My resolve is dissolving with each passing day...I started out with a bang, losing 13 pounds quickly....then I stopped losing, even regained a pound or two. I do not have a journal nor want one right now, but I am eating about 1000-1300 cal a day and hovering right around 20-25 carbs a day. Some days I am too busy and only eat about 700 calories a day. I eat my veggies and I am doing nothing different from the time before when I lost 40 pounds easily. I lost it very quickly then, a few years ago. Twice this week I resisted cake and ice cream during get togethers/birthdays. I am strong when I lose but getting weak with a 9 day and counting impass... especially since I am working out so much. It is not anywhere near my TOM. I have not cheated once.
The *only* thing I am doing different is exercising! shouldn't all that cardio help? I walk straight uphill (top setting) at a moderate to strong pace, but it is a calorie burning workout...I have stepped it up to bust through the plateau, and I am walking on my treadmill to the tune of 1000 calories a day. This has been for a few days, prior to that I did 30-50 minutes a day (about 1000 calories a week). Sheesh, I've burned a pound in the recent workouts alone! What is happening here?!
I am working really hard, and getting disheartened.
I know plateau's happen, but I have a BIG event coming up in 3 weeks and I *NEED* to get more weight off, I can't afford a stall right now. I will be more long term minded after this event, but for now...its crunch time! I am going to be on TV and I am so discouraged I am about to cancel the whole thing.

Should I stop the walking? Should I try a fat fast? Can anyone advise me who has been through this?
Has anyone experienced this?

Exercise can actually stall weight loss and your calories are too low. Seriously.

Thanks for writing.
I did come across that comment (abot uping the calories) in searching the archives but it all seems so illogical to me.
Lets face it, anorexics are in "stavation mode" but they still drop weight.
And how do you stall when you burn 3000 calories on a treadmil in 3 days....I am not weight lifting (not that I don't think its a good idea) just cardio right now.
I eat every time I am hungry. I force feed myself breakfast. I even tried to eat an extra piece of chicken tonight, I fed it to the dog, I just couldn't eat it.
I am just baffled that the math isn't adding up. Would this phenomanon be happening on a low fat/high carb diet too? I used to drop weight easily with a treadmill.
I am so confused.

I same thing happened to me. When I started lifting weights, it took about 6 weeks for the scale to start moving again. But my clothes started fitting a lot looser before the scale moved.

I read something about the muscles holding on to water due inflamation from the workout.

Your calories do seem pretty low. Are you exhausted or do you have good energy? Do you workout everyday or are you getting a couple of rest days to let our body recover and repair? I can only workout every other day. IMO you are overdoing it.

But you are using alot of big muscle groups walking uphill. I would think its like doing a lower body workout everyday.

"There was a time when virtually no one believed exercise would help a person lose weight. Until the sixties, clinicians who treated obese and overweight patients dismissed the notion as naïve. When Russell Wilder, an obesity and diabetes specialist at the Mayo Clinic, lectured on obesity in 1932, he said his fat patients tended to lose more weight with bed rest, “while unusually strenuous physical exercise slows the rate of loss.”
http://nymag.com/news/sports/38001/

Hi Kitten,
Thanks for writing. My energy level has actually been pretty good. I am a bit worn and sore from the intense workouts, but I expected that. I have bene exercizing everyday on the treadmill and for 3 days have been walking 5 miles straight uphill every day. If I am crunched for these 3 weeks, am I better off to stop walking? I know about muscle weighing more than fat, but honestly if those numbers don't move soon I am going to cancel this upcoming event.
I eat 4 times a day, I snack on cream cheese for a sweet treat. My fat intake is high. I really don't think I can force myself to eat more.

Kitten, I hadn't really thought of it that way (the uphill walking) but you might be right. I thought I would maximize my calorie burning that way...Sigh....

Wifezilla,
That is really interesting....but what about the actual calories burned, and the post workout metabolism spike? I thought inactivity slowed your ability to lose weight but maybe thats all wrong too.

The people who are telling you to up your calories are right. You have put your body in "starvation mode". It thinks it is not getting enough food so it is "saving itself" by storing fat.

If you add a few hundred more calories, I bet you will lose weight. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true.

Best of luck on your journey, y0u.

I wish I could provide some insight... Personally, I am an advocate of exercise but according to many ppl on this forum it stalls weight loss -- but I think that more important than the # on the scale is if your body is changing... do your clothes fit better? Inches can keep falling even though the # on the scale doesn't... This is tough, I know. Everything in my mind tells me, "Exercise, it's good for you"... but then I read other stuff that seems to challenge that thought. Regardless, I am going to keep exercising b/c I think it's the right thing to do.

Thanks YOU...

I am adding in the hot wings as we speak, I can try adding calories, but I sure hope this turns around soon.

Maria, I am with you, exercising lowers your risk for cancers, for the long haul, it is unquestionably a good thing..but if it could be interfering with my ability to lose this weight, I will give it up until I get some weight off. If I were 180 pounds, it would be easier to say the clothes are fitting better, etc. but the harsh reality is that I am morbidly obese and those numbers need to move...do you know what I mean?

I understand what you are trying to do. Burn as many calories as fast as you can to lose the weight as fast as you can. I know how frustrated I was with the scale not moving, and I didn't have the pressure of being on TV. I am not sure what I would do in your shoes. I think I would probably cut back to every other day at least. Even if the scale doesn't go down you will probably look smaller.

Movingon, just a thought. Sometimes it's helpful to post a few daily menus here, and some of the more experienced people can help examine what you eat, and what might be stalling you. It really helped me.

For me, besides upping my calories a bit, I learned that caffeine, artificial sweeteners(any kind),and cheese were what was stalling me. Also, I have only lost 20 pounds, but over 10 inches!! Also, I have to exercise or I won't lose anything.

I really wish you the best of luck, y0u.

Kitten,
I may just try an experiment, give up with exercise (or greatly minimizie it) and up the calories for a few days and see what happens. I dont have anymore time to waste.
Yeah, its a lot of pressure to accomplish much in little time.
Movingon

The stress you are dealing with probably isn't helping any. I hope your scale starts moving down again soon.