Venting and Seeking Motivation

[achristie]

I don't expect weight loss to come easily or quickly, so I needed to vent to people who understand what I'm dealing with, as most of the people around me do not care about fitness at all.

I work out 6 days/week (7hrs/week) and meticulously food log (with weights, etc.). I also meet 3xs/week with a trainer and nutritionist.

I had amazing weight loss at the start - 10lbs right off the bat - and now nothing.

For four months.

I'm getting super discouraged, but if I'm barely maintaining while I'm working this hard, I'm scared that I'll just put it all back on if I stop.

I have a doctor's appointment scheduled for later this week - I've been advised to get my hormone levels tested.

But mostly I'm just incredibly frustrated and just want my hard work to actually pay off!

Thank you, all you lovely people, for listening! I hope your weight loss journey is going much better than mine is!

[Dominique]

@achristie: I understand the frustration when it seems you are doing all the right things with eating and exercising, and not getting the results you’re expecting. All I can say is try not to be discouraged and have faith in the process. It’s a pity people around you do not care about fitness. Maybe you should try to associate with other like-minded persons who do? For instance, find a workout buddie to train with at the gym. Or someone who could go out for a walk with you on a regular basis. Also consider taking part in the various challenges found in this forum, as well of course as the regular challenges with your Fitbit friends via the mobile app, they can be quite fun and motivating. 

[DanielleinDC]

It's not unheard of to hit plateaus in your weight loss journey.

Also, if you're exercising a lot, you may be losing fat but gaining muscle. As a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat, you may not notice any change on the scale, but if your clothes fit more loosely, you have lower body fat, and you feel more energetic, those are positive signs.

[Bill_k]

You never mentioned what your weight is,your age,your calorie deficit,what kind of exercise you're doing  . If you're exercising an hr a day by walking or jogging or some other cardio exercise  and have an 1000 calorie deficit for example you should lose weight. The first 10 pounds might have been mostly water weight .

Your cardio health should get better as per the fitbit app readings .Your resting heart rate should drop.

If you're eating as much as you're putting out but lifting weights you won't lose weight but you might gain muscle.

Also if you are very over weight to start you might want to get your blood sugar tested for type2 diabetes as that can affect your calorie burn.

[Daves_Not_Here]

I'm in the minority in this forum, but I think daily rigorous exercise and weight loss are mutually exclusive because of the need for recovery -- if you maintain a calorie deficit, you can't fully recover leading to exhaustion - or - you eat to recover and forfeit your calorie deficit.

You said you are logging all your eating -- what is your current weight, goal weight, and daily calorie deficit?

[Dominique]

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@Daves_Not_Here wrote:

I think daily rigorous exercise and weight loss are mutually exclusive because of the need for recovery

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I think it depends on what you mean by "rigorous": maybe you meant vigorous, as in very intense (like HIIT-style of training, the adequately named Insanity workout advertised on TV, crossfit etc.). If so, yes, almost impossible to recover from them if performed daily. OTOH, low-intensity activity like walking can definitely help with weight loss, especially if you don’t have a job that requires you to be physically active (for instance, if you have a typical desk job that mostly requires you to sit in front of a computer). And they can be performed daily, because walking and similar activities don’t call for recovery.

[Baltoscott]

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@achristie wrote:

I don't expect weight loss to come easily or quickly, so I needed to vent to people who understand what I'm dealing with, as most of the people around me do not care about fitness at all.

I work out 6 days/week (7hrs/week) and meticulously food log (with weights, etc.). I also meet 3xs/week with a trainer and nutritionist.

I had amazing weight loss at the start - 10lbs right off the bat - and now nothing.

For four months.
....

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 @Daves_Not_Here's comment that "daily rigorous exercise are mutually exclusive," may well be on point in your case @achristie.  I certainly think you can and should exercise as you try to lose unwanted weight; probably even daily (Dave and I may disagree on that point), but you have to be careful not to reduce your calories by too much.   If you are in a severe caloric deficit, AND increasing your planned exercise levels, your body will try to compensate in some way.  You may start just going through the motions during your workouts, move less throughout the rest of the day; or your body may start giving up muscle in addition to fat in order to reduce your resting metabolic rate.  

Since you have been stuck for a while (and you KNOW your food logging is accurate -- i.e., you make your own food and weigh it), taking the unintuitive step of adding a few calories (if you plan to maintain your current exercise load), or reducing the exercise a bit, will probably get you unstuck.