Frustrated, even furious

wisdomfromyou

Had lots of medical test recently - all very good, including thyroid, except that little fibroid they found in May (about 1.5 cm) which started the scare. I know many women have fibroids but I am a bit of a hypochondriac and I always think of the worst when I hear about possible health problems.

Before that (May), I was eating a lot, mainly stress-based due to harried life. Now it's still harried but I am trying to pace myself and control the stress with relaxation, exercise, the jazz.
Since May, I have been eating controlled, consciously, usually below saturation point and I lost 29 pounds. MY estimation is I have been doing around 1200 cal a day (this is how much it was when I was logging a little in the beginning).

It IS POSSIBLE that I may be eating below 1200 some days and this is what gives me the hunger. Then again, there are days when I know for sure I eat more than 1200. So it just varies.

Someone very nice sent me an article in private about taking breaks in dieting. It was really interesting and it makes sense.
Maybe I am just due for one.

Have you considered you may have a medical condition which inhibits your progress? My Doctor found my Thyroid was under performing. When this happens your body does operate effectively, which can leave to tired and cause you to not lose weight. When I got on medication for the Thyroid problem I was able to start losing.

After a very good blood work up where I showed I was back to the low side of normal I ask my Doctor to let me decrease the dosage. WRONG WRONG WRONG. I wound up real tired and even though I really upped my exercise and watch my food I could not lose weight. When I went back on the original dosage the weight cam off and my energy levels went up.

Bottom line if your in a holding pattern see a Doctor to see if you have medical handicap. Especially the Thyroid. It may be small, but it can make a big difference.

jacquejl

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LBNOakland

I am just want to be a normal person.
Normal people have their bodies regulated, they eat until they are not hungry anymore, they don't gain any weight and they never log.

You can't just will yourself in to having appropriate hunger signals. Most of us that end up on this site don't have them. You count calories, lose the weight, get to maintenance, and THEN you work on developing intuitive eating. People that intuitively eat don't eat at a calorie deficit...how could you?

THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE SUDDENLY!! Whre is my lightbulb emoticon!! :laugh: Your body isn't going to intuitively tell you to eat at a deficit!! I don't know why this has hit me like a lightening bolt but it did!! Your so smart!!

OP- COunt calories!! I am a busy professional mom, as well. I have 4 kids, a full time job, teach SUnday School, small group meets at my house on Wednesdays, and until recently, I was on the School board. I MADE time to log calories! 5 x a week, I get up at 4:45 to walk my 3 dogs and my best friend! I go to the gym 3x a week to lift weights. I do cardio (elliptical or turbofire) 2x a week. It is taking me forever to lose but, until this summer, I was consistently losing. I know what my problem is now because I log everything! So I know its my own fault! Make time for yourself! No excuses!

Good luck!! Perserverance is key!

quirkytizzy

Also all the passive-aggressive rude people on here addressing the poster indirectly and calling her 'insane'. STOP.

Play nice.

Excuse me, but I am going to need to see your internet police badge before I take orders. For my safety as well as yours.

I don't have a badge, but I do have a sexy cop uniform. Does that count?

diannethegeek

I'm done.

histora

Also all the passive-aggressive rude people on here addressing the poster indirectly and calling her 'insane'. STOP.

Play nice.

Excuse me, but I am going to need to see your internet police badge before I take orders. For my safety as well as yours.

I don't have a badge, but I do have a sexy cop uniform. Does that count?

Close enough for me! :blushing:

HappyStack

HEY GUYZ!

I AM DOING SOMETHING THAT IS NOT REALLY WORKING FOR ME, BUT I DON'T WANT TO LISTEN TO ANY OF YOUR SUGGESTIONS! CAN YOU PLEASE GIVE ME A WAY TO GET THE RESULTS I WANT BY ONLY DOING IT THE WAY I WANT TO DO IT? THANKS!

I think the best course of action is to have somebody come into your home, feed you your EXACT BMR via a nasal drip so you don't have to contend with the pesky notion of eating adequately, and strap you up with some ab belts, a few muscle-toning pads and put you to sleep on a weight-loss vibration plate.

In 3 weeks, and not a day less or more, you will be an absolute adonis, in perfect health, with full control over your hunger pangs and an unimaginable level of physical strength that would make Batman weep and Superman jealous.

histora

HEY GUYZ!

I AM DOING SOMETHING THAT IS NOT REALLY WORKING FOR ME, BUT I DON'T WANT TO LISTEN TO ANY OF YOUR SUGGESTIONS! CAN YOU PLEASE GIVE ME A WAY TO GET THE RESULTS I WANT BY ONLY DOING IT THE WAY I WANT TO DO IT? THANKS!

I think the best course of action is to have somebody come into your home, feed you your EXACT BMR via a nasal drip so you don't have to contend with the pesky notion of eating adequately, and strap you up with some ab belts, a few muscle-toning pads and put you to sleep on a weight-loss vibration plate.

In 3 weeks, and not a day less or more, you will be an absolute adonis, in perfect health, with full control over your hunger pangs and an unimaginable level of physical strength that would make Batman weep and Superman jealous.

OMG TAKE MY MONEY!!

fitmomhappymom

Now I eat intuitively, and I eat when hungry and stop when full.

This is what I am talking about. Eating healthy and INTUITIVELY. NOW someone is getting it, finally!!! :-)

Geez, what have people been doing for thousands of years without the tools on this forum?... and the suckers were rarely, if ever, overweight.

I want to eat just like they were - intuitively, when hungry, stopping when decently full, NOT logging, and NOT putting on weight.
Too much to ask?

LOL

chandanista

Recipe entry...calorie counting...heck, tying shoelaces...

5ftnFun

Recipe entry...calorie counting...heck, tying shoelaces...

:laugh: In the time that the OP followed this thread, she could've logged in her food for a week.

Fullsterkur_woman

Much easier to curse the darkness.

_HeartsOnFire_

It is hard for me to keep a food journal because I eat a variety of foods and I just simply don't have time to record.

That line right there is wrong in every way.

We ALL eat a variety of food. We are all busy living lives and have other things to do, but we make our health a priority.

Not trying to be mean, just honest. So I'm just gonna say it. Plain and simple. You don't want it bad enough. Done.

Macstraw

It's probably harder for some than for others, and who knows what would happen if you started logging, or raised calories as some have suggested, but if it were me I would just continue doing what has already been working for you, and resign myself to the fact that yes, it's going to be difficult the whole time. Most things in life that are worth having are hard work. Maintaining my weight is hard for me too, I'm in the same boat as you are where I never eat till I'm totally full and pass up many things that would taste good because if I eat them, I'll probably gain weight. If I have a day where I slip up, usually I'm up 2 lbs the next day (which is usually water weight and goes away pretty quick if I get back on track). Sometimes I wish it were easier, but mostly I welcome the challenge.

You probably nailed it here. Thank you for bringing me back to reality.

So the advice you do want to listen to is "keep doing exactly what you've been doing," even though the vast majority of feedback you've gotten suggests that you need to rethink your approach, and you yourself cannot stand what you're doing after experiencing it only a relatively short time?

The best advice I can give you doesn't have to do anything with diet, exercise, or calorie counting.

I believe you would greatly benefit from openly listening to people's feedback and thoughtfully considering it for a while without immediately arguing why it won't work for you.

Cultivating a little patience would go a long way.

If you can't do that, I think you are going to struggle greatly in achieving and maintaining additional progress, because you are setting some very big and unnecessary obstacles in your own way. It doesn't have to be like this.

I think you hit the nail on the head. I think that's exactly what she wants - a whole slew of responses telling her what she's doing is right. I don't know if it's justification to herself or somebody else, but if she got those responses she wouldn't have to put in the work & could just wonder why nothing works for her.....

hookilau

OP; pardon me for saying so, but you seem a bit resentful about the work that goes into losing weight.
It's work when you haven't found the right method for you.

I would suggest you keep looking for alternatives to counting calories since it's not something you seem to be keen on.

Something like Weight Watchers maybe?...Vegetarianism?....Veganism?.....Fruitarian?......Flexitarian?
There are tons of ways to lose weight but if counting calories isn't for you (it's not for me either, I don't do it) then it behooves you to find another method or adjust your idea of success.

Somehow though, I have a gut feeling that you're just not ready yet. :ohwell:
ETA: maybe start some research online or at the library in the meantime to learn a bit more about different methods.
There's also 'intuitive eating' too....

HappyStack

OMG TAKE MY MONEY!!

I'm setting up a website as we speak. I'll start you off with a low-low monthly payment of 39.99, and decrease it to 19.99 after a year for loyalty, but only if you buy my branded products.

I have pink sparkly nasal drips that do loop-de-loops like a crazy straw. It makes not eating fun!!

psych0kitty

It is hard for me to keep a food journal because I eat a variety of foods and I just simply don't have time to record. Plus it makes everything so obsessive and focused on weight loss that it messes me up, given that I do have an addictive peronality.

1. I eat a lot of different foods and manage to log them all.
2. For the first couple of weeks of logging, I was obsessed as well. It cleared itself up as it started to become routine.

Stop making excuses and do what successful people are telling you works.

Also, instantly gaining 2 lbs is water weight unless you ate an extra 7000 calories in one day.

Fullsterkur_woman

I have pink sparkly nasal drips that do loop-de-loops like a crazy straw. It makes not eating fun!!

But... I like *blue* sparklies! When is somebody going to find me a way that works for *ME*?!

hookilau

also - eating ethnic food is as terrible excuse to not log. I am Indian and i eat a lot of obscure foods that aren't in the database. The thing is, the ingredients ARE. So, you use the recipe builder to construct what you're eating.

Thank you for posting this! I am saving this, because I see it with alarming frequency. Like there's something magical about Indian food as compared to the rest of the world's cuisine. I mean, apart from being extra crazy delicious, of course!:laugh:

Yes. Trini gyal here and I just don't get why Indian food is such a mystery to folks when logging or building recipes

parmoute

I am just want to be a normal person.
Normal people have their bodies regulated, they eat until they are not hungry anymore, they don't gain any weight and they never log.

I read a lot about the CR method - namely, always eating a little below your level of saturation.
This is something that can be done by listening to your stomach and that does not need daily logging - which for me is incredibly taxing, time-wise.

Caveat: my friends would probably say I'm not a "normal" person, but here's my two cents anyway

When I give my body what it *needs* on a regular basis, most days that's enough food and at least I don't feel hungry. It took some getting used to, but you've been at this long enough to know your body isn't getting used to it. When I log, I eat for nutrition. I do spend a lot of time logging, partly because I'm trying to balance my macros, but partly because I'm trying to get as much food as possible out of my calories. If I eat according to my stomach, I gain weight -- after so many years of emotional eating, my stomach just doesn't seem to have my long-term health in mind

I'm also 5'7" but am only now down to 180 lbs, and my nutritionist still has me at 1750 calories per day (plus eating back exercise calories) with 30% from fat, 20% from protein and 50% from carbs (and I love my carbs, so when I'm emotional, that's hard to stick to!). I'm only losing weight at about 1 pound per week, but over 56 weeks later, I'm very pleased with the results.

I know there are some people who really find it hard to eat more, but if you're hungry all the time, then that should tell you something. It's definitely possible to eat clean, eat more and lose weight from where you're at, but as someone already pointed out, the less you have left to lose, the longer it takes to get there.

This is a great clean eating blog http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/ and I can usually build 500+ calorie meals from her recipes, especially once I add a salad or glass of milk to my meal. Eating more to lose weight takes a leap of faith, but a lot of people on here have done it with success. Have you searched the forums for some of their experiences? I seem to remember there being a thread of success stories at some point.

The point is, what do you want more: eating you can stick with for life to ultimately get you to a weight you're happy with, or to be hungry all the time but skinny? It sounds like that's the decision your frustration has brought you to, and I think once you answer that question truthfully, you'll know what to do next.