Should I go to a doctor?

Options
2

Replies

  • TraceyG1971
    TraceyG1971 Posts: 123
    Options
    I've been doing the 30day shred and run 8-9 miles a week as well. When I finish the shred I'll up the mileage.

    Measurements since starting the shred have been fairly positive, I had a breakthrough about two weeks in where I lost an inch off each of these areas - bust, waist and thigh, and half an inch off hips. Since then, nothing.

    You're doing a lot of cardio and that burns a lot of calories. You may be burning more than you think and therefore not eating enough. Your body may be holding onto whatever weight you want to lose for it's self preservation. Maybe try to increase your calories.
  • Energizer06
    Energizer06 Posts: 311 Member
    Options
    I'm at the end of my tether.

    I'm eating 1,200 to 1,400 calories a day, I'm exercising 7 days a week...

    And I've lost 3lbs in three months.

    I've had enough, I'm giving everything and getting nothing back, apart from sweat, frustration and hunger.

    My profile pic does not show the story, I need to lose 20lbs. At this rate I'll be 40 before I do it (ok 31 by the way).

    Do you think I need to find out if there is anything medically wrong?

    This: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/943139-weight-loss-cheat-sheet-ipoarm
  • Zylahe
    Zylahe Posts: 772 Member
    Options
    Do you weigh your food?
    How to you estimate your calories burnt?
  • kristinhardesty
    Options
    Just a thought, you may want to get your metabolism tested. I was really struggling, went to the doctor, needed vitamin D, but was fine otherwise, so I went and got it tested... turned out it really was slow, my RMR was 1066/day. I started exercising more, upped my calories to maintenance level for 2 1/2 months and had it retested, now I'm up to 1256/day. I just went back to eating at a slight deficit, so we'll see how it goes. Good luck

    It's good advice to get your metabolism tested. I lost 20 lbs on a 1200 calorie diet and then the body fat percentage on my scale crept back up. I went and had my RMR tested... 1498. Even after 9 months of a low calorie diet and LOTS of exercise (training for a half marathon). I'm still dealing with the backlash of it all... like stress fracturing my foot... but I've managed to drop two percent body fat with running at all. The moral of the story... put good food in and you'll look like you do.
  • clareiow
    clareiow Posts: 53 Member
    Options
    Do u actually need to lose or do u have any to lose?

    Well I'm 155lbs with 34.5% body fat, should be about 15-20lba lighter.

    I'm drinking plenty of water and other fluids (love my tea!!)

    Have just calculated my TDEE on that scooby website and it recommends 1500 so I'm shooting for that, see how it goes.
  • Klem4
    Klem4 Posts: 399 Member
    Options
    Make sure your logging everything correctly, and calories burned. I am no food nazi, I try not to judge other people's intake too much, but going back to the 1st of the month I saw a lot of mcdonalds, and little veggies and fruits. That would make me retain weight like crazy. I would say first try and clean up your foods, and possibly up calories (with good ones).
  • ash8184
    ash8184 Posts: 701 Member
    Options
    I know how you feel! Have you taken measurements to see if you've lost inches? You could have gained muscle.

    Also, agreed on the food allergies. If I eat gluten, I gain - or don't lose.

    You might want to get your metabolism tested. My nutritionist used MedGem - you blow in to a tube and it gives you your BMR basically. Was worth a check for me because mine is apparently on the very low side (and I was eating too much - people on MFP tend to advocate for eating more, but this wasn't helpful to me).

    Definitely get the thyroid checked out.

    Try HIIT - http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ask-the-ripped-dude-whats-the-best-form-of-hiit.html

    Good luck!
  • clareiow
    clareiow Posts: 53 Member
    Options
    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!
  • gddrdld
    gddrdld Posts: 464 Member
    Options
    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!

    I think you've just answered your own question. Clean up your diet. Increase your exercise and/or change what you are doing and you will start to see results again. I can tell you if i ate like you've been eating, I would not lose either.
  • clareiow
    clareiow Posts: 53 Member
    Options
    Ok...will do.

    I feel so angry at myself
  • HomeBody52
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    Have you had your thyroid checked?
  • Pixeebug
    Pixeebug Posts: 34 Member
    Options
    Have you tracked your measurements?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
    Options
    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
    Options
    That's faster than I lost weight.
  • donnaleighh
    donnaleighh Posts: 178 Member
    Options
    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.