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Getting in Shape

Can't Lose Weight!

(I posted this on a different forum, but since this is the getting in shape message board, I figured I'd move it over here as it makes more sense to be here) I just hit a new max weight the other day and I'm so tired of it! I have been doing everything I can think of to lose weight and nothing works!! By everything I mean weight watchers, low carb diet, counting calories AND carbs at the same time, calories alone, nothing but fruits and veggies (that only lasted about 2 weeks, but you'd still think at least half a pound would come off from that!), biking 15 miles a day (1 hour) for 5 days a week, running... I'm sure there's other things I've tried over the past year and a half, but after having nothing but my weight creeping up and up and up, I'm so done with this. Even when I had my tonsils taken out and I couldn't eat for 2 weeks, 14 days of nothing but maybe one or two yogurts per day and a popsicle, we're talking less than 300 calories per day, and I only lost 3 pounds. Obviously this is not a sustainable "diet" but it was a different circumstance and it just shows how ridiculous my body is being. The docs thought maybe PCOS, but they sounded like they can't diagnose it for sure. Thyroid and diabetes were ruled out too. I drink at least 75 ounces of water nearly every single day. Anyone else strugguling?? I have at least 25 pounds to lose to be just barely within a "healthy" weight range (I'm currently considered overweight by BMI and nearly in the obese range). It's not just for my wedding, it's for my health too. I know weight loss is slow and takes time, but when you're doing all the right things and just gaining a pound a month it starts to get very frustrtating. I'm running out of time now. What do I do?!
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Re: Can't Lose Weight!

  • I know it can be extremely hard to lose weight (trust me I'm going through it right now) but the BEST thing you can do for yourself is to eat well and EXERCISE! I hate exercising, but that is really what made the pounds come off. Start with this--Eat good things and don't exclude any one food group. You need to be CONSISTENT with this, if you just do one thing for two weeks and another diet for another two weeks and on and on you won't see the weight come off. You need to stay consistent. Keep drinking lots of water like you have been. Eat lean protein (chicken breast, low fat turkey lunch meat) and plenty of fruits and veggies. But also include things like whole wheat breads and pastas. Everything in moderation, that is the key. Watch out for portion sizes too. And get yourself some 100 calorie yummies too (I like the Skinny Cow ice cream brand, so delicious, and most bars are only 100 calories). You can't completely deprive yourself or you won't be able to stick with anything, I struggled with the same situation. I have been doing exactly what I just told you to do and have been taking morning and evening high speed walks around my neighborhood with my fiance and have lost 7 pounds in the last month and a half. Just stick with one thing and do it! All the switching around of diets and exercise regimens will only make you frustrated, which leads to comfort eating and all that bad stuff. 

    Good luck to you! And congrats on the upcoming wedding.
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • I know it can be extremely hard to lose weight (trust me I'm going through it right now) but the BEST thing you can do for yourself is to eat well and EXERCISE! I hate exercising, but that is really what made the pounds come off. Start with this--Eat good things and don't exclude any one food group. You need to be CONSISTENT with this, if you just do one thing for two weeks and another diet for another two weeks and on and on you won't see the weight come off. You need to stay consistent. Keep drinking lots of water like you have been. Eat lean protein (chicken breast, low fat turkey lunch meat) and plenty of fruits and veggies. But also include things like whole wheat breads and pastas. Everything in moderation, that is the key. Watch out for portion sizes too. And get yourself some 100 calorie yummies too (I like the Skinny Cow ice cream brand, so delicious, and most bars are only 100 calories). You can't completely deprive yourself or you won't be able to stick with anything, I struggled with the same situation. I have been doing exactly what I just told you to do and have been taking morning and evening high speed walks around my neighborhood with my fiance and have lost 7 pounds in the last month and a half. Just stick with one thing and do it! All the switching around of diets and exercise regimens will only make you frustrated, which leads to comfort eating and all that bad stuff. 

    Good luck to you! And congrats on the upcoming wedding.
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • How frustrating to be working hard and still not seeing results. Have you lost inches as a result of the cardio and nutrition - do your clothes fit any looser? Sometimes converting fat to muscle doesn't loose any pounds but it looses inches.

    One thing you might consider is doing a personal trainer for a couple of visits at least? He or she might be able to set you up with an exercise routine that is more challenging for your body, or whatever you might need. They've probably seen people in your situation before!

    One option which a lot of people on here are against, but I have several family members that have had great success and health from, is the HCG program. If you're interested, just send me a PM. I don't have the time to squabble on the boards about it so I try not to say much about it anymore ;) What I like about it though is it resets your body's metabolism and methods of storing/burning fat, so it becomes easier to maintain a healthy weight. PM me if you're interested in that.


    I've been working out and trying to eat better with little sucess lately, but I'm not being good about tracking my calories I just try to make reasonably healthy choices. I know sometimes when people don't write down what they eat, it's a lot less healthy than they think! I'm going to try and get back on board with that... it's just tricky due to some of my circumstances.


    Don't be afraid of weight training btw. It looked like you've done mostly cardio, which is good! But remember: Muscles burns mroe calories even while at rest than fat does. So not only does weight training increase strength and muscle, it also increases your resting metabolic rate so you burn more calories every day. Might want to try some of that?
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • Are you eating enough calories?

    What is your caloric intake daily vs the amount of calories burned daily by biking or running?
  • HCG IS ILLEGAL TO USE FOR WEIGHTLOSS STOP RECOMMENDING IT.  Jesus.

    It does NOT reset your damn metabolism or change anything about your fat.  You lose weight because you eat 500 damn calories a day. 

    ALKDJFOSDFDOPSKFSDKLS:D!

    image
    Everything the light touches is my kingdom.
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_cant-lose-weight?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:45f879ed-a7a8-4bef-8458-d7479ff923bdPost:d1cf6177-15c7-48d4-9ac3-179c7aab6e8b">Re: Can't Lose Weight!</a>:
    [QUOTE]HCG IS ILLEGAL TO USE FOR WEIGHTLOSS STOP RECOMMENDING IT.  Jesus. It does NOT reset your damn metabolism or change anything about your fat.  You lose weight because you eat 500 damn calories a day.  ALKDJFOSDFDOPSKFSDKLS:D!
    Posted by J&K10910[/QUOTE]

    <div>THIS.</div><div>
    </div><div>Also, I would avoid the Skinny Cow suggestion.  Many nutritionists say that having a SMALL amount of ice cream (yes normal ice cream) is better than that stuff.  Skinny Cow has way more ingredients (chemicals, fillers, etc.)  than a few basic components of regular ice cream.  Not that I'm saying you should eat it all the time, but if you have to satisfy a craving don't do it with skinny cow.  </div>
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_cant-lose-weight?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:45f879ed-a7a8-4bef-8458-d7479ff923bdPost:ae40530a-e1b8-49a0-824c-f2ace04fa970">Re: Can't Lose Weight!</a>:
    [QUOTE]HOne option which a lot of people on here are against, but I have several family members that have had great success and health from, is the HCG program. If you're interested, just send me a PM. I don't have the time to squabble on the boards about it so I try not to say much about it anymore ;) What I like about it though is it resets your body's metabolism and methods of storing/burning fat, so it becomes easier to maintain a healthy weight. 
    Posted by 57rainbows[/QUOTE]

    <div>No no no. It doesn't "reset" your metabolism - there's no such thing; it DESTROYS your body's metabolism because you don't give it damn near enough calories.</div><div>
    </div><div>Anyone could eat 500 calories a day and lose weight, but you're slowly starving yourself to death.</div>
    imageimageimage
  • Oh I can feel the frustration through your post! Man, you truly are trying everything! I would get your basal metabolic rate checked so that you can see how many calories your body needs to survive. This really helped me, because I was doing the same things you are (week long fruit/veggie cleanses, etc) without sustainable results. When is your wedding?

    It sounds like you have a very unhealthy relationship with food. I felt the same way, I got to the point that I was almsot scared of it, because it always had power over me. I still struggle, but I am doing MUCH MUCH better. I orderd a book by Jean Antonello called "Breaking out of Food Jail." It was AWESOME, I read it in ONE DAY and it truly changed my life. (You can buy it on Amazon for SUPER cheap). It shows you why you gain weight when you are dieting, and teaches you how to ENJOY food, but loose weight.

    I feel for you :( I hope you find out what works for you, but most importantly, I hope you feel beautiful on your wedding day, no matter what weight you are!

  • Just an FYI - I did medical weight loss and sure, I lost 90 lbs eating nothing but crappy protein shakes (700 calories a day), but you know what? The minute I started eating real food again I gained almost all of the weight back. Better to do it the hard and healthy way!

    My hair also thinned a LOT because of the lack of caloric intake. I would never do that to myself again or recommend it to ANYONE.
    image
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_cant-lose-weight?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:238Discussion:45f879ed-a7a8-4bef-8458-d7479ff923bdPost:a379a103-ec02-45f3-90b2-b8d88d8b5b91">Re: Can't Lose Weight!</a>:
    [QUOTE]I also feel for you!  It sounds like you have done the leg work to rule out many medical reasons for your problem.  I would also chime in and say that MANY diets, including some of the ones you have tried and definitely the HCG nonsense are not sustainable and just plain unhealthy.  You probably need to address some behavioral aspects to eating in addition to diet and exercise.  I recently joined Spark People, a free online site that helps you track calories, monitor weight loss and provides a community of people who can relate to your struggle as well as help you through it.  My sister also tried Calorie Counter, a similar web site.  You could look into one of those and see if it helps.  One thing I noticed not just tracking calories, but the nutritional content of what I ate was that I tended to consume higher fat, lower protein meals at first.  Just seeing the pattern helped me look for ways to increase my protein and lower fat intake by looking for foods naturally lower in fat and higher in protein (beware of fat free, to echo the cautionary post about Skinny Cow.)  I don't know if this has helped, but I do wish you the best of luck!
    Posted by RWS2011[/QUOTE]

    Great advice, welcome!  Stick around.  Congrats on your success so far :)

    image
    Everything the light touches is my kingdom.
  • I also feel for you!  It sounds like you have done the leg work to rule out many medical reasons for your problem.  I would also chime in and say that MANY diets, including some of the ones you have tried and definitely the HCG nonsense are not sustainable and just plain unhealthy.  You probably need to address some behavioral aspects to eating in addition to diet and exercise.  I recently joined Spark People, a free online site that helps you track calories, monitor weight loss and provides a community of people who can relate to your struggle as well as help you through it.  My sister also tried Calorie Counter, a similar web site.  You could look into one of those and see if it helps.  One thing I noticed not just tracking calories, but the nutritional content of what I ate was that I tended to consume higher fat, lower protein meals at first.  Just seeing the pattern helped me look for ways to increase my protein and lower fat intake by looking for foods naturally lower in fat and higher in protein (beware of fat free, to echo the cautionary post about Skinny Cow.)  I don't know if this has helped, but I do wish you the best of luck!
    image

    image
  • oh my goodness how frusterating! With counting your calories did you make sure that you were getting enough calories? Especially when working out, if you are not getting enough calories your body will go into starvation mode and pretty much use up the energy in your muscles instead of fat stores. That being said - another poster suggested getting a personal trainer for at least a few sessions which would be good to get you started on weight training and rounding out your workout sessions.
    I did also read a few articles on how calcium supplements can help you lose weight (especially important while you are working out and on a restricted diet) - this article talks about vitamins d and c as well http://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/top-slim-down-vitamin-supplements-women
    Did the doctor find that you were low in any vitamins with your blood tests?

    good luck!
  • Thanks for all the suggestions guys! I noticed a lot of mention about making sure I'm getting enough calories and based on what my nutritionist said, 1700 would maintain my weight, I just naturally tend to hang right around 1300 and then biking seems to burn about 200 calories. I'm not eating to the point of being stuffed and I never go hungry. I do take a multivitamin that I've been very happy with. Along with biking I do some muscle building - a situp type regimen I found from Shape Magazine that I had seen results from years ago so it seems to work well for me, I also follow a little ballet leg workout and trust me, there is muscle being built there! It's tough! Plus I need to work on my arms so bad, so I do a few things here and there, but always those backwards push ups you do on the seat of a chair. All your positive words have just helped me to continue working, even if inches and pounds are changing, at least it feels good to keep healthy as possible!
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • It does sound like you're not netting enough calories.  you're only netting 1100, which, unless you're quite petite, is likely not enough to support your metabolism.  I'd honestly try increasing to about 1500 a day, and see what happens.  You'll likely gain a couple pounds the first week or two, but after that, things should straighten out.

    image
    Everything the light touches is my kingdom.
  • Well, I should say I average around 1300 on days when I don't exercise, and then 1500 on days when I do. I had a nutritionist give me an entire plan and I followed that for about 2 months (it set me at 1500 calories per day). About a year and a half ago, when I started trying to lose weight, I was averaging about 1700 and slowly gaining weight over time. Getting as low as 1200 for that 500 calories a day just wasn't sustainable for me. 1300 to 1500 is keeping me feeling good, with plenty of energy, never hungry, never overfull and it wasn't a hard cut to make. But even with the cut in calories/exercise, I'd average about 1 pound per month gained, which is basically what I had trouble with before I became aware of my weight gain from eating 1700 calories per day. My doctor suggested 180 minutes of cardio per week, so I hit the bike. And something like half a year later, still nothing. The nutritionist said my metabolism wouldn't slow down enough to matter unless I was cutting down to something crazy like 500 calories total per day, which I would never be able to do, to be honest haha. So she didn't think that was the problem. I think at this point I'm just keeping up with everything, making exercise the priority to keep my body moving and just because it makes me feel better and healthier in general, regardless of the pounds and inches. But it sure is frustrating sometimes, and hard to keep going when you not only see no results, but sometimes even negative results. I suppose my seamstress will be happy to have less work on her hands with my dress, since it probably won't be taken in much haha!
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • Is your nutritionist an RD?  Because it doesn't take much to just be a nutritionist, and I've heard of some pretty bad advice from nutritionists who aren't RDs.

    image
    Everything the light touches is my kingdom.
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