Should I go to a doctor?

2»

Replies

  • HomeBody52
    HomeBody52 Posts: 13
    My husband and I lost weight on Atkins, but it wasn't sustainable for us. I bought the book The CarbLovers Diet (by the editors of Health Magazine) and we've been playing with it for a few weeks. We haven't even gone with it completely at this point, but it seems to be working. In about a month of dabbling with the diet, I've lost 6 pounds and my husband has lost 8.

    http://www.health.com/health/package/0,,20367333,00.html
  • munkyblew
    munkyblew Posts: 14
    It can be really frustrating to work really hard to lose weight and not see results :( My mom's been trying to lose 40 lbs for like 5 years now and she's starting to feel like nothing will work- she's tried atkins, jenny craig, weight watchers, everything.

    A raw diet might be worth a try. I lost like 20 lbs in a month last summer doing it (in retrospect that's like scary unhealthy but I took it to the extreme, might be healthier to ease into it.) Doing a raw diet would help you avoid any foods you might potentially have allergies to, like gluten and lactose and all that, and it also makes your poops better and your skin clearer and your sleep better. If you lost a ton of weight on raw, it might be an indicator that you do, in fact, have an allergy to one of the foods you were avoiding, and you could get tested and figure out what it was. A raw diet is different from a "fad diet" in that it is sustainable- if you ate raw your entire life, you wouldn't die or get horribly sick, unlike the cabbage-soup diet or the honey and pepper and lemon juice diet.

    To ease into it you might try incorporating one raw meal a day (my favorite is a buckwheat/banana/strawberry smoothie and a field green salad with 6 assorted veggies & flaxseed & balsamic vinagrette on top) and see how you feel, and then bump it up to more meals and snacks. The nice thing about the raw diet is that your food has so few calories that you could spend all day eating and not go over, but that's also the tricky part- you need to eat a LOT of veggies and beans and such! It helps if you "drink your calories" by making a smoothie every day with lots of nice seeds and things in it.

    Just an idea. Ever since I went raw last summer I've been eating at least 1 raw meal every day and it makes me feel awesome, not just because I know it's good for me but because I actually physically feel better than when I restrict calories but still eat packaged foods. It's also inspired me to begin a small vegetable garden, which is a little difficult because I live in an apartment but it gives me a peaceful activity to do and also the freshest possible spinach and broccoli! It also feels really good to know that you grew what's on your plate all by yourself- the feeling of accomplishment is probably good for the soul.

    Sorry if this sounds like an infomercial lol I swear I'm not getting paid by the "raw diet people," whoever they are, I just honestly loved doing it and want to share my joy with everyone :)
  • JanaCanada
    JanaCanada Posts: 917 Member
    Have just calculated my TDEE on that scooby website and it recommends 1500 so I'm shooting for that, see how it goes.

    Eat between your TDEE and your BMR. TDEE is the MINIMUM amount of calories you should eat. 1500 stil seems off for your level of activity. Are you sure you didn't calculate as a sedentary person?
  • clareiow
    clareiow Posts: 53 Member
    Thanks for the tip on the raw food, I might look into that once I'm back from my holiday, the summer should be kicking in and it will be easier to follow I think!

    In reply to the TDEE query...I'm not sure if I did put in the right level of activity...I have a desk job but at the moment I'm doing 25 mins exercise a day (shred) and then two lots of 35-min runs. Would you call that moderate, very active? I couldn't decide!
  • maracuya23
    maracuya23 Posts: 122
    If you've had a rough month, not gaining weight is a huge win! Maintenance is tough even at the best of times, so rock on that you've stayed steady and kept exercising even while having a rough month.

    TDEE of 1500 sounds really low to me too. That sounds more like BMR (your bare minimum) given your activity level.

    If you're also exhausted on top of not losing weight, you very well might have a nutrient deficiency like B-12, vitamin D, low ferritin, or might be hypothyroid- all of which have somewhat similar symptoms, so seeing a doctor to run a blood panel might very well be helpful for you. Even if your tests all come back "normal", follow up with your doctor, especially if any of your levels are on the low side of normal, or right on the edge (esp. in the case of thyroid testing, where TSH levels can show as normal, but you still feel symptoms). Test ranges are just that: ranges, and even if you're technically "normal", you might very well not be optimal for you.
  • allylang1
    allylang1 Posts: 2
    Have you had your thyroid checked?
  • Pixeebug
    Pixeebug Posts: 34 Member
    Have you tracked your measurements?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    make sure you don't have calorie creep in your diet...i.e. weigh and measure your foods/ingredients...log everything...log consistently.

    Also, if you eat out a lot or eat a lot of prepackaged stuff...like sandwiches in the deli, etc...a lot of the nutritional info provided on their sites and packaging isn't all that accurate...can be off by quite a bit. People are just throwing ingredients together and not really weighing and measuring...same thing can happen at home if you don't weigh and measure.

    There was a video circulating recently showing this...basically if the guy would have eaten everything he had tested, he would have over consumed by 500 + calories due to errors in using nutrition information from the restaurant.

    Also, you seem to do a lot of cardio and no resistance work...I recommend adding some resistance training; you'll burn less calories, but more fat...i guarantee.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    That's faster than I lost weight.
  • donnaleighh
    donnaleighh Posts: 178 Member
    Aside from talking to the Dr about possible things that may be slowing your weight loss, perhaps ask your Dr to refer you to a dietician with whom you can work on a food plan.
  • allielynn93
    allielynn93 Posts: 1
    I went to my doctor and she told me I wasn't eating ENOUGH calories to lose weight. So, I joined myfitnesspal and calculated my calories and she was right. Everyone's different, but just try to increase the calories with the tools this site gives you and you'll more than likely see results.
  • Dunkirk
    Dunkirk Posts: 465 Member
    Try having a rest day from exercise once a week
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    Well you've hit the nail on the head sadly. It's been a tough month so far (my nan died March 1) for me and my auto-response is t eat and eat and eat. I know I've really messed up with the kinda of foods I've eaten though I'm proud of the fact I've not completely gorged like I would've done in the past.

    Going into it naively I thought that if I was under my calories, it wouldn't matter what is eaten!

    It shouldn't matter what you've eaten if you're under your calories. Don't be angry at yourself. Just stick with your plan, and eat healthier food. Some of the calories burned estimates can be off, so I don't eat back all my calories.
  • annamc18
    annamc18 Posts: 198 Member
    i've been having issues with losing anything for a month or so & I figured out my TDEE info & it turns out I needed to up my calories as I was going in the dreaded 'starvation mode' for my size at 1200 calories a day.

    I upped it to 1550 on monday and have lost 4 pounds.

    Maybe you need to up your calories!
  • clareiow
    clareiow Posts: 53 Member
    Thank you to everyone for all your replies and suggestions - I knew I'd find support and advice here!

    I had my thyroid checked a couple of Years ago and it came back normal, I also tried to get onto a local NHS plan called body morph and got nowhere because the waiting list was so long (I could have done it privately but at £200 I didn't have the cash).

    I'm definitely reviewing and upping my calories a little, I will admit I have lived on 1200 a day for so long my body doesn't really get very hungry so I need constructive ways of adding another 300 on without eating cake or chocolate!!!

    I certainly still need to keep my portions down as I know mine are man-sized, especilly in the evening for dinner!

    I am about to go on an all inclusive holiday for two weeks which will be a real rest (if I can come back the weight I left I will be VERY happy!) and then I will start kicking on with a fresh approach - literally!
  • TraceyG1971
    TraceyG1971 Posts: 123
    A half a cup of cashews is around 300 calories :) That should help you increase without eating a lot more
  • marygee1951
    marygee1951 Posts: 148 Member
    Wouldn't hurt to see your doctor.

    But a few things.....

    When you're near goal, the weight comes off slower.
    Is your goal reasonable?
    Are you eating enough? Check how many calories you should be eating.
    Exercise = muscles = weight gain. Are you eating back your exercise calories?

    If you go to the doctor, bring your diary.

    I just saw a dietician earlier this week - very helptful.

    Good luck to you. :flowerforyou:
  • JanaCanada
    JanaCanada Posts: 917 Member
    In reply to the TDEE query...I'm not sure if I did put in the right level of activity...I have a desk job but at the moment I'm doing 25 mins exercise a day (shred) and then two lots of 35-min runs. Would you call that moderate, very active? I couldn't decide!

    Go with "slightly active" and eat back half your exercise cals. As long as you eat between your BMR and TDEE, you will lose weight steadily and healthfully.

Categories