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Old 07-04-2013, 09:22 AM   #1  
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Default Is there anyone out there like me?

I know this post might be controversial but I hope people will be reasonable.

I have very low caloric needs. I am convinced that my RMR may be about 1100 to 1000. ( I weight at 157) but even when I was 220 I think it was low, about 1300. I even suspect that I do not burn calories off like I am supposed to. Working out for me doesn't seem to do what it says it does. When I was a teen I would skate every single day for hours... and I never seemed to get the bang for my buck that I should have.

For my entire 20's I searched and searched for a physical cause. But my thyroid is normal. I don't have PCOS and, metabolism testing came back normal. I have normal blood sugar and excellent insulin. How I wished there was some physical cause but none could be found. My doctor insists that it is extremely hard to move metabolism substantially either way.

I believe I take after my mother. My mother told me stories of how she had to eat very little to lose weight when she was about 30 and had been slightly over weight her entire life. Here is the thing that got me though... my mom died of stomach cancer... and for about 6 months prior to her death she was hiding what was going on. She wasn't eating at all... and was throwing up. They put in a feeding tube when she was discovered and I will never forget her doctor being amazed that she only lost 10 lbs. TEN! Now she was 83.. but ... she couldn't physically eat...and only lost a small amount of weight.

After 20+ years of failure last year I lost weight on a very low calorie diet that was medically supervised. So I had proper nutrition. But it took about 600 - 800 cals per day to get results.

Now I know you may think that I :messed: the metabolism up, but I think that isn't true. I think I have been this way my entire life. I gained my weight when I went to college and tried to eat like normal people. At that point it was impossible to lose because it was hard to get regular food that had low enough calories.

Since there were plenty of people in my diet program I am going to have to presume there are people like this. I felt like last year I embraced and accepted the reality of the situation and finally did what I needed to do.
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Old 07-04-2013, 09:44 AM   #2  
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Have you thought about going vegan? On another post awhile back complained about the same thing and said that going vegan helped. I am personally not vegan and don't think it is immoral to eat animals but I am thinking about going Vegan-Paleo because I have hit some sort of plateau that nothing seems to be getting me out of.

I also watched Forks over Knives and it had some really interesting points on health. (I recommend watching, however, I think they simplify and obviously have an agenda about consuming animals products so I would take somethings they say with a grain of salt.)

Anyways it something to think about, but going vegan-paleo can be dangerous so I will be adding legumes back to my diet if I decide to go vegan-paleo!
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Old 07-04-2013, 10:02 AM   #3  
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I'm a vegan and I agree with that entirely!

There is a lot of controversy over plant-based diets, with many people assuming that it is "dangerous" because you don't get enough fat/protein/b12, or whatever they want to claim. This isn't true, and there have been a handful of solid, independent studies on the benefits of sticking to a (delicious) plant-based diet.

If you're worried about your protein intake, think of it this way:

40 grams a day is more than enough for an adult woman.
My bowl of granola and almond milk this morning was:
approx 1 cup unsweetened almond milk: 2g protein, 4g fibre, 35 cal
approx 1 cup granola: 7g protein, 10g fibre (!!), 190 cal
1 small banana: 2g protein, 30-60 cal?, 1g fibre

that's 11 grams of animal, trans fat free protein just for breakfast. Super filling, SUPER delicious, 15 grams of dietary fibre, and all for under 300 cal.

Meat is totally unnecessary, and just think - your body, in all her infinte wisdom, doesn't always use all the protein you give her, because she doesn't always need it. What happens when she doesn't? she stores it to use tomorrow!

It is VERY hard to develop a deficiency eating modern diets, even when you are eating vegan.

If you'd like to give it a try, I have an endless amount of resources and support to provide!
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Old 07-04-2013, 10:48 AM   #4  
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This isn't true, and there have been a handful of solid, independent studies on the benefits of sticking to a (delicious) plant-based diet.
Well I agree with the above. And I am definitely adding more veggies to the diet. In that it seems I need to concentrate on a high volume low calorie eating plan. So adding a bag of cauliflower to an entree is an excellent mix.

But my job is pretty hectic and I doubt seriously I could ever keep up with the care required to go vegan. Although hopefully someday I might want to try it.

It is just that I don't see people like this on the boards and sometimes people suggest others who claim to be like this are lying and eating too much. I know that isn't true and I feel like there are tons of people like me out there... and either they don't know it or, they don't want to believe it.

If I truly am a mutant I would like to know that too.
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Old 07-04-2013, 11:40 AM   #5  
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You're not a mutant. I know of lots of people that have similar issues.

More muscle will burn calories - I can't remember the statistics, but a pound of muscle burns quite a bit more than a pound of fat, just in a resting state.
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Old 07-04-2013, 01:16 PM   #6  
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I agree with Jennifer! Perhaps you could focus on building up your muscle by doing some weight training. I feel for you though and hope you figure it out. Just a quick question though....when you did the medically supervised low cal diet, how did your rate of weight loss compare to others? Or, how many lbs. a week did you lose? Is that what the center typically expected or was it well below the rate of typical loss?
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Old 07-04-2013, 01:52 PM   #7  
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What are you eating? Can you give us an example of a typical breakfast or lunch for you?
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Old 07-04-2013, 02:05 PM   #8  
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Doesn't one pound of muscle burn an extra 5-10 calories? I'm sure there are other sources that will say differently though...

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-m...#axzz2Y6CliIEJ

For me, I can lose about a pound a week on a 2000 calorie day diet because I do extremely intense cardio. No weights. IMO, I would up your cardio to at least 45-60 min a day, with your heart rate at a 70-90% level. The key is intensity when it comes to cardio (and probably weights too). You SHOULD be sweating; you SHOULD be out of breath/breathing heavy. I workout hard on cardio because I know the harder I work, the more I can eat.
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Old 07-04-2013, 02:40 PM   #9  
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You are not crazy in thinking this!! (incase anyone even off this board has said so)

This is something I struggled with for years, however I also went through periods where I restricted my eating ( down to 400 cals at times) so my metabolism has taken some blows, but it has recovered.

I noticed the same thing, that eating say 1500 cals at say 170 lbs along with exercising did not produce a weight loss. I noticed I had to cut back to like 1000 to lose weight.

Here is what has helped me over the years.

I did have a thyroid issue, and I am on synthroid. I can say that has not seemed to help my weightloss, however it greatly improved my energy levels to exercise.

Very intense high calorie burning workouts. When I got into running and I was doing about 5-6 miles 3-4x a week, the last 20 pounds finally started to come off. I built a lot of muscle too (lower body) and I believe this helped a lot with weight loss.

I had to be careful with what I ate. I have to keep a lower carb diet. Really watch the bread, pasta, even whole grains are still carbs. I try to consume my carbs at breakfast or lunch when they will still have a good part of the day to "burn off'. Carbs are a "instant" source of energy, even my endocrinologist suggest no carbs at all 3 hours before bed.

I WAS a vegetarian for a few years and a vegan for about a year, and it in no way helped. If anything, it made things worse because I was removing meat, egg, and diary (carb free food) and replacing them with all those carbs! Grains, meat substitutes (which have carbs and often sugars in them) ...I was gettting too many carbs. Even with the increase in veggies, it was too much to remove those other things from my diet, for me. For me a piece of chicken is a way better choice than a whole grain anything.

Also, I chose to eat substitutes that were soy based (which you don't have to do) I believe that is why I have thyroid issues and my endocrinologist has said this may or may not be an issue. Soy has been shown to inhibit thyroid function and I consumed it liberally for many years, though I 'll never know for sure if that was the cause, I now have to avoid soy and soy products.

I'm not really sure what studies the other poster is talking about, as the studies I am able to access through my college data base, that address B12 deficiency in vegans and also the issues of infants breastfeed by vegans, say that vegans do have a lower B12 than non vegans, namely if you do not take a B12 supplement. I did a lot of reading on this while I was vegan and this is why when we decided to have children I went back to a regular diet. Although one study said that seaweed consumption seems to help minimize issues with B12 in vegans, so maybe that's worth looking into.

If you are considering going vegan I would do your own research on the topic and on nutrition so that you can do so informed. As someone whose been vegan I think it can be a good choice for some people, as long as its done with the education and understanding of how to do it in a healthy way. I'm saying this as a former vegan and a registered nurse.

However protein does not seem to be an issue or fat, both can be more than adequately obtained from a vegan diet from what I've read.

Good luck!

Last edited by GlamourGirl827; 07-04-2013 at 02:40 PM.
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Old 07-04-2013, 02:45 PM   #10  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flea View Post
. This isn't true, and there have been a handful of solid, independent studies on the benefits of sticking to a (delicious) plant-based diet.
Can you cite these studies? I've read studies showing the health benefits of plant based diet,s but I've never seen any that show no B12 deficiency in vegans. They always conclude some type oif deficiency, despite other health benefits! I haven't read as much in recent years, so I suspect there are a lot fo new studies out. Thank you!
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Old 07-04-2013, 03:30 PM   #11  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GlamourGirl827 View Post
Can you cite these studies? I've read studies showing the health benefits of plant based diet,s but I've never seen any that show no B12 deficiency in vegans. They always conclude some type oif deficiency, despite other health benefits! I haven't read as much in recent years, so I suspect there are a lot fo new studies out. Thank you!
I been doing research all day on this topic and usually you have to take a B-12 supplement and a lot of soy milk is fortified to address this issue.

The Vegan Society has some good info on it!

http://www.vegansociety.com/lifestyl...ition/b12.aspx
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Old 07-04-2013, 03:35 PM   #12  
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I agree with Jennifer! Perhaps you could focus on building up your muscle by doing some weight training.
Just another way I am different. I have been going to the gym for at least a year now. Doing weights about 3x per week. I am not saying I am "buff" but I have reasonable muscle. I typically go to the gym 3 x per week but recently, I went every night (for 6 weeks) and did cardio for about an hour, and you know what? Nothing. I had the same weight loss as when I was just eating less. I have always suspected exercise / weights just does not work for me OR I need to spend like 6 hours in the gym to get what *normies* do at 1 hour.

Suffice it to say I have gone to the gym my entire life. Been decently active and really haven't seen good results. Even looking to my mom... she was always strong as an ox. Routinely beating my brother in arm wrestling. But she could not eat a lot.

On the medically supervised diet the weight loss was fast and sustained. It was amazing. At least 2 lbs per week the first three months and then 1 for sure each week after that. When I tried to diet with food with about 1000 cals I almost never made my goal (always got stuck around 180) and then got super stuck. FOR YEARS.

I suppose I have accepted that I am this way and also accepted that I can get down to my goal 142 -- it is just going to take a lot. One of the issues is that I am still using the diet food and I do worry about the soy. The diet food has several options that are either not soy or low in it and I have been using that.

I just wanted to know if there was anyone like me. If your not, that is fine too. It might be easier if I could find a few and just see what commonalities we had. I think it is possible that there are people like me. Just like some people have high caloric needs some people do not. I suppose if famine comes my way in my life time I will be all set.

Thanks for the suggestions and support.
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Old 07-04-2013, 03:49 PM   #13  
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I been doing research all day on this topic and usually you have to take a B-12 supplement and a lot of soy milk is fortified to address this issue.

The Vegan Society has some good info on it!

http://www.vegansociety.com/lifestyl...ition/b12.aspx
Ah ok, that's what I've found as well. A vegan diet on its own is B12 deficient, but a b12 supplement can help. I did see one mentioning seaweed as a good source of b12, so that's worth looking into. I LOVE sushi (veggie rolls with no roe for vegan of course) ...now I want some sushi! lol

Like I said I cannot eat soy. I personally wouldn't recommend it in large amounts from what I've read. Not only does it inhibit thyroid function, but I believe it has a similar effect of estrogen, which I would be curoius is an issue for women at risk for breast cancer, like those with a family history of it. I don't know though, I;ve never read into that aspect of soy.

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Old 07-04-2013, 04:00 PM   #14  
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Just another way I am different. I have been going to the gym for at least a year now. Doing weights about 3x per week. I am not saying I am "buff" but I have reasonable muscle. I typically go to the gym 3 x per week but recently, I went every night (for 6 weeks) and did cardio for about an hour, and you know what? Nothing. I had the same weight loss as when I was just eating less. I have always suspected exercise / weights just does not work for me OR I need to spend like 6 hours in the gym to get what *normies* do at 1 hour.

Suffice it to say I have gone to the gym my entire life. Been decently active and really haven't seen good results. Even looking to my mom... she was always strong as an ox. Routinely beating my brother in arm wrestling. But she could not eat a lot.

On the medically supervised diet the weight loss was fast and sustained. It was amazing. At least 2 lbs per week the first three months and then 1 for sure each week after that. When I tried to diet with food with about 1000 cals I almost never made my goal (always got stuck around 180) and then got super stuck. FOR YEARS.

I suppose I have accepted that I am this way and also accepted that I can get down to my goal 142 -- it is just going to take a lot. One of the issues is that I am still using the diet food and I do worry about the soy. The diet food has several options that are either not soy or low in it and I have been using that.

I just wanted to know if there was anyone like me. If your not, that is fine too. It might be easier if I could find a few and just see what commonalities we had. I think it is possible that there are people like me. Just like some people have high caloric needs some people do not. I suppose if famine comes my way in my life time I will be all set.

Thanks for the suggestions and support.
Can you do a food diary for a week? Write down everything you eat & drink including all amounts measrued and weighed? And times you ate?

Also to a exercise log? Everything you do (speed, incline if on treadmill) and for how long and weights, the weight of the wieghts, reps sets?

Also include a sleep diary? When you went to sleep, when you woke up? Include naps? I recently did a small research paper on a study about this, and like people had siad, there does seem to be a connection between lack of sleep and weight gain or inhibited weightloss.

Do that for a week, weigh the first day you start and the end of the week. And post it here. Aside from myself, I think a lot of members will better be able to help you if we have clearer picture. There may be some strageties that can help with a lower running metabolism.

Oh and out of curiosity, what is your typical resting heartrate? TO find this, before getting out of bed in the morning, count you pulse.

Also do you know what your typical basal temperature is? Again before getting out of bed, take you temperature.

And do you know what you blood pressure usually runs? These questions are my own curiosity. I have some of my own "theories" but lack the credentials and funding to run the studies! lol

Last edited by GlamourGirl827; 07-04-2013 at 04:00 PM.
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Old 07-04-2013, 04:20 PM   #15  
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I think a lot of members will better be able to help you if we have clearer picture.
I am going to decline to do that. Been there done that. I appreciate the desire to help but I guess I really am telling rather than asking. I am this way. Been this way for my life... tried everything. I suspect (no... know) nothing will change it more than a slight slight bit.

But for your curiosity
I have low / normal blood pressure - 110 / 70 average. Low resting heart 60 bpm. Body temp is usually about 98.2 to 98.6. I don't know about the morning one. Also, don't necessarily take my low BP to mean anything. I had low BP when I was fatter. It dropped substantially after taking vitamin d. About 10 years ago it was in the 130/80 range.

Recently after the failure at the gym I decided it was ruining my sleep (getting home too wired to sleep on time) so I decided to focus on better sleep but I would not say it is typically bad. I get about 7 on the weeknights and more on the weekends. The gym has been pushed off to weekends and days off and I walk at lunch for exercise. But exercise is really just for fun and movement now. I don't think it does anything for weight loss.

Basically I am freaking healthy! The only thing that is high on me is cholesterol.

ETA: One more thing... when I did the low calorie diet, I thought I would be starving. I was not. Was I hungry? Yes. Did I sometimes have to cheat a bit, yes. But for the most part, it really didn't bother me. I mean just no problem at all. None. Now, I started my diet program with someone else and she dropped out after week 2. She was CRAZY unable to eat the food. In general... I really don't have a super problem with eating less other than just being worried I am hurting myself. So, I would add to it that I don't even really need that much food and actually feel a little better eating less.

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