please help me shake things up!!

i dont know if this is just getting older but i just cannot seem to lose weight anymore. let me preface this by saying that my current weight is not obese and is prob average for my height so the weight loss is more for myself to look as good as i know i can look.

last year prior to my wedding last september i lost about 15lbs and was the slimmest i had ever been. i ate all low-cal and hit the gym for the first time in my life. the weight came off in like 2 months from like march-may and then i maintained all summer. the last 3lbs came off in the week before the wedding - you know, the "too busy to eat" week.

anyway went on my HM and ate to my hearts content all winter long. i gained all 15 and about 5 more lbs back (really quickly i might add) so i started the diet and excersize again in march of this year. now its two months later and i have been SO SUPER STRICT (seriously i think i have eaten a total of 5 high fat meals in the entire 2 months) on low-fat and excersizing 2-3x a week. in these 2 months i have only lost 3lbs

i just dont understand at all. i look and feel a bit better - clothes fit a bit better - but the weight absolutely will not come off this time. this has never ever happened to me. im only 5ft tall and my body really doesnt need that much to function. i basically eat when my body (NOT mind) tells me that im hungry. i eat strictly low-fat, which has always worked well for me since i'm not much of a meat eater to begin with. i also try to cook all the foods i eat so that way i can control the fat and calorie content and im not pretending that im eating healthy when im not.

i also changed up my workout routines- i usually do at least 1 night of cardio (pre-core machine) for an hour or 500 cals, and i do weight machines as well. then at least 1 night i do an hour long kickbox cardio class. if i can manage it into my schedule i also go to the saturday kickbox class. or ill swim but the pool in my gym was closed for like a month so i havent added that back in yet...oh yeah i also take a multiviatim 2x a day.

anyway what gives?? any suggestions to shake it up? i feel like maybe my strict diet kicked my metabolism into shock and now it like continually storing fat. what can i do to get back into a weight loss mode?? after 2 months of such less results than i am used to i am so upset and lacking motivation to keep going. i am almost conisdering the master cleanse since i have a friend that dropped 10lbs from that - but i dont think DH would let me do it nor do i think that's really the way to do it.

i cant go into bikini season with this pouch!! plus DH and i will be TTC within a year or so and id like to at least start off without this extra 15lbs.. please help!!

ETA - i am not planning on gaining all the weight back this winter. after my wedding i knew i would be gaining some back but i really went overboard for 6 months and then decided that i had enough. i really want to keep the weight off esp if i will eventually be TTC. so its NOT just a summer thing - especially now that im seeing how hard it is to take the weight off again - i never ever thought it would take longer than 2-3 months

Message edited 4/29/2008 12:21:17 AM.

Re: please help me shake things up!!

Perhaps you are restricting yourself too much. If you do not take in enough calories then your body goes into starvation mode.

I also think you need to up the exercise. I do not think 2-3 times a week is enough. I would say aim for 4 times a week for at least 40 minutes a session

Re: please help me shake things up!!

Perhaps your body has adjusted to your low-fat lifestyle. You might want to think about increasing the good fats and maybe trying low carb. I know for me cutting out breads, rice & pasta does wonders. Replacing those things with eggs, part-skim cheese, peanut butter on a piece of fruit or 1/2 avocado (and of course lots of fruits, veggies & water) actually helps me to drop weight. If you are a soda or liquor drinker, then that's another thing you can dwindle down to cut calories & added sugars.

I also agree with the PP about working out more. When I am really in the *zone* I am working out 5-6 days a week. Running is one way to boost your metabolism. Even if you walk a few minutes and then jog a few & do intervals like that for a few miles...it makes a huge difference.

Message edited 4/29/2008 9:03:34 PM.