I know it's good for me, but.....

 I am aiming for 100 pounds lost by the 29th of January, which is my 10 month anniversary.  I am currently at 97 pounds lost.  Well, okay, so some days I'm at 95 pounds lost.  I have been exercising regularly since the beginning of the month.  I had a long hiatus (read didn't go to the gym because I was lazy) since like around September, 2010.  But I am back with a vengeance, doing 60 minute classes, mixing it up, 30-45 minutes on the elliptical, free weights.  You name it I'm doing it.  And I'm doing it like 4-5 days a week, no more excuses.

So why hasn't the damn scale moved?!??!?!?!!  I know that exercise is good for me, I concede that.  And I love it, I love the classes and I'm finding muscles I didn't know I had.  But for the love of god, can the scale please move?!?!?!?!?!?!!?

I imagine I am not eating enough.  I haven't changed my eating habits along with the increase in exercise.  Can that be accomplished simply by adding a protein shake at night? I don't do the bars, not my thing, but I can do a protein shake.

Any suggestions and if not suggestions, anyone sharing my pain on this?!?

congrats on the weight loss first.

You have lost alot of weight in 10 months so relax .  Putting pressure on yourself to be at this certain goal by this time isn't good for you and it does add stress to the body and that will make you not lose weight.

If you are doing all these exercise classes are you getting enough carbs and calories in for your needs ?   Not eating enough will stop you from losing weight also especially if you are exercising alot .

People need to understand also if you are not eating enough it will totally screw up your metabolism and it will keep you from losing weight also.   I learned this from reading and my personal trainer .   Your body will hold onto them calories and you just will not lose and your metabolism will just become non working.   Your body can only handle staying to low on calories for so long and then you will stop losing weight because it will think you are going into starvation mode .

For me to lose weight and do my extreme Zumba I have to eat between 1200 to 1600 calories per day and carbs no less then 50 to 100 per day .  

Dont do what I did . I kept my calories way to low went to Zumba class and fainted . That was due to me not eating enough and not keeping my carbs up .   I messed up my whole body from exericising and not eating enough .

Another thing you probably are building muscle up also .  I haven't lost any weight for a good three weeks now but I can tell in my clothes that I have lost inches so seeing the scale move is not the only thing that is important . Measuring yourself also is important.

Just dont eat like a bird thinking the weight will come off faster , because trust me it will do you more damage and harm in the long run .

Thanks Steelerfan :)

I don't intentionally keep the calories low.  I eat pretty much constantly and track all my food.  I'm definitely not eating like a bird!  Just honestly I can't eat a whole lot at one time, so I have to space stuff out and I'm really not that hungry at all.

I haven't measured myself, my bad.  And I am happy with what i've achieved definitely!  I will probably be adding some protein before the gym and then after, to up the calories.  And just hang in there and keep doing what i'm doing!!!

You have probably lost the 100lbs of fat, you just put on some muscle to replace it. I would call 97lbs (or 95) a victory.

Thanks Bexie :)

I totally consider it a victory. Looking back it looks like I was whining, please that so isn't true!!! I was more frustrated over thinking that adding this mad exercise regimen would help me to shave off those last 3 pounds to reach 100.  I honestly don't even have a goal after that.  Just that the scale has been there for like 6 weeks now.  Driving me CRAZY.

By the way, how are you doing? I was thinking of you the other day.  Did everything heal up okay for you??

You'd lose at least a pound if you shave your head like Bette.


Sorry. I know it's not funny. (and yet I still posted it. what's up with that?  )

I'm in a 10 day stall, too. Just keep the faith, and watch the carbs.

We'll move when our body wants too. It doesn't have a calendar.

LOL sadly my hair doesn't weigh 3 pounds.  Wi**** did, I might revert to that!

Mine is about 6 weeks of a stall, started before Christmas.  I'm just going to hang in there.  That's all I can do. 

And yeah, our bodies definitely do things on their own clock!!!!

Maybe the intensity of the exercise isn't right? Are you warming up and stretching before working out? If not, you might want to try doing that.  It will help ready your muscles for the workout and your workout will be more effective.

I used to work out for hours at a time. And I just couldn't seem to lose or change my body. And then a trainer told me all the things I was doing wrong... getting on the machines immediately, doing the incorrect intensity, NOT warming up and stretching. I was told that the benefits of working out without warming up and stretching first are greatly diminished.

The other thing is consistency. And, I am horrible with consistency. But, that's the key, from what I've been told.  I AM sharing your pain with this!!!  It's easy to know the right things to do, but it's much harder to DO them!

NM,

When I was working out in the past I'd be on the elliptical for 45 minutes and then do the weight circuit for the full round.  This time around I realized that I had just really not been mixing it up so i decided to change my approach.  So I started doing classes.  They are about 60  minutes a piece and they vary in their design.  But they all start out with the warm up and then have a cool down.  The middle part is where it varies. I do a weight lifting class, a zumba, a pilates/yoga and a cardio/strength/balance class.  When I am waiting for a class or if i have enough energy after, I hop on the elliptical.

So I thought I was doing all the right things, yanno?

Now, I have only been doing this for like 3 weeks now, 4 - 5 classes a week.  Perhaps I should inject a little bit of patience into my routine!!! 

I definitely didn't want to seem like I was whining.  I was just really frustrated over the whole 6 week stall thing!! But it will change when it wants to I imagine!

Thanks for the food for thought :)

I completely hear you and understand. I desperately wanted to be at 100lbs lost by the 1 year anniversary of my first surgical consult.  Instead, I was at 95.  Does it really make a difference? Are you enjoying your new body? Are you proud of your progress? Is your surgeon happy? Do you feel great? I can't imagine the answer to any of these is "no".

So relax a bit and let your body have a break. I lost 90lbs in 9 months and then 5 more over the next 3 months.  Losing 10 per month is breakneck speed and your body probably needs a break. Don't get lazy, keep up the exercise, but yes, eating more would probably help. Adding in a protein shake in the morning sounds like a better idea to me than at night though.