I feel like giving up!!! :(

butterflygurl

butterflygurl

Cathlete
I am really very frustrated so please excuse the exclamation marks. I really feel like giving up now though. For the past month, I have been losing at a snails pace. A fraction of a pound here and there. Today, I took my measurments and now not only am I frustrated, I am completely and utterly confused.

I have lost 0.3 pounds since last Friday.
My measurements were as follows:
I gained 1 1/4 inch in my left upper arm but lost 1/2 in the right???
I lost over an inch in my chest
Lost 1 1/4 in waist
Gained 1 3/4 in abdomen????
Gained 3/4 inch in hips.
And only 1.9 pounds differ for the whole 4 weekks!!!!

I am sure I measured correctly. I did it twice!!

At this point I am thinking why am I killing myself (being dramatic with this term) to lose weight by taking time to prepare meals, exercise and bring snacks when I was pretty much holding steady eating chips and chocolate. Now I was holding steady at almost 60 pds more than I am now, but, I was holding!! I started kickboxing about 4 years ago and I lost about 30 pounds, then I started WW back at the beginning of April this year and lost about 26 more. I do not know what I need to do to shock my system.

I will admit that this month I have been more laxed in my workouts. But I think that is related to my frustration. Arrrrggghhhhh!!!!!
 
>
>At this point I am thinking why am I killing myself (being
>dramatic with this term) to lose weight by taking time to
>prepare meals, exercise and bring snacks when I was pretty
>much holding steady eating chips and chocolate.

i can't comment on the weight and measurements thing but this statement i will comment one. you are not killing yourself preparing healthy meals, taking time to exercise and choosing better snacks to eat. you will be killing yourself with nutritionally deprived snacks of chips and chocolate. its frustrating i totally know!!! as many on this forum do as well. its not easy to stay on track and sometimes the scale numbers get us down but we keep going. DON"T GIVE UP!!! i wish i had the written version of the speech from Miss Lychburg gave to the kids last night. She said for no reason a certain person came up and always said "DONT GIVE UP, DONT YOU EVER GIVE UP". takes those words to heart.

maybe its time to up weights on weight training changing up routines maybe 1-2 rest days of no formal exercise(maybe light activities like walking and what not). do you still keep a journal with WW? i am not totally familiar with the methods of these programs but maybe pin pointing where YOU find the trouble to be you can change that. i am not sure why you gained weight or inches b/c i really don't know your routine or lifestyle habits but maybe these suggestions will apply to something in your routine

DONT EVER EVER EVER GIVE UP!!!!

kassia

http://www.picturetrail.com/ldy_solana

"And do what thee wilt as long as ye harm none"

http://images.meez.com/user03/06/01/04/060104_10010099873.gif
 
Maybe you need to step back, give the measurements a rest, possibly shake up your routine a bit, and cut yourself a bit of slack. I bet once you stop stressing yourself out you will see some improvements.
 
PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP!!

First of all stop focusing on the numbers. When I lost weight, I only weighed myself twice a month and I only lost an average of about 2.5 pounds a month. I never took my measurements. Instead focus on the positives, that you are eating healthy and exercising.

Second, look at your workouts. Have you been doing the same workouts for a while? If so, change it up a bit. If you are walking try to incorporate some light running. I know that interval training is great for blasting out of a plateau. My sister used interval training when she was in a rut and it worked. You should be changing up your workouts every 6 weeks or so, so your body doesn't get used to the same thing.

Third, look at your diet. I always look at my diet after a couple of months and see where I need to make changes. I tend to get into ruts and eat the same thing and then I get bored and start eating junk.

Realize that you are changing a lifestyle and it takes time and baby steps.

Many of us here have been where you have been so we understand. Just relax and be gentle with yourself. It will all come in time.
 
Kim,

I truly can understand your frustration. It took me 13 months to lose 30 lbs., which is painfully SLOW. :) And I have not lost any add'l weight for the past 6 months. However, I *have* been losing inches and dropped another size or two in that time, so I know I'm on the right track. When I decided it was time to lose the weight and get fit again, I knew going into it that I didn't want to put myself on a diet as that seems temporary to me. Rather, I wanted to make a gradual lifestyle change that I could live with. The working out component is easy for me, but since I enjoy food, I try to follow a plan of moderation. But with that, I have to accept slower loss. As much as I want the last 20 lbs. to disappear already, I know that slow loss is more do-able for me, and I'm more likely to keep it off in the long run.

Hang in there and don't get discouraged. You've done a GREAT job shedding pounds so far and have been given sound advice for breaking through your plateau. Stay with it.

BTW, I saw my weight and measurements vary when I was doing P90X, so sometimes trying different things might not *seem* to work at first, and then lo and behold, the pounds and/or the inches come off. Changing things up can confuse the body, and very often, that leads to results.

Good luck!!
~Cathy http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/4.gif

"Out on the roads there is fitness and self-discovery and the persons we were destined to be." -George Sheehan
 
All I would say is step way back from all the counting, measuring and the enormous stress and anxiety that is resulting from this.

Start thinking long term and big picture. Shift your focus.

Focussing so much on what you can eat and how much of it and what you can't eat does nothing except to make people feel deprived and set up desire for that which is forbidden. Then when you don't get the results you want in the time you have decided you should be seeing them, no wonder you end up feeling frustrated and that it just isn't worth it.

People focus way too much on losing weight and calories, instead of thinking more about improving their health. The bottom line must be your health.

Do not keep stepping on the scale and put the tape measure in a deep, dark cupboard for a while. Instead use your mind and other senses to ask yourself basic questions as you continue with improving the nutritional value of your diet and with improving your fitness: how do I feel? Are my energy levels incresing? Do I have more vitality? Do I feel more emotionally stable? Are my moods more under control? Is my strength increasing? Am I lifting heavier weights? Is my cardiovascular endurance increasing?

Answering "yes" to all these questions should be the goal: not watching for miniscule changes on a tape measure.

I do not possess weight scales and I never use my tape measure for anything other than turning up hems on new jeans and pants for my family. But I know when I feel better, I know when an exercise program is workig for me, I know when I've slacked off on eating well and am feeling sluggish as a result.

Focus on making sure you have a carb, a protein and several servings of fruits and vegetables at each meal. Make sure your plate is colourful: has a variety of different fruits and vegetables. Don't go hungry, that way you can avoid reaching for nutritionally useless snacks.

Make sure your cardio is varied. Decide your focus for a few weeks in terms of either improving weight lifting strength or endurance and then go for it. Keep a journal to make note of your goals and how you reach them in this area. And when you do reach them, make new ones.

And then, put it all out of your mind and go and live your life.

Almost everything out there is more important that whether you have lost inches off your thighs yet. You deserve peace of mind and it is within your grasp.

Hope this helps,

Clare
 
I agree it's important to change your focus from weight loss (and measuring and weighing) to health. If you eat what is healthy for your body, then your efforts aren't in vain, no matter how much you lose or don't lose.

Letting the numbers (on the scale or tape measure) determine your happiness can be a losing proposition. Weight can change depending on how much fluids you are retaining, how much you ate, etc. and can even change over the course of the same day. Measurements can also be affected by fluid retention (like at TTOM) and by your measuring method. Getting stressed out about the numbers like your post suggests creates stress, stress increases cortisol and adrenalin, and the increase of these hormones leads to the body storing fat (in preparation from some 'crisis' it thinks is coming).
 
Thank you all for all of your kind words and advice. I know that you are all right. I certainly do need to change my focus and definition of success in this journey to becoming healthy. It is habit for me to measure my success by the numbers and it is another bad habit I need to break. I normally do not get stressed out by the numbers but for some reason today it really bothered me. I have charts and stats on my weight loss so when I look at them over a months time period and do not see what I want I am so very disappointed. I plan to do some soul searching, reviewing my food journal and plotting my plan of attach.

I am still feeling a bit frustrated/disappointed but I am sure I will work through it. Thanks again!
 
I lost a lot of weight with cardio and sensible eating. But I had no shape, little muscle tone. After I found Cathe, I started lifting along with more intense cardio thinking I would keep losing. Nope, I have actually gained weight, but is it muscle. I look better and am in the best shape of my life. My body has tone too it, and I've had 4 children.

Another thing, your body will retain fluid due to new exerise and monthly cycle. A woman can gain up to 6lbs a month of water weight due to her monthly cycle alone.

Find a rotation of Cathe's and follow it. I bet you see wonderful results after it is over. Someone posted that she felt bloated from a Slow and Heavy 3 week rotation, and many posted that they only saw results of this rotation on the 4th week. Sometimes it just takes following through, and then seeing the results afterwards.

You are doing great!!!:)
Sandra
 
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