Please someone help me to understand & not give up!

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MikkiMerchant
MikkiMerchant Posts: 5
in Introduce Yourself
I am really struggling...I have been tracking on here for over 6 weeks however have been tracking on my own for what seems like forever! I have not lost any weight other than 5 pounds in almost 4 months. I have a daily calorie goal of 1200 plus exercise which I do 6 or 7 days a week. My exercise is 3 days with a trainer for strength, 1 day with one on one yoga instruction, 3-4 days of walking the hills in our area for about 4kms, and 1 or 2 cardio sessions at home or the gym weekly. I do change it up with more yoga classes some weeks or other cario classes depending on where I am for work.

I am in my mid forties and am peri-menopausal, my cortisol levels and thyroid were just checked last week and apprear to be working properly. I do have low blood pressure and a very low white blood cell count. Additionally I am unable to eat raw foods and therefore never eat things like salad or fruit, however I do it 5 servings of cooked veggies every day. My diet is high in protien and carbs but this is not new, nor are counting calories and exercising.

I am 5' 8 and weigh 157 pounds, I have a plastic hip and very degenerative spine (2 discs completely eroded). My doctors say I should weigh between 121 and 145 at the very maximum and my BMI should be closer to 22 or 23 and I am at 25.4 (done with calipers).

I am beyond frustrated with the fact no matter what I do I cannot bring my weight down and with yet another appointment with my Oncologist (survivor) and Neurosurgeon fast approaching I am getting more and more stressed out, frustrated and want to just give up, it feels hopeless!

I sleep 8 hrs or better per night generally, I meditate 2X daily, I have no fininacial concerns, I am in a healthy happy relationship with the father of my grown children who are also not a real big stress factor (kids will always have you concerned no matter how old they are!)....I have a great career, wonderful friends, we travel, laugh and enjoy life.

So what I am I missing, my doctors cannot provide me an answer, my trainer doesn't have any ideas, my yoga instructor believes if I keep meditating the lesson will appear, my husband says "it's no big deal, you are beautiful, getting older and that is just the way life is...so embrace it and stop worrying!"

But I feel such a responsibility to both my family and myself to do the very best I can to help create a healthy container, one that is strong and capabale, independant and not going to cause burden to my husband or my children. I want to stay as healthy & disease free as possible for as long as possible.

Please if anyone has any ideas, as outlandish or crazy as they may be, please, please share them. I would be so very grateful for some ideas, inspiration or awareness....direction....or possible solutions to how on earth I can obtain healthier and more successful results.

Replies

  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    You said you're eating 1200/day - do you eat back any of your exercise calories? It sounds like you're exercising quite a bit, so if you're not eating back any of these exercise calories you may be holding on to the weight because you're not eating *enough*!

    Also, are you watching sodium? High sodium levels can make it difficult to lose weight. It really helped me once I started paying attention to that.
  • lilchino4af
    lilchino4af Posts: 1,292 Member
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    You said you're eating 1200/day - do you eat back any of your exercise calories? It sounds like you're exercising quite a bit, so if you're not eating back any of these exercise calories you may be holding on to the weight because you're not eating *enough*!

    Also, are you watching sodium? High sodium levels can make it difficult to lose weight. It really helped me once I started paying attention to that.
    Exacly what I was going to say. If you're not eating your exercise calories, your body isn't getting enough fuel and therefore is actually slowing your metabolism to "save" calories instead of burning them. Also, make sure you get at least 64 oz of water a day, more if you exercise, and even more if you go over on sodium to help flush the excess sodium out of your system.

    NOTE: Don't expect an immediate improvement when making these changes because you'll be setting yourself up for disappoint. It will take your body at least 1-2 weeks to get used to the changes in eating more calories because it will need to readjust your metabolism to compensate.

    Good luck!
  • Eve23
    Eve23 Posts: 2,352 Member
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    Deep breath. Definately make sure you are eating your excercise calories. Also you say your diet is high in protein and carbs, are you keeping track of your fiber? If you track the fiber rather than the carbs you will feel like your very full without having to back it up with other things. Vegies are great cooked . Just an idea.
  • kaseyalicia
    kaseyalicia Posts: 1
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    I can relate to feeling frustrated and wanting to give up. I want to give up everytime I get on the scale and it iseither going in the wrong direction or not moving at all.

    I agree with accountant_boi, if you're taking in too much sodium it will make it hard to lose weight. Basically make the body start retaining more water, which really sucks. I've had to restrict my self to only 1500mg daily which pretty much leaves out about everything I like to eat (no more popcorn).

    Also would recommend looking at how much grams of sugar you're consuming. For me that's another issue, so I limit my self to about 20 - 25 grams daily (sometimes less).
  • Amarea
    Amarea Posts: 91 Member
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    I was actually going to suggest the same thing. It could be that you need a day or two here and there where you actually eat more. It helps curb that starvation mode your body likes to get in to if you aren't eating back much of your exercise calories. (Doc told me this as well).

    It really sounds like you are doing all you can and shouldn't beat yourself up over it. Check your water and salt intake, try some extra fat burning foods, and know that you are dedicated and it will happen for you. I believe our mind also has a big factor in how far we can go in everything, including weight loss. Good luck to you!
  • lutzsher
    lutzsher Posts: 1,153 Member
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    I am at the point where I have "almost" figured out my body's formula.
    I will lose weight SLOWLY if I only eat 1200 calories and don't exercise at all, about 1 pound per week. If I exercise I MUST eat at least 1400 calories per day (more if it is really vigorus or extended exercise) or the scale does not move.
    Im only 5" 4" and find that this formula is my golden ticket . . . now this changes with my body weight but as I've learned . . . eat MORE to lose MORE!
  • ShrinkingNinja
    ShrinkingNinja Posts: 460 Member
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    Please read this book: "The Rosedale Diet" by Ron Rosedale. It is a lifestyle change, not a diet as you would tend to think with the word diet. My karate instructors turned me onto this because I was stuck at an advanced red belt and weighing 275.5... I am a 5'6" female... So I was a BIG girl. My weight was holding me back from advancing. They had been on this lifestyle change for awhile and it was working really well for them and to me they never needed to lose weight anyway.

    I figured I would give it a real honest go because I wanted to advance to brown belt and even though I didn't think it would work for me... maybe they would see the honest effort into consideration on how my body was holding me back.

    I started on April 19th, 2010... I officially weighed 275.5 that morning. It is 4 months later and I weighed in at 224.4 this morning. I eat. I am never hungry. I have even had to take times off from all my working out due to injuries and I was still losing.

    The idea behind this lifestyle is to correct your leptin levels in your blood. Leptin levels can be thrown off from Yoyo dieting and such. Leptin causes your body to store fat instead of burning it. If leptin levels are high you body is relying on sugars for fuel. This causes you to crave foods that are not good for you. If you do not give your body the sugars it wants out of sure willpower then it will start to break down your muscles and bones to make sugar because that is easier than burning the fat.

    There is a 3 week induction period but it is so easy. There is a ton of natural foods to eat. Basically, you just eat from that list and you start losing. The book is way better at explaining it.

    Coming from someone who has tried every diet out there.... This is what everyone needs to be doing. Everyone that is doing this around me are losing weight and getting healthier. My nails, hair, skin are better. I use to have daily miagraines and I have not had one in 4 months!

    Please, give this book a look over. Also, you can look at my blog... shrinkingninja.wordpress.com ... I have blogged what I ate and exercise I have done EVERYDAY... Hoping that one day my journey could help someone.

    Contact me if you would like to talk about it more.
  • skinney1357
    skinney1357 Posts: 68
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    I am 26 years old and 5'8. I could NEVER be 121 pounds naturally. My start weight was 177 and my goal weight is 145. I am currently 150 pounds and feel great. I think it is just taking awhile because you really aren't that overweight! You don't have very much to lose and it seems to take forever the closer you get to your goal. Play with your exercise calories and eat different types of food. You may need an extra rest day or different form of exercise. I started doing less cardio and more walking and have seen amazing results. Just play with everything and see what works for you.
  • kim142
    kim142 Posts: 3
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    Slow and steady wins the race. I'm tempted to agree with your husband but if your not happy/healthy then continue as you are, you've lost 5 pounds in 4 months which means that you could lose nearly a stone in 12 months. Some people on this forum have mentioned eating over their calories one day and then under their calories the next which sometimes gives the body a wake-up call, it might be worth researching. Good Luck
  • Gorgeous1
    Gorgeous1 Posts: 450 Member
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    5'8" and 157 sounds pretty close to perfect, my dear. At 121, you'd look like death walking. I wish movie stars and public people would quit lying about their weight to give the impression that someone 5'8" could weigh 120 pounds and look healthy. In most cases they cannot. I'm 5'9" and the LOWEST i've been in my adult life was 147 when I was modeling and it was a near impossible weight for me to maintain. I was wearing a size 4. In fact, even many of the very thin looking models we see in magazines are actually weighing in between 130 and 150. Why? They're very very tall women.

    I have a girlfriend who is about 5'1 and 100 pounds soaking wet. And she looks very thin, although not unhealthy, just teeny tiny. There is no way I could imagine adding 7 inches to her stature and only an extra 20 pounds and see her looking normal and healthy. uh-uh.

    Perhaps you need to refocus now on toning and tightening rather than losing weight. Those "normal" charts are only a guide, but individual people carry weight differently.
  • MikkiMerchant
    MikkiMerchant Posts: 5
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    Thank you so much for taking the time to respond and share your expereince. Usually my sodium is between 800-2400 although there have been days where it has hit 3000. As for water I usually get about 2 - 3 litres in per day.
  • MikkiMerchant
    MikkiMerchant Posts: 5
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    Also I do typically eat the calories earned from exercise which can bring intake up to 1400 - 1800 calories, however there are some days I do not get everything in , or the calories I add are a guess based on the closest information available. Perhaps not exact but pretty close.

    I really do appreciate very much all the responses, it really makes a difference and I will hang in there and keep you all posted.

    Namaste
    Michellene
  • metizzy2
    metizzy2 Posts: 122
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    Please read this book: "The Rosedale Diet" by Ron Rosedale. It is a lifestyle change, not a diet as you would tend to think with the word diet. My karate instructors turned me onto this because I was stuck at an advanced red belt and weighing 275.5... I am a 5'6" female... So I was a BIG girl. My weight was holding me back from advancing. They had been on this lifestyle change for awhile and it was working really well for them and to me they never needed to lose weight anyway.

    I figured I would give it a real honest go because I wanted to advance to brown belt and even though I didn't think it would work for me... maybe they would see the honest effort into consideration on how my body was holding me back.

    I started on April 19th, 2010... I officially weighed 275.5 that morning. It is 4 months later and I weighed in at 224.4 this morning. I eat. I am never hungry. I have even had to take times off from all my working out due to injuries and I was still losing.

    The idea behind this lifestyle is to correct your leptin levels in your blood. Leptin levels can be thrown off from Yoyo dieting and such. Leptin causes your body to store fat instead of burning it. If leptin levels are high you body is relying on sugars for fuel. This causes you to crave foods that are not good for you. If you do not give your body the sugars it wants out of sure willpower then it will start to break down your muscles and bones to make sugar because that is easier than burning the fat.

    There is a 3 week induction period but it is so easy. There is a ton of natural foods to eat. Basically, you just eat from that list and you start losing. The book is way better at explaining it.

    Coming from someone who has tried every diet out there.... This is what everyone needs to be doing. Everyone that is doing this around me are losing weight and getting healthier. My nails, hair, skin are better. I use to have daily miagraines and I have not had one in 4 months!

    Please, give this book a look over. Also, you can look at my blog... shrinkingninja.wordpress.com ... I have blogged what I ate and exercise I have done EVERYDAY... Hoping that one day my journey could help someone.

    Contact me if you would like to talk about it more.
    I would be interested in what types of food this diet entails.
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
    Options
    Also I do typically eat the calories earned from exercise which can bring intake up to 1400 - 1800 calories, however there are some days I do not get everything in , or the calories I add are a guess based on the closest information available. Perhaps not exact but pretty close.

    I really do appreciate very much all the responses, it really makes a difference and I will hang in there and keep you all posted.

    Namaste
    Michellene

    Glad to hear this! :smile: It sounds like you need to stick with it and just keep eating right and exercising - perhaps focus more on measurements than weight. Since you don't have too much to lose, you may see more progress in the measurements. You could also work on doing some weight lifting and shaping your body rather than primarily focusing on losing weight.

    The only other thing I'd recommend is for you to get a heart-rate-monitor or a bodybugg type device - I've found both MFP and gym machines to significantly overestimate my calories burned compared to what my GoWearFit gives me (like a bodybugg). If you're overestimating exercise calories and eating them all back, it could slow/stall weight loss.
  • StacySkinny
    StacySkinny Posts: 984 Member
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    First of all - if you're 5'8 and weigh 157 lbs you are by no means over weight. Every BMI chart that I've looked at (I went online and looked at six different charts) says that you are in a healthy body weight range. You're on the cusp and if you where a few pounds heavier, then yes, you'd be in the "overweight" category. But even if you where barely into the "over weight" category, it still wouldn't be something that you should fret about. The bottom line is that the number on the scale and on some chart will NEVER show how healthy someone is. According to the BMI system Brad Pitt is overweight while Russell Crowe is obese.

    Second of all - Does your plastic hip weigh exactly the same as a "real" hip would? You really have to factor that into how much you weigh too. Perhaps that plastic hip weighs more than a bone hip would.

    Either way - if you exercise regularly and are eating right, it doesn't matter what that BMI chart says.
  • ShrinkingNinja
    ShrinkingNinja Posts: 460 Member
    Options
    Please read this book: "The Rosedale Diet" by Ron Rosedale. It is a lifestyle change, not a diet as you would tend to think with the word diet. My karate instructors turned me onto this because I was stuck at an advanced red belt and weighing 275.5... I am a 5'6" female... So I was a BIG girl. My weight was holding me back from advancing. They had been on this lifestyle change for awhile and it was working really well for them and to me they never needed to lose weight anyway.

    I figured I would give it a real honest go because I wanted to advance to brown belt and even though I didn't think it would work for me... maybe they would see the honest effort into consideration on how my body was holding me back.

    I started on April 19th, 2010... I officially weighed 275.5 that morning. It is 4 months later and I weighed in at 224.4 this morning. I eat. I am never hungry. I have even had to take times off from all my working out due to injuries and I was still losing.

    The idea behind this lifestyle is to correct your leptin levels in your blood. Leptin levels can be thrown off from Yoyo dieting and such. Leptin causes your body to store fat instead of burning it. If leptin levels are high you body is relying on sugars for fuel. This causes you to crave foods that are not good for you. If you do not give your body the sugars it wants out of sure willpower then it will start to break down your muscles and bones to make sugar because that is easier than burning the fat.

    There is a 3 week induction period but it is so easy. There is a ton of natural foods to eat. Basically, you just eat from that list and you start losing. The book is way better at explaining it.

    Coming from someone who has tried every diet out there.... This is what everyone needs to be doing. Everyone that is doing this around me are losing weight and getting healthier. My nails, hair, skin are better. I use to have daily miagraines and I have not had one in 4 months!

    Please, give this book a look over. Also, you can look at my blog... shrinkingninja.wordpress.com ... I have blogged what I ate and exercise I have done EVERYDAY... Hoping that one day my journey could help someone.

    Contact me if you would like to talk about it more.
    I would be interested in what types of food this diet entails.

    Here is my blog with the rules I follow and the food list.... The book really does explain it better...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ShrinkingNinja/view/how-i-lost-51-lbs-in-since-april-19-2010-37311

    Here is a blog post showing pictures from when I was at 46lbs down...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ShrinkingNinja/view/what-does-a-46lb-loss-look-like-pics-35836
  • MikkiMerchant
    MikkiMerchant Posts: 5
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    Thank you shrinkingninja for the info on the Rosedale Diet, I appreciate you sharing your experience with me. Unfortunately due to allergies and health issues there are many items from the list that I cannot eat, so I think that plan might be very difficult given I wouold have to modify a great deal of it. I look into it a bit more, so thanks again!
  • MikkiMerchant
    MikkiMerchant Posts: 5
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    Thank You StacySkinny for your post and you are absolutely right that I am not obese or overweight, I am actually considered in the realm of healthy weight but as you say at the higher end. I absolutely recognize what you are saying and believe me I am extremely grateful for the shape I am in and quite proud of all that I have overcome.

    It is the preference of my doctors that I attempt to maintian a lower BMI and overall weight in efforts to be less at risk for faster deterioration of my bones & for less pressure on my joints given the surgery I have already endured.

    I like your attitude and appreciate your comments, I am grateful for where I am, I am just trying to do my very best and am at a place of frustration looking for a little encouragement to keep at it...so thanks again!

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