Help! No progress whatsoever after 2+ months...

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  • CMNVA
    CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
    To the OP: I started my attempt back in September. I am 5'7" and was weighing 156. I am 52. I used to be able to lose really well at 1600-1800 calories. No problem. Over the past 2 years, that was not happening. This time, I decided to start at 1200 calories. I am menopausal, very sedentary, and I was not exercising at the time. I did stick to that pretty much and lost about 6 lbs in the first month. Some of it came off fast so I know it was bloating/water, so I probably really lost 3 lbs in a month. After that, I could no longer stick with the 1200 calories as I was feeling awful and wanted to start exercising. I have now been at 1380 since late October. I've lost a total of 11 lbs. I am also midway through Couch to 5K and that's all I do. There are many days I do go over 1380 but it's never been higher that 1500. Oh, and I don't eat back my exercise calories.

    I would also advocate for weighing everything you can. It has made a huge difference for me. I just think that some women need quite a bit less calories in menopause than they ever historically needed. It's a sad fact of life.

    I also have thyroid issues because mine has been removed but I am well controlled with medication. Either way, when I'm not well controlled it really doesn't impact my weight unless my TSH goes SUPER high.
  • a_candler
    a_candler Posts: 209 Member
    tiffanylacourse wrote: »
    yellowbrickroad369 wrote: »
    No, I don't use a food scale. Good point, I forgot to mention calorie intake! After doing all those BMR, TDEE calculations and aiming for a 500 calorie deficit based on my activity level, I'm averaging 1600-1800 calories a day. I've tried loads of online calculators and this is what keeps coming up. Am I that far off??

    Invest in a digital food scale and make sure what you're actually eating matches what you're logging. Small differences between weighing your food and measuring with cups/spoons can result in hundreds of calories of difference per day.

    Here's a video that shows this:
    https://youtu.be/vjKPIcI51lU

    This video exactly! Unless you weigh it you can't be accurate.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Hope you get your thyroid under control but yeah... definitely use a food scale. I see that you're using creamer and nut butter and it's VERY easy to underestimate those.
  • yellowbrickroad369
    yellowbrickroad369 Posts: 11 Member
    I haven't seen a huge difference yet between weighing and not weighing. I think I've been estimating pretty well, but it's still useful to have, to be sure. Thanks Sue!
  • ugofatcat
    ugofatcat Posts: 385 Member
    SueSueDio wrote: »
    ValerieMartini2Olives wrote: »
    dawnwells6172 wrote: »
    I feel your pain. I'm a fitness instructor, nutritionist and chef. I eat clean( in the true sense of the word), I am not working as a chef at the moment so I'm not getting hidden tasting calories. I track my water, food and exercise and have gained 15 lbs in 3 months. Unfortunately I do have a thyroid problem which I take meds for and my levels are ok, I've been diagnosed with fibromyalgia , but I am still active everyday. I walk 60 min a day on top of my hour swims, hot yoga, boot camps, strength training and cycling. I also struggled with major depressive disorder for the past 20 years and been on countless meds. I'm almost 40 and I question my hormones being on the level, but I know these meds are causing the weight gain. My doctors don't seem to care and just say workout or eat less!!! Wtf how much more can I do. So I can totally empathize with you and just wonder if you are on any meds or dealing with stress?

    What is the "true" sense of clean eating?

    Exactly. Like I said to @yellowbrickroad369 earlier, that is meaningless for weight loss if you're not estimating your calories correctly.

    If you've been gaining then you're not in a deficit (even if you think you are) and that's all there is to it, I'm afraid. As I understand it meds don't "cause" weight gain in and of themselves, but they can lead to increased appetite which in turn leads to over-consumption and extra pounds.

    Look back over the advice already given in this thread, and see if you can apply any of it to yourself. I wish you all the best! :)

    Some medications can cause water retention too, which may lead to weight gain. But that is concerning as well because all that extra fluid can build up in your lungs and that isn't good either. But yes, I agree, most medications don't cause weight gain so much as they cause an increase in appetite, which causes overeating and weight gain.

    Some of the diabetic medications and insulin may cause weight gain, but that is because all the sugar in your blood stream is now be taken up by cells and metabolized. So if someone didn't eat the sugar in the first place, they wouldn't have gained the weight. I frequently hear diabetics on insulin say it is ok to eat this extra treat, I will just give myself extra insulin, and then in the next breath complain that their insulin is causing them to gain weight.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,079 Member
    yellowbrickroad369 wrote: »
    All right, I'm in for the food scale!! Will get one. Just changed my food diary settings to public, I had everything on private before. This is the first time I've posted on this discussion thread, just today, but as I said I've been on here and tracking since early October, and I used it more a couple of years ago. Thanks for all your help!

    Great! I'm sure you will succeed!
    You know, I'm a bread addict. My favourite bread comes in at 104kcal per slice as per packaging. One slice is supposed to be 44 grams. However if I weight my slices I find that they all weight more, partly up to 52 grams. As I eat a lot of bread that gives me a lot of calories that I don't account for.

    Or even my favourite deep-freeze pizza. One pizza is around 750kcal. 5/6 of it keeps me full, and it fits my calorie allowance. However, the pizza is always heavier, up to 15% more. That's a lot of extra calories.
  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
    I used a package of pre-cooked bacon in a recipe at the weekend. The package said "65g (10-12 slices)". I didn't count the number of slices but I did weigh it as I chopped it up... there were 108 grams of bacon in that package. 108!! Just a teensy bit more than 65...
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    SueSueDio wrote: »
    I used a package of pre-cooked bacon in a recipe at the weekend. The package said "65g (10-12 slices)". I didn't count the number of slices but I did weigh it as I chopped it up... there were 108 grams of bacon in that package. 108!! Just a teensy bit more than 65...

    Yeah bacon. Package said 3 slices pan fried (45g or something) 80 calories... I weighed 2 slices at 64g or so and they were crispy too!
  • Running_and_Coffee
    Running_and_Coffee Posts: 811 Member
    OP, I think we have a lot I'm common! I am 42, 5'4 and 136, extremely active and eat clean. But if I eat 1500-1600 calories a day even when I burn 500 at the gym, I maintain. I have to go down to 1350 to lose. Yet I can maintain at 2000 if I want to. For me, exercise reduces stress, helps me sleep (I also a a bad sleeper) and makes my body look better at this weight than it does without exercise, but as far as I can tell, has nothing to do with my weight. 1350 calories and 30% protein have been my winning Combo!
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