I don't know what to do anymore

Nina76

Hello there,

I'm 37, 158 cm short and 85 kg heavy. I know how I got there but I don't know how to get out. I work FIFO and only have limited choices but for the past 4 weeks this is what I ate:
Breakfast: 1 cup of natural yoghurt, 1/2 cup Oats, Latte with trim milk, no sugar
Snacks: 2 pieces of fresh fruit
Lunch: 2 cups of mixed salad with protein (e.g. Ham, tuna, cheese, egg)
And once a week I had dinner: grilled fish and veggies

Exercise wise I went interval jogging every 2nd day (6km) and did gym exercises the other day.

I feel good, not hungry but I feel bloated all the time. And I have not lost a gram! I actually put 1 kg on - how can that be?

I really don't know what to do anymore. I don't eat too little, I don't eat too much, why, why, why???

I'm thinking of surgery but not sure what could help me to loose those 30 kg? I am so depressed, you cannot imagine. I really don't know what to do anymore.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Open your diary please.

LizN63

Can I just clarify - you only ate dinner once a week?

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

?

miked7344

That does seem like a small amount of food. Have you lost weight prior to these 4 weeks. May be that you just hit a plateau which is common and just have to bust through.

mariecurie88

I'm 31, and I've been struggling with bloating for 1.5 years. I found my body developed a nasty intolerance to refined carbs. It's not a gluten allergy. It's that I literally (like milk) cannot have too much or I retain water horribly for days. I can gain about 5-10lbs of water weight if I don't watch myself. Never in my life have I had this issue, and I cannot seem to lose weight at all with the issue. I very recently started to pull out refined carbs and now the bloating is down, but my body is still struggling to drop the pounds.

You may have to do an elimination diet to see what is causing the bloating. I did find that adding digestive enzymes (vegan for me) helped, as did incorporating apple cider vinegar.

I wish you luck. Trust me, I know how utterly frustrating it can be, and before I started to figure out my trigger I had to pack to sets of clothes (bloated and non-bloated) just to make it through the day. Even my shoes got to tight!

mel_2812

I think that for the amount of exercise you are doing, you are not eating enough.

Dinner once a week? You need to have dinner every day!

pootle1972

sounds very light calorie wise.

HeinekenMan

Unless you are logged your meals and unless you open your diary, there's really not much advice that anyone can offer. You made it sound like you've been skipping dinner six days a week and are eating salads with no dressing, cheese or salad toppings.

TavistockToad

And once a week I had dinner: grilled fish and veggies

er, what?

FourIsCompany

It sounds like you're eating too little. Have you been tracking your food? How many calories per day are you eating? Are you drinking 8 glasses of water per day? Eating too little can definitely cause you to not lose weight.

At 5'2" and 187 lbs, you should be eating 1300 to 1600 calories a day... You're eating about 500-700 a day by what your post says. That's your problem.

I agree with the person who suggested that bloating may be from a food intolerance.

Nina76

Thanks for all your replies. I have to figure out how to open the diary but I have been writing it in a book for a while now as I don't have access to MFP during the day. I will transfer what I've eaten.

At my heaviest I was 87 kg, so I lost a little but now whatever I do - nothing.

I try to cut out processed foods as much as possible. Yes, I've been eating salads with a little cheese and either an egg or tuna or ham or chicken - no dressing. No dinner for 6 days. I only eat dinner one day a week.

I will log what I eat every day from now on. Any suggestions are really appreciated, this is driving me insane!

Thank you!

brucekatestorm

Speak to your doctor or a nutritionist. Ask them how to do it. If you don't eat enough your metabolism slows down to a point it's harder to lose weight. You have to keep your metabolism up in order to help you lose weight. Your body goes into starvation mode and slows down. Eat, but eat sensible, and watch what you eat and more importantly how much you eat. Losing weight is difficult, and people who don't have that problem don't understand how difficult it can be. Find friends that are trying to lose weight as well, they can help your through the tough times. It's nice to have a supporter to help you through it. Stay strong. Best of luck.

sjcook23

You need to open your food diary, so we can really see what's going on.

Weight loss is simple - for every 3500 cals you are under your calorie requirement, you will lose 1 lb. You can achieve the 3500 cals by eating less than your base metobolic rate calories or you can exercise and burn calories to get to the 3500 cal deficit.

If you do this consistently, by the 3rd week you will see a loss. It's important to not go over the salt limit, as this will cause you to gain water weight. It's important to drink 8 cups of water to keep things moving and not cause your body to water horde.

The bloating could be from lactose intolerance. you may want to try soy, rice, almond milk. Dairy substitutes.

If you eat too few calories, your body will go into starvation mode and start storing every calorie you eat. You have to find the right balance for your body.

I'm currently eating 700 cals below my BMR 1825 and that earns me 1.5 lbs loss a week (if I stick to the plan I do light exercise - walk 2-3 miles every other day, so I don't spark hunger, cause when I exercise a lot, I eat a lot.

If you don't see results by the third week of not starving yourself, but finding the right balance, then see a doctor.

acogg

Weight loss is a slow process. Just keep eating healthy and under, eventually you will lose weight. If you eat fewer calories than your body burns, your body will not have a choice.

nicsalt

Um, please start eating dinner every day.

TavistockToad

Thanks for all your replies. I have to figure out how to open the diary but I have been writing it in a book for a while now as I don't have access to MFP during the day. I will transfer what I've eaten.

At my heaviest I was 87 kg, so I lost a little but now whatever I do - nothing.

I try to cut out processed foods as much as possible. Yes, I've been eating salads with a little cheese and either an egg or tuna or ham or chicken - no dressing. No dinner for 6 days. I only eat dinner one day a week.

I will log what I eat every day from now on. Any suggestions are really appreciated, this is driving me insane!

Thank you!

why dont you try following MFPs calorie goal?

starving yourself obviously isnt working, so why not try something else?!

TeaBea

Thanks for all your replies. I have to figure out how to open the diary but I have been writing it in a book for a while now as I don't have access to MFP during the day. I will transfer what I've eaten.

At my heaviest I was 87 kg, so I lost a little but now whatever I do - nothing.

I try to cut out processed foods as much as possible. Yes, I've been eating salads with a little cheese and either an egg or tuna or ham or chicken - no dressing. No dinner for 6 days. I only eat dinner one day a week.

I will log what I eat every day from now on. Any suggestions are really appreciated, this is driving me insane!

Thank you!

why dont you try following MFPs calorie goal?

starving yourself obviously isnt working, so why not try something else?!

This^

MFP will give you a much more reasonable daily calorie limit. Plug your stats into MFP and see what they suggest. When you try to lose weight to fast, you weight loss stalls. This is not sustainable and is very hard on your organs.

Your BMR (basal metabolic rate) is 1,494 calories...... these are the calories your body requires everyday for basic function .....lungs, heart, kidneys, etc. ....... this does not include ANY activity, let alone a workout.

http://www.bmrcalculator.org/

SLLRunner

Nina,

I've been where you are, but it's not healthy. You need to eat your three meals a day, plus snacks if you can tolerate it (some people are not snack people). From what you write, it sounds like you are starving yourself and your body is rebelling by not losing any weight.

I love MFP because it's my accountability factor: log everything in and I know exactly where I stand each day. I am learning to make better choices with both food and exercise.

As for bloating, I agree with others to say to look at food intolerance because it can cause a lot of problems. I've known I'm lactose intolerant for years, so I started drinking soy milk. I did an elimination diet earlier this year andI learned I was soy intolerant and caffeine intolerant. I had a whole slew of symptoms but the doctor could not figure out what was going on. I read a book on food intolerance and went from there.

I am also sugar sensitive, so I need to be careful about sugar intake as well.

If you log in your food and use a pedometer when you exercise (you can get them for your iphone or ipod), you will know how much you eat, have a fair estimate of what you burn, and you will see that you need to each much more in order to lose weight.

Good luck!

IronMan_DuhamNC

Check out my blog on how to get started correctly

A_Warrior_Princess

Sounds like your not eating enough for the exercise. Did you check to see what your BMR is? There are a lot of calculators that you can search and find out the basic amount of calories that your body needs just to support your organs and other functions. It doesn't sound like you are eating enough to do that and therefore you won't lose any weight. Hope this helps!

james6998

sounds very light calorie wise.

This is your problem.

_HeartsOnFire_

Why in the world are you only eating dinner 1 day a week?!?! Are you worried about the time of day you eat - because that's a myth. It doesn't matter what time you eat your food, if you are at a calorie deficit (healthy one) then you will lose weight.

I agree, I do not think you are eating enough at all. You need to eat above your BMR and below your TDEE.

I eat 3 meals a day and sometimes 1-2 snacks a day. I'm eating 1688 calories a day. I'm losing weight. You need to fuel your body properly if you want to lose weight. Your body needs 1200 calories to continue to function properly. If you eat only 1200 and burn say 300 calories a workout then you are only giving your body 900 calories to function. You need to eat those 300 back. It will still be at a deficit.

beachlover317

Meet your calorie goal each day. You can have one huge meal or 12 small meals - but meet your calorie goal EVERY day.

Learn what your BMR, TDEE & TDEG are and then use them to eat at a % deficit from the TDEE. (tons of calculators on line)

Log every bite that goes in your mouth. Everything. Don't guess - we always underestimate.

Weigh/measure everything you eat. Everything. Don't guess - we always underestimate.

Use a tape measure and camera to log your progress. Don't just rely on a scale.

Find something you love to do (lift, run, walk, etc.) and then do it every day. Use a HRM because we always overestimate.

Good luck.

Nina76

I will try and track my food on here from now on. But I honestly don't believe I'm not eating enough. Last year I signed up to a program eating 1200 kcal a day and having the support of a nutritionalist. After 9 months, I still haven't lost anything.

Most of the time I'm not hungry, I've got cravings but I'm not hungry. As I said I work away from home, so I can't cook for myself and I don't know how the food has been prepared. Therefore it's hard to guess how many kcal something has. Also when you go to the buffet, I takes a lot of willpower not to eat anything else but veggies. Therefore I don't go for dinner at all. It's different when I'm home. But unfortunately we travel a lot and therefore eat out a lot. But I thought if I get into a good routine will at work, it will help me to keep it up at home. Well, not working so far...

I honestly don't know what it is, I think I still eat too much and exercise too little but there's only so many hours in the day. I'm just at a loss and whenever I do go and see someone, they tell a different story what I should and shouldn't been eating.

I thank you for all your replies!

Nina76

Check out my blog on how to get started correctly

Where do I find your blog???

wilsoje74

I will try and track my food on here from now on. But I honestly don't believe I'm not eating enough. Last year I signed up to a program eating 1200 kcal a day and having the support of a nutritionalist. After 9 months, I still haven't lost anything.

Most of the time I'm not hungry, I've got cravings but I'm not hungry. As I said I work away from home, so I can't cook for myself and I don't know how the food has been prepared. Therefore it's hard to guess how many kcal something has. Also when you go to the buffet, I takes a lot of willpower not to eat anything else but veggies. Therefore I don't go for dinner at all. It's different when I'm home. But unfortunately we travel a lot and therefore eat out a lot. But I thought if I get into a good routine will at work, it will help me to keep it up at home. Well, not working so far...

I honestly don't know what it is, I think I still eat too much and exercise too little but there's only so many hours in the day. I'm just at a loss and whenever I do go and see someone, they tell a different story what I should and shouldn't been eating.

I thank you for all your replies!

I don't see how you could eat less. Take the advice you are getting and eat dinner. You are eating less than 1000 cal per day from what it sounds like, and how is that working????

thesifter

Start tracking accurately, open your diary , people are FULL of advice on here , but they need more than anecdotal evidence, good luck with your journey

LeelaLosing

Um, please start eating dinner every day.

Yes, this! You need to make sure you are eating 1100-1300 a day, seriously. I can't remember your height, if you're above 5'2" then at least 1200-1300

Unknown

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bb1266

I can see everyone's being really helpful.

Food intolerance is a good idea.

Also, fiber and water intake. Are you constipated? (legitimate question) because that adds weight on too. Drinking enough water is important.

Like others say, you may be eating too little, but definitely use BMR calculators to determine that. You might have put yourself into starvation mode or caused high stress for your body, which is what comes of extreme diets over long periods of time. Get yourself to where you're healthy and happy and active, and don't be afraid to eat, because you're burning calories every day and all you need is a deficit and a healthy system.