Trying...but can't seem to lose it.

[sascas24]

I am not a heavy girl, but have always had self-esteem problems and was always made fun of when I was growing up. I am 24 and 168 lbs and want to get down. I am a member at Anytime Fitness and work out 2-3 times a week and am always on my feet walking around at work.

What can I do to lose the weight? I have been watching what I eat, stopped going to fast food places as much or even stopped all together, been drinking lots of water and can't seem to lose anything. I need help 😞

[RAC]

Stay with the work out and push yourself a little. I am 47 and doing the same thing and find the problem is I have to be honest with myself when I log food. if you are honest with yourself and burn more the you eat you will lose in time . Don't quit

[techman001]

I was stuck on 118kg for three months, and like you I watched what I ate, didn't eat junk, and exercised.

In my case, using a calorie counter, and entering *everything* I ate, plus staying at a lower level of eaten calories (1000) a day did the trick, because I was still eating *too much* healthy food.

I'm a 59 yo male with a sedentary desk job. Today I weigh 111.6kg, last September I weighed 126kg, but my correct weight is 80kg.

I joined a gym, and do aerobics every day or no less than every second day. I lost 3kg in the last 7 days doing the above.

I eat only fresh fruit and vegetables, almost no processed food, and minimal dairy.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Terry

[Jabrat]

@sascas24 - are you counting your calories/points - I started on Weight Watchers and when you count and portion it out in addition to burning those calories (that's what I watch the most on my Fitbit) - I am older and lost 40 pounds last year - walked 4,000 miles and couldn't budge a pound before Fitbit - truly.  Do not give up.  You'd be surprised how much you are consuming when you count and portion out everything rather than doing everything by eye.  

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@sascas24 wrote:

I am not a heavy girl, but have always had self-esteem problems and was always made fun of when I was growing up. I am 24 and 168 lbs and want to get down. I am a member at Anytime Fitness and work out 2-3 times a week and am always on my feet walking around at work.

What can I do to lose the weight? I have been watching what I eat, stopped going to fast food places as much or even stopped all together, been drinking lots of water and can't seem to lose anything. I need help 😞

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[Jabrat]

Great job!  Like they say at Weight Watchers - do not eat anything that is white.

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@techman001 wrote:

I was stuck on 118kg for three months, and like you I watched what I ate, didn't eat junk, and exercised.

In my case, using a calorie counter, and entering *everything* I ate, plus staying at a lower level of eaten calories (1000) a day did the trick, because I was still eating *too much* healthy food.

I'm a 59 yo male with a sedentary desk job. Today I weigh 111.6kg, last September I weighed 126kg, but my correct weight is 80kg.

I joined a gym, and do aerobics every day or no less than every second day. I lost 3kg in the last 7 days doing the above.

I eat only fresh fruit and vegetables, almost no processed food, and minimal dairy.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Terry

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@techman001 wrote:

I was stuck on 118kg for three months, and like you I watched what I ate, didn't eat junk, and exercised.

In my case, using a calorie counter, and entering *everything* I ate, plus staying at a lower level of eaten calories (1000) a day did the trick, because I was still eating *too much* healthy food.

I'm a 59 yo male with a sedentary desk job. Today I weigh 111.6kg, last September I weighed 126kg, but my correct weight is 80kg.

I joined a gym, and do aerobics every day or no less than every second day. I lost 3kg in the last 7 days doing the above.

I eat only fresh fruit and vegetables, almost no processed food, and minimal dairy.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Terry

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[gerrymcd]

Sounds like you are already pretty active, so most weight loss will come by changing your eating.  

One thing you might pay close attention to is snacking - some candy here, some chips there can add up to a lot of calories over the space of a week.  I know this is a problem for me. 

Otherwise, if you are logging your food you might want to look at the percentage fat vs protein vs carbs.  You might find you are eating a lot more carbs than you think.  Replacing some of these calories with fat or protein might help. 

[Inga]

Hey Terry, I am fresh fruits & veg here too. easy isn't it?

[techman001]

Hi Inga,

Far easier than I ever suspected!

My family rarely had fresh fruit when I was a child, so I grew up as mainly a meat and dairy eater, then graduated to junk food early on, so to go fresh fruit at age 59 is a bit strange for me.

I started on this in September 2013, and It has taken me until January 2014 to get my diet sorted out fairly well.

Today I'm a little annoyed with myself,  as I ate out for lunch yesterday. I had a 'chicken stack' at a eatery along with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. The 'chicken stack' was vegetables with about 6 six very thin slices ( I estimated 150grams) of grilled chicken breast, no skin and it was delicious.

However my weight today is the same as yesterday, I guess the reason the 'chicken stack' was delicious was that it contained oil or something  I couldn't see ?

I also didn't have my normal breakfast of fresh fruit, I went straight to lunch, and had some fruit in the afternoon, this probably was also responsible for my lack of weight loss.

Before anyone says 'but ones weight normally goes up and down', because I'm obese with 32kg yet to lose, and on reduced calories, my weight has been less every day since January (except for two day) as you can see on my graph"-

http://www.portertech.org/test/tp-weight/tp-weight-2014.jpg

The two days where my weight was flat were where I ate out ..... it looks like eating out is 'off the menu' until I reach my correct weight, which should be around April 23 this year.

Ah well, there is always tomorrow!

No more eating out for me!

Cheers

Terry

[gerrymcd]

Probably the salt and other preservatives in the chicken caused a bit of water retention.......   Its truly shocking how much of the stuff is in 'commercially' prepared food.  When I discovered the 2,500mg per day recommended intake of salt goes down as we get older (1,500mg beyond age 50) I started reading labels.  <insert expletive>....I discovered I was at risk of turning into cured pork if I didn't closely watch what I was eating.  Now, food in even decent restaurants tastes 'too salty'.  

[gerrymcd]

Probably the salt and other preservatives in the chicken caused a bit of water retention.......   Its truly shocking how much of the stuff is in 'commercially' prepared food.  When I discovered the 2,500mg per day recommended intake of salt goes down as we get older (1,500mg beyond age 50) I started reading labels.  I quicky discovered I was at risk of turning into cured pork if I didn't closely watch what I was eating.  Now, food in even decent restaurants tastes 'too salty'.  

[techman001]

Thanks Gerrymcd, that sounds like a very likely possibility, and one I had not considered.

It looks like my last holdout, namely eating out for lunch on Saturdays, needs to stop. I'll have to replace it with some other 'treat' that doesn't kill my weight loss program.

I'll also look into my daily salt intake, and reduce it accordingly.

Cheers

Terry

[Naomi94]

I think you are being dishonest with yourself. 

First, you said that you "are not a heavy girl" but then said that you are 168 pounds. How tall are you? 5'11? 6'1? 

Let's say that you are 5 feet 5 inches tall, with a weight of 168, your BMI is 28. That means you are overweight. If you are 5'6 tall, your BMI is 27 which still makes you overweight. If you are 5'7, your BMI is 26 - and yes, that is still overweight. 

If you are not being honest with yourself about being overweight, how do we know you are being honest about how often you workout and how much you eat?

You go to Anytime Fitness and workout 2-3 times per week. Which is it? Two or three times? Are you doing 20 minutes weights, followed by 30 minutes cardio? Are you sweating? Do you push yourself to do some running along with walking on the treadmill?

Your post said, "or even stopped all together." So which is it? Do you still eat fast food or have you quit?

This is the painful part of weightloss. You have to stop lying to yourself about being overweight. If you are 5'3 tall, and 168 pounds, you are right there at the line which separates overweight from obese. 

Start working out 4 (four) days per week. Do weights and cardio. Do not be a baby on the treadmill, combine running with walking, get your heart rate up. 

Stop eating fast food. And do not lie about it anymore, not to yourself or to anyone else. I suggest making your fitbit food log PUBLIC. Log the TRUTH about what you eat. Do not lie. This will create more accountability for yourself. Go to my fitbit, and look at my diet. I make everything I eat public. 

We are here to support you. But we cannot support you when you are not doing what you know you should be doing, and when you are hiding the truth. 

[sascas24]

I am 5'9. I have been told by my doctor that I am healthy...so thanks for making me feel like a terrible person.

[Inga]

gerry, One day is just one day. you do have to be flexible enough to live with other people. 🙂 I had pho with a friend, vegies, rice noodles, broth... and salt, so I knew I'd be up a couple pounds today. I also know it will pass, literally. LOL

[techman001]

I think Naomi94 is probably the best friend one could have when  it comes to losing weight, namely one that's honest with you and points you in the right direction.

I'll take ten Naomi94's over someone who just tells me what I want to hear, I'd pay for a friend like that !

I've had to be painfully honest with myself about losing weight. For example if I sneak a chockolate, and don't enter it in my Fitbit calorie counter "

Who wins ? The seller of the chockolate

Who loses ? Only me ...

Cheers

Terry

[mjh45]

Hi!

Try counting carbs! The world is a tricky place. Things that are "fat free" aren't always good for you. Try to stay between 5-10 carbs per day and see if that makes a difference for you. Don't worry about calories, sugar or fat. JUST CARBS...

Maura

[gerrymcd]

I also want friends that tell me what I need to hear, rather than want to hear.  I trust their opinions and am sure they have my best interests at heart.  In that vein I will say Naomi94's reply to a complete stranger bordered on bullying, or at least came across that way.  She could have made the same points without repeated statements like 'how do we know you are being honest' 'you have to stop lying' 'do not lie' 'do not be a baby' 'you are hiding the truth'.   Thats quite a public attack on someone's integrity and honesty. 

The same message could have been sent using 'we' instead of 'I'.  Pehaps not quite as forcefully, but then how much force should you apply responding to someone's 1st post here?  

[RAC]

sascas24 you are not a terrible person and we all have to face the reality that we rationalise or way into cheating. I think it could have been put a little different to a newcomer but don't quit just turn it into workout power and kick butt.

[carl669]

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@mjh45 wrote:

Hi!

Try counting carbs! The world is a tricky place. Things that are "fat free" aren't always good for you. Try to stay between 5-10 carbs per day and see if that makes a difference for you. Don't worry about calories, sugar or fat. JUST CARBS...

Maura

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sugar is a carb, so the OP would have to worry about that.

but, i agree that counting carbs is a great way to go.  5-10g carbs per day is incredibly low and probably not possible unless you're not eating any veggies or dairy at all.  i stick to 20-30g carbs per day and find it very easy to do that.

[kpa1b2]

I feel your pain sascas, except I'm twice as old as you are.  I'm in the overweight catergory and it simply bothers me.  If I don't sit up straight, I can feel the roll around my waist, gross!  I've had to go buy new clothes as I've outgrown my old clothes.  I have never weighed this much before, in my life.  I weigh more now then when I was pregnant.  I've put on these last 10 lbs in 6 months.  6 months ago I was so exhausted I literally couldn't move.  I felt like I had no bones in my body.  My dr. said I was suffering from exhaustion.  Thank heavens for all of these cold days that we have been having, I wouldn't be making it otherwise!

I finally decided that I need to be able to show my dr. exactly what I am eating and how much I am moving.  Thus the fitbit.  In order for me to do that I have to be brutally honest with myself and what I am eating, I have to log the pizza, the breadsticks, that extra granola bar.

We can do this.