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Old 04-10-2011, 12:59 PM   #1  
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Unhappy Why can't I lose the weight!!

So here is my issue right now I have been doing this for 2 weeks and have accually gained a pound. I know it is not long but I hear about all these people who lose so much weight when they first start. I have cut my calories to 1350 a day, I eat pretty much no sweets (like once a week at most and its worked in) and thats a big deal for me. I don't eat fast food or fried foods. We eat barely any red meats. I eat A LOT of fish chicken turkey and veggies. So why can't I lose even a pound a week.
Oh and yes I do exercise! I have a heart arrythmia so I have to take it slow until I work up to a better tolerence but I take a 10-20 min walk with my daughter EVERY day and I do my elliptical for about 20 min every other day and about 20 min on my wii fit every other day as well. I know it is not heavy exercise but it is what I can do for now and I am increasing it every week by 5 min last week I was doing 15 mins.
My frustration comes from having done this before. My eating habits have not changed much I have always been a really healthy eater but since I have had my daughter I can not lose the weight no matter how hard I try I have done this for months before and ended up giving up after not losing anything and I don't want to do that again!
My point is has anyone else out there had this issue and what did you do to over come this platue....I know most people hit this after they have lost such and such amount of weight but it is like my body doesn't want to move past 180-182. It is what I have been at since shortly after giving birth to my daughter! I am just so frustrated
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Old 04-10-2011, 01:14 PM   #2  
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It's normal for it to take several weeks and even months to see some real scale change. Remember that people fluctuate in water weight frequently, ESPECIALLY when they start exercising (this is a very common complain and the #1 mistake people make, thinking they gain weight when they exercise so they give it up). You need to stick with it a lot longer to see real changes.

If you're doing what you can with exercise, then that's good enough. Do what you can. Keep doing it. You WILL see changes, but you need to be patient.

Most of all - being a healthy eater is fine BUT a calorie deficit is what is most important. If you are not losing after several weeks/months then there is something off in your calories. How old is your daughter? It was not until about 3-6 months postpartum that I could see real shifts in the weight.

Realistically, you are probably still eating too much. I know you've been at it 2 weeks, so I don't know if that's the case right now, but when you keep "giving up" that's when you won't see changes. So keep in a proper calorie deficit, weigh/measure your foods, and give it a lot more time & patience. This is not a race.
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Old 04-10-2011, 01:25 PM   #3  
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Patience. If you're actually only eating 1300 calories a day (do you weigh your food?) then you're losing fat the scale has simply not rewarded you.

The scale is not the best way to measure progress. Taking body measurements and pictures is much more accurate and over time show you how far you've come.

Have patience and stick with your plan.
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Old 04-10-2011, 02:13 PM   #4  
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I also wonder if you're weighing and measuring your food. It's super easy for portion creep to happen when you're not really diligent about measuring everything.

That said, maybe think about tweaking your plan a little here and there if you don't feel like it's working. Try low carb for a little while, see if it's an insulin resistance issue. If you are truly eating less than you're burning then you will see the scale move eventually. It's not linear and the math doesn't work the way we'd like, but it will happen if you stick with it!!
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Old 04-10-2011, 04:30 PM   #5  
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I do measure my food and I keep a daily log on loseit.com I do also measure myself I am at 44 40 44 and have been there for some time. I must not have made myself very clear my daughter is 2 and a half years old, this is not my first time down this road. I have spent months doing this and not losing a single pound that is when I get frustrated and give up. 178 was the lowest I got and was back up to 181 in 3 days so I guess that is a water weight issue. I do not drink soda or anything caffinated and have not in 5 years. I do know I am staying in my calorie intake level most of the time I am acually a bit under by the end of the week. I have also had my thyroid checked and it is fine. I do hope I can start to lose weight soon it just gets very frustrating. I am just lost for what to do next. As for carbs I dont eat much. Everything in my house is whole grain and whole wheat. The bread I use for my sandwiches is sugar free and I only eat those about 3 times a week at most for lunch other then that I only eat carbs w/ diner....but I keep them at a small amount like 1/2 a cup. so I dont eat much in the way of carbs either especially white carbs.
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Old 04-10-2011, 04:38 PM   #6  
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How long do you stick to a plan, consistently measuring/weighing without added things here & there, before you get frustrated and stop?
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Old 04-10-2011, 05:19 PM   #7  
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the first time was 3 months the second time was 2 this is my 3rd time (I don't get what you mean "without added things" do you mean without changing my calorie amounts). still not much has changed I always eat the same things. I have always been about healthy foods. I have a sweet tooth that is the biggest part of my diet is giving those up. I get full fairly easily so even when I wasn't weighing and measuring I didn't eat massive amounts of food. My inactivity is my biggest battle, I am working into more and more activity but even when I was in school (culinary school) we were to busy to eat most any of what we cooked and I spent 6 hours a day in a hot kitchen and moving 50 lb boxes and always on the go with no results. Same thing when I exercised regularly.
I understand this sounds like so many out there who just say dieting doesn't work for me and just don't try but I have tried with little to no success and have always been a healthy person. I stopped eating fast food and drinking soda and caffine my sophmore year in highschool and have stuck to it with the exception of about a 1 1/2 year period. I am now 26 so I would say I am fully capable of discipline and I LOVE!!! coffee but I don't touch the stuff. I am just at a loss. My doc told me to eat less then 1500 calories a day to achieve weight loss and I eat 1350
I do not want to be one of those whiny complainers about how it doesnt work so I am just going to quit! I have no support in my life both my mom and my sister are size 2s they are the kind of people who cant eat nothing but cake for a month and not gain a pound (and that is not an exaduration my mom is compulsive and gets on food kicks she really ate nothing but carrot cake and manderine oranges for a month for every meal) my sister is an extreme workout type person she works out 7 days a week to the point it makes her puke...sad thing is she doesn't need to she has never in her life been above 125 at 5'6" (exercise is one thing, we all want to be healthy, but there is a point when even that is unhealthy.) She doesnt get that I have a heart problem and cant go out and do that kind of crap so she sees it as just laziness and my mom just looks at me with sad pity in her eyes. Everyone seems to think its ok to comment on my weight even when they think their being nice. Depression can get the best of all of us no matter how disciplined you are. I am looking for those who have truely been to a point in their diet that even healthy eating and exercise didn't do anything for them and what did they do to rectify that challenge?!
I don't mean to sound rude or unappreciative but I am not looking for someone to tell me I am eating to much and need to weigh my food or something because I am saying been there done that bought the t-shirt and wore it out! Weighing and measureing and staying in the restricted calorie zone has never worked I don't know if it is because I am just one of those very unlucky people who take a VERY long time to lose ANY weight or I am doing something else wrong? Cause it is not my calorie intake and I don't eat that many carbs and even those are all whole grain and whole wheat.

I have just started the measuring process it was only recently that I learned you can not lose any weight but you are still getting smaller (whoda thunk it ). So that may be the thing...maybe I am losing and just dont know it yet. maybe I lose a lot in inches before I lose any in weight. I will just have to see. I do not want to give up I never have it just gets very frustrating when you have NO support system at all.
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Old 04-10-2011, 05:34 PM   #8  
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I understand you are frustrated but realistically, 9.999 times out of 10, people who say they can't lose weight even though they eat healthy are still eating too much food. So generally, people recommend weighing/measuring/waiting several weeks/months to see real progress. If you are an exception to that, then that's fine, but we sort of point out the most obvious solution before writing it off.

So if you have honestly been eating 1350 calories for months on end with zero change at 180lbs, it's time to head to the doctor and get tested. Perhaps it's a thyroid issue, perhaps some other glandular problem, but it should not be physically possible to stay at 180lbs for several months on 1300ish calories a day, so there must be some sort of medical reason behind this. 1300 calories of broccoli,chicken,rice OR 1300 calories of cheesecake, is still far below your maintenance calories, so something's def. off hormonally.
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Old 04-10-2011, 05:40 PM   #9  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonjae View Post
As for carbs I dont eat much. Everything in my house is whole grain and whole wheat. The bread I use for my sandwiches is sugar free and I only eat those about 3 times a week at most for lunch other then that I only eat carbs w/ diner....but I keep them at a small amount like 1/2 a cup. so I dont eat much in the way of carbs either especially white carbs.
Even whole grains contain carbs. I'm actually not a low carb-er but I've seen it quite a bit on these boards where someone stays under calories and exercises, etc. but it's not until they go low carb that things start to move. Veggies, whole grains, fruit... lots of healthy foods contain enormous numbers of carbs. It was just a thought. You know, when something isn't working it's time to try something else!
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Old 04-10-2011, 06:05 PM   #10  
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I have had the hormonal testing done all good there. Like I said in the last post maybe I lose inches for a long time before I start to see a change on the scale. I only found that out to be a possiblity very recently. Maybe when I was doing it before I was losing inches and didn't even know it. I wear larger clothes because I have large hips and a large bust so the portion of a shirt or the waist of pants that fit around my mid section are always lose and I have to cinch it with a belt and I wear alot of baby doll style shirts cause I look like a tent if I buy t-shirt that fits the chest area its like xxl when the rest of me is m-l. I am going to keep an eye on my measurements and hope that is the trick. Maybe because I was so inactive for so long I am gaining muscle mass faster then I am losing fat (or even at the same rate) and it will take a long time to see a change in weight but my overall size will shrink that is a happy thought lol....so long as I do eventually see a change in the scale cause at 5'5" 180 even in muscle is a bit much lol I am not expecting to be the 120 I was in highschool my goal is acually 140 if I make it below that great if not I am still in a healthy weight who cares if I can't rock a bakini lol
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Old 04-10-2011, 06:18 PM   #11  
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Originally Posted by Sonjae View Post
So here is my issue right now I have been doing this for 2 weeks and have accually gained a pound. I know it is not long but I hear about all these people who lose so much weight when they first start.
Just because you hear a lot about it, doesn't mean that it works that way for everyone.

I would suggest getting a checkup to rule out metabolic isues like low thyroid, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance/diabetes.

If you do have any conditions that are known metabolism-slowers medication may help, but if possible see if you can see a dietitian or a certified diabetes counselor/educator.

I don't generally share my caloric intake anymore, because I'm tired of the skeptical comments, arguing that it's impossible to be maintaining my weight on so few calories. I must be lying or math-impaired.

Before I experienced it, I would have called someone like me a liar too. I had no idea that metabolism could drop this low. The calorie level it takes to maintain my weight, is a calorie level upon which I once lost 5 - 7 lbs per week. I mourn the loss of that metabolism, but it's gone for good and I probalby will never get it back.

You've got to deal with the metabolism you're dealt, because you can't use anyone else's. You might find (as I did) that calories aren't necessarily created equal (at least not for everybody). I can eat more calories on low-carb dieting, than I can high-carb. I didn't believe it when I first realized it, so I did a lot of experimenting. The first two weeks on low-carb, you lose a lot of water weight, so you can't really compare low-carb to high-carb for weight loss until the third to fourth week in. Even doing so, I still found that I could eat 300 - 500 more calories of low-carb than of high-carb. Some people have told me this is very unusual (and some people have told me it's typical). I don't know which it is, but again it doesn't matter. Only your metabolism matters to you, so experiment with different carb levels and see if you find it helpful.

I know it's frustrating to try to lose weight and have no success after a couple months. My first 20 lbs were lost without effort due to treatment for sleep apnea (when my doctor told me I'd probably lose some weight without trying I thought he was nuts, but it turned out to be true). I spent two whole years, trying to maintain that 20 lbs loss and to lose more weight. I succeeded at keeping the 20 off, but I didn't succeed in losing any more until two years later.

I'm not saying you'll have to spend two years trying, without seeing a loss. I'm just telling you that the only way you'll succeed is by not giving up - whether it takes you three months or three years to see the scale move. Because the only thing that insures failure, is deciding the fight isn't worth it.

Maybe you do have to cut your calorie level even more (if you have to go under 1200, consider doing so with a doctor or dietitian's support). Maybe you'll have to change the source of your calories. Maybe there's some other key to weight loss for you, but you'll only find it if you're looking.
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Old 04-10-2011, 06:19 PM   #12  
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I would recommend reading Leigh Peele's Metabolic Repair Manual. It's not a diet, it's science based, and as kaplods is suggesting, may help you find a solution to what is probably a metabolism issue.

Last edited by sacha; 04-10-2011 at 06:20 PM.
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Old 04-10-2011, 06:21 PM   #13  
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Well, I went through much the same until my thyroid was tested correctly. Some doctors (ok, lots' of them) only do a pituitary test (that'd be TSH) and if it's 'anywhere in the range' they call you well and good. That didn't work for me.

As soon as I saw the real testing of my thyroid hormones (that'd be FT4 and FT3, called Free T4 and Free T3) I knew I had problems. My TSH was low, and they didn't 'catch on' that that didn't tell them anything about me.

When I was finally replaced with T4 and T3 hormone, my hard work started paying off. I'm hoping you have a copy of your thyroid tests. if you go to about.com there is a thyroid board/site there that would be very helpful to you.

And yes, like most, I saw five endocrinologists before I found one who was good at treating thyroid disease. Best of luck to you.
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Old 04-10-2011, 06:45 PM   #14  
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I always lose weight in a big woosh. I lose only during the first few days when TOM leaves, so just a few days out of a whole month. I guess you could just keep reminding yourself that weight loss isn't linear. Oh and like another poster mentioned, I lost a whole lot of inches and was getting smaller before I saw any drop at all on the scale (so I"m glad to see you're measuring yourself)

It is so so so frustrating, but what I do is track my loss my my first day of my time of the month. It's always up a couple lbs than my normal weight in, but I just start my weight at the 1st day, and each month calculate how much I lost each month. I also weigh daily so I understand my body fluctuations.

I think there are a lot of people who lose weight like this, but you don't always hear about it. If you're truly eating the calorie amount that you are, then it will come off, give it time. If it doesn't, then go see your dr.

Last edited by pinkflower; 04-10-2011 at 06:49 PM.
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Old 04-10-2011, 06:54 PM   #15  
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I have had the thyroid and diabetes...and who knows how many other tests done (I just spent 3 months in and out of four diff specialist getting every test under the sun for unrelated issues) I was not aware there were diff tests for thyroid and I will have to call my doc about that tomorrow. I will not be giving up this time just for health sake. I was diagnosed with a type of migraine that increases my stroke risk by a good amount and they wanted me to take some crazy med with nasty side effects. I have found exercise (even just a little walk) takes them away. I have not had one in over 2 weeks. I always eat pretty healthy other then during holidays of course and I think I earn that whole 3-4 times a year to splurge lol. So the exercise I will keep doing as well. Thanks for the info on the matabolism stuff!
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