Any suggestions re: eating/working out (M)

[rafiki]

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[Jennifer in MI]

Sounds like my story!!! I thought I had tried everything. I'd try something - EFL, more exercise, etc - and each thing would help me shed another 3 − 4 pounds and that was it. I was so frustrated and 30 pounds over pre-pregnancy weight. Here I was running half marathons and training for them and this stupid weight was NOT coming off.

 

I decided to try Weight Watchers. I was MAD that it had come to that. I mean, I KNEW how to eat. I KNEW how to be healthy. I didn't think I needed to count points or calories. Anyway, within a week, I knew this was going to work. The pounds came off VERY easily. I counted like MAD for the first two months. I was VERY careful. Now, I don't count as much, but I do weigh myself daily. If I start to notice an upward trend, I'll count again for a couple of days and the weight comes off again.

 

So, now I'm down to my pre-pregnancy/high school weight and I'm SO psyched about it!!! But, I do need to buy new clothes!!!

[Miss Sherry]

I'm feeling really bummed right now.

 

Three months ago I totally cut wheat out of my diet, in addition to egg, soy, dairy, nuts, and fish. I also gave up chocolate and diet soda - cold turkey and have not cheated. I lost 5 lbs the first 10 days.

 

Then I started walking my dogs 3 times a day, scale didn't budge.

 

Three weeks ago I began doing 1 hour of cardio 6 days a week. We have a home gym in the basement, dh and I work out together. Somedays I'll do an hour on the eliptical, other days tread, other days recumbent bike, and I also mix and match to get an hour on, depending on what he's using. Scale still hasn't budged.

 

I am eating lean meats (beef, chicken, and turkey), lots of veggies, and my starches with dinner are rice or potato, then oatmeal for breakfast. Lunch is leftover meat with veggies or a salad with meat on top. I can't do fruit or beans due to OAS.

 

I just had a physical, everything came back great. So why am I not shedding lbs?

 

My goal is 20 more lbs, which will put me at pre-kid weight. Yes, I know my youngest is 6. At this point, I'd be excited to see 1 lb, at least it would be progress!

I don't know but I wonder if you really have lost some fat but have gained more muscle to make up for it.

[rafiki]

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[Prairie~Phlox]

You probably have gained muscle, I would go by what a tape measure says vs. the scale. Also, you need to make sure you're eating enough. If you are eating less than you should be, your body thinks it starving itself and you will lose muscle instead of fat, this is never good.

[rafiki]

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[rafiki]

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[Mabeline]

Could you recommend a site to track calories/exercise? Perhaps I'll do that for a week and see what I'm averaging.

 

Sparkspeople, you can track calories and exercise and lots more. It is really easy to use. There is even a WTM group on there too.

[ThatCyndiGirl]

What does the (M) mean in your post title? Is it like the (CC) thing?

[Jennifer in MI]

Do you do WW locally or online? I'm wondering if I'm possibly not eating enough?

 

When you say "counting" how labor intensive is that? Is there an app that makes it easy just to plug in the info?

 

I've seen the WW food list and that's not a problem, but I haven't counted to see where I am calorie wise.

 

I cheated. I'm WAY too cheap to pay for something like this. So, I went online and found a way to figure out how many points I should be eating. Then, I googled the points.

 

Counting. At first, it's harder! But, after you get a routine, you know what you can eat and how many points it is. So, I knew for breakfast, my 2 scrambled eggs cost me 6 points. My coffee/creamer was 1 point. If I added oatmeal, it was 3 points. You get the idea. I lived for those 0 point snacks!! I don't know where I was calorie-wise. I just did the points.

[Jen in PA]

Is it possible that you aren't eating enough? If I don't get enough calories I just cannot lose weight. It sounds counterintuitive, but it's definitely the way it works for me.

[rafiki]

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[Mom0012]

I've gone through periods where I couldn't lose weight no matter what I did. I had always been thin and lost the extra weight after each of my babies easily. It was 2 years after my daughter was born that I slowly began to gain. My thyroid was just within the normal range, so my doctor and I decided not to medicate. Two years later (and almost 15 pounds heavier), my levels were just a tinge outside of normal, so we decided to try a low dose of synthroid. I immediately was able to lose the weight by following a 1200 calorie diet, got my memory back and had lots more energy.

 

A lot of doctors would not have treated me since I was just a little outside the bounds of normal. Just mentioning that in case it's a possibility for you.

 

Lisa

[Miss Sherry]

That's what dh says. My clothes DO fit differently, I've got that soda bottle gap in the back of my pants now. If it wouldn't be for that, I'd be hitting the chocolate.

It sounds to me like you really are making progress, especially since your clothes fit differently. Good for you. I know it can get discouraging when we are thinking about how much we still want to loose, but I think CoNGratULatioNs are in order here.

Now about that chocolate. It always sounds good to me. :001_smile:

[6packofun]

Could you recommend a site to track calories/exercise? Perhaps I'll do that for a week and see what I'm averaging.

 

Not to throw a wrench in the works, but do some quick research into how long it takes to gain just ONE pound of muscle, particularly as a woman and I think you'll see that it's not that.

 

My guess is that you might be working out too much or intensely or that your increase in exercise (and calorie loss) is causing you to be much hungrier and you are eating more than you think. If you're not tracking calories, that's where I'd start. I use Sparkpeople, but there is FitDay and a bunch of other sites, too.