Frustrated! Not seeing results

[DeerMother]

The local health food store is doing a weight loss/healthy lifestyle six month program. It started in January and I have lost SIX POUNDS since then. I am 5"1, 160 lbs, goal weight 120.

In that time, I have: cut back portions, increased colorful food, drank nothing but water and herbal tea,   limited chocolate intake to one 1/2 inch square eo day, cut out soda, started exercising (only seriously since 2/18). I'm aiming for 30 min interval cardio 2x a week, 60 min moderate but steady cardio 2x a week, one yoga class, weights 2x a week.  I'm a mostly vegetarian. I have done a three day cleanse. I have been taking a sea weed extract and hoodia sporadically for the past month.

I'm joining ww next week. Reading through the ww thread has me flubbered as well. I feel like I'm already restricting to match some of the menus listed.

Am I doing something wrong? At meetings, people talk about that initial big loss that happened in January or February. That hasn't happened for me. To my eyes, I look exactly the same as when I started. Sure, I like the mental benefits I get from exercising but I would like to lose this belly fat.

[littlest birds]

Maybe you should try low carb and/or no wheat?  I lost weight doing fairly mellow exercise when I changed my diet.  I've been skeptical about the wheat thing because it seems too trendy, but I thought wheat might have been giving me headaches before.  Now that I've removed it I notice if I have any bread I get itchy watery eyes a few hours later.  So I guess there was something to it.  Supposedly there's a lot of unnoticed wheat sensitivity among us.  I ended up with a flat stomach for the first time in my entire life, so think maybe there is something to the "wheat belly" I have heard about.  I eat a lot of eggs and fish especially though and am not vegetarian at all.  I got in a great habit of having smaller portions and I rarely snack.  I mostly walk and bike for exercise.

[artekah]

I second the suggestion to limit wheat and would also suggest eliminating or limiting dairy.

Also, have you tried burst training? I really like this guy on YouTube who talks a lot about nutrition and exercise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VmWEseYN90&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[DeerMother]

Watched  few DRJOSHAXE videos. Looks like a good resource.

I was gf for several months this summer. There were symptoms that I didn't know were related to gluten that improved but no weight lost. I might be up for trying it again. I wish there was a gf granola, though! I don't do that much bread but I do notice it has addictive qualitites on me - once I start, I want more and more.

We have cut back on dairy as a family because of seasonal allergies. We do greek yogurt daily but almond milk, soy coffee creamer. I try to do Mark Bittman's vegan before 5 rule with the exception of yogurt/granola for breakfast. Maybe I need to rethink that meal.

[lorijds]

Decreasing or eliminating gluten may help.  I seem to lose best when I go low carb, unfortunately (because I love me some carbs).

Mainly I just wanted to commiserate.  Since January I have been running a lot, between 15-25 miles a week, as well as yoga twice a week.  I've improved my eating (though to be honest, I have not cut out terrible foods, just have been trying to make better choices).  I had hopes that I would simply crave healthier foods as my physical health improved.  This has not happened.  I have lost 5 pounds since January 1, with 40 still to go.

I feel like I'm going to have to start really restricting the types and possibly amounts of foods I eat, if I'm going to lose anything.  Simple carbs are just going to have to be thrown out the window, I think, except when I'm running a long run.

It's so frustrating.  I really thought that once I got up to averaging 20 miles a week, I'd start losing quite a bit of weight.  I have no idea what is magical about 20 miles, but I just had this thought in my head that once I was exercising regularly with decent distances, I'd start dropping weight, and that just hasn't happened.

I can feel your pain.  I hope you find something that works for you!

[DeerMother]

Thanks for that! Total whine, but I don't want to restrict calories! When I was binge/emotional eating this past few years, it was typically late night. Since January, I had been allowing myself a piece of dark chocolate before bed but I'm dropping that also. After dinner, the kitchen is closed.

Have you been a runner for a long time? I'm interested in how you run for that many miles. I do interval on the tm and started picking up my feet last week. So. . . running very slowly for two minutes followed by a two minute rest. . . I hate it and fight almost every second of it.

Originally Posted by lorijds 

Decreasing or eliminating gluten may help.  I seem to lose best when I go low carb, unfortunately (because I love me some carbs).

Mainly I just wanted to commiserate.  Since January I have been running a lot, between 15-25 miles a week, as well as yoga twice a week.  I've improved my eating (though to be honest, I have not cut out terrible foods, just have been trying to make better choices).  I had hopes that I would simply crave healthier foods as my physical health improved.  This has not happened.  I have lost 5 pounds since January 1, with 40 still to go.

I feel like I'm going to have to start really restricting the types and possibly amounts of foods I eat, if I'm going to lose anything.  Simple carbs are just going to have to be thrown out the window, I think, except when I'm running a long run.

It's so frustrating.  I really thought that once I got up to averaging 20 miles a week, I'd start losing quite a bit of weight.  I have no idea what is magical about 20 miles, but I just had this thought in my head that once I was exercising regularly with decent distances, I'd start dropping weight, and that just hasn't happened.

I can feel your pain.  I hope you find something that works for you!

[lorijds]

I am not a "runner" I suppose, but I think I'm on my way to becoming one.  I run almost exclusively outside.  Occasionally I have to run on the treadmill, and I really can't do more than 2 miles before I am just mentally finished.

I started out running/walking, then when I got to the point that I could run for 2 miles non-stop, I started just doing that and then adding a little (maybe half a mile) to my runs each week.

Now my runs are between 3-5 miles, 2-4 times a week, and then one long run on the weekends.  My long runs are anywhere between 8-13 miles, depends upon the heat and how much time I have.  On my shorter runs, I try to stay under an 11:30 pace.  On my longer runs, I typically stay around 12-12:20 pace.  So I'm not setting the world on fire with my speed.

Sometimes I listen to music and sometimes I listen to podcasts.  I can't zone out when I listen to a podcast, so I typically save those for my shorter runs.

Once I hit the ability to run 4 miles, one day I just decided to see how far I could run.  I hit 8 miles before I felt like I was going to really, truly hurt myself.  Since that time, I just started doing long runs that even 4 months ago I would have never thought I would actually be able to do.  I still have to psyche myself up each time for it.  I don't ever think "I've got 10.5 miles ahead of me."  I think "Okay, I'm going to run to the levee (2.25 miles)."  When I hit that, I think "Okay, I'm going to run to the 3 mile mark."  Then "Okay, I'm going to turn around and run back to the beginning of the levee."  And then "Okay, now I'm going to run home."  If I break it into smaller increments, it doesn't seem as overwhelming or impossibly long.

That first mile still sucks.  I don't know how long I will be running before that first mile just isn't the worst thing in the world.  Once I get past mile one, something clicks in my brain and then I actually kind of enjoy it.  But getting out the door, and then running that first mile is still mentally and physically very difficult for me.

I have started and stopped running programs a million times.  I don't know what is different about this time around.  One thing is that I've gotten past the point where I care if I lose any more weight.  Of course I would LIKE to lose weight.  But the accomplishment of running itself has become the goal.  It's like running has become a nearly separate category from any weight loss goals.  When I run, right now anyway, I'm not thinking "I just burned X calories".  I'm thinking "Oh, today I feel really good.  Maybe I can run these five miles in less than 58 minutes."

[Amanda_Reyasmom]

How much protein are you getting? I'm gonna jump on the GF bandwagon.  1 fajita size flour tortilla = 3lbs of water retention the next day.  It sucks.  Spend a couple of days really counting your calories.  There's a very good chance you're not getting enough.  When I hit a major plateau decreasing exercise and upping calories helps.  You mentioned weights 2X a week.. what are you doing? Strength training is really important.  

[tillymonster]

I said this on another thread and am pretty much telling every soul I come in contact with to... Check the thyroid! Found I have thyroiditis. You might too-- very common after pregnancy!

I have experienced zero results the last two years of solid dieting/excercise. I am starting to feel like it's an unhealthy obsession that's taken over my life. I just want to loose so I can get preggo with baby #2 at a healthy weight. 180lbs at 5"5 is just below the obese line and sadly that's my goal! Hypothyroidism is making exercise so hard. I love running but get major hip pain from it so I've been sticking with low impact.

Here to whine with you. I hope we both loose some weight already! Summer means salads and outdoor activity!

[Amanda_Reyasmom]

Originally Posted by tillymonster 

I said this on another thread and am pretty much telling every soul I come in contact with to... Check the thyroid! Found I have thyroiditis. You might too-- very common after pregnancy!
I have experienced zero results the last two years of solid dieting/excercise. I am starting to feel like it's an unhealthy obsession that's taken over my life. I just want to loose so I can get preggo with baby #2 at a healthy weight. 180lbs at 5"5 is just below the obese line and sadly that's my goal! Hypothyroidism is making exercise so hard. I love running but get major hip pain from it so I've been sticking with low impact.
Here to whine with you. I hope we both loose some weight already! Summer means salads and outdoor activity!

Yes yes yes.  I will not lose weight when I'm off my synthroid.  It doesn't matter how much I workout or how well I eat.  It just won't happen.  

[RosemaryS-F]

What i'd do is to cut out sugars and sugary carbs (even milk) and stick to a very low sugar diet. Fruits, breads, yogurts, can all be high in sugars. I've read three books in the last month that have informed my process a lot: Wheat Belly, Master Your Metabolism and The Belly Fat Cure. I've finally lost weight and am basically at my goal.

[RosemaryS-F]

I should say the things that I learned from the books, lol:

Wheat Belly: avoid all grains. Find hidden grains and grain ingredients.

Master Your Metabolism: eat within an hour of waking. have three meals and a mid-afternoon snack. No food after 9pm. no carbs with dinner. get rid of all plastics and non-organic cosmetics, as these are endocrine disruptors and can make you unable to shed pounds. avoid artificial sweeteners.

The Belly Fat Cure: sugars are the reason i've been overweight. police them and have no more than 15 g daily. unfortunately, to make it "easy" the author also targets veggies and i think that is honky.

[DeerMother]

Finally seeing results!

I've been off gluten about a month. I feel so much better in clothes. Still wearing the same size, but I don't feel I look pregnant anymore.

Entering week four of WW. This has been an eye opener for me. It has really helped me get a handle on the amount of food I should be eating, I was way overdoing the portions. I use a few of my weekly points every day but I don't touch my activity points. When I need to emo eat, I eat something free. My meals are centered around vegetables. I try to follow Mark Bittman's rule of two vegan meals a day.  Three lbs lost last week.

I switched my exercise program. Doing 6-10 minutes of cardio and 3 reps of 10 on 3 machines. Repeat that whole thing 3-4 times. I feel stronger and leaner, even if the scale doesn't reflect that yet. My YMCA offers free wellness coaches and she was really helpful. I usually machine hop for the cardio. Yesterday I was tired so I walked laps instead.

[tanyato]

Glad you're seeing results! I think sometimes it's a matter of finding that *thing* that we need to bring into balance/cut out/fix etc. and then the weight comes off.

I'm still searching for my thing...

After 2 months of solid, consistant exercise, generally good eating and no wheat or dairy I have lost GAINED 4 pounds. What kind of sick joke is that? Made me want to get back into bed instead of working out. I may get my thyroid checked. And I think I'll start the "no eating after dinner" rule too.

Anyways, keep at it and I hope things keep going well for you!

[DeerMother]

Love your profile pic! Skulls, polka dot and plaid, three of my faves!

What concerns me is switching up the exercise every six weeks or so to keep the lbs coming off. I like the circuit training groove. Also, people at WW talk about switching what they're eating, switching times of meals etc to keep their bodies from getting in a rut and holding onto the weight.