Do you get frustrated?

I have found, for me, weight comes off in the kitchen.  When I'm training to get in better shape, I need to make sure I'm fueled well enough and I generally don't lose weight during those times. It's much more efficient, calorie wise, to take the weight off through diet than to try and do enough exercise to generate the calorie deficit required to lose weight.

That is in my experience, and I have lost 46 pounds since February 17th.  I do realize it isn't the same for everyone.

I read once that you need to lose weight first, then train.  I've only been able to lose weight by cutting calories.  Training makes me feel better and does make me more tone, but it also makes me more hungry :-)

My first tri is coming up, I signed up AG figuring with all the training I would be doing I would be under Athena weight by then.  Nope.  Still 155.  Oh well.

I'm in the same boat.  I even started a blog http://athenatriathlete.wordpress.com/ to talk about my own struggles.  I have a good 20 pounds that just won't move.  The entire winter I trained for a 70.3 race I was doing in Texas in April.  The scale is still where it has always been.

I'm VERY frustrated.  My sweet (almost some times too passive) doctor would like me to be happy just the way I am.  

I am happy with my accomplishments.  But now that I've proven I have the endurance, I would love to get faster.  I don't think that is going to happen without dropping some weight.  Especially on courses with hills.

Definitely frustrating!

In 2 words - hell, yes. I get frustrated. And I have far from figured this thing out yet.  I've been working out about 7-10 hours/week since January and have dropped 25 lbs.  But I could lose 50 more (and still be an Athena).  I think the thing I like to do (working out) is much easier than the thing I don't like to do (eating healthily).  So, since I'm done my last "serious" race of the year, I am switching gears in August (after the 2 week vacation).  I'm cutting back on the endurance workouts for a while(I'll still workout, just not for 2 hours at a time), and working more on the nutrition piece.  We'll see if that works.

But I'm frankly sick of going to races (just did my 9th race last weekend) and getting asked "is this your first race?".  Because the vision of a regularly competing triathlete isn't, well...me.  So I'm up for trying something new.

It sounds like you're doing a lot of the right things. And I feel you on the frustration of medication getting in the way of your weight loss.

Have you considered changing your routine a bit? Personally, I'm a fan of DVDs like P90x or Insanity. Even if you can't finish the entire workout at first, it's something different and it incorporates muscle confusion.

You have to maintain the running, swimming, biking. That's a given, but if you supplement that with some other intense cardio, that might help.

Just a thought. You can find that sort of stuff on beachbody.com

Yes to frustration! I've been training for my first tri for about three months. I'm 6'3" and 215 lbs. I dropped from 219 to 15 quickly, then slowly to about 213, now back up to 215-17. I'm slimmer, but have added core and leg muscle from swimming and biking that I wouldn't add if I was just running. 

I'm pretty much just ignoring weight now.

My calorie goal is 2,700 each day (using Livestrong to track) but with so much exercise I rarely if ever meet my intake goals. 

Overall happy now that I'm ignoring the scale other than as a data source rather and a judgement tool.

Dan

Not really. It took me years to get this way, why would it take me weeks to get thinner?

Anyway, just to point out, the whole writing down what you eat thing only works if you do it fairly religiously for at least a two months or so and then take what you learn and modify your diet by cutting things down or out, etc.  It is just a tool to help you understand what you are eating and drinking - calories, portions, etc - throughout the day.  Just writing something down for a week with no analysis or correction isn't helpful.  I use an online diary to help me with this.

When I started training for triathlons I did it with the mind set of completing a HIM and dropping from 276.2 to 230 within a year.  Within the first seven months I dropped to 226 while training regularly and closely watching my diet (not over eating, not eating sweets, etc. - I refuse to count calories or give up good tasting food).  After the first seven months I increased my training volume focusing on the HIM distance and I stopped closely watching my diet.  I was able to maintain my weight around 230 until I finished the HIM training.  Then I started mainly running and continued not focusing on my diet - which took my weight up to 242.  Started tri training again and was able to maintain that weight even with not worrying about diet.  Started focusing on diet again a couple weeks ago along with tri training and I am down to 236.2.

What does that tell me in a nut shell - (1) focusing on training and diet = lose weight; (2) focusing on training but not diet = maintain weight; (3) less effort in training and not focusing on diet = gain weight.  For me it seems that it is as simple as burning more calories than I'm taking in.  There are many ways to lose weight, but none that I have found are as fulfilling than triathlons.

I started this process of fitness at age 30 6'5" ~250 lbs.  I knew things were getting bad one day when I looked at myself in the mirror after getting out of shower and was shocked when I saw a side profile.  ugh...

I resolved to join a gym to begin to get back into shape when I had my first child.  Nobody wants a fat daddy right??

So, did weights and light cardio for maybe a year.  Quickly (within 3 months maybe?) lost about 20 lbs.  I thought I was done losing weight.  Some friends of mine did their first marathon and I thought that looks cool.  I'll do one in exactly one year.  So, after a year of running with a 5k, 10k, sprint, half-mary, and a mary I had lost another 10 lbs (down to 220). I thought I was done losing weight.

Next year, basically the same routine...10k, some sprints, oly, half-mary, and a mary, no weight change.

In 2008 after 3 years of physical activity, I had a physical at drs office.  Was diagnosed with high cholesterol.  Decided to radically change my diet to minimize cholesterol intake.  Mostly eliminated all the bad foods...processed carbs, high fat stuff, red meat, cheese, etc.  Within 2-3 months of making that diet change had dropped another 20 lbs.

I'm currently hovering slightly above the 200lb mark and have been since February 2009.  Took a body-fat test couple of months ago, they said I was around 8%.  So, maybe I lose another 5-10 lbs.  I suspect that's unlikely though. 

My point is that, it is very very very easy to out-eat even the most vigorous exercise programs.  If you can't get a handle on the amount of calories you ingest and eliminate the worst of the worst, weight loss will always be difficult.  Once you do though, the weight will literally melt off.  

Definitely frustrating at times but for me, as long as I am improving at what I am doing I do not let it get the better of me. Focus on what you can do and are doing rather than what you can't do.

We are our own worst critics and our minds will play games with us because we know we will never be perfect... I just need to be happy and I am. Going from 262 in Dec 2009 to 210 now means a lot to me. But I know many trim 185 guys who would be hard pressed to finish a triathlon.

Just keep smiling. It appears to me that you've already beat something a lot greater than weightloss.

Hah! I thought that only happened to me! I have a total complex about it!

Here's what I've learned about myself. If I use some online calculator of basal metabolic rate to determine how many calories I'm supposed to eat a day, at my current weight,  without extra exercise and not gain weight, I'd gain a million bazillion pounds. (It will tell me I need to eat 2700 calories a day, assuming no exercise). Those online calculators will also overestimate calorie expenditure in exercise (I think because they are calculating total lean body mass weight, and don't take into account that overweight people are carrying a high body fat index and we all know body fat doesn't burn as many calories an hour as lean muscle mass.) 

If I enter the average  healthy weight for a person my height (147--my desired weight)  and then determine BMR- it's closer. However, I have to calculate it by also marking myself as "sedentary" so it gives a lower calorie count. It will show I can't consume over 1750 in calories a day, with two hours of moderate exercise, without gaining weight. If I don't exercise, I better eat less than that.

As it stands, if I eat under 1500 calories a day (20% protein, 20% fat, 60% carbs) and workout 90-120 minutes a day, I will lose .4 a pound a day. I only figured this all out by religiously counting calories and exercise and determining where the "tipping point" for weight loss and weight gain is for myself-- and disregarding so called "expert" advice from my doctor or the web.

Anyways, it becomes a question of how long I can sustain that exact model. Of course- one 30 mile bike ride or an hour in the pool and I'm ready to eat a horse...that's the super hard part!

I like this thread and can relate to a lot of what is being said here. I especially like Eric and Bridgette's posts.  I think the bottom line is that no matter how often, how long and how hard we exercise, unless we control the eating the weight doesn't come off.

My experience is that when I started this last year when I turned 63, 6' and over 245lbs. I decided enough is enough and if I didn't do something soon about my life style I wouldn't have much longer to have a life no less a style. I had quit smoking and drinking over 20 years ago, but then became addicted to sweets. I averaged about a quart of ice cream a day. So I quit sugar all togehter and started exercising. Within about 3 months 15-20 lbs came off and I was down to 230. I have kept pretty much the same exercise and eating patterns since then but havn't lost another pound. This is the part I can't figure out.

I was having a healthy smoothie at night w/ fresh juice, fruit, skim milk and fat free yogurt but then calculated that this was over 500 cal. So I stopped that but still nothing is happening weight wise. The good news is that I am in much better physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health than I was a year ago and have so far done 3 sprint tris this season and will probably do 3 or 4 more.

I have to hand it to Bridgett if she can keep her cal. consumption down to 1700 and exercise 2 hrs a day. I can have 1700 cal for lunch and not even blink an eye. And eric's ability to lose it and keep it off by embracing this lifestyle is inspiring. Thank you and good luck to all.

I can so relate to this!  I am pretty sure that frustrated is my middle name!  

In Sept. 2009 I decided to change my life.  I have lost 135lbs to date, and although I am still Athena (and I have hanging skin, but that is another post for another day), I am thrilled with how far I have come. My dear hubby (who lost 110lbs) and I lost them the old fashioned way...we quit eating crap and worked out about 2 hours a day, 5 days per week (average).  Most of the weight I had lost by a year ago when I started running and training to race.  In the last year, I have ran 6 5K's, 1 10K, 1 Duathalon, and I am training for a Tri.  However, I have only lost about 10lbs in the last year.  Needless to say, I am ticked that with all of that work, the darn scale won't move.

However, what gets me through is that other changes have occurred.  I have continued to drop clothes sizes despite remaining the same weight.  My body fat had dropped significantly despite remaining nearly the same weight.  My lifts and endurance have obviously improved.  And, in the all important vanity department, people keep commenting about how I continue to melt away and keep losing weight everytime they see me (and admiring my muscles).

I have attempted to resign myself to the fact that the funny little dial just doesn't like me, but obviously my work is paying off in other ways.  It is certainly not easy in a world where a weight loss journey is judged almost solely by the little dial.  

Keep the faith...it will happen when your body feels like letting it go!!!

I can indeed relate! I began working hard at this about 3 years ago, after a dumb comment by a friend of DH's. I was doing regular cardio and weight training, didn't lose much at all. Watched my friends finish a tri, got the bug, started swimming lessons and the BT Beginner Exercise Program. Trained for a year, by this time I'd lost about 10 lbs. Started running this spring, I've lost about 5 more.

I have decided I'm insulin resistant. I've tried every diet out there, counting calories at every level from 2000+ on down to 1200 (note: you can't swim an hour in the pool on 1200 cals/ day. Don't try it). I've tried low-carb, had ZERO energy for workouts. Gave up gluten and dairy which didn't last long because I couldn't maintain it. What's finally working: a combination of Weight Watchers and the insulin resistance diet (which lets me have no more than 30 g. carbs in a 2-hour period, always paired with protein). 

It's working, very slowly but it's working. Three years of this and 15 lbs. lost, I totally understand your frustration!!! Including the weird looks from people!

I went in for a DEXA scan which uses low level xray to see exactly what your body make-up is.  If I had 0% body fat I would weigh 208 lbs.  I will NEVER not be a Clydesdale but It doesn't really bother me.  Unfortunately for me, I've yet to find a race in Canada that has a Clyde category. Doesn't really bother me because I know I'm never going to win a race but I wouldn't mind finishing a little higher in the rankings from time to time

Embrace the Clyde and love that you can do it with a big body!