Not losing weight - down to ~800 cal/day

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Replies

  • ToogieTuesday
    ToogieTuesday Posts: 29
    Your thyroid is definitely the reason. Not to mention that eating too little can also slow down your metabolism and hoards any fat thinking it needs to store it for later as it thinks it's in starvation mode (not enough food available for you to survive). Definitely talk to a doc about your thyroid deficiency and ask how it's linked to any dietary changes in your life.

    http://thyroid.about.com/od/thyroidbasicsthyroid101/a/10-Things-To-Know-About-Thyroid-Disease-Foods-And-Drinks.htm

    Note in the article above (link) it mentions that small meals are not recommended

    Good luck, hope you get the answers you seek =)
  • bethlaf
    bethlaf Posts: 954 Member
    you are 32 - and only have 15lbs to lose, sorry 800 is EXTREME! i suspect you may not be 100% honest in calorie tracking, it amazes me how much "portion distortion" and calorie distortion there is out in general public , i did it with my family too
    its AMAZING!
  • mRoss27
    mRoss27 Posts: 33 Member
    What you have is metabolic damage. This is a result of severe calorie restriction. When your are not providing your body with enough fuel, it must slow down all of it processes, therefore resulting in a damaged metabolism. It will take some time, but in order to lose weight, you first must repair your metabolism. Believe it or not, once your metabolism has recovered, you will actually be able to lose weight on far more than 800 calories a day.
  • princessbride42
    princessbride42 Posts: 67 Member
    Have you had your body fat percentage measured with calipers from a reliable source? Perhaps you are not as overweight as you think? My sis is 5'2" and she weighs 150, and though she's a little curvy, I wouldn't say that she should lose too much.

    The standard height/weight way of figuring body fat doesn't work for me for some reason, so I find calipers to work well.
  • salevy
    salevy Posts: 208 Member
    I've been losing weight all my life, it seems. My mother had me on a diet that was 800 - 1000 calories a day. When I told her that, she said that was too much. I should be eating 300 calories a day and working out at least an hour a day. I was 14 at the time.

    I was always over hungry. When you don't eat enough, your body goes into starvation mode and thinks it's not getting anymore food. Therefore, it holds onto everything. That's what happened to me. You need to eat to lose.

    As soon as I started eating, the weight started coming off. My mother said that made no sense. According to her, the less you eat and the more you exercise the less you'll weigh. There was no talking to her. She wouldn't listen to any updates or that she was wrong.

    Shari
  • skraparas
    skraparas Posts: 16
    Thanks for the ideas and thoughts, everyone.

    One thing I do not understand is that everyone seems to concur that if I went up in calories, and stuck to that, I would start to lose weight. Unfortunately, I tried that for almost a year and got no results. That is how I ended up deciding to lower the calories to what you see now...because my most diligent efforts at 1500/day and 1300/day and 1200/day did not produce any results. Nil. Zero. Nothing. I tried it for months. So why would that produce results if I tried it again now?

    To those of you who would like me to consult my doctor, I wish it were that easy...as I said, I'm preparing to see my fifth endocrinologist as I have received no real valuable info. from the last four.

    To the person who mentioned that I might actually be at a healthy weight at 5'2" and 150+ lbs, I am sure that is an individual situation, but I feel like a swollen, beached whale...my clothes don't fit...I have a big belly...and I'm very uncomfortable physically. So it's definitely not the correct weight for me.

    I'm currently doing a 21-day detox...raw veggies, cooked veggies, veggie juice, limited fruit (berries) and either 1/2 c of lentils or 1/2 c of quinoa per day...also protein shakes (I use Plant Fusion). I make sure to eat an approved amount of fat every day in the form of coconut milk, coconut oil or olive oil. On day 12 I'm allowed to add in lean protein, such as fish. I'm giving it a shot because I've had several other people in my shoes - I met them via a thyroid forum - tell me it was the only thing that worked for them, considering their broken metabolism.

    As I said, a typical day's food for me is a big bowl of organic berries in the morning, a salad for lunch with many different kinds of raw and cooked veggies and some olive oil/lemon, and some curried red lentils + steamed veggies for dinner. Sometimes I sub in a protein shake made with unsweetened carton-style coconut milk, sometimes I have a snack such as some raw cauliflower or a banana. I haven't been super hungry on this plan.

    Already am gluten-free, dairy-free and soy-free due to the aforementioned thyroid issue.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    As soon as I started eating, the weight started coming off. My mother said that made no sense. According to her, the less you eat and the more you exercise the less you'll weigh.

    Just like MFP in fact - "In 5 weeks you'll weigh....."
  • phys72
    phys72 Posts: 66 Member
    I just feel like giving you a hug:flowerforyou:

    I'm also 5'2". I've been to 2 endos and 2 naturopaths and everyone told me something different. I have a lot of nodules, very swollen thyroid but my numbers are in the 'normal' range so they refuse to treat it.

    I believe you that you are doing everything you can and not losing weight but I do worry with you eating 800 calories. If you are tracking everything I'd print it and take it to the doctor with you. I think sometimes that they are used to people telling them they can't lose weight but in reality they are not really trying. That's why I'm determined to try and lose because next time I see him I want to be either a) thinner or b) be able to tell him that I've done everything I can so something is going wrong even if my tests say my levels are normal.
  • greenstar888
    greenstar888 Posts: 42 Member
    As soon as I started eating, the weight started coming off. My mother said that made no sense. According to her, the less you eat and the more you exercise the less you'll weigh.

    Just like MFP in fact - "In 5 weeks you'll weigh....."

    I totally agree! I have been losing about 2 lbs a week the last month but according to my calorie deficit I should have only lost 1 lb/week. It is quite possible that I've been losing 1 lb of fat and the other 1 lb came from detox, i.e. toxic water loss due to lower sodium intake. But I should mention that I wasn't losing any weight at all, no matter how much I tried to constrict my calories until 1. added 3 x week intense workout (1 hr) and 2. Added 2 fast days per week (500 cals in either 1 meal or spread through the day). I would also recommend a low fat, high carb, whole foods vegan diet.

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