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Old 01-29-15, 07:37 AM  
Tugger31
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Encouragement Needed

Ok, I don't vent much but after about 6 weeks of what I consider no progress, I'm getting a bit discouraged. I'm in my mid 40's, have had my thyroid, hormones etc all checked and all normal. I've been trying to lose body fat/10-15 lbs and I just cannot seem to make an ounce of progress. Part I know is my diet, but I have IBS and that makes it challenging as I can't eat any fruit but bananas and I can't eat salad. In the past I've counted WW points and lost but this time even that doesnt seem to be working. I work 5 days a week, leave the house at 7am, get home at 6pm and I'm on my feet all day. I suffer from insomnia so most mornings I find it difficult to get up to workout from having about 5 hrs of sleep. When I get home, I'm hungry, want to spend time with my family and I'm just tired. The last thing I want to do is workout. Since mid-December I had been working my way through all of my new Cathe RWH workouts, doing them all twice so far then I simply got tired from all the intensity and have scaled down my workouts a bit to the point of last week only working out twice the whole week.

Sorry for the venting/complaining. I'm getting discouraged as I really want to feel somewhat more comfortable come tank top and shorts season for the first time in years. Any encouragement or commiserations are welcome. Thanks
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Old 01-29-15, 07:57 AM  
lreidgreen
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: New Jersey
I am not exactly in the same boat but I am feeling discouraged as well due to a back injury.
In the diet department, I suggest trying to see a nutritionist/dietician for ideas of what you can eat that might help with weight loss. Maybe also use My Fitness Pal to log your food to see how many calories you are actually eating.

Definitely back off on the intensity if you dread it or if it makes you feel worse. I know you are on your feet all day but walking really does wonders. I also suggest trying yoga, Tai Chi or Qi Gong for lighter workouts until you have more energy to move on to something more intense. They help with stress control which impedes weight/fat loss. At the moment, I am doing bodyweight workouts in place of lifting so you might want to try that as well. Also make sure you are getting enough sleep.I need to take my own advice on the sleep.
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Old 01-29-15, 08:11 AM  
lrb04
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Since you are on your feet all day, it is important that you find something you like to do & maybe a family member can join you. I am a huge Leslie fan so I reccommend doing a 15" walk as often as you can in a weeks time to get you in the exercise routine. Or maybe a Powerfit or something shorter. Also I suggest working on trigger foods & setting a goal with that. I have found that setting goals of how much to eat of certain foods that I tend to over eat keeps me on track. Also trying eliminating certain foods for a week or month. You can do it because you are stronger than you know. Also if you have the time join a check in so you can be accountable on so called paper.
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Old 01-29-15, 08:20 AM  
neatski
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Orlando, FL
You can do this! We all have ups and downs, and the important thing is to not beat yourself up when you fall off the wagon. Just get back on and start fresh. I do think it would be so helpful to try to find a routine you truly enjoy. In the past year, while breastfeeding, working full time and taking care of a baby myself, I could not find the motivation to do the torturous high intensity routines I was used to, so I wouldn't work out at all. But I had a mental block about doing "easier" workouts because I am advanced generally. Finally I realized that made no sense at all, started doing Barre3 regularly because I love doing them, and the rest is history. I have pretty much never been as consistent, and it's so much easier to be consistent with my nutrition when I'm happy to be working out and feeling good.

Another suggestion: ignore that scale!!! Inches fall off faster than pounds sometimes, and it'll keep you motivated.
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Old 01-29-15, 08:22 AM  
susan p
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Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Kansas City
I have gotten stuck in that same cycle SEVERAL times in the last decade or so. Sometimes you look at the numbers in and out and it looks like, by the math, you should be losing and you just DON'T. It's so frustrating to be doing everything "right" and not seeing weight loss results.

I can tell you that after several cycles of this, I began to realize that if I am doing intense workouts, I do not lose weight, period. If I'm doing a ton of intervals and really heavy lifting, my body just FREEZES. Or gains.

When I'm doing lighter stuff, lots of walking and easy step and barre, I CAN lose!! It took literally YEARS of experimentation to discover this. My body goes into some kind of conservation mode when I'm doing intense workouts. SO. . . I just don't, much, anymore. When I keep my workouts more intermediate, it's like a miracle happens. I just do one more advanced strength workout a week.

I do believe it's basically about calories in and calories out, and intense exercise = more calories out. However, your body does have compensatory mechanisms that kick in, because while your goal is weight loss, your body's goal is homeostasis. So you might need to do lighter workouts so you don't scare it.
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Old 01-29-15, 08:25 AM  
lreidgreen
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: New Jersey
I agree with Fran, Susan and Neatski. I was just coming back to suggest finding something that is FUN to do without any regard to burning calories or getting in an intense workout. Personally I love Just Dance on the wii. I am not what anyone would consider a dancer -I am uncoordinated and look ridiculous but it is so much fun I keep going and going. I am just using JD as an example. You need to find YOUR Just Dance.
The trigger foods comment is on point. Since the new year I got into a bad habit of eating Cherios and milk every night before bed. Yesterday I told DH to hide them from me! He suggested getting to bed earlier so I don't snack at night and get much needed sleep. So yesterday was my first night concentrating on this. Work on one habit at a time. A dietician I went to see suggested oatmeal in the mornings but that always triggers me to pig out during the day for some reason.

Regarding the habits-I did an online group healthy eating habits training last year. You were supposed to work on 1 habit a week.
1. Taking 20 minutes to eat a meal
2. Concentrate on eating-no eating in front of the TV, Computer, book, etc.
3. Drinking water at each meal
4. Eating protein at each meal
4. Eating vegetables at each meal
I forget the rest but you get the idea.
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Old 01-29-15, 08:34 AM  
PennyK
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Sending hugs!

I would like to suggest doing some Classical Stretch, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, or some Kundalini. It sounds like you may fair better with something easier and calming. I am currently on a CS/Essentrics rotation and have been feeling fantastic after quite a slump in previous months. I personally have so much more weight to lose and that is my main focus this year and even though i have only lost a couple pounds since the beginning of January, my clothes are fitting much looser and my husband has commented that i look and feel smaller. I have also been sleeping better. I do have some digestive issues and really feel like small portions of whatever i eat/mostly good helps tremendously.

Karen Holden has seated and standing stretch videos that i just adore. I especially enjoy the seated practice when i'm feeling crummy or don't want to do anything and it really helps calm and soothe my aches and soul. And sometimes i think that is all you need to lift you back up!
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Old 01-29-15, 08:41 AM  
Tugger31
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Thanks for all the comments. For me, it's not so much that I lack motivation, I lack energy! When the alarm goes off it's either workout or get my much needed extra hour of sleep and lately sleep has been winning. I am against sleep medications and insomnia is something I've struggled with even when I was a kid, just when I was younger I could function better on 5 hrs of sleep.

As for diet, I really dont have much a problem with trigger foods, it's more my IBS that gets in the way. In the past I lose more efficiently with a lower carb diet but that is difficult b/c I feel tired and also lower carb foods flare up my GI tract something awful. For instance I can't eat apples, pears, onions, lettuce, cucumbers.....you get the picture, but white rice doesnt bother me nor does oatmeal. It's a constant challenge to eat healthy, keep cals low and not cause an IBS flare.

I do think I need to work on my mindset about "easier" workouts. Right now I feel like if I can't burn many cals then what's the point of taking 1 more hour out of my day to exercise when I can be doing all the other things I have to do.

Thanks again for the comments
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Old 01-29-15, 09:43 AM  
momofcha
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Illinois
Tugger - I feel your pain. My exhaustion is thyroid related, but honestly what worked for me is Buti. I posted my results/thoughts a while back, but the mental benefit Buti gave me was huge. Not that buti is easy, but it's not draining. I am able to do a 45 minute workout, forget my problems, feel good, and energized when I finished. I'm still trying to lose weight - but again, my issue is because of my thyroid. I look forward to my buti sessions.

Definitely find something you enjoy. It will happen when you stop thinking about it.
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Old 01-29-15, 10:09 AM  
mle777
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Health is like a table (thank you Jason Sieb for this analogy). There are four legs to the table: diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management. Try looking at all four legs and make sure that you have a balanced table, not a lopsided table. Until all four are balanced, it can make it really hard to lose weight. I'm sorry that you're struggling, I understand how you feel. I have an unbalanced table myself right now. Sending hugs your way!
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