Ready to quit, can't lose

[vanhinkle]

I am getting so frustrated and ready to quit.  I have been faithfully going to the gym for a month, eat extremely healthy and stay within my calories and I can't lose a lb.  This morning I gained weight.  I am ready to give up.  I am someone who never ever exercised at all, so to go from that to going every single day to the gym I should see some sort of result by now. 

[Lean-Green]

I can relate, Van,

I have the tendency to get really discouraged too sometimes, and sometimes feel my goals require a level of effort that is beyond my reach.

I'm finding now that I feel more motivated when I break down my goals into much smaller achievable goals, so that I can feel some measure success and keep going. Maybe last week my goal was to eat 1 raw veggie per day and now it's 2 only every other day. (Up'ing it to 2 per day would be a 100% increase which is too much for me).

Also I found that going to my doctor, getting my thyroid checked and a glucose tolerance test with my check-up was a good idea.

Beyond that, by lowering my salt intake,I dropped an impossible-to-lose 5 pounds that I could otherwise not shake. Also, I'm a Weight Watchers lifetime member which really keeps me at my desired weight now, but it's a lifestyle and not a quick- fix.... Best wishes to you, and don't give up the fight!

[Heybales]

How much do you have to lose to healthy weight?

How big of a deficit or weight loss goal did you take?

Are you logging manually all the non-step based workouts that Fitbit is underestimating?

Are you meeting your daily eating goal right now, or imagining that bigger is better?

Are you weighing all foods that you eat, not measuring?

And only valid weigh-in day so as not to stress over expected water weight fluctuations - 

Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not sore from last workout.

Because going from no exercise to a bunch means your body is going to improve, and that includes adding water weight - increased blood volume, more stored carbs with attached water, ect.

[elaine6s]

I understand completely but know that i am my worst enemy. Do you use my fitness pal to log in what you eat every day? I wasnt but started using it. I knew i ate too many carbs and sugar but actually seeing it was an eye opener.

My cardio/strength training class would like me to have at least 109 grams of protein a day, so far the closest I've come is 50. It's very hard to change my diet at my age. I would love any feedback from others who have changed their diets and added more protien. What do you eat (ps:: i cannot eat fish).

Good luck vanhinkle, stick with it!!!

elaine6s

[Theresab]

It took me 25 years to figure out that I am intolerant to gluten and if I eat it I cannot lose weight. Don't give up. There may be something that is keeping you from losing. You might try an elimination diet to see if something is keeping you from losing too.

[Mata04]

I too can never lose weight.  It is frustrating especially when i am told i would have to be eating this absurd amount of calories a day in order to maintain what i weigh and have no physical activity.  I eat about half of what they tell me i should be eating to be this overweight.  I gained 75 lbs in 6 wks AFTER i had my 2nd child.  It took a lot of dr visits that they finally figured out that i have pcos.  There are days i want to give up because i feel as if i dont know whos body i am living in and its frustrating to run on the treadmill to see no result.  I am hopeful there will be a day where i can shed some weight and be happy again.  No Pain no gain right?

[Kooliss]

I am utterly dispondent right now... I have worked like hell on a treadmill doing over an hour an day split up into 4 sessions and doing 8k of steps per day, I have plantafacia in my feet so its a lot to do that, and also cartledge problem with my knee after my hour a day, my body hurts like crazy...I also keep to a strict 1k calorie diet eating properly... I seem to be forever on my treadmill and build my day around it... I measure all my food and reach all my goals.  The government says 30 mins three times a week is good for you... I do an hour a day at least and take saturday and sunday off to make sure my body has time to heal... I am nearly 55 years old so things take time.  BUT... its so **ahem** upsetting after all the hard work to see that it rates my efforts as average and sedentary, I seriously cant believe that any woman my age and size... (obese) does what I do on a normal day... YET.. on the other hand it says I do more than 762% more active mins than people of my own age and size... I am usually in the 99 percent markers for all things in the premium trainer section... so HOW can it say I have failed... !!!! to say this is demotivating is an understatement....

Also... yesterday being a saturday I took the day off training as I do at the weekends, and upset to find that it said I had worked off 2467 cals on the saturday without training... and compared to Friday where it was a training day I had worked off only 2555 cals... HOW can this be... so I work my guts off on my treadmill for over an hour a day and only acheive a difference of 100 cals .... I have to ask myself is the pain and suffering really worth it.... I know only I can answer this... but somewhere along the line I think FitBit has to stop doing the average 7 day thing... and just do a daily thing... as its killing my motivation.  Whats the point of working so hard all week just to get a "You Failed your Target Goals".. at the end of the week... its heartbreaking .. 😞

[elaine6s]

I do not do nearly as much as far as working out as you and I am not losing either but the one thing that I “think” I do differently from you (and perhaps i’m wrong) but I use myfitnesspal.com to write down everything I eat all day and have this hooked up to myfitbitflex. It seems to give a more accurate calorie in vs working out. I also input the working out on myfittness.pal to log in my working out. I put them in as separate items (which you can use over once they are in there the first time) example: walked on treadmill for 20 minutes (moderate speed). then add the next thing weightlifting : shoulder press 12 reps etc until everything is added and then on the next day you have the option to just ‘copy previous day’ and you can remove the things you didn't do or add different things.

I am my own worst enemy. I had to stop taking my cancer drug for 3 weeks due to joint pain and I also had to stop doing my exercising (weights). I pretty much stopped everything because I hurt so much. The pain in everything except my shoulder went away but i gained back 7 pounds and feel awful. I’m back on the pills, the joint pain and migraines are back but i have to start doing something again because i hate feeling so sluggish.

I too am ‘obese’ on the bmi charts and find that my metabolism at 60 is not what it was 20 years ago.

The fact that you do all that you do is amazing to me! Keep up the good work, your heart will thank you for it!

elaine6s




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[elaine6s]

First of all, the fact that you have two children and can run on a treadmill makes me feel humbled. (and a bit tired) 😊

You probably haven't had a goods night rest in quite awhile and once you do you will hopefully start seeing a change in your weight loss.

I am on the opposite end of the spectrum where I’ve gone through menopause but still have symptoms and have not have a full nights sleep in years.


I think once we both get this part figured out it will help us a lot.


We could probably use advice from others out in this blog who have helpful hints on what they do to make this all work.


Good luck to you!

Elaine6s






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[Heybales]

Wow, you are really throwing a lot of stress on your body.

Guess what constant stress does to a body - it adapts, not by getting stronger (that's only if you have rest and diet that allows getting stronger), but by slowing down everything, metabolism, daily movement, ect.

It also keeps cortisol constantly elevated, which is terrible for retaining water.

Diet is a stress, I'm betting eating only 1000 with that routine you are taking a huge deficit - somehow thinking bigger is better.

If that's the case - why not just stop eating and lose the weight?

Frequent intense for you exercise with little recovery is a stress - a body that can't recovery eventually can't improve and many times can't even maintain at same workload.

Other life stresses, like pain, add to the volume your body is dealing with.

Since you've proven your method doesn't work - ready to try something more reasonable, get body as healthy as it can be, and then lose the fat?

Oh yeah, as to your difference in calorie burn - guess what the body does with long term deficit being too big? It slows down other daily activity to compensate.

So you have shown exactly what studies have shown. You may burn 300 calories in a workout, but you then proceed to NOT burn 300 calories you would have otherwise. So no extra calorie burn to the day actually.

Now, if that workout caused an overload and body has time to recover and repair it will burn more.

But I'm betting your workout causing pain and day after day, that doesn't happen.

Your exercise is not providing any extra calorie burn likely, just pain.

[lisaaggie]

I have a lot of weight to loose and I get discouraged.  However, I have changed my mindset to how my fitness level has improved on the treadmill (I can now walk consistantly at a 3.4 pace instead of a 3.0)  I also started the beast called the  treadcclimber; it has a belt for each leg and it adjusts to inclines; i get twice the workout in half the time.  I see improvements on that.  

For me it is a fitness thing; my appetite is not 100% under control because of the meds I am on.  However, my fitness level is improving.  That is what I am focusing on.  

lisa

[SBJim]

I think your body may be in starvation mode and will store everything it can. Oddly enough you might try increase sing your food intake a bit - say 200 - 400 calories for a week and see if you begin to lose.