Frustrated and lost

215guy · 10-Feb-04, 05:01 PM

Hello everyone,I have some questions for anyone that can help me.I started dieting last january and I lost 70 lbs. I followed a low calorie low fat diet and I walked a few miles a day.I was around 310 lbs when I started dieting My original goal weight was 215 pounds I made it down to 230 last july and my weight loss came to a dead stop.I tried several methods to get my weight loss started again.I tried exercising more.I was exercising sometimes twice a day! I tried low carb and didn't really lose that much even in the induction phase! I am rapidly losing my motivation and over the christmas holiday I gained back around 20 lbs of my weight adding to my misery and digging myself into a deeper hole.Right now my weight is around 250 and I have set a goal of 225 by june 1rst.I just recently went back on a low carb diet and just finished 2 weeks at the induction level and I dont think I lost a pound.I do plenty of cardio and yet my weight won't budge.If anyone has any advice or suggestions please help.

Symzie · 10-Feb-04, 05:10 PM

That's an amazing achievment,

Are you weight training as well as cardio?

CJNY · 10-Feb-04, 05:14 PM

Symzie hits the mark! Strength training is likely what you need to get back on track. Nobody with functioning limbs should try to lose weight without it.

Congratulations on all the progress so far. Maybe it's time to start looking at fat loss and not weight, though. Strength work might actually put a few desirable pounds on you.

215guy · 10-Feb-04, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Symzie

That's an amazing achievment,

Are you weight training as well as cardio?

I actually was lifting on my lunch break at work.I was running 3 miles before work in the morning and then lifting wieghts during my lunch break.And the scale still wouldnt move!I gave up the lifting to concentrate on more cardio.So now I get on stairstepper during my lunch break and I ride a stationary bike.Yes it's true I lost alot of wieght but I havent lost any significant weight since last july! I just don't know what to do.

Octagon · 10-Feb-04, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 215guy

Hello everyone,I have some questions for anyone that can help me.I started dieting last january and I lost 70 lbs. I followed a low calorie low fat diet and I walked a few miles a day.I was around 310 lbs when I started dieting My original goal weight was 215 pounds I made it down to 230 last july and my weight loss came to a dead stop.

I can certainly relate. I was somewhere between 300-310 when I started cleaning things up last June and while progress hasn't exactly stopped dead it's noticably slowed over the past month or so and yeah, it's pretty frustrating at times.

But it's important to remember two things...

1) When your starting point is 300+ pounds, pretty much ANYTHING is going to work fairly well for a while. Don't let those initial results lead you to believe the things you were doing earlier on are necessarily the only effective approach. I'm not making any big changes to my routine right now because I'm still making moderate progress but I'm taking much closer looks at some of the more 'fine tuning' type things I sort of blew off over the first eight or so months.

2) There are worse things than stopping dead and going backwards is definitely one of them. Yes, it can be frustrating and yes, it can lead you to throw up your hands and think 'what's the freaking point'. Well, the freaking point is 230 might not be ideal but it's a hell of a lot better than 310.

**Lady C** · 11-Feb-04, 07:20 AM

It sounds like you have enough activity. What is the diet like? Post a typical days diet and we can give suggestions.

215guy · 11-Feb-04, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady C

It sounds like you have enough activity. What is the diet like? Post a typical days diet and we can give suggestions.

Oh my diet? Well last febuary I decided to enhance my diet by going meatless for a month.Well, one month turned into 10 months.I began eating alot of vegetables and soy products.Like I said in my opening letter I lost 80 pounds from jan to july then the weightloss stopped.In my frustration I began eating meat again in september.Like I said before also I got frustrated with zero weightloss and went on a binge over the holidays and gained back twenty pounds so now I`m back up to 250.I`m so desperate I decided to try a low carb diet to try to get the weightloss started again.I have been on the induction phase for about 2 weeks and I don't think I lost a pound.I exercise like a madman.but I`m losing motivation because of no results.I`m just so pissed I don`t know what to do next.So right now I`m on a low carb diet which doesn't seem to be working.

**Lady C** · 11-Feb-04, 04:10 PM

You may just be eating too many calories then. Be specific and post what and when you are eating.

215guy · 11-Feb-04, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady C

You may just be eating too many calories then. Be specific and post what and when you are eating.

Well to anbody that isnt familiar with the atkins diet this may sound horrid but I usually start with bacon and eggs.then for lunch I may have sum baked chicken and a salad.I may may have egg salad as a snack then for dinner I may have a cheeseburger without the bun.But before you jump all over me let me say that this is a typical day on the atkins diet.And the only reason why I`m eating like this was to shock my system into weightloss mode again.but prior to the adkins diet tryout.My diet consisted of a bowl of bran cereal with soy milk Maybe a wedge of cheese or a protien bar for a snack
Some kind of soy meat and a vegetable for lunch.Another light snack of maybe a bowl of cereal and then dinner would be sometimes a huge bowl of rice or potatoes with gravy.Or I really like the veggie sub at subway so I often ate those with the fat free chips.So you see my pre atkins diet wasn't so bad.And when you add in the fact that I was doing cardio 90 minutes a day 6 days a week and STILL wasn't losing weight maybe you begin to see what I`m saying.I`m on the verge of giving up atkins again and trying something else.I just don't know which way to go anymore.

Octagon · 11-Feb-04, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 215guy

I`m on the verge of giving up atkins again and trying something else.I just don't know which way to go anymore.

Well, I'm certainly not going to try to talk you out of ditching Atkins. I'm not exactly a fan. I mean, I am familiar with it and that breakfast still sounds pretty horrible

As for which way to go, plateaus and rough patches almost always mean it's time to start paying closer attention to details.

Do you keep a food log every day? If you don't, you should start.

Do you measure portions or pretty much just eyeball them? If you're currently just eyeballing them you might want to start being a bit more precise.

I can't really tell from your posts if you're currently doing resistance training or not but if you're not you should get back to it. It's *very* helpful in a wide variety of ways.

Have you been keeping your water intake up every day? That's one of the easiest things to slack off on and it's one of the worst things to neglect.

What about meal timing? I don't personally pay too much attention to spacing meals (most of my cals tend to come in one large meal later in the day) but meal timing is definitely one of the things I'm going to look at if my own progress slows further.

What about p/f/c breakdowns? Much like meal timing, I'm not of the mind that precise breakdowns are the be all and end all of sound nutrition but it's a great place to shake things up a bit just to see what happens.

Anyhoo, those are just some things to consider...

CJNY · 11-Feb-04, 05:33 PM

In addition to the resistance work, if the cardio you have been doing is the steady state variety then you should consider cutting back on that and begin doing interval training. I also must reiterate my suggestion that you look at measuring body fat and not weight - this is not a small distinction. Eventually, indiscriminate weight loss develops into muscle loss and then all progress ultimately grinds to a halt.

You seem to have lost faith that the basics of fitness still apply to you. Trust that the right kind of diet and exercise WILL make a difference. It simply must - there are basic laws at work here that are universal and indisputable. Unless you are failing because you can't stick to your diet and exercise plan then you can be certain that the plan is the problem and that it is possible to make more progress. Believe it.

abarlament · 11-Feb-04, 07:37 PM

Do you like having all those eggs, bacon, salads, meat that you eat on the Atkin's diet, or do you like eating the bran, oatmeal, and the other stuff you ate on your low fat diet? If you like eating one way more than the other and you could enjoy eating like that while you are dieting that would be the best way to go.

**Lady C** · 12-Feb-04, 08:57 AM

It shouldn't be considered a "diet", this is a lifestyle change.

Your before diet was IMO better except for your last meal. Eating large amounts of starchy carbs late at night invariably contributes to fat stores.

Do exactly as Octagon said and write down, measure and calculate how much you are eating. This is the only way to determine (or reval) how much you are truely intaking.

Most of all - Ask questions - we are here to help!

215guy · 21-Feb-04, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady C

It shouldn't be considered a "diet", this is a lifestyle change.

Your before diet was IMO better except for your last meal. Eating large amounts of starchy carbs late at night invariably contributes to fat stores.

Do exactly as Octagon said and write down, measure and calculate how much you are eating. This is the only way to determine (or reval) how much you are truely intaking.

Most of all - Ask questions - we are here to help!

Just To follow up on my post.I scrapped the low carb diet and went back to my fruit grains and veggie diet.I began lifting wieghts again and I`m counting calories very carefully.I weigh around 250 now and my goal is to reach 225 By june 1rst and eventually 215 perhaps by the end of the summer.I am also seriously thinking about taking lean system 7 next week To assist my efforts.Thanks for the help I will keep ya`ll posted on my progress.

**Firehawk** · 21-Feb-04, 12:42 PM

215 guy, dont give up buddy. The single biggest problem is that people get frustrated and quit on things, and then when the snowball starts rolling again and they are adding fat, they just start feeling more and more miserable. STICK WITH IT! When you are feeling frustrated, those are the times you need to just stop and think about what you are gonna do next. Are you going to let your frustrations take you over and quit? If so, then all that progress you have made is for nothing.

Or are you going to face your frustration, and not let it get the best of you? Thats half the battle man.

I would agree with the others that suggested you weight train more. Dont worry about the scale when you are getting near to your weight goal. The closer you get, the harder it is to watch that scale drop.