Weight Loss

Hello Everyone:

I'm a newbie to this site.  I have been working out like a gerbil in a wheel  5 to 6 times a week and HAVE NOT SHED 1 BLEEPING pound. I've also been consuming 5 to six meals a day, which is nuts to me- its "supposed to speed up my metabolism". High protein diet, moderate weight training and aerobics is what I am about lately. I weigh weekly and have been 203 lbs. for the past three weeks. This week I found this delightful website and have been counting my calories, I'm hoping that wil l help. Any suggestions as to what in the Helman's mayonaise is going on 

I DON'T KNOW.  I need to tack on to this because.  I did what all of you said and ate more and continued to work out (even more!) and I GAINED A POUND!  A whole pound!  WHY?!?!?!?

don't know exactly why for you, but when I was having the same issue (I plateaued for almost 2 months) I stopped weighing myself and started judging my weight by my cloths.  Truth was in the 2 months I didn't lose a pound, I dropped a dress size.  I figure I was building muscle which weighs more then fat.

It could also be your not consumeing enough cals to balance how much you working out.  If you burn a lot more then you eat, your body will save what you give it.

Just a thought.

for me, i've lost 44 lbs since April, nice and steady, but I plateaued last month when i started to exercise more consistently. it's really messing with my head, i've grown to depend on the scale to tell me how i'm doing. i'm telling myself that i'm gaining muscle which weighs more than fat, but grrrrr!!!!! 

hang in there!! i certainly am, though highly frustrated!!  

Benpen and Pamm what success!!!! I'm 203 and havent' budged since I started working out. I hoping this calorie counting thing works for me. As for dropping dress sizes it's only been a month since Ive been serious so I will soon find out. I know I haven't plateaued because I haven't lost YET!!!! it's killing me.

I feel your pain kizzichan, I gained last week after changing my eating habbits adn working out, but I'm hangin in there somethign has to give. Have you been taking in enough calories?

Meisha: When you first start exercising, it is a shock to the muscles.  They will retain a bunch of water, enough to offset any weight loss you might be experiencing.  Give it some time.  Some day soon you are going to weigh yourself and find you lost 5 pounds practially overnight.  Don't focus too much on the scale, there are so many things that can cause weight fluctuation.  It just is not a reliable indicator of progress.

Kizzi:  If you increase your calories, it will cause a tempory weight gain.  You might gain another pound or two and then stop losing for  week or so.  Then you will start losing again.  Be patient.

Meep.  >.<  Okay.  I will continue as planned (and hopefully not gain anymore.)  The strange thing is, I think I LOOK thinner.

what do you do for exercise?  how many calories are you consuming?  at least youre funny!  lol.  this happened to me once. exercised 45 mins on the treadmill for 3 weeks. didnt lose ANYTHING.  then a trainer came up to me and told me no wonder why i am not losing and to try the elliptical instead.  i lost about 13 lbs that month!  who knows?  

I've just joined the site and have noticed a lot of this type of "working out not losing weight" posts.

Muscle weighs MORE than fat.  You're working out and gaining toned muscle mass that replaces the fat. 

If you're working out, measure inches, not pounds.

Kizzi and clharr thanks for the encouragemnt. I'm trying I just came in from the gym earlier this afternoon. I'm trying my best and weigh my self on my Wii tomorrow so I am hoping for some good results. I will post weight lost this week on this thread. If I don't lose . . . IM GOING POSTAL  just kidding. I will try something else.

Oneworththreeme,  you know I'm switiching to the eliptical tomorrow, right????? According to the suggestions of this site I've been staying between 1500 to 1800 calories a day. I'm not quite sure how the amount of calories I burn at the gym counts. I do 30 minutes on the treadmill 4.0 mph at a 7 incline, two high impact aerobics classes ie. kick boxing, cardio sculpt, and some extreemly light weight. I know it sounds ignorant, BUT I don't want to build muscle on top of the fat.

vnv2012, I know this. I'm not losing inches either, I'm intaking more protein and weight training because I am also awared that muscle burns more calories. I think I'm going to switch up the type of activities I do at the gym. 

right on!  nowadays, i usually stay on the elliptical at level 8 for 60 mins.  tho throughout it i put it at level 5.  i usually burn around 630 cals in that hour, give or take.

last year when i had difficulties losing weight thinking i was doing everything right, my trainer told me to stay on the elliptical until i hit 450 cals x 3 days a week.  that's what got me to lose the lbs. in that month.  i started in the mid 170's then ended up in the high 150's.  it was amazing.   i used to over-exercise, and that weirdly got me nowhere.  my trainer told me that there is NO reason for me to workout everyday and that will only hinder my success.  whatever he said, it worked.  also should mention i did do some circuit weight training too.. nothing crazy, but i did that 2 days a week.   also i restricted my calories to 1200/day.  

and remember - muscle burns AND weighs more than fat!!  so a little weight training goes a long way!

I joined the gym almost 3 months ago and also had some plateaus that lasted  2 weeks, other 3 weeks! The fitness trainer told me that I was going to  lose inches first and then the pounds. Indeed, you are building up some muscles which counteract weight loss but you still lose inches like pamm said.

I have lost 44 pounds since May and 20 of those were after I joined the gym. It has been more than 8 years with my weight going up. So I figured that even if I reached a plateau once in a while, it is still much better than puting any weight on. It is frustating not to lose for a few weeks but when I look at my weight log it is a beautiful straight line down. The plateaus are not there when you put your weight before and your weight now. I still have 50 lbs to lose, but I am not focusing on the mountain I have to climb, but rather on my success of the last 5 months.

So keep up your great work and don't focus on short periods of time (even if weeks go by). What really counts is the big picture: you are eating healthy, exercising and you are on your way to that great body we are all working for. Think positive!

I forgot to mention what I do at the gym. It is 20 min eliptical (burns 200 cal), then ab machine 5x 20 reps with 30lbs, after, I either do 20 min bicycle (100 cal) on off weight days or I do the total body strength training, upper and lower body. It takes me 40-60 min to do all the machines. And the trick here to lose weight is low weight and lots of reps(3x20 each machine, I started with 3x15), and it does help you lose inches. And don't worry you won't become beefed up with high rep/low weight combination, you will tone up and lose fat. I try to go to the gym at least 3 times a week. Mon,Wed,Fri. When I get the chance to go Tuesday and Thursday, I just do cardio and abs, no weights. No gym on weekends, body needs to rest too!

PS: just saw your picture with the pirates -fun! You are beautiful!

Good luck, and haha I weigh myself on my Wii too!

Hey Healthmd, Thanks for the compliment!!!! I feel like Shrek at times, working with 145 lb people only trying to lose 20 lbs. I am almost green with envy. Forty four pounds since May, what an accomplishment, keep up the good work. At times I think I do over work out. And call me dense, I still haven't figured out the burning 700 calories less than I take in? I'm still trying to figure this out. Presently, I do two high impact aerobics classes four to five days a week (this includes a sculpting class where I get my weights in) and I do 30 minutes on the treadmil at between a 5 to 8 incline. I'm going to switch over to the eliptical machine--- I haven't been on one in years, because I sweat like a greased pig at the gym and the eliptical will double that. Thanks for the encouragement. I will keep you posted, I weigh on Monday morning, and am terrified. I went to a Sweet Sixteen party and it felt like I was on MTV. All I have to say is Buffett. You would be proud to know I only went up once (I got into a huge argument with my gentleman friend at a buffet in Vegas last year. I told him that it was politcally incorrect to be at an all you can eat and hit the buffett once.) so that was a big feat. I ate fairly well but did manage to go over my daily allowance. Thanks for the encouragement.

Oneworththreeme, talk about feeling like you are doing everything right, but the weight "ain't" budging. I looked at the eliptical at the gym this morning, walked right past it and went to the treadmil. BUT . . . after reading your post this morning, tomorrow I will hop back on it.  I'm just getting into this calorie counting thing. And as I was saying above to healthmd, I just dont understand the intake versus burning less than I consumed. It sounds simple enough, but I sitll don't get it. According to the site, I am supposed to consume 1850, and burn 2600 a day, but the freaking burn meter says I've burned 2960 to day. I don't get it, but I do have to masters degrees so I guess I will figure it out some how. I've been consuming 1500 calories (at least I've been trying) it usuall falls between 16 and 17 hundred. Your weightloss is phenominal as well. I was down to 183 on weight watchers last year, and here I am, back to 203 which is three pounds shy of my all time highest weight. I'm hangin in there. I do a weight classes at my gym, so I am hoping to see some improvements soon. Thanks for the advice!!!