Struggling to lose weight

[piccolopat]

I suppose that could be true, but it seems very counterproductive to eat more!

Maybe it would help if I shared what my typical day looks like. I'm averaging about a half - 1 pound loss a week, down from almost 1.5 pounds at the start of my WW journey. Breakfast is usually a vegetable omelette - one or two eggs from free range chickens, leeks, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes cooked in a tiny bit of Olive oil with a bit of Mediterranean herbs and turmeric. I usually also have either a banana or clementine and depending on my plans for the day I'll have 1 piece of rye toast. Lunch is a wrap made with a garden ranch Flatout, 3 oz no salt added Boars Head turkey or low salt chicken/turkey, lettuce and mustard. I add a couple of compari tomatoes and 8 or 9 poppables. Dinner is 3-4 ounces of a lean protein, 1/2 cup of a starch (rice, mashed potatoes) or 1 cup of pasta, almost half my plate is vegetables or salad. Snacks are fat free plain greek yogurt (I like Siggi's) with fresh or frozen blueberries or strawberries added with a dash of cinnamon, fruit or baby carrots, almonds (1/2 ounce) and at night I like frozen Enlightened Almond pops. When I have extra points left over I'll treat myself to a Dove dark chocolate promise. Water and unsweetened tea have always been my drinks of choice but I will occasionally have a glass of wine.

Hope this helps!

 

[wenrob]

I suppose that could be true, but it seems very counterproductive to eat more!

While long term, chronic calorie deficit *can* cause a problem it’s more likely you’re eating more than you think. To find out you need to know how much you’re actually eating and burning. It’s a pain in the butt but give yourself a couple of weeks and weigh/log every single thing and see if that pushes you in the right direction. Where are you getting your calorie burns from?

 

[emer95]

While long term, chronic calorie deficit *can* cause a problem it’s more likely you’re eating more than you think. To find out you need to know how much you’re actually eating and burning. It’s a pain in the butt but give yourself a couple of weeks and weigh/log every single thing and see if that pushes you in the right direction. Where are you getting your calorie burns from?

I exercise every day, either a 4 mile walk through my neighborhood, or if it’s too cold I do body pump or a kettle bell workout with a video. I’m a teacher and I’m pretty active with my students. I take them outside every day unless the windchill is too low, and we go sledding (I sled with them-running back up the hill is a killer workout!) or I play with them in the playground (kickball, huge and seek, 4 square, etc).

 

[sonnyjane]

While long term, chronic calorie deficit *can* cause a problem it’s more likely you’re eating more than you think. To find out you need to know how much you’re actually eating and burning. It’s a pain in the butt but give yourself a couple of weeks and weigh/log every single thing and see if that pushes you in the right direction. Where are you getting your calorie burns from?

I do agree that in this case I am more inclined to believe it’s that you’re consuming more than you think as opposed to not eating enough. Really track every.single.calorie and see if there’s something sneaking in there.

 

[wenrob]

I exercise every day, either a 4 mile walk through my neighborhood, or if it’s too cold I do body pump or a kettle bell workout with a video. I’m a teacher and I’m pretty active with my students. I take them outside every day unless the windchill is too low, and we go sledding (I sled with them-running back up the hill is a killer workout!) or I play with them in the playground (kickball, huge and seek, 4 square, etc).

No, I mean when you say you’re burning 1900-2000 calories where are you getting those numbers from? When you do your workouts how much are you burning and where do you get that number from?

 

[emer95]

No, I mean when you say you’re burning 1900-2000 calories where are you getting those numbers from? When you do your workouts how much are you burning and where do you get that number from?

From my Fit Bit app.

 

[wenrob]

From my Fit Bit app.

So that’s your total then? Your BMR plus your workouts. Are you letting the FitBit just pick them up, starting/stopping a workout or adding them in later? If you are adding them in later are you making sure to put in the time frame so it’s not double counting?

 

[emer95]

So that’s your total then? Your BMR plus your workouts. Are you letting the FitBit just pick them up, starting/stopping a workout or adding them in later? If you are adding them in later are you making sure to put in the time frame so it’s not double counting?

I don’t add in anything. I just let the Fit Bit pick it up.

 

[wenrob]

I don’t add in anything. I just let the Fit Bit pick it up.

Okay, then we know your burns aren’t likely inflated. They could be off some though and with little to lose that could be a problem. I’d double check and make sure your stats are all correct. Make sure you’re wearing it properly, snug but not tight and that you have it set for a deficit. If all that’s correct I’d concentrate on the food-log it all, every single little thing. I can tell you as someone who has logged off and on for ten years I’ll still forget I ate this or that so if you can, log before you eat. If you find your food is spot on then the FitBit might be off. There are tricks to fix that but I’d do one thing at a time. With a little detective work and patience I’m confident you’ll be able to figure out where the problem lies.

 

[Christine]

Yep, you're right. She says she has to spend more time thinking about and planning food now then she ever did before. Back when she got it, it was relatively newish and seen as they better alternative to the full gastric bypass - and it's just so easy to grab onto things when you are desperate.

As for me, I'm currently on my Jan/Feb diet. Without fail I get down to a good weight for me by around April/May each year and do great maintaining it until about Oct when I start gaining. I really need to be more disciplined in the fall obviously as this is about the 4th year of this cycle. But at least so far, cutting back on the calories yields the same results as it always has.

Oh wow, we are on the same cycle. It's year 2 for me that this is happened. I really fall apart in the fall. I think for me it's lack of access to a lot of good fruit that is low cal and keeps me from going overboard on other stuff. Second is the holidays. I'll easily turn down junk food that's storebought, processed, not very good. But when someone makes me their "Grandma's famous XXXX" I have a problem: 1: someone made something for me and I can't throw it in the trash and 2: It's really good and only comes once a year. I also have a weakness for any holiday "treat" made with cranberries! Ugggh. So year, it's been a bad winter (again).

 

[Christine]

I exercise every day, either a 4 mile walk through my neighborhood, or if it’s too cold I do body pump or a kettle bell workout with a video. I’m a teacher and I’m pretty active with my students. I take them outside every day unless the windchill is too low, and we go sledding (I sled with them-running back up the hill is a killer workout!) or I play with them in the playground (kickball, huge and seek, 4 square, etc).

With the exception of the body pump/kettle bell, none of these activities really burn a lot of calories. Oh, I know what the tracker says, but don't rely on that.

My friend, who lost 30 pounds several years ago, found this out. She routinely walked 5 miles a day (6 days a week). She was "watching" what she ate. She never lost a pound. She finally got serious with tracking her food and the weight started to roll off of her. The 5 miles walks really did nothing for her weight loss. They certainly help you to keep fit. For me that was a hard fact to learn, that I could go from sitting on the couch to walking 5 miles and day and see nothing.

I do think things like walking *do* add to your deficit it's just not as much as you think. If you very obese, you will see something like a walk make a difference. Those are the same people who can just stop drinking sodas and lose 10 lbs quickly. A person who is close to their ideal weight won't see this effect.

Since you are very close to your ideal weight, I suspect that you have a combination of overestimating both your food intake and your calorie burn so your deficit is not as much as you think. Again, when you are at a lower weight and just need to lose those last 10 lbs, extreme measuring is very important. Honestly, when I am measuring and tracking, I don't even acknowledge the exercise I do. I tell My Fitness Pal that I'm sedentary, get the calories they say and stick to them. If weight loss happens to fast, I adjust back up a little.

 

[Klayfish]

It is definitely possible you're starving your body. If you're in a long term caloric deficit, your body will react and hold onto every calorie for dear life. The more you cut, the more your body will hold on. Yes, sometimes you need to eat more, then you can cut back down again. Keep your body "guessing". We use cheat meals for that, as do a lot of fitness people. Have one meal (for us it's once a week) where you eat whatever you want. Have at it. The rest of the week, eat your normal and proper nutrition. I don't count calories because I've been doing this same routine so long that I am pretty confident in what I'm doing. But even when I did, I never counted calories in my cheat meal because I don't even want to know...LOL. If I had to guess, I'd say my cheat meal is on the order of 1800-2200 calories, but I do have diet soda... The cheat meal also gives me something to look forward to every week when I'm eating non-fat plain greek yogurt mixed with protein power for breakfast....ugh.

 

[wenrob]

It is definitely possible you're starving your body. If you're in a long term caloric deficit, your body will react and hold onto every calorie for dear life. The more you cut, the more your body will hold on. Yes, sometimes you need to eat more, then you can cut back down again. Keep your body "guessing". We use cheat meals for that, as do a lot of fitness people. Have one meal (for us it's once a week) where you eat whatever you want. Have at it. The rest of the week, eat your normal and proper nutrition. I don't count calories because I've been doing this same routine so long that I am pretty confident in what I'm doing. But even when I did, I never counted calories in my cheat meal because I don't even want to know...LOL. If I had to guess, I'd say my cheat meal is on the order of 1800-2200 calories, but I do have diet soda... The cheat meal also gives me something to look forward to every week when I'm eating non-fat plain greek yogurt mixed with protein power for breakfast....ugh.

Yeah but it doesn’t sound like she’s been in deficit for very long or may not be at all. Diet fatigue comes with chronic deficit over a long period of time. She needs to determine if she’s actually in deficit before anything else IMO. With only ten pounds to lose not paying attention to a “cheat meal” could wipe out all her work for the week. You have to remember that you are at optimal weight and work out like a beast, kwim? You have the muscle mass to burn all those extra calories and not worry about it. She most likely does not.

 

[Klayfish]

Yeah but it doesn’t sound like she’s been in deficit for very long or may not be at all. Diet fatigue comes with chronic deficit over a long period of time. She needs to determine if she’s actually in deficit before anything else IMO. With only ten pounds to lose not paying attention to a “cheat meal” could wipe out all her work for the week. You have to remember that you are at optimal weight and work out like a beast, kwim? You have the muscle mass to burn all those extra calories and not worry about it. She most likely does not.

Totally agree. You may be right, it may not be calorie deficit at all. It could be calorie surplus, and more likely is. Just saying to not completely rule out extended deficit. No way to know until everything is tracked at least for a short time to ballpark it, as you said.

 

[yoopermom]

Weigh everything that goes in your mouth for just one week. Use a good nutrition calculator to figure out the calories. There's a reason why those low cal frozen dinners are *small*!

My DM has been doing intermittent fasting (she's in her 60s) and it does seem to have "kick started" her weight loss again. (She basically eats from 10-6 only).

I know we shouldn't let this devolve into a lap band/weight loss surgery discussion, but I had lap band surgery a decade ago and it was the WORST decision I could have made. Still, whenever I want to eat healthy meats and vegs, I have to cut them up tiny and chew vigorously, because I vomit easily. The temptation to eat junk that goes down and stays down is always with me. IMHO the prequalifications for surgery should be even stricter than they are, you should be able to show that you are willing and able to stick to the very strict diet long term. (Stepping off soapbox....)

Good luck, OP, and remember baby steps are still going forward!

Terri

 

[SL6827]

I will have a tool to help me. People can get pissed off all they want that they don't have that tool. Like I said before, I could care less what everyone else thinks. I will have the last laugh.

 

[piccolopat]

Weigh everything that goes in your mouth for just one week. Use a good nutrition calculator to figure out the calories. There's a reason why those low cal frozen dinners are *small*!

My DM has been doing intermittent fasting (she's in her 60s) and it does seem to have "kick started" her weight loss again. (She basically eats from 10-6 only).

I know we shouldn't let this devolve into a lap band/weight loss surgery discussion, but I had lap band surgery a decade ago and it was the WORST decision I could have made. Still, whenever I want to eat healthy meats and vegs, I have to cut them up tiny and chew vigorously, because I vomit easily. The temptation to eat junk that goes down and stays down is always with me. IMHO the prequalifications for surgery should be even stricter than they are, you should be able to show that you are willing and able to stick to the very strict diet long term. (Stepping off soapbox....)

Good luck, OP, and remember baby steps are still going forward!

Terri

Sorry to hear about your experience with lap band/weight loss surgery. Your experience and recommendation is exactly why I chose not to go down that path. If people can lose weight before qualifying for the surgery, why not just continue to do that? I think the bariatric profession has convinced some people that surgery is their only way out of obesity and that it is like a kind of magic pill. Those same people are usually the ones that don't change their eating habits and end up gaining the weight back despite the surgery. Learning to eat healthful foods and cutting the addiction to sugar, fried and other poor food choices make take longer but it is better for you in the long term.

 

[Lilsia]

Sorry to hear about your experience with lap band/weight loss surgery. Your experience and recommendation is exactly why I chose not to go down that path. If people can lose weight before qualifying for the surgery, why not just continue to do that? I think the bariatric profession has convinced some people that surgery is their only way out of obesity and that it is like a kind of magic pill. Those same people are usually the ones that don't change their eating habits and end up gaining the weight back despite the surgery. Learning to eat healthful foods and cutting the addiction to sugar, fried and other poor food choices make take longer but it is better for you in the long term.

My husband's uncle did that surgery years ago. He is a horrible eater, fried foods, lots of red meat, snacks, etc. He lost a bunch of weight initially, but after he was able to eat solids again, he went back to his bad eating habits and gained it weight back. If a person's weight gain to the point of obesity is due to bad eating habits, then that needs to be fixed before you do anything. Otherwise you just end up the same and then there is nothing they can do for you.

 

[Chirple]

I’m 5 years into my weight loss—135 lbs. down. I made an appointment with a registered dietician who put me in the best direction for my needs based on my biometric results. I started my workouts slowly and increased to add heavier weights and resistance training. Bariatric surgery was recommended to me, but I needed to prove that I could do it on my own. I track everything through My Fitness Pal, and I do not rely solely on the output of my FitBit. I do not weigh most of my food, and I do not have any off-limit foods. If I buy a giant cookie, I’ll eat it over the course of a few days. By cooking at home for most meals, I’ve been able to reduce the amount of sodium in my diet; sodium and empty carbs bloat me.

Here’s how I know it’s working—I have been suffering from a pretty painful issue in my knee since October and had to cease all workouts. I have not gained one pound. I’ve just started incorporating some planks and upper body workouts at home to maintain my muscle. Ideally, I’d like to drop 4 more pounds, but I’m okay with where I am today.

 

[Christine]

I do not weigh most of my food, and I do not have any off-limit foods. If I buy a giant cookie, I’ll eat it over the course of a few days.

This is what I have yet to accomplish in 56 years. I cannot buy a giant cookie and make it last for days. If I buy a giant cookie, I try to eat a few bites and leave it alone. So far, hasn't happened.