Feeling discouraged.. and arm cellulite question lol

[millalyte86]

Hi everyone. So I'm gettin married in October and trying to lose this 20+ lbs. I've gained over the last 2 years (I believe mainly due to my antidepressant). But I'm really struggling. I have switched medications because I also started to get a weird side effect of sweating ALL THE TIME. So now I'm on a new med. and the sweating has stopped and I have noticed I'm not hungry at all times like I was before. So anyway I've never not worked out. I've worked at atleast 4 times a week my whole adult life. So with the wedding coming up I upped my workouts to 5 or 6 times a week and upped the intensity hoping that that mixed with counting every calorie I eat will help me lose this weight before my wedding. We'll I lost 4 lbs in about 3 weeks then the weight loss stopped. I've been exercising my booty off, eating clean, and counting calories for close to 2 months now and all I've lost is the 4 lbs. I'm feeling very discouraged . I'm 5'7 and currently weigh 179 lbs. (Sounds like a lot but I'm "big boned" as a nutritionist once told me, and muscular so I alway weigh more then people expect). My goal weight is 155 lbs. I was at that weight for a while and looked great there. I generally eat between 1600 and 1800 calories. My maintance calories are up ar like 2500 cals a day. So that alone is a main reason that I'm going nuts trying to figure out why I can't lose weight.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I could give you more info on my workouts and what i eat if it would help anyone. I'm open to ANY suggestions so, please, just throw any thoughts you have out there.

On to the second part of my thread... is there any specific way to help get rid of arm cellulite? I have A LITTLE that I notice every once in a while when I move my arm a certain way or in some lighting and it drives me nuts! Will just losing weight in general help with this problem? Is training with heavy weight better or more endurance type upper body? Or both? My arms are just look bulky to me without much definition. I train heavy and am pretty strong. I lift what Cathe lifts in the videos and most of the time I lift heavier. I do the slow and heavy series, pyramid workouts, muscle endurance, and I just don't know what to do to help with the definition. If you have suggestions about this I'd love to hear those too.. I'm just at a loss lately...

-Lauren

 

[Stephanie0523]

First of all, congratulations on your engagement! As for the scales, I totally hear ya! My scales and I have a hate-hate relationship. But I have realized that my scales just seem to lag behind... Meaning, when i really get into a good groove of working out and eating clean, I don't notice any results on my scales for sometimes as long as a month... In the past, I have become discouraged by this and have stress eaten, which makes for a messy cycle... Anyway, be patient... The scales eventually will show your hard work. As many have told me when I ranted against the scales — when you work out so heavily, your body gains muscle and oftentimes holds on to water. So give it a few weeks, and I bet you'll see a difference! I'm in your same boat -- wanting to lose 20 pounds -- and I refuse to let those stinkin scales get the better of me!

Good luck! And enjoy your wedding planning!

 

[CathydsRNA]

I would also talk to your physician. Some medications are known to slow down your metabolism and make it difficult to lose weight even though you are doing everything right. Maybe the med you are on is the culprit. And it sounds like you are doing everything right. I would also ask for a thyroid function test. Have you had this done? Some of the symptoms of a hypoactive thyroid can mimic symptoms of depression. Also you didn't mention your sleep habits. Believe it or not, not getting enough sleep will also negatively impact your metabolism.
As for cellulite, this will reduce when you start losing weight again. I don't think there is much you can do outside if this. . Creams to keep your skin supple may help a little as well as staying properly hydrated. There is a massage treatment that has been proven to work but you need many treatments with some sort of device that you can't buy commercially.

 

[Elle_p]

I think it's good to just change things up once in a while. If you have been doing heavy weight workouts, try switching to low weights and high reps and see what that does for you.

Keep track of what you are eating by keeping a food journal and maybe try and revamp your diet a little. I hit a slump where I was exercising like crazy and not losing any weight. I was eating healthy but I was still eating too much. Once I started really keeping track of what and how much I was actually eating, the scale started to move down.

As for the cellulite, a super clean diet with lots of water works. Stay away from the processed stuff.

 

[jldx2in2000]

All of the previous suggestions/responses are great advice. My top suggestion is to look at more than the scale.

I know it is hard and I struggle with it too but I am trying to not put as much "weight" in what the scale tells me. I have been doing Cathe's January 2011 rotation and the scale hasn't reflected any changes but I am seeing changes in the tape measure and in the mirror.

When you look in the mirror (again this is probably really hard for most women), try not to focus on the negative things right away. I am trying not to see my belly pooch/overhang but rather I am focusing on the arm definition I am seeing. I know I still have a long way to go but when I look in the mirror I am much happier today than I was when I weighed 10 pounds less.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and I hope you find peace with the scale soon!

 

[millalyte86]

First of all, congratulations on your engagement! As for the scales, I totally hear ya! My scales and I have a hate-hate relationship. But I have realized that my scales just seem to lag behind... Meaning, when i really get into a good groove of working out and eating clean, I don't notice any results on my scales for sometimes as long as a month... In the past, I have become discouraged by this and have stress eaten, which makes for a messy cycle... Anyway, be patient... The scales eventually will show your hard work. As many have told me when I ranted against the scales — when you work out so heavily, your body gains muscle and oftentimes holds on to water. So give it a few weeks, and I bet you'll see a difference! I'm in your same boat -- wanting to lose 20 pounds -- and I refuse to let those stinkin scales get the better of me!

Good luck! And enjoy your wedding planning!

Hi Stephanie! Thanks for the congrats on my engagement! I LOATHE the scale lol. I'm hoping my weight thing ends up being what you said.. about the scale taking a while to respond. Thanks for your the comment. And I hope the weight you wanna lose comes off easier then mine is! lol

 

[millalyte86]

I would also talk to your physician. Some medications are known to slow down your metabolism and make it difficult to lose weight even though you are doing everything right. Maybe the med you are on is the culprit. And it sounds like you are doing everything right. I would also ask for a thyroid function test. Have you had this done? Some of the symptoms of a hypoactive thyroid can mimic symptoms of depression. Also you didn't mention your sleep habits. Believe it or not, not getting enough sleep will also negatively impact your metabolism.
As for cellulite, this will reduce when you start losing weight again. I don't think there is much you can do outside if this. . Creams to keep your skin supple may help a little as well as staying properly hydrated. There is a massage treatment that has been proven to work but you need many treatments with some sort of device that you can't buy commercially.

I actually just had a blood test not long ago to test everything because I was having problems with excessive sweating. But everything checked out fine so we kind of determined that the sweating was due to the antidepressant I was on before. Now with the new medication the sweating has stopped.. thank god! lol I'm a hair stylist and it's pretty embarassing when I have leave a client to run out back and try to cool off lol. I'm not sure if it could be slowing my metabolism down though. If it is I'm not sure what I could do to counter that. I don't think the medicine I take now has a side effect of us but its a good suggestion to talk to my doctor. Thanks for suggestion!

 

[millalyte86]

All of the previous suggestions/responses are great advice. My top suggestion is to look at more than the scale.

I know it is hard and I struggle with it too but I am trying to not put as much "weight" in what the scale tells me. I have been doing Cathe's January 2011 rotation and the scale hasn't reflected any changes but I am seeing changes in the tape measure and in the mirror.

When you look in the mirror (again this is probably really hard for most women), try not to focus on the negative things right away. I am trying not to see my belly pooch/overhang but rather I am focusing on the arm definition I am seeing. I know I still have a long way to go but when I look in the mirror I am much happier today than I was when I weighed 10 pounds less.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and I hope you find peace with the scale soon!

Thanks, Julie, for your support. I totally agree with you that the scale shouldn't hold as much "weight" and importance. I've been working on that since high school. Which is why I usually don't weigh myself very often and I think I may go back to doing that. I thought the scale going down might be an encouraging thing, and I think it would be if it was actually showing weight loss. But since I'm not having a positive experience with the scale I'm going to back off for a little. I'm going to weigh myself every 3 weeks just as a guide instead of once a week like I was. Thanks for your input!

 

[RapidBreath]

hope this helps

The arm fat will just melt away with the weight loss. Working the upper body with weights probably won't help with the fat. For me that was always a result of a calorie deficit. Oh. Skip the soy products, those are full of estrogens and will make losing weight harder.

Yes, your weight gain was a result of your medications. They are also responsible for that sweating issue, my brother has the same problem.

I think you should try using coconut oil (spectrum brand is excellent.) in your cooking and adding yoga to your routine. You can even switch out one day of cardio for the yoga if you are hard up for time. I used to recommend Yoga Today.com but now I understand its pay to play. I do recommend any of shiva rae's discs or using your netflix account to get yoga discs. Its not just about stretching. Anytime you have a kria (yoga pose) that makes you feel hot (its been studied, it really does mobilize fat.) you will get a significant benefit, not to mention peace of mind.

The coconut oil always turns up the thermostat in my body. It may help you too.

 

[Stephanie0523]

The coconut oil always turns up the thermostat in my body. It may help you too.

I never use coconut oil. How do you use it? Do you sub it for olive oil? I'm also going to take you up on the yoga suggestion. I have shiva rae's Yogini that I have never done because I always put it off and do cardio instead thinking that my body will benefit more from cardio (or weights).

Thanks for the suggestions! Sorry to hijack the thread, Lauren!

 

[nancy324]

Mill, I recommend you change doctors. There are doctors who do not give out medications that cause weight gain as a side effect, because they know the weight gain just exacerbates the depression for most women. Also, they can add medications that help depression and also rev up your metabolism, like Wellbutrin. With all the meds out there these days, it is unusual for anyone to have to suffer the side effects you are having. Rev up your metabolism just a bit and the weight will just melt off. Congratulations and have a fabulously terrific wedding!

 

[millalyte86]

The arm fat will just melt away with the weight loss. Working the upper body with weights probably won't help with the fat. For me that was always a result of a calorie deficit. Oh. Skip the soy products, those are full of estrogens and will make losing weight harder.

Yes, your weight gain was a result of your medications. They are also responsible for that sweating issue, my brother has the same problem.

I think you should try using coconut oil (spectrum brand is excellent.) in your cooking and adding yoga to your routine. You can even switch out one day of cardio for the yoga if you are hard up for time. I used to recommend Yoga Today.com but now I understand its pay to play. I do recommend any of shiva rae's discs or using your netflix account to get yoga discs. Its not just about stretching. Anytime you have a kria (yoga pose) that makes you feel hot (its been studied, it really does mobilize fat.) you will get a significant benefit, not to mention peace of mind.

The coconut oil always turns up the thermostat in my body. It may help you too.

Hi! I do actually go bryan kest power yoga a few times a week. It helps a lot with stress. And I'll look into the coconut oil. I didn't know that it helps with the metabolism! Thats awesome

 

[millalyte86]

Mill, I recommend you change doctors. There are doctors who do not give out medications that cause weight gain as a side effect, because they know the weight gain just exacerbates the depression for most women. Also, they can add medications that help depression and also rev up your metabolism, like Wellbutrin. With all the meds out there these days, it is unusual for anyone to have to suffer the side effects you are having. Rev up your metabolism just a bit and the weight will just melt off. Congratulations and have a fabulously terrific wedding!

Thanks to the congrats!! . Actually Wellbutrin is what they switched me to so I'm taking that now. I notice a huge difference in that I'm no where near as hungry! And also I've stopped with the excessive sweating which is so helpful. I WAS on Pristiq (which is newer so you'd think it'd have less side-effects) and was fine on it for about a year (however I was slowly gaining weight) but then all of a sudden I gained a bunch of weight all of a sudden then the sweating started and wouldn't stop and I was finally like "That's it!! I'm done!". So I switched to Wellbutrin. So I'm hoping this switch helps but so far I'm not losing much for the amount of exercise I'm doing paired with my diet. Hopefully something starts to kick in soon. Thanks for your post!

-Lauren

 

[Jasmin416]

Hi,

Some people may disagree with me on what I am going to suggest. I am also on an antidepressant and over a year ago I gained 15+ pounds. I was eating around 1500 calories, clean foods with a little cheating on weekends. I could not drop more than 2 lbs over a course of months. I decided to follow the thoughts of South Beach with my own variations. For 2 weeks I ate no carbs just protein and vegetables. I guarantee I was eating close to the same calories because I was doubling up on the protein. For the following weeks I might go 2-3 days without carbs and then a few days I would have one carb at one meal in the day. It all depended on how I felt but I mostly kept to only 1 carb per day for those days. It felt easy to me after those initial 2 weeks because I had already been eating good proteins with lots of veggies so the only thing that really changed was not including breads, pastas, rice,pototoes into the mix very much. In 4 months I dropped 20 lbs. Even at this moment I am still shocked that I dropped that weight because it was not nearly a struggle as counting calories. All I did was try to keep my portions reasonable. Some friends would say to me "Carbs are not bad, you need to eat them each day just with a protein too". I truly truly believe that my body metabolism changed from this and that my body did NOT need carbs at 2 or 3 meals per day. I do suggest upping the veggies and eat them at each meal. Just a suggestion.

 

[RapidBreath]

I never use coconut oil. How do you use it? Do you sub it for olive oil? I'm also going to take you up on the yoga suggestion. I have shiva rae's Yogini that I have never done because I always put it off and do cardio instead thinking that my body will benefit more from cardio (or weights).

Thanks for the suggestions! Sorry to hijack the thread, Lauren!

You can substitute the coconut oil for olive oil. I use it in stir frys or baking(melt on low in the microwave first). Its solid at room temperature and liquid at body temperature.

Shiva Rae is definitely one of my favorites. I know its a mind bender to choose something low intensity over something high intensity. But, as it turns out its just as important.

 

[kardiokel]

Skip the soy products, those are full of estrogens and will make losing weight harder.

This is interesting (sorry if this hijacks the thread too...). I've never heard of this. I'm a "pseudo-vegetarian" and eat Morningstar/Boca products and drink soy milk sometimes. Is there any research on this? I'd like to read more about it.

And to the OP, Congrats on your engagement! Good choice picking October (Oct 3rd will be my 13th anniv. ) I completely understand your struggle. I hate to say it but my DH lost close to 20lbs in the first few weeks of South Beach too (I'm one of those "carbs aren't all bad" people so it was annoying. :lol ). I hope everyone's suggestions help you. There are a lot of smart people here.

Good luck!
Kel

 

[millalyte86]

Thanks for all the support everyone. I'm one of the "carbs aren't HORRIBLE people" lol. I have to eat carbs mainly because we are so low on money and pasta's cheap so I eat that 2 or 3 times a week. Even though I always have a big salad with it and sometimes try to add some protein. I just believe calories in vs calories out is the real truth. That and eating clean are the most important things, I believe. So I just eat clean, count my calories, and sometime TRY to watch my carbs.

 

[DebbieH]

Lauren, first off CONGRATS! How excititng...it's just around the corner!

You've gotten some great advice here. I just wanted to see if you've ever done STS? It is amazing! I have a very stubborn metabolism and hardly ever can lose a pound! But, when I did my very first round of STS all the way thru, I got the best results I have EVER gotten from any program and that was not even changing my eating habits that much! (I did try to behave though most of the time! ) And, it did wonders for the cellulite on my arms! If you have never done it, I say, "Give it a whirl!" I KNOW you'll be very happy with the results.

Again, CONGRATS on your upcoming wedding! I'll look forward to seeing some pix!

 

[millalyte86]

Lauren, first off CONGRATS! How excititng...it's just around the corner!

You've gotten some great advice here. I just wanted to see if you've ever done STS? It is amazing! I have a very stubborn metabolism and hardly ever can lose a pound! But, when I did my very first round of STS all the way thru, I got the best results I have EVER gotten from any program and that was not even changing my eating habits that much! (I did try to behave though most of the time! ) And, it did wonders for the cellulite on my arms! If you have never done it, I say, "Give it a whirl!" I KNOW you'll be very happy with the results.

Again, CONGRATS on your upcoming wedding! I'll look forward to seeing some pix!

Hi Debbie! Thanks for the congrats . I actually dont have STS.. can't afford it since we are paying for the wedding ourselves. I REALLY want it though! It's just so expensive.. I wish I know someone who had it to borrow of at least a few months right before the wedding lol

 

[millalyte86]

Thanks again for everyones support! I weighed myself this morning and was looking over my weight chart. The highest point I was when I first weighed myself was 185 lbs and that was 1/14/11. This morning I weighed 174.3. So just about 11 lbs. off in about 6 weeks. I guess I'm right on track with me weight loss (2 lbs. a week average), but I guess I just was hoping it would come off a little quicker. I guess because I never stopped working out and am always in good shape despite my weight, I'm having that quick off the bat weight loss that most people get when first starting a new diet and exercise plan. My goal weight its 155 lbs. So if I keep with this 2 lbs. a week I should reach my goal by the first or second week of May. Thats good! It'll be before bathing suit season and before my dress fittings start .

Just want to let everyone who supported me know how everything was going! Thanks again for all the encouragement!!

-Lauren