I don't know HOW but the scale says 150p this morning! How could I have gained 4 frickin' pounds in a week!? I didn't eat anything that warrants that much gain. It takes me a MONTH just to lose 1 pound! I'm sure some is water retention but WTH. I workout VERY hard, been busting my butt (this month especially) and I'm not feeling the love. I've had thyroid tests and I can't eat any less. I don't eat bad or binge just occasional cheat with Mexican food minus cheese and sour cream..no chips, pop, candy, cupcakes, twinkies...none of it. My body wants to be 150p period and I am tired of fighting with it. /whiteflag
I want to walk away and scream. 8 months of busting my butt (5-6 days a week of Jillian w/ 5-10p weights and now jogging) to only have lost a few pounds?? I should easily be close to 130's by now. Even if it is water retention I should weigh WAY less by now. 150's should be looooong gone. I feel like I am back where I started in Feb. I'm done!!
I hate my scale. I said I weighed 2 pounds more today than yesterday. I walked 4 miles plus did some step aerobics for 10 minutes. I did not eat too much, I track everything I eat and was NOT over on my calories. So where do they come from? I am on prescription h2o pills so i don't think it is water weight. Grrrrrrr.
I feel your discouragement and empathize so much with you. It is soooo frustrating to not see the results you know you should.
Here's what people don't want to hear, losing weight is about what you put in your mouth, it's not about gym time. Not saying that the exercise isn't great for you, but it isn't the key to losing weight.
What are you really eating, are you keeping track or just doing the cutting back and not eating X routine? You're not that far from a reasonable goal weight for your height; it may require more discipline on the food front from now on, but it certainly can be done. It's very easy to eat enough "healthy" food that you don't lose; it's about creating a deficit and you can't really know if you've done that if you don't keep track.
I've been frustrated lately too with the scale not moving, and increasingly less-at-peace with my pace of weight loss. (I started at the beginning of this year and haven't even cracked the 25lb mark yet.) So I feel you!
It's really frustrating when you are exerting 110% mental energy into wanting to lose weight but results are getting stymied by objectively less-than-100% choices - because you FEEL like you ought to see results for what you've done - after all, you're pouring so much mental energy into this - and even if things haven't been perfect, they should have been good enough for something!! (Not saying this is where you're at, but it's happened to me.)
On the other hand, I recently cracked down even harder on my counting/tracking/weighing food and upped my activity a bit - and I still am not seeing the results I expect. It would literally mean a break in the laws of physics not to have weight loss occur. Mathematically, I have absolutely created a deficit. So I *know* I have lost weight, and can instead feel frustrated because the scale isn't showing me yet. But I know it's there. It'll show up sooner or later. (Either that or I'm due for a Nobel Prize!)
Not sure if either of these scenarios resonates with you, but both have been true for me at different times I was frustrated. Either way, and empathy!
If all other factors have been in line (diet, in particular, is THE crucial factor) then just use your mind and reason instead of emotion - the scale indicates ONE thing, and that is the sum total of your body's mass. It doesn't indicate composition or differentiate fat from muscle from digested matter from water. It doesn't tell you if hormones or infection is influencing our system. It doesn't indicate muscle repair. It isn't moral and it isn't comprehensive - the scale logs a single factor.
Are your measurements up? Pants tighter? What other systems do you have in place to keep yourself on track? If your food logs are clean andyour body is healthy andyour exercise is spot on, then the question becomes why a smart, sane, competent woman like yourself is giving so much power to an inanimate object, to the point of letting it affect your mood and self image? At some point you have to put your foot down and keep the power of how you feel with YOU, not project it onto whatever random and incomplete data the scale spits out.
I know it is hard and I have those days, too, where I give the scale WAY too much power. But a reality check is in order, here, and I'm happy to provide it
I hate my scale. I said I weighed 2 pounds more today than yesterday. I walked 4 miles plus did some step aerobics for 10 minutes. I did not eat too much, I track everything I eat and was NOT over on my calories. So where do they come from? I am on prescription h2o pills so i don't think it is water weight. Grrrrrrr.
I feel your discouragement and empathize so much with you. It is soooo frustrating to not see the results you know you should.
I used to have a panic attack (well, maybe not panic, but I would get concerned) if my weight went up a couple pounds during the week. I weigh myself every day, but my official weigh-ins are on Sunday. I have learned not to panic anymore if there are fluctuations during the week. All that matters is what the result is from week to week. Now, if I gain a couple pounds from one week to the next, then I know I need to correct something. But every time I have previously 'panicked' over a day-to-day weight gain, that panic disappeared on Sunday when I realized that I had a good weight loss that week. Now, that is all that I pay attention to.
Give me an honest answer. Are you having a tantrum over 3 pounds ?
Yes, I am.
Two reasons: 1) Because when you go on a mission to lose a measly 15p, lose 9 after 8 freaking months and gain back 4p it's different than when you've lost 35+ pounds and gain back 4p. It's extremely hard to lose when you have less to lose so any gain feels like a major set back. 2) With all I've done I feel I should be at goal by now. I've never had a tantrum before on 3FC so it's my turn. Let me have my meltdown.
FTR, I have lost 35p in the past like it was nothing, why this is such a grueling ordeal I have no idea. Could be age, could be that I don't smoke anymore, could be meds although nothing I have read says my medication is an issue but I will ask my doctor. Who knows.
I other news I just ran 35 minutes at 171bpm average and I will have to monitor my food much more closely I suppose. In the meantime I will just hope it's water retention. Pants feel about the same, maybe a hair tighter.
Thanks for letting me vent, everyone. I'm not quitting I'm just frustrated.
To reiterate what a few others have said, take measurements and be mindful of water and TOM. I blow up the week before TOM then it all comes off plus a little extra, keep in mind I'm not even within eyesight of 150.
If you're working out that much, especially strength training, it could be that you are slimming up without actually losing weight. As I continue to add strength training (limited because I'm weak and have little T-Rex arms) I'm trying to remind myself that the scale is a tiny, tiny part of the bigger equation. It doesn't tell us muscle vs fat, it doesn't tell us our bone structure, it doesn't tell us how fit and healthy we are. It tells us how much we weigh at a given point in time which fluctuates by the hour, sometimes even less.
If it's frustrating you that much, lock it up, get a seamstress measuring tape or a slightly snug pair of jeans and go from there.
Well, it sounds like its 7 now. The tracker probably has not been adjusted to account for today's weigh-in. But I understand your point.
It's 4 pounds, if it was 7 I'd really lose it. I will wait a few days and weigh in again. TOM is due in 7 days but I usually don't blow up until a few days before, maybe this month is different.
ETA: My whole gripe isn't so much about 4p it's that I should be at goal by now. 8 months is a ridiculous amount of time to have only lost a few pounds. Most people lose several pounds a month when I am lucky to lose .5 or 1. Very frustrating.
Give me an honest answer. Are you having a tantrum over 3 pounds ?
I'm laughing (at me not you), because I have had many tantrums over 3 lbs- or less!
On the original post topic, I feel for you. It is exceedingly frustrating to work really hard and have nothing happen. Just keep going, because you will gain more and be even more upset. You will get there, just log every single thing you eat and keep your exercise mixed up. (Dedication fairy boinks you on the head with wand).
You're not most people, you're you! That means there aren't any hard and fast rules, because your body is unique. I can give dietary recommendations, for example, that might help stubborn weight loss, but it STILL won't make you a standard test case. You're a special snowflake in that regard
Last edited by Arctic Mama; 10-17-2012 at 01:30 PM.
Ready to quit! (Major tantrum to follow...)
How could I have gained 4 frickin' pounds in a week!? I didn't eat anything that warrants that much gain. It takes me a MONTH just to lose 1 pound! I'm sure some is water retention but WTH. I workout VERY hard, been busting my butt (this month especially) and I'm not feeling the love. I've had thyroid tests and I can't eat any less. I don't eat bad or binge just occasional cheat with Mexican food minus cheese and sour cream..no chips, pop, candy, cupcakes, twinkies...none of it. My body wants to be 150p period and I am tired of fighting with it. /whiteflag
I'm sorry you are so frustrated! That's a really tough place to be in. 
It is soooo frustrating to not see the results you know you should.
).
