Please help me....In desperate need of expert advice
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Exercise aside. There is a problem here and I certainly don't know the answer.
The OP should be losing weight while eating substantially more than has been discussed. Even 1800 Cal a day should be a substantial deficit at her weight and described activity level.
The OP says that her logs are completely complete. While her logs are actually much more complete than many other logs I've seen, no, I would not call them completely complete. I especially don't like days where all count is lost, though I only see one to four days with that potential since January 1.
So.
When you're not out delivering papers... are you so tired you just fall asleep? That would point to a situation where raising your average calories a day and being more active throughout the day may be a better solution for you.
Have you looked into potential health issues that may be making it difficult to lose weight? Are you feeling bloated/have oedema/swollen legs anything like that, all of which may be masking weight loss.
Do you have regular bowel movements?
What was your average weight during the week of December 25-January 31 according to your Fitbit? What was your average weekly weight last week?
Anyway.
Eat ~1600 Cal each and every day for 4-5 weeks ignoring everything else. make sure you log individual items such as eggs, ham, oil, cooking spray, salad dressings or condiments, any pop, beer, or wine you may enjoy, and that you weigh pre-made entrees/packaged items (hey: sometimes they weight less than advertised!) including items such as sliced bread.
Do not miss a single day's logging. Whether you're going over target or not. If you're eating out, do your best to guess.
Log your weight in the mornings after using the washroom and before eating or drinking anything using the same scale that has been positioned on a hard, unyielding floor, and equipped with fresh batteries. Record it on Fitbit which can be configured to automatically push it to MFP and trendweight.com and weightgrapher.com. Look for your weight trend over time using one or both of these apps.
Update us ~ mid March?3 -
I'm not sure why a pp said women don't gain muscle. Of course we do! Muscle weighs more than fat. I would conjecture that if you took on a long and hard paper route, you are probably converting some fat to muscle, so you would tend to gain--at least initially. It is better to consider if your body has changed. I'm an old, fat, injured runner. Didn't start running until age 51 (57 now), and I work with a very knowledgeable, gentle trainer, who helped me discover that I could run when I never thought I would again. My point: when I am seriously on a training program, I can tell my leg muscles are harder and larger. Even through the adipose! Another thing is to get a copy of "The First Twenty Minutes." It compiles, in very readable style, information from the most recent fitness and nutrition studies. It debunks a lot of the myths we think are true ( like running and walking makes you lose weight--not true for about 2/3 of regular people--but it does make us healthier). Most of the "truths" we bandy about are from old studies conducted on elite male athletes. The results have little to do with real people like you and me. I found it uplifting, and it gave me good, solid info to work with.
And finally ( whew!), see if you can find a water walking class. They are usually held in the dive tank at a pool, and involve wearing floats around either your waist or ankles. You "walk" in the deep water of the tank. Feels like you are doing nothing, but it uses2x the energy of land walking, strengthens your core massively, and is easy on your body. Take a class so you learn to do it properly, or you won't do it as well as you ought.
Keep up your good work, and pat yourself on the back big time for persistence.1 -
I am also niggling about those half-filled days. OP, why did you not finish logging on those days? That's often something that happens after a binge. Do you ever binge?1
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CattOfTheGarage wrote: »I am also niggling about those half-filled days. OP, why did you not finish logging on those days? That's often something that happens after a binge. Do you ever binge?
Morning CattOfTheGarage
The answer to your binge question is a resounding NO I don't binge.
There is no secret eating or comfort eating and nothing left out of my diary.
I'm not the kinda person to try kid myself on, let alone others, what you see is what you get with me, open, honest and upfront.
I've had things occasionally like Chinese or McDonald's, which I consider naughty treats, but I've added them to my diary, what would be the point in not doing so.
On the days you see where the diary isn't complete whether that's no lunch one day or dinner another day (doesn't happen very often) I genuinely haven't ate at that time on that day.
So the reason there is nothing there is because I ate nothing.
Wrong I know, but on those days my health sadly gets the better of me and I'm not up to eating, can't face it and just need to go to bed to rest, then I usually pick back up again the next day and carry on.
But please don't think I'm asking for help then trying to pull the wool or not being 100% honest with you all, as thats just not me.
I'm genuine and have absolutely nothing to hide. x2 -
Thank you again everyone for your encouraging words1
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Just to recap today.....
I do now after speaking with many people find it hard to believe eating 1200 calories could possibly be my maintenance level, not with how big I am, I also believe that someone of my weight (240lbs) has to eat more than that.
If my maintenance was 1200 I'd have a real problem as my weight comes down as then you are meant to keep lowering your calorie intake accordingly, I'd end up on about 800 calories if not less. Which is just not realistic or healthy.
So I am going to do my best to aim around 1500-1600 calories a day, even tho some of you definitely feel I should be up at 1800 I'm not confident enough to take that big of a leap up in calories,.
I will maybe reconsider the 1800 once I join the gym and my activity level is more and I'm using weights etc.
Anyway.......
I will now be tightening up my diary, (thank you to everyone that brought this to my attention) in that I will not believe food packaging labels as much as I have been, for example when it says a slice of cheese is 25g, I will be weighing it and checking it myself and then adding exactly the amount of grams, this will now apply to other foods.
I will be going to docs to discuss this have a few checks done just to rule out anything on the medical side of things.
Lastly I just want to let everyone know....
Everything, and I do mean everything I eat gets entered into my diary, there is nothing hidden, no secret eating, no binge eating, no comfort eating etc.
If I eat something whether it's healthy or not, naugty or nice, good or bad...it goes into my diary, I can't see the point in not doing so.
Reminds me of a little quote I love..... "what you eat in private..you wear in public" .
Where there are no entries on some days (doesn't happen often) I genuinely haven't ate at that time, health issues have got the better of me on those days and I can't face eating and just go to bed to rest, usually get up the next day, dig deep, find my inner lion and fight on again.
So plan for now is.....
Up my calories 1500-1600
Make sure quantity/weights of food are accurate in my diary.
Going to look into high protein low carb diets,(don't know much about any of that) and see if this is also something I can incorporate in.
Join Gym beginning of March, start weight training along with cardio.
Start swimming again and possibly aqua aerobics.
And.....definitely definitely stick here with all you lovely people on MFP3 -
If you have had a history of past dieting and are "shutting down" and going to sleep without eating when tired, you may want to check out the "Eat More 2 Weigh Less" group here on MFP. Have a look as to whether some of the experiences of the people there ring a bell for you.2
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If you have had a history of past dieting and are "shutting down" and going to sleep without eating when tired, you may want to check out the "Eat More 2 Weigh Less" group here on MFP. Have a look as to whether some of the experiences of the people there ring a bell for you.
Sounds interesting......have just joined0 -
OK so here is my first shock of tightening up my diary and being more accurate.
I had a tin of grapefruit Salad this morning,(you will see this in my diary a few times) I normally add it to my diary by what it says on the tin.
1 Tin = 172 calories (that's what I've always entered)
Today I put a bowl on my digital kitchen scales, emptied the contents of the tin and it came to 171 grams.
171g = 55 calories
So whereas I thought I was having 172 calories I've actually only been having 55.
I'm a bit shocked by this to say the least.2 -
sunshine12870 wrote: »OK so here is my first shock of tightening up my diary and being more accurate.
I had a tin of grapefruit Salad this morning,(you will see this in my diary a few times) I normally add it to my diary by what it says on the tin.
1 Tin = 172 calories (that's what I've always entered)
Today I put a bowl on my digital kitchen scales, emptied the contents of the tin and it came to 171 grams.
171g = 55 calories
So whereas I thought I was having 172 calories I've actually only been having 55.
I'm a bit shocked by this to say the least.
Something doesn't seem right there. That's too big a difference and way outwith legal tolerances. I don't know this product but is it a drained weight vs a non drained weight or something?3 -
Is the grapefruit in juice and you drained it off? That could account for quite a few calories. Even more if it's in syrup.0
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VintageFeline wrote: »sunshine12870 wrote: »OK so here is my first shock of tightening up my diary and being more accurate.
I had a tin of grapefruit Salad this morning,(you will see this in my diary a few times) I normally add it to my diary by what it says on the tin.
1 Tin = 172 calories (that's what I've always entered)
Today I put a bowl on my digital kitchen scales, emptied the contents of the tin and it came to 171 grams.
171g = 55 calories
So whereas I thought I was having 172 calories I've actually only been having 55.
I'm a bit shocked by this to say the least.
Something doesn't seem right there. That's too big a difference and way outwith legal tolerances. I don't know this product but is it a drained weight vs a non drained weight or something?
Exactly what I thought.....hence why I was so shocked.
Wish I could put a photo on here of the label so you can look at it, but doesn't appear to be a way to do that.0 -
OK on the tin it says.....
540g
Net Drained Weight
290g
So on the nutrion label I went by the per 100g Drained values which says -
Per 100g = 32 Calories
I had 171g = 55 Calories0 -
I went through the food database here on MFP to see what others were entering for grapefruit and it would appear to be right that 171g of grapefruit is around 55 calories.0
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CattOfTheGarage wrote: »Is the grapefruit in juice and you drained it off? That could account for quite a few calories. Even more if it's in syrup.
Yes it's in Grapefruit juice and I always drain all the juice off then just eat the grapefruit0 -
Good Morning! I actually do think I can help you. I believe it is a combination of things and it will take a bit to sort it all out. A. Stress and the stress hormone cortisol play a role B. Perimenopause plays a role C. For your weight and activity level 1200 calories is low - it is below your BMR, certainly below your TDEE. D. Expending more energy (calories) than you are taking in, certainly over a period of time causes your metabolism to decrease - it adapts to the energy/calorie level you are taking in E. If you upped your calories a bit and saw a gain on the scale that is normal - your metabolism is responding & is seeking balance F. Strength training needs to be a focus for you in that muscle is important to fat-loss, especially lifelong fat loss and maintenance (men naturally have more muscle than women is the primary reason they lose fat quicker/easier than women) G. Nutrition is very important. Not just how much we eat, but that we are eating to keep our bodies thriving from a health and metabolism standpoint H. I'm 5'4. Weighed 238 in 2011 at age 47 and I was 40+% bodyfat & wore a size 18; after my knee replacement I studied nutrition and exercise, changed my life, changed careers. I. I'm still 5'4. I'm 53 and my bodyfat is 28% & I can wear a size 10 any day of the week standing on the scale at 180. I'm healthy, I have energy, I don't stress over food, and I can maintain this for the rest of my life. I can lead you to several really good books to read on the subject and if you send me a Friend Request, I can easily remember to do that. I'm on my way to work and stopped in to write you because I saw your desperate "HELP!".
I will add: I've been a member at MFP since April 2011 under the User Name HarlanJen. I deactivated my account late last year, but missed the community so I'm back. I've met folks here that I never would have met otherwise and this is an awesome place to be - use the information wisely, choose your friends wisely and stay persistent and consistent and never ever stop learning and working toward vibrant health and energy. The rest will come along for the ride if you go for Health. Promise.
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This sounds like a thyroid issue which usually can easily be fixed with a prescription. Millions of people have underactive thyroids that can quickly cause weight gain. Malfunctioning thyroids usually happen very quickly without warning and the weight gain can happen rapidly. Please go to the doctor and have your thyroid checked.
Do NOT starve yourself and eat anything less than 1200 calories. You will harm your metabolism by doing so, which will only make things worse. Go to the doctor and have your thyroid checked.
Good luck!0 -
Lots of good advice from others, thought I'd offer a little tidbit.... mustard..... is a good naturala nti infalmatory. Might help with some of the pain. and is very low calorie0
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sunshine12870 wrote: »OK on the tin it says.....
540g
Net Drained Weight
290g
So on the nutrion label I went by the per 100g Drained values which says -
Per 100g = 32 Calories
I had 171g = 55 Calories
Is it this one?
Because in this case, it really is the drained weight, which would make your count correct...0 -
I wonder if you were logging the undrained weight?0
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