412lbs and Trouble Losing Weight After 7 Months!? Uhg

I agree with those who say to add tons of fruits or veggies -- only I would say make sure that's mostly veggies, with a little less fruit. Veggies are wonderfully filling and have so few calories, plus I'm convinced they just kick things into gear and promote weight loss.

Also with your Achilles problem, is there a machine at your gym for hand/arm pedalling towards cardio workouts? So a station "hand bike", as it were. I have seen someone use such a machine at a gym; it's for people with leg, knee, foot, ankle etc. problems and also ideal as a way for someone needing large weight loss not to overtax their joints at first.

I think you are doing amazing things!

You have tons of great info in the responses but here is something I would do and in fact I did. One thing you really need to know is how much energy does your body need when you are at rest. Basically its how many calories do you burn just staying alive so to speak. I went and did a Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) test. This gives you that number exactly. This is a test you do have to go to a DR to do, typically DR's who specialize in weight management solutions. Its a simple breathing into a tube but this number became for me the one I could use to always predict that I could lose weight.

If you add my info into a web calculator for this test it comes out much higher then the reality of what my metabolism truly is.
I then know I have to reduce my calories to create a 3500 calorie deficit each week to lose 1 lb.

Ok don't take this example to seriously just look at how the numbers work.

lets say the MRM is 3000 cal. Then by eating 2500 cal a day I create a 500 calorie deficit and every seven days there is a 1 pound weight loss. It works unless you have other insulin issues playing into this. If your weight is noticeable all abdominal weight vs anywhere else you may have some insulin resisitence going on. It could be possible.

It works when you have the true numbers for your body. I used to gain weight on Weight Watchers because for me the calorie levels were just to high for my personal sitaution. Boosting metabolism by diet or additions or supplements my Dr indicated simply to me - does not work. I know lots of people think otherwise and I respect that. There is only one actual medication on the market that after you take it for 6 months shows documented results of boosting your RMR.

You should make sure you have a good Dr team looking at you. You might need to see whats called an Endocronologist who specializes in Insulin issues you might have insulin resistence that could possibly be a factor in slowing your progress. I'd look around for a good team to see you and help. You are doing all the right stuff and they will support you. I also see a nutritionalist occassionally to get insight into what i'm eating and ways to improve. These people can help and they want to!

Good luck - Do not give up keep at it!

"hand bike"

^^agree^^ if you have correct form, resistance and speed, and use all those back and shoulder muscles, you can burn as many calories as walking.

We could have been twins... I started July 1st and have dropped 129 so far. A few keys to my success.
1. Try to eat clean... No white flour, no refined sugar, no soda. Five servings of whole grains, three servings of fruits, three servings of veggies and one serving of nuts per day. Try to get in quite a bit of lean protein and some healthy fats everyday.
2. Exercise... The more you burn and don't eat back the faster it drops off.
3. Take a look at my food diary and exercise... Try it out and watch the blubber fly!
Anyone is welcome to add me...

Big congrats to you on this journey (I know everyone hates that word but I love the song and think its appropriate). This is not an easy road to travel you are battling your worst enemy your mind. Your body is just a long for the ride. If you would like to add me I've got a long way to go too. I applaud you for the strength and courage that you are showing. This is not f'en easy.

First, get thee to a doctor and get some new lab work up. Have them check your A1C again do a complete metabolic panel, lipid work up, and I would make sure they do a TSH w/ T3 & T4. Saw you have pulmonary hypertension andy edema are you still on a diuretic?

Second, are you drinking any water. No proof that it works but when I drink like a camel I lose.

Third, are you weighing and measuring everything that goes into your mouth? I know it's a pain but sometimes especially for us bigger people we have a tendency to underestimate our portions.

Fourth, make sure you are logging everything. If its gum or salt log it. Gives you a better picture because once again us bigger folks tend to get food amnesia.

Fifth, this works for me vegetables first during your meal. Loads you up!

Sixth, remember the larger we get our bodies change. Your fat cells not only become bigger but the multiple. On top of having diabetes and I would assume insulin insensitivity your body will hold onto its fat and weight until there is no tomorrow. It's not true that just because you are heavier it comes off faster. In theory this is true, but if you look at some of the interactions you have going on in your body it can really make things slower.

Please dont give up. Dont let the scale discourage you. You are at that crossroad right now you can either give up or you can push foward despite not having a reward. Everytime you move, just because of the force it takes to move your body, you greatly strengthen and improve your body. Everytime you reduce the portion sizes and feed your body what it actually needs you improve the chemistry that powers your body.

Keep going. It's cliche but the truth this is for your life. It has to be your life no one gets to be +300lbs because they dont have a bad relationship with food and exercise, so everyday for the rest of your life this will be a battle. What I love though is every night when I win the battle that is my reward! When I know I didnt hurt myself. I gave myself love no matter how small that is my reward. Youre going to get old so might as well be as healthy as you can be? I think you are doing great keep it up!

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You are still 33 lbs lighter today than you were 7 months ago, and that is a thing to be proud of!

I also went through a lot of worry about my slow loss over the last year, but through this site and finally getting some medical issues diagnosed and understanding that slow is better than stop, I've lost 60 lbs.

This link here is partly responsible and has been mentioned before: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12. I just went through this again a few weeks ago when I hit a plateau and made some adjustments and am losing again.

I would definitely suggest going back to the doctor to review your blood work and maybe also get a thyroid check done, if that hasn't been included before. Since you're at a pre-diabetic level, they may suggest that you remove/greatly reduce high glycemic index foods.
You said you snack on pretzels and trail mix - Pretzels are highly processed white flour that could be impacting your blood sugar levels. I love pretzels, especially the ones in the gardettos mix, but I've cut them back to a very rare treat. Trail mix is tasty and can be healthy, but is also very easily overeaten. Its one that you really need to measure out and take into account the calories, sugar and salt.

You also mentioned that you recently went from day shift to night shift, right? Are you getting enough sleep? Lack of sleep has been shown to impact weight. Maybe that and also just the whole adjustment is an issue and will get better over time.

Good Luck!

Depending on your bf%, and BMR and resulting TDEE estimates could be inflated by an easy 1000 calories.

For instance, your stats if at 60% BF:

Mifflin BMR MFP uses - 2811
Katch BMR using BF% - 1985

Resulting maintenance if you are doing no exercise and sedentary.
Mifflin basis - 3514
Katch basis - 2481

So if you were doing MFP's method with 2 lb weight loss goal (1000 daily deficit), and no exercise, MFP would set your daily eating goal to 2514.

But your better estimated BMR and maintenance level would actually be below that - so no actual deficit in place.

So that means exercise is purely creating your deficit if you do NOT follow normal MFP process and eat them back.

And purely exercise created deficit is usually never that great. Deficit in the kitchen for fat loss only hopefully, exercise for body improvement and hopefully supports only fat loss.

So that is just an example, and you may have no idea of actual BF%, or it's very different from example 60%, but it just shows that can make a deficit be non-existent if the foundation to the math is off.

Just a thought, and if you desire to manually set it up for your actual activity level because you are good at keeping that activity, might try this.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/813720-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-deficit-macro-calcs-hrm-zones