Am I in a slump? Is this normal? Advice/Encouragement needed!

[LoopyChenille]

Today is 7 weeks since I started the Phen, and for the past few days I've noticed that I really have mixed feelings about it. I've been working out at the gym 3x/week (weights + cardio) and sticking to an average of 1200 calories by modifying my portions. I'm not doing the big "I'm on a diet and can only eat..." drama....I'm trying to make little healthy changes I can live with for the next 20+ years.

Because of working out, I feel stronger & healthier, but I don't feel like my size or shape has changed at all. Even though the scale says I'm down 34.4 pounds from where I started, the only clothing that seems to fit different is my bra. I'm starting to wonder if it's worth taking the phen (with the various side effects), putting in all of the time at the gym, AND forever saying "no thank you" to food since it doesn't seem to be making any real difference.

Any words of wisdom for me?

[justlynda]

Don't give up! I've only been on Phen for a week, so I don't have much experience there. But, I have been dieting most of my life and 34 pounds in 7 weeks is phenomenal!!! It sounds like you have a great attitude with the eating as far as making healthy changes for life. That great attitude about food plus your 3x/week workouts mean that those 34 pounds will STAY gone.

Now, about the clothing--I don't really have a good answer for that one. I know that in my experience, I always lose it first in the boobs. And, your back will thank you.

I once lost 20 lbs and was still wearing the same clothes. I started to get discouraged until my sister reminded me that the clothes had been wearing were a wee bit too tight in the beginning. I was in denial...you know the "I refuse to admit that I'm a size [insert number here] so I'm just gonna keep wearing a [insert smaller size here] even if it's too small" kind of denial. After a 20lb weight loss, they actually were fitting me properly .

Regardless, you say that you are feeling stronger and healthier. Isn't that what it's really all about?

[Jasstacy]

OK, I have been on Phentermine for two weeks exactly. I have lost 7 lbs so far on the Phentermine. I have lost a total of over 50 lbs. since Nov. 7 with the help of Weight Watchers. So, yesterday I saw my doc who gave me the phentermine. He told me it was as simple as this: If you want to weigh 150 lbs you eat 1500 calories, 120 lbs 1200 calories etc. Whether you eat more and exercise to average at the 1200 calories is up to you as long as you are doing some cardio for your heart health. I was wondering if 7 lbs in the two weeks was slow because I have still been eating my points allowance with WW's . Which is way more than the 1600 calories to reach my goal of 160 would allow? Any thoughts on this? I would kill to lose over 30 pounds in 7 weeks! You said you feel better already, please don't stop I spent several months in a diabetic coma this past summer because I did not even know I had diabetes! It can happen. We deserve this life; hang in there you have already done so much more than most will ever attempt! Good luck

[Raquel]

Words of wisdom ....

Hang in there - keep working out! Do not give up.

and 32 pounds is a REAL difference. It is working ... be positive ... Chin Up -- Boobs Out!

[Band Mamma]

What would your weight be if you hadn't taken Phen for the last 7 weeks??

I think the answer to that question will tell you if you should keep taking it.

As far as the clothing. you may be replacing fat with muscle and thus not shrinking in size yet. You could be losing weight in areas that aren't affected much by clothing size. As the other poster said, your clothes may have been to small to begin with. You may simply not be noticing the change in the way the clothes fit. Your clothing may be made of a stretchy fabric and they would simply not stretch as far but still fit- many clothing items have stretch in them today.

Saying "No, thank you" to offers of food seems to have helped you lose 34 pounds, so it is making a difference. You appear to have gained self-control over what you eat and how much you eat.

Perhaps you are really just frustrated because you want to be in smaller clothing or you are struggling with your eating choices. It happens and you just need to keep pushing on past it.

Those are my thoughts, anyway....

[Raquel]

Band Mamma - you should be for HIRE as a life coach!

[craftymomma]

Okay, what was your starting weight (if you don't mind my asking)? The reason I ask is because a nurse at my doctor's office said it took losing 50lbs before it was noticeable and she was over 300lbs when she started. It took her a year and a half on phen to lose 120lbs. She looks awesome and she said she really never works out, doesn't have the time.

[BLASTAGUT]

what kind are you on? I was precribed the 37.5 bkue and white speckled. I took half like most peope say but i still have hunger pains,

[4mami_mia]

i think that is a huge accomplishment. its all a mind thing. i remember way back when when i wa 121lbs i thought i was fat! now i know better but sometimes we are out worse enemy. try taking pics so you can see a difference. If you lost 34lbs (wich is awesome) its showing somewear.. also remember you said your lifting weights right? that can be adding muscle keep up the great work

[bizymomma]

Band Mamma - I echo everything you said!!!! There was a red flag that waved though, Loopy, when you said is it worth it? Being overwieght is rarely seen for what it is. We (overweight women - myself included) are instantly categorized by society as lazy, with uncontrolled eating, and low self esteem. Yet as we all know SOOOOO many other things effect our physical appearance - hormones, stress, depression, emotional trauma etc. on top of the the ever haunting lack of self confidence is the way society dictates a womans figure. I personally guarantee no one is as hard on me and more criticizing than myself - but to say its just not worth it......honey, I can promise you are someone important to alot of people that could care less what size of clothing you wear but are more concerned with your quality of life and the longevity of it. BECAUSE you work out and watch the calorie intake your overall health, heart and nervous system are going through a much needed overhaul, you are improving your lifespan and adding years everytime you exercise or pass up the slice of cheesecake, now believe me I know the desire and almost need to look thinner, feel thinner, and actually see some reward for the battle we wage every day - some days I am so freaking sick of reading labels or tracking my calories for the day, exhausted from ANOTHER day at the gym - but then I do the math.....it took me 31 years to achieve the lovely weight of nearly 220 lbs and in 7 months I have shed years of turmoil, stress, emotional eating, and 43 pounds!!! You are doing an amazing job and you recognize that you FEEL better, I loose weight at a snails pace literally, but my doc assures me I have a better chance at keeping it off that way, no one on here honestly will make you feel better about your expectations but I promise if you stick with it one day you'll say.....wow where did all those inches go in the most random places too lol your feet hands.....even hat size. Keep up the good work - you'll make it!!!

[LoopyChenille]

Thank you everyone for the support.

For those who asked, I started at 348.8, and was at 314.4 when I stepped on the scale yesterday morning. I weigh myself 3x/week (M/W/F mornings), which is enough for me to have the information I need but not so much that I'm obsessing about the scale.

I'm not doing anything unusual in the way of diet, though I'm not eating any carbs without a protein to go with it. My family doesn't know that I'm "dieting". We re-worked the budget and eliminated most dining out, so it seems like I'm just experimenting with different meals at home. I eat what everyone else eats, just in the proper portion for what I need to be healthy.

For a little background, I feel like I've been on diets my whole life. Really, literally, my mother stopped eating before I was born because she didn't want a "big, ugly baby". I can remember being on a regimented diet when I was three, and my mother made me pack those diet bars (Slender, Figurines, whatever else there was before slim-fast) when I was in 7th & 8th grade....when I weighed maybe 112 pounds soaking wet.

Two years ago hubby & I went on a pre-vacation diet together. I lost more than he did, worked harder than he did, managed the calories & meals for both of us, but he got all of the credit & praise. He said that he DESERVED it because he changed his life and I was still fat. Honestly, that's what's haunting me now. Even though this time I'm doing this just for me, I feel like once again it doesn't matter becuase I'm still fat.

I also think that I must usually give up by now. I know I need to push through this, becuase this time really is different. I just don't know how to help myself feel better about this phase.

[bizymomma]

ah honey my heart really does reach out to you, Ive only had one person ever say a negative thing about my weight and appearance and sadly that person was my husband the one person that should have done the complete opposite, so I know that feeling and the despair that washes over you when you are trying so very hard and although doing it for yourself you just want that someone or anyone to recognize your struggle and be positive - its heart wrenching that so many women make it through their hard times not because they are motivated or encouraged but because they have no other option - failure and giving up in most aspects of life are unacceptable - so I hate to use anything similar to that terminology but......'having to' is the one thing that carried me through months I felt none of this was working and now its like a downhill snowball effect - every day I notice something different about myself and I make it a point to make myself recognize them and praise myself for even the smallest of victories. Get a routine - which Im sure you already have - and just go through the motions every day you feel like throwing in the towel just stick to your routine it adds some sense of normalcy, and like any motivational speaker will tell you it only takes 21 days to form a habit you are changing your life and doing a wonderful job at it!!!!

[libby0920]

im at a stand still right now too! but 34 pounds is wonderful!!!!! dont give up because without your hard work you would be 34 pounds heavier if not more