Advice needed.. Should I persevere?
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allergictodiets
Posts: 233 Member
Apologies in advance for a long post, but I think you need some background info to be able to advice me.
I'm 38. I have Hashimoto's ( I have been diagnosed as hypothyroid in 2009, but I had had the illness for much longer - only back then the reference range was set higher so I was never treated ). Now my TSH is back to a normal range with meds.
I have been struggling to more or less maintain my weight between 63 and 65 kg ( I am 170 cm tall ) eating about 1600 kcal and exercising every day for the last 1,5 decades. In 2011 I got pregnant, gained a healthy 12 kg ( my ob-gyn was happy ). Once my daughter was born I was surprised to see that most of the gain must have been water / baby itself and loss of muscle ( even though I exercised every day ), as my scale showed only 58 kg. It did not last long though. I was eating about 1800-2000 kcal, breastfeeding, going for long walks with the stroller and training with my dumbbells but still slowly but steadily gaining.
Anyway, in the first half of this year I reached the point when I was jo-joing around 65 kg, eating about 1600 kcal again and exercising ( my Fitbit gave me an average TDEE of 2400 kcal, it was 4 days cardio, 3 days dumbbell training ).
Encouraged by the weight loss success stories in this group and tired of not eating properly I gradually upped my calories to 1800-1900 kcal a couple of months ago and started training with dumbbells 4 times a week in order to gain some muscle ( my TDEE is now about 2200 kcal ).
The results for now are not encouraging - as of today I weigh almost 68 kg and still have 30% fat, most of it in the abdominal area :-(((
I realise that my protein intake is not optimal - I struggle to get anywhere close to 30%. I am working on my sleep habits ( 7+ hours being the goal, it is about 6,5-6,45 a night ).
Should I eat more? The problem is I am not really hungry eating 1800 kcal, only if I have some additional exercise I get hungry.
I was previously maintaining with 500-700 kcal deficit, does it mean that my BMR is screwed? Scooby calculator gives me a BMR of 1390 ( based on BF ) and a calorie goal of 1724 ( TDEE - 20% ) with moderate exercise ( TDEE 2155, close to what Fitbit gives me ) together with 30% P, 50% C, 20%F ( I put it now as my goals in MFP ). I never skip my meals ( if there is something missing in my diary, it is just down to me not logging for some reason ).
If I wore a HR monitor all day for a couple of days, would it give me a good estimate of my TDEE?
My GP gave me a referral to a nutritionist, but I am afraid she will just tell me to eat less and move more.
I would be thankful for any tips. How can I start losing? The weigh itself is not so important, the fat around my waist is.
I opened my diary if anyone would like to have a look. Some foods have German names as it is where I live at the moment.
I'm 38. I have Hashimoto's ( I have been diagnosed as hypothyroid in 2009, but I had had the illness for much longer - only back then the reference range was set higher so I was never treated ). Now my TSH is back to a normal range with meds.
I have been struggling to more or less maintain my weight between 63 and 65 kg ( I am 170 cm tall ) eating about 1600 kcal and exercising every day for the last 1,5 decades. In 2011 I got pregnant, gained a healthy 12 kg ( my ob-gyn was happy ). Once my daughter was born I was surprised to see that most of the gain must have been water / baby itself and loss of muscle ( even though I exercised every day ), as my scale showed only 58 kg. It did not last long though. I was eating about 1800-2000 kcal, breastfeeding, going for long walks with the stroller and training with my dumbbells but still slowly but steadily gaining.
Anyway, in the first half of this year I reached the point when I was jo-joing around 65 kg, eating about 1600 kcal again and exercising ( my Fitbit gave me an average TDEE of 2400 kcal, it was 4 days cardio, 3 days dumbbell training ).
Encouraged by the weight loss success stories in this group and tired of not eating properly I gradually upped my calories to 1800-1900 kcal a couple of months ago and started training with dumbbells 4 times a week in order to gain some muscle ( my TDEE is now about 2200 kcal ).
The results for now are not encouraging - as of today I weigh almost 68 kg and still have 30% fat, most of it in the abdominal area :-(((
I realise that my protein intake is not optimal - I struggle to get anywhere close to 30%. I am working on my sleep habits ( 7+ hours being the goal, it is about 6,5-6,45 a night ).
Should I eat more? The problem is I am not really hungry eating 1800 kcal, only if I have some additional exercise I get hungry.
I was previously maintaining with 500-700 kcal deficit, does it mean that my BMR is screwed? Scooby calculator gives me a BMR of 1390 ( based on BF ) and a calorie goal of 1724 ( TDEE - 20% ) with moderate exercise ( TDEE 2155, close to what Fitbit gives me ) together with 30% P, 50% C, 20%F ( I put it now as my goals in MFP ). I never skip my meals ( if there is something missing in my diary, it is just down to me not logging for some reason ).
If I wore a HR monitor all day for a couple of days, would it give me a good estimate of my TDEE?
My GP gave me a referral to a nutritionist, but I am afraid she will just tell me to eat less and move more.
I would be thankful for any tips. How can I start losing? The weigh itself is not so important, the fat around my waist is.
I opened my diary if anyone would like to have a look. Some foods have German names as it is where I live at the moment.
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Replies
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Have you started taking measurements and pictures? That right there would be a good way to determine if things have changed. My weight hasn't changed one bit (actually went up 5 lbs) and measurements didn't change much, but when I compared pictures from 7 weeks ago, man...the changes!
I'm no expert on the diet portion as I'm still in my learning phase, but I would consider upping your calories. Perhaps do a reset? I have read on here that it isn't recommended to cut more than 15% from your TDEE, so maybe start there?
Good luck! This is a loooooooong (and sometimes frustrating) process.0 -
It's slow. I'm also up about 7 pounds but my pants are still fitting, so that has to be a good sign right?
It's hard to go by the scale. I agree with athenalove-- pictures and measurements!
Also, wearing a HRM all day is not a good idea. They are designed to track steady state cardio. So unless you think your day is filled with moderate-high activity that causes a HRM to be in your target heart rate zone. I'd skip it.
If you're interested in something similar, maybe a Body media fit? I don't use one (I have a fitbit, which I LOVE). But even those, I've heard are sketchy on weight lifting activity.
Best of luck!0 -
Regarding the dumbbell workout, and adding muscle.
What types of lifts do you do with dumbbells, and are your muscles overloaded with reps in range below 15 max?
If they aren't heavy for you, and more maintenance level movements or so many reps might as well be cardio, then it's merely strength training. Still good for retaining, but not adding.
What was your avg HR when you wore the HRM all day? Calorie burn is useless info, avgHR is useful.
How did you pick activity level?
Because 4 days of 2 hrs each is different than 4 days 30 min each.
And 1 hr of walking is not equal to 1 hr of lifting to 1 hr of running.
Try the spreadsheet on my Profile page to confirm your numbers, you may still be a ways off on TDEE estimate.0
