flogging myself to death and only making teeny/tiny progress...fed up! anyone else feel like this?

[xenabelly]

hi all

I joined slimming world 4 weeks ago and have stuck to it rigidly and also been to gym 3/4 times a week. My diet has totally changed (for the better) and i've gone from doing no exercise to lots of exercise and so far i've lost a grand total of ....4lbs...

I know it's good for the weight to come off slow and steady and my diet is loads better but sticking to it and staying motivated to go to gym and resist temptation is sooo hard, especially cos i've got about 3.5 stone to lose so 4lbs is a teeny tiny drip in the ocean.

This question isn't about SW cos i always feel like this no matter what diet club i join, i try so hard and the weight comes off so slowly that i don't feel i get any reward for my efforts and i just get mad and end up eating again.

I am so miserable being overweight and i am very motivated at the moment (sticking to it for 4+ weeks is brilliant for me).

I've been for tea at MIL's tonight and ended up eating more than i should have (but not stupid amounts) but i just know i'll have put on tomorrow night because i've had a big meal tonight, despite being really good all week.

I'm so fed up, feel like it's going to be forever until i start feeling good about myself.

Does anyone else feel like this?

Yes. I do. However, 4lbs is a good amount to lose in the beginning. And don't forget if you're gym-ing it you are likely to put on muscle which weighs more than fat so will slow down the weightloss process. A good idea would be to measure yourself once a month and take a fat % reading.

That said. I have no motivated or willpower. I started going to the gym but got ill so have had to have a week off. It is good though that even with a week off I am still eager to get back down there.

I'm 7 weeks into my new eat less crap and go to the gym regime and have lost no weight at all. However I am now getting into trousers which I thought were lost to me.

Building up muscle is good initially because it burns more calories just doing your day to day stuff. So as you get fitter you will burn off more calories.

Are you feeling healthier, sleeping better, anything un-weight related that you can use as your motivation until the pounds start coming off.

Oh and I weigh a whole kilo more at 4pm than I do at 9am so that's worth considering.

I too am feeling disheartened, but after being on my way of eating for over a year now, know that it's all about peaks and troughs.

I started off weighing once a week, then tried not weighing at all, and I'm currently weighing every day.

What it's shown me is how great the variations can be despite thinking you've done really well. It gives me an overall idea of where I'm at but that is it.

My weight this week has varied by four pounds.
A lot of things influence your weight including fluid, whether or not you have a full bowel, and muscle versus fat ratio.

One thing I've learned is that the best gauge is how you're feeling. How can it be a bad thing if you are providing your body with better fuel and more exercise ? It's very important also to drink lots of water.

I'm sure you'll start to see/feel progress soon.

In the meantime feel empowered that you have taken control and are looking after yourself

xenabelly are you my alter ego!?! I was thinking the exact same thing earlier today - I have 3.5 stones to lose, am doing Weightwatchers and sticking to it 95% of the time, plus I'm going to the gym 3-4 times a week and doing lots of cardio and weight work. I lost 7 lbs in the first month and since then have barely shifted more than 1lb a week. My trousers are a lot looser but I know it's not muscle as my muscle to fat ratio has hardly changed! It's so disheartening when you're making so much effort with diet etc. isn't it! Have you had your thyroid tested as that can sometimes be a cause.

"My trousers are a lot looser but I know it's not muscle as my muscle to fat ratio has hardly changed!"

How did they test the muscle to fat thing. If your trousers are a lot looser then it must be muscle, what else could it be.

I did another fitness assessment this week and found there were a couple of areas where I wasn't really pushing myself. Maybe you need a harder plan now you are fitter?

twentypence the gym lady puts me on these special scales that analyse my body fat percentage - if it goes down it means fat has turned to muscle apparently. I've barely moved half a percentage since I started. I'm pushing myself to the limit already as I keep needing my inhaler and exceeding my maximum heart rate zone so the gym lady told me to work out less intensely but for much longer.

Why not use a tape measure rather then the scales? Measure your waist, upper thigh, upper arm etc. then re-measure every week or so - if you're going to the gym a lot you will see a noticeable difference.

v. good idea swizzler!

You need to exercise in the fat burning zone, which is lower than the cardiac zone you are currently working in, and she's right you do need to do longer in this more comfortable zone.

I second the use of a tape measure, also ask how good 1/2 a % is. That might actually be quite a lot of muscle.

Hi Xenabelly

My understanding is that you retain a lot of water in your muscles (or around them I guess!) when you first start exercising a lot, because they need to know it's there iyswim so hold on to it...

I would also argue with the fat burning zone issue, but say that you definitely are pushing yourself too hard if you go over your max. Try and stay at 80% ish and you should get hte best of both worlds. In the end you only burn a tiny bit more fat than anything else in the fatburning zone, and in the cardio zone your making yourself fitter faster, burning more actual calories (of every sort) and therefore losing weight.
Also, if you have time / inclination, getting into some weights etc will also really help.

Ah, I've just found this which backs up my notes!
exercise.about.com/cs/cardioworkouts/l/aa022601a.htm

Good luck!

PS Make sure that you're not working so hard at the gym that you end up slowing down in the rest of your life. Make sure you still walk everywhere as quickly as poss., and make all those extra trips up the stairs etc..