Gaining even doing what I am supposed to...please help :(

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  • bacitracin
    bacitracin Posts: 921 Member
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    Step 1: find a new doctor.
    Step 2: get a second test because there is no way your resting metabolic rate is that high.
  • Danny_Boy13
    Danny_Boy13 Posts: 2,094 Member
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    That's a bummer babe. Just wondering though, while you are gaining weight, are you maybe toning up? Are your clothes fitting better?

    I was wondering this same thing. Even though you are gaining weight, if the cloths are fitting better thats progress, right?
  • lisamarie2181
    lisamarie2181 Posts: 560 Member
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    That's a bummer babe. Just wondering though, while you are gaining weight, are you maybe toning up? Are your clothes fitting better?

    Unfortunately Kev not so much lol I felt that once I started eating low carb that my stomach has definitely gone down, but then I get on the scale and I am way up. I thought maybe it could be water from strength training but I thought one of the perks of low carb was not having water retention!

    I don't think I looked like I did last time I weighed what I do now, but I can see the big difference when I look at pics from last year when I first stalled.
  • sozisraw
    sozisraw Posts: 418 Member
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    You have been told to eat the wrong amount of minimum calories! Log your details on here at1/2lb loss a week and follow that. All the best sorry for your troubles!
  • bgelliott
    bgelliott Posts: 610 Member
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    Wow, 2,480 is about what I burn "with" cardio and weight training every day! That number seems really high for a resting metabolic rate.

    My suggestion would be to lower your calorie intake (pick a decent number like 1,800 and adjust from there based on your results).
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    That's a bummer babe. Just wondering though, while you are gaining weight, are you maybe toning up? Are your clothes fitting better?

    Unfortunately Kev not so much lol I felt that once I started eating low carb that my stomach has definitely gone down, but then I get on the scale and I am way up. I thought maybe it could be water from strength training but I thought one of the perks of low carb was not having water retention!

    I don't think I looked like I did last time I weighed what I do now, but I can see the big difference when I look at pics from last year when I first stalled.

    Everyone retains water.. other wise the muscles can't repair themselves. Low carb just helps you retain less water.

    My suggestion is, if you know you lose at around 1400 hundred, then start there and eat back exercise calories. If you find yourself hungry or not satisfied, then add more. If you find yourself not losing, then subtract. Eventually you'll find your balence.
  • FATJAKE5
    FATJAKE5 Posts: 162
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    Maybe if you open your "Food Diary" someone can figure out what's going on. What is your daily average for sodium intake for the past 30 days? I suspect that may be your problem.
  • ninany27
    ninany27 Posts: 3 Member
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    Hi Bella,

    In my experience, this is one of the most accurate BMR and TDEE cals out there, try this:
    http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

    I also thing you were given your TDEE, instead of your RMR with that number you got at your test.

    Try the above and see what you get, start from there. Good luck!
  • lisamarie2181
    lisamarie2181 Posts: 560 Member
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    Hi Bella,

    In my experience, this is one of the most accurate BMR and TDEE cals out there, try this:
    http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

    I also thing you were given your TDEE, instead of your RMR with that number you got at your test.

    Try the above and see what you get, start from there. Good luck!

    Thanks for the link!

    I have done the calculators and once cutting my 20% off my TDEE, I still got 2000 cals, and I still wasn't losing, but now that I think about it I don't think I was really gaining either. At the time I was told to keep being patient and it would start working, but after being at a stand still yet again, that was when I went and got my RMR tested and was given an even higher number.

    I have a feeling that because of the PCOS that maybe all these calculators and test may not be accurate.

    I do know for sure the number I was given was my RMR, I have the paperwork for it, and also the test was done with me breathing into a machine while I was laying down, so definitely wouldn't have been my TDEE.

    It seems like most of you are suggesting being aroun 1800 cals to start, should I not eat back exercise cals? I do really want to ramp up my workouts, so days I work out should I maybe eat some cals back and just try and net a certain amount everyday?

    Also, I don't have my food diary open to the public, only to friends, i don't need people scrutinizing my food, especially since I see all over this site how people eat junk and lose, I don't do that so I don't think what I am eating really has much to do with it. Like I said I eat mostly all whole foods, obviously on days I did bad there is some convenience foods in there, but it is definitely not a norm in my diet.

    I did just remeasure on Saturday and figured that I should calculate a month from here, I am going to keep my carbs as low as I can, I refuse to cut out veggies, and I do eat quite a bit usually, so that is why my counts are a bit higher, but if I still am struggling maybe even go a bit lower. With PCOS it is hard to tell how resistant you are to insulin unless you get tested and at the moment I don't have the money to do this.

    So I think I will set my diary to 1800 like most of you suggested, but should I eat back exercise cals or no? Or just maybe half to be on the safe side?
  • CM9178
    CM9178 Posts: 1,265 Member
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  • bevmcarthur
    bevmcarthur Posts: 341 Member
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    Bella can you open your diet so we can see what kinds of food you are eating. I am thinking like everyone else that is a very high number . I have a lot of hormone issues so i know all about the weight hanging on.
    I would maybe try eating 1800 for a few weeks and see if that helps . GOOD LUCK
  • pumkin85
    pumkin85 Posts: 5
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    Stick to it girl!! I gained at the beginning of my journey and since the end of the first couple weeks I am now losing fat!

    You are most likely gaining muscle. If it is really worrying you, go to a nutritionist and maybe talk with a personal trainer... Where I go I got a free consultation!
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
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    At best, I would call the doctor and re-discuss. I think perhaps there was a misunderstanding? Did he mention any other numbers that could have been confused? Did he explain? That number definitely sounds more like TDEE to me. No harm in asking.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Since that RMR is likely trustworthy, there is still a matter of when it was done within the month.

    Potential 200-400 calorie inflation if done on your peak BMR time during the month.
    Which means you could only have a deficit for perhaps 1 week out of month.

    The timing of your RMR test within the month could easily reflect the fact you are at a high or low BMR, and potential for 200-400 calorie spread for the max variation in the month.

    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/36/4/611.full.pdf+html

    Just to keep in back of mind, was test done on the hill or valley of the month, or nicely on the side of the hill?
    In our study, there is an average differ- ence of 0.25 kcal/min or 359 kcal/day in the BMR from its zenith, before menses, to its nadir, after ovulation.

    So depending on the timing of your test, that may not be your avg value.
  • bevmcarthur
    bevmcarthur Posts: 341 Member
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    Thanks for adding me as a friend i did have a look at your diet and there is a few things that i would change if it was me
    Eat more good FATS you have a high fat intake but its not good fats things like Almond ,walnuts , Avocados ,coconut oil ,and olive oil also i would add more Veggies like Kale, Spinach ,Radishes, Cucumbers, Broccoli, Cauliflower ,and salads with homemade dressing and maybe add some berries to your diet they are one of the best fruits as they are low in natural sugars .
    i my self believe that you need to have proteins and carbs in your diet good carbs are healthy for you and they are the ones found in sprouted grains fruit veggies, lentils, yams
    hope this help you
  • lisamarie2181
    lisamarie2181 Posts: 560 Member
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    At best, I would call the doctor and re-discuss. I think perhaps there was a misunderstanding? Did he mention any other numbers that could have been confused? Did he explain? That number definitely sounds more like TDEE to me. No harm in asking.


    This was the only test I got done besides getting a body scan for an accurate BF%.

    I have a feeling I need to go see an endocrinologist to see if there is more wrong than just the PCOS.

    Everytime I get my thyroid checked they tell me it is in the normal range, but I keep hearing you have to get your T4 tested to be sure and not sure if normal tests do that.

    Otherwise I am at a loss. I feel like the only person ever who can't lose weight low carb lol
  • D1m3b4g
    D1m3b4g Posts: 15 Member
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    All I would add to the advice people have already said is make sure you re-feed at points, depending on how much you need to reset your hormones depends on you. Also I can echo the concerns over the cal intake, I'm 6'2 and to lose weight whilst training I take on 1200-1800, to gain around 3100.

    The concept of what I mentioned above (refeeding) is, cut back on carbs/calories enough and your body adjusts your hormones to cater for the amount of cals it expects to take in on a daily basis. If you continually limit yourself you will eventually plateau and any attempt to lose more weight will often be in vain whilst your body stores any excess carbs it wasn't expecting - causing you to potentially gain.

    Eat small often, eat protein, cut carbs, drink water.
    Do that for say 5 or 6 out of 7 days then re-feed.
    Or if it suits you more, do the low carb thing for 12 days then re-feed for 2.

    I found it important to trick your body into expecting a certain amount of energy then withdrawing the carbs to make it feast on fat reserves.

    Hope this is in some small way helpful.
  • lisamarie2181
    lisamarie2181 Posts: 560 Member
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    Thanks for adding me as a friend i did have a look at your diet and there is a few things that i would change if it was me
    Eat more good FATS you have a high fat intake but its not good fats things like Almond ,walnuts , Avocados ,coconut oil ,and olive oil also i would add more Veggies like Kale, Spinach ,Radishes, Cucumbers, Broccoli, Cauliflower ,and salads with homemade dressing and maybe add some berries to your diet they are one of the best fruits as they are low in natural sugars .
    i my self believe that you need to have proteins and carbs in your diet good carbs are healthy for you and they are the ones found in sprouted grains fruit veggies, lentils, yams
    hope this help you

    Thanks for the advice bev, alot of the things you mentioned are too high carb to eat a lot of in a day for me. because my cals have been set so high, I have alot of food to get in and that means a lot more meat and dairy than anything because by the time I eat my veggies I don't have much carbs left to work with. I do use olive oil and coconut oil when cooking and do sometimes put coconut oil in my coffee. I eat a good amount of veggies, I may have a few days here and there where it is less, but it is usually just a day that I haven't gone shopping yet. Also, keto is high fat low carb, so that does mean having to eat high fat things like dairy to get my macros to come out right. I do definitely eat nuts, had some nut butter with celery for breakfast yesterday, but if you eat too much they definitely up the carbs.

    I either eat green beans, broccoli or cauliflower or salads, I do make my own salad dressings usually, have had a few tough weeks in my personal life, so those things have gone the processed route unfortunately, but it is not a norm. I am staying away from fruit because of the sugar, even adding a serving will put me over my carbs unfortunately.

    I know a lot of people don't like the low carb, but this is the only thing that works the best and for women that have PCOS, I am sure the majority have been told to eat low carb. I have tried everything, eating healthy whole grains, legumes, gone pescatarian, went vegan for months - all of these with the carbs just don't do anything for me unfortunately, which makes me believe I maybe very insulin resistant. I am definitely not new to dieting, and if I was an average person I would be skinny by now with the amount of determination and dedication I put in. It is very frustrating putting the effort in and getting nothing in return, which makes it difficult to keep being so diligent and I think that after having been this way for 5 months, I think I have done the best anyone could. I have eaten super clean and that still didn't do much. For the most part my diet is right on track with my macros

    Since I have gone low carb I do feel better, and not eating the carbs has kept me on track to not cheat and not eat junk. And I honestly think it is a problem with the cals, not so much the carbs. Like I said there are a ton of people on here that eat junk regularly and lose, and also tons of people on the keto/low carb that don't eat all healthy fats and lose. I have eliminated a lot from my diet and like I said, it is a bit tough to judge the last week, I had a death in the family and unfortunately convenience was needed, but did my best to stay in my carb allotment.

    I was trying to follow the keto approach, which is a high fat/low carb plan. I do my best to get healthy fats in there, but there is definitely going to be meats and dairy for the cals and fat in there and I know some people don't consider that good fats.
  • goodtimezzzz
    goodtimezzzz Posts: 640 Member
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    the keto diet may be the WORST ever...raise your carbs exercise and freaking LIVE..raise your carbs immediately to 250 grams a day...watch the weight fly off....I was exactly where you are at!!
  • frjanet
    frjanet Posts: 10 Member
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    I think you are eating far too many calories. Try 1500! Eat only 25 g of healthy fat - you need to take it less than you are burning. If you work out, do NOT add those calories into your daily allowable. Even if you are thinking you are eating GOOD Fat - fat is fat. Focus on lean fresh meat no packaged and no added sodium. Drink lots of water and eat every 2 1/2 hrs - Start with measuring your protein intake too. .8-1 gram per "lean" body weight. (you will need to have a nutrionist measure). Eat equal proterin to carb ratio and 4g of healthy fat per meal/snack. SIX times a day you should aim for. Alternate your Cardio and Strengh training days - 6 days on 1 day off. Or 3 on 1 off. Give yourself a day of rest - YOGA?