Very little weight loss: Looking for non-traditional advice

Saraminap

However tedious it may seem, for 3 weeks, set yourself a net calorie target that indicates weight loss if followed. Counting calories won't work if the target you are measuring against is too high. Then log EVERYTHING that goes in, (and I mean weighing and measuring accurately) and log all the exercise you do - be a little prudent on the exercise logging if using MFP estimates.
IF, after these 3 weeks you have achieved a net calorie deficit, and have remained static, see your Doctor

All the best,

Sara

BZAH10

I am totally overwhelmed and hurt.

I was not expecting so many responses and I was definitely expecting more thoughtful, serious ones that indicate the writer read the entire original post.

I'm totally fine if a lot of people advise me to count calories but I would appreciate it without the rudeness and assumptions.

You asked for feedback, and you got very honest and straightforward feedback.

I think the level of hurt you're experiencing is directly correlated to the amount of responses advising you of something you knew already but did not want to hear.

Despite all of the good things you *are* doing, the one thing you *are not* doing is eating at a deficit which would lead to weight loss.

It's a simple fix OP, despite it being what you don't want to hear.

Well said. I agree.

Kalikel

I am totally overwhelmed and hurt.

I was not expecting so many responses and I was definitely expecting more thoughtful, serious ones that indicate the writer read the entire original post.

I'm totally fine if a lot of people advise me to count calories but I would appreciate it without the rudeness and assumptions.


To address some of the things suggested:
I have counted calories and have not found it helpful in weight loss. (That's why I don't bother with it now... and it's yes, it's not logistically possible.)

I have created a calorie deficit as evidenced by previous calorie counting and a drastic increase in activity (including strength training and cardio) and decrease in calories.

Some people are nasty. There is one poster who I honest-to-God never saw say a single thing that wasn't just bitterness. True story. I think they log on just to be nasty, lol.

Click on the arrow by their name and then click "ignore user." You never see another of their posts. It's wonderful.

RheneeB

I guess that I should add that reading the book explained everything in very clear terms in regards to the importance of fueling your body according to how your body needs fueled. I thought that I was doing everything right: counting calories, logging, staying within my calories and exercising at least 5 days a week. But my "old" mindset couldn't accept the thought that eating more food could actually benefit me and help me lose weight. Now I am eating 3 meals a day and 2 snacks and after at least 6 months of too much calorie restriction for my body, exercising and zero weight loss..........it is now coming off.

Metabolism is an action not a thing and some people have very high metabolisms naturally while others have slow. However, fueling your body (like adding wood to a furnace) properly enables you to kick it up.

Good luck!

nicsflyingcircus

I am totally overwhelmed and hurt.

I was not expecting so many responses and I was definitely expecting more thoughtful, serious ones that indicate the writer read the entire original post.

I'm totally fine if a lot of people advise me to count calories but I would appreciate it without the rudeness and assumptions.

I just read the whole thread and it looks like you got some great advice and a few funny joke responses. Who hurt you? I think I must have missed something.

I'm not sure what kind of "non-traditional" advice you're looking for. That could be anything from "Don't Eat Anything White" to Wiccan weight loss spells. Could you maybe be more specific about what kind of advice you're looking for?

I want a Wiccan weight loss spell! Explains all those skinny witches, lol

RGv2

Wow, people are kind of rude.
If you want to try something different, you might check out the. . .[snipped].

I didn't notice anyone being rude in this thread, but I did see one person being kind of commercially spammy.

It's always the ones with 5 posts in 3 years that are the most legit.

firstsip

a few simple examples -

high fructose corn syrup does not stimulate the release of Leptin, the hormone that tells us we are full, the same way cane sugar does, because cane sugar tends to produce more insulin which is tied to Leptin production and also suppresses Ghrelin in the stomach.

Studies show that vinegar can decrease the insulin response of a meal by 20% and increase insulin sensitivity by 34%

Anthocyanins (found in berries) act on the genes that determine whether you burn fat or store it (turning on an enzyme called AMP kinase)

So yes - different foods affect different hormones which impact metabolism and weight loss. This is still pretty new research and while it is all peer-reviewed, it's not that well known. I'm not saying calories don't matter and that creating a deficit doesn't matter, I'm saying that's not the whole story and I think we're going to see the fields of nutrition, weight loss and exercise change over the next 20 years as we better understand these mechanisms at the biochemical level.

And when people are asking for help, I do think it's rude to say things like "start using meth". That's not helpful, and if the only answer people have is weigh your food and count calories, great, but then why comment at all after the first 20 times people have said it.

Please post said peer-reviewed studies.

mcatlin10

Please post said peer-reviewed studies.
[/quote]

There are hundreds and I don't have that much time, here are a few:

Anderson, J.W., et al., "Metabolic Effects of Fructose Supplementation in Diabetic Individuals," Diabetes Care, 12, no. 5 (1989): 337-44
Raben, Anne, et. al., "Sucrose Compared with Arfiticial Sweeteners: Different Effects on Ad Libitum Food Intake and Body Weight after 10 Wk of Supplementation in Overweight Subjects:, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 76, no. 4 (2002): 721-29

Vinegar Improves Insulin Sensitivity to a High-Carbohydrate Meal in Subjects With Insulin Resistance or Type 2 Diabetes
Johnston, Carol SView Profile; Kim, Cindy M; Buller, Amanda J. Diabetes Care27.1 (Jan 2004): 281-2.

Biochemical Pharmacology

Volume 71, Issue 8, 14 April 2006, Pages 1184–1197
Cover image
Microarray profiling of gene expression in human adipocytes in response to anthocyanins

Takanori Tsudaa, , ,
Yuki Uenoa,
Toshikazu Yoshikawac,
Hitoshi Kojob,
Toshihiko Osawad
Received 17 November 2005, Accepted 23 December 2005, Available online 17 February 2006

cmcollins001

Just a stab in the dark here, but when the OP says they have counted calories before and it didn't do any good, what kind of time frame are we talking here? A week? A month? A year?

Were the calories properly tracked, i.e., with a digital food scale and were all calories accounted for?

Did the OP count calories and, as properly as possibly, track exercise calories burned?

Did the OP stay on track for a few months and adjust the calorie intake lower or higher based on the results?

There are lot of unanswered questions...unless I just missed the answers.

Francl27

Just a stab in the dark here, but when the OP says they have counted calories before and it didn't do any good, what kind of time frame are we talking here? A week? A month? A year?

Were the calories properly tracked, i.e., with a digital food scale and were all calories accounted for?

Did the OP count calories and, as properly as possibly, track exercise calories burned?

Did the OP stay on track for a few months and adjust the calorie intake lower or higher based on the results?

There are lot of unanswered questions...unless I just missed the answers.

Pretty much and I think it's pretty easy to guess the answers to this question... The only way it didn't work is that it wasn't done properly.

SLLRunner

In the past I measured food and calories. It is not something I can sustain for every meal for the rest of my life. So no, I do not currently count calories. However I do eat reasonable portions and periodically I will go back and count for a week at a time to make sure my portions are OK.

Without a food scale, "portion" is in the eye of the beholder. What, in your perception, is a reasonable portion?

SLLRunner

greengoddess0123

just a word of friendly advice... don't start another thread about how mean people are or how we are not supportive.
Those never end well.



No worries.. I'm not like that...

:flowerforyou:

I really do hope you get this sorted, OP. Unintentional maintenance is SO frustrating.

SherryTeach

I have long ago accepted that I may count calories for the rest of my life. I lost 30+ pounds twice before and I want this to have been the final time. So after two years of maintenance, I'm still logging. It takes under 5 minutes a day because practically everything I eat is either entered as a recipe or a meal. My digital scale is handy and I batch cook. This is considerably easier than buying and maintaining four sizes of clothing.

I do have other things in my life I would like to give up, but won't. Balancing my checkbook, combing tangles out of my dog, flossing my teeth, sorting the mail, and folding laundry. But like counting calories, it's part of what I need to do to manage my life. So I just do it and move on.

Amerielle

I'm hurt. I thought my advice was really good and non-traditional.

Also...in for those weight loss spells.

WalkingAlong

I am totally overwhelmed and hurt.

I was not expecting so many responses and I was definitely expecting more thoughtful, serious ones that indicate the writer read the entire original post.

I'm totally fine if a lot of people advise me to count calories but I would appreciate it without the rudeness and assumptions.


To address some of the things suggested:
I have counted calories and have not found it helpful in weight loss. (That's why I don't bother with it now... and it's yes, it's not logistically possible.)

I have created a calorie deficit as evidenced by previous calorie counting and a drastic increase in activity (including strength training and cardio) and decrease in calories.

Some people are nasty. There is one poster who I honest-to-God never saw say a single thing that wasn't just bitterness. True story. I think they log on just to be nasty, lol.

Hey, I know that guy.

Kalikel

Hey, I know that guy.

Enough was enough there, lol.

Jacwhite22

I am totally overwhelmed and hurt.

I was not expecting so many responses and I was definitely expecting more thoughtful, serious ones that indicate the writer read the entire original post.

I'm totally fine if a lot of people advise me to count calories but I would appreciate it without the rudeness and assumptions.


To address some of the things suggested:
I have counted calories and have not found it helpful in weight loss. (That's why I don't bother with it now... and it's yes, it's not logistically possible.)

I have created a calorie deficit as evidenced by previous calorie counting and a drastic increase in activity (including strength training and cardio) and decrease in calories.

If you aren't losing weight you aren't in a deficit.....I don't know how to simplify it any more for you.

Jacwhite22

It takes two hours of cardio per day for me to lose two pounds per week. If I do one hour, I hold my own - but- do not lose weight.

You need to eat less. It's not about the cardio.