Not losing weight and very frustrated.

marymickaela

I started almost 3 weeks ago eating super healthy. I gave up sugar and now use Stevia which helps eliminates cravings. I'm eating more organic foods, like eggs and chicken breast, eating lots more veggies. Drinking 8 glasses of water a day. I do get a cheat day on Sundays so could have screwed it up that way by over eating, but not so much to cause me to have gained weight. I have been religious about counting my calories, weighing and measuring my food, always eating at a deficit. I've gained 2lbs since Monday which was my official weigh in day. The diet says I can eat 2,000 calories and still lose, which I consider ridiculous. I find eating 1200 to be satisfying.

I take a major weight gaining drug and others have said (including my therapist) that it's impossible to lose weight while on it. I also have sleep deprivation issues, which studies have shown to make it harder to lose weight. I'm getting some exercise everyday, but because of my Fibromyalgia can't go crazy or I pay for it the next day. I also have no thyroid due to cancer. I'm not trying to make excuses, just putting the facts on the table.

I'm not giving up and many of you have stated that if I keep eating at a deficit I will lose weight. It's just so frustrating to be doing everything right and not seeing any results.

Any suggestions?

joepratt503

Yes, generally if a person eats less energy than their body needs, it has to come from somewhere...but that doesn't mean the same thing to all people. You clearly are an exception based on comment and I would believe that your only good option is to work with your dr/therapist/dietitian and not listen to the armchair Personal Trainers on this site.

galgenstrick

You had a cheat day on Sunday and weighed yourself on Monday. I.e you just gained a bunch of water weight and its masking your actual progress. Weigh yourself every day, and look at the average for the week, otherwise you're going to get frustrated if you have one bad weigh in a week.

strong_curves

I agree with @joepratt503

But yeah, you can eat more than 1200 calories and still lose weight as long as you're weighing/measuring your intake accurately. I'm eating 1800 calories a day and am losing, for me eating and not restricting myself to only 1200 calories is satisfying.

me_ona_diet

Could it be that TOM? That can bring on water weight gain. 1200 cal may also be too low for you, and your body is conserving instead of burning. Unfortunately, it's not always as simple as Calories in / Calories Out... food intolerance, the drug you're taking, metabolic factors - all of those can play a role in how you lose or don't lose weight. You may need to change the diet plan you're following to something different - i.e. gluten free, or keto, or something different. Also, if you always do the same exercise, trying something different can sometimes give you a jump start - the body gets used to the same exercises over and over. Then again, maybe you're gaining in muscle mass while losing fat mass, and that is making a difference on the scale.
At the same time, I hope you are checking your measurements, and comparing how your clothes fit now and how you feel - non scale victories can show progress when the scale isn't moving.
I wish you luck in finding what works best for you! Keep trying!

galgenstrick

me_ona_diet wrote: »

Could it be that TOM? That can bring on water weight gain. 1200 cal may also be too low for you, and your body is conserving instead of burning. Unfortunately, it's not always as simple as Calories in / Calories Out... food intolerance, the drug you're taking, metabolic factors - all of those can play a role in how you lose or don't lose weight. You may need to change the diet plan you're following to something different - i.e. gluten free, or keto, or something different. Also, if you always do the same exercise, trying something different can sometimes give you a jump start - the body gets used to the same exercises over and over. Then again, maybe you're gaining in muscle mass while losing fat mass, and that is making a difference on the scale.
At the same time, I hope you are checking your measurements, and comparing how your clothes fit now and how you feel - non scale victories can show progress when the scale isn't moving.
I wish you luck in finding what works best for you! Keep trying!

I agree with the menstrual cycle part, and the metrics suggestions, but the rest is broscience.

futuremanda

I have never heard of any medications or medical conditions that literally make it impossible to lose weight... just that they mess with the equation significantly (and/or cause massive appetite increases, but that doesn't sound like your issue). I think usually it makes the process much slower, and you need to be more precise with it than other people (so probably no unlogged cheat days, make sure you weigh all your food, etc). I also think that people with such medical conditions often need to eat less than people without them to trigger a loss -- so you're probably right that 1200 is a better target than 2000. Most likely, if you keep at it, it will happen -- just way slower than for most people. There are numerous people here with conditions and medications that are said to stall or "prevent" weight loss, and they do lose. You might check out the group section and see if there are any that might be helpful.

That said, correct medications and correct dosages are often key. If you're still working with your doctor to get your meds right, you may need to have some extra patience with the scale.

Things like "gained 2 lbs since Monday" after a cheat day on Sunday is likely just water retention. Most people have 1-5 lbs or more in normal water weight fluctuations, which can get more pronounced when we eat at a deficit, and then come out of deficit for a day. If your medications or medical issues make this worse, then using the scale to judge your progress will be tricky -- in that case, I wouldn't pay it much mind. Just keep doing what you *know* you should be doing, regardless of the scale, and don't have any expectations that it will show you your fat loss on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis (remember, your weight is made up of everything, including bone, hair, digesting food, and a lot of water, and that obscures your weigh-in data).

I agree that working with your doctor or a registered dietician to get a sensible plan going for your needs (if you haven't already) would be a great starting point. (Your diet sounds fine to me, but there may be specific foods to eat or avoid for your medical issues.) And after that, just patience. Even if you lost 1 lb a month, that'd be 12 in a year. 2 lbs would be almost 25 lbs in a year. And it's way better than not trying, and gaining slowly in a year. Try playing the long game and see.

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Naener

1200 is definitely too low, especially if you're trying to exercise every day. I would talk to your doctor and have them refer you to a dietitian or a nutritionist to see what kind of diet modifying you need to do. i workout heavily, 5 days a week (eating back the calories i burn of course) and my net goal caloric intake is 1360. (most days, because of exercise, i actually consume between 1400-1900) depending on how many calories i burn in each workout.

This is VERY important. you can not work out, AND have such a strict deficit.

Arliah

It may help if you opened your diary, that usually gives a few clues.

Ifly4free

I would keep at it awhile longer before you decide it's not working. It took me six weeks to lose one lb and in that six weeks I gained two. I was so frustrated but I was not going to give up and then six weeks later I started losing. I think sometimes our bodies take time to get use to the changes we are making in our food choices and exercise. I'm starting over again having gained 13 lbs back but I know it may take a bit of time to get the ball rolling! Don't give up!

try2again

Certainly can't account for the effect of medications/medical conditions, but I also noticed you are weighing after your "cheat day". No, that's not going to make you gain fat overnight, but if that day includes restaurant meals, high sodium foods, it could easily be adding water weight on Mon. A few weeks ago I had a very high-sodium meal (higher than what I normally have in a day) the night before my weigh-in and it showed me gaining 2 lbs literally overnight. Next day it was fine. I would also be concerned about the 1200 calories. I can understand your wanting to skimp, and you may not mind eating that few calories, but maybe your body does. My MFP goal is 1760. I use that as a max. A few days I've eaten 1200-1300 calories, some days I really want the full amount, most days I'm in between. I don't generally eat back exercise calories, though that hasn't been a conscious decision- just haven't needed them so far.
It sounds like you may have a greater challenge than most, but weight loss aside, it sounds like you have much to gain by taking care of yourself in general. Wish you the best

marymickaela

Thanks for all the great advice. I already gone thru menopause so TOM isn't a factor, but menopause is. One reason I'm so frustrated is I've never eaten this healthy before. I'm not giving up thou. I may call my doctor today and discuss the Seroquel. Look it up. It's know for weight gain. One thing someone mentioned was water weight. I think I've been using too much salt. I switched to sea salt and bought the one the diet suggested which was Aztec Sea Salt. I use a grinder, but it comes out pretty course.

ahamm002

3 weeks isn't very long. Stick with it for 3 months. If still no improvement then it may be time to switch from a cheat day to a couple cheat meals per week.

mdashburn

Three weeks is also a small sample size. The other factor here is that, despite what most people will say, calorie counting (and ESPECIALLY exercise calorie counting) is an inexact science. You may have to keep playing with the formulas and not necessarily believe it if your Fitbit says you're burning 400 calories, etc. Water weight will play in, medicine will play somewhat of a role, but stick with it knowing that you're doing the right thing and be attentive to your body. It'll eventually work out.

Mr_Knight

marymickaela wrote: »

I take a major weight gaining drug and others have said (including my therapist) that it's impossible to lose weight while on it.

There is no such drug.

I suggest opening your diary, as 99% of the time, problems like this have their roots in logging.

debsdoingthis

Looked up the side effects and in RARE cases there is a loss of appetite and weight gain.
Edited for spelling

Ang108

marymickaela wrote: »

Thanks for all the great advice. I already gone thru menopause so TOM isn't a factor, but menopause is. One reason I'm so frustrated is I've never eaten this healthy before. I'm not giving up thou. I may call my doctor today and discuss the Seroquel. Look it up. It's know for weight gain. One thing someone mentioned was water weight. I think I've been using too much salt. I switched to sea salt and bought the one the diet suggested which was Aztec Sea Salt. I use a grinder, but it comes out pretty course.

Eating healthy is good for your general health but will do nothing for weight loss by itself unless you also eat at a deficit.
Sea salt is still salt and will cause some water retention. If Sunday is your cheat day, why don't you weigh in on Saturday ? Also make sure that you are not cheating yourself by weighing and measuring carelessly or just guessing. Those inaccurate calories can add up and make a difference.

futuremanda

marymickaela wrote: »

Thanks for all the great advice. I already gone thru menopause so TOM isn't a factor, but menopause is. One reason I'm so frustrated is I've never eaten this healthy before. I'm not giving up thou. I may call my doctor today and discuss the Seroquel. Look it up. It's know for weight gain. One thing someone mentioned was water weight. I think I've been using too much salt. I switched to sea salt and bought the one the diet suggested which was Aztec Sea Salt. I use a grinder, but it comes out pretty course.

Frustration is understandable! But if you're eating healthy because you want to be healthy, then you're going to do that forever regardless of what the scale says. So do that. It WILL have an effect, it just may not be as exciting as hopping on the scale every week to check out your latest losses.

Many people on internet message boards etc will swear up and down that they gain weight on drugs, despite eating the same and exercising the same as always. Problem 1: There's no way to be sure you ARE eating and moving the same as always. You can get close if you weigh everything, always, and use maybe a Fitbit, etc, but most people are not. It's really easy to intake extra calories and have it look and feel like the same number as always. Problem 2: Most of those meds are notorious for increasing appetite, and that's the real culprit. Problem 3: There's no way to sort out water weight gain from fat gain. But finally: Even if they did cause weight gain in the way that some people claim, the mechanism for this would have to be making your body more efficient, so that it burns fewer calories as it goes about its usual activities (pumping blood, etc). So it would still be "eat less than you burn" -- just, you're burning less than an average person. (And so, eating as you always did could then result in weight gain.)

Reason: Your body requires energy to keep you alive. Let's say it requires 2000 cals a day of it. If you eat 1200, it needs to get 800 more from somewhere, or you'll die, promptly. Heart etc will not run on magic. That's why we HAVE fat -- we burn it as needed to keep chugging. So a medication or a medical issue could cause your body to burn less... maybe 1500 when your number would otherwise be 2000. And now, eating 1200, that's only a deficit of 300... and that's IF your estimations in your food log are SPOT ON (and no matter how hard we try, we never are -- does 100 g of apple, any apple, from anywhere in the world, in every season, have the exact same nutritional value? Nope). So see? Slow, and you need to work harder, way harder, to make sure you're in that deficit, because your margin for error is small. But not impossible -- your body IS burning calories to exist, and you CAN eat fewer and still nourish yourself properly. Takes work and patience.

Now, however a medication causes weight gain, it's still a problem. I used to have huge issues with appetite (which are still there but not as pronounced). I have no idea if it was one of my many medications, or my chronic insomnia, or my ~feelings~ or what. Maybe all three. It was a problem though, regardless, because I overate as a result. If you don't have issues with appetite, then you may be fine with the seroquel. If you do have issues with appetite, try some other drugs -- just because something has a side effect, doesn't mean everyone will get that side effect, or that it will last. (Most people don't get most side effects, and many side effects go away with time.) Trazodone is a great one to try if it's safe for you (I liked it much better than seroquel for sleep).

re: meds, I would say your biggest issue will be whichever meds are replacing your thyroid. Getting those correct and at the correct dosage will likely have the biggest effect on you. (But this is just my experience watching my mom and her meds, and from what I hear people saying. I'm not an expert.)

And I, personally, have both lost and gained weight while on these types of meds (anti-depressants and seroquel and trazodone) and off them. They did not strictly cause weight gain (as in, nothing I could have done -- I could have ate less, even though I was not emotionally up for it at the time) or prevent weight loss. (But I also have a working thyroid and other things that make it easier for me, I know!)

CariJean64

If Sunday is your Cheat Day (I prefer TREAT day), then maybe weigh yourself on Fridays or Saturdays instead of Mondays. You might get a more accurate picture of your progress that way.

spzjlb

Hi - Don't forget to take some measurements. At least they will be another metric in addition to the scale, which is quite variable. I recommend a consultation with a good registered dietitian as well as your MD (regarding your meds). The dietitian should be able to help you deal with medication side effects, menopause, etc. Courage! Patience! Measuring tape!!

try2again

marymickaela wrote: »

Thanks for all the great advice. I already gone thru menopause so TOM isn't a factor, but menopause is. One reason I'm so frustrated is I've never eaten this healthy before. I'm not giving up thou. I may call my doctor today and discuss the Seroquel. Look it up. It's know for weight gain. One thing someone mentioned was water weight. I think I've been using too much salt. I switched to sea salt and bought the one the diet suggested which was Aztec Sea Salt. I use a grinder, but it comes out pretty course.

Actually, any salt you add is just the tip of the iceberg. If you've been logging, you may have been noticing just how much sodium comes in many foods. I know it was an eye opener for me! Even going with low sodium versions of many products and doing virtually all of my eating at home, I still find it challenging to stay below the recommended daily allowance.

marymickaela

I had my diary open to my friends, but just opened it up to the public.

me_ona_diet

I agree with the menstrual cycle part, and the metrics suggestions, but the rest is broscience. [/quote]

What the heck is 'broscience'???

stealthq

me_ona_diet wrote: »

I agree with the menstrual cycle part, and the metrics suggestions, but the rest is broscience.

What the heck is 'broscience'???

[/quote]

The kind of 'science' you'd expect to hear from the bodybuilders at the gym who don't actually bother to read anything on the subject beyond BB mags and blog articles. Science from the 'bros'. I.e. broscience.

me_ona_diet

Huh. Interesting, considering I'm neither a bro, nor a bodybuilder
Guess my endocrinologist must be though - despite being female - since that's where my information comes from. Who knew?!

bbontheb

Some people refer to it as pseudoscience. Not really anything backing up the claims/no real peer-reviewed studies. Maybe someone can give a few examples of broscience claims.

deniztuzu2

I too,eat more carefree on sundays,more sodium and such. But I weigh myself in the morning before "the damage" is done.

DevilsFan1

bbontheb wrote: »

Some people refer to it as pseudoscience. Not really anything backing up the claims/no real peer-reviewed studies. Maybe someone can give a few examples of broscience claims.

"Don't eat a big meal before bedtime because your metabolism slows down at night."
"Body confusion by changing exercise will help you lose weight faster."
"My medication caused me to put on X number of pounds."
"I can eat as many calories I want as long as I'm not eating carbs."

Basically any assertion that contradicts common sense and is unsupported by double-blind scientific studies.

snickerscharlie

Your diary is still closed, so my question is, are you tracking your sodium intake?

galgenstrick

snickerscharlie wrote: »

Your diary is still closed, so my question is, are you tracking your sodium intake?

I think it's safe to assume OP's sodium was higher on her cheat day, than her "on" days... but we may never know.