I am soooo frustrated!!!

[trinut001]

I have been mainly raw (somedays I am 100% others around 90-95% raw) and in the beginning I lost 6.5 lbs and now for the last 5 weeks I have been stuck at the same weight! What am I doing wrong that I am not losing any more? I workout by jogging, hiking and lifting weights. I try to do the cardio at least 3 times a week and weights about 2 times a week. Am I not eating enough? I usally have either a green smoothie or a banana smoothie in the morning and lunch is usally a salad and then dinner is a raw burger or whatever else I have on hand. If I am hungry in between I eat either some figs (was really craving those last week) or some fruit.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[rayofsunshine]

Hope you find the answers you are looking for!!

Some people have posted that your body willl use the raw food at times to heal old stufff, and then they start losing weight again.

I would think you are eating enough if you are eating when hungry and feel satisfied afterwards.

Weight lifting could be adding weight through muscle (good stuff).

[RawYorkCity]

Like rayofsunshine said maybe your body is healing itself. Other methods I can suggest include proper food combinations, low fat, and be sure to keep hydrated. Also, keeping a positive attitude helps a lot too! :)

[Veganforlife]

I have been mainly raw (somedays I am 100% others around 90-95% raw) and in the beginning I lost 6.5 lbs and now for the last 5 weeks I have been stuck at the same weight! What am I doing wrong that I am not losing any more? I workout by jogging, hiking and lifting weights. I try to do the cardio at least 3 times a week and weights about 2 times a week. Am I not eating enough? I usally have either a green smoothie or a banana smoothie in the morning and lunch is usally a salad and then dinner is a raw burger or whatever else I have on hand. If I am hungry in between I eat either some figs (was really craving those last week) or some fruit.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Ditch the scale and keep on doing what you are doing. ARE you drinking enough water? AND muscle weighs more than fat. And I so agree - a positive attitude really, really helps.

[gritsnla]

Measure your body with a tape. You could be losing inches with the pounds staying the same. Especially with the weight lifting, look at how toned you are, how clothes are fitting. It sounds like you're doing a great job.

Keep on trucking!

[RawHeaven]

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I would only add maybe focus your attention on your overall health goals and where you'd ultimately like to see yourself rather than focusing on losing "weight". Weight is pretty loaded because you have to take into consideration bone structure, water weight, fat weight, muscle composition etc etc etc. It can fluctuate when you're healing and it can make you nuts if you focus all of your energy on it. I simply recommend as Lucy already mentions to ditch the scale and to put your health goals into perspective. I could probably wager a large bet that you've already come a long way and have achieved a great deal, no? Especially in terms of lifestyle changes you've done a lot I'm guessing. Well be frustrated for a minute, lol, but don't stay stuck there. Frustration will only keep you stuck. Love your body, appreciate how amazing you are, get rid of the scale, keep exercising, eat well and you'll get there. Let go and enjoy yourself. :)

[RawHeaven]

Also, maybe your next step is a juice cleanse? It may give you that boost of motivation that you're seeking and provide greater clarity for you. Good luck!

[trinut001]

Thank you for all your advice!! I guess I am frustrated as I want to lose the weight by my birthday (Nov 17th). I have made alot of changes. I am drinking my komubucha tea almost daily, doing the oil pulling almost daily and the same with body brushing and eating right. I probably am not drinking as much water as I should. I know the right ways to eat and excercise. I used to be a personal trainer :eek: I guess I just thought the weight would come off quicker. I am not getting any younger so maybe that is it..lol. I do measure myself and I have lost inches especially around my abs and butt. I just wish I could get my nice six pack I had and my nice legs! Those are a thing in the past now unfortunately!

Maybe I need to change my attitude but for the most part I don't get down about my weight...only on the days I weigh myself. I think another thing I need to change is kicking the wine habit!

As far as a juice cleanse I can never get past 3 or 4 days! I am always "starving" and craving something to chew on!

[RawHeaven]

You're awfully hard on yourself. I hear a lot of "shoulds". Can you list all of the positive things you're doing for yourself Right Now and what's working for ya? I hope you don't take offense at this, I've just been in your shoes for many years and I don't like that critical lady! She's mean and gets in the way! :D hahaaaa.

Best wishes Trinut. Be happy with your body - you're blessed to have it and the best thing about it, it runs.

[rayofsunshine]

Yeah for lost inches and better health!!!

[shashibala]

Hi! I have lost 58 pounds on raw over the past 9 months. I must tell you that during this time there have been many weeks when I stayed the same or even gained weight. I'm a slow loser, but the weight keeps coming off. Some weeks I just had to tell myself that my body was doing the best it could and if I just continued to feed it well, it would find it's natural weight. I have been frustrated about the in between weeks myself! I lose the most weight when I drink about 2 quarts of water a day, don't eat after 7pm, and go easy on bottled oils. Other than that, I eat what I like, when I like.
Have you recently resumed exercising? When I add new exercise I always gain a little weight at first. If you are feeling good and energetic, just keep up the great work!! Your food seems reasonable to me. Are you feeling hungry at all?
You might want to add a teaspoon of coconut oil each day. It's said to speed weight loss. I wish you all the best!!

[cara4art]

All good advice by others here, and please, be gentle with yourself! This is coming from someone who had a huge problem with all the "shoulds" too! It's an ongoing process to keep the "shoulds" out of one's life too if one has that tendency. Give yourself major credit for making some solid lifestyle changes that a lot of people don't get anywhere near, and it's only going to get better! Very excellent sign that your abs and butt have gone DOWN in inches - you're losing body fat for sure - to me, the mid-section is the acid-test of body fat status rather than weight. That six-pack is still there, it's just that it's not visible just yet. Don't give up on it on account of age - just be patient instead and love yourself for doing exactly what you are doing now which is fabulous!
If you are now accustomed to your exercise schedule and WANT to change it up, which is a good idea every few weeks with either different exercises or differing intensities of effort, I would suggest adding one more day of both cardio and weights, so you have 3x a week full-body workout schedule, plus 4 days a week of cardio. Schedule it such that you have two rest days per week - no cardio or weights which means that on a couple of those days during the week you'll be doing both your weights routine and cardio. A word about the cardio, for women approaching both middle age and menopause, a whole lot more cardio is not necessarily better, so don't go gangbusters for a whole hour on the machines - 40-45 minutes tops, including warm-up and cool-down is MUCH better and less stressful on the body. Younger people can get away with pounding away for an hour or more on the machines, but not us mature folks, because for mature women, all that does is tear down valuable muscle tissue, and make one's adrenals pump out more stress hormones, which in turn can add fat to the body. I personally experienced this, until a trainer told me to streamline as I will detail in a minute here. Better to work smarter, not longer. What I do personally for my cardio is 2 of those types of sessions per week, plus 2 of the newer high-intensity interval training sessions, which by their very nature are short - like 20-25 minutes, including both a short warm-up and cool down. If the above might have sounded long, these are just tweaks that you can make to your solid routine to keep this going. Keep on RAWK-ing - you are totally on the right track and a well-thought-out raw diet is VERY compatible with a good gym program. Keep pumping the greens smoothies with a couple of superfoods added like chia seeds and hemp protein - these are superb for anyone who is active, and do eat - don't starve yourself. That big bowl of salad that has not much in the way of fats on it has fewer calories than you think. Add some sun-dried olives, sprouted seeds or a veggie dip/pate and you have something that's filling and good and still will be in line with body improvement goals.
Slow and steady wins the race, and ditch the scale for a good while - just go by how your clothes are fitting, your general appearance, and most importantly, how you are feeling in terms of energy, strength and endurance because this is what counts in the end, not some magical figure on the scale which of course does NOT tell you that you gained some muscle and lost a bit of fat, which would cause one's apparent weight to remain the same. Also raw works from the inside out - important healing, detoxification, and repair work are going on with every raw meal that you are doing along with your workouts and proper rest! At a certain point, more fat will be released as your body stabilizes from detox and healing work. Hope this helps!

[trinut001]

Rawheaven you are right! I am a "should" person. I always jump to the negative first! That is another thing I am trying to change but boy is that a hard one to break!

I guess maybe I need to change up my workouts and what I am eating. I have started running again (well run/walk for now) and want to do another triathlon hopefully by next summer!

thanks for everyone's support! That means alot and it has helped me see things differently.

[carolg]

Here's what is showing results for me:

gym workout:
5-6x weekly cardio mostly hour sessions and if on own, then 30 minutes bike

weight training: 5x week, 30-60 minutes

Last night I was visiting my own church and saw many friends who had seen me in months. I was loaded with compliments how great I looked, how think I am, etc. and I took it all in, thanked, and smiled inside/outside as well.

I do about 99..999% raw with many days raw.

I did have trainer intially last year for several months, whew expensive and now I see he was sucking me with very little exercises, compared to trainers I am now observing from their own club. I however, can get to the gym, being alone and use the machines properly and do all my weights without company. I HAD a young friend who I met at gym, we worked out together and now she has started nursing school for the next 22 months. Therefore, for the past 2 months I saw her 1-2x for workout and now I continue this relationship dead since I am not putting myself on hold to say she is a friend I never see or speak too due to school. I understand but not worth any energy to pursue. It was a good season for us, but now that has ended and fine with that.

I hope my information was useful.

Best to you. I am a slow loser, but hey I'm ready for the scale probably Sunday or maybe not since we have rawluck Sat., but soon for sure. I have lots tons of inches and the pounds have been slow coming off. Everyone loses their own way. Can't compare me to others!

Best to you.

carolg

[petaltothemetal]

Try not to compare yourself to those people who lose buckets of weight! It's hard not to, because we all want to be headline makers, don't we? I know I'm guilty of it. My weight goes up and down a little and I am not losing buckets of weight, but I feel better than I have in years. I'm 43. How old are you and how tall are you? Have you been 125 lbs before and what did you have to do to stay that way? Have you had kids? It may be hard to get down to that little low number without a LOT of effort. I know a lot of women who want that same 125 lbs they weighed at 16, but when they think back, they admit they starved themselves even as teenagers to be that thin.

[trinut001]

petaltothemetal...I am 42 (will be 43 in Nov) and I am 5'4". I weighed barely 100 lbs in high school and then my senior year I weighed more but don't remember how much. I did weigh 117/118 in my mid 20's so I think I am being somewhat reasonable shooting for 125 since I am not young anymore!

I just bought a total gym tonight so hopefully that will shake things up and get me losing again. I just have to think happy thoughts and be more positive!

Carol wow...you are hardcore..lol. Even when I was fit I never worked out that much. Aren't you the one from Boulder? If so, where is the rawluck and maybe I can come?? I would love to meet more rawfooders for motivation!

[carolg]

I'm no longer buying into age being a factor although the metabolism changes. I was at church last night after a while being gone from this particular one. Several people I remember from months back lost a lot of weight over time, and last night, I was shocked: they put it back and even more for some. No kidding. Again I got a "skinny" compliment from a friend who had not seen me in months. The Turbo sure is something to not pass up for me. I do believe the weights do make a BIG difference. My pants were loose again with a Gap size small and legs really had tons of leg room....for this reason, I have to keep at the workout that is working with help from the trainer I hired for few months and now on own.

I'm part of the AARP generation, 50+, and don't see many people my age doing Turbo Kickboxing but I do. I know of many sick in their body. I know many ahead of me financially or have their careers finished as I am still trying to figure out my speaking career. I'm not like the crowd and a leader of the pack who want to change without a testimony. I did however get great help by hiring a personal trainer who showed me the proper way of using machines. Now I can just go to any gym and do my workout without help. I'm not bragging here, but saying age is not the case unless we choose it to be other than a number.

Kim,
Yes, I am a hard core for myself.

Iif you are not busy next Sat. night, 27th....come join me in Denver for a Turbo Kickbox class, free, in evening....it's a killer class, but fun for all.....just a special time that doesn't happen in evening...here's exception....near Parker/Arapahoe...25/Arapahoe exit.....depending where you live...90 minute class too, but stop as you wish...it may be packed out..they are talking about eating out afterwards..may think about that as I can get fresh salad wherever.....Email me if interested...

Hope you can make it to the rawluck tomorrow night in Boulder which I sent you details about. Yes, don't compare your journey to others. Others find things easier or harder, so just come have fun with us.

carolg

[petaltothemetal]

petaltothemetal...I am 42 (will be 43 in Nov) and I am 5'4". I weighed barely 100 lbs in high school and then my senior year I weighed more but don't remember how much. I did weigh 117/118 in my mid 20's so I think I am being somewhat reasonable shooting for 125 since I am not young anymore!

You probably are being reasonable then, for your body. I was 110 at my lightest (am 5'6" and very large boned, with football player shoulders and ribs that look like a second pair of boobs) and looked totally like I was dying. I was mentally fixated on 125 pounds, but I finally dragged a bunch of pictures out of the closet and realized 125 pounds was too thin for my body, too. I looked great at 140 pounds, which I was unable to hold very long on my journey from too thin to hypothyroid and depressed too fat. So I let go of the 125 number and now shoot for 140. I just saw 125 on your post and went woah, because all the women at my work are on a diet and that's what all of them want to weigh, no matter their age and beginning size! It's also normal to have a little menopot by perimenopause and although I admire Carol very much for her workout, I have other priorities (non-profit group, work, single mother and farm) so I don't think I'll ever be rid of mine. I just want it smaller.