It's hopeless

A

ahammad

New member
Yea I know, never give up...

Lately, I've completely changed my lifestyle in terms of eating and excercise. I've been at it for 4 weeks now. You may say that 4 weeks is a short time, and I agree to some extent.

I've been eating a specific way for 3 years, and in those 3 years I've maintained my weight. It was a terrible diet for sure (although quite delicious). Being a full time university student didn't help either.

Anyway, I'm now a software developer, so my job consists of sitting at a desk for extended periods of time. Since I'm working, I have more free time, so I decided to join the gym and do something about it.

Here's how I used to eat on an average day:
-bagel with butter and a coffee for breakfast
-2 slices of pizza or a meal at Wendy's (or equivalent) for lunch
-some more junk for dinner...this is very random, but it definately wasn't anything healthy.

For the past 4 weeks, I've reduced that to:
-an apple for breakfast, and some oatmeal (depends on when I wake up)
-a salad for lunch (a little bit of olive oil and vinegar as dressing)...I sometimes make a bologna sandwich, but not always. I also eat some raw carrots in between meals (no dressing, just raw carrots).
-another apple and a small thing of fruit yoghurt a couple of hours later.
-I try to have some grilled beef/chicken for dinner. Since I'm on the go a lot, I do have to resort to fast food quite often. When I do though, I make sure I pick something that isn't extremely bad like Subway (turkey or tuna).

I'm also doing excercise 4 days a week. I usually do ~20 min of cardio and light weight lifting.

My old lifestyle maintained my weight. I'm sure that we can all agree that the new one beats the old one by miles. Not only I'm eating more healthy stuff, I'm also excercising.

The issue is that I haven't lost a single pound since I started. Not even one. I'm a very results oriented person, and this isn't producing any results. Not sure what I'm doing wrong here, but I'm getting closer and closer to the hopeless zone. Help me stay motivated. What am I doing wrong?
 
What is your starting weight? and what is your goal?

Do you know how many calories you're taking in a day? Use a site like or one of the other 100s of free sites ont he web to help track calories.. it's really how m any calories a day you're eating -not what you're eating that willl give you weight loss...
 
I'm 255 right now. My goal is 200 (for now).

My calorie intake is somewhere between 1700 and 1900. I also excercise on some days so that's at least another 250-350 calories burned on those days.
 
Inches

Morning,

Have you also measured your inches prior starting your weight loss program, and what you are at currently today?

You could stay at the same weight but still lose inches.

Best wishes,

Barbara
 
How would you explain that? The only way that would be the case is if fat mass was replaced by muscle mass (isn't muscle denser than fat?).

Unfortunately I haven't measured my waist before I started so I wouldn't know if anything happened with that. Do you have any other helpful suggestions like this?
 
muscle doesn't replace fat... fat is fat and muscle is muscle -they're two differnt types of tissue... depending on your workouts it's possible... you might not have taken measurements but are your clothes fitting any looser?

Light weight lifting isn't going to do a lot to build muscle -you might want to read the stickied threads around this forum for some info on improving your workouts...

Just looking at some of your meals -especially if you're regularly going to subway - you're probably at the high end of sodium numbers -so how much water are you drinking in a day - water retention can cause your weight to stagnate a bit...

though I would go back to recording calories and accurately weighing and measuring what you're eating...
 
maleficent said:
muscle doesn't replace fat...
Click to expand...

Sure it does. :) Put a measuring cup on the table, and fill it with a cup of water. Now take out half a cup of water, and replace ("to take the place of, especially as a substitute or successor") that half cup of water with 4 ounces of coins. You've replaced water with coins, just as when you lose fat and gain muscle, you've replaced fat with muscle.

I'll agree that the fat wasn't transmogrified into muscle, but if you're going to pick semantic nits, "replace" isn't one I'd go after. :)

OP, I lost absolutely no weight the first 4 weeks I improved my diet. It started coming off after that, though. I do second Mal's suggestion to count calories, though - a 6" turkey sub from Subway = 280 calories, while a 6" tuna sub = 530 calories.
 
I would say up the cardio. Do between 30-60 minutes of cardio a day, instead of just 20. Exercise is the most important thing if you wanna see results. Just make sure that you burn more than you eat.
 
I know how frustrating that must be. I'm a slow loser myself, and when the scale dosn't reflect the hard work, it can be irritating and disheartening.

That being said, KUDOS for the positive changes you have made! I know you are looking for tangible evidence of the healthier things you are doing, but take a minute and look at how much better your choices are for your body.
Remember there are other ways to track your progress like measurements, energy level, fit of clothes.

As far as altering what you are already doing so the scale will be more "cooperative", I would evaluate your target calories - most plans base this on current weight, height, age and activity level. Cardio for a min of 30 min 3 times a week is a usually a good start, and weight training should not be done everyday, giving your muscles a day off inbetween. The last bit of advise, is NOT GIVE UP. Keep at it with the knowedge that the changes you are making are healthy for you much better than your other habits, and also know that in time the scale WILL reflect lower numbers.

Good Luck!
 
A little harsh truth coming:

1. Light weight lifting isn't going to improve your metabolism. Metabolic gains from weight lifting require heavy exertion.

2. Cardio for 20 minutes is going to improve your cardiovascular conditioning but it's going to have a negligible impact on your waistline.

3. Subway is awful, it is far too high in calories unless you are really monitoring what you order there.

However, unless you are ordering 12 inch loaded subs with extra mayo, your caloric intake from what you listed there will result in weight loss. Guaranteed. So here are a few questions:

1. Have you had any other food beyond what you listed there in the last 4 weeks? if so, what?
2. When you say the scale hasn't budged, does that mean it hasn't even moved 1 lb? Or were you expecting something more drastic?

Michael
 
I agree, you should bring up that time in cardio for sure!
I also think you should measure yourself, perhaps the changes are coming from there.
 
ExercisePhysio said:
A little harsh truth coming:

1. Light weight lifting isn't going to improve your metabolism. Metabolic gains from weight lifting require heavy exertion.

2. Cardio for 20 minutes is going to improve your cardiovascular conditioning but it's going to have a negligible impact on your waistline.

3. Subway is awful, it is far too high in calories unless you are really monitoring what you order there.

However, unless you are ordering 12 inch loaded subs with extra mayo, your caloric intake from what you listed there will result in weight loss. Guaranteed. So here are a few questions:

1. Have you had any other food beyond what you listed there in the last 4 weeks? if so, what?
2. When you say the scale hasn't budged, does that mean it hasn't even moved 1 lb? Or were you expecting something more drastic?

Michael
Click to expand...


1) I heard that about weight lifting, I've switched to heavier loads.

2) The thing with cardio, it's too boring. I can't stand it at all...what I try to do to increase the time is to switch excercises (eg. 15 min elliptical and 15 min jogging etc) so that I don't stay bored. But even that isn't good enough. Would you have any suggestions to make cardio more entertaining?

3) I do watch what I order from Subway. I now only take a 12" turkey sub, which is 460 calories I think. I only put some mustard and salt and pepper as dressing (and veggies of course).

The last week, I've "slacked off" for a bit, meaning that I had two days where I didn't maintain my plan (but I didn't go all out either). On other days where I cook, it's usually some grilled chicken breast with either steamed vegetables, or whole-wheat pasta with vegetables and tomato sauce. I realize that the pasta isn't great in terms of nutrition, but a little change can't be that bad (I hope not).

Also, when I say that the scale hasn't budged, I mean exactly that, not even a single pound. I don't want any huge changes, I just want an indication that my efforts are paying off. As for losing inches, I haven't measured beforehand, so I wouldn't know if I lost anything there. However, since you all mentioned it, I'm now more motivated to continue.

Thanks for all your help/suggestions
 
In my experience the main entertainment in excessive cardio is laughing as you watch the pounds disappear!

Walking miles a day is boring - but you dont always get entertainment when you do something that is good for you. So listen to music or a book on tape - or mentally work your way through a software problem if you like. Dont think about the walk - let the walk happen while you think about other things.

Walking excessively has made a huge difference to my weight loss project.

Good luck with your project

Best wishes
Margaret
 
take an mp3 player to the gym and load all your fav music on it i personly do 1 hour on 1000 calories which ever comes first and its usually the calories
 
i like jumping ropes.. i usually jump 1000 to 1300 a day.. (at least i try to do it four or five days a week..) its hard to stay with the food u have decided..
but whats more hard is to keep exercising... for me.. jumping rope everyday is quite hard.. since i'm a university student and i have loads of papers to write everyday.. its not that easy to take out the time to go out and jump rope.. since it takes minimum 40 minutes to jump 1000.. (i rest for a couple minutes for every 100)
but when i dont exercise for more than a week.. my body feels weird..
maybe its a mental thing.. but i feel like i'm gaining weight... (or maybe i am..:()
ne ways.. what i'm trying to say is
keep exericising is the most important thing!!
good luck !!
 
Hi,
I know I'm new here and just starting out but I have been at this on and off my whole life.
I agree with you cardio is the most boring thing in the world and I hated it.
Now what I did is bought a basketball, a racquetball set and a set of hand wraps.
Now I run around on the court or in the room and I'm doing something not just a hamster on a wheel.
I don't know how to play racquetball I just chase the damn thing around until I feel I'm going to pass out.
I wrap my hands and go to the gym and pound on the mats they have hanging on the walls.
Basically I run around like an idiot but it really gets my heart pumping without the boring feeling.
Hope this helps.
Brian
 
I'm in the same boat

I'm in the same boat as you. I'm very results oriented and need a little something to make me feel that I'm doing all this crap for a reason.

The only advice I can give you is on the cardio. Yes I hate it too, it's boring and time consuming. I have started copying my favorite episodes of Friends (or whatever) onto my laptop and take it with me to the gym. People look at me weird but screw them. It helps me get through the cardio a lot faster and after a while it's not so mind numbing.

For me listening to music isn't enough I need something visual to focus my attention on.

I don't know if this helps, but hearing your story gave me hope that at least I'm not the only person on earth who's working her ass off (literally) and having difficulty with results.

Keep going, I'm going to. We can do it together!
 
I enjoy taking classes. Not the fitness classes they have at the gym, but other activities, elsewhere. I've done ballet, tap, yoga. Currently I'm doing gymnastics and loving it. They're soooo much fun, and I've built a lot of strength that way.
 
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