage disposal. BUT. We can do it. I'm just going to change up a bunch of stuff that I've been doing and hope it works!

I am in this boat also....it sucks, just keep up what your doing it will work. Look at it this way, healthy eating is a life change....not something you have to do until you hit goal.....do you plan on going back to eating " the way you normally do"? If that's your mindset you will fail...it has to be a permanent lifestyle change?..just my opinion

You should change your routine up a bit. The body gets used to doing the same thing all the time, you've gotta keep it guessing so that it continues to stay challenged. Add some strength training routines, some cardio - take a dance fitness class. I love zumba for my cardio. It's really fun and the time flies.

Also, make sure you're counting calories correctly and measuring things out. It's also beneficial to have some days where you eat more calories in one day than the regular "diet" zone, like up to your maintenance, to keep the metabolism revving.

Weight loss happens in the kitchen.
Maybe you're not eating the right kinds of foods to fuel weight loss. Maybe too many calories, maybe too little. I would recommend changing your diet up a little or even doing a type of "jump start" where you basically take your current diet, and turn it up a notch for a week or two. Up the protein, drop fruits (just for a week or two) try to keep your carbs under 60, that should give your body a nice kick into gear.

A pound a week is a great rate of weight loss...

I would focus mainly on what you are eating. Working out didn't speed things along for me at all. Consider seeing a nutritionist, and maybe get your thyroid level checked. Don't give up, stick with it!

thanks everyone. was having such a bad day, but am going to incorporate some weights into my routine as well. hot yoga is a cardiovascular workout actually and is the best thing for me right now due to injury from car accident :-)

my diet is really good. probably could tighten up on the weekend if I want to see faster results.

plus the aging factor doesn't help. even 2 years ago it was way easier for me to lose (now i'm 38 years old, it's definitely harder!)

i'm just going to keep plugging away.

and no, i didn't find anything to wear for the concert. ugh. i will keep looking!

sometimes thats all we can do. keep at it!


p.s. i just reread my post, cant believe i mixed up you're and your! youd think my grammar would be better by now.

I also vote for changing your exercise from yoga 5x a week to maybe 2 and add other things you like (strength training, hopefully). Otherwise, keep up the good work!