Getting FRUSTRATED!

g5burns

I am getting married in August of 2011, and I decided that I wanted to start losing weight now.  I gained about 25 lbs in college, and I am now 146 lbs with a 5'4'' frame.  I recently graduated from college, and am ready to start a new healthy lifestyle now that I can afford a gym membership and that fresh produce that was impossible to get in college.  I started my diet and exercise two weeks ago.  I have been working out 6 to 7 days a week (consisting of at least 30-60 min of cardio dailly, with 4 days of lifting).  I also have really been working on my diet.  I drink about a gallon of water a day, I portion my meals, and stop eating when I first feel full.  My breaskfast usually consists of a bowl of cereal and a fruit (banana or orange), lunch is a salad with egg whites, sunflower seads, grilled chicken, and 30 calorie fat free ranch dressing (that I do measure out to make sure I only get 1 serving).  And then for dinner I will do something like grilled chicken breast, mixed veggies, and a fruit.  With that said, I felt like I would just start dropping weight like  crazy.  I have been getting 8 hours of sleep every night, and I feel GREAT!  I can honestly say that I have stuck to my diet and exercise, and know exactly what I am putting in my body, and how much I am burning.  I weight myself every Saturday, so that not to drive myself crazy with the scale, and the past two Saturdays, I have maintained my 146lbs!  I don't know WHAT to do.  I feel like I am doing everything right, and the weight is just NOT coming off.  I expected at least a pound of two a week.  Nothing huge, but SOMETHING.  Advice anybody!?  Please!  I am going crazy, and I don't know how much longer I can keep all this hard work up with absolutely NO outcome! 

elishabelle

I know it seems like a lot, but 2 weeks is not a lot of time for your body to adjust. Consider tracking your intake of carbs, proteins, and fats on livestrong.com (dailyplate). There are also a lot of great articles on there about health and fitness. Best of luck!

lobsterhug

I agree with the previous poster that two weeks isn't that much time and to start tracking your macronutrients. It doesn't seem like you are eating enough to properly fuel all your activities.

cac847

You're drinking too much water. You don't need anywhere near a gallon a day. Just drink when you're thirsty.

cnayers

I have been exactly where you are, and I'm actually back in the saddle again. I lost 20lbs last year and it honestly took me about 3 weeks to a month before the weight started melting off. Have some paitence, and I know it's easier said than done. You have a while before you wedding since it's next year to get back down to where you want to be. I"m currently deployed and I can only eat what's available to me, so I'm not exactly on the strictest of diets, but what I've done that helps me out, is to get a tape measure, and measure everything, hips, waist, thighs, calves, chest, neck, because you are losing something somewhere with everything your doing, trust me. The other thing I'll suggest because it has become my new bible, is the Womans Health Big Book of Exercises, it's epic. Check it out, they actually have an 8-week workout called the Wedding Workout, and that's what I just started. Keep you chin up and don't let the scale pull you down, just keep going to the gym!! Good Luck!!

iamjoesgurl

I think you have gotten some good advice here.  Cut down the amount of water, track your calories in a site like thedailyplate.com to make sure that you are eating enough.  Most of all, stick with it.  If you can keep up your healthy lifestyle, it WILL pay off.

lisa_j

Count your fiber vs. sugars.  Check out the book - The Whole Grain Miracle DIet.  There is some super helpful nutrition information in there. I lost 30 lbs by following that and tracking everything i eat calorie-count.  There's also an iPhone app to do that (Lose It)
Your cardio is enough, but make sure you change it up and don't do the same exercises every day.

Also - 2 weeks isn't enough time to see results.  Hang in there.  I didn't notice any real changes until about 2 months.

Julz629

Ditto the PP about not working out 7 days a week.  On weeks where you aren't busy, its easy to do...and you might feel lazy not working out...but trust me, your body needs it.  When I first started WW, there were a couple weeks when I would work out 7 days a week because I thought it would help.  Coincidentally, those are the weeks where I would lose nothing, or marginal amounts.  When I took a day or two off, I noticed more significant differences.

Also, track your calories.  It sounds like you might be getting less than 1200.  You should always get at least 1200 calories.  Also, sometimes varying your calories helps.  If you always eat 1400 calories, your body will get efficient at living off of that.  It may seem backwards, but having a day or two where you eat more will keep your body guessing and working harder.

g5burns

Thank you to all of you who have given me advice!  I am an RN and work 12 hour shifts and am on my feet probably 10 of those hours!  I didn't realize that I may be getting too much exercise, with not enough calorie intake!  I instantly started eating a little bit more, and gave myself a two day break last week, and lets just say that I am glad I did.  I lost 3 lbs last week alone!  Who knew that I was working at it TOO hard!  Thank you all, and I finally feel like I am really seeing results!