What do you do when you're discouraged?

[LauraT45]

I've only had my Fitbit Charge HR for 2 weeks, but I'd been watching what I eat and walking for a couple of months prior to getting the Fitbit as a gift. I wanted the Fitbit because I thought that it would  motivate me to move more.  I have been meticulous about logging everything I eat and/or drink (I don't drink sodas, milk, etc. . . so really it's only my morning smoothies that I drink besides water).  I make sure to get my 10,000 steps every day, and I bike a few days a week as well. So far, I have lost 3 pounds. In two and a half months. My weight will fluctuate between 180 and 183, but never drop below 180. When I started using my Fitbit on April 25, I weighed 183. Today I weigh 180. I am 5' 5"  - I need to lose around 30 pounds to get my BMI down to a healthy range. And remember, this has been the norm for the past 2.5 months. . . . I didn't expect the fitbit to be magic and make me start losing 5 pounds a week, but I expect to lose something.  

It's incredibly frustrating, especially seeing posts about people losing 8 - 10 pounds in 1 month, and the scale doesn't seem to be moving for me. Honestly, if I'm not going to lose weight, I'd rather just eat the **ahem** cake and be happy. I would think that in 2.5 months, I would have lost more than 3 pounds.

Any advice or insight? Thanks in advance.

[shipo]

---

@engus wrote:

Muscle weighs more than fat.

---

I assume what you meant to say is:

• Muscle weighs more than fat by volume.

The thing is, the difference isn't as much as you might think; by that I mean fat weighs only about 10% less by volume than muscle; consider the following:

• 1 liter of fat weighs (on average): 0.96 kg
• 1 liter of muscle weighs (on average): 1.06 kg

I was surprised to learn that (just last week no less) as I'd always been told muscle weighs something like five to seven times more by volume than fat.  Bzzzzt!  I'm sorry, that is incorrect.  😞

[KeilCakes]

Laura,

I know EXACTLY what you mean. It's taken 4 months for me to get into the swing of things. I had to get my thyroid checked to find out it was underactive, that my metabolism wasn't very active. The physician I work for manages this, I'm on Synthroid 50 mcg everyday for this now. After being on it for about a month my levels went from a 6.1 to a 1.66. Which is very good and I have an abundance more energy. About a month and a half ago I started going to the gym (mostly cardio 5 days a week 3 hours a day) and kayaking every other weekend. Between these two things after a month I noticed I wasn't losing weight. I'd lost maybe 5 pounds, but it fluctuated between 230 and 225. It was very discouraging as I'm 5'3 1/2 and I'm trying to get my BMI down. I noticed my clothes fitting loser and I'm happy to say I've dropped a dress size and my shirts went from a 2x to an XL but I want the weight to drop. So the NP at the practice I work for has put me on Topamax 50 mg 1x a day and Phentermine 15mg 1x a day to help. It controls how much I eat and how often I feel hungry. I'm happy to say the first day on it I weighed before I left the office, I was 228.6. After my workout that evening I was down to 224. It's not a permanent fix, but I'll probably be on it for 3-4 months to give me the boost I need. I'm on day 3 now of the meds, so we will see how my journey goes!

As far as motivation goes....next year I'm marrying the man of my dreams and I want to look amazing in the wedding dress I've picked out for that day. That's what I imagine any time I start getting discouraged. He deserves nothing but the best ❤️

Hopefully with as much exercise and calorie counting as I'm doing, and the fitbit holding me accountable for my dieting, I'll hit my goal weight within those 3-4 months. Talk to your doctor about it and see what they say! Also, don't forget that if your weight isn't dropping, that fat can convert to muscle first! So while you're not losing the weight, it may be changing into muscle instead! Don't let it discourage you! Keep it up! Best of luck to you!

[Dominique]

---

@KeilCakes wrote:

don't forget that if your weight isn't dropping, that fat can convert to muscle first! So while you're not losing the weight, it may be changing into muscle instead!

---

Sorry if I’m spoiling the party, but (unfortunately) fat doesn’t convert to muscle. While some people, given the right conditions, can burn fat and gain muscle at the same time, it’s very unlikely that such muscle gain would more than offset fat loss over a relatively short period of time. Building muscle just is a slow process that takes time.

[KeilCakes]

Well, while I don't claim to know the mechanics of how the body works, I am simply going off of what the NP has told me when I expressed my frustration to her. And given I've only lost a few pounds (to this date 6 lbs), and my clothes have noticably gotten quite large on me, I see no other explanation. *shrug*

Did I mention at the practice I work for she specializes in nutrition?

[FitBeforeFifty]

---

@KeilCakes wrote:

Well, while I don't claim to know the mechanics of how the body works, I am simply going off of what the NP has told me when I expressed my frustration to her. And given I've only lost a few pounds (to this date 6 lbs), and my clothes have noticably gotten quite large on me, I see no other explanation. *shrug*

Did I mention at the practice I work for she specializes in nutrition?

---

According to your other posts, you've lost 6 lbs in 6 weeks. That's a normal rate of weight loss of 1 lb per week so yes your clothes should be fitting better. It has nothing to do with muscle gain -- it's just normal fat loss.

[KeilCakes]

I started the gym a month and a half ago. In that time my weight fluctuated 5 pounds. It stayed between 225 and 230, but my clothes were still fitting more loosely, enough to where my co-workers said something about it.

However....

Since Friday starting the Topamax and Phentermine I've gone from 228 to 222. And that was just counting calories this weekend and not working out. I start back my 5 day routine today. I will see Friday where I am and how much it's helping.

[FitBeforeFifty]

---

@KeilCakes wrote:

I started the gym a month and a half ago. In that time my weight fluctuated 5 pounds. It stayed between 225 and 230, but my clothes were still fitting more loosely, enough to where my co-workers said something about it.

---

It's common when you first start exercising to not lose body weight because you are increasing inflammation as your body adapts. Then, after a few weeks, your body makes the necessary adaptations and the inflammation goes away. So, even though you are losing fat during that time period, you are carrying more water weight. 

Also, if you aren't charting your weight with something like excel or trendweight that can display a trend line, you will get completely confused by the daily fluctuations and not see the actual trend.

[internicola]

I really found walking a big benefit.  I was able to lose about 10 lbs. in a one year period with meticulous keeping track of my food.  The problem is that your metabolism slows down as you age and if your sleep is not adequate, that also contributes to slow weight loss.  I managed to gain about 8 of those pounds back because of "stress snacking" as I like to call it.  That's when you feel stress and find relief in food.  I also found that eating after 8 pm, is more likely to make your body store up those excess calories, which then add up.  I'm pretty comfortable in  my own skin at this point, but need to get back into a more disciplined approach.  I want to be around for my wife and kids for a while.

[internicola]

Kinda looks like my chart.....