[RainbowButterfly]

I have been stuck at the same weight (334) for almost three months now. I don't know what to do to pushed past this. My doctor had me on Phentermine 37.5mg for three months. When I started Phentermine I weighed 347.9 and lost a bit. I have been off Phentermine and haven't gained any back which is good.

I'm frustrated that I haven't been able to drop past 334. I use My Fitness Pal everyday to keep track of what I eat. I stay away from certain foods. I have been trying to eat healthier. I ride my exercise bike 30 to 40 minutes (sometimes I go to 60) four times a week.

I'm 21
Height is 5'7
Current Weight is 334.7 (checked it today)
So right now my BMI is at 52.3
My weight goal is 200 which means I have to lose 134 pounds.

Since September of last year my doctor has been trying to push me to get weight loss surgery. He wrote me a prescription to take to a weight loss surgeon but I really want to try to lose the weight without getting the surgery.

I was on Nutrisystem but it didn't really work for me. Currently I'm on Omnihealth Meal Replacement Shakes. My doctor has me take

B Complex with B12
One A Day Adult VitaCraves
B6
B1

I need advice/help on what I should do to help meet my goal.

[Palestrina]

I'd hate to see someone so young go down the route of pills, meal replacement shakes and surgery. Surgery should be a last option, not for someone who is so young!! Your doctor sounds like a crook to me. Why doesn't he get you into physical therapy or set up with a dietician?

What do your meals look like? Losing weight 99% what how you eat.

[Inkrid]

The problem I have with diet plans is they are so strict that if there is any variation you can gain weight (or at least not lose).

As long as you stay away from processed foods and are otherwise healthy you should be OK no matter what you weigh, IMO.

Or honestly write down what you typically eat, when and how much. Sometimes it only takes one tweak. View yourself objectively as a Science Experiment! LOL! What happens if I do Cardio AND Strength Training? What happens if I stay away from Dairy AND Grains? What happens is I ONLY eat three times a day? What happens if I eat five times a day using the small plates? That kind of thing.

[FieryCupcake]

Be sure you are drinking enough water as well, I know for me if I don't drink my water then my weight will stay put, it's really frustrating and it's hard to get used to drinking a lot of water but after a while it becomes second nature.

[Pink Hurricane]

I fully agree with the previous posters on what they've said.

I think your best bet to try something new would be to follow a low glycemic approach and try to maintain steady blood sugar levels. Like a low or modified low carb plan. I follow the Trim Healthy Mama plan and it has done wonders for me! You don't have to spend a bunch of money on pills or shakes or special ingredients. It's a whole foods, low glycemic approach to eating and it works. It's worth looking into and giving it a try if you're interested!

I am also planning on trying to start up a weight lifting program this coming week and that might be something you can add to your workout routine that may help with weight loss as well!!

I try to say away from pills and stuff like that that are not sustainable on the long term. I hope the advice that you are getting so far is helping, this community and forum is a wonderful place to be for support and ideas for you to succeed!!

[RainbowButterfly]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

@Palestrina - He hasn't brought up physical therapy or a dietician every time my weight comes up he tries to push the surgery. Which I really don't want to do.

My meals are

Breakfast
Eggs, Bacon, Toast
Sometimes I go out and get Dunkin Donuts coffee

Snack
Which is normally veggies or mixed nuts

Lunch
I normally make a medium size salad or I have a sandwich with veggie chips

Snack
Same as the other one

Dinner
Homemade soup or a sandwich with veggie chips

Snack
A handful of chocolate covered peanuts or sweet trail mix

But since I started the meal replacement I drink that instead of eating for breakfast.

@Inkrid I have thought about keeping a weight loss journal along with MFP app. I do try to stay away from processed foods by going to the local produce market and buying most of the stuff I eat from there.

@FieryCupcake Yeah I never drank a lot of water. I mainly drank water if I felt thirsty and since I cut out soda and diet soda I probably wasn't getting enough fluids. I started keeping water bottles around to drink more and slowly I have been.

@Pink Hurricane I will definitely check it out thanks! I was looking into weight lifting the other day and hopefully I will be getting a treadmill soon so I can be able to add that to my workout.

[Inkrid]

If I may, see what happens when you ditch the toast and the sandwich. If that's too much, see what happens if you ditch the snacks.

[chel325]

I see you use myfitnesspal

Do you weigh and measure all of your food? I didn't use to and I was stuck at 210 pounds for over a year. As soon as I bought a cheap food scale and started measuring my portions and logging them I dropped down to 160 pounds!

What are you calories set to?

To lose weight you have to use more calories than you eat, it's really simple once you figure out how many you use and start accurately measuring what you eat!

[Treasa]

Whoa chel325! That's amazing! I might have to invest in a food scale...

[chel325]

@treasa

Yes it's incredible how much we overestimate when we guess the portion sizes!

I started at 246 pounds and now I'm down to 164.6. In January I was at 190. Counting calories and using a food scale is ridiculously simple once you figure out it's really all just math and nothing else.

I had mexican food and pizza the other day and I'm still losing weight!

[RainbowButterfly]

Originally Posted by chel325

I see you use myfitnesspal

Do you weigh and measure all of your food? I didn't use to and I was stuck at 210 pounds for over a year. As soon as I bought a cheap food scale and started measuring my portions and logging them I dropped down to 160 pounds!

What are you calories set to?

To lose weight you have to use more calories than you eat, it's really simple once you figure out how many you use and start accurately measuring what you eat!

I believe we do have a food scale. Could you tell me more about the weigh and measure?

MFP has my calories set to 1,980

[chel325]

Originally Posted by RainbowButterfly

I believe we do have a food scale. Could you tell me more about the weigh and measure?

MFP has my calories set to 1,980

Of course. So for dinner this week I'm having Kale and sweet potato coconut curry that I made.

I logged the recipe into recipe builder and it says this batch split 6 ways is 350 calories. So I weigh the entire batch of food and then divide by 6. The total comes to 383 grams.

So every night for dinner I weigh out 383 grams of my meal and eat it because I know that is worth 350 calories.


If you'd like to add me on MFP my name is chel325

You just weigh all of your food and log it according to weight unless it is liquid then you use measuring cups. Never guess the calories, measurements are a lot more accurate.

[ZCA72]

you don't want the surgery, but how about ''eating'' the surgery menu?
in that, protein is key. forget 'a sandwich'...it is useless. carbs are useless in manufactured fake foods.
it all comes down to carbs. carbs can destroy a person. I know

all about meat and good fats. eat til full and happy.
don't limit anything

start there and since I know 'none of your past or your 'demons' which you are battling in this life, an 'atkins type' induction food list is your perfect way to get a jump start.

big steak, small 'healthy' salad, without the croutons and extras
big amt of eggs and bacon in the morning if wanted, ditch the muffin etc
lunch--1/2 a roasted chicken and some low carb veggies

this is the way to jump start. 'a small portion' of pasta is useless to you. protein and low carb veg is eating 'real food' you control and will fill you up to the max.....but then while you detox a bit from the 'sugars' you will have to pony up, beat some cravings and GO FOR WHAT THE HECK you want your results to be!!!!

you got it in you for sure,deep down the need to change is there, pony it up and get results. cause I know, I been there, it is never easy and never will be to fight against the 'easiest path' there is.....but at some point you need that. test yourself. see what the heck you are made of and I bet at your younger age you got that deep down strength to truly be what you want to be!! I have no doubt you will succeed!

good luck and if you give up the carbs, come on over to the carb restricted thread and chat away. cause we have been there and know....we have valuable info and it can be adjusted to fit your life, your thoughts on how to proceed and your personal menu it takes to make it.

[Palestrina]

I find carbs to be completely useful and part of a healthy and complete diet. I find it unhealthy to vilainize a whole basic food group when it Plays such a vital role in most people's overall nutrition. Different things work for different people so why call a totally benign ingredient "useless"?

[CrabNebula]

Keeping it 100 here, your tdee to maintain your current weight is around 3000 calories. So you are still eating that much a day or else you would be losing weight.

You need to start religiously weighing and accurately recording your calorie intake. Trail mix is extremely calorie dense. You literally measure servings in tablespoons. It is very, very easy to mindlessly overeat.

A salad is something that sounds healthy and low cal until you learn x person is dumping 1/3c of full fat ranch, 1/3c of shredded cheese, God knows how many croutons, dried fruits, nuts, fried chicken, etc all over it. Many salads at restaurants easily bust the 500-700 cal mark and I have seen some as high as 1300! A salad for weight loss should be just mixed greens, carrots, onion, bell pepper, a lean grilled protein like chicken breast and pork loin, and a low cal dressing. Bolthouse Farms makes great ones.

What is "coffee" at DD? If it is anything other than black and artificially sweetened, it needs to go. Just empty calories and a ridiculous amount of sugar. I would avoid going there altogether because something tells me you just aren't buying coffee on the occasion you stop. Just invest in a good coffee maker and buy DD coffee to brew at home.

Artificial sweeteners are not the great Satan. I lost and have kept off around 140lbs from my highest weight with their help. The trick is that you can't reward yourself with some other food because you were so good and replaced regular soda with diet. In fact, you shouldn't reward yourself with food for doing anything healthy, exercise in particular, because it is way too easy to overestimate burns and then overeat, destroying all your hard work.

I would check out r/fatlogic. This really woke me up to all the crazy mental gymnastics I was doing to explain to myself why I was just such a special sneuxflake that couldn't lose all the weight ever. Turns out I am not special. The laws of thermodynamics apply to me as much as anyone else. Lo and behold, my "plateau" ended soon after joining there and my BMI is now normal.