# why can't i lose weight? i feel so frustrated



## Carina1962 (May 19, 2011)

I just don't understand it - what do i have to do to lose weight?  I have been going to a gym nearly every day for the last month, i write down everything i eat and am careful about what i eat but i still haven't lost anything! i'm seriously thinking about going on a liquid diet like slimfast or lighter life and think i'll go and see the GP about this because if i cut down my food any more i will prob be on a starvation diet, i'm just really baffled by the fact that i can't seem to lose weight even though i am doing all the rights things - i don't know what more i can do


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## Sheilagh1958 (May 19, 2011)

Have you got a lot to loose Carina.

Just wondering if you have reached your ideal weight and thats why it won't budge


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## Northerner (May 19, 2011)

Do you feel you have much to lose Carina? I probably don''t have a lot to lose but I am also finding it virtually impossible despite doing all the right things. What you should bear in mind though, is that your trips to the gym are far from wasted. As you are probably building and tonning your muscles, this will offset any weight lost in excess fat, as muscle is denser and heavier than fat. If this is what is happening then perhaps it would be worth using not weight loss as your motivation, but changes in your body shape - are you losing centimetres from your waist, hips and arms perhaps? Don't lose hope! Do you feel better for the exercise? I know it is frustrating not to see the pounds melting away, but you will be benefitting in so many ways, perhaps without realising it because you are focussed on weight.

p.s. Sheilagh - we started our posts with the same thought!


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## Robster65 (May 19, 2011)

Hi Carina.

Have you totalled up your calorie intake for each day from your diary ?

You could maybe get one of the trainers at the gym to give an estimate of how many calories you're burning up there and there should be some averages of intake calories required for weight loss on the internet.

If you're definitely only eating the recommended calories for weight loss then it's probably what Northerner suggests and you're building muscle.

Rob


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## Carina1962 (May 19, 2011)

I weigh 14st 2lbs and am 5'1" so should weigh about 9.5 stones for my height so yes, i have a few stones to lose.  In answer to your questions, Northerner, I feel loads better in myself by going to the gym and have lost a few cms from my waist already and my clothes are starting to feel better on me - not so tight but the reason i want to lose weight is because surely that is important in helping my D control even more and BP and cholesterol coming down?  i just don't want to be 5 or 6 stones overweight, my BMI is 37.4 and i am obese so i just thought that going to the gym would speed up my weight loss considerably as well as feeling fitter.  I won't stop the gym as i certainly have felt a difference in my well-being since joining but this weight loss is absolutely baffling me.  I'm thinking of making an appointment to see my GP about this to see what they suggest.  My thyroid has been test some time ago and it was fine so can't blame it on that.  I've tried calorie counting, WW propoints (which i'm currently doing myself atm), i've tried the Cambridge diet about a year ago (i did actually lose on that but it consisted of porridge in the morning, a soup at lunchtime and nothing else until my main meal in the evening but at least it worked).  Has anyone else got any suggestions for me?


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## Sheilagh1958 (May 19, 2011)

Hi Carina I find the only way I can loose weight and continue to loose weight is by attending a class and getting weighed by someone else. Hence why I am probably not loosing weight at the moment because I am trying to do it myself

What sort of things do you normally eat?


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## Carina1962 (May 19, 2011)

My menu today was

breakfast
25g granola with a few blueberries
slice of seeded toast

mid-am
13g mixed nuts

Lunch
2 pieces of cooked chicken (without skin)
2 ryvitas

mid-pm
banana

Eve meal
small carvery with a small glass of wine

bedtime
I usually have a cup of tea and sometimes a couple of squares of dark chocolate

Does this not sound a healthly day's menu?


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## PTM (May 19, 2011)

*Dont Panic!*

Hi Carina.

"BMI 37.4 & 14st 2lbs"

So should weigh about 9.5 stones ?

You will do eventualy or somwhere near that & you will be fit & healthy
But please dont force it Concentrate on the fit & healthy & the weight will go

What was your heaviest weight /BMI?
Be happy with any measured success to date
It is to easy for weight to be the only mesure we get hooked on
Dont be scared of buying new clothes that actualy fit your fitter body
& look forward to getting rid of them as you get fitter

Go for this long term & sensibley & it will last
Fads will end in serious frustration 
If your BMI stays over 25 for a little while longer
Keeping fit & foucused will serve you for life 
Dont Panic your doing OK & the scales are not in charge of you
You are 
Good luck 
PTM


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## Sheilagh1958 (May 19, 2011)

carina62 said:


> My menu today was
> 
> breakfast
> 25g granola with a few blueberries
> ...



Sounds healthy to me


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## Carina1962 (May 19, 2011)

Thanks, PTM.  I won't ever give up and pleased that i have made a 'change' in my lifestyle by getting regular excercise by going to the gym (I also like walking).  As from tomorrow i will start counting calories and try and keep to about 1000 to 1250 a day and see what happens next week, i will just have to accept that it will be a long and slow progress.  When i was diagnosed in 2009 i weighed in at 15st which is the heaviest i've been and my BMI was just over 38 so there has been a slight improvement which i suppose is better than nothing, i was just expecting to lose about 1 to 2lbs a week and the fact that this isn't happening is disheartening to say the least.  I will carry on with what i'm doing and hope in a few weeks time i will see some results (I hope).

I have to say that i sometimes don't know which pattern to follow ie do i do WW or calorie count or maybe slimming world but i can't really afford to go to weekly paid slimming classes as well as paying for a gym - such a dilemma sometimes!


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## Robster65 (May 19, 2011)

Hi Carina.

I don't know if these are worthy suggestions or whether I'm speaking out of turn.

I've never had snacks in between meals, so wonder if they could be cut out or substituted for something less calorific ?  (maybe even a drink which can fill you up?)

As an example, the 2 squares of bournville are about 75 calories, which is the same as an egg (although tastes a whole lot better!).

Do you drink much milk ? Maybe with breakfast or in coffee ?

Could you swap your breakfast toast for a dollop or two of yoghurt ?

I have (much larger portions) muesli, yoghurt and blueberries. If I was trying to lose weight, I would probably have your quantities but yoghurt slows everything down so you may not want a snack.

At the gym do you go for fairly aggressive exercise ?
eg. on a running machine, go as far and fast as you can manage so you get out of breath and sweat and maintain that for as long as poss, or a cross trainer for half an hour at a high resistance. 

If you could note your calories, you may find things you can swap for that will add up to less but still fill you up and still taste good.

You've done amazingly well to motivate yourself this far and I hope you can keep going and build upon what you've done to reach YOUR targets and feel better.


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## Mark T (May 20, 2011)

Hi Carina, If you need the encouragement, keep on going! 

Your not doing too bad, your diet looks ok to me - its possibly slightly higher in carbs then me as I swap the granola/toast in the mornings for yoghurt and walnuts (mostly because even Burgen sends me towards double figures in the morning).

I've mostly been loosing at 0.5 lb per week.  I've personally found that walking works better for me then Wii Fit/Gym style training and recently I've been keeping a minimum of 5000 steps on my Omron each day.


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