Need advice as to why I’m not losing
Rowdib
Posts: 11 Member
Hi all! After a failed weight loss surgery many years ago and the recent removal of the device, my doctor put me on a medical weight loss program. This has entailed a medication and the “Lean Green Protein “ diet as he calls it. The first week I lost 4.5 pounds. The second week I gained a pound and a half! I have not eaten any pasta, only two slices of bread, no sodas, no fruit whatsoever. I’m not even eating all my calories every day because I’m just not feeling hungry at all. My step tracker is not accurate as I don’t always carry my phone with me when I’m out but I am walking a little. Trying to as much as I can. My legs swell up when I’m on them for extended periods of time, one of the reasons I want to drop this weight. Any suggestions for me?? I weigh in again in the morning and I’m not feeling very optimistic. Help!
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Replies
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How many calories per day is your doctor’s plan? How are you measuring your calories?
Don’t be too down heartened though, you’ve lost 3lbs in 2 weeks, fluctuations are normal and you’ve moved in the right direction. It’s very early days!
How much do you have to lose? We can offer much better advice is we have a better idea of your personal stats etc.10 -
My doctor didn’t really give me a set calorie goal, but I set mine at 1320. I’m lucky if I eat half that per day. I’m just not hungry. I’d like to lose 100 pounds ultimately. I’m reading the labels on everything I eat and cook. When I cook something I create the recipe in this app and it tells me how many calories etc it has. I’ve made a few great recipes so far! I love to cook. I just hope tomorrow’s weigh in goes better. And maybe I just retained water from my cycle or something.2
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ItIt's simple math. You eat more than you burn. There is no rocket science about it. You need to make sure you include EVERYTHING when recording your calories. Also the ones you drink. And then a simple tip. Move more.
Yes it is that simple....8 -
And one more thing. Skip the weight everyday... Only once a week. Because you well experience fluctuations in weight over a week. Weigh yourself at the same time each week. Morning is a good time. And then keep going
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My doctor didn’t really give me a set calorie goal, but I set mine at 1320. I’m lucky if I eat half that per day. I’m just not hungry. I’d like to lose 100 pounds ultimately. I’m reading the labels on everything I eat and cook. When I cook something I create the recipe in this app and it tells me how many calories etc it has. I’ve made a few great recipes so far! I love to cook. I just hope tomorrow’s weigh in goes better. And maybe I just retained water from my cycle or something.
Water weight fluctuates from day to day, sometimes it can be a lot. Causes of fluctuation include: sodium intake, TOM, exercise, and just because it's a full moon on a Tuesday (well, maybe not that one, but seems like it some days). You are seriously under eating and putting your health at risk. Everyone wants the weight off yesterday, but this is a long game, and you need to have some patience and get to the end as healthy as possible while setting yourself up with new habits that will keep you there a lifetime. I suggest entering your information into MFP and let the site set up your calorie goal. I'm sure it will be more than 1320, and that's okay.
I do weigh in daily when I am actively working on losing weight. I also use a weight trending app. Libra for android, but there is also HappyScale for iPhone, and Trendweight if you want to log weight through FitBit (you can get a free account with them without having a tracker). It will help smooth out those fluctuations and make them seem a little less daunting. I like more data and the trending app helps with the emotional aspects of the ups and downs on the scale, but that doesn't work for everyone.11 -
I’m only weighing myself once a week on Sunday morning because I just can’t do it every day. I’d go nuts! I really try to eat more but I just am not hungry. The day will pass and l look at the clock and I’ll be like oh, I’m supposed to eat. I wish I could eat cereal cuz I could probably get some down more often. I like shredded wheat. But doc says no. And I do log everything I eat AND drink. There’s no point to cheating. Thank you for the tips every one!1
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Cyberbartender wrote: »ItIt's simple math. You eat more than you burn. There is no rocket science about it. You need to make sure you include EVERYTHING when recording your calories. Also the ones you drink. And then a simple tip. Move more.
Yes it is that simple....Cyberbartender wrote: »And one more thing. Skip the weight everyday... Only once a week. Because you well experience fluctuations in weight over a week. Weigh yourself at the same time each week. Morning is a good time. And then keep going
So in one post you say that it HAS to be that OP is eating more than they burn, and in the next you note that weight fluctuates from day to day. Contradictory much?
No, it's not always as black and white as eating too much causing weight gain, especially if it's a one off reading.
You also don't actually need to exercise for weight loss (though obviously exercise for health and fitness is a good thing). OP said they are walking. You do realise for someone very overweight and unused to exercising that they need to build that up, right?
And there is absolutely noting wrong with weighing every day, so long as you understand fluctuations and aren't going to get thrown by them. I, and many other people here, weigh every day.20 -
I’m only weighing myself once a week on Sunday morning because I just can’t do it every day. I’d go nuts! I really try to eat more but I just am not hungry. The day will pass and l look at the clock and I’ll be like oh, I’m supposed to eat. I wish I could eat cereal cuz I could probably get some down more often. I like shredded wheat. But doc says no. And I do log everything I eat AND drink. There’s no point to cheating. Thank you for the tips every one!
The main thing to realize about not weighing daily is that if you have an uptick the day of your weigh in, you won't know it. Which is fine, if that is what works best for you, just be aware that you might have very well lost weight and then had water retention happen yesterday and is influencing your weight today. I get that you aren't hungry, but you really do need to be getting an appropriate amount of calories/nutrition in. It is absolutely possible to be overweight and malnourished. This is a great read:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p18 -
Thank you for mentioning that you have to build up the exercise. I’m post-op two months, but spent nearly a month in bed with complications. Top that with my weight and I am seriously out of shape. I’m doing the best I can though.19
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Change your mindset! You’re not ‘not losing’! You’ve lost 3lb in two weeks, that’s great! Please don’t be dispirited by just one weigh in. You need to be in this for the long game and have patience. Especially as you say it’s a while before your mobility will be at a level that you can burn significant additional calories through purposeful exercise. Just hang on in there and keep eating on plan and moving as much and as often as you can, set yourself some non-scale goals to achieve - distances to walk or number of times per day to walk etc. You’re doing the right thing.16
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If you have not exercised much before, your body might be building healthier muscle tissue as you lose fat. This is really common when you start an exercise program, even walking. So even if the scale stays the same, you are still making progress. Don't get discouraged!1
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If you have not exercised much before, your body might be building healthier muscle tissue as you lose fat. This is really common when you start an exercise program, even walking. So even if the scale stays the same, you are still making progress. Don't get discouraged!
she's barely even able to walk. She's not "building muscle." Building muscle requires progressive resistance and EATING enough.
At 600-700 calories per day she's not building muscle, in fact her body is catabolizing it because she's starving.17 -
OP you're justifiably under a doctor's care after your surgery. You must do what he tells you. Therefore, the advice I'll give you is to weigh and measure everything carefully. Are you using a digital food scale? You have to have a precise idea of how much you're eating. Many come on and swear they're under eating and they are not. Others are under eating which is dangerous. Hence the food scale. You have gotten some great advice above from veteran posters, but there are a couple off-base. These have been called out. You are right to move as much as you can without pushing yourself. That will come as you get stronger. Be careful in this phase and wishing you good luck.7
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I too wonder about the 1320, but without knowing your stats, there is no way to tell where that is coming from. Is this doctor your primary care doctor or a bariatric doctor? In any case, since you aren't even getting to the 1320, you definitely are risking malnutrition.
You mention that your legs swell up, so I'm suspecting your problem is water weight gain from the fluid. Water weight easily can mask your successes, especially if you're retaining a couple of pounds of it. Have you talked to your doctor about your fluid retention? As all the other posters have hinted, patience is the key in this case; don't focus on the day to day numbers but pay attention to the overall trend, especially when large amounts of fluid retention is a factor. Also pay attention to how your clothes fit, those non-scale victories can also be an indicator of success when the scale isn't being agreeable.
I can tell you that depriving yourself of something that is not medically necessary can make the process so much harder and often is a recipe for failure. Some people do fine by cutting foods or food groups out, but others struggle, and if its a struggle, realize that its not necessary to do so; you can lose weight eating any macro-mix as long as you maintain a deficit. So if you really crave cereal, talk to your doctor about it and about the plan he has you on. You need to determine for yourself what plan is sustainable for you within the bounds of your health, but work to find a plan that is most sustainable and satisfying for you. I understand that some folks have medical issues that require them to abstain from certain foods, and I don't know your history, but I'd encourage talking to your doctor about it. If this doctor is a primary care physician, ask to be referred to a dietician. if you are working with a bariatric doctor, then the clinic should have one on staff.9 -
@Rowdib if you are eating well less than the 1300 calories it could simply be that your body is fighting "starvation mode" our bodies are programmed to store EVERYTHING we take in if food is scarce (think "caveman" theoretically). If your body feels you aren't getting enough calories it's going to store every ounce of fat and carbohydrates that you eat and it will do it's best to not release them...this could potentially be your issue. I have noted in my journey that as we do eat healthier and implement exercise that I am not hungry all the time, I would suggest meal planning; decide what you need everyday to meet your caloric goal and try to eat everything you plan for (naturally there is always a small variation. Example, this morning I planned for 3 boiled eggs, 4 slices low sodium turkey bacon and 2 slices whole wheat sugar free toast. It was everything I could do to take in 2 eggs, 3 bacon, and 1 slice toast. Keep in mind, previously I would eat 3 sausage biscuits smothered in butter less than 3 months ago; I will however put my food that I did not finish in the fridge and incorporate it into my snack after I exercise because I need the carbs and protein as I am working out 60-70 minutes 4-5 times per week now. Good luck and wish you well on your journey!!
Stay positive and stay the course and you will see results!1 -
@Rowdib if you are eating well less than the 1300 calories it could simply be that your body is fighting "starvation mode" our bodies are programmed to store EVERYTHING we take in if food is scarce (think "caveman" theoretically). If your body feels you aren't getting enough calories it's going to store every ounce of fat and carbohydrates that you eat and it will do it's best to not release them...this could potentially be your issue. I have noted in my journey that as we do eat healthier and implement exercise that I am not hungry all the time, I would suggest meal planning; decide what you need everyday to meet your caloric goal and try to eat everything you plan for (naturally there is always a small variation. Example, this morning I planned for 3 boiled eggs, 4 slices low sodium turkey bacon and 2 slices whole wheat sugar free toast. It was everything I could do to take in 2 eggs, 3 bacon, and 1 slice toast. Keep in mind, previously I would eat 3 sausage biscuits smothered in butter less than 3 months ago; I will however put my food that I did not finish in the fridge and incorporate it into my snack after I exercise because I need the carbs and protein as I am working out 60-70 minutes 4-5 times per week now. Good luck and wish you well on your journey!!
Stay positive and stay the course and you will see results!
I thought "starvation mode" had been long disproved as fable, just a consequence of people losing weight but not adjusting their calorie intake down or their exercise up to suit their smaller mass, and of course there is no such thing as a fat anorexic.
But in any case, even if it was a thing, two weeks of not eating much is hardly enough time for the body to panic.
Meanwhile, the real risk of eating too little for too long is that it can lead to binging which leads to yoyo-ing, so not a good tactic in any case.20 -
Thank you for mentioning that you have to build up the exercise. I’m post-op two months, but spent nearly a month in bed with complications. Top that with my weight and I am seriously out of shape. I’m doing the best I can though.
One final thought here. You mention being post op. Protein is so important for healing. There is no way you are getting enough while eating so low calorie. Please take better care of yourself.12 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »Thank you for mentioning that you have to build up the exercise. I’m post-op two months, but spent nearly a month in bed with complications. Top that with my weight and I am seriously out of shape. I’m doing the best I can though.
One final thought here. You mention being post op. Protein is so important for healing. There is no way you are getting enough while eating so low calorie. Please take better care of yourself.
It's not even just enough protein... it's enough calories. When a person is recovering from surgery, they want to increase their nutrition and calories so they can recover. Huge reductions in calories can impede the recovery process. It's one of the reason burn victims consume 5-6k calories a day.
Also should be noted that it's very very difficult to maintain a very low calorie diet and IIRC, their rebound rates are much higher than typical diets. So going with a more nutritious and slower rate, will help more in the long run. It will also help mitigate some water weight.10 -
You said your legs swell when you’re on your feet too long. That swelling is water. Water has weight. That’s why you gained last week. If you’re exercising MORE this week, it’s possible you’ll gain again. But WATER, not fat. The water will go away easily by itself.
You said you were glad someone mentioned you need to start slow and build on exercise.
How about starting slow and building on diet? Shredded wheat is not a bad food. It has nutrients. It also has calories. How about eating some, but not overeating it. What other healthy things did you eat before you started this diet? Maybe you can add some of them back in. What fruit and vegetables do you really like? A little fruit is good for you! It has vitamins in high quantities that vegetables do not.
If being on your feet is hard on your body but you want to exercise, google chair exercises.
Lift weights while sitting in a chair. Remember to start slow, then build. Start by doing the exercise with no weight, then add a little weight, not a lot.5 -
Thank you for mentioning that you have to build up the exercise. I’m post-op two months, but spent nearly a month in bed with complications. Top that with my weight and I am seriously out of shape. I’m doing the best I can though.
This caught my eye so let me tell you my story. I was in the hospital with severe anemia, so bad I had to sit in the shower and could only lift my arms about a minute at a time to wash my hair. After getting transfusions and a treatment plan for the cause, I started losing weight and exercising. At first, it was hard just to walk to the street to my mailbox but I did it every day. Then I walked to the neighbors drive, then the end of the block, then around the block, etc. until I could walk several miles. I also started doing other things like a water aerobics class and recreational stuff like kayaking.
I also started off slow with the food. I needed to lose 140 lb. (75 still to go) and I am a grazer so I started out by making sure I ate regular meals of mostly food I prepared myself. An egg with 1/2 english muffin for breakfast, sandwich yogurt and fruit for lunch, a salad and some kind of meat and veggie stew for dinner, and some kind of snack, usually yogurt, before bed. I did not count anything. 6 weeks and 20 lb lost later (I had a LOT of edema from the anemia so it was a lot of water weight loss) I found MFP. I plugged in my stats, set my activity to sedentary but logged exercise and ate back calories, set myself to lose 1 lb a week, and off I went. Originally I lost 130 lb. but regained some and am back to losing it again.
Trust the numbers and trust the process. One big thing I did not do and I wish I had was to work more on the WHY of my overeating. Perhaps I could have stopped myself sooner and not had to do this all over again.21 -
@freda78 my apologies if my information is incorrect, this was simply what we were taught in my nutrition class in nursing school (2015) and I haven't worked a great deal with weight loss nutrition since then as we don't often see many patients with limited calorie diets (specifically for weight management) unless they are following ADA, Dash, etc. and those patients typically follow a 1600 or 1800 calorie diet depending on their specific needs. I wasn't trying to give incorrect information providing that new studies may show different results. My intention was only one of attempting to assist this person. Again, my apologies, I did not mean to offend.10
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@freda78 my apologies if my information is incorrect, this was simply what we were taught in my nutrition class in nursing school (2015) and I haven't worked a great deal with weight loss nutrition since then as we don't often see many patients with limited calorie diets (specifically for weight management) unless they are following ADA, Dash, etc. and those patients typically follow a 1600 or 1800 calorie diet depending on their specific needs. I wasn't trying to give incorrect information providing that new studies may show different results. My intention was only one of attempting to assist this person. Again, my apologies, I did not mean to offend.
Please don't be upset. People on here are very into nutrition, dieting and the facts. Starvation mode is a click bait to attract people to an article or diet. If you're interested read up on "The Minnesota Experiment" when volunteers were starved after WWII for science. There's a lot to learn here and I've been following the boards for 7 years. There are very knowlegeable people, it's fun. Good luck to you and hope to see you on the boards in the future.6 -
@snowflake954 I'm not upset, thanks for your concern, just wanted to explain where my information came from; it was just what I was taught to be true at the time. Also, I think my wording in previous post wasn't the greatest (re:starvation mode), I was referencing the slow-down of metabolism, and cellular death from inadequate nutrition, etc. Granted, that information is now 5 years old, and I am confident that new studies change views on older theories. I started out on MFP in 2013 but it was a short lived experience. I have now been using MFP for about 2 weeks roughly and started using the forums about 10 days ago. I am brand-spanking new to exercise at age 30 (can you believe it?!?). I now know that I do have SOME knowledge in certain aspects of nutrition, but fitness is a foreign language to me. I just need to research new nutritional theories as I am researching the best options as far as fitness is concerned. I think I may hold off on chiming in for the time being, as I don't want to provide anyone with incorrect information. I want to be helpful, not harmful to someone's situation.
I will definitely read up on "The Minnesota Experiment", thanks for that!! Best Wishes!9 -
Thank you everyone. For some time before the removal of my lap band, all I was able to eat was ice cream and chips and dip. This went on for over two years because they were the only things that I could get to stay down. Hence the weight gain. I have not touched them since my surgery! Ick! While I had my lap band I craved chicken breast and vegetables. But every time I would try to eat them they would get stuck and I would throw up. This went on for years. Now I have dental problems because of acid erosion on my teeth. So I’m on a whole improve me kick and this where I started. I don’t have a digital scale but I do use measuring cups to measure my food. And the doctor I see is my family doctor but also specializes in weight loss. I did ask about fruit and he said it had too much natural sugar in it and he didn’t want me to eat it. I think this diet he had me on is to eliminate excess sugar it seems. No pasta, bread, tortillas, fruit, sodas. Having the lap band all these years and not being able to have those things anyway, I don’t crave them at all. So, I did my weekly weigh in this morning and it says I’m down 6 pounds for the week. I’m guessing a lot of water weight due to my cycle ending. I don’t really see it or feel it but I will trust the process and keep trucking. Thank you everyone. Raining today, might not walk the dogs today if it doesn’t let up.6
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So down 9 pounds in 3 weeks? Pretty fast weight loss.4
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Is three pounds a week really too much? I know much more probably wouldn’t be good.0
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The generally safe levels are 20% of TDEE, maybe 25% while obese. 0.5% to 1% of body weight per week. Usually the higher the initial weight the larger the loss per week that can be tolerated. Tolerable and tolerated does not mean optimal and best and healthiest rate for the individual.
First or second week losses are often different than the longer term trend. Weight trend over long enough time periods is what matters in the end. Not any subsets of one or two weeks.4 -
The generally safe levels are 20% of TDEE, maybe 25% while obese. 0.5% to 1% of body weight per week. Usually the higher the initial weight the larger the loss per week that can be tolerated. Tolerable and tolerated does not mean optimal and best and healthiest rate for the individual.
First or second week losses are often different than the longer term trend. Weight trend over long enough time periods is what matters in the end. Not any subsets of one or two weeks.
In the interest of "correctness" and even though I don't believe that fast a rate of loss to be a good idea for reasons other than body composition, an obese individual would probably tolerate 1.5% per week just as well from a favourable body composition results perspective as 1% per week.
Again, tolerate well (i.e. that you're not going to lose excess lean mass) does not mean optimal for a particular individual. In the end if 1.5% per week is hard and you end up derailed after a couple of months, you will lose way less than the person who only loses 0.5% a week... but keeps doing so for a year.2 -
The generally safe levels are 20% of TDEE, maybe 25% while obese. 0.5% to 1% of body weight per week. Usually the higher the initial weight the larger the loss per week that can be tolerated. Tolerable and tolerated does not mean optimal and best and healthiest rate for the individual.
First or second week losses are often different than the longer term trend. Weight trend over long enough time periods is what matters in the end. Not any subsets of one or two weeks.
In the interest of "correctness" and even though I don't believe that fast a rate of loss to be a good idea for reasons other than body composition, an obese individual would probably tolerate 1.5% per week just as well from a favourable body composition results perspective as 1% per week.
Again, tolerate well (i.e. that you're not going to lose excess lean mass) does not mean optimal for a particular individual. In the end if 1.5% per week is hard and you end up derailed after a couple of months, you will lose way less than the person who only loses 0.5% a week... but keeps doing so for a year.
...and she says she's eating about half of her 1350 Goal.
In no situation is that okay unless she is on a monitored IV supplemental medical program. Like in-patient.
@Rowdib please tell your medical team about your ultra low calories. It's dangerous.
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cmriverside wrote: »The generally safe levels are 20% of TDEE, maybe 25% while obese. 0.5% to 1% of body weight per week. Usually the higher the initial weight the larger the loss per week that can be tolerated. Tolerable and tolerated does not mean optimal and best and healthiest rate for the individual.
First or second week losses are often different than the longer term trend. Weight trend over long enough time periods is what matters in the end. Not any subsets of one or two weeks.
In the interest of "correctness" and even though I don't believe that fast a rate of loss to be a good idea for reasons other than body composition, an obese individual would probably tolerate 1.5% per week just as well from a favourable body composition results perspective as 1% per week.
Again, tolerate well (i.e. that you're not going to lose excess lean mass) does not mean optimal for a particular individual. In the end if 1.5% per week is hard and you end up derailed after a couple of months, you will lose way less than the person who only loses 0.5% a week... but keeps doing so for a year.
...and she says she's eating about half of her 1350 Goal.
In no situation is that okay unless she is on a monitored IV supplemental medical program. Like in-patient.
@Rowdib please tell your medical team about your ultra low calories. It's dangerous.
Missed that part. I wasn't concerned so much about the 3 lb a week because OP was coming off illness/bed rest and edema is very common in those circumstances, so losing a lot of water weight is typical. Eating dangerously few calories is not a good idea.
OP, I agree. Please speak to your medical team about how few calories you are eating.5
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