Just a wee bit frustrated...

[aretel]

Why am I not losing the weight??? Threenorns...maybe you can help.
Alright, I realize that I've only been working out for a week as of last Friday(stair stepper 10 min, floor exercises-crunches 10 min, walking at a fast pace M-F for 15 minutes during lunch breaks; 30 minutes on Sat/Sun same fast pace but up hills and sweating my butt off thru all of this!). Mid-week last week,I mentioned on another post that it looked like I was heading in the right direction and lost over a pound already-actually had lost 2. I've pretty much cut out most of the junk. No more sodas and crap. I had taken Lady C's advise and added breakfast back to my diet. I ate either 2 hard boiled eggs, no salt or I would eat a small bowl of Cheerios. In my mind, the exercises should be more than enough to counter the extra calories I'm eating in the morning. Now, I also realize that I'm not doing as much exercise as I would eventually like to be doing but I also don't want to kill myself trying to get fit!
I'll admit, I had a really bad day Friday because I'm having a nightmare time trying to sell my house (I'd rather go through 9 months of pregnancy than deal with this house thing again!) so, I cheated and drank 3 1/2 Budweiser beers. If this is a female thing and I'm just "retaining water", I think I'm going to scream!LOL! I'm not going to give this up! I know I can get where I want to be! Thanks in advance, guys & gals

[threenorns]

patience, grasshopper, patience!

this is where my frequent harping on consistency comes. one week, as far as your body is concerned, is nothing. it's sitting there smug in the knowledge that in another week or so, you'll come to your senses and stop the nonsense and get back to BAU (business as usual).

keep doing what you're doing 35min of cardio a day plus 30 min a day on weekends is a good start.

how are your calories? have you been tracking them? if not, start - make SURE you're taking in at least 1500 per day. yes, at the beginning you might gain a little weight - this could be one of two things: it could be that your metabolism is mucked up from too much deprivation and 1500 is excessive, or it could be that it's packing back the muscle it burned off while you were languishing in the grip of famine. either way, your body will adjust and start stoking the furnace properly and you'll begin shedding fat.

if you're going to cut calories, the place to cut them is carbs - keep your protein going to try and preserve your muscle tissue and grow new muscle. muscles are your friend and you can't have too many friends. eat 300 calories five times a day - once your body sees that there is a steady, reliable, dependable source of fuel, it will begin unlocking fat storage. soon, you'll increase your activity to include high-intensity work such as HIIT and weights. this simulates attack by a predator and your desperate flight from it. your body will decide since you're constantly under attack, you need to off-load excess weight and build up muscle strength in order to fight or flee more effectively. the focus changes from long-term survival (get rid of metabolically active tissue, slow down body functions, pack every spare calories into fat storage) to short-term survival (get really strong and fast to fight off predators).

a simplistic explanation, but it generally suffices.

[aretel]

LOL! Thanks threenorns. I know I'm expecting a bit much in the beginning. I guess what I was mostly looking for was encouragement. As much as I love my fiancee, he's not the one I go to for a "pat on the back!" He expects me to last maybe 2 more weeks! Ha, ha, ha! He forgets that I'm a hard-headed woman!

[threenorns]

here's something that works for me BIGtime.

tell your fiancé he's taking you shopping. buy something to die for that's a weeeee bit too small - a skirt that's an inch short of doing up the waistband, f.ex. take it home and hang it on the wall in an attractive display. keep doing what you're doing.

after one month, take the item down and try it on. it should fit nicely now or even be a bit too loose. go out and get another one.

see? self-rewarding motivational behaviour!

[.V.]

Yeah, it just isn't going to happen in a week. It's a good start, but you've got to keep going - it is a lifetime commitment. If you keep your diet right and get your exercise - it will happen.

[Gearloose]

Hang in there! You can do it! Don't let your husband's negative attitude sabotage your efforts. My wife has been working hard for just over one year to get her weight down and her strength up. It has been slow and hard work, but she's stuck with it and it shows. Her journey is not over, but she's far from turning back and giving up. You can see her progress photos over in the womens progress photos sub forum under the "introducing Wanda" thread. BTW: She'll turn 50 later this year and has suffered from being overweight all her life.

[aretel]

Thanks all! BTW, I already saw the photos of you and your wife, Gearloose. Great job!: So many of you out there are an incredible encouragement with your stories and before/after photos. I finally took some before photos yesterday. All I can say is...ewww! LOL! I'm not posting those puppies until I can see some results to make a decent after photo! Ha, Ha! I didn't realize how "lumpy" I was!

Threenorns, I've got a pair of capri pants that I was able to wear last year which is my current goal. The skirt thing is a great idea, though.

I have started doing HIIT on my stair stepper and holy cow...that is one hell of a workout!! I just thought I was sweating before! Yesterday, I was actually pouring sweat! Also added a jump-rope to my routine. I remember as a child how jump-roping was no big deal...you don't even think about it. I couldn't even do 5 minutes! But this was also after I did the stair stepper.

As far as the fiancee goes...he does say that he's proud of me. He also keeps telling me to take a break. Ain't gonna happen. I think I'm starting to intimidate him! He is getting a little on the soft side himself! But, he won't work out with me! No big deal. He'll change his mind after I start looking really good!

[threenorns]

lol - yeah, he'll have to.

make sure you're taking one day a week off, though - this is essential to allow your central nervous system time to recover from the pounding you're putting it through. otherwise, you'll find yourself getting more and more tired, which is one sign of overtraining.

jump-rope is *amazing* cardio.

how's things on the diet front?

[aretel]

Calorie intake is looking good. I'm paying a lot more attention to what's going into my mouth. Fiancee laughs at me everytime I look at the food labels! Doesn't bother me any. I just tell him to shut up and leave me alone! LOL

I did take a break on Friday due to the stress of selling the house-that's when I had those beers. I personally don't feel that I'm doing intense enough training to justify taking more than one day a week off. Plus, this will get me more into the habit of continuing my workouts even after I reach my goal. When I am finally able to workout longer, I will take an additional day off.

Forgot to tell you threenorns...I saw your before and after shots as well...way to go!!!:

[threenorns]

<blush> thank you , but it's just a start - i'm looking forward to taking more pics in october but the ones that count will be the december shots. christmas with the family who hasn't seen me in nearly a year and all. i'll get to meet my new niece with the name longer than she is: quinn isabella pirjetta tetunia and THEN her last name, which is four letters long, lol! (yes, "Tetunia", not petunia - means "daddy's little girl" in polish, apparently, and isn't even a real name).

but i wasn't kidding: when things click, the weight comes off almost faster than you can handle. i was plateau'd there for a while until i started using fitday and my trainer reworked my diet.

[aretel]

Man, that is a long name! I'm more into the traditional 3 names...first middle and last. She's going to have one hell of a time in school having to write all that!

I'll take my after photos mid-October. That's when I'll be turning 33! WooHoo! The day before my 32nd birthday was the day my son was born. So, gotta get rid of that baby fat! LOL!