hormones

calliope_music

ok. here's the scoop. it's taken me almost a year to lose around 35 lbs. i will be the first to admit that i did not eat properly every day nor exercise as much as i should, but i still get at LEAST 3 good workouts in a week (45 min to an hour), which includes strength and cardio. i am much more cognizant of the food put into my body. but...i still feel with as hard as i've been working, i should have lost a bit more.

i have been to the doctor, tests have been run. thyroid is fine. sugar is fine. no high blood pressure or high cholesterol. an glucose tolerance test was done, it came back "perfect" as the doctor said. essentially, all my tests come out "normal" when my BMI says i'm super morbidly obese and may keel over and die tomorrow.

so why the bleep am i not losing as much weight?! it's frustrating.

i'm going to see an endocrinologist in a couple of weeks to see if that helps. anyone have any advice on some questions to ask?

Sidesteal

how many calories do you average per day over the past month?

calliope_music

how many calories do you average per day over the past month?

my guess from looking at the report MFP gave me is somewhere in the 1500-1600 range, net.

LATeagno

I know you're a vegetarian. Are you eating a lot of soy? It can mess with estrogen levels, which can make it difficult to lose weight.

servilia

Get checked for PCOS. Testing usually involves a test of FSH/LH on day 3 of your period and an internal ultrasound. There are probably some other unturned stones but that's what came to mind.
You didn't mention exactly what they checked for your thyroid. Was it just TSH? What about Free T3 and Free T4?

BarbWhite09

Don't listen to the BMI charts...I'm 5'3 & 142 lbs but am still considered "overweight" I'm most certainly not the thinnest person ever but it doesn't take in to account that I have uh, well, boobs & whatnot. Also some people have a lot of muscle, which weighs more...So the BMI stuff is kind of crappy sometimes. You may be smaller than what it says you are

poesch77

My thyroid was fine too and I was sent to an Endocrinologist who discovered I had high levels of cortisol ( stress hormone)....I could not lose weight or get pregnant ( was off pill for 1 1/2 yrs!) Dr could not explain why I was elevated only in the afternoon so she basically said I would not be able to lose weight or get pregnant! I was ticked so I did some research and went to the Natural Food store and bought a pill called Natural Cortisol Lowering pill ...yes, pretty generic! Got some Vit C and Magnesium...these are known to lower cortisol and in less than 2 months I lost 20ish lbs and got pregnant! Now my baby will be one year next weekend and I have successfully lost 50lbs....34lbs with the help of MFP...I should go special order those pills again to see if that would speed up the weightloss! I lose at a snail's pace also! Hope they figure out something for ya!

rochey1098

I partially agree with the crappiness of BMI for some people. Most athletes are considered overweight or obese, although i'm sure you'll be able to tell if you're nearing your correct weight anyway when muscle is a factor

aquapussy

I think you answered your own question. Get stricter with your diet and exercise. 1500-1600 seems kinda high, how tall are you? To lose my weight in the last year I had to eat about 1300 calories a day and not count exercise. I offset this with a cheat day every week.
It's surprising how little food a person who is not very active actually needs.

You should be aware that weight loss is mostly diet related.

For example, I went on a cycling tour, 600 km, riding 70 km a day fully loaded with 40 lb of gear. I ate whatever I wanted for the 2 weeks. Guess how much weight I lost on the trip? None!

calliope_music

I think you answered your own question. Get stricter with your diet and exercise. 1500-1600 seems kinda high, how tall are you? To lose my weight in the last year I had to eat about 1300 calories a day and not count exercise. I offset this with a cheat day every week.
It's surprising how little food a person who is not very active actually needs.

You should be aware that weight loss is mostly diet related.

For example, I went on a cycling tour, 600 km, riding 70 km a day fully loaded with 40 lb of gear. I ate whatever I wanted for the 2 weeks. Guess how much weight I lost on the trip? None!

i'm 5'9". i have tried keeping my calories around that and my stomach was growling and i felt pretty weak. MFP actually has me set at like, 1770 calories to net daily. i *usually* don't hit that mark. i have myself set to lose 2 lbs a week so maybe i need to change that.

also, i may be wrong since i'm not an expert on this, but an entire year to lose 30 lbs? my eating hasn't been THAT atrocious. i have done better this year than i ever have.

calliope_music

I know you're a vegetarian. Are you eating a lot of soy? It can mess with estrogen levels, which can make it difficult to lose weight.

not really, i occasionally eat tofu and drink soy milk. i'm actually not a huge fan, it gives me gas haha. i prefer beans and lentils to be honest.

calliope_music

My thyroid was fine too and I was sent to an Endocrinologist who discovered I had high levels of cortisol ( stress hormone)....I could not lose weight or get pregnant ( was off pill for 1 1/2 yrs!) Dr could not explain why I was elevated only in the afternoon so she basically said I would not be able to lose weight or get pregnant! I was ticked so I did some research and went to the Natural Food store and bought a pill called Natural Cortisol Lowering pill ...yes, pretty generic! Got some Vit C and Magnesium...these are known to lower cortisol and in less than 2 months I lost 20ish lbs and got pregnant! Now my baby will be one year next weekend and I have successfully lost 50lbs....34lbs with the help of MFP...I should go special order those pills again to see if that would speed up the weightloss! I lose at a snail's pace also! Hope they figure out something for ya!

thanks! i will be sure to ask about cortisol and happy early birthday to baby!

calliope_music

Get checked for PCOS. Testing usually involves a test of FSH/LH on day 3 of your period and an internal ultrasound. There are probably some other unturned stones but that's what came to mind.
You didn't mention exactly what they checked for your thyroid. Was it just TSH? What about Free T3 and Free T4?

i will keep PCOS in mind. i thought i had that, but don't have ALL the symptoms but will be sure to ask about it. and in the blood test i think they just checked the TSH.