Help doing it right & still stuck.

Ivoryelaine
Ivoryelaine Posts: 18 Member
in Motivation and Support
Reaching out for support because I do not know what else to do. I am 45 years old and have been eating really well and healthy for about 2 decades. Prior to that I was overweight and when I made changes I lost alot of it although I still had to really work on it. Then I had my first child ( 1997) and promptly lost every bit of what I had gained and far more and got down not only to goal weight, far under it and actually struggled to gain so we could have our 2nd child. I gave birth to her 2 years and 8 months later and have never been able to be the correct weight since, although I have gotten close.

I had 6 years in between our 2nd and 3rd and then another baby 3 and a half years later. I realized that I wanted to get additional help I decided to go to weight watchers. I learned more there and it was helpful. At first I lost weight, slowly and I lost ( which is the way you should lose) then even though I continued to do the program and be religious about it after about 9 months I simply did not lose another lb no matter how much I stayed on the program or worked out. Then I began to gain, even though I was doing what I was supposed to....I gained 10 lbs. Finally I got very frusterated and just stopped doing the program, I did not go crazy and eat wildly, I just took a break from tracking everything. I did not lose from doing so and I did gain a bit more ( 5 lbs) bringing me very close to where I was when I had not been dieting at all, just eating healthy food and not tracking any.

I went to my doctor at that point. I got my blood work done and they found nothing out of the ordinary. The doctor suggested I go on a 1200 calorie diet, which is when I found myfitnesspal. I am finding however that I gain if I eat even at the 1200 mark. I also walk at least a mile every day and often do at least 3 miles a day. ( except when sick and so on this time of year) Last year until September when I sustained an injury I ran and walked at least 5 miles a day at least 4 days a week and worked up to 20 miles once a week. Still I did not lose weight. My injury is healing and I will be able to be more active soon. ( still now doing a mile or more a day every day) I also am on my feet all day every day working in the house and caring for my children.

I thought the issue might be not enough sleep since I have not had enough sleep since having children. I have made a concerted effort for the last 2 months to sleep enough and have gotten significantly more sleep as well as napping at least a couple 2-3 times a week as well. Still this has not made a difference in my weight.

I do not eat junk food. I eat 3 meals a day and at least one snack. I eat slowly and enjoy my food. I eat almost all organic food.

Not sure what else to do. I do not want to start eating less than 800 calories a day since I know that is not good for me, especially since my little guy still nurses a little. I plan to continue to increase my activity and hope that helps....WHAT AM I MISSING?

Do any of you have ideas?

Replies

  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    Please read this. You have done a bit of damage to your metabolism from being on a very low calorie diet. It can be fixed though but you'll need patience. I did WW for decades too, their calories are too low just like the rest of them so they can have you coming back.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013
  • ArtemisMoon
    ArtemisMoon Posts: 144
    Your metabolism may be low from eating so low. You may also want to look into other types of activity. It sounds like you could be a bit stuck in a rut with your exercise and some people have had success by varying their routines. Try strength training! :) I do it 2-3 times a week and even without weight loss you do see a very positive change in your body shape and size.
  • aliciadelapena7
    aliciadelapena7 Posts: 1
    Well I am 45 too, and maybe, just maybe, your hormones are not letting you loose weight. You know, we reach a certain age where even on a diet we cannot do it!
    I began to walk-run last june. I've lost 9 kilos since. I do not drink any diet coke (and I used to drink almost 2 liters daily), I drink lots of water. I barely drink coffee. I do yoga 3 days a week and my life has changed a lot with that. I walk-run 3 days a week. Yoga or pilates is something you can do at home. No need to go out. No need to buy special shoes. Just maybe a video....
  • Ivoryelaine
    Ivoryelaine Posts: 18 Member
    Thank you! And yes I do vary exercize as I am able to do so. I also weight lift and do aerobics as I am able, right now in physical therapy for an injury and they want me to wait on that for a bit.....have been dancing with my daughter some too....I only started really restricting calories last September when my Doctor told me to do so. On weight watchers I was actually eating far MORE calories than with using fitness pal. I eat lots and lots of fruits and veggies and since most of those are "free" I was eating more like 1600ish a day or more when I figured it out. I am just 5'3" and small boned, I think I likely should weigh more like 130lbs or less, weight charts say no more than 141 at the most and that includes women much larger boned than I am. I weight between 155-160 depending on the time of the day I weigh myself. I am so tired of being asked if I am pregnant again. I weigh more now than I did when I went into labor with the first 2! ( so cannot blame the people for asking)

    I have people also tell me, well, just cut out your sweets, or just find at least a half an hour to exercize....as if I have not done that already.....Thank you for replying. I do hope to vary my routine as soon as I am released to do more.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    Well I am 45 too, and maybe, just maybe, your hormones are not letting you loose weight. You know, we reach a certain age where even on a diet we cannot do it!
    I began to walk-run last june. I've lost 9 kilos since. I do not drink any diet coke (and I used to drink almost 2 liters daily), I drink lots of water. I barely drink coffee. I do yoga 3 days a week and my life has changed a lot with that. I walk-run 3 days a week. Yoga or pilates is something you can do at home. No need to go out. No need to buy special shoes. Just maybe a video....

    I don't agree. There are TONS of women over that age and I'm one of them that has lost. The problem is a lot don't know how to do it and do it the old fashioned way that we were shown back then and that was to eat VLC. It doesn't work which is why we ended up doing it most of our lives over and over. Thankfully now there is more known about how to go about it the right ways.
  • wswing
    wswing Posts: 39 Member
    I can relate with your story, I am also 45 and was gaining weight on a calorie reduced diet with exercise! I was getting so frustrated because I have never had trouble losing weight in the past but I just kept gaining. I think everyone is different and everyone's bodies respond to different things at different times. I stopped focusing on cardio and began to focus on weight lifting and changed my macros to 35% protein, 35% fat and 30% carbs and my weight is going down :)
    I think you need to mess around with your diet and exercise until you find the combination that works for you. Hang in there!
  • Ivoryelaine
    Ivoryelaine Posts: 18 Member
    Yoga is something I have not done yet. I cut out everything to drink other than water, medicinal herbal teas and a little unsweetened almond milk and I did that over a decade ago. I have not had pop, or milk or coffee ( more than 2 times a year) in over a full decade. I also do not eat wheat ( I have a bad reaction to it) and do not eat dairy ( same story) I eat gluten free, almost all organic veggies a little meat and beans and nuts and lots of water and vitamins daily. I should be the poster child for good results and I am not....

    Will look for more I can do from home, I have 4 kids and home school 1 and have to pick up preschooler from school mid morning and little girl from school mid day every day in addition to working from home and caring for everyone so exercize is mostly walking dogs and walking to and from school and house work. I was getting up early to work out and my physical therapist has made it clear more sleep is a higher priority for my healing now. Will have to see if I can mix it up with something else new at home.
  • Ivoryelaine
    Ivoryelaine Posts: 18 Member
    Read this and want to read again, need to figure out what I really need to be having in any given day.
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
    Please read this. You have done a bit of damage to your metabolism from being on a very low calorie diet. It can be fixed though but you'll need patience. I did WW for decades too, their calories are too low just like the rest of them so they can have you coming back.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

    Look into the link provided. Adding yoga in a few times a week is not going to solve your problems. We are not all special snowflakes. I have quite a few women on my friends list who are around your age. They've all made amazing progress. I hope I can look half as good as they do at some point. But they all eat the PROPER amount of calories for their goals.
  • Par8hed4life
    Par8hed4life Posts: 104 Member
    Losing weight is 80% diet.
    I am no doctor or nutrition expert, however, it sounds like you are not eating enough in general, nor enough protein.
    You need to figure out what your TEDEE is. http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html
    Then subtract 15-20% to know how many calories you need to eat.

    I put in your height, age and guessed you are about 135 lbs. With light activity and a 15% deficit, you should be eating around 1544 calories.
    Your body needs food to fuel itself. You are trying to drive car on fumes right now.
    Eat more. Watch your macros and try for at minimum 30% protein and drink a gallon of water a day.
  • yocupcake
    yocupcake Posts: 32
    My nutritionist said just today it is hard for people to believe that in order to lose weight you must fuel the body with enough calories / nutritious food in order for it function at its best & then it will let go of fat - too little calories & it will hold on to the fat for dear life.
  • Ivoryelaine
    Ivoryelaine Posts: 18 Member
    Thank you for all the responses. Sounds like the general feeling from everyone is I need to eat MORE. I do know I have been getting enough protein, I do not run well with out high amounts of protein, I have blood sugar problems. I have cured hypoglycemia years ago by increasing protein and cutting out all but one or maybe 2 grain servings in a day. I do not want to go back to eating larger amounts of grains since that causes issues for me and I do not feel well with it. I am trying to figure out how to add more calories with out eating the grains. Like right now I literally feel stuffed and bloated ( and I am bloated a bit) from eating dinner. What I had for dinner was 4 oz of chicken breast grilled, 3 cups of lettuce, salad dressing, 3 french fries (home made in olive oil) and bbq sauce and ketchup ( organic) I feel overly full from it at this point and I still am only at just under 900 calories for the day. I even had numerous snacks during the day and still that low. I am scared to eat more and gain like crazy, think maybe I need to see a nutritionist who can guide me further... :)

    If any of you have any further feed back I would love it. Thinking there maybe something else I am missing as well.
  • Ivoryelaine
    Ivoryelaine Posts: 18 Member
    Oh, right now I weigh closer to 160. Some one was guessing 135. I would not be attempting to lose much more if any if I were 135. I would just be working out more to be more fit.
  • Ivoryelaine
    Ivoryelaine Posts: 18 Member
    I just looked up on line from the link one of you shared my BMR as well as daily expendature rate. I guess I am supposed to have more like 1400+ even if I do not exercize and more like 1700 or even 1800 if I do exercise and do things during the day....if that is the case I am way way way low on a very very regular basis.

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