I’m trying and trying and nada

kt9pk2xwwc
kt9pk2xwwc Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I don’t understand. 9 months of counting, weighing and NEVER cheating. I eat the same thing every day and never eat anything else. It works out to be 1224 calories exactly. I walk an average of 66km a week that includes rock climbing, hills and jogging. I mow and do a lot of gardening and have a physical job. Despite all this I’m unable to shed a single gram and it’s been 9 months. I tried eating more as my PT suggested and now I weigh an extra kg more that I can’t remove. It’s really upsetting. I watch my macros. I do everything I should. My TDEE is Approx 1600-2200 depending on activity levels that day. I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong? The only thing I can think of that’s changed is I started a progesterone only pill six months ago. Surely that wouldn’t cause this? Help!
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Replies

  • xxzenabxx
    xxzenabxx Posts: 948 Member
    Your metabolism may have adapted to lower calories. Your body is a homeostasis machine so if you keep under fuelling it then it will have to lower energy expenditure to match up to that. Imagine if there was a famine and your body continued to burn loads of calories at the same rate…you would die so quickly. But it doesn’t do that. Instead it slows down metabolic processes, thyroid hormones, hair begins to fall out, muscle loss, cold hands and feet and many more adaptations occur just to keep you alive! I’ve been through this and it’s not pretty at all. Please please listen to your PT and eat more. That 1kg is just water/glycogen weight- it’s nothing to freak out about. How much weight have you got to lose and how tall are you and how much do you weigh?
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    You say you've been counting for 9 months, but your profile is brand new and we'd need your stats and information from your food diary to help. If you've got more information post back.
  • IAmTheGlue
    IAmTheGlue Posts: 701 Member
    Are you weighing your food using a gram scale?
  • kt9pk2xwwc
    kt9pk2xwwc Posts: 6 Member
    I just got this app but have been counting with my PT using a gram scale.
  • kt9pk2xwwc
    kt9pk2xwwc Posts: 6 Member
    I’m definitely in a deficit. 1224 every. Single. Day. I never faulter. I never cheat. I never change the foods I eat. I always weigh.
    I didn’t think your body got used to lower calories but if so you could be into something. However, I put that kg on months ago (eating at 1400 for a two weeks) and it’s still not off even after I went back to my 1224. I’m just maintaining. I do have a thyroid nodule that appears cancerous and I need more biopsies done but they tested my levels and everything seemed normal. They did full blood work and I had low bicarbonate or something but otherwise I was ok.
    I just don’t know what to do.
    I’m 163cm and 80kg. I walk 12-15km a day on rough, hilly terrain plus lead an active lifestyle most days. Some days it’s just a 7km walk around town if I’ve got a lot on.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    edited October 2022
    I think the posts above cover the obvious...but eating the same thing every day can't be a good thing, either. I eat on average 25-30 different types of just fruits and vegetables every week. Many different protein sources. Several varieties of grains. Several types of nuts and legumes. Five or more different types of oils. Dairy, eggs.
    I get a lot of variety because there are different nutrients in each of those different foods and I believe weight is tied to nutrition to a certain degree, not to mention the joy of life. If for no other reason than sheer boredom and frustration why don't you branch out a bit in your nutrition?

    I hope you get your thyroid sorted. That must be stressful. Stress is another thing to consider when attempting weight loss...
  • kt9pk2xwwc
    kt9pk2xwwc Posts: 6 Member
    Even if my calories are 400 out they’re still 200 beneath my lowest TDEE.
    Thanks but I have many intolerances and food aversions. I take vitamins so I don’t miss out on anything. I don’t like food. I don’t enjoy eating. It’s just something I have to do to stay alive. I don’t like how it feels. It’s a sensory issue. It’s not pleasant for me.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Got it on the food aversion. :)

    200 calories under TDEE would lead to less than a half pound per week weight loss. That would be IF YOU are logging every single thing accurately and IF your TDEE is actually calculated correctly - which, it likely isn't since you have lost nothing. It feels to me like you're not being truthful somewhere (maybe not purposely, but still.)

    To be fair, I've logged food with a digital food scale for about 14 years and I know for an absolute FACT that I make at least 200 calories per day in errors due to the vague quality of food prep, and varying daily activity level.

    Good luck.

  • kt9pk2xwwc
    kt9pk2xwwc Posts: 6 Member
    edited October 2022
    I’m being completely truthful! What’s the point of lying of omitting stuff if I want to see change. I do yard work so when I’m not climbing mountains I’m mowing lawns, cutting down and hand hauling trees, digging trenches and gardens. My PT worked out that my TDEE is between 1800-2300 conservatively. I just don’t know what to do. I could cut back even more and see if that works I suppose.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,986 Member
    So I don't think we'll be able to resolve this here without hard data.
    Can I suggest you log here for about a week, then open your diary and we'll have a look to see if something is off. One of the commonly wrong things, next to not logging oils, condiments and drinks correctly is simply poor calorie data. Like you eat an avocado and find a certain calorie amount which is incorrect and the right database entry would be much higher.

    Also one thing to consider: over what period of time did you gain the weight, and what happened once you reached 80kg? Did the weight stay approximately the same? If so then you found your maintenance calories for that weight. All you need to do is eat less than that.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,027 Member
    What are your stats? Height, weight, age?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • musicfan68
    musicfan68 Posts: 1,143 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    kt9pk2xwwc wrote: »
    I’m being completely truthful! What’s the point of lying of omitting stuff if I want to see change. I do yard work so when I’m not climbing mountains I’m mowing lawns, cutting down and hand hauling trees, digging trenches and gardens. My PT worked out that my TDEE is between 1800-2300 conservatively. I just don’t know what to do. I could cut back even more and see if that works I suppose.

    With that amount of activity, there is NO WAY you would not be losing weight at 1200 calories per day, so you've got your logging to blame, then. Unless you're yanking our chain, which I'm starting to suspect.

    Only other explanation would be some weird metabolic disorder, see a doctor.

    I agree. Something is very off. If you are doing as much activity as you say and you are only eating 1200 calories, you should feel very tired, light headed, etc. I'm shorter than you and I can't function on 1200 calories, and I don't do nearly the amount of activity you do.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    What are your stats? Height, weight, age?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    This. How much are you trying to lose?
  • kt9pk2xwwc
    kt9pk2xwwc Posts: 6 Member
    edited October 2022
    I’m not lying if that’s what you mean by yanking a chain. I came here for help but I’m getting none just like in real life. I’ve had my bloods checked for this very reason because I wanted to work out if something was wrong, I’ve called my PT crying my heart out because I don’t understand it. I’m trying SO HARD but nothing changes. I’m done here. I can’t handle being accused of lying when I’m just asking for help. Thanks to those who tried. I log oils, sauces, drinks, everything.I guess I’ll just be what I am. Thanks anyway.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,304 Member
    People have tried to suggest ways in which you could be mistaken in your counting - and have done so extremely tactfully.
    Unfortunately you have taken that as personal accusations, rather than an attempt to get to the bottom of things.

    We really cant help any more without hard data- say, a week of logging in MFP and then open your diary.
    No good asking for help if you are not willing to provide that.

    You can see a doctor to rule out medical issues - but it seems unlikely to be medical cause. Other than fluid retention weight gain, which would only happen if you had severe renal or cardiac failure, which you obviously don't if you manage the type of physical activities you describe, then what medical cause could there be?

    Or see a registered dietician - not a PT, this is clearly out of their scope of practice - but he/she will also want the sort of hard data we do, to make any meaningful conclusions.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,617 Member
    It may totally not apply in this case, but threads of this nature do bring this to mind:

    https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels

    That may be over-dramatic in common cases like OP's, but similar things can apply in less extreme scenarios, in a lower-key way.

    Unlike some others who've posted, I do suspect that it's possible to see a scale stall via under-eating, from a conspiracy of adaptive thermogenesis and stress-related water retention.

    If OP is still reading, options might be at least 2-4 weeks at calculator-estimated maintenance calories, prioritizing balanced nutrition but increasing healthy carbs (expecting the scale to go wild); or maybe (as an alternative) increasing calories by 100 daily, waiting a couple of weeks, increasing another hundred, etc. - hanging in for 6 weeks or so at least.

    Yes, that might not work. One might gain. It's a potential set of experiments. Could go badly. Yup.
  • avatiach
    avatiach Posts: 307 Member
    I like @AnnPT77 's framing of trying something different as an experiment.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,027 Member
    snowflake954 wrote: »
    OP is probably gone, but there is something useful to be learned here. OP has a PT. Doesn't say for how long, although says there's been no weight loss for 9 months. What does your PT say? You're paying this person to get results. Your PT has the data needed to resolve your problem---we don't. Reread your 1st post and pretend it's someone else. What advice would you give?

    So, OP, grill your PT and if you aren't getting results, find a new one.

    Also find it strange that the OP has food allergies and hates to eat. We had another poster like that that popped up every now and again. That poster was also overweight, couldn't lose, but hated food.
    Most PT's have minimal knowledge of nutrition and eating for balance. Most of what they learn is from gym broscience.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • serpentegena
    serpentegena Posts: 43 Member
    Based on simple logic, your body is likely in starvation mode. You aren't getting enough food for basic physical processes! If you are jogging and rock-climbing, activities I also do, you need a heck of a lot more than 1224 calories a day!! You are probably losing muscle mass, and that further slows your metabolism. This is really bad. You need to start eating more a day, and forget about "losing" weight for now. Start gaining muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. Expect gaining some weight, but start by getting healthier, not lighter on the scale. Then (maybe in a few months) you can refocus on losing fat.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    serpentegena wrote: »
    Based on simple logic, your body is likely in starvation mode. You aren't getting enough food for basic physical processes! If you are jogging and rock-climbing, activities I also do, you need a heck of a lot more than 1224 calories a day!! You are probably losing muscle mass, and that further slows your metabolism. This is really bad. You need to start eating more a day, and forget about "losing" weight for now. Start gaining muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. Expect gaining some weight, but start by getting healthier, not lighter on the scale. Then (maybe in a few months) you can refocus on losing fat.

    Please read this on starvation mode:

    https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/
  • BartBVanBockstaele
    BartBVanBockstaele Posts: 623 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Most PT's have minimal knowledge of nutrition and eating for balance. Most of what they learn is from gym broscience.
    Indeed. All of us have to learn that we should not seek information where it is almost guaranteed to be absent. Go to a real doctor first, a dietitian second, not the other way around and not elsewhere.

    MFP may provide some useful tools and may be good for motivation, but due to its (very understandable) rules and interpretation thereof, it is intentionally unable to provide complete and completely objective information.

    It has been made clear to me that I am not allowed to share my precise information, so I won't. I can say that after essentially stagnating for 2 years I am now losing weight again. Very slowly, but I am. A doctor is your best bet. In preparation, take a cold, hard and thorough look at *everything* you do and record it. Be brutally honest. Hiding or embellishing information is only going to sabotage you. Remember, this is about you, not about pleasing or impressing someone else.

    And keep in mind that everyone can lose weight. It is impossible not to lose weight when doing what is required and what is required is reducing your energy intake to below your energy needs. If you do, you *will* lose weight. What is required may be too much of a price to pay, but that is something you have to figure out for yourself with the help of a real doctor, not some random exercise "expert" (whatever that means) who most likely got her/his information from the back of a cornflakes box or some "natural therapist".

  • BartBVanBockstaele
    BartBVanBockstaele Posts: 623 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Unlike some others who've posted, I do suspect that it's possible to see a scale stall via under-eating, from a conspiracy of adaptive thermogenesis and stress-related water retention.
    Indeed, but only for a very short time. We should never forget the following structure of science:

    Physics > chemistry > biochemistry > biology > medecine

    What that means is that medicine is ultimately subject to the laws of physics. It is arguably more complicated but not outside of it. The impossibility to lose weight is an illusion. Despite the fact that it is incredibly simple to disprove that statement, it has *never* been done. Such is the nature of reality.

    Water retention may seemingly make things more difficult, but think of it: if it were really so that it could stall weight loss indefinitely, that would mean we would gradually turn into ever more fragile balloons that ultimately explode and send us into oblivion. I am unaware of such a case having been observed, not even in the most extreme cases of elephanthiasis. That does not mean it does not exist, only that it is so rare that we are unlikely to live long enough to ever be confronted with such a case.

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