I'm not losing weight!!!?
By katsmeow1213
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
United States
November 19, 2010 4:49pm CST
Quick background for those of you just tuning in and perhaps thinking I don't know what I'm doing, LOL. I began a healthier lifestyle about a year ago and lost 80 lbs through eating better and working out. Then earlier this summer I got a little lazy, stopped working out as much and stopped being vigilant about my eating... and managed to put 20 lbs back on.
So, a few weeks ago I decided to get back in the habit of being healthy and working out. I've been busting my rear end at the gym every day.. more so than I ever did before. I've cut out the snacking, but I'm trying not to go full blown over the top healthy like I was before, because I do not want to fail this time. Previously I would have chosen fat free mayo (ewww!) but I'm now still using regular mayo for sandwiches. Aside from things like that, I'm definitely being healthier. I've avoided all the Halloween candy that's staring me in the face, I'm avoiding my favorite holiday cookies hubby brought home for me last week. I've switched back to fat free coffee creamer. So I've definitely made changes for the better.
But I haven't lost a single pound or inch!! This is so frustrating!
I can see that I've gained muscle.. so I thought maybe the muscle weight replaced the fat weight and that's why I didn't lose any pounds. But today I put on a pair of jeans (normally I stay in my work out clothes all day until I change into my jammies) and they're still tight!
So what the heck am I supposed to do? I really can't work out any harder than I already am.. I've made my muscles sore over the past couple weeks!
Sure I can probably still eat better... but I can't switch to the completely healthy, low cal stuff forever.. I'd eventually switch back to the way I'm eating right now and would then gain weight back.. so it makes more sense to just eat the way I'm eating now as it would be easier to maintain (if I ever lose the weight!).
Ok, thanks for letting me rant. I'm sure I'm just not giving it enough time to see results.. but it's still frustrating as the last time I did this I was losing like 5 lbs a week.. I guess I was expecting similar results this time.
Are you in the same boat?
1 person likes this
18 responses
@RebeccaScarlett (2532)
• Canada
19 Nov 10
Without knowing you personally, it's hard to say, but it could be that you were 20lbs lighter before because you were starving yourself, and moderate healthy eating will not get you back there.
I am 5'2". I am 198lbs. I am fat, but I can jog for half an hour, swim a km (40 lengths of a standard sized pool) in 22 minutes without being tired, drop and give you 50 push ups, and bench press about 140lbs. My blood pressure and cholesterol are low. I'm fat, but by every other measure, I'm healthier than 90% of my average weight or skinny friends.
When I was 19, I was bullemic. I resticted myself to about 200 calories a day and made myself throw up if my will power failed and I ate more. If I didn't lose 2 lbs each and every single day I would be depressed. I woke up, did 20 min of pilates, jogged the 15 minutes to work, swam 50 lengths on my lunch break, got home and did 45 more min of pilates followed by about an hour of more cardio and circuit training with weights. I did this for two months, then school started again and I could only go to the gym four times a week for an hour of cardio and a half hour of weights, with the same restrictive eating plan, for the next 8 months.
What was the lowest weight I got to?
155 lbs.
I'm only 5'2", so 155 is still considered overweight (and close to obese) for me. Yet, I had almost a 6 pack (the top four showed, lol)
My point is, I was not doing my body any good at that weight. I want to lose 20-30 lbs off of what I am now, but I would be healthier at 170 or 180 than I was at 155.
Like I said, without knowing you I can't say that your situation is anything close to my own, but I know that my healthy weight is quite above what the charts say it should be. When I start seeing high blood pressure, when I start having trouble exercising, I will know that I should lose some weight, but I'm not going to do it to fit some generalized number.
Good luck with all your goals!
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
19 Nov 10
I was not starving myself.. I was eating between 1000-1500 calories a day, and it was all healthier foods that had fewer calories so it was actually a lot of food. Like my lunch would be a turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, and maybe some other veggies but no mayo or cheese. Today my lunch would be a turkey sandwich with a bit of mayo and a slice of weight watcher's reduced fat cheese. However a month ago it would be as much mayo as I wanted and regular cheese. So I'm not going over board, I'm trying to find the happy medium between being really strict with what I eat and eating whatever I want. I know this means I won't lose as fast as I did before.. but it also means I won't gain weight back again because this is an eating plan I can actually stick with.
As far as being healthy.. I'm the healthiest I've ever been in my life right now. I am in the gym 2 straight hours 6 days a week. An hour of cycling 3 times a week, I run 6 miles every Saturday, Pilates 2 times a week, along with weight training 4 times a week and a couple other cardio, boot camp and yoga classes. I don't know how much I can bench because I use free weights and go for higher reps but 1 minute of bicep curls using 10 lbs per arm is nothing for me. I don't do a lot of push ups, but I can do 50 sit ups in a minute (real sit ups on an inclined bench). I don't have a six pack.. but I've had 5 kids so I have saddle bags everywhere and always will unless I get surgery. This also means I'll never reach my standard healthy weight, which is actually 125 for my height. The lowest I've ever gotten was 140 and I was beyond happy with that as before I started having kids I was a slim 150. I want to get back to the 140 and stay there!
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
20 Nov 10
It's not fatty saddly bags.. it's loose skin saddle bags. No amount of toning in the world will eliminate that!
@RebeccaScarlett (2532)
• Canada
20 Nov 10
Wow you are really super healthy then! You are right, you weren't starving yourself before, and I admire that with 5 kids you find so much time and discipline for the gym! You seem to be doing everything right exercise-wise, varying your workouts and everything, so you many need to cut a few more calories right now until you lose the 20 lbs, at which point you can slowly increase food intake until you find your weight creeping up, and you settle at the food intake and exercise level that keeps you weight steady.
Pilates is amazing for toning! I love it.
If you're worried about saddlebags, try rollerblading or skating. Great for toning outer thighs. You can also try swimming or a water fitness class for allover toning. I teach aquafitness classes and they can be really fun and challenging.
Exercising is fun, and not nearly as hard to do as resisting all the tasty food that is out there...at least for me!
@GardenGerty (157645)
• United States
20 Nov 10
I am definitely in the same boat, in a way. I do not necessarily work out hard, I do eat healthily. Sometimes too much food, but like you, generally healthy. I did travel for about ten days recently and sat a lot. I was losing well. Now I am not. I think that you may have to wait for it to get caught back up to you. It will probably take a while then just fall of in a chunk. You might try doing some different type of workout than what your body is accustomed to. I have heard that works. I have also heard people say that varying your calorie intake from one day to another keeps your metabolism higher. I really am clueless. If reading about weight loss could make me skinny I would be there.
@GardenGerty (157645)
• United States
20 Nov 10
I lost a lot of weight once, with prescription diet pills, a very strict diet and tons of working out. My metabolism has seemed slow ever since. I got down to what was supposed to be my "normal" weight, and then just kept wanting to lose more. Hubby lost his job, I went into panic mode, and my eating habits went down the drain. I would like to lose fifty pounds right now, but would be happy with 15.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
20 Nov 10
I've read about a lot of different things too. That shifting your calories each day, I'd been hearing about that since my teens, but I've also heard that it can have negative side effects as well, like your body will go into starvation mode if you shift your calories everyday.. instead of burning through more calories you'd hold onto them more. I do switch up my work outs occasionally, and have been pushing myself harder lately to drop the weight faster. I don't know.. maybe I'll figure it out, maybe I won't and will stay at this weight.. I guess that's okay. At least it's only a little heavier than I was. Not like I gained back all the weight I lost.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
20 Nov 10
I've never gotten to my "normal" weight, I don't think I'd look right. I looked great at about 140, I think that's what I'll shoot for and attempt to stay at.
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
20 Nov 10
I lost weight by working out different muscles each workout. Also I wrote down every single thing I ate for several weeks and discovered why my weight stayed the same for many weeks. First eat your biggest meals in the early part of the day and I started eating 6 times a day. This way I had no reason to overeat and eat junk food.
I did the Dr Oz plan and anytime I wanted to eat that wasn't an item on the food plan, then I ate vegetables. Dr Oz has a web site and television show. He has a lose 10 pound plan and you might check it out. Good luck losing weight.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
20 Nov 10
Those types of things don't fit into my lifestyle. I have no appetite in the morning and it's really hard to force myself to eat anything.. so I cannot eat my biggest meal at breakfast. I also cannot eat 6 meals a day, I'm just not that hungry. I don't like following plans because they're usually more expensive than the things I typically buy for my family. I have to do what works for me.
@macdingolinger (10386)
• United States
20 Nov 10
You may need to jump start your metabolism. Try workouts twice a day or double up on cardio (twice a day is better). Maybe add an evening walk if you can't go back to the gym. And go ahead and cut as many of those extra calories as you can! I am trying to lose too, I am thinking of going to the two a days!
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
20 Nov 10
Sure that will make me drop the weight fast... but that's not something I can continue to do, so I'd put the weight back on. I have to find a happy medium that I can stick with to keep the weight off once it's gone!
@donnaphipps (145)
• United States
20 Nov 10
a long time ago i wanted to do the same thing. last year. i went to the gym. worked my butt off, and no results even after 3 weeks. i got tired of it and i was getting a little down and out about it. well, i wasnt going to waste my money at a gym if it wasnt working. i changed things. i drank nothing but WATER. i would buy crystal light packets and put them in every once in a while. I would only buy the strawberry ENERGY kind and the peach mango green tea METABOLISM kind. thats it. i would walk around the track every morning and every night. usually after kids were in school and after kids went to bed. being a parent makes a little harder. the only other change i made was, for breakfast i ate oat meal. but if your anything like me, i still added my butter and sugar to it. i couldnt eat it any other way. i would have two snacks a day. one before lunch and one before dinner. i would snack on a pack of those 100 calorie packs. i ate different ones. for lunch, i usually ate something small. sometimes it doesnt matter what you eat, its how much you eat of it. and dinner, i never ate after 6pm. if i caught myself and didnt eat before 6, then i would eat a snack but never a whole meal. i never went to the gym again. only walking. its started out slow at first. 3 or 4 times around each time i went. then my energy boosted after about a week. i never wanted to stress myself out. next thing you knew, i was walking around the track 12-20 times each time i went and sometimes i was so energized i would even run. i lost 85 lbs in 3 months doing nothing but that. you should try it.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
20 Nov 10
No I actually enjoy working out. It's stress relieving and fun. Like today I was really tired and didn't even want to go to the gym, but I went just to get the hyper kids out of the house for awhile. I figured I'd so something small since I was so tired, but once I got going I just felt the need to sweat, so I had to pump up the work out. I love to sweat!
@lxdollarsxl (76)
•
20 Nov 10
I see no one has mentioned the use of a sauna - the exta pounds could be that your body is retaining more fluid than it needs. A regular sauna will help reduce this. - good luck
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
20 Nov 10
It could be fluids.. but wouldn't sweating while working out take care of that?
@lxdollarsxl (76)
•
20 Nov 10
not really you do sweat and lose some but a sauna will open the pores and the fluid loss will be so much greater. Its worth a try and after 3 or 4 you will know if its helping.
@ellyse2003 (1463)
• Philippines
20 Nov 10
Why not try fruits with fibers. Try it as your dinner everyday. I have some tips on my discussions about losing weight and a program to lose weight. That might be helpful to you. Just try fruits and juices every other day and let the fiber help you loose weight.
@Gorillafootprints925 (3586)
• United States
19 Nov 10
Stress, frustration and stuff like that can help you gain fat more efficiently.
I'm gaining weight because I stopped growing.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
19 Nov 10
I do not want to gain fat efficiently! I want to LOSE it!
@Downwindz (2537)
• Netherlands
26 Nov 10
Hello there
dont be fustrated just yet! Because as you do mention, Muscles weigh more than fat, so if you gained muscles but remain at the same weight on the scale it means you lost fat :) This is certainly good and a positive step forward.
I have just recently written an article about reasons why we dont lose weight even though we are trying very hard too, it could be that some of these facts might fit on you?
http://healthmad.com/weight-loss/the-reason-for-why-you-might-not-lose-weight/
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
23 Nov 10
I can't say that I am in the same boat that you are in because I've been finding lately that inches seem to be melting off of me without any rhyme or reason. That said, I would actually like to lose some weight, but it isn't something that I've been able to put my time into lately because of the fact that there have been things going on in my life lately that take away a lot of time from me. It could and very possibly is that the muscle mass is replacing the fat mass, but I do know how frustrating it can be.
@madteaparty (2748)
• Japan
20 Nov 10
Well, to tell you the truth I am not able to get into some trousers because I do a lot of exercise and I gained muscle, but they were very tight to begin with...
As we grow older the body tends to gain weight more easily, so it might be one of the problems. Also it might be that you're retaining liquids, as that makes your body volume bigger. You can try drinking tea, as it's great to get rid of the excess of body liquids 
@yanyanyow (326)
• Philippines
7 Dec 10
feeling same here. i stopped working out more than a year ago and started working out last september. yeah, i did sure lose some weight before and gained a lot! its really hard to refrain from eating normal foods which we see everyday. when i was working out, i lessen my food intake. and when i stopped, i always feel like so hungry all the time! and now i got back to the gym, i eat normally. i eventually lose weight but not as fast before. maybe its just really time we need. so be patient because eventually youll lose weight while still eating your fave foods!
@Blacksun310 (559)
• Philippines
13 Dec 10
Hi katsmeow1213
We are definitely on an opposite boat. 'm not gaining weight whatever I do. I eat 6 times a day with a carefully monitored diet. I already tried many health supplement recommended by my physicians but nothing actually works. O_O
I'm still very skinny. Almost like a skeleton they say. I have nothing to do with it until forever I think. I wonder what is wrong with this body I have. LOL
By the way. Happy myLotting to you.
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
20 Nov 10
i can totally understand your frustration... you already try your best and you haven't see the results yet... may be you have to be more patient and give more time... please don't give up and keep on doing what you are doing now... i believe one day you will get the results that you want... good luck... take care and have a nice day...
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
20 Nov 10
for certain. but i read somewhere recently that if you've went back and gained weight back, its harder to lose it each time you start trying again. so guess thats whats up with me. ive just given up trying. especially since ive gotten the emphezema and just cant work out any more. 
but i'll bet you are getting there
i have faith in you girl. keep going. as you get older is is always harder. 
@vicereine (451)
• United States
20 Nov 10
The dieting and all that does help with your weight loss but you also have to look at lifestyle issues too. If you are high stressed and sleep very little you are not going to loose any weight and you might even gain more. Also you need to look at the time of your very last meal of the day if you eat it later than five pm you are not really going to digest that meal properly and you will gain weight. My advice is to just eat your last meal early have healthy snacks as you have been doing but also try to avoid stress, anxiety, and worry. I know it is hard in these times but if you are very stressed it will affect your diet. I hope this helps and good luck to you I know you will get the result you want in time.
