Hi Ladies,
Thank you for offering support and encouragement - I've been reading this board since November 2003. I'm sort of at my most frustrated point right now, and thought I'd turn to you for support, and maybe to learn from your experience.

I began Atkins in July 2003. Lost 30 pounds in 4 months, only had 10 more to go to get to my goal. Then began to yo-yo. So I started an exercise program. went up and down for over a year. Gained 13 pounds back.

Started South Beach and a healthier, more regular exercise program. Lost those 13 pounds. BUT, I still can't get those last 10 pounds off. Please don't suggest to me that my body is at the weight that's right for me, because when I was younger I was at my goal weight and felt great.

So, do I hire a nutritionist? Do I hire a personal trainer? (i've already had one, but good ones are few and far between) I've tried increasing calories, decreasing calories, living on veggies, counting calories, fat and carbs- you name it!

I just want the healthiest, most in shape, I can be (without lipo). Suggestions are welcome. I am totally, 100% committed to living healthfully. and i don't plan on ever stopping eating this way. i love it. i love cooking. BUT, I do feel like I don't know where to turn anymore to see results.

THANKS!

At the end of your rope? With only 10lbs to your goal? You got to be kidding. I wish I had 10lbs to go. Okay, you've read these boards for a long time now and I'm sure you know that the last ten are the hardest to loose. So I'm going to say what you don't want to hear. Like Emeril Lagasse says, Kick it up a notch! If you walk 30 minutes a day kick it up to 90. If you walk 90 minutes a day start running. Whatever it is your doing your just going to have to work harder at it. I'm sure you already know it. Now get out there and do it. Tuff love baby! Go! Go! Go!

Well, when I was younger, I was about 100 lbs and felt great. I'm not younger anymore and 110-115 feels great. I'll admit that my original goal was only to weigh less than 150 and I went way past that, but that's only because I felt so wonderful eating this way that I never stopped.

Sometimes we can be the victims of our own expectations. If you don't feel well doing what you're doing, then maybe you need to try something else. If you feel well, maybe you might keep doing what you're doing. I'm just trying to point out the difference between feeling great and looking a certain way that may - or may not - be within the realm of reasonable.

How tall are you, Sheyrena? And how did you decide on your goal weight?

You don't have to answer. Just exploring the issue, if you want.

(give my regards to the pool if it's still there. I used to swim there when I was a callow youth.)

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I wouldn't kick anything up a notch. Just hang in there and don't YO-YO. Yo-yoing is bad news. I've spent a big portion of my life yo-yoing. I'm an armchair expert on it. To me, it's a sign that you're trying too hard and not thinking long term.

In days of old, when armies sieged a castle, and they couldn't get past the moat, they didn't attack the walls with pickaxes. They just camped out and waited however long it took.

I've tried it both ways -- pickaxes and siege, and siege works much better. Just because you have plateaued at 10 pounds above your goal weight doesn't mean you are forever stuck there. It just means your body has decided to put up some resistance at that weight.

Spend this time to find the way of eating that you're comfortable with. Enjoy being 10 pounds from goal. It's probably a very nice place to be. Take your mind off of where you so desperately feel you need to be and just have fun with where you are right now.

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"And so, in my State of the—my State of the Union—or state—my speech to the nation, whatever you want to call it, speech to the nation—I asked Americans to give 4,000 years—4,000 hours over the next—the rest of your life—of service to America. That's what I asked—4,000 hours."

Yeah, I hear ya. My body is pretty stubborn about those (these) last ten. I have to give myself regular pep talks about the long term, lifestyle, blah, blah, blah. The fact that it's TRUE doesn't exactly erase the dream of being where I think I want to be.

The thing that helps me the most is accountability. Making a game--or at least a daily habit--of keeping track of things. I use Fitday, which I find very convenient. For exercise, I also use a little spiral notebook.

In addition to tracking trends (and staying honest!), having a daily record that I can calculate over a week, or a month, helps me make small changes that affect the averages over time. Time is the whole story.

I'm in really good shape, I've got great exercise and eating habits, and I hope to be able to say that when I'm 90.

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Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

I'm going to echo what Maggie said.... our bodies are different when we are younger.... our bodies do not fully develop until we have kids (or are childbearing years) mainly, our bones thicken/harden a lot more

(I read this in Schwarzbein - and i'd have to redig it out if you want more info)

but just to say, some females can't be the same weight they were when they were younger

you need to look at yourself and decided if you are happy in your jeans/dress size -- and take your goal to that level, not necessarily a weight. We tend to carry more muscle mass too, aside from heavier bones; so even if you were say, a size 6 in high school, and you get to that same size 6, you may weigh more.

so i guess my point is... dont go by a weight -- go by how you look and feel.

sure you may still want to lose more, maybe not totally the way you want to look -- and I can tell you that weight training can help reshape things a bit. depending on what you have done in the past -- more cardio can help burn extra calories, and strength training can add lean mass (which in turn can keep your weight the same, or add a few pounds)

If you plan to stay LC for life -- that is great..... Keep what you are doing diet-wise, but you can shake other things up a bit -- and you dont necessarily have to hire a trainer - you are right, a good one is very hard to find... and a nutritionist will most likely stear you to LF/Low Cal (many still dont like LC)

If I were in your shoes -- I'd make changes in my fitness program. and you may just have to watch the diet more closely until you get to where you want to be with your body.

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My LC web site
LCE Member since 2000

Thank you guys for your responses! I am 26 yrs old now, 5'2" and 121 lbs. Lord only knows what my body fat is- my Tanita scale says 25%, but the trainer at the gym who measured using body calipers said 15%. I figure I'm probably somewhere in between :-)
I track my food religiously using fitday (and my own personal diary). And you're right, I can definitely not focus on weight anymore. Maybe being 110 at 16 was right for me then, but not for me now. I do know, however, that I've got to focus on my middle area. I think I will take your advice and change my workout a bit. Instead of spening 75% of my time doing cardio, and 25% of my time strength training, I think I'll gradually balance them out, and eventually move towards more strength training.

Ladies, I definitely feel better! Thanks again!

I have heard ppl talk about this mysterious being 10 lbs from goal...one day I will know what that is like.

Meanwhile, as you think about changing up your workout, how about trying Pilates? You say you need to work on "your middle" and that is what Pilates is all about, the "core " of your body. Most ppl who do it say they feel leaner and trimmer in that area, not to mention stronger, better posture, etc.

Just a suggestion.
Hang in there!

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Renee
1/19/04
261/220/160
41 lbs off
60 lbs to goal



Race to 199 Challenge
Labor Day Challenge: Focusing on the Journey
Personal Goal: 199 by 12/31/05

Wow! Sounds like you're in REALLY GOOD shape. Mixing up your workouts is always a good thing. Try a new plan for a while. Personally, I love weight training, and work hard on my arms and shoulders, especially before warm weather season. Trying for show-off arms, even at my age (58).

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Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

you sound like you're in good shape. As we grow older, our bodies DO change in lots of ways. We can't always remain at the weight we were when we were younger... not only does our food likes change, but our bodies react differently to excercises, our metabolism changes, our needs change. Numbers are unimportant. Sometimes we have to go by the way our clothes feel, or the measurements we get when we measure our bodies. And sometimes our bodies have more sense then we do... it knows when its reached its limit, pounds wise, and it simply rebels by getting stubborn and saying, "hey, I like it here!"

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In the cookies of life, we are the chocolate chips.

back when i was at my leanest, my BF was about 22% and my Tanita was reading about 28-32%
it may be accurate for weight, but not for body fat.

A guy I used to know did a lot of research on tanita and found a "fudge factor" with women as much as 8%

I agree with the Core training. That will certainly tighten up the middle.

keep us posted on the tweaking you do, and your results.

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My LC web site
LCE Member since 2000

You are probably rhe same size you were when you were 110, or maybe just one size up from that, but you weigh more because of the denser muscle you have built. And you know what? I bet you're in better shape now than you were then, even if you were athletic in high school, because now you are eating better and working out. At my lowest weight (as an adult) I was 157.5 and in a size 10. At my lowest weight in high school I was around 140 and probably a size 12. But I had less muscle mass back then.

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Jen
Mother of two boys (5/14/04, 4/1/07)
Done Atkins more times than I can count
Trying to get back at it!
Low carb forever (even if I do keep falling off the wagon!)

When I was 33 yrs old, I trained for and ran a marathon (4 hrs. 17 minutes). At the end of it all, I weighed 122 lbs.--my lowest adult weight. But the only muscles I had were in my legs.

I'm older and heavier now, but I'm in much better overall condition. I don't expect to see 122 again in my lifetime--and I don't want to.

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Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

I agree! My "skinny weight" in my 20's and early 30's was 130 and I was pretty muscular then. After gaining alot of weight after getting married, I spent most of my 30's loosing all but 20 pounds of it. After going LC, I dropped down to 140 and was very happy with it. I regained last year after hitting some emotional crisises which really brought home to me how much I medicate myself with sugar when things are upsetting me. I'm working on that now and am dropping back down to 140, a weight at which I look good and feel great at. Life is way too short to worry about trying to go backwards in time to a weight/size that was appropriate for me then but totally unrealistic now. Anyway, Sophia Loren, not an ironing board, has always been my ideal in what I want to look like. Call me old-fashioned!

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>^..^<
Esther