Can't seem to lose... frustrated.

skylily4ever

To start, I'm about 5'9 and around 293 pounds. I'm getting so very frustrated. After I had my daughter 6 months ago, I dropped from over 300 to 282 pounds. I got my gall bladder taken out a month later and now I can't seem to lose anything. I've tried everything over the last couple of years, cutting out soda, sugar, fatty foods, starches. I haven't lost any. Like now, I eat between 1200-1800 calories a day generally. Which is a lot less than I normally would. I'm a single mom right now. I've basically cut out all take out food, and I drink mostly water, although I do have about a soda every day. I try to exercise when I can, but I just don't seem to have much time to do it. I'm just so frustrated that nothing seems to be coming off. I've talked to my doctor, he said just to stay away from certain foods, and I do. I'm not quite sure what to do anymore... any advice is gladly appreciated!

Spreyton22K

Hi there,

There are only a few suggestions that I can make apart from wishing you all the best thru this frustrating time.

Firstly, try to be patient, are you weighing everything that you eat to make sure you are correct in your calories??? If not get yourself a set of scales and keep plodding along with MFP.

It may well be that your body is still in a bit of shock and recovering from your surgery. I too have had my gall bladder out and it didn't stop me losing weight, however, there were a few dietary things that did upset me and continue to do so. I have seen others here say that they couldn't lose weight and felt that it was due to the removal of their gall bladder but I don't think that could ultimately be the reason.

You may also like to try adjusting your macro ratio to get in a higher % of protein as opposed to carbs as I have seen others have success with this after surgery.

Keep up what you are doing.....have faith in CICO and time.....get as active as you can and this weight loss will happen.

Edited: I had a peek at your diary and from what I saw there was no logging so as I've said above it would help if your were scrupulous about knowing exactly what calories you are taking in....unless you are using another app, get onto MFP, get some digital scales and start logging so you know what your intake is......guesstimateing is often off by 30% which could be making all the difference as to why you aren't losing.

CariJean64

Skylily, sorry to get personal, but are you breastfeeding? You need to be eating enough to support that, obviously, and figure that into your calorie count.

RodaRose

Increase your calories maybe. Are you logging everyday and weighing the food?
Get some exercise everyday like walking in the sun. That will make you reel better about yourself.
I agree about limited cereal, bread, pasta, potatoes. Eat eggs, nuts, cheese, meat, fish, vegetables. Eat some fats and oils.

Liftng4Lis

You have nothing logged. You need to weigh and measure and log to know exactly what you're eating. You're probably eating more that you think.

DianeFrannie

I think you are amazing. A baby and a surgery! that's a lot to handle. I do agree with the other members. keeping up with the food log showed me THAT I LOVE CANDY lol And that I need to eat more protein. I am working on that so I know it keeps me from snacking like I used to. Bad legs keep me from walking very long, but I do what I can. Never give up. We are here to help each other. If you have a bad day, start over the next day. Keep your water and fruit within an arms reach. :flowerforyou:

Xiaolongbao

The two things that stand out to me are

1. If you're not accurately measuring/weighing and recording there's a good chance you're eating a lot more than you think.

2. Cut out the soda entirely.

Now I'm not saying everyone needs to cut out soda entirely (before everyone jumps down my throat) but if you're struggling to lose anything that's an easy way to cut calories without eating less. If it's diet soda you're drinking I'd recommend cutting that anyway. I know plenty of people who can drink diet soda and lose weight but I know others (myself included) who have to cut diet soda if they want to make any weight loss progress. I absolutely love the stuff and would drink a can a day if I allowed myself but time after time I've found that drinking it stalls my weight loss...

ZBuffBod

You don't have anything in your food log so it is difficult to give you specific suggestions. How can you tell that you are eating what you should if you haven't logged anything? You indicated a wide range of caloric intake, what's driving that?

Weigh your food. Why? You may be eating much more than you think. Take a look at this YouTube video. It was an eyeopener for me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGcdyfDM3oQ

How is your sodium and water intake? What about the balance of proteins/fats/carbs?

Just cutting out certain foods is not the complete answer...also look at portions. In fact, I haven't cut out the things I love, just eaten them in smaller portions when they fit in my calories.

Take a look at the diaries of folks who are losing and you may get some ideas.

Best of luck to you.

RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle

Focus less on the scale in the bathroom, and more on the scale in the kitchen. Measure and log everything you eat carefully. Go slow and steady and trust the process. I lost weight aiming for the highest daily calorie total that was still under my TDEE.

MoveitlikeManda

I echo what people have said re weighing and logging your food and drink.

on the exercise front, you CAN get loads in.

make sure baby has a clean bum, is fed and happy. put her in the pram or a sling and go walk, walk, walk and walk some more.

an hours walk a day is al you need to start with, it will be great for you and your baby.

also as said above, if you are breastfeeding make sure your eating well and enough calories to support this too.

hard with a young baby at times (I know, Iv got 4) but make sure you are getting enough sleep.

the exercise bike is also a good idea, you can do that whilst baby is napping during the day or in the evening once she is down for the night.
I know thats the time of day you just want to sit down with a cup of tea and chill out in front of the tv thats not on a kids channel lol but you can do the bike whilst watching tv if it helps.

you CAN do this hun, you just need to jiggle things around so it starts to benefit you, also give it time, change a few things and then after say 4-6 weeks if no change try changing things again.
make sure you take measurements as well as monitoring your weight on the scales

x

_Zardoz_

You have nothing logged. You need to weigh and measure and log to know exactly what you're eating. You're probably eating more that you think.

^^^ This without logging your calories you haven't a clue what your eating. Start with the basics log all your food accurately and consistently then you have a base line. if you don't do that all your doing is guessing

sueconvery7

It is hard to keep going if you do not see results. I get that. i am 61. You have got to eat enough calories to loose weight. Those calories need to be good ones. As you use MyFitnessPal you will begin to notice when your carbs are too high and protein is too low. I do not know how Breastfeeding fits in but maybe on the exercise page it will help you. Another thing is to add just one or two days of cardio to your routine. And then do not eat all the calories you earn through exercise. You will notice that each day the site tells you how many pounds you will loose in 5 weeks. Also set yourself a realistic goal for pounds to loose each week. I went for 1.5 pounds because I have less exercise in my life right now. Please use any of this that makes sense to you and ignore the rest. I just want you to succeed.:

grandmothercharlie

Log, log, log! Otherwise you will delude yourself into thinking you are eating less. It is natural. We all do. That is why people who think MFP works, think it works. They log and they lose.

Even more so. Log when you know you are over. If you eat a box of donuts, you have to log it! Hold yourself accountable for every bite in your mouth.

I agree. Give up the soda if you can. There are a lot of reasons for that health wise later in life and such a waste of a lot of calories.

As for exercise. Walk the babies. Go to the park. Run around. Look for Mom and baby exercise classes at your Community Center. Put on a YouTube exercise video. Start slowly. Put on music and dance! Have dance time every day with your little ones. Basically just move.

If you are nursing, make sure you get adequate calories. If you aren't, still make sure, but they can be less. Figure out what you eat on an average day. Log it for a few days. Then cut 1000 calories for 2 pounds a week. 500 calories for 1 pound a week. Continue to take a daily vitamin, though. You can do this. Others have.

libbydoodle11

You have nothing logged. You need to weigh and measure and log to know exactly what you're eating. You're probably eating more that you think.

^^^ This without logging your calories you haven't a clue what your eating. Start with the basics log all your food accurately and consistently then you have a base line. if you don't do that all your doing is guessing

^^^^this^^^^




Invest in a food scale and log the food you are eating. I am willing to bet you could consume at least 2000 calories and still lose.

Iri_2

Your food diary is empty so you're probably eating more than you think you are.

As others have already suggested, start weighing your food and log everything you eat.