Not a special snowflake, just broken? Could use some advice
CeleryStalker
Posts: 665 Member
I'm very wary to put myself out there like this, because I've seen the hostility on this forum and never want it directed at me. I've seen the '700 calories a day and still not losing' threads, the low carb threads, paleo, hcg.....and can't say that I disagree with a lot of the vitriol I see spewed because weight loss/health shouldn't be a gimmick, it shouldn't be a short term change to a short-lived goal, and it doesn't come in magical drops/pills/etc. We're not special snowflakes, and it is, for the most part, weight loss = consume less calories than you burn.
It is with that understanding that I've taken on a healthy way of eating- a proper, balanced diet. I'm trying to cure myself of my carb phobia, after having experienced short-lived success due to low carb dieting. I eat whole foods, I *rarely*, like twice a month, eat a meal I haven't prepared myself, and when I do, it's a 'treat' to have a burger at a local burger joint, or a steak on date night, not some crazy 5,000 calorie fried mess with dessert afterwards. For instance, a typical day looks like this:
Breakfast- 1 cup steel cut oatmeal w/half a banana and 6 raspberries, cinnamon, and a tsp of raw honey. Cup of coffee with 2TB 2% milk :: 303 calories
Lunch- Havana salad on bed of lettuce (havana salad is brown rice, avocado, black beans, tomatoes, cumin, and balsamic vinegar) :: 500 calories (if I've added extra avocado on top, 420'sih if not)
Afternoon snack- Apple and a cheese stick :: 150 calories
Dinner- Salmon, sweet potato with brown sugar and light butter, steamed yellow squash with light butter, salt and pepper, and a side salad with cherry tomatoes and home made balsamic vinaigrette :: 644 calories
Total: 1597 calories
I exercise daily. I walk 5 miles a day, sometimes more if time/weather permits. I go on long bike rides with my husband on the weekends- 35 to 50 miles at a 17+mph pace. On days that I only walk, I burn around 2600-2800 calories. On days I ride, I burn way more, and eat to balance the extra burn, always staying very close to 1,000 calorie deficit.
I've had my blood panel done. I'm not insulin resistant, my thyroid is fine. Only thing a little off was my cholesterol/triglycerides, which I'm sure is because I'm carting around about 50 extra pounds on my 5'11" frame.
So you'd think that after a month of following this pattern, you'd see SOME sort of weight loss, no? I've not lost anything. I teeter on the scale daily, watching the same 5# or so come and go over the course of the week. I never see below 206, usually top out at 213. It's the same thing, every week. I don't understand it. I'm paying meticulous attention to what I put in my mouth, I make sure to get in some form of exercise every single day, and I wear a BodyMedia that tracks my caloric expenditures so I know for certain where I stand there (within reason, I know these things aren't spot on exact)
Could it be that I've tanked my metabolism and it's just taking a while to get back on track? Before trying to lose weight in a reasonable manner, I was ultra low cal on MediFast for a month. I only turned to MF because I had great success there at one point a few years ago, weight came off quick and stayed off til I got lazy and stopped caring. But even my old friend MF was not giving me any results this time, so I decided to come back to what I know in my heart and brain is the right way, with proper diet and exercise. I just can't seem to find the right balance.
Any suggestions? Any theories on what might be going on? It's very demotivational to be trying my best, keeping myself honest with my food and exercise logs, only to see nothing in return.
It is with that understanding that I've taken on a healthy way of eating- a proper, balanced diet. I'm trying to cure myself of my carb phobia, after having experienced short-lived success due to low carb dieting. I eat whole foods, I *rarely*, like twice a month, eat a meal I haven't prepared myself, and when I do, it's a 'treat' to have a burger at a local burger joint, or a steak on date night, not some crazy 5,000 calorie fried mess with dessert afterwards. For instance, a typical day looks like this:
Breakfast- 1 cup steel cut oatmeal w/half a banana and 6 raspberries, cinnamon, and a tsp of raw honey. Cup of coffee with 2TB 2% milk :: 303 calories
Lunch- Havana salad on bed of lettuce (havana salad is brown rice, avocado, black beans, tomatoes, cumin, and balsamic vinegar) :: 500 calories (if I've added extra avocado on top, 420'sih if not)
Afternoon snack- Apple and a cheese stick :: 150 calories
Dinner- Salmon, sweet potato with brown sugar and light butter, steamed yellow squash with light butter, salt and pepper, and a side salad with cherry tomatoes and home made balsamic vinaigrette :: 644 calories
Total: 1597 calories
I exercise daily. I walk 5 miles a day, sometimes more if time/weather permits. I go on long bike rides with my husband on the weekends- 35 to 50 miles at a 17+mph pace. On days that I only walk, I burn around 2600-2800 calories. On days I ride, I burn way more, and eat to balance the extra burn, always staying very close to 1,000 calorie deficit.
I've had my blood panel done. I'm not insulin resistant, my thyroid is fine. Only thing a little off was my cholesterol/triglycerides, which I'm sure is because I'm carting around about 50 extra pounds on my 5'11" frame.
So you'd think that after a month of following this pattern, you'd see SOME sort of weight loss, no? I've not lost anything. I teeter on the scale daily, watching the same 5# or so come and go over the course of the week. I never see below 206, usually top out at 213. It's the same thing, every week. I don't understand it. I'm paying meticulous attention to what I put in my mouth, I make sure to get in some form of exercise every single day, and I wear a BodyMedia that tracks my caloric expenditures so I know for certain where I stand there (within reason, I know these things aren't spot on exact)
Could it be that I've tanked my metabolism and it's just taking a while to get back on track? Before trying to lose weight in a reasonable manner, I was ultra low cal on MediFast for a month. I only turned to MF because I had great success there at one point a few years ago, weight came off quick and stayed off til I got lazy and stopped caring. But even my old friend MF was not giving me any results this time, so I decided to come back to what I know in my heart and brain is the right way, with proper diet and exercise. I just can't seem to find the right balance.
Any suggestions? Any theories on what might be going on? It's very demotivational to be trying my best, keeping myself honest with my food and exercise logs, only to see nothing in return.
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Replies
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Most are gonna mention opening your diary for us to see.. Do you eat back your exercise calories?0
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I exercise daily. I walk 5 miles a day, sometimes more if time/weather permits. I go on long bike rides with my husband on the weekends- 35 to 50 miles at a 17+mph pace. On days that I only walk, I burn around 2600-2800 calories. On days I ride, I burn way more, and eat to balance the extra burn, always staying very close to 1,000 calorie deficit.
Walking 5 miles a day does not burn that much...where are you getting your burned calories from???0 -
Hey,
If you get any hostility, rudeness, sarcasm etc just report it to the mods.
You are doing everything right and you absolutely should be losing weight! It might be an idea (if you feel comfortable with it) to open your food diary - it's usually something simple that can be spotted and ironed out in no time.
All the best xx0 -
Stephanie, I'm a 210# 5'11" woman. I burn 2300 calories just sitting here at the computer all day and taking care of two kids. LOL The walking only gives me about 600 calories extra burn.
I wear a Body Media (its like a FitBit), which is pretty well aligned to any BMR/caloric intake calculator I've found out there.0 -
Greenrun, I eat to maintain a 1k calorie deficit. So I suppose that equates to eating my exercise calories. If I don't get in my walk, for instance, I'll only burn about 2400 calories that day, and therefore will cut out the 'extras' like light butter, crutons on my salad, what have you, to get to around 1400 calories. Days that I do walk, I burn about 2700 calories, and will eat about 1700. Ride days are the best, and usually the only time I will allow for something 'unhealthy' to make an appearance, but in moderation to maintain that 1k deficit. By 'unhealthy', I mean I'll have a chocolate milk for my recovery drink, and maybe have a cheeseburger and some grilled potatoes rather than lean meat or fish and a salad for dinner.0
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Gonna just toss out a suggestion
Eat 1600-1700 daily (no eating extra exercise calories no nothing over that)
Get 160g of Protein, then the rest can be carbs/fat
Do this for a month.0 -
I was hoping you were saying all day not just the walk just wanted to make sure.
Typically from what I can see no weight loss is due to overesitmating exercise and/or underestimating intake.
I found when I first started I was underesitmating my intake. I lost 5lbs in 8 weeks...should have been more based on my "guesstimates".
I bought a food scale and lost 3,5lbs in 3 weeks due to accurate intake logging.
This thread helped me a lot...
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think0 -
Open your diary?0
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A 2300 calorie burn as your base still sounds high, even considering your height and weight.
Is that coming from the Bodymedia?0 -
StephanieWort, that was my issue, too -- I was completely clueless about portion size and now I use a scale. I was clueless on both ends - I was overestimating the serving of protein and underesting the fruits and veggies!
I, too, bought a scale and I stick to it religiously. In fact, my husband (who is a professional chef), was kind enough to ziplock baggie my food up for me in the correct portions so I could just grab and go for work. I really, really, appreciated that!!!
My downfall was not incorporating enough slow carbs in my diet...sure, I'd have a small piece of meal and maybe 1/2 baked potato, but I wouldn't have any veggie or a salad. BIG mistake!!! I've seen a huge difference, now, since I've made a conscious effort to incorporate all 3 things.
Thanks for the link to the helpful info!0 -
Gonna just toss out a suggestion
Eat 1600-1700 daily (no eating extra exercise calories no nothing over that)
Get 160g of Protein, then the rest can be carbs/fat
Do this for a month.
This sounds like a decent starting point.....
You are probably around a TDEE of 2000 - 2200
So targeting the 1600 - 1700 cal range would be good.
Make at least 160 gr in protein....
Maybe ~80 - 85gr in fats
And the rest can be carbs.0 -
LOL Ya, definitely not burning those calories on just my walk
Thing is, I weight/measure everything I put in my mouth. I'm ridiculous about it, to the point that I don't enjoy going out for a meal, or to a friend or relative's house for a meal, because I need to be able to log it. :-|
Green.....160g protein? OK, let me chew on that a minute. 160g protein = 640 calories. Watching my fat intake due to high cholesterol/triglycerides/dr's advice, and trying to keep that below 30% of my caloric intake. I'm shooting for more like 25%, because no sense in striving for the max amount of fat allowed. That would give me about 44g fat. (396 calories) And 140g carbs (560 calories). Does that sound about right?
So, 40% protein, 35% carbs, 25% fat. Sound ok?0 -
Open your diary.0
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A 2300 calorie burn as your base still sounds high, even considering your height and weight.
Is that coming from the Bodymedia?
Not my base, my 'maintain weight' calories. My base is something like high 1700's. But 'desk job, lightly active' gives me 2300'ish every calculator I look at, and syncs up on the Body Media pretty well for days that I do NOT go out walking or make any 'exercise specific' efforts (ie- just working, taking care of kids, cleaning the house, cooking dinner, running errands, etc)0 -
If you're not losing weight, you need to eat more.
It's really that simple.
If you don't believe me, keep reading.0 -
I'm pretty sure that it's not "really that simple". What is your basis for giving this advice?If you're not losing weight, you need to eat more.
It's really that simple.
If you don't believe me, keep reading.0 -
My sneaking suspicion is that most exercise calorie estimators OVER estimate the calories burned. If I walk 5 miles (for instance) my Runtastic app says I've burned 650 calories. And yes, all of my metrics are correct. But when I was eating back what it said I had burned, I was not losing weight. So now I go by roughly 100 calories burned per mile, whether walking or jogging, and that has helped a lot.
You also might want to try setting your activity level to 'sedentary' and then just eating back your exercise calories.0 -
If you're not losing weight, you need to eat more.
It's really that simple.
If you don't believe me, keep reading.
What the what the??0 -
Certainly a lot of possibilities here.
First off, I will say that 2300 maintenance calories sounds at least a LITTLE high (if not very high),prior to exercise. I am a 6'3" male and that's right around my maintenance too (before exercise). Then adding several hundred calories for cardio...it's easy to see where you could be vastly overrating your output. You probably don't burn nearly as much as whatever gadget you're using says you do.
Secondly, you mentioned doing very low calorie before. Easy way to kill your metabolism.
Thirdly, you mention doing lots and lots of endurance cardio. Well known muscle killer right there which can further kill your metabolism.
Finally, your diet appears to be almost completely devoid of protein. You're eating pretty much purely carbs and some fats. Protein intake needs to be high to retain lean body mass. Combined with lots of cardio and previous crash dieting you could have/be losing lots of muscle mass which can and will destroy your metabolism.
Long story short, I'm guessing your metabolism is way slower than you think it is. Your exercise could be overestimated as well. As a result you're not losing any weight despite the fact that you think you're in a 1000 calorie deficit. If I were you I'd probably be shooting for something like 1500 calories a day with WAY higher protein intake (shoot for at least 100g/day). Add in strength training instead of all the cardio. Re-assess your situation in a month.0 -
I'm no expert but my first inclination is that leaving the 1000 calorie deficit might be working against you. Not eating enough can mess with your metabolism too. Maybe try leaving only 500 calories a couple of days a week to see if it kickstarts anything...0
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Did you have a time between the crash/fad dieting and the more sensible where you ate without tracking?
I ask because it is possible that you lowered your metabolism with the low calorie dieting, and if you haven't gotten it back (i.e. by eating at 'maintenance), you may still be suffering from that. I don't know how you feel about eating your maintenance calories for a couple of months - I know for many people not losing weight it's a frightening prospect - but that may be what you need. I would think the BodyMedia would account for that, but then again I don't know much about them.
It may also be possible that you've adapted to your walk and are burning fewer calories. Again, I don't know how well the BodyMedia accounts for this. You may need to go faster, meaning same time but longer walk, or try some other forms of exercise. It might be to your benefit to try some resistance/weight lifting as well. I've heard from a lot of women here who have broken through plateaus by adding lifting.
I am by no means an expert … just trying to throw some suggestions out there in an attempt to help. I know it can be very frustrating to be doing everything right (or so it should seem) and not lose anything. Remind yourself, on those days when you just want to throw in the towel, that you are still healthier for making the positive changes, numbers on the scale aside. (Which also reminds me, have you done any measurements or before/after comparisons since you started? Sometimes there's no change on the scale but results in other ways we tend to overlook).0 -
Is the exercise new? You might be retaining a lot of water from exercise if it's new.
Also, how much change in calories do you have from where you started? If it's a huge percent, I do think our metabolisms are programmed to kind of freak out a bit. If someone adds a ton of exercise and a huge reduction in calories, I would not be a bit surprised if our systems get stressed and react to that, perhaps by changing the metabolism, yes. I'm a believer in 'starvation mode', but only if the changes are pretty big and drastic or over decades.
You could always try slipping into it more stealthily by eating a bit closer to what you used to. Then reduce the calories more and more. Maybe your metabolism is well-programmed to avoid starvation (stranger things happen). I swear my dad keeps on a healthy weight that makes zero sense compared to how little he eats and what he does in a day. Either his metabolism is oddly low, or he's 'trained' his metabolism to live on less after decades and decades. Just my opinion (although there is some research about things like that
). 0 -
At the end of the day, if weight isn't coming off, it's because there's too much food being eaten for the activity level. Without actually being there and seeing what is going on, it's going to be impossible for any of us to say with certainty where the problem lies.
However I am a bit suspicious of the numbers, because a 1000 calorie a day deficit at this level of intake and this level of activity should be leaving you feeling fatigued - but it doesn't sound like it is. This suggests the deficit isn't anywhere near what you believe it is. If the actual deficit is, for example, 500 calories, then you're looking at a pound a week loss, and that can easily be masked by normal body fluctuations over the course of a month.
My suggestion would be to batten down the hatches for 8 weeks - keep intake somewhere around a rock steady 1600 calories, regardless of exercise - and monitor the results.
I would absolutely 100% disregard any suggestion along the lines of "eat more".0 -
gah..... i hate this, LOL! the reason my protein is so low is because im newly trying to figure out how to eat low cholesterol. turns out, all my go-to protein sources are high in cholesterol!
i'm definitely taking this advice into account, guys. upping the protein for starters. im still not certain where i should land in the calories department. My BodyMedia gives me similar results as wearing my Polar and tracking for a solid day. If two independent sources are both wrong, I'm not sure where to go for an accurate calories number.
Like DopeItUp said, I really think I tanked my metabolism with all these stupid low calorie, low-whatever diets I've tried in the past year. How long does it take to repair a damaged metabolism? I've got various resources here at home to hit weights, including a TRX which I love, but has not seen use in some time. I've also begun MMA classes with my husband 0 -
I'm also curious about the cycling you are doing. 50 miles at an average pace of 17+ mph is....substantial...and would require considerable aerobic fitness. That alone is in the range of 2000 calories. If you can cycle 50 miles at that speed, I very much doubt you "tanked" your metabolism.
How are you determining distance and pace?0 -
Damir00 has a great point, I think. If your body is stressed enough by what you are doing to (hypothetically) alter its metabolism, you'd certainly feel different. If you are not exhausted, chances are your body is trucking along normally.0
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I'm an awesome cyclist LOL We got married on our bikes at the MS150. When we were heavy into cycling, we were riding to the tune of 4,000 miles a year. Now that we're married and have completely different life schedules, cycling has taken a back seat to 'life/work/kids', which is why we're only out there on the weekends
But ya, it's a killer workout, and when I was cycling, I was, you guessed it....not overweight. And we got to eat a LOT because of all those calories we were burning. Ah, to be unemployed, kidless, and nothing better to do than ride a bike all day again...... *sigh*
oh, determining distance and pace with my Garmin 305.0 -
Before jumping to conclusions of eating more or eating less or tanked metabolism, why not open your diary? Then we see what you are eating, how you are logging, what you are logging for exercise, your calorie intake vs what you are doing. It really helps to answer your question.0
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Definitely not exhausted. Actually have a hard time getting to sleep at night without valium. That's due to work stress tho. Which I've heard stress can really kill your efforts of weight loss.
As for my diary, I don't habitually log it here. I log it in a spreadsheet. Opening my diary would have you folks looking at a lot of nothing. I've given a good example of a typical day for me in my opening post.0 -
Ah, to be unemployed, kidless, and nothing better to do than ride a bike all day again...... *sigh*
I hear that! :laugh:oh, determining distance and pace with my Garmin 305.
Rock solid, then, I totally trust Garmin. Based on the cycling, then, I'm pretty confident your metabolism is just fine. (That's good news!
) 0
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