kaplods - I went on a lower carb diet when my numbers were all BAD, but unconsciously, I let them creep back up. They were still lower carb than most, but too high carb to keep my hunger in check and thus, the calorie count low enough.
Just in this past week of being back to a lower carb diet, my face has stopped breaking out and my gut is shrinking - a LOT. Keeping net carbs between 50 and 80 on average.
Brandis - I just started seeing an endocrinologist this past couple months and they just increased my meds and switched me from generic to name brand (as I was having a weird side effect with the generic - and that side effect is now gone, so it was some inactive ingredient only found in the generic brand). My numbers for my GP were fine - 3.5. She wanted them lower. So, we'll see. For the past nearly 2 years they've been trying to get the numbers down as my thyroid is low.
Steph and Vex - it is true, I spent 40 years eating what I want, but there are times I have less control over my diet and while my husband gained NOTHING over vacation - as the activity we had was more than he was used to on a daily basis. I gained 9 pounds. Sure his metabolism is faster than man as a man, but still!!!
My husband can literally eat twice as much as I can without gaining weight. It's only when he goes above that (and he does/can) that he starts gaining weight, his pants get tight, and then he cuts back for a few weeks and loses it. It's very annoying. :/
I have found that I can lose a bit more consistently (while getting to eat a few more calories) on low-carb.
Kaplods, this is the same for me. If I do no/very low carb for vacations and holidays, I've actually seen limited weight gain, usually 2-3 pounds over a 7-10 day period versus the 6-8 pounds I gain when eating lots of carbs so I try to eat like this as much as possible when I travel or go on vacation (very hard during the holidays because I'm more tempted by sweets and my mom makes great pies!). My regular eating plan has about 40% carbs so not very low but some days I eat lower than this and some days a bit higher. When I go to maintenance, I may have to go a bit lower on the carbs, say 30-35%.
Berryblondeboys, do you lift *heavy* weights? I know we lose muscle mass as we grow older and that is a part of having a healthy metabolism. And the latest research is telling us that light weights and "toning" aren't all that useful. It's something I need to start doing personally, since 40 is sneaking up on me. How tall are you, btw?
Yeah it's depressing to find out, but I haven't really found it's the case for me...but I'm also 24. I'll have to get back to you in 20 years
I have to agree with you on lifitng heavy weights. I'm convinced that's why I have to eat 2000+ a day or I start losing again. I'm active, but nowhere near enough to justify the amount I eat for someone of my height and weight.
Before my vacation, I cut down my calories to 1800 a day to give myself a little buffer before I went. I got down to 110. Today, the day after, I weighed in at 111.8. I KNOW I was retaining water too, because I could feel it...which probably means I have to get back on the gaining wagon again since I'm sure I'll see 110 once this water weight goes away.
1800 should probably be maintenance for me, not losing calories. But lifting twice a week, ocasionally 3 if I can and making sure it's heavy seems to require something different.
I might just have a fast metabolism, i don't know, but from what I've read other lifters can eat a lot too and not gain.
I have been fairly sedentary for medical reasons this summer, and although my BmR says I should be fine at 1750, I really maintain at 1500 with no activity. Wien I feel myself, just doing daily activities, I can go up to 1800, and when I work out 2-4 times per week, I can go up to 2200-2300. It has taken nine months to figure out my numbers, and eat according to my activity level.
Children and menopause, as well as wonky thyroid, are definitely going to impact your resting BMR. Building lean mass is about the only solution, except eating in a way that supports your health (which sounds like low carb, whole foods). Sometimes that's just how it is, you know?
And for most folks, even those who have never been obese, gains on vacation are NOT unusual. Maintenance is gaining and losing the same 2-10 pounds, over and over, for life. That IS weight stability. The best many of us can do is make that window smaller and tighter and the swings less and less. But gaining ten pounds on a long vacation of less than ideal foods isn't a sign that something is wrong with your body or method. I really believe that's typical for 80% of the population!
Children and menopause, as well as wonky thyroid, are definitely going to impact your resting BMR. Building lean mass is about the only solution, except eating in a way that supports your health (which sounds like low carb, whole foods). Sometimes that's just how it is, you know?
And for most folks, even those who have never been obese, gains on vacation are NOT unusual. Maintenance is gaining and losing the same 2-10 pounds, over and over, for life. That IS weight stability. The best many of us can do is make that window smaller and tighter and the swings less and less. But gaining ten pounds on a long vacation of less than ideal foods isn't a sign that something is wrong with your body or method. I really believe that's typical for 80% of the population!
Thank you... I guess I 'know' that, but I wish it wouldn't be so easy to gain. THAT part is the scary party. It doesn't take much! I wasn't stuffing my face and never ate until I was stuffed, but it piled on.
I am back on track with the weight training too. I enjoy the classes and I know they've helped me tremendously. I first got off from an injury, and then doing all that yard work, then vacation. But.. two classes down of a bajillion to go. I'll start out with bodypump twice a week, might up it to 3 times a week max. I'll do step 2-3 times a week and then fast walking. When that doesn't work for me as a heart rate raiser (need to check that even now), I'll start the C25K. I'm already on my way, right?
kaplods - I went on a lower carb diet when my numbers were all BAD, but unconsciously, I let them creep back up. They were still lower carb than most, but too high carb to keep my hunger in check and thus, the calorie count low enough.
I think this may be part of my current difficulty breaking through a stall I've been having for the past few months.
Carb creep may be part of the problem (especially during TOM). I'm not very happy with my current birth control, it does not control the TOM hunger like my previous bc did (but I can't GET my previous bc because Medicare no longer covers it, or any med like it).
However that explains the increase in carb cravings, but not the carb-eating. Just because I WANT carbs "that week" doesn't mean I need to eat them (though "that week" can actually last up to 10 days, and my resolve usually only lasts about 3 or 4).
Because I also crave red meat during this time (and don't eat it much the rest of the month), my husband and I refer to it as "meat week."
This week (currently mid-meat week) I've been struggling with water retention and off-plan eating so badly, I have no idea what my fat weight is doing. Will all the weight goes when the water goes, or have I actually gained some fat? I hate not knowing.
I used to eat no starchy/sweet carbs during "meat week" (no fruit, grains, or starchy veggies), and maybe I have to go back to that.
I've also considered the reverse, eating no carbs the rest of the month and "banking" all my plan-carbs to "spend" during meat week (spending them on fruit and starchy veggies though not on stuff I shouldn't be eating at all).
I have to do some experimenting to get over this hump.
It's funny (strange funny, not haha funny) how persistant the "diet demons" are. The old instinct to give up when a plan stops working is still there.
It's not so much a voice in my head telling me to give up, it's that giving%
Look at your sugar content in your diet. For me, in order to lose weight efficiently I cannot touch sugar (even fruit). When I eliminate sugar and processed foods not only does the weight start to melt, but I can eat a lot more calories and still lose. I found the book by Gary Taubs "Why We Get Fat" extremely helpful for my body.
I could have written your post myself. I maintained my ideal weight for a few years due to strict calorie counting 6 days, then one cheat day. It got tedious and boring so i had a 8 month eat fest and gained almost 30#, so I'm back at square one.
The brutal fact is YES i gain weight that quickly. I lift heavy weights 3-4x a week and have for years, minimal cardio. I'm an RN and work 12 hr shifts, figure I get enough walking on work days. The weight lifting has helped, Im sure I would have gained even more if I hadn't beend doing it, but no miracle as far as metabolism.
I'm trying to accept the fact if I want to not be fat, then this is my lifestyle, period.
I'm inspired by the quote, which I found on here somewhere, "If you love the results, learn to love the process." I say this to myself eating my lunch of giant veggie salad and hot veggie soup. I throw some beans or eggs in there also. It's a challenge but so what, right?
I find carbs don't influence my weight as much as total calorie count. i'm a big believer in counting!
I am the same. I eat 1200 calories a day. I track them religiously. However if I move up even to 1500 I gain. I am wearing a fitbit which gives me back calories if I am active but if I eat those I gain. It drives me nuts. 1200 is a realllllly love number. Now I am short 5' even but I weigh 185 right now. I have lost the 25 lbs rather quickly (since May) but it is with a strict 1200 calorie diet. I was tested for thyroid issues but the doctor said I am fine. I am skeptical because I have a lot of the hypothyroid symptoms but all my levels came back correct.
Twice now, I've gone off plan for holidays and vacation for a month. Both times I ate what I wanted. Over the holidays, I ate a LOT and I mean a lot and I know it and I wasn't very active - lots of parties, etc. But now on vacation we were swimming, hiking and such almost every day. We were not inactive. I ate more (especially more carbs), but not grossly over-eating. I gained 9 pounds over that month's time. I was probably eating 2000-2300 a day AND I was active (as mentioned).
How is it that I gain so easily?
It is depressing. You gain because your body wants to hold on to every bit of energy it can. You were on plan, which is some sort of calorie restriction. Your body dials back the thyroid gland and you produce less T3, which lowers your metabolism because your body thinks it is a time of starvation; it automatically slows the body down to hang on to the fat, because with calorie restriction, it thinks winter is coming
Then you go off plan. The body is like, "Hey, starvation is OVER! Look at all this food! But I don't know if starvation will happen again, so I am going to hang onto to every calorie as fat - just in case."
Really, a very simple, primitive thing.
Any type of calorie restriction dials back the thyroid and cause our bodies to hang on to the calories.
And if 3.5 is your TSH level, you might want to find a new endo. I would be in bed asleep with a TSH that high. The ranges changed and anything above 3 is hypothyroid. I could not lose a pound until I went on a combo of Armour and Synthroid.
