Stuck in a mysterious situation -

deksgrl

Cortisol is catabolic and elevated cortisol levels can cause the loss of muscle tissue by facilitating the process of converting lean tissue into glucose.

Google "symptoms of adrenal fatigue" and compare them to "symptoms of anorexia". You may have improved things by increasing your calories somewhat, but if your adrenals are really broken, it will probably take more food and less training to fix it.

Just because you feel fine doesn't mean there isn't still a problem. The fact that your muscles are degrading points to there being something wrong.

Woah. At first I thought your comment of googling symptoms of anorexia was really snarky of you. But I did it anyways. A lot of that crosses over.
I don't feel like I suffer from that.. But things like : complaining that I'm fat, etc.does apply to me. But, I try to eat healthy and give my body the nutrition that it needs because I don't want to starve myself. At all. But I work really hard for no progress--which leads to me exercising more trying to make progress. I still eat back my exercise calories though.
I see how it would develop into that after a long period of time.
Going back to adrenal fatigue, maybe I'm not completely free of that yet. I know it takes a long time to reestablish that. I have those random cortisol surges sometimes -- it happens at night. I'm up and ready to go run a marathon when it happens. If i'm not asleep by 10pm I'm usually up til 1.. getting a second wind around 11pm. The headaches, fatigue, yeah.. they happen randomly, just not as much as they used to. I will look more into continue fixing the adrenals.
Thank you.

I was thinking the physical symptoms, not the psychological ones, things like temperature regulation, poor digestion and/or constipation, difficult recovery from exercise.

Bridgetthegre

My advice is to see an endocrinologist and ask him about your thyroid levels. It isn't as if he'll tie you down and force you to take his advice, but it's entirely possible it could make a big difference.

ereck44

Hi,

Did you loose 40 pounds in less than a year????? Applause, applause!!! and then another 5 pounds since then? What is your goal weight?

Yeah, if your constipated, you are going to be bloated and puffy around the stomach. Try corn to get things moving. Steamed corn with no other additives. Look at ingredients. Also watch how much salt you are eating. I added potassium tablets to my diet. I still have constipation issues, but not as bad.

Secondly, you might not be eating enough calories to compensate all the activity that you are doing. I stopped losing weight when mfp dropped my total calories to 1430. I stressed about being over goal all of the time. I changed my settings to 1760 calories and started losing again. On a heavy exercise day, I drink a lot of water and eat all but 300 or 400 of the extra calories that I earn from exercising.

Thirdly, you might want to back off the cardio to maybe twice a week, and start or increase strength training. Building muscle will help boost your metabolic rate.

Get a lot of good sleep! This is soooo important!

Lastly be proud of your achievement. You want to keep the weight off, and not yo-yo diet. Better to go slow--trust me on that.

Don't you feel so much better having lost 45 pounds?

Dsaxline

Start with accurate logging and a trip to see a doctor. If you haven't found a good doctor yet keep looking-- they are out there. You need someone who is trained in more than chiropractic and nutrition.

But without an accurate food log it's going to be difficult to get your trouble losing weight taken seriously. Use a food scale and weigh everything except free-pouring liquids, which can be measured with cups/spoons.

ETA: I see you do log but with a notepad. Are you using a scale?

ETAA: I also think that taking a diet break is a good idea.

This sounds stupid, but how do you weigh things? And for what reason?
Say, I have cottage cheese, 1/2 a cup is 80 calories so I scoop out half a cup and log 80.
Salmon fillets I use are all the same size and say 110 cals per fillet, so that's what I use. I try to mostly eat things where I know what's in it and control the serving size.

I'm not really trying to restrict calories like crazy, but eating 1500-1600 per day, I feel like I have energy to work out, get out of bed and have a good day. And I'm not hungry. But I will try increasing it more per everyone's suggestions. I appreciate them.

Dsaxline

Hi,

Did you loose 40 pounds in less than a year????? Applause, applause!!! and then another 5 pounds since then? What is your goal weight?

Yeah, if your constipated, you are going to be bloated and puffy around the stomach. Try corn to get things moving. Steamed corn with no other additives. Look at ingredients. Also watch how much salt you are eating. I added potassium tablets to my diet. I still have constipation issues, but not as bad.

Secondly, you might not be eating enough calories to compensate all the activity that you are doing. I stopped losing weight when mfp dropped my total calories to 1430. I stressed about being over goal all of the time. I changed my settings to 1760 calories and started losing again. On a heavy exercise day, I drink a lot of water and eat all but 300 or 400 of the extra calories that I earn from exercising.

Thirdly, you might want to back off the cardio to maybe twice a week, and start or increase strength training. Building muscle will help boost your metabolic rate.

Get a lot of good sleep! This is soooo important!

Lastly be proud of your achievement. You want to keep the weight off, and not yo-yo diet. Better to go slow--trust me on that.

Don't you feel so much better having lost 45 pounds?

Yes! Thank you SO much for the positive response. Thing is , I don't look like I lost 45 pounds, but I do feel much much better. I agree with the suggestions on eating more. I'm just nervous on putting on fatty-weight when I was losing so regularly. my goal is to be 150 and lean. I don't mind being this weight either, I just want to lose the fat deposits around my midsections and my arms, but you can't just target one area... I haven't gained anything back since losing it--which is what I am most proud of.
The nice thing about running... my legs look great! Haha.
Thanks again!

3foldchord

Two years ago, I started looking bloated and a tiny bit pregnant all the time, with the constant constipation. I ate better and better, it got worse and worse... finally I saw my doctor. Turns out I had a melon size fibroid tumor!

Check with your physician. Just have. Everything checked out. Just to be on the safe side.

Dsaxline

Two years ago, I started looking bloated and a tiny bit pregnant all the time, with the constant constipation. I ate better and better, it got worse and worse... finally I saw my doctor. Turns out I had a melon size fibroid tumor!

Check with your physician. Just have. Everything checked out. Just to be on the safe side.

I know how that goes, I actually had an ovarian cyst about 10 years ago. The bloating was nothing like now.
Now, if I engage my core, I can make my stomach decently flat. With the cyst, I couldn't do that. I do work on abs during my strength training days, so I don't think it's week. I can feel muscles under the layer of fat. haha.
I will try to schedule a doctor's visit sometime here in the next month and I will talk about these suggestions.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

You weigh to make sure you're getting an accurate calorie count. My ice cream says serving size is 1/2 cup (101 grams). If I measure out a half cup by volume that's really more like 120 grams, so the calorie count is off by 20%. If you're eyeballing 4 oz of chicken breast (I used to do this) and you're actually eating 6 oz, your calorie count is off by 70 calories. If you've got a lot of inaccuracies like that it can really add up. When you're looking at the package you should always go by the weight, not the volume, that they give you for the serving size.

RomonaALewis

Hi.
I am 55, and have been to many doctors. Some I would like to choke to death, some I can live without, and then there are 1 or 2 I owe my life to. It takes time, but look around and ask questions from other patients and even nurses, they know some of the better doctors. If it were not for my the suggestion of my pain management doctor, I would not have found the Nurse Practitioner that got to the to the doctor that did my gastric bypass. I am now a total 70lbs lighter and feeling better. So, PLEASE do not give up on doctors just yet ok?

Dsaxline

You weigh to make sure you're getting an accurate calorie count. My ice cream says serving size is 1/2 cup (101 grams). If I measure out a half cup by volume that's really more like 120 grams, so the calorie count is off by 20%. If you're eyeballing 4 oz of chicken breast (I used to do this) and you're actually eating 6 oz, your calorie count is off by 70 calories. If you've got a lot of inaccuracies like that it can really add up. When you're looking at the package you should always go by the weight, not the volume, that they give you for the serving size.

Very helpful.
Thank you.

3foldchord

Two years ago, I started looking bloated and a tiny bit pregnant all the time, with the constant constipation. I ate better and better, it got worse and worse... finally I saw my doctor. Turns out I had a melon size fibroid tumor!

Check with your physician. Just have. Everything checked out. Just to be on the safe side.

I know how that goes, I actually had an ovarian cyst about 10 years ago. The bloating was nothing like now.
Now, if I engage my core, I can make my stomach decently flat. With the cyst, I couldn't do that. I do work on abs during my strength training days, so I don't think it's week. I can feel muscles under the layer of fat. haha.
I will try to schedule a doctor's visit sometime here in the next month and I will talk about these suggestions.

Ya, I could not get it flat even lying down, it was different, like being pregnant, always a small lump no matter what.
Hope everything checks put fine for you.

ereck44

Hi,

Did you loose 40 pounds in less than a year????? Applause, applause!!! and then another 5 pounds since then? What is your goal weight?

Yeah, if your constipated, you are going to be bloated and puffy around the stomach. Try corn to get things moving. Steamed corn with no other additives. Look at ingredients. Also watch how much salt you are eating. I added potassium tablets to my diet. I still have constipation issues, but not as bad.

Secondly, you might not be eating enough calories to compensate all the activity that you are doing. I stopped losing weight when mfp dropped my total calories to 1430. I stressed about being over goal all of the time. I changed my settings to 1760 calories and started losing again. On a heavy exercise day, I drink a lot of water and eat all but 300 or 400 of the extra calories that I earn from exercising.

Thirdly, you might want to back off the cardio to maybe twice a week, and start or increase strength training. Building muscle will help boost your metabolic rate.

Get a lot of good sleep! This is soooo important!

Lastly be proud of your achievement. You want to keep the weight off, and not yo-yo diet. Better to go slow--trust me on that.

Don't you feel so much better having lost 45 pounds?

Yes! Thank you SO much for the positive response. Thing is , I don't look like I lost 45 pounds, but I do feel much much better. I agree with the suggestions on eating more. I'm just nervous on putting on fatty-weight when I was losing so regularly. my goal is to be 150 and lean. I don't mind being this weight either, I just want to lose the fat deposits around my midsections and my arms, but you can't just target one area... I haven't gained anything back since losing it--which is what I am most proud of.
The nice thing about running... my legs look great! Haha.
Thanks again!

Ur welcome! I think that the strength training will help get you that toned appearance that you are seeking.

I have almost lost 40 pounds ( in a year and a half) and still have some body image issues. I can still see that pouch around my stomach. (It will be gone soon.) My friends tell me that I look great---so it's just that my mind hasn't wrapped itself around what I really look like. I still have another 19 or so pounds to go, and think that I should be close to it at Christmas time.( I am going to keep it off this time!)

And I too am cold all of the time. I think that it is because I lost a lot of fat ( it's insulation, you know)>

Also not sure if you have a heart monitor. If you run, are you in the fat burning zone. If you run faster, then not in fat burning zone, and it doesn't help you.

Good luck with the constipation. Corn works great, also steel cut oatmeal. Just look for foods with fiber and lots of water.

Mokey41

When I figure your BMR I get about 1600 calories which is the very least you should be eating. If you've been eating low cal for a long time you probably would gain an insignificant amount by upping your calories but once you body realizes that you aren't going to restrict so much again it will even out. Unless you've had it tested you don't know you have a slow metabolism. There are actually very very few people that have that condition. For most it's a reason to explain why the norms don't fit for them. The special snowflake syndrome.

Weigh, measure, record everything you eat. Don't guess! Feed your body the calories that it needs and quit asking a chiropractor for nutritional information.

Dsaxline

When I figure your BMR I get about 1600 calories which is the very least you should be eating. If you've been eating low cal for a long time you probably would gain an insignificant amount by upping your calories but once you body realizes that you aren't going to restrict so much again it will even out. Unless you've had it tested you don't know you have a slow metabolism. There are actually very very few people that have that condition. For most it's a reason to explain why the norms don't fit for them. The special snowflake syndrome.

Weigh, measure, record everything you eat. Don't guess! Feed your body the calories that it needs and quit asking a chiropractor for nutritional information.

I had a body composition test done that told me all of these numbers. My BMR is 1420. So, thanks.

LadyDeMize

Go vegan, I bet it will help. Try for 30 days and see what happens I went vegan April 3rd, 2013 and have lost 12lbs with the assistance of dietary habits being changed and increased exercise. Also, a colon cleanse would be my suggestion to get things moving again. And I also agree about assessing the enzyme situation. Have you ever tried the master cleanse? Keep up the great work!

brandiuntz

My advice is to see an endocrinologist and ask him about your thyroid levels. It isn't as if he'll tie you down and force you to take his advice, but it's entirely possible it could make a big difference.

I recommend this. Several of your symptoms point to a possible thyroid issue.

BluthLover

Ur Not pregnant correct? This sounds hormonal to me!

Dsaxline

My advice is to see an endocrinologist and ask him about your thyroid levels. It isn't as if he'll tie you down and force you to take his advice, but it's entirely possible it could make a big difference.

I recommend this. Several of your symptoms point to a possible thyroid issue.

Even with them being normal? Would it be worth having it tested again?

Dsaxline

Ur Not pregnant correct? This sounds hormonal to me!

Nope. No birth control for the possible hormone imbalance. Also. .. no sex so I'm not pregnant either.

allaboutthecake

You can get a digital kitchen scale off Amazon.com for a pretty good price. I have one that "zeros" out for me (say I have a plate set on the scale, I can 0 out the oz/gms before placing food on it.) It goes up to 15 lbs which is nice if I'm using Corningware. I also weigh my salad dressing...used to use a shot glass....I saw it was over. It took me a few weeks to get the hang of weighing food ALL the time, but in the long run its worth it and it gets easier. Now, I don't even think about it.
Congrats on your weight loss thus far!!:flowerforyou: