PLEASE HELP! I FEEL LIKE I AM LOSING THIS BATTLE

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dianesheart88
dianesheart88 Posts: 111 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello... this is my first time every asking a community for help. Short back ground on me... I decided in May 2011 to change. I did and lost 30 pounds until July 28, 2011 when I was diagnosed with Heart Disease, at which point I went through some depression and difficulty dealing with the new me. I gained all that weight back plus some. I am 44 years old and I currently weight 235... I should be around 160 pounds. For the past 5 weeks I have made huge changes in my diet, exercise and water consumption. I net under 1100-1500 calories a day (greek yogurt, salads, fish, veggies, etc...) and exercise 5-6 days per week and drink 8-10 glasses of water. I usually do interval spinning for about 30-40 minutes or take a hour bike ride with lots of hills usually burning about 600-800 calories. I have also incorporated some weights on every other day.
My problem... 5 weeks later and no weight loss. I am beyond frustrated. I know I haven't been at it that long, but to not see any results in very discouraging. It is more important than ever that I get this weight off. I was just in the hospital again June 2013 for another stent placement. It's so difficult to work hard at something and see no impact. Even my measurements haven't changed. I would really appreciate any feedback on this topic. What am I doing wrong? Does anyone ever do all these things and never lose weight? Am I not eating enough or too much? I did see my general Dr this week and discussed. He ordered blood tests but no results yet.
Thank you in advance for your help!
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Replies

  • dailytammy
    dailytammy Posts: 49 Member
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    Can you open your diary so that we can see it and give you advice.
  • tkcasta
    tkcasta Posts: 405 Member
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    You might want to open your diary so people can see. But the first thing I would ask is are you using a scale to measure your food? You can have mistakes of 100's of calories if you aren't properly measuring.
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
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    Do you have a food scale?
    How do you calculate your burns?
    Can your dr send you to a nutritionist ?

    It is hard to know what is happening.
  • princesstoadstool82
    princesstoadstool82 Posts: 371 Member
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    Maybe have a read of eat more 2 weigh less... xo allthe best..
  • xxnellie146xx
    xxnellie146xx Posts: 996 Member
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    You might want to open your diary so people can see. But the first thing I would ask is are you using a scale to measure your food? You can have mistakes of 100's of calories if you aren't properly measuring.

    This.

    Also if you are using MFP calculations for calories burned, you are likely not burning as much as you think.
  • GlassCutter7
    GlassCutter7 Posts: 14 Member
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    I have had similar trouble with doing all the right things and still not seeing any results. I had to cut out all sugar, added salt, all processed carbs and I had to split my exercise in to more than once a day.

    Instead of doing one long exercise, I do 20+ minutes 2-3 times per day. Also being mindful of drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day and journal, journal, journal. When I stop journaling, I start gaining. It keeps me mindful every day, multiple times a day. Journaling keeps this path in forefront and allows me to see where I stray.

    I really hope things start moving for you. Good luck!
  • dianesheart88
    dianesheart88 Posts: 111 Member
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    Sorry about the diary... I opened it. I do allow for one meal per week to have something I normally don't eat. I do have a scale and use it sometimes. I am using the computer on my spin bike, cyclemeter app for calories burned for my bike rides and MFP. Thanks for the replies so far!
  • ammadove
    ammadove Posts: 97 Member
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    Some of the larger grocery store chains offer nutritionists services at a very modest fee which is then given back in gift cards for that store. Might be worth checking to see if any in your area do this. Best of luck to you but think you won't need it because you are so very focused now.
  • DocMarr
    DocMarr Posts: 132 Member
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    Looking through your diary I see several days over the past two weeks when you haven't logged anything in some of the meals. So either you are not logging all your food and drink - in which case you really can have no true idea of what you are eating OR you are seriously under eating, if that's all you had.
  • becomingtherealme
    becomingtherealme Posts: 39
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    I've read that hormonal imbalance can keep us from losing. You really need to talk to your MD. Take a print out of your MFP entries to show your consistency. Also, make sure your logging every bite and I agree with the others, get a food scale so you're not second guessing. Best wishes regarding your health and weight loss.
  • dianesheart88
    dianesheart88 Posts: 111 Member
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    Especially the last week I've been pretty down about this so there was a couple days where I didn't log.
  • TheDoctorDana
    TheDoctorDana Posts: 595 Member
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    I totally understand. I have been losing the same pound off and on for almost 2 months. I went and bought 30 day shred last night and hopefully after the next month I will have at least dropped inches. Hang in there. I hear that lifting weights will keep you from losing for a while. I am hoping that is where the problem lies. Muscle repairing itself holds onto water I'm told. :flowerforyou:
  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
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    What did you do when you lost the 30 pounds? What are you doing different now? Off the top of my head I would say you are under eating for the amount of exercise. But this is just a guess. You need to honestly calculate your TDEE, subtract about 15%, then eat that amount per day. You have to accurately log your food. If, after about 2-3 weeks of doing this and you aren't losing, adjust slightly and try again.
  • eating4me
    eating4me Posts: 239 Member
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    Even though you're feeling really down about not losing, don't lose focus. You need to log every single thing you eat, and you need to be accurate. When I first started MFP, logging was a brand new experience for me, and it was a REAL eye-opener. The logging was a real slap in the face for me, but it also helped me to be more conscious about what I was putting into my body. I can't imagine not logging now!

    You sound like you're doing all of the right things, otherwise! You're doing great with your exercising, so just keep it up! You've only been doing this for 5 weeks, so sometimes it takes a bit to "kickstart" your metabolism into gear. Just lean on us whenever you need it; that's what we're all here for! YOU CAN DO THIS. You are much stronger than you think. Just being on here is proof that you're committed to changing your lifestyle, and you will see changes in your health, body, and mind! Feel free to add me as a friend, if you'd like. :) Most importantly, never give up.
  • NonnyMary
    NonnyMary Posts: 982 Member
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    Hi - On your food diary, you dont have any sugars listed. That may be an indication of where you are exceeding nutrients.

    also i dont see many green vegetables, i do see on one day you had nothing but desserts for dinner. that may be a clue,, too many sugars and fats and not enough veg?

    Just a thought.

    Calories look decent though.

    Another person was excercising 7 days a week (you do 5-6) and seems like she said she was not losing wieght. either she was not resting in between so that muscles can repair itself, or else you are building muslce.

    thats all the feedback i can give you - hope it helps.
  • DocMarr
    DocMarr Posts: 132 Member
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    Looking again through your diary. In the past week, there were more than two days with no logging at all and other days when there were only items logged for breakfast and lunch. So you aren't logging all your food, If you want to be sure that you are doing this correctly then you really do need to log every single mouthful, every tablespoon of oil used to cook with, every drink taken. All of these things add up and unless you are accurately weighing your food and logging it all, then you really are only guessing as to how much you have or have not had.

    However, assuming that on the days you did log something for all four meals, you did so accurate - you were still sitting with 900 and 600-odd calories under your goal at the end of the day. If you are that much under your goal (which already has a built in deficit) then you may be significantly under eating. I found that the optimum weight loss range for me was 1500 calories per WEEK under my MAINTENANCE levels. That was when I lost weight most consistently. If my calorie intake dropped too low then I stopped losing, if my calorie intake rose too high then I stopped losing.

    At the moment, you are dealing with inconsistent records. You are not giving yourself enough information to be able to make considered judgements about what is happening. So we have no idea whether you are over or under eating as the data is incomplete.

    As you have asked for advice, my advice would echo what has been said by others. Use a digital sale to weigh ALL of your food and log it ALL in your MFP diary. And try to aim to eat closer to your daily calorie goal (which already has the required deficit built in). That way you will know for sure that you are a) not eating too much and b) eating enough. And then I'm pretty sure that you will start to see some movement on the scales. If not, it will at least give you more accurate data on which to make an assessment.
  • nmjordan
    nmjordan Posts: 37 Member
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    Are you on medication? Like steroids or antidepressants? Meds can make you gain weight. I've been on anti-depressants that have made me gain a lot of weight so I switched. Message me if you want!
  • tlou5
    tlou5 Posts: 497 Member
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    Personal question but are your lower legs swollen? You state you have a history of heart disease- does this include congestive heart failure? If you have a lot of fluid retention visible in lower legs that might explain the lack of weight loss (and need a visit to the doctor for meds)

    Other thoughts are that if you are overeating due to not weighing or logging....or you could be undereating and shooting your metabolism if you really didn't eat some days.....
  • dianesheart88
    dianesheart88 Posts: 111 Member
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    What did you do when you lost the 30 pounds? What are you doing different now? Off the top of my head I would say you are under eating for the amount of exercise. But this is just a guess. You need to honestly calculate your TDEE, subtract about 15%, then eat that amount per day. You have to accurately log your food. If, after about 2-3 weeks of doing this and you aren't losing, adjust slightly and try again.

    Figured my TDEE and it's 2758 calories. 15% of that is 413... so are you saying I should eat 2145? If that's the case looks like I've been way under eating. Also, looking back to 2011 when I lost that weight... there's nothing different now from then. Thanks!
  • dailytammy
    dailytammy Posts: 49 Member
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    I had this problem cut some carbs and increase your protein. Your carb to protein ratio is off. I eat less carbs and no I don't do no carbs or low carbs (so no bashing by others lol). I just lowered my carbs alittle and increased my protein and it helped a lot. I always watch the sodium and sugar content and never eat processed foods. See if that helps after a week :) good luck

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