Not-so-success Story. In Need of Tips.

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parvina
parvina Posts: 28
in Health and Weight Loss
I started my weight loss journey back in 2010 (97kg) and around April 2011 I was in my lowest (57.6 kg) that later on went up to 59kg which I managed to maintain for over a year. However, in summer 2012 I started slowly gaining weight. It would bump up overnight regardless on even harder dieting and increased exercise intensity. In May 2012 I still was 59kg, in June - 60kg, August - 64kg and since November I've been struggling to stay between 65-68 kg.

If I manage to lose a kg over a couple of weeks, I would get back over night and I would have to struggle for weeks again.

I tried turning to doctors, they checked my thyroid, insulin resistance and even cortisol levels and everything expect for cortisol was fine, while the latter they referred to stress. They also advised to cut on food some more and increase the exercise intensity. So I did, but then my muscle mass started dropping rapidly (3kg muscle lost in a month) while fat % would go up, so I was advised to stop exercising altogether and take a long break.

So I did... along with stopping listening to doctors and trying to listen to my body. Some time ago, when I finally felt I had some energy, I picked up exercising again and I no longer suffer from fatigue for days after a workout but now... I'm sleepy and sluggish all day. I sleep over 12 hours and can't get enough. I'm also trying to eat more but I don't have much time left.

I'm torn between trying to eat more calories and being afraid of gaining more weight that I apparently can not drop.

Has anybody been in a situation like this? I really needs some tips and, to be honest, some support because I've never felt this desperate.
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Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Your diary is closed to us. Opening it might help people give you better answers. How much are you eating now and what does your exercise routine look like?
  • parvina
    parvina Posts: 28
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    I haven't kept a diary for a very long time as I've usually been sticking to the same eating plan for months and months, years actually.

    Let's see, these days I usually eat 1-2 eggs over one slice of toast bread along with 3 small cucumbers and 8-10 tiny cherry tomatoes for breakfast. A bowl of lentil soup with a slice of bread or a slice of bread with a match-box piece of white cheese, 3 cucumbers and 8-10 cherry tomatoes for lunch. A 200gr. seabass (whole) or 1 chicken breast or tenderloin and a cup of salad for dinner. I also have a protein shake after my workout.

    For example, today my day was like: sleep for 9.5 hours - wake up - work out - protein shake - shower - breakfast - sleep for 3 hours - lunch - sluggishly move around the house - dinner - and now I'm sleepy again. Luckily I'm on vacation, I don't know how to pull off work like this.

    I do allow myself some alcohol these days too though, but the picture wasn't any different when I was having none. As for snacks, unfortunately these days, I have no time to fit them in.

    As for my exercise routine, I've been mainly doing programs like Chalean Xtreme, Turbo Fire, Insanity. Right now I'm doing Focus T25, strictly sticking to the exercise program.
  • hanwyz
    hanwyz Posts: 37 Member
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    Have they looked at chronic fatigue or similar as a possibility?
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
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    So if you aren't tracking what's going in... but doing a ton of different exercise programs...


    track. If you know what's going in, it's a LOT easier to figure out the rest of the equation at that point.
    L9ldZqJ.png
    those will help.
  • parvina
    parvina Posts: 28
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    Nope, they haven't. :/
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
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    You sound like you are undereating for the amount of exercise you are doing. How tall are you?
  • parvina
    parvina Posts: 28
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    I do not use the scales, but the rest I do. Although the heart rate sensor is confusing me big time these days. If we assume that one can not speak in anaerobic zone then my zones have dropped a lot. Before it was around 160+ to me to feel my heart in my throat, now it's 145+
  • parvina
    parvina Posts: 28
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    1.60 cm or 5'3" but my BMR is down from 1400+ to 1300+ calories (don't remember the exact number right now, but if needed I'll look them up).
  • amsipub
    amsipub Posts: 84 Member
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    If you eat and do the same thing over and over again, your body is just used to what you do and it's not going to lose weight. Tracking what you eat as well as weighing what you are eating will probably also help you. You seem to like tomatoes and cucumbers but what about other vegetables? Broccoli, carrots, radishes, bok choy, leeks, asparagus?

    When I start all over again in trying to get into a healthy lifestyle, I skip exercise and focus on what I'm eating and how I'm eating. How many fruits and how many vegetables am I having?

    I personally like to get recipes from cookinglight.com and I stick to recipes that are 300 calories or less.

    I'm not perfect (still have 10 lbs to goal weight), but food tracking works for me. You only have to track the days that you want to lose weight ;)

    I would love to hear how it goes for you as you start to weigh and track your food. Just try it for 1 week.

    GL!
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
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    I think you need to track/log your food and go a bit easier on the exercise. It sounds like what you are doing is wiping you out, and that's no good. Make notes about how you are feeling after each meal and each exercise session. If you find something that energizes you, do it more often.

    Exercise suggestions: yoga, walking, dance aerobics, step aerobics on the lowest level, and add some resistance exercise 2-3 times per week.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    To me, definitely only something that could be solved through careful tracking.

    You don't know how many calories you need in a day.
    You don't know how many calories you eat in a day.
    You don't know how many calories you burn in a day.

    If you want serious help, you need to track these sort of things. Especially when asking for such help on a site specifically designed to track them.
  • parvina
    parvina Posts: 28
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    Well, cucumbers and tomatoes are easy, so they are my first priority when it comes to breakfast as I'm in a hurry with it. As for other vegies, I could try adding them but the problem is that I'm still low on protein, as they say during measurements, and I can't fit much more food in.

    I'll gladly check out the recipes though, at least my fiance would be happy. :D
  • parvina
    parvina Posts: 28
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    You don't know how many calories you need in a day.

    According to the tracker, 1700. According to my BMR + sedentary life style - 1500.
    You don't know how many calories you eat in a day.
    800-1300 according to the tracker.
    You don't know how many calories you burn in a day.
    I could try wearing a sensor for 24 hours, I guess that would be the only somehow accurate way to find it out.
  • lilRicki
    lilRicki Posts: 4,555 Member
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    My doctor can't find anything wrong with me, except high cortisol. I had 13 viles of blood drawn, xrays, ultrasounds, etc. I've cut my carbs, I track EVERYTHING, I make sure I have sufficient calcium (I don't eat dairy), and high protein. I take a woman's multi-vitamin, and I increase my cardio. So far so good, but it's really slow going. Good Luck, and think positive, not negative!
  • busy91
    busy91 Posts: 15
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    hmmmm....a diary would be more helpful, even if you eat the same thing every day.
    I don't think you are eating enough. If you are doing workouts like Insanity (I know about that one!!!), I think you need more food.
    I stuffed my face when I was doing that, and still lost 20 lbs. I wasn't tired either.

    If you can rule out CFS or Mono and stuff like that, you might just need to eat more food. I don't know what your calorie intake is so it is hard to judge.
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
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    You don't know how many calories you need in a day.

    According to the tracker, 1700. According to my BMR + sedentary life style - 1500.
    You don't know how many calories you eat in a day.
    800-1300 according to the tracker.
    You don't know how many calories you burn in a day.
    I could try wearing a sensor for 24 hours, I guess that would be the only somehow accurate way to find it out.

    So you're not eating enough. 800 a day is far far far too low oh and you also need to eat your exercise calories back if your cal measurement is based on sedentary.
  • DawnEmm
    DawnEmm Posts: 4
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    Withing being intrusive....do you suffer from depression? If you do, that could be a big factor in motivation. I am not at all

    Just curious based on your responses - your motivation to track seems a little low. I agree with everyone that tracking will help you to determine where you are..over a period of time.

    I stuggle with the scale moving as well - it seems to only go up. But, I have toned and look and feel better.

    Sorry you are stuck. I hope you find support here.
  • parvina
    parvina Posts: 28
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    Yes, I realize that, but all my attempts to eat more end up with me gaining weight, which puts me off. Perhaps, I should stick to it for months, hoping that the gained kilos will drop down once my body reorganizes itself, but I can't find courage to stick to this plan for long.
  • parvina
    parvina Posts: 28
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    Withing being intrusive....do you suffer from depression? If you do, that could be a big factor in motivation. I am not at all

    Just curious based on your responses - your motivation to track seems a little low. I agree with everyone that tracking will help you to determine where you are..over a period of time.

    I stuggle with the scale moving as well - it seems to only go up. But, I have toned and look and feel better.

    Sorry you are stuck. I hope you find support here.

    Nope, no depression that I'm aware of.

    My motivation to track is low indeed though, mainly because whenever I submit my diary, the trackers tells me I will be far down the scale in 5 weeks, which never happens.

    Also, tracking hardcore is making me restrain myself even more as any entry over 1200 calories is making me feel guilty.
  • Eabec
    Eabec Posts: 53 Member
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    Hang in there. It takes time to figure out what works best for you. But, the key is to track and get an idea of what you ARE doing to see if that is working. And, if it isn't you tweak until it does.

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