Getting discouraged!

[layx2]

I dont' know why I'm getting so discouraged today. I check these boards everyday, it helps me keep on track and motivated. But I got on the scale this morning and I went up another 1/2lb! I'm up 1.5lbs from last Thursday. I know I didn't eat the greatest stuff over the weekend, but I was still under for calorie count, I drank my water and I worked out for 30 minutes yesterday. I just don't understand why this weight is coming off so slowly! By now I would be down 20lbs! And according to the scale, I'm down only 9.5lbs in 7 weeks. Ugh help! I keep a food journal, i watch my fat and calories. I stay around 1,300 calories and 35 fat grams a day, sometimes a little over, sometimes under, but I figure it all balances out if I have a really good day and if I have a little bad day. I went through this about 2 weeks ago, I hit a plateau. I wish I could just continue to lose 1 lb a week, that would keep me motivated enough to keep going!

Any suggestions or words of wisdom would be great here. I don't want to give up, that's the last thing I want to do. I know deep down I wont but I need a big kick in the butt right now!

Stacey

[babylene]

Stacey...I truly believe that the longer it takes to take the weight off...the longer it will stay off. Hang in there. What you want is a PERMANENT, comfortable, healthy WOE. You're doing fine. Honest!

[BuilderMan]

Stacey - Have you been drinking at least 64oz of water everyday? I find that this is a key. I'll plateau for up to 12 days before I'll lose a pound. Sometimes I'll even actually go UP slightly before I go down. I look at it as my body is getting used to the weight drop and redistributing itself.

This may sound extremely Type "A", but I chart on a graph my daily weight so I can see when I start to plateau and for how long.

It can be very discouraging when the scale doesn't move downward. But just keep on your eating plan and keep up with your daily exercise program. The weight will come off. I promise!

Lynn

[nosnobunny]

First off, I have to say that it's a real battle for most of us. And if you've been around this board for any length of time, you'll know that I've failed as much as anyone, maybe more.

For me, I've learned the hard way that a day of eating properly and exercising (which ANYONE here can tell you I don't do :p ) WILL NOT offset a bad day. I think you're fooling yourself.

You didn't say how tall you were. How did you come up with 1300 calories a day? I know for me, that's about 300 calories too much. I never lost any weight eating more than 1,000 a day. But I'm very short. Why don't you try getting through an entire week of being religiously good and see what happens then. I'd bet you'll be right back on track.

Beth

[mirrajay]

Anyone have an easy calculation for how many calories we should be eating per day based on height and weight goal?

[BuilderMan]

I read somewhere that to calculate how many calories you should have per day, take your weight and multiply by 10. That's the calories to maintain your current weight. In order to lose weight, take 80% of that number. Be careful not to make it too low (less than 1000 per day)

Lynn

[layx2]

I am 5'9, so 1,000 calories a day does not do it for me. I would be starving myself. I've read on numerous websites that you should not go below 1,200, so that's why I set my number at 1,300. I've used this number in the past and it has always proven to help me lose the weight. I recently quit smoking (October) so I keep trying to tell myself, my metabolism has just not caught up yet.

I know that eating bad one day and eating good and exercising the next is not good for my system or my WOE. I'm not saying I'm eating horrible all the time! I never go above 1,600 calories a day..period. But there are days where you fall off the wagon and it happened this weekend. If I can't even indulge myself to eat 1,600 calories, which includes having a small piece of cake once in awhile, then this is totally not worth it. Life is too short to worry about this stuff.

I have a liter Dasani water bottle that I refill once a day, so yes I get in 2liters of water a day, sometimes more. I try not to eat salt before bedtime, I do my 30 minutes of exercise three times a week. Maybe I need to up this amount and see how my body reacts? I just wish my body was on a normal cycle and would lose 1lb a week continuously. Ugh, I'm sorry I just need to vent today!

Stacey

[mirrajay]

Stacey - I completely understand. Its very rough when you think you are doing all you can and it just doesnt work. Although it may seem like enough, 30 mins of excersise 3 times per week probably isnt enough to lose 1lb per week as we would like. I was told by my doc that 30 mins per DAY should help me lose. What kind of excersise are you doing? If you are doing anything that will increase your muscle mass (which most forms of excersise will) then you may not see weight loss on the scale simply b/c remember: muscle weighs more than fat. Try measuring yourself every week instead and see if you are actually getting smaller even though the scale might not reflect it. I would increase your excersise - but it doenst have to be something strenuous. You can do whatever you are doing now and then walk the other days - just a half hour every day after dinner or something. That will help you tremendously. Daily excersise is the key.

Good luck!!

[nosnobunny]

If you've managed to quit smoking and haven't gained a pile of weight, you're already doing better than most people. Don't beat yourself up. You've already taken a huge step to better health. But if you need to vent - this is the place. :D We all have days like that.

Beth

[layx2]

Well, I put on about 25lbs since October, which I was shocked at once I got a new scale and stepped aboard. I new I had gained weight cause clothes were tighter, but not that much! I've taken 10 of that off so far. My first mini goal is to get all 25 pounds gone and then I know deep down that I've kicked the nicotine habit and all of the bad karma that comes with it! It was a struggle, and I know that if I can do that, then I can get my WOE under control. Thanks for everyone's kind words, it really means a lot and it does help in these stressful times!!

Stacey

[indiaksue]

Stacey-I think we all can relate to what you are going thru. I had the same problem at one point and I just dug in my heals and waited, and waited. Eventually after a few weeks I suddenly lost 6 lbs. In the past I would have said this is not working and given up. But this time is different, I am not changing my eating to lose weight but to feel healthier. Our water balance does some weird things some days. Just keep at it and focus on what you have accomplished so far.

One thing you might want to do is try this website "3fatchicks.com" (sorry no one has still showed me how to include a link). They have a section called calculators. You can see how many calories you need per day to stay the same, then you can figure how many lbs to lose per week and adjust your daily amounts that way. They also have calculators for exercise and BMI, etc. I have found it very helpful.
Angie