okay...is this even possible? because i've tried every way i can think of, and i think this might be impossible to solve?

the problem is: find five consecutive odd integers such that the sum of the first and the fith is one less than three times the fourth.

What kind of equation would work for that?

5 consecutive odd integers:

x, x+2, x+4, x+6, x+8

sum of 1st and 5th < 3 times the fourth by 1
x + (x+8) +1 = 3(x+6)
2x + 9 = 3x + 18
-x = 9
x = -9

so the numbers are
-9, -7, -5, -3, -1

check:
sum of 1st and 5th = -9 + (-1) = -10
3 times the 4th = 3(-3) = -9
sure enough: -10 is one less than -9