Rock on, Mari9! You're doing great. And, yeah, I'm just not a happy camper when my calories are way too low. More power to other people that can manage it, but I'm not great at it.
So far, so good this weekend. 118.8 on the scale today... not too bad, right? I'm hoping to be at 115 within a couple of weeks.
Magrat, if you don't mind me asking, what sort of job do you have? I like the sound of anything that keeps you (generic you, not personal you) moving throughout the day. I don't really get a ton of exercise in during the work day per se, but I am on my feet tons, which is probably helpful. Well, that and the walk to and from work.
Thanks for asking. I'm a custodian at a biology lab. There are thirteen buildings and only eight people in the department, so sometimes we have more than one assigned building. Currently I have two, a four story office building and a five story library building. Whether I am emptying trash, pushing a mop, vacuuming or dusting I am essentially walking all day long. I wear a pedometer which one of the scientists helped me calibrate and I walk anywhere from five to twelve miles a day, just on the job. I probably climb about twenty flights of stairs a day, half the time while wearing a twelve pound vacuum cleaner. Whenever it snows I, as part of the snow removal team, have to go to work an hour early in order to shovel the paths and walkways between the buildings. And in the winter and spring we do the heavy duty project cleaning which means lately I've been going to work two hours early in order to strip floors before the scientists and support staff get in.
You would think that, with all the moving around I do, I wouldn't have to eat so little in order to lose, but, sadly, it hasn't worked out that way.
Magrat, your diet seems brutal. You've probably already done this or thought about it, but have you spoken to a nutritionist or a doctor or a trainer? Maybe someone who works with weight loss could suggest some sort of technique that doesn't make you tired and grumpy so often. Or maybe you could tweak your diet so that you still eat the same amount of calories but feel more full? I know you've already experimented and have probably settled on this knowing that it's the only way to lose weight, but I just felt bad reading about your struggles. I hope that you see some progress soon!
In other news, I was excited to see a whoosh on the scale this morning! I hope I don't undo it when I go on holiday Friday.
Congrats on your whoosh.
To answer your question, no I have not consulted a nutritionist or a trainer. I can't afford a trainer and my health insurance won't cover a nutritionist unless my doctor okays it and that isn't likely to happen since my doctor is one of those who thinks that weight gain for an older woman is both inevitable and healthy ( as you've probably guessed I vehemently disagree with her) and actually told me I should stop losing when I still weighed in the one thirties.
I knew that cutting my calories so low would make me tired and grumpy which is why I resisted doing it for so long. I lost my first thirty pounds eating between 1500 and 1800 a day. When I hit my stall I tried lowering my calories by 200 a day. Tried that for six months. Didn't work. Tried lowering them by another 200 a day. At this point I was eating between 1100 and 1400 a day. Did that for another six months. Didn't work. Thought that maybe, due to all the exercise I get on the job I was eating too little so I raised my calories by 100. Still my body stayed glued to the same 115 pounds.
It wasn't until I consistently kept my calories down to between 800 and 1000 calories a day that I finally began to lose weight again. Even so it is coming off extremely slowly. Since November, which is when I dropped my calories, I have lost just over two pounds.
I am not hypothyroid and I don't have PCOS. I'm just old and that just plain stinks since there is nothing I can do about it.
Several times during my stall I would get fed up and discouraged over my lack of progress and I would stop trying altogether for a week or two. I never binged but I would eat about 2000 calories a day of regular healthy foods with a couple of daily treats thrown in.
fivestone: congrats! 118.8 is a great number. How long have you been on your diet for?
I'm hovering around 114.5 I think- I don't have a digital scale so it's hard to tell exactly, but I'm between the 114 and 115 mark. I'm hoping to hit 110 by the end of March. I think this is doable. I'm going to start doing yoga this week and hopefully that'll help a little bit. I'm trying to lose my weight through diet alone so that way I'll be able to maintain by eating more and adding exercise. Does anyone have thoughts on this?
Magrat- I'm sorry this has been such a frustrating journey for you! If you're able to maintain at a higher calorie count, would you consider just maintaining for a few weeks? Maybe it'll bump your metabolism up a little so when you go back to your more restrictive intake you'll start seeing more of a loss. Either way, good luck!
I'm not there yet, but by plan is for 120 to be my red line number (except if I'm pregnant of course!). I'd like to maintain between 115-120. That means if I ever saw anything under 115 that I would have to gain. Wishful thinking I'm sure!
For those that have reached goal, when you went into "maintenance" mode did you see a bump in your weight? I've read other posts about people losing a buffer amount once they got to goal so their goal weight wouldn't be so fleeting.
Magrat, I can relate completely. I have to restrict calories to the bone to lose weight.
I am short. I am 40. I am on hormone replacement therapy because I had an emergency hysterectomy when I was 29. I have a compassionate doctor who put me on a small amount of Armour thyroid because my levels were slightly low and he felt that for ME it was too low.
I eat no more than 1200 calories a day and my weight loss is almost as slow as my metabolism. Most days, I am at 1000 give or take 100. I count every morsel. Being short, my calorie needs are so much less than others. When I was younger, I had a very active job, I was a merchandiser. I was eating 600 to 800 calories a day. My doctor at the time said that was perfectly fine for a woman my age and height. I think I weighed 100 pounds, maybe less. He was so wrong but being young and impressionable, I believed him and was very restrictive. Like you, I drank black coffee all day. And chewed gum. In no way, do I condone restricting like that. I just want to be clear on that point. I was young and uninformed and had a bad doctor. And now, 15 years later, I wonder if all this up and down with the calories over the years messed with my metabolism.
I worry what I will have to do to simply maintain when I reach goal, which at my height should be much less than the 115 I set for myself. The only reason I did that was because the 15 pounds I gained was mostly hormonal and I am trying to be as kind to myself as possible! But I do incorporate a cheat meal once a week to stave off the deprivation feelings. Do you think this is something you could do mentally and physically or would it put you in a stall? I really do feel for you.
Last edited by Lisa1971; 03-04-2011 at 11:00 AM.
Reason: misspelled a word
Hello! I'm in the teens!
Right now I weight 113.5 lbs. My goal weight is 105, which is fine because I'm 4'11". I joined a local gym and I try to exercise 4-5 days per week. I am doing boot camp and zumba. I keep track of what I eat too. I am in weight watchers. If I don't track what I eat, I could easily gain a few pounds.
I've definitely thought about giving myself a break and maintaining for a few weeks. The reason I haven't and probably won't is because I'm afraid that if I raise my calories, even for a while, I'll enjoy it so much I won't be able to force myself to take them back down below 1000. It took me a long time to get my head in the right place to lower my calories to the point where I, personally, need them to be in order to lose. I knew it would be hard, and it is. I knew I would be mostly miserable, and I am.
Things would be so much easier if I could just raise my calories a bit, say to 1200. At 1200 I could go back to eating three meals a day. But I can't lose at 1200. I've tried. And I cannot be any more active than I already am.
Magrat I am very sympathetic and if you need to vent I totally understand. I had a meal delivery service for two weeks as a 40th bday present to myself because I knew I needed to really restrict my calories, esp carbs, and I knew I would be miserable, too. I figured having the delivery service would soften the blow a bit. It was great but the portions were teeny tiny. My husband couldn't believe an adult could survive on the seemingly toddler sized amounts in the little black containers. My dad thought that the whole day's worth of food was my lunch!
I have to say, I rarely reach my 1200 calorie mark on most days. I am usually a bit lower. For the most part, my body seems to have adjusted and I would rather avoid most foods than try and just have a little bit. I just wanted you to know that I feel for you. Now that I am nearing my "goal" weight I am going to readjust it because I still don't like how I feel or look.
Magrat- You know your body better than any of us, so you know what's best. Looking at your stats in the sidebar, it looks like you're only three pounds away from your goal. Is this right? I hope you don't mind, but I looked up your bmi on an online calculator and it says you're at 21.3 for being 5'1 and 113 pounds. Granted I don't know your body composition of lean weight to fat, but this is a perfectly healthy bmi. Again, you know your body best, but I feel compelled to say that it sounds like you are torturing yourself over these last three pounds and that possibly these last three pounds are optional. Just something to consider. How have you been feeling lately? Are things going any better for you? I really hope so!
fivestone: how are things going for you?
Yesterday I weighed in at 113. I'm not sure if it was fluke, but I'm happy that it looks like I might be able to hit my goal by the end of March. Next weigh in will let me know if it was just a fluctuation in water or if I'm really just three pounds away from my goal.
My stomach and thighs are still "softer" than I'd like them to be. I measured my waist yesterday and it was 27.5- a totally okay number. What's weird to me is that when I'm standing I have some definition to my abs, my body stores most of my fat on my hips and upper thighs, yet when I lay on my side I can grab a handful of fat on my stomach. I have large hands so this is even more unsettling to me. I compared with my boyfriend who is not super lean but is fit and we could only pinch some on him. I feel gross and I want to be leaner. I have never attempted this before- it's always been a number game for me.
Does anyone have any tips for getting leaner while remaining roughly the same weight? I don't want to drop much past 110 because I'm 5'4 and do not want to be underweight again. I eat a clean diet but I could exercise more. What's best? Cardio, strength training, both? I also don't want to go UP in weight. ugh.
mari9, what you think is "fat" is maybe just skin. As your body composition continues to change with this weight loss, your skin will take the longest to realize that it's not surrounding a larger body mass, but eventually it will shrink around your new frame size.
Also, for leaning out/toning up without weight loss, NOTHING beats weight training! I love, love, love weight lifting and aerobic weight training (AWT) workouts. You might also give pilates a try.
kat999: Thanks for the reply! I'll start doing some strength training then. You seem like you have experience, are there any workouts that you recommend? I have netflix so if there are any videos I might be able to give them a try. I don't have a gym membership but I do have some free weights and would be willing to purchase a few more, though I live in a small apartment. I'll start searching the web to see what I can find. Thanks again!
Magrat- You know your body better than any of us, so you know what's best. Looking at your stats in the sidebar, it looks like you're only three pounds away from your goal. Is this right? I hope you don't mind, but I looked up your bmi on an online calculator and it says you're at 21.3 for being 5'1 and 113 pounds. Granted I don't know your body composition of lean weight to fat, but this is a perfectly healthy bmi. Again, you know your body best, but I feel compelled to say that it sounds like you are torturing yourself over these last three pounds and that possibly these last three pounds are optional. Just something to consider. How have you been feeling lately? Are things going any better for you? I really hope so!
Yes, I'm three pounds from goal. I know my BMI is healthy right now, but, then again I reached a healthy BMI after I lost my first fifteen pounds and I could have stopped there if getting to a healthy BMI was my only concern. At 110 pounds my BMI will be 20.7, still well within the healthy range. I'd have to get below 100 pounds in order to drop into underweight territory.
I really have no idea of my body fat % or my muscle to fat ratio, but I'm thinking that I probably have a lot of muscle as opposed to fat. I base this assumption on two things. One, I am relatively small and compact for my weight. Two, there is not really any place on me to pinch. I am solid as the proverbial rock. My bust, waist and hips are small. My problem is my thighs, which are disproportionately large. If my thighs were where I wanted them to be I'd be happy to stop right here.
It seems odd that with all the walking and stair climbing I do during the course of the day my legs would be slimmer, but it's just not happening.
Things are pretty much the same as they've been. I'm still eating less than a thousand calories a day, still spending my weekdays in perpetual motion and still feeling miserable that I have to work so hard for such pitiful results.
