When the weight doesn't come off

[PrincessFiona]

So I'm frustrated. :/

In the last two weeks, I have mostly stayed at or below 1200 calories with some days at 1600. I know some days trend low, but those are actually the only days I lose. As soon as I'm back up to 1600, the weight I lost comes back (so it must be water weight). Thing is ... I'm not losing at all.

I don't really understand how it can possibly be that I'm limiting my calories pretty severely since before I started and I'm not losing. This is especially since I was not limiting my calories at all before and was easily eating double what I am now.

What should I do to get some weight loss started? It's so hard because I'm really being good and I'm not seeing any results.

Kris

[scrub-jay]

When the weight doesn't come off

Don't discount the non-calorie contributors, such as stress, sleep, water, etc. These last few weeks of back-to-school fun are extremely stressful and I know I stall in times of stress. And I'm not talking about stress-eating, just life/situational stresses. On that same note, how has your sleep been the past few weeks? I'd focus on the non-calorics (while maintaining your same calorie intake) and see if there are changes you could make there.

[Michele]

Maybe add some strength training. Lifting weights. Muscle burns more calories....so maybe toning up will increase your resting metabolic rate?

[BonBon]

My weight is staying the same after an initial 10 lb gain because I've been making a conscientious effort to increase my calories. I've believed for a long time that a calorie is NOT just a calorie to our bodies because of hormones, tissue sensitivity to said hormones, our metabolic rate, etc. Calories in and calories out is too simplistic in my opinion, and as I've seen in my own application of dieting (several months of 900-1300 cals a day in which I lost NOTHING) it doesn't necessarily work.

Like Michele mentioned above, lifting weights is a great way to increase insulin sensitivity in our muscles, as well as building muscle which in itself burns calories. I only started CrossFit last week, and I've already shrunk an inch all over, even though I haven't lost any weight.

I'm of the opinion that for certain people, lowering calories to where you and I have is akin to starving oneself. How do you feel? Are you tired? What are you doing for exercise? I know you were going on these super long walks.

[Mrs. MD, Esq.]

I feel your frustration. I could've written this post… In fact, I was planning on writing a post similar to this in the other fitness thread.

I'm getting very frustrated because, even though I had initially lost weight, I haven't lost a pound in over a month, despite healthy eating, calorie restriction and regular exercise (jogging/walking 3x a week, yoga twice a week). That not to mention my 2-mile walk to and from work everyday. Grrr!

No advice, just wanted you to know you're not the only one struggling!

[spotty_dog]

I'm of the opinion that for certain people, lowering calories to where you and I have is akin to starving oneself. How do you feel? Are you tired? What are you doing for exercise? I know you were going on these super long walks.

http://gokaleo.com/2013/01/25/adrena...or-starvation/

[Sheherezade]

I've felt the same way, Kris. I do fine when my calorie count is 1200 a day or lower and I'm exercising at high levels. (4 x plus a week) But if I don't, nothing. It's a major suck fest.

I think it's just something in my metabolism. I figure it would be a great adaptation in lean times but it sure hurts in the land of plenty we live in!

[PrincessFiona]

I guess I should modify this post a little. I started my diet 3 weeks ago tomorrow. Within 3 days, I lost 7 pounds. Obviously, that's mostly water weight. In the last 3 weeks, I have maintained that 7 pounds ... so I suppose the truth is that I lost 7 pounds? In the past if I have cut back/dieted, I have experienced an initial loss followed by steady weight loss of 1-2 pounds/week. I haven't seen the scale move in nearly 3 weeks now, but it did move during those first days. I've bounced up and down between -7 and -9 and rested back at -7. Maybe I can just consider that it is no longer water weight but actual weight.

I'm too impatient. Losing weight is so hard. I wish I'd never let myself get like this. I wish my efforts would pay off more quickly.

I know that I need to add exercise to the mix. Now that the kids are in school, I hope to have more time during the day to do that.

I am not feeling hungry most days even though I've cut back. After the first 3 days of changing my eating, my body seemed to adjust. Go figure. I could have been living this way a lot longer.
I keep reminding myself that I'm eating better than I have in 2 years and that can only be good for me. I was skipping breakfast so I made sure to add it back in so my body doesn't think I'm starving.

We'll see. I'll update this if I can manage to get to a place where I see the numbers moving down!

Kris

[Sheherezade]

I swear the only time I'm actively losing weight is when I'm hungry. I've tried to make that a positive of hunger - sometimes it works for me psychologically. But if I'm not starving, I'm not losing.

I think I've got a veeeery stable set point. It's hard to move it.

[Mrs. MD, Esq.]

After reading that article, I decided not be so hard on myself. I'm trying to view it is a journey not a destination…and just be as healthy as I can without sacraficing my sanity or starving myself (those two are related). I basically took the last two days half off (plus Saturday all the way off) and now I'm back to healthy eating; however, I did drop a couple pounds when I released the reins a bit, so maybe it convinced my body I'm not trying to kill it!

[MAPPLEBUM]

I swear the only time I'm actively losing weight is when I'm hungry. I've tried to make that a positive of hunger - sometimes it works for me psychologically. But if I'm not starving, I'm not losing.

I think I've got a veeeery stable set point. It's hard to move it.

This is exactly me. So strange to see someone else say it! I think I'm finally ready to admit I "deserve" my weight. Which is to say my tolerance for hunger/deprivation is pretty low right now. I have always been somewhat overweight but was able to drop about 20 lbs a few years ago. I never expected to gain that weight back, so as the pounds have been slowly creeping on the last year or so I've been dumbfounded and horrified. But I know exactly what's changed and am not sure I can "stomach" going back to what it was. At the peak of my health it was pretty common that I'd go to the gym twice a day. I prefer morning workouts and when DH would get home and want to exercise (ahh! Med school! How I miss those days) I'd go with and do a light work out. Do I have the time and will for that now? Hell no! And then there was the hunger. I went to bed hungry, I woke up hungry, I worked out hungry, I ran errands hungry. When I ate I'd always stop before feeling satisfied and then as far as diet I was afraid to even put cheese on a salad. What's worse, even at this point my BMI was still high.

I know those people exist who have great genes, hardly work out and still look great, but more often than not if you're at the top of your health you're spending hours a day working out. Those big body builders are not coming in for a quick HIT session, it's part of their lifestyle to spend 2-3 hours lifting weights. At this point, my workout in the mornings is always at the expense of something else. So yes, some days I do have to skip the gym to clean the house or to put food in the fridge.

Anyway, if you exercise regularly staying below 1200 calories may be too few calories. You can't put a time frame on your body, so it very much is a journey not destination thing. If you're working out and limiting calories it could take months before you start seeing results, it will take months for you to get where you want to be, and then a few more months to stabilize. But even then if you go back to "normal" eating/lifestyle the weight is just going to creep back.

[Phoebe]

AT my old gym, I got my resting basal metabolic rate tested to learn how many calories my body actually burns. That gave me a good indicator or how many calories I needed to eat to lose weight. I had to add more calories in when I exercised. Now I am doing this clean eating challenge where I am not exactly counting calories, but I am eating smaller, more frequent meals. I've lost weight by not eating sugar and refined foods. Dieting sucks!

[medpedspouse]

I have come to the realization that the only time I lose a lot of weight is when life is extremely stressful. I stop eating when I am under a lot of stress.
I am learning to be happy with my current weight because it means life is going well.

Still it sucks because when things are well, it does not matter whether I drink wine/eat burgers or abstain. The weight remains the same.

[Sheherezade]

I've been working out steadily but have not stuck to a calorie count for months now. It sucks. I need to start again. When I was at my thinnest point (college), I worked out three times a day and ate the same thing at every meal because I was on a serious budget. For two years. God, I was thin. It was awesome. LOL I'm just not living that life these days and can only find time to work out once every day. And I like food too much now and I can afford it!!

Every day, I tell myself I'm recommitting, but by dinner time that thrill of the diet is gone. I'm afraid the holidays are going to be a tough time for restraint.

[samssugarmomma]

Another thought - I recently went to the doctor for my depression and to see if we could switch up my meds. When I described my symptoms, he suggested testing my hormones to see if my hormones were in balance. The tests came back that I am extremely low in Vitamin D (16 …. he wants it to be 60) and almost no progesterone (0.1) , and my estrogen was slightly high (151). He recommended vitamin d supplements and progesterone supplements to start with. He said that since my hormones are off, there is no where for the estrogen to go (since there is no progesterone to bind to (I think))….. that the estrogen is just sitting in the fat cells and no matter what I do, I won't lose weight until I get my hormones back in balance and the estrogen has a place to "go". He also said that the progesterone supplements were NOT a magic pill, that I still needed to keep to a strict anti-inflammatory diet (no grains, beans, sugars) to see results.

Honestly, I haven't had much time to research it ….. but I've felt off since I started having kids so it seems worth a shot. I have completely changed my eating habits over the last year - like, all I eat are veggies, meat, and 2 servings of fruit a day ….. and while I AM smaller….. and I HAVE lost 35 lbs over the past 11 months, it feels like it has been an uphill battle and that I have literally fought for each and every ounce that I've lost. And I hit the gym HARD 3-4 times a week. And that loss has been in big chunks …. 10 lbs here and then up and down for weeks and then a 5 lb drop…. then up and down for weeks and then a 5 lb drop….

Anyway, I'm only 2 weeks into these supplements and while I've noticed a big change in my moods, I haven't seen that much change on the scale…. he said that it might take a few months for things to level out and we might need to adjust the progesterone.

Anyway…. that was a long winded way of saying, do you think it would be worth having your hormones tested to see if anything is out of whack there?