I think it might be time to tweak my plan and I'm looking for some good, sound advice on what might be the best course of action to take. I have been frustrated because the weight isn't coming off and actually I'm up about 3 pounds. I tried to blame it on the heat and ovulation, but enough is enough and I should be losing!
I use Fitday to track my calories and for the last two weeks my averages look like this:
calories 1378
fat 32.5%
carbs 35.5%
protein 22%
I have read over and over that we should have 30% of our diet coming from lean protein. So, I think that might be problem.
My fat percentage mostly comes from olive oil, walnuts, meat, eggs, and dairy. I use a light soy milk in my cereal, and I use about a cup of fat free half-and-half in my coffee and tea a day. I eat 2% cheddar cheese and try to limit that to no more than an ounce a day.
My carbs all come from whole grains, fruits, and veggies. I don't eat sugar or white flour foods.
I drink over a gallon of water a day and I exercise an average of 35 minutes five days a week.
I understand your frustration as I've been in your shoes before. Eating more protein could be beneficial. Do you eat a some type of protein with every meal and snack? What type of exercise are you doing? It might be time to increase the duration of your exercise each day. Also, make sure the exercise is leaving you slightly winded......you should still be able to talk, but not easily.
1. Have you gone to low in calories too soon? (Everyone is different)
2. Tough it out. Whenever I slack off from the walking and either start doing it again or increase I actually do go up a few pounds. After about a month of losing those few plus 2 -3 more I am irritated, but you know what? I take pictures and pay attention to my clothing and how I look. I look SIGNIFICANTLY slimmer even if I only see a few pounds on the scale. I tough it out, keep on doing what I am doing and it DOES pay off.
You can do this.
3. Tell yourself this is not about the scale but about your health. I remember when I plateaud at 240 for a month or two(I wasn't counting cals back then so I WAS eating a little too much but was walking 60 minutes a day) I was frustrated but I reminded myself how far I had come and that thios wasn't about pounds on a scale but about being healthy. And whether or not I lost another pound I would keep it up. Why? Cause I looked better at 240 then 280, cause I had more energy and felt better. Cause I know that walking, even though heavy, is GREAT for your heart! Cause eating healthy foods is good for your body and can help you stay healthy even when still heavy, etc.
Thanks so much for the advice and encouragement. This weight loss stuff sucks!! Two years ago I was a two pack a day smoker, a two two-liter a day Pepsi drinker, and every fast food place knew me by name. Then I get a divorce, move in with a health nut, and begin all these amazing life changes. I really thought the weight would just fall off me, even with the slips up here and there, because nothing I have done has compared to the way I ate for 20 years of my life!
My Joe, the love of my life and biggest support, took me to see a nutritionist last May. She did my resting metabolic rate and said that I need to have 2314calories a day to maintain, minus 500 calories for weight loss, I should eat 1814 a day. That seems like soooo much to me since I struggle to allow myself to eat 1600 a day. When I went to the nutritionist I was only getting about 1200 to 1300 a day and she explained that was too low for my body and that is why I wasn't losing then. OK, I accept that to be true.
Joe thinks I should be upping my calories and has been on me to do that, which I've been trying to do. Sheesh, men!!
GirlyGirlSebas, I do eat some protein with every meal, but not for every snack. I seem to have developed this popcorn addiction in the evenings, which I'm going to cut out and go to low fat yogurt.
I exercise at Curves four days a week. I have upped my 30 minutes last week to include an additional five minutes, and plan to increase that this coming week. I work out at my full intensity. On Friday's and some Saturdays I do my own thing at home with resistant bands, stretching, and calastenics. Whenever this disgusting weather breaks I plan to get out and start walking.
Jasmine, there is NO giving up for me! I know what I'm doing has made me much healthier and stronger. Joe told me the other day that he can really see a difference in the shape of my body and that I need to just relax and keep moving forward. I did lose 3 1/2 inches last month.
Calculators do NOT work for everyone. Some people it will work for, some it won't. Some are accurate, some aren't. I have found this particular calculator to my liking and since I noticed it is very close to what your nutritionist told you, I thought I would share it with you. That way you can go in and readjust your stats as you lose.
I ran it at the 240 since I am presuming that is what your doc did it at.
You need 2327.3 calories per day to maintain your current weight without exercise. Only 13 cals difference from what your doc said.
Okay so I understand what you mean about trying to get enough. I think you also may be losing but just not seeing it on the scale. I would up it to 1600 and see if that works for you. Like, try it for a month. Need to get in more cals? walnuts. they are great for you and a quick way to add calories. More yogurt/kefir. 1 tbs of olive oil as dressing.
Pita- try upping your calories by a couple of hundred per day for a few weeks, like Jasmine recommended. In my opinion, you're too low right now- by the time you start losing a few pounds, you won't have many calories to cut down to continue losing.
Hang in there- weight loss is a lot of trial and error. Going through a rough spell myself the last couple of weeks, due to an increase in exercise. Been hungry a lot of days and going over my usual calorie limit, but I also know it will calm down once my body gets used to the new (and heavier, lol) exercise routine. Luckily, I haven't gained any weight back from my bad days- yesterday was brutal- picked the kids up from summer camp- five hour drive round trip, ate out twice with hubby..... and the calories piled on. Extra exercise for me today.
I also think upping your calories is important. At a minimum, you need to be eating 1600 calories...even 1800.
For me this time, I have had a consistent but nerve-wracking pattern to my weight loss. After the initial loss, this is how it has been going: lose a chunk of weight, then for 2-3 weeks bounce around the scale, mostly up a few pounds; then, all of a sudden, lose another chunk of weight; back to bouncing around for another 2-3 weeks. Each time the scale goes up a few pounds and stays there even though I'm working my plan, I hold on and try to have faith that it will work out.
I'm eating more calories than I ever have on a weight loss plan, but I am losing, am not hungry, and can have a few treats no problem.
To me, it's like my body is testing me--does she really mean this, or will she start overeating again, like she has countless times before? When it's convinced I'll continue to eat well for a while, it lets go of a little bit more weight.
First I want to say I'm really impressed that you have stayed on track for so long without getting the results you want. My tendency is to throw in the towel in situations like that, so I SO admire your commitment!
As for your current plan, wow - it looks sound to me. Here are a few (unscientific) suggestions if you are looking to tweak things:
1. You could try raising your calories a bit for a while and see if that jumpstarts your loss.
2. Make sure you are measuring your food precisely. Do you have a digital food scale? It's been such a fantastic educational tool for me and keeps me from underestimating.
3. Don't eat carbohydrates alone. Have a little protein with your carbs. For example, if you are eating a peach for a snack, have a few nuts too or a piece of string cheese.
4. I have not attended Curves, but I have a good friend who goes faithfully and constantly is watching what she eats and never loses weight or shows evidence of doing exercise. I second Jasmine: Try walking outside. At least 30 minutes EVERYDAY. Right now it's my only exercise (about 45 minutes) and it really works for me. You could do this in addition to Curves, but my doctor told me that no matter what I did, I must walk for at least 30 minutes every single day. The same advice is given in "You on a Diet."
6. Make sure your doctor has tested you for any medical reasons why you would'nt be losing (thyroid, etc.)
7. As a last resort, you might try lowering your calories a bit. I aim for 1200 calories a day. I know, it's low, but I'm not very active or muscular and it's something I can live with and works for me. Everybody is different. There are days where I go over that, but all in all, that's what I shoot for.
Hang in there, Pita! You are doing all the right things, you just have to find the combination that works for you.
Your %'s are very close to mine so I don't have any specific advice that wouldn't be a repeat of what the others said.
I really don't know all that much about low-carb diets I'm more of a moderate-carb girl... but it could be possible you'd do better on more protein and healthy fats if your super sensitive to carbs.
There is a low-carb board here and there is also a good one at lowcarbfriends (but stay away from anything that says ******* that is an extreme and unhealthy diet which is aneorxic like)
Your cals only seem low to me if your excercising off a lot of calories. I know with my activity level mine is something around 1300 too before exercise. I usually add in 400 or so from walking (usuaully 4 miles) and I've been steadily losing 2.5ish a week.... so the more calorie thing? might be something to it, but no one can answer that for sure.
Thanks for the link, Jasmine. There is a lot of good info on that site!
OK, after reading all of your wonderful advice I have decided to up my calories until I'm between 1600 and 1700 and see what that does. I'm going to try to do that with healthy choices of lean protein. I'm not on a low carb diet. Been there and didn't like it at all. I need my carbs, I just don't want to be unbalanced with them.
Thank you all for taking the time to respond to my questions and give me such helpful advice and encouragement. I'll keep you posted on my progress.
Glad I could help Pita. I have to add though with the 1600 or 1700 I have lost on that BUT these were months when I was also walking. The times vary. But basically if your maintenance is 2314 or so, and you subtract that to 1600 a day that is 714 a day x 7 = 4998, you need to get to a deficit of 3500 for each pound so say you want to lose 2 then you need 7000, so 2000 more to go. And remember when you start walking, you may not see a loss at all at first. I NEVER do when I start walking again, I see a 4 pound gain usually. Then I push it thru, lose that and 1-2 more, feel like I am almost back where I started til I look at pics and realize how much I am slimming down.
That page tells you what your maintenance cals are with walking 30 minutes.
A good place to start is 3 days a week for 15 minutes. Then try 5 days a week. Make it a routine. You can increase times later.
Pita, I just wanted to jump in here and add another thing. I too believe you should up your calories....
As for your popcorn addiction, I here ya, sister! I love love love that stuff! Here's my suggestion....keep eating your popcorn but drizzle a couple teaspoons of light tasting extra virgin olive oil on top of it. Sounds gross, but give it a whirl. I'm on WW, and they greatly stress getting enough "healthy oils" into your body each day, and this is one way that I accomplish that. Plus, it'll add some calories to your snack. Again, I know it sounds icky, and I tried it the first time with some skepticism, but now I love it. Kind of gives the popcorn the texture or feel of movie theater popcorn with butter on it...YUM! My only recommendation is to use the light tasting EVOO, the regular is just a bit too strong flavored for me when it's on the popcorn. Good luck, and hang in there!!
Tweaking the plan
This weight loss stuff sucks!! Two years ago I was a two pack a day smoker, a two two-liter a day Pepsi drinker, and every fast food place knew me by name. Then I get a divorce, move in with a health nut, and begin all these amazing life changes. I really thought the weight would just fall off me, even with the slips up here and there, because nothing I have done has compared to the way I ate for 20 years of my life! 
and the calories piled on. Extra exercise for me today. 
