Frustrated as hell
Okay, so my background is that I used to be extremely obese. After I delivered my son, I was 288lbs and 5'5. Through counting calories (little to no exercise), I lost a lot of weight and have been maintaining for about the past 18 months at ~175lbs, plus or minus a few pounds.
I recently decided that I was ready to lose the rest of the weight, so I decided to do the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Slimdown (the combo of the 30 Day Shred, Banish Fat Boost Metabolism, and No More Trouble Zones). I've been following the plan religiously and I am on day 13 right now.
I haven't lost any weight. Not a pound. And I am still counting calories and eating a balanced diet. I average around 1400 calories a day.
It's been really depressing. After two weeks, shouldn't I be seeing some sort of results on the scale? I've been working out hard and I don't want to give up but this seems so incredibly frustrating.
Re: Frustrated as hell
It happened fast last time, when I was just doing the Shred. Granted, I was exercising maybe three times a week then and now I am doing 6 days a week, but I didn't think that would make the difference.
I'm eating 1400 calories. As far as I know that is an adequate amount for a person my size. I am not adding anything extra for the exercise but I was told not to add back what I burn, especially since the amount of calories burned is really only an estimate anyway.
Hell yes I'm dependent on my scale. It used to reward me every week as I saw pounds disappear. And then I needed it to make sure I wasn't getting too far off track while I maintained. I wasn't putting a lot of effort into maintenance, just not going crazy. It was certainly easy to keep myself at that weight, but I'd like to finally get to where I want to be.
1400 calories is an adequate amount for a sedentary woman who weighs 140 lbs. It is likely that your body is not getting enough food, and thus holding on to fat.
There are two other possibilities, both of which I've seen when working with weight loss clients. The first is that you're gaining muscle, which is denser (weighs more, takes up less space) than fat. Have you been taking measurements with a measuring tape, as well? If it's muscle, your hard work will be reflected in smaller numbers on the tape. The other option is that you're dealing with some kind of hydration issue. Often I see clients retain water when they begin working out. Usually this disappears in the first month.
Give it a few more weeks! Two weeks is very little time.
The Lose It iPhone app recommended 1439 calories for me to lose 1.5lbs a week. Is that not correct? I just haven't been adding back the workout calories because I was told not to.
No, I have not been measuring myself. I drink a lot of water so I wouldn't think that is a problem.
LOL I know it doesn't happen in two weeks' time. Like I said, I lost 100+ lbs on my own before. I started losing weight in February 2010, I just took about eighteen months "off" to maintain my current weight.
But every time I've lost in the past, the weight started coming off right away and that's my surprise that it has not this time. I think I look a little different but haven't really noticed a change in my clothes. I'm a size 12 right now.
Definitely not looking to pour more money into losing weight since I've been successful in the past, and I don't want to learn a new way of counting stuff (points). I'm fine with nutritional labels.
But I guess I'll just finish out the month and see how it goes. I mean, it has to work eventually if I keep it up I guess. But I'm just really frustrated because I'm missing that tangible reward that I am used to getting.
This. I can eat upwards of 2,000 calories a day and still lose weight if I do this (and I'm short too--under 5'). Maintaining is easy too, I just watch my sugar and skip the grains.
ETA: I thinking losing weight slowly (like 2 pounds a month) is ideal. It allows your body team to reset to a lower weight and you won't run into the trap of your body wanting less calories to maintain. I lost my last 10 pounds over a year and it resulted in a new "happy weight" that is easy to stay at.
Yeah, that would have royally pissed me off too. At least this hasn't been quite so bad even considering no loss.
I'll come back and post next week. I weigh in on Thursdays.
Madelyn 11/4/08