I have been trying for over 2 1/2 years to lose weight that I've gained after stopping medications. I've always excercised and when starting Tae Bo 7 years ago - it took me almost two years to just lose 10 pounds. I can gain 10 pounds in one week but it takes me months to lose it, then I'll gain it back with no changes in eating or exercise. It has been so frustrating to say the least. So 2 1/2 years ago, I started adding the Firm for strength training to my Tae Bo and moved up to Cathe for strength & doing a lot of her cardio. Now I know that I was probably overtraining - at the same time I used fitday and was at 2200 to 2400 calories so I dropped it 500 calories (to 1700 - 1800 calories) and stayed there for awhile, then dropped to 1500 when that didn't do anything. Finally when I staggered the calories and averaged 1300 calories, I lost six pounds but that is when it stopped working and I gained them back. I was also doing WW along with calorie counting and it ended up working out to be the same - no weight loss there though either. I was so discouraged and a few gals at my work used Herbalife and were losing like crazy - so I tried to for two months. I again lost six pounds but gained them back by doing nothing different in those two months. Then I had a hysterectomy in December. After about four months, I was able to exercise again and started Slimfast. According to my scale, I lost nothing in the four months I've been doing Slimfast but according to my doctor's scale - I lost six pounds (I have NO IDEA why I'm stuck on six pounds). I stopped Slimfast but then since it's summer and it's so convenient, I've decided to mix it up - 2 days SF, 1 day regular food, 1 day SF, 2 days regular food. My exercise consists of Tae Bo Bootcamp 2 X's a week, Yoga Booty Ballet or a step workout 2 X's a week, and a full body weight workout on the 5th day. I've also tried added a walk into my day. (my thyroid was tested four times last year and the last numbers were at 2.4 - I'm going in again Tuesday to see if the dr. will run some tests - I need to make a list of some - I was thinking coritsol levels, DHEA levels, hormone levels, thyroid levels and insulin resistant levels plus cholestrol (sp?) - )

I need some help with the food part. Here is what I was thinking:

Breakfast (8:00): Kaisha Go Lean Crunch (I'm not very hungry in the morning so even though I know I should add a fruit here - I more often then not, will not have the room to eat it along with the cereal)

Snack (usually 10:30): Banana Cream Low Fat yogurt with sliced bananas with 2 tsp. slivered almonds or Blueberry Low Fat yogurt with 2 tsp. slivered almonds

Lunch (usually 12:30 - 1:00): Turkey slices on 2 pieces 12 grain bread with a bowl of vegetable soup (1 serving - not the whole can)

afternoon snack (usually 3:00 but during the summer time we are at the pool so I'll have nothing): this is where I have a hard time - I have been having a couple of handfuls of cashews or I'll eat pretzels. I'm wondering if I should have a smoothie here

Supper: varies. I know I need to add more vegetables and that is something I need to JUST DO!!!! I usually will have a salad but I haven't been the best at that lately.

If I eat anything at night, I'll have some watermelon. Usually don't eat anything though.

I know my biggest thing is to add more fruits and veggies. My biggest downfall is that I'm usually NOT hungry but then I get to the point where I'm starving and grab things that are not the healthiest. I've made lists of what I want to eat during the day but I don't follow it. I need to be more organized and have it all ready to be eaten in the fridge or on the counter so it's the first thing I see.

I had an ah-ah moment a couple of weekends ago watching an info commercial for a workout & my first thought - "maybe this is the magic workout and will get my metabilism moving" but then it dawned on me that NO book or workout is going to make me lose weight - I'm the only one that can do that.

I ordered Thyrocare thinking it would help my low body temperature - thinking that was the reason I haven't been able to lose . . . instead it made me feel so icky but I took it for over two weeks since I spent the money on it - I didn't realize at first how icky I was feeling though. Supposedly it has some herbs in there to lose weight - instead I've gained weight in these last few weeks while taking it.

I need a plan where there are certain foods for me to chose from all layed out in black and white (I'm a picky eater so I have yet to find a "diet" where I like the foods). When I say "diet" - I want a way of eating that I can do for the rest of my life. I do not want to do the low carb thing because there is no way I'll stick to that forever and I don't want to be gaining all the weight lost back because of it.

Sorry this is so long - I'm hoping someone will be able to follow this whole long post and be able to help me.

Thanks for reading! Rachelle

I don't have a plan for you , but if you're eating two handfuls of cashews that's a lot of calories... You might want to try the WW Core program. It doesn't cut out carbs, just controls them a little. There's a very long list of foods you can eat as you wish, and you have a bunch of other points for stuff that's not "core". Another program to look at is Volumetrics, which shows how to get more bulk for fewer calories.

Good luck.

Well, how much do you weigh? The number of calories you should be consuming is very much related to how much you weigh, so that information is essential. Even without knowing that though, I'd say that this is probably a classic case of undereating. You're not eating enough and your body's metabolism is slowing down and therefore even with the exercise you're doing, you're still not losing weight. Just my hypothesis.

Also drink alot of water. That's always a good thing.

Have you tried the old weight watchers??? It was all laid out for you. 2 fruits, 3 veggies servings a day. 2- 3 milk servings/ yogurt, cheese 3 fats (like p.nut butter, mayo, etc) 4 proteins(meats) and 5 breads
Each protein serving is approx. an ounce
8 8oz. waters

Most of the servings are very like you would do if you were a diabetic. This plan was in effect back in the 1990's. I lost a lot of weight on it and plan on doing this again.

Can send you some basics of what kinds of food makes a selection.

Hope this helps

Susan

Lots of water, lots of fiber rich veggies, more yogurt, fewer nuts (but keep them in your diet), salmon, lean meat. Try adding soy, too. Add berries, too - they have lots of anti-oxidants and other good stuff.

If your exercise load is high, you will need more calories per day than if it is lower. I eat 1100-1700 calories with an average of about 1300. I like to vary the amount so my body doesn't get too used to just one level, but I am not doing much exercise outside of walking. If I were doing heavy cardio, I would be sure to add extra to eat/drink shortly after I worked out, a carby thing first, followed by some quality protein, as your body can utilize it best right then. But no matter what you do, you need to keep a calorie deficit, which means you need to write down your totals to make sure you're not fooling yourself, but if your calorie deficit is too much, your body goes into starvation mode, stress your body out, and stop losing weight. You need to calculate the calorie burn of your exercise routines and adjust to a reasonable deficit that will allow you good workouts and weight loss.

Do you pay close attention to your portion sizes? I'm wondering if perhaps you're taking in a lot more calories than you realize. The cashews especially - a quarter cup of cashews has 200 calories, and that's really not much food. If you're eating a big turkey sandwich for lunch, a big bowl of cereal for breakfast, a lot of nuts, and a big salad with dressing, sunflower seeds, egg, etc on it, you could easily be taking in enough to maintain without even realizing it. I was shocked when I started journaling my meals and realized how much I was eating. I had no idea I was eating so much (between 2500 and 3000 calories a day!). I'm staying at or below 1600 now, and it's working well. You may want to try journaling your food very diligently, and making sure that you're really eating as healthy as you seem to be. If you're already very careful with your portion sizes, I'm not really sure what to say beyond agreeing with the people above me. Lots of water, lots of fruits and veggies.

Hello Rachelle,
From what I can see (if your portions are according to packages for a 2000 calorie a day) you are not eating enough food for the amount of exercise you are doing.

Plug your information into the formula I posted and see your results.

Then plug your caloric info into CalorieKing or FitDay and see exactly what your REAL vs. your perceived amount of caloric intake is.

Determine your daily caloric intake, stick to it and have patience. If you've been yo-yo-ing your caloric intake to low levels, like it appears you have, it will take a while to increase your metabolism, an average of 8 to 12 months! For me it was a little over 6 months. When your body stops losing fat (btw you don't want to lose weight, you want to lose fat) adjust the caloric intake or your exercise regimen or both.

I eat within a caloric range between 2000 and 2400 per day. I fluctuate that so that my body cannot adjust to a particular amount. I lift weights and do cardio, 3 to 4 days a week and 4 to 5 days a week respectively.

When I began my nutrition and exercise regimen I was cold all the time. I didn't handle the heat very well either. Now I handle the heat, I'm not cold, and I actually sweat during workouts. I can feel the burn when I do cardio and weight lifting whereas before I didn't have much burn. My body is now a fat burning machine because I'm eating the right amount of calories I need per day, eating the right kinds of foods and exercising in the right way for my body.

It took just over 6 months to see a steady loss of inches like I have now, 19 inches since June 13. But then my metabolism was totally messed up by not eating enough food and lacking starchy carbs (oatmeal, whole grain bread, whole grain cereal, brown rice, whole grains, yams and potatoes).

Now I eat what my body wants. I exercise only when my body feels good. I don't push my body to go past pain, aches or tiredness.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I do need to get back into Fitday - I have on and off since surgery but need to do it consistantly. I know my servings are right on - except for the handfuls of cashews but even those two should be around 1/4 a cup - they are gone now (Girl Scout can lasted me over two weeks) so I won't be going for that. My salads were consisting of lettuce, spinach, and cucumber - & this would be a great place to add more "stuff". I'm thinking I could have the salad as a afternoon snack since I'm not hungry for all the added stuff at supper time. I exercise at night - usually 9:00 p.m. in the summer time but I don't eat before or after - unless I'm starving after the workout which rarely happens.

Susan, if you wouldn't mind sending me the info, I would love to look it over!

Soon2be154, thank you for the formula. It came out to 2513 & to lose weight at 2010 - which is where I was when I started - I weighed 185 (on an old scale that is different then our new one) and was maintaining that weight for a long time on 2200 to 2000 calories a day. My thought was if I was maintaining at 2200 to 2000 calories, drop it 500 and I should start to lose. But that didn't work either.

When school starts, I think I'm going to pay the $50 and have my metabolism tested with the Body Gem. Has anyone done this? If so, did it help you?

Rachelle

Hello Rachelle,
How long had you been on low calorie diets? This will determine how long before you will see change in your weight on a 2000 calories a day program.

You said "was maintaining that weight for a long time on 2200 to 2000 calories a day." How long is a long time?

Deficit diets (1200 to 1500 calories) slow the metabolism and it takes 6 to 12 months to correct the slow metabolism.
Also you can't suddenly raise your calories from 1200 to 2000 because that will actually cause a weight gain at first. It has to be a gradual change. And then you need patience to see a change. Your body needs to adjust to the calories and then your metabolism will kick in.

It took my body 6 months of eating the right amount of calories to begin to see any success.

Hi there Soon - I'm intrigued by what you said -- can you point me to some sources for that statement? I've done a lot of reading about metabolism, weight loss, and maintenance and hadn't heard that before. Certainly losing weight can slow your metabolism by reducing your muscle mass (preventable)and your leptin levels (not preventable), but that can happen with a diet at any calorie level. So I'm curious about why a 1200 - 1500 calorie diet would cause a metabolic slowdown? And what the process is that 'corrects' the slowdown?

BTW, all diets have to be 'deficit diets' in order to work. In other words, we have to create a calorie deficit by eating less and/or moving more to lose fat. No calorie deficit = no fat loss.

Rachelle-I have an extremely tough time losing weight as well. I had all kinds of tests done and nothing showed up so I just gave up. This was about 5 months ago. But I have been battling this for 7 years when all of a sudden I gained 35 lbs in 2 months and then another 30 lbs over 6 months. Recently I vowed to myself to exercise, get on a sensible plan, and even if I don't lose....I will at least feel good about myself. I can so understand how you are feeling!! I just wanted to throw out another suggestion of a plan to follow. Jorge Cruise 3 hr Weight Loss plan is partially what I follow. I am extremely picky and this seems to really fit into my lifestyle. Take a look at our thread. He guarentees that if you follow his plan you will lose 2 lbs a week and he is right. I don't follow it to a T-which is why I haven't lost 2 lbs a week. I have just started cardio with it and lost 2.5 last week. The week before I gained 4.5..this was the week I began weight training and exercising. Just an idea...I really enjoy it. He has you eating every 3 hrs to keep your metabolism going. I think this is key for me. Nothing is off limits on this plan either. Let me know if you have any questions about the plan. Good luck!!

I just recently joined Jenny Craig and it told me that I need to eat 1200 calories to lose weight... but you are saying that is a deficit diet? (confused)

Marcie - I am so sorry to hear that you also have troubles & that someone else has to deal with the frustration. Thank goodness I LOVE to exercise otherwise I would have given that up long ago. I figure it has to be helping with something - just not showing on the outside. Even though I wouldn't wish this on anyone, it does help to know that I'm not the only one. Thank you for sharing your story with me. I would love to hear more about this plan. I've seen it but haven't looked into it. I was also looking at getting the Abs Diet paperback book to check that out.

I was trying to figure out how long I've been at this weight - I was at 175 in January 1999 after gaining 30 pounds in 3 months when I went off Zoloft. Then gained another 10 pounds when I went off Allegra D which I took 9 months for hives - that was 5 years ago I think - so I've been at 190 - 185 for 5 years. I was exercising during that time also (actually I've been exercising since I was 17 and I'm 35 now) - I just added more strenght training and watching calories with Fitday 2 1/2 years ago in October 2002).

Rachelle

Cookiemonster - Calorie deficit diet simply means that you are lowering the number of calories you take in. If you create a 3500-calorie deficit in a week through diet, exercise or a combination of both, you will definitely lose one pound. That, of course, is barring any health problems or medications that would interfere.

I too am interested in the sources of the information posted by Soon2b, as this is the first time I've ever heard this.