HELP! Low carb/low cal but no weight loss

editorgrrl

Your deficit is already worked in for you. And you shouldn't be trying to lose 5 lbs per week. That's not reasonable. Try changing your goal to 1-2 lbs per week. Losing weight takes time. You didn't gain it over night and you're not going to lose it without doing the work. Starving yourself isn't doing the work.

^^^This.

The Sexypants post should be required reading for all MFPers: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

MKEgal

This has gotten long, so I'll put it into several posts. Bear with me.

I don't really see any scenario in which it's healthy to not eat for days at a time, or consume less than 500 calories in a day. Is this diet based on a doctor's advice or anything like that?

This.
From your profile, you're not needing to lose a huge amount of weight (you're not morbidly obese), & it doesn't sound like your doc has actually put you on a very low calorie diet (VLCD), which is closely monitored, so if you're actually eating that little you're endangering yourself.

after three months of my low-no carbing, cutting out sugar, fried food, fast food, and eating way below my recommended caloric intake; usually under 500; I went to the doctor and had gained 10 pounds!

1 - If you're gaining weight, other than the water retention, you're taking in more calories than you're burning.
Could be not charting / measuring honestly, could be not knowing the composition of what you're eating, could be some unusual metabolic problem. See your doctor about the swelling feet, metabolism, and potential water weight gain, because other than TTOtM water retention in any appreciable amount isn't normal.
Here are a few reasons (2-page article) why you might have swollen feet: http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/swollen-ankles-and-feet

2 - Having less fried food and less food with simple sugars is good. The rest of this is not.
Your ticker shows you're currently 160 lb heading for 130 lb. So you currently need 1600 cal to maintain your weight. You'll need 1300 cal to maintain your goal weight, so start eating at 1300 cal and you'll slowly get there, probably 1/2 pound per week. (You need to cut 500 per day for 1 lb.) Don't go below 1200 cal unless monitored by a doctor!!!
At the end of the day if you've had your 1300 and are still hungry, eat 1/3 to 1/2 of what you've burned in exercise that day.
Also be sure that your goal weight is healthy for you. Here's a BMI chart: http://www.shapeup.org/bmi/bmi6.pdf

3 - You need carbs to run your body. That's the fuel. Eat good carbs - whole grains, vegetables, whole fruits (rarely juice) - and try to mostly avoid bad ones (simple sugars, white bread).
Without carbs, or once your glycogen is largely depleted, your body will use fat, which is good for weight loss but inefficient in terms of getting energy to burn. This is why endurance exercise (long-distance running, 45-60 min on a treadmill or elliptical, etc.) is better for burning fat. Also why exercising before breakfast burns more fat - you've been using carbs (glycogen) all night, so you're closer to burning fat.
After that, you burn protein for energy, and you don't want that because you need to keep muscle to stay strong & lose weight. In fact, you want to build muscle, because even at rest it uses several times the calories fat does.

4 - Did I mention not going below 1200 cal unless you're under the supervision of a doctor? Once you've ensured that you're measuring accurately & logging honestly, get your calories to at least 1200. Preferably do this with healthy foods (whole fruits & veggies, beans, lean proteins, whole grains).
This calculator will tell you not only your BMI, but how many servings of various foods to eat to maintain that weight.
If you enter your healthy goal weight from the BMI chart above, this will help you plan your food intake.
https://www.bcm.edu/research/centers/childrens-nutrition-research-center/healthyeatingcalculator/eatingCal.html

MKEgal

I weigh myself at home as often as I want but under the same controlled circumstances.
First thing in the morning after bathroom, wearing as few things as possible.
Weight loss has to do with eating less calories than your body burns.

Yes, this.
I do the same thing. Every morning it gets written on the calendar, and if I've gone down I record it here (otherwise MFP announces every time I lose the same blippin' couple of pounds I've been yo-yoing about for a week).

never thought I could be holding that much water weight. My feet were huge.
I just don't trust the home scales. I imagine the ones that are more accurate also cost a lot more.

See your doctor about the feet. That. Is. Not. Normal. Call today.

Here are some good scales, starting at $69 for a basic electronic home model:
http://www.affordablescales.com/weight-scales/digital-weight-scales/

or $145 for a mechanical one like used at the doctor's office:
http://www.affordablescales.com/medical-scales/physician-scales/

Here's a really accurate $127 one (0.1 lb) with 31-day memory, BMI calculator, and tells you how far from goal you are:
http://www.affordablescales.com/weight-scales/fitness-scales/

But honestly, I've been using a basic electronic one that I think was $15, maybe $20, at Aldi, and while it usually doesn't agree exactly with the doc's scale (for several reasons, including having eaten & dressed) it's giving me a good idea of where I am every day. I haven't gotten the body fat monitor to work, but I may be too fat, I don't know.

I'm wondering if the weight gain could be stress related?

Possibly, in that you could be eating worse, not accurately measuring, not accurately logging, and exercising less.

I got rid of my scale because I was getting on it everyday so now I may weigh-in every two week.

A bit extreme... if you don't want to weigh every day, then don't.
I do because I like the frequent measure of how I'm doing. Once I get near goal I'll go to once a week.
At least do it once a week, and record it (here, and on your wall calendar) so you can see where you are.

Also record your measurements, since you'll probably be losing inches even if you're not losing pounds - clothes fitting better is usually the best/first clue for this. If you're doing muscle-building exercises you could stay the same weight but lose inches 'cause you're building sleek muscle & losing puffy fat.

MKEgal

One last bit of easy advice - have half of your calories for breakfast, and most of what's left for lunch.

This study compared eating a small breakfast, medium lunch, and large dinner, [200, 500, 700 cal]
with eating a large breakfast, medium lunch, and small dinner [700, 500, 200 cal].

"The [large breakfast] group showed greater weight loss and waist circumference reduction ... fasting glucose, insulin [&] triglycerides ... decreased significantly to a greater extent in the [large breakfast] group."

In addition, hunger was less and satiety was greater.
Here's the summary: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23512957

Here's a PDF of the whole article.
http://genetics.doctorsonly.co.il/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Jakubowicz-at-al-Obesity-2013-oby20460.pdf

MKEgal

I'm drinking a little over 135 oz of water per day (7-8/16.9 oz bottles) Should I up that?

No, that sounds like plenty. Maybe even too much, but not to the excess that it'll screw up your body.

I thought I needed to cut what is recommended in half. FP tells me I need a net of 1390 calories to lose 5 lbs per week and reach my goal weight of 130. To me that means I should consume half or no more than 700. Isn't cutting what is recommended in half creating a deficit?

1 - Yes, it's creating a deficit, but so is the recommendation that MFP gives you.
2 - Losing 5 lb per week is neither realistic nor healthy, at least for someone as small as you. (Perhaps for someone in the 300+ lb range, maybe, possibly.) See below *
3 - Don't go under 1200 cal unless you're supervised by a doctor. At 160 you need 1600 cal to maintain that weight, so it's not healthy to cut even 500 cal & lose 1 lb per week, so you're going to be losing _s_l_o_w_l_y_.
4 - Ignore the "net" calories. Eat between 1200-1300 cal per day total & treat exercise as a bonus toward weight loss. (That's what my doctor told me, & I'm being successful.)

* "evidence shows that people who lose weight gradually and steadily (about 1-2 pounds per week) are more successful at keeping weight off ...
To lose weight, you must use up more calories than you take in. Since one pound equals 3,500 calories, you need to reduce your caloric intake by 500-1000 calories per day to lose about 1-2 pounds per week."
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/losing_weight/index.html

"Most weight loss occurs because of decreased caloric intake. However, evidence shows the only way to maintain weight loss is to be engaged in regular physical activity."
"To maintain your weight: work your way up to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or an equivalent mix of the two each week."
(The page explains moderate & vigorous.)
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/index.html

MKEgal

I can't eat if I'm not hungry ... If I get hungry and I don't eat within the next 30 minutes or so, the hunger goes away and I wont eat until the next day

Stock your fridge & pantry with quick, easy, healthy snacks until you're ready to be eating meals.

I'm open to any and all quick and easy recipe ideas.

Nonfat greek yogurt with fruit & a packet of sweetener (or even honey). I like stevia - natural & very very sweet. If you're low on calories that day, add some dry oatmeal or even nuts or granola (but be aware granola is high in fat & carbs).

Oatmeal with walnuts, apples/raisins.

A serving of cheese (1" cube) and 12 pita chips. (I like Keebler mediterranean flavor.)

A containter of nonfat yogurt. (Pay attention to sugar content.)

Apple, banana, peach, pear.

Baby carrots (or celery sticks) with hummus.

Shredded boiled chicken on a tortilla with a sprinkle of shredded cheddar (melted on) and a couple T of salsa. Throw on a handful of salad to bulk it out. Some brown rice would be good too, but that you have to make ahead of time & keep in a container in the fridge.

Stir fry is very quick, esp. if you have canned or pre-cut veggies. I usually use tofu, but any animal protein works too. Get the shredded carrots in the produce section, so you have less of an excuse. They work on salad too.

I really like the pan-fried dumplings I can get in the frozen Asian foods section. They're about 500 cal for a large satisfying serving, and take about 7 minutes.

Beef stroganoff. 4 oz ground beef, 1 small onion chopped, about that amount of mushrooms, a sprinkle of beef bouillon powder, turn off the heat, a couple ounces of buttermilk or skim milk, and a T or 2 of sour cream. Serve over 1c (cooked) egg noodles. Takes maybe 10 min.

My favorite summer salad. Make a batch & eat for several days.
1c couscous + 1c hot water + 1t garlic powder + 1T olive oil + 2T lemon juice in a big bowl. Let that sit while you chop & add everything else.
1 can drained chickpeas.
1c EACH: chopped tomato, cucumber (could add or substitute zucchini or summer squash for cuke)
1-2c chopped parsley
to taste: chopped or sliced black or kalamata olives (I usually buy the small can), minced onion (red is pretty)
It's OK warm, but terriffic cold.