jcbag97's Journal, 07 March 2011

First thing you need to do is think "have I been completely honest about what I have been eating this year". Have you been constantly going on and off plan. That will cause your weight to yo-yo and stay within a certain range. Are you eating plenty of lean protein, dairy, fruits and veggies? Are you eating too many processed foods? Are you sticking to the proper caloric intake for your current age, height and activity levels. Are you drinking enough water to stay hydrated and flush out sodium? Are you exercising a few times a week to burn calories? Are you taking in too many "bites, licks and tastes" and not recording them? Have you changed around caloric intake to see what might work. Maybe try a week of being 100% on plan eating 1300 calories for a week and see if you lose. If you do than it's most likely something you are doing or not doing that is causing you to not get the weight off. If you have exhausted all possibilities, then it might be medical (like thyroid). Good luck! Hopefully, you will be heading downward soon. 

Ditto what suzi says- time to look at what you're doing and also look to where you can change things up. If you're going for 1300 caloires, maybe that's not enough? I'm only about 12 lbs more than you and I eat 1700 or more. Granted, there are a lot of other factors involved, but the bottom line is that if you're not giving your body enough fuel, its going to cling to those extra calories and not let you lose weight. It sounds like your body doesn't want to lose weight, but that probably doesn't mean it can't- it just means that there's something that's in your way. I'd look for ways that you can shock your body out of complacency- Can you try eating smaller meals more often? Or getting a workout in first thing in the morning if you're worried about jump starting your metabolism? Have you tried interval training? Or calorie cycling? Or introducing some new form of exercise? Is there a nutritionist or trainer that you can consult with that may shed some light on things? The key is the change things up, record what you're doing, give it a little time to work, then evaluate the results. There is a winning formula out there and if you keep looking, you will find it! And if you don't, then its probably a good idea to check in with the doc to see if there's another explanation.  

Yes. When I started FatSmash and losing weight on FatSecret I was 172. I lost 20 pounds in two or three months by eating between 1500-1700 calories. I wasn't counting calories in the first phase of Fat Smash either, just focusing on eating whole, nutritional food. (Lots of beans and veggies and very little processed food.) I remember noticing, though, that I lost the most when my calories were around this amount. As I lost and got closer to my goal, I had to gradually decrease calories to lose but not when I was above 150. I think if you focus more on getting those nutrients in than the number of calories you'll find yourself feeling more sated and less hungry and it won't be such a struggle.  

I have only been on FS for a week, so not giving up yet. Just maybe not eating enough still. I think the highest logged in was 1300 calories. With FS you can have unlimited fruits, veggies and maybe just need to up my "good calories" a bit. Once Houston is behind me on the 20th, I plan to get back to early am workouts. The walking at lunch has been good, but need the morning workouts. When I lost the weight in 2009, I was getting up 4:30 and doing 30 day Shred, treadmill, eliptical, something at least 5 days a week. If I didn't get in the morning workout, as soon as boys went to bed, I would get out the Shred DVD. This time, once I have the boys down, the last thing I want to do is workout, therefore I either go to bed, do laundry, housework, etc. A lot for me is MENTAL. I am just having a tough time focusing with all the other things going on around me. I have been on the road for several weeks at a town, life has been go, go, go. I have done better the past 3 weeks we have been home and I could schedule, but tomorrow it is back to the stockshows. Thanks everyone, I was having a "burnout moment" but I am better and NOT GIVING UP!!!! 

I have only been on FS for a week, so not giving up yet. Just maybe not eating enough still. I think the highest logged in was 1300 calories. With FS you can have unlimited fruits, veggies and maybe just need to up my "good calories" a bit. Once Houston is behind me on the 20th, I plan to get back to early am workouts. The walking at lunch has been good, but need the morning workouts. When I lost the weight in 2009, I was getting up 4:30 and doing 30 day Shred, treadmill, eliptical, something at least 5 days a week. If I didn't get in the morning workout, as soon as boys went to bed, I would get out the Shred DVD. This time, once I have the boys down, the last thing I want to do is workout, therefore I either go to bed, do laundry, housework, etc. A lot for me is MENTAL. I am just having a tough time focusing with all the other things going on around me. I have been on the road for several weeks at a town, life has been go, go, go. I have done better the past 3 weeks we have been home and I could schedule, but tomorrow it is back to the stockshows. Thanks everyone, I was having a "burnout moment" but I am better and NOT GIVING UP!!!! 

@ Beets. I am going to write down what I eat on a tablet and not online. As you pointed out, the calories are the focus of the Fatsmash diet, therefore I need to focus on getting in the foods I am allowed and feeling full with them. When I would hit a certain "Calorie" for the day, I would back off eating when I could have had something. I am also going to start adding in "mid morning and afternoon snacks". If nothing more than a fruit or veggie to munch on.