upset and confused: not losing

Hello,
I need help. Any help is welcomed. I have been doing myfitness pal for @ 7 months and have only lost 4 lbs. I was 121 lbs for years. I am a 33 yr old female. I was 5"2.5', eating well, exercising regularly, having a desk job. About a year ago a started a medication I believed caused me to gain weight (abilify). I gained 10 lbs in a very short time. I know that doesnt seem like a lot but I am petite and this amount of weight can put me into an unhealthy category. Also my clothes stopped fitting and I felt like I just had huge stomach rolls in the shower. I went off my medication, and the Dr said it could take up to 3 months for my metabolism to get back to normal. After I noticed the weight gain is when I started myfitnesspal, with a goal of getting to 117 lbs, exercising 5 days a week and eating 1200 calories. It has been 6 months since I stopped the medication. I got down to 124 lbs, but 2 months later I am up to 127, which is on the verge of being overweight again. I watch what I eat and exercise all the time. I never drink soda or fast food. I rarely eat pizza, dessert or drink alcohol. I don't know what to do, but I feel very poor, and am wondering what I am doing wrong, or if I have a disease or something.

:(

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    If you log your food etc an open diary will help people understand better.

    You're 127 lbs at 5'-2.5" ie BMI = 22.9 ??
  • Cassaaaaandra
    Cassaaaaandra Posts: 184 Member
    Have you had a check-up recently? Any family history of thyroid issues? And what are you doing for exercise? Have you included some light weight training into your routine?
  • Hello,
    Thank you...I am trying to figure out how to transfer all the info into my profile from the iphone app, if thats possible...so you can see what I eat....I've been a vegetarian for @ 20 yrs....I have been checked and no thyroid issues. I have had a lot of stress lately though....
  • kaytee003
    kaytee003 Posts: 18 Member
    without knowing what you are eating vs burning etc I can say it is much harder for slimmer people to loose pounds then larger people, especially women. Of course I would get your thyroid checked if you haven't and you may have gained muscle and lost inches.

    And stress can be a huge weight factor
  • for exercise I was lifting weights, running 3+ miles on the tread mill, and doing yoga....the same workout I have been doing for a long time, which was never a problem until recently....I know your body goes into a plateau after doing the same workout for awhile...so i switched to regular yoga, dog walking, and bikram yoga, which supposedly burns a ton of calories...i really appreciate your responses.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Hello,
    Thank you...I am trying to figure out how to transfer all the info into my profile from the iphone app, if thats possible...so you can see what I eat....I've been a vegetarian for @ 20 yrs....I have been checked and no thyroid issues. I have had a lot of stress lately though....
    usually it syncs and going to the FOOD tab above ^ on the web site would reveal all

    you have to set it to be publicly viewable though, at the bottom of http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
  • alladream
    alladream Posts: 261 Member
    And really, sometimes bodies refuse to go below what they consider healthy, especially if there has been a history of very low calories or up-and-down weight--I used to think I was fat, and then after many years of not eating much and doing a lot of work and stress etc., there seems to be a point it will not go below, even if there are few calories, so personally, I am just staying in that range. Your situation may be completely different, and medications these days often have side-effects that last way beyond when the doctors would expect..
  • the weird thing is, my measurements have been the same.....13 inch neck, 6 inch wrist, 9 inch forearm, 2.5 inch elbow, 27 inch waist, 35 inch hips, 22 inch thigh, 13 inch calf
  • Stop stressing. Your weight is low so it will take longer aim for like 1/2 a pound a week. Take measurements are you losing inches? also, weigh and measure your food as well. I was working out 8 hours a week for awhile and seeing no progress but I was eyeballing my intake amounts weighing them and measuring has really gotten me back on track. I also don't eat all my exercise calories back, I bank some of them. And I take 30% off of what my heart rate monitor says I burnt. A fitbit helped me a lot too, I thought I was active but it was more my mind running then my feet! =)
  • Thank you...I synced my food and exercise...I think it might take awhile to show because its not showing up yet...I know some of this is emotional and psychological. I will aim for .5 lb a week...and look into that fitbit....
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
    I lived that story you just posted.

    this may interest you:

    From one of my old posts from a similar topic:

    OK. I'm gonna give this a shot. I am an avid lifelong athlete. I have never been overweight, however, I used to eat too few calories (without knowing it), and a couple years ago, I actually GAINED weight bc of having slowed my metabolism to the point that every little extra treat I ate caused a weight gain, even though overall my calories were too low. THIS DOES HAPPEN.

    It is also the reason so many fat people stay fat. They restrict their calories so low, slow their metabolisms, binge (even a little), gain weight, restrict more . . . . and so on and so on. But they are still fat.

    It is also the reason most people can't lose that last 10-20 lbs. For real.

    1. MFP has a deficit built in. Let's say you're trying to lose 1 lb/ week. That is a 500/day deficit from your BMR (the amount of calories your body needs to complete basic functions.

    2. You exercise and burn 500 calories. Now you are at a 1000 deficit. If you eat back those 500 exercise calories, you refuel your body and you still have a 500 deficit for that 1 lb loss. If you DON'T eat back those calories, you have too little fuel. This is bad. This is too much of a deficit for basic functions. If you do this for a long time, you will STOP LOSING WEIGHT. Why? bc your metabolism will slow down -- it's like a brownout--not quite enough electricity to make the whole city (your body) run, so it has to slow down some things. You will probably start being tired a lot, your skin and hair might start to look worse, and you might even gain weight. But you might NOT be hungry -- your body is getting used to fewer calories. That's bad.


    That's when you start to gain weight. Let's say you're running along, eating 1200 calories a day, and exercising 400 calories a day, so net is 800. You're losing, you think this is great. You keep doing it, but after a while you stop losing. hmmmmm. One weekend you go out to a special event and have a slice of pizza and a beer. 1 slice of pizza and 1 beer. So you ate maybe 2000 calories that day and exercised off 400, so net 1600. BOOM! You gain 3 lbs! What?!

    Next, you freak out and restrict yourself down to 1000 calories a day and work out extra hard, burning 500 calories. Great, netting 500 now. You don't lose any weight, but you sure feel tired. Better get some red bull.

    Are you getting the picture?

    EDIT: When you work out, you need fuel. Food is fuel. If you don't eat back those exercise calories, you will not only have a big calorie deficit, you will have an ENERGY deficit. Remember, the calorie deficit for weight loss is built in when you use MFP. Exercising basically earns you more calories because you must refuel.
    --

    There are many people who will tell you not to eat exercise calories. Before you take their advice, you might want to see whether they are at goal, have EVER been at goal, or have ever been able to maintain at goal. If anyone says to you 'THE LAST TIME I LOST WEIGHT", just stop listening right there.

    Ask some athletes whether or not they replenish their bodies with food equal to the calories they burn. Ask people who are fit and have achieved and maintained a healthy weight for some years. Don't ask people who count walking across a parking lot as exercise.

    Here's an interesting case study about how to stay fat while consuming only 700 calories a day. Take a moment, you'll be glad you did:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    blessings.
  • Sleepy Texan: That is very interesting. I have had anxiety a lot in my life which made it very hard for me to eat. I was too anxious to be hungry. Eating a cracker took me like an hour. I am not exaggerating. I had to drink Ensure to have energy to live. Thank God that has passed. I never considered a possible connection between these issues. It makes sense because our bodies are very efficient. I will now read that link.
  • This info may be helpful....My calorie breakdown is usually @ 15% protein, 60%carbs and 25% fat.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    This info may be helpful....My calorie breakdown is usually @ 15% protein, 60%carbs and 25% fat.

    crank up the protein to 30 or 35% and drop the carbs to 45 or 40% respectively if weight loss is your goal. Higher protein always wins in comparison trials.
  • gogonunubean
    gogonunubean Posts: 160 Member
    Are you eating or netting 1200 calories?
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
    Well, she deactivated her account for some reason...
  • fit4lifeUcan2
    fit4lifeUcan2 Posts: 1,458 Member
    Abilify is a horrible monster on the weight.
  • I would reccommend fat-burning exercises. 'Tabata' style (google it)..

    It is where you put 100% effort into your exercise (running, cross trainer etc) for short amount of time (30-45secs) and then for 45mins-1min go at your usually pace and then again at 100%

    Do this 6-8 times maybe.. while doing your other normal stuff. It may not sound that hard, but trust me!

    I use it alot on the cross trainer and while I do kick boxing.

    I do 45mins of kicking boxing - tabta style... It burns 1,000 cals minimum!
  • gogonunubean
    gogonunubean Posts: 160 Member
    Well, she deactivated her account for some reason...

    How very bizarre. :noway:
  • A great post. Thank you.
    While I have not yet fell into this trap, but, thanks for the warning. So far, I have lost just slightly more than my target (possibly due to the extra deficit that I leave by not fully replenishing the exercise calories), but, I will make sure to fully replenish the exercise calories from now on.
    Thank you so much.
  • Could you be worrying too much about the slight weight gain? With your weight/height, you may be just fine. In addition, please be aware that weight loss becomes more and more difficult as you get closer to your ideal body weight.
    Cheers!
  • mollylaremeter
    mollylaremeter Posts: 59 Member
    Oh hi, everyone, thank you for posting. I thought this would disappear because I deleted the account. This is my real/new account. I had to make a new one with the same username as my iphone account, and I wasnt able to change "mimamaw" to "mollylaremeter", so I had to make a new one with that name, so my info to sync. I am new, and am still trying to figure out how to do this...:)
  • mollylaremeter
    mollylaremeter Posts: 59 Member
    I would reccommend fat-burning exercises. 'Tabata' style (google it)..

    It is where you put 100% effort into your exercise (running, cross trainer etc) for short amount of time (30-45secs) and then for 45mins-1min go at your usually pace and then again at 100%

    Do this 6-8 times maybe.. while doing your other normal stuff. It may not sound that hard, but trust me!

    I use it alot on the cross trainer and while I do kick boxing.

    I do 45mins of kicking boxing - tabta style... It burns 1,000 cals minimum!

    Totally, thats what I was doing w my running...under the name "fartlek" lol I stopped running though a few months ago bc my knees were hurting.
  • mollylaremeter
    mollylaremeter Posts: 59 Member
    Could you be worrying too much about the slight weight gain? With your weight/height, you may be just fine. In addition, please be aware that weight loss becomes more and more difficult as you get closer to your ideal body weight.
    Cheers!

    Definitely possible...my husband tells me i'm crazy, and I know it's technically in the normal/healthy range...especially if it is trending downward...
  • nygr8guy
    nygr8guy Posts: 77 Member
    Great post! Thanks for sharing, and it makes sense. :-)
  • mollylaremeter
    mollylaremeter Posts: 59 Member
    A great post. Thank you.
    While I have not yet fell into this trap, but, thanks for the warning. So far, I have lost just slightly more than my target (possibly due to the extra deficit that I leave by not fully replenishing the exercise calories), but, I will make sure to fully replenish the exercise calories from now on.
    Thank you so much.

    The link that Sleepy Texan posted and what she wrote was very interesting...I had never considered that.
  • mollylaremeter
    mollylaremeter Posts: 59 Member
    Well, she deactivated her account for some reason...

    How very bizarre. :noway:

    haha sorry
  • mollylaremeter
    mollylaremeter Posts: 59 Member
    Abilify is a horrible monster on the weight.

    and it's "supposed" to be "weight neutral"....:ohwell:
  • mollylaremeter
    mollylaremeter Posts: 59 Member
    Are you eating or netting 1200 calories?

    Not ususally, more like @ 1000 :/
  • mollylaremeter
    mollylaremeter Posts: 59 Member
    This info may be helpful....My calorie breakdown is usually @ 15% protein, 60%carbs and 25% fat.

    crank up the protein to 30 or 35% and drop the carbs to 45 or 40% respectively if weight loss is your goal. Higher protein always wins in comparison trials.

    I will consider this...I know that is true. I dont eat animal protein so this can be challenging for me. I was hoping to offset it by eating "complex carbohydrates" and less fat.....maybe i need to eat protein shakes....