I need some help...

schaapj2
schaapj2 Posts: 320 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, I'm sure you've all heard it before....I can't lose weight. Despite my best efforts, I have actually gained weight. I'll give you my history and can someone give me a little (kind) advice on what I might need to try differently. I am thinking maybe my deficit is too high? HELP!

Stats:
Age: 27
Height: 5'5" (65 in)
Weight: 253 (as of this morning)
Body Fat: 44%
Started working on health/diet/exercise again in earnest on Jan. 21, 2013.

History: Just diagnosed with subclinical hypothyroidism. Taking 25 mg Synthroid once a day. The synthroid has helped with the extreme tiredness, coldness, and hair loss, but it's not helping with the weight loss. 4 weeks ago I was also taken of Yaz (birth control) bc of high blood pressure.

I exercise 6 days a week. 3 of those days I strength train and 3 are HIIT cardio. I alternate every other day. I burn on average 650-850 calories per workout (according to my Polar FT7 HRM-has the band around the rib cage). My average HR is generally 175-180 while exercising. Since I began strength training I can feel and see I've lost inches, and feel stronger, but feel no losses on the scale, in fact I've actually gained 3 lbs. from my lowest of 250. I have been waffling somewhere between 250 and 253 for 6 weeks.

I try to eat a diet high in protein and fiber and lower in carbs. My general break down has been about 44% Fat, 26% Protein, 30% Carbs (I'm working on getting the protein higher-especially on recovery meals after strength training). I have reduced my sugar dramatically, still working on weaning off some more processed stuff. I know my sodium is high, but I drink about 132 oz. of water a day. I weigh my food with a food scale. I only eat whole grain bread at home. I am planning on eliminating fast food April 1 as my next challenge to myself (my first was giving up pop-I did that and now have had no pop or other caffeine since Janaury 21, 2013).

Currently my MFP is set to sedentary with no exercise. Thus, it tells me I should be eating 1,370 calories a day. I generally dont eat my exercise calories back bc a) I'm not hungry and b) it's late at night by the time I'm done working out (my schedule M-F only allows me to work out in the late evening). My net calories are low for most days, but there are a few days when I'm hungrier that I eat more. My net for the week hovers somewhere around 1,200.

I get on average 7-8 hours of sleep per night.

so my questions:

How many calories should I be eating (keep in mind my metabolism is a little sluggish d/t the hypothyroidsim)?

Am I overtraining?

Is my deficit too high?

Should I be eating back my exercise calories? If yes, should I estimate 75% of my calorie burn as a more appropriate estimation for excercise (since HRM are not 100% accurate-though mine is set properly to my height, weight, and age specifications).

Any other general help would be great. I've always been able to lose weight really easily with diet and exercise. I think my body may be fighting me a bit this time.

And please, be respectful. I'm looking for positive feedback, not to be maligned.

Replies

  • schaapj2
    schaapj2 Posts: 320 Member
    Anyone? lol
  • katedevall
    katedevall Posts: 240 Member
    Well, I can't really answer your questions first off.

    Second, I was looking at your diary and you eat a lot of sodium and carbs. You could try to reduce those and see what happens with that.
    Also pounds arent everthing, youre losing inches which is what counts. I would reduce sodium intake and see if you drop any water weight
  • schaapj2
    schaapj2 Posts: 320 Member
    Thanks katedevall. The sodium is high on my list of things to work on. But with all the water I drink, I'd have to think I'd be able to flush more out? But with the muscle recovery from strength training, maybe I am retaining more?!
  • Saree1902
    Saree1902 Posts: 611 Member
    How long have you been doing this for? If you're feeling really hungry, it might be worth eating back some exercise calories. If you feel ok, carry on but from what I've seen on these forums, too large a calorie deficit can lead to a stall in weight loss after a few weeks.
    If you struggle to eat after a workout, maybe have a bigger breakfast the next day, or have a protein shake afterwards.
    Also, take measurements every 3-4weeks so that if the scales aren't moving, you might still see progress.
    I can't really comment on the macro side of things as I'm struggling with that myself...I'm a carb addict!!
  • schaapj2
    schaapj2 Posts: 320 Member
    Saree....I've been working on my helath (in earnes since Jan. 21). I did not start the exercise portion until about 3 weeks later. I don't always feel hungry after exercising, but I've been thinking I do need to either increase my overall calories for the day, or eat back most of my exercise calories.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    Are you on medication and have you stabilized? Unless you are on proper dose losing is very, very difficult. I know. First stop may need to be your doctor.
  • racharmi
    racharmi Posts: 5 Member
    Typically you would want fat to be your lowest percentage of calories for the day (~25%) and definitely up your protein to continue to build muscle during your workouts and as you burn off fat. If you are going to set your MFP to sedentary it is a good idea to eat back at least half if not all of your exercise calories otherwise the deficit is pretty high.
  • seif0068
    seif0068 Posts: 193 Member
    Eating back calories doesn't mean after working out-try eating more throughout the day when you will be working out. Your body needs fuel and the deficit is built in. Try eating back 2/3 of your cals at least and give it at least a few weeks to see if that helps. Remember, you will still be at a deficit!
  • terri_journey
    terri_journey Posts: 287 Member
    Hi, I think some medications do stall weight loss but your doing and awful lot of exercise. The more strength training you do the more muscle you build and muscle weighs more than fat. Like you said your losing inches so it's not like your not making any progress. Inches matters!! Hang tight!! Measure with your clothes for awhile and not the scale. Believe me I know the weight stalling is aggrevating,But Hang in there. It's all worth it!!!! Hope your find the answers your looking for. :smile:
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    Losing inches and visibly seeing a difference is great!

    If you're burning that many calories each day I would say you need to eat more, as you're not netting much. Try about half if you're not hungry for all of them.

    Cut down on working out, try 5 days with 2 rest days. Too much working out sometimes doesn't help.

    Your body will be retaining water weight from your high sodium levels and from working out.

    You should see the numbers on the scale drop soon, be patient.

    Good luck!
  • schaapj2
    schaapj2 Posts: 320 Member
    Thanks all for the encouragement and good advice. I'm going to see a nutritionist tomorrow too-perhaps she can shed some light on all this.

    And yes, I am on meds for the thyroid-25 mg of snythroid-very low dose, as by most doctor's standards I was still within normal range according to the lab (what was normal for the lab was not normal for me!). Just started though so the Synthroid may need to be tweaked as I go along.
  • MomofFour1976
    MomofFour1976 Posts: 5 Member
    Hi! You were very thorough in describing your predicament and I feel a little under qualified to offer help. However, I also feel your predicament and share your pain in that I for years have made changes to my diet, excercised more with little to effect, and now have physical limitations on the activity I can to do to excercise.

    While taking a nutrition class and a personal care class for physical education I learned our bodies get used to the excercise we do. In order to move past a plato (sorry if the spelling is wrong) we must change up what we are doing. So instead of using the everyother day method, try more days of lifting or aerobic excercise for a while. Also, with aerobic excercise it is good to change the kind of aerobic excercise we are doing. For example, if you are participating in a Tae Bo class, maybe try a Zoomba class for a while. It moves the muscles differently.

    What ever you do, don't get discouraged! The inches you have seen come off are more important than the pounds on the scale. Physically your HR is optimal. The only other thing I would say is consult with your physician to make sure you dosage on the medication is appropriate for the results you are seeing.

    I wish you all the best on this journey! :happy:

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