I first joined this forum when I was 16 and making my first long-term, consistent, calorie-counting attempt at weight loss. I worked out 4 hours a day, ate 800-1200 calories a day, and unsurprisingly lost a lot of weight, although I plateaued still overweight and barely under obese. But I was muscular and happy.
Now I'm 28 and have spent pretty much the entire time since losing and gaining and losing and gaining. I just had a baby and was diagnosed during the pregnancy with hypothyroidism, which I am now taking medication for and should feel hopeful about.
But I just feel done. I think about returning to the restriction I used to live with and it makes me feel exhausted and defeated. Honestly, I don't think I'll ever be a healthy weight. Honestly, I do not in my heart believe that I will ever lose another pound. I know my life is at stake if I keep gaining, but I just don't feel like I can do it anymore.
Has anyone else felt like this and gotten past it? How did you do it? The mind is willing but the heart is weak!
Been there! It’s not about restricting, it’s about finding a balance of being active and eating real food (not synthetic food like products). I eat 2000 calories a day and am moderately active and am slowly getting to my final goal. I lost probably 90% of my weight eating at least 1800 calories a day and being active for an hour. (5’8 muscular woman)
Been there! It’s not about restricting, it’s about finding a balance of being active and eating real food (not synthetic food like products). I eat 2000 calories a day and am moderately active and am slowly getting to my final goal. I lost probably 90% of my weight eating at least 1800 calories a day and being active for an hour. (5’8 muscular woman)
I think part of my struggle is that what is truly moderate for a 5'3" woman feels like unacceptably little to me. I need to somehow rewire myself to accept this amount of food without it bothering me every few minutes all day. In that circumstance, I will absolutely cave eventually- it is just a matter of time.
Maybe the key if I can manage it is to start working on building more muscle plus the ability to run a lot so I can increase my calorie needs.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the big picture, and the weight can seem like it will never come off. It’s hard (especially in our junk food saturated world) to stop and refocus on just eating natural foods. Rather than going super restrictive, start with 1500 calories and eat as many whole foods as you can instead of your go-tos.
When you get a grip on that, you can make baby steps. We are in this for the long haul, so small changes are likely to be lasting ones. Diets usually cause what you are expressing here - exasperation and frustration because of a way of eating that cannot be maintained. This can lead to bingeing and disordered eating. It’s best to go back to basics - for me that is eliminating added sugar. When I don’t eat it, I don’t crave it.
We are in this for the long haul, so small changes are likely to be lasting ones.
This is very wise. It took me all of my young life to come to terms with this.
It's important that you are not eating too little for your lifestyle, and choosing the right foods is important. Hypothyroidism is another hurdle to overcome, but your medication should help a lot.
In my case I had to stop eating all bread, pasta, white potatoes and white rice.
This is what happens when you go on a starvation diet. You have good progress for a short time. Then you give up because it's not sustainable. Your hypothyroidism might have been caused by your diet.
Stop worrying about calories, and just eat a healthy balanced diet. Focus on eating mainly whole foods (e.g. vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds). Also be sure to get enough iodine, because iodine deficiency can cause hypothyroidism. If you eat seaweed a few times a week, it might help.
You might find it easier to think in terms of which foods you should eat, instead of which foods you shouldn't eat. For example, if you aim for a minimum of 5 servings of vegetables per day, you'll end up eating less junk food, even if you're not consciously trying to avoid junk food.
Thanks for the advice, everyone! I really do eat a lot of whole foods- during my pregnancy I was making sure I got 10 servings of fruits and veggies and 70-100 grams of protein per day- but I am noticing the number of processed foods I allow has crept up. I'm hoping that starting with exercise again will help to some extent. I agree if it is possible to cause hypothyroidism I may have done it- I remember I did about 3 months of 2 1/2 hours exercise per day on 1200 calories and then kind of suddenly stopped losing weight and started feeling awful. I am hopeful that I can find a pattern of eating and exercise that will make me happy and functional in my everyday life, if not thinner.
Been there but I have been dieting since I was 16 and I am 40+ now. I do feel the actual truth is that I just have low calorie needs. Accordingly I have accepted I can no longer "diet" like normal people do because I just won't be able to achieve the goal that most people do and my body will adjust the metabolism down quickly.
I am trying a new approach. There are diet studies that show that you lose more and keep it off if you take diet breaks. One study is called Matador. So I am dieting (restricting) for two weeks, and then eating TDEE for two weeks. The Matador study suggested your body starts to realize you're on a diet around 14 days of restricting and starts taking action to reduce metabolism. I have always felt that my body does this around 3 weeks and always felt it was easier to diet after that. Also, you get a break every 14 days so it is suspected that when you are dieting your are more compliant.
I am also looking at a longer term plan that has four stages.... restore your metabolism (weeks eating normally even if you gain), then cut only about 10% for about 3 to 4 weeks, maintain (TDEE) for about 2 to 3 weeks making sure you count calories, while maintaining build muscle, then start the cut process again. This program is meant to be a long term way of eating. So say during your cut period you only lose about 4 lbs. That is fine, because, in theory, by keeping your metabolism high you can get to goal no matter how long it takes and you won't gain it back.
Has anyone else felt like this and gotten past it? How did you do it? The mind is willing but the heart is weak!
I hear your frustration and have felt/feel the very same. I have made many, many positive changes that are not showing up on the scale. I continually tell myself that it is improving my health in ways I can't see. Recently, I realized I am having a victory - my weight has stayed the same so far this year. It is not as satisfactory as losing weight. However, considering I actually gain ten pounds last year even though I was trying to lose weight, not gaining is worth a lot.
To get past it (the frustration), I try to stay as consistent as possible. I also work on finding ways to fit what I want (e.g. fast food) into my plan. Kind of an 'Eat This Not That' approach by getting a grilled chicken sandwich vs the fried and a side salad vs french fries (and adding a child or small fries if I really want them). Another tactic I use is to try things I haven't done before (e.g. intermittent fasting). In the end, I think I am turning a corner as the scale has budged downward for me for the first time in a long while. Good luck- keep at it!
Wow I can't believe you were taking in so few calories and exercising so much! I would have expected your crash to come much earlier! You just can't sustain that kind of negative calorie balance over time.
Most of these guys are in the right ballpark. You have to focus on whole foods, but you need the right proportions of carbs/fats/proteins, especially if you are going to be working out a lot. This is a large part of what I do with my patients. You are right that you need to put on some lean muscle in order to boost your basal metabolic rate, give you shape, and allow you to eat more! It also helps with the psychological aspect when you aren't having to be so disciplined all of the time.
You were on a rollercoaster, which is sadly all-too-common. Once you get your macros right and start to feel satisfied, energized, and happy again you will be able to get those sustainable results.
Hiii. I most definitely agree with everyone else! I personally think that consuming 1000 to 1200 calories are for non active people who can't exercise etc. for whatever reasons or perform very very light exercise for example walk slow pace for maybe 20 to 30 mins, 1 or 2xs a week. You working out for 2 1/2 hours and only consuming very little calories is could possibly be one of the reasons you have stalled. I'm 5'3 and I eat! I don't count calories period. I just eat quality foods and try not to overeat. I don't cut any food groups. I'm physically active the majority of the week and plus I exercise as well 5 to 6 times a week.. 8.5 weeks I'm down from 225.6 to 211.6 (14 lbs down).
I don't believe I can lose weight anymore
