Seems impossible to lose weight. the day by day..

[dankdankdank]

On jan 1st i started working out. I weighed in at 215 lbs, 6 foot and couldn't run a mile. My diet consisted of eating whatever i wanted, whenever i wanted, with no portion constraint. I drank soda all day every day. I'd imagine my caloric intake was 3000-4000, all dirty. I went from 185 to 215 in less than a year.


It's now Jan 25...

Since Jan 1st to Jan 25 every day diet:

11AM Wake up -

I try to eat every 3 hours and stop at 9pm, no later than 10pm.

My daily intake was

3 egg whites (no yolk) , 1/2 cup oats with 1 banana 3 strawberries. Multivitamin.
Peanut Butter Sandwhich (2 tbsp whole wheat bread)
Can of Tuna (Lite low calorie mayo. 2 tspb)
a bowl of cantaloupe or an apple every day.
6oz chicken breast with a huge heaping side of broccoli and carrots.

It comes out to around 1500-1700 cals taken in every day.

I mix the order of these meals to keep myself somewhat sane. Sometimes i'll make the tuna into a sandwhich and just eat the 2 TBSP PB from a spoon, or make the 6oz chicken breast into a huge sandwhich with lots of peppers and lettuce.


yes boring, but whatever, i needed to lose weight.

I have done Cardio Every single day since Jan 1st up until now. At the start i couldn't run a full mile. So i walked (fast, uphill) for 3. and running as long as i could until i couldn't take it. building endurance. For the past 10 days i have been able to finally run an entire mile without stopping. it takes me 12 minutes, but i can do it. Small victory.

I also have been throwing in 10 minutes on the eliptical after the mile on 3 out of 7 days. My endurance is getting better.

I took 3 days off around jan 15th to 18th from CARDIO but i kept my diet PERFECT except for 1 single solitary double cheeseburger from mcdonalds. Just one.

Well i weighed myself tonight and to my absolute dismay it read at 213.5.

I was expecting 205, hell even 208-209. Something to motivate me to continue this.

Seriously though i have been living flawless (IMO) but i have only lost 1 pound this entire month, and i've heard it gets harder the more you lose?

I'm not going to bitch out, i'm going to get lean if it kills me, but people talk of "3 or 4 pounds a week loss) and i can't even manage to lose TWO in an entire month, staying strict? =/


I cardio at around 10pm at night, btw.

So what do i need to change?

[michielp]

It seems to me you're on the right track. I'm not sure why you didn't lose too much weight, I think your caloric intake is not too high at all. You didn't post what you drink BTW. I hope you ditched the soda as well, otherwise calories add up fast and they won't be the good kind (they would be sugars, as you probably know).
It's possible that your body needs some time to adjust. If you changed you're diet to this from one day to the other, your body might get into 'defense mode'. Your body thinks it's getting to little calories and therefore is being very careful with all it takes, possibly storing fat for when it gets worse. That's why people often recommend gradual shifts in diet.
Keep in mind that 3 or 4 pounds weight loss a week is A LOT! If I were you, I'd see every pound lost as a victory, because it is! It may speed up later, we don't know that. Even though you didn't lose as much weight as you hoped, you have accomplished something. Going from walking to running a full mile shows that you are getting things done for your endurance. Just hang in there and it will happen!
One last thing to note: If you look at it on a daily basis, interval cardio and weight training will burn more calories (especially after the workout). You might try to add in some interval or weight training and it may make a little difference.
Maybe more experienced people will come in and give you some more advise, I really haven't been in that place where I needed to lose weight.

[dankdankdank]

It seems to me you're on the right track. I'm not sure why you didn't lose too much weight, I think your caloric intake is not too high at all. You didn't post what you drink BTW. I hope you ditched the soda as well, otherwise calories add up fast and they won't be the good kind (they would be sugars, as you probably know).
It's possible that your body needs some time to adjust. If you changed you're diet to this from one day to the other, your body might get into 'defense mode'. Your body thinks it's getting to little calories and therefore is being very careful with all it takes, possibly storing fat for when it gets worse. That's why people often recommend gradual shifts in diet.
Keep in mind that 3 or 4 pounds weight loss a week is A LOT! If I were you, I'd see every pound lost as a victory, because it is! It may speed up later, we don't know that. Even though you didn't lose as much weight as you hoped, you have accomplished something. Going from walking to running a full mile shows that you are getting things done for your endurance. Just hang in there and it will happen!
One last thing to note: If you look at it on a daily basis, interval cardio and weight training will burn more calories (especially after the workout). You might try to add in some interval or weight training and it may make a little difference.
Maybe more experienced people will come in and give you some more advise, I really haven't been in that place where I needed to lose weight.

I can definitely see what you're saying about defense mode, i can see my metabolism going into "shock" and slowing down.

I spent 19 years eating whatever i wanted, whenever i wanted. Whatever tasted good and i gorged myself most of the time. I never drank water, only soda.

So i can see my body going "WTF!" haha.

I messed up today, had to help roofing a house (10 hrs) and was away from my home and only thing around was mcdonalds....

But i'm about to hit the gym and nearly kill myself as punishment =P

[TN_WORKOUT]

I was away from my home and only thing around was mcdonalds....

Even McD's has some grilled chicken, fruit and/or salad crap. Just go easy on the mayo, cheese and such (or better yet...pack a lunch).

[Brackneyc]

On jan 1st i started working out. I weighed in at 215 lbs, 6 foot and couldn't run a mile. My diet consisted of eating whatever i wanted, whenever i wanted, with no portion constraint. I drank soda all day every day. I'd imagine my caloric intake was 3000-4000, all dirty. I went from 185 to 215 in less than a year.


It's now Jan 25...

Since Jan 1st to Jan 25 every day diet:

11AM Wake up -

I try to eat every 3 hours and stop at 9pm, no later than 10pm.

My daily intake was

3 egg whites (no yolk) , 1/2 cup oats with 1 banana 3 strawberries. Multivitamin.
Peanut Butter Sandwhich (2 tbsp whole wheat bread)
Can of Tuna (Lite low calorie mayo. 2 tspb)
a bowl of cantaloupe or an apple every day.
6oz chicken breast with a huge heaping side of broccoli and carrots.

It comes out to around 1500-1700 cals taken in every day.

I mix the order of these meals to keep myself somewhat sane. Sometimes i'll make the tuna into a sandwhich and just eat the 2 TBSP PB from a spoon, or make the 6oz chicken breast into a huge sandwhich with lots of peppers and lettuce.


yes boring, but whatever, i needed to lose weight.

I have done Cardio Every single day since Jan 1st up until now. At the start i couldn't run a full mile. So i walked (fast, uphill) for 3. and running as long as i could until i couldn't take it. building endurance. For the past 10 days i have been able to finally run an entire mile without stopping. it takes me 12 minutes, but i can do it. Small victory.

I also have been throwing in 10 minutes on the eliptical after the mile on 3 out of 7 days. My endurance is getting better.

I took 3 days off around jan 15th to 18th from CARDIO but i kept my diet PERFECT except for 1 single solitary double cheeseburger from mcdonalds. Just one.

Well i weighed myself tonight and to my absolute dismay it read at 213.5.

I was expecting 205, hell even 208-209. Something to motivate me to continue this.

Seriously though i have been living flawless (IMO) but i have only lost 1 pound this entire month, and i've heard it gets harder the more you lose?

I'm not going to bitch out, i'm going to get lean if it kills me, but people talk of "3 or 4 pounds a week loss) and i can't even manage to lose TWO in an entire month, staying strict? =/


I cardio at around 10pm at night, btw.

So what do i need to change?

How much water are you drinking a day? If it is less than a gallon, bump it up to a gallon. Some guys (and I do on occasion) drink ore than that. At your current caloric deficit, there is no explanation I can offer as to why you aren't losing weight. You should be losing 2 lbs a week with that, and you could do that by sitting on the couch, not moving a muscle all day. Even if your body is in survival mode, it cannot fight a regimented daily caloric deficit. It doesn't not have the ability to consume energy, and at the same time, not get smaller (providing the calorie deficit remain constant).

With your current level of cardio, you could easily add a few hundred more cals and still lose weight. If it were me (and it was before I dropped 53 lbs), I'd mix in weight lifting, or even make it your primary training.

[tavy87]

made an account just to respond to this thread...

i was in the same boat this past may.. went from 170 to 215 in a year of ****ty habits and felt horrible. i would eat maybe 4000 calories a day of junk food and rarely work out. then i spent the summer changing that. i ate 1700 calories a day, all clean. worked out every day (hour of weights, hour of intense cardio). after a month of this i weighed in around 213. i was dismayed. i saw doctors who laughed when i told them i ate 1700 calories a day and worked out daily and wasn't losing weight. they thought i was lying or mistaken in my calorie counting which is frustrating to hear when you actually know how to count calories (unlike the average person who couldn't guesstimate calories in a meal for the life of them)

well i kept at it anyway because i knew i was making gains. i could lift more, i could do cardio harder, i FELT better. even if i wasn't losing weight on the scale, how was i to know if i had lost 10 pounds of fat and gained 8 pounds of muscle?

after that first month the fat started to melt off. lost 30 more pounds in the next few months.

all i can say is keep at it. youve jumpstarted your body and now that it's working in high gear you'll start to see results. im sure you can feel them already, so just work out hard for a couple more months and you'll SEE results.

just my 2 cents because ive been there and want to make sure you realize how much youve already accomplished even if you dont see it yet

[sham68]

made an account just to respond to this thread...

i was in the same boat this past may.. went from 170 to 215 in a year of ****ty habits and felt horrible. i would eat maybe 4000 calories a day of junk food and rarely work out. then i spent the summer changing that. i ate 1700 calories a day, all clean. worked out every day (hour of weights, hour of intense cardio). after a month of this i weighed in around 213. i was dismayed. i saw doctors who laughed when i told them i ate 1700 calories a day and worked out daily and wasn't losing weight. they thought i was lying or mistaken in my calorie counting which is frustrating to hear when you actually know how to count calories (unlike the average person who couldn't guesstimate calories in a meal for the life of them)

well i kept at it anyway because i knew i was making gains. i could lift more, i could do cardio harder, i FELT better. even if i wasn't losing weight on the scale, how was i to know if i had lost 10 pounds of fat and gained 8 pounds of muscle?

after that first month the fat started to melt off. lost 30 more pounds in the next few months.

all i can say is keep at it. youve jumpstarted your body and now that it's working in high gear you'll start to see results. im sure you can feel them already, so just work out hard for a couple more months and you'll SEE results.

just my 2 cents because ive been there and want to make sure you realize how much youve already accomplished even if you dont see it yet

Inspiring