2 year plateau and confused about differences in calories

prattiger65 · May 2014

OP, I know its frustrating. I know you feel like we aren't listening. I know you think that you are doing it right and that there is something missing. Here I the thing, You may have a medical condition underlying your lack of loss, but you haven't proved that yet. Here is what I mean. I know you say the food you eat is weighed and measured, but YOU haven't weighed and measured it. I promise, promise, promise you would be surprised if you did. The reason everyone of us keep saying this is because we did the same thing. 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is much more than 32g, but that is the serving size. That is just one example of many. Also, you keep talking about your OB/GYN advising you on your diet, would you go to a dietician if you had a GYN problem? If I woke up in your shoes, I would first weigh and measure all my food for a couple of weeks so that I could KNOW how much I was eating. Second, I would go to a doctor with a background in nutrition and get checked. The vast majority of times ths happens it is simply that you are eating too much. Good luck!

prattiger65 · May 2014

Oh hell no!

deksgrl · May 2014

If you suspect hypothyroidism, then please see an endocrinologist.

EvanKeel · May 2014

This is why we can't have nice things.

jenmom2myboys · May 2014

Can you open your food diary so we cam see it?

_HeartsOnFire_ · May 2014

Exactly.

jofjltncb6 · May 2014

Egads.

:noway:

CogFu · May 2014

Seriously people... it's only a week & would tell her if sodium is the issue. It worked for me as I had a similar issue with a plateau after loosing a substantial amount of weight. At least I'm offering her advice I think will help not say stupid things about others posts that are actually trying to help her.

_HeartsOnFire_ · May 2014

The problem is it won't be very accurate. I imagine it'll *maybe* close, but with her estimating, guessing, eating out...it's all just guesses.

_HeartsOnFire_ · May 2014

I don't see where what we said was stupid about your post. Another poster said "this is why we can't have nice things" and I agreed with him.

The truth is, there is no need to detox (which please tell me just ONE toxin that you are detoxing??? I know Jof would also like to know) and there is no way to reboot your system.

You detox by peeing and pooping. So unless those functions aren't happening you don't need a detox. And even then you wouldn't need a detox, you'd need a doctor.
Again, there's no way to reboot your system. That, to me, is a gimmick.

smn76237 · May 2014

What you're doing isn't working. That means you have to do something different. You've gotten some really good advice about weighing your food vs. guessing (even though you think you're really good at it, even dietitians have been shown to underestimate calories by 10%).

Restaurants often prepare their food differently or give you more generous serving sizes than listed on their website so you likely are getting more calories there than you think.

You seem really defensive and all people are doing is trying to help.

EvanKeel · May 2014

Sodium doesn't hinder fat loss. She's gotten good advice. You're not helping. You may be intending to help, but it's not really useful information.

Excluding a medical problem, she's not eating at a deficit. This could be for any number of reasons already listed by others. Even if she has a medical problem, she's still not eating at a deficit; there would just be a medical reason for it.

If there's no wiggle room to increase activity, then lower calorie intake by small increments. Though that probably won't do much if one incorrectly assumes their tracking is accurate.

RunMyOregonBunsOff · May 2014

May I ask where you generally go when you eat out? What are you ordering? Are you using the calorie info from their menu or website or figuring it out for yourself based on what a piece of chicken ways? A lot of restaurants put different things on meat (butter or bacon grease) to add flavor before cooking it.

I agree about the food scale...even things that are individually portioned can be off by over 25% plus if you weigh everything for a while and see no results, then you can take that info to your doctor...the non ob gyn that you are going to start seeing and that will increase your chances of them recommending blood work.

Please do ask for multiple thyroid screens as above posted as a T4 only screen may come back normal while a T3 comes back low.

firstsip · May 2014

I feel for you, in general, OP. I've got some severe thyroid issues. I am very rigid in weighing and measuring my food. I've been in recovery from an eating disorder.

I know what it's like to look in the general forums and realize I can't apply most advice to myself, because I am different. I can become very angry towards myself for being different, or for expecting forums to solve problems that even my endo laughingly puts "We're all still trying to figure out ourselves."

But here's the thing.

You have options. Have you had your thyroid levels checked? You mentioned a family history of hypothyroidism, but a family history doesn't mean you're doomed to have it (thank goodness!) or that you've been tested. If you haven't had them checked, perhaps get them done for you and your doctor to eliminate (or consider) a cause.

But here's the other thing: weighing and measuring your food is key. If you're not doing it, you're not aware of what you eat. You've been here awhile, I see, but not active on the forums. I cannot tell you HOW many people have come in with a VERY similar story to you, and 9 times out of 10, they're eating more than they think. "Making good choices" is fine for health, but not necessarily weight loss.

You seem to have fallen into the "bad" vs. "good" food trap as well. I've seen it firsthand; someone eats salad and chicken and thinks they're superior to others for their food, healthier for their food or "should be losing weight." Except they don't measure the dressing they put on the salad. An 8 oz. chicken breast becomes a 4 oz. chicken breast to them. "I'm eating yogurt and don't eat fried foods!" but eating 10 cups of yogurt and having a tub of nuts for snacks.

All of this could still be fine... provided someone is aware of exactly how many calories/portions they're ingesting vs. what they're putting out.

I do have to say, that assuming anything of your "skinny" doctor's experience doesn't put you in a good light. You have no idea what she may have gone through as a child, as a young adult, etc. She may have had an eating disorder. She may have lost weight before. She might have struggled with weight during her residency when she couldn't be bothered to focus on her weight.

Most of all? If she's thin, why would you discount anything she says? She's doing something you want, correct... to be a lower weight, a healthier weight?

iPlatano · May 2014

Shut up!!!!

iPlatano · May 2014

-You are not using a scale, therefore you dont know how many calories you are eating.

-You are eating too little and avoiding fat for your weight which can slow down your metabolism and *kitten* your hormones up.

-Work out 4 times a week.

Good luck.

sodakat · May 2014

I wonder if you changed your habits for oh, maybe 2 full weeks, to purchasing food from the grocery store/market, prepped and weighed them all at home, carried them to work and did not eat out at all during that time you might learn if your body can indeed lose weight again.

Changing from eating cafeteria and restaurant foods for just two weeks would likely tell you if your stall is medical or calorie related.

NorthCountryDreamer · May 2014

I struggle with what I eat, but I am really convinced that the diet battle and that plateau also must include strength, cardio and overall all activity.

Darcie45 · May 2014

First off {{{{HUGS}}}. Losing weight is one the most challenging things I have ever done. Period. If it were easy, there wouldn't be sites like this.

2. You have gotten some really great advice. Weighing my food was the most eye opening thing I have ever done. I bet it will be for you too.

3. Try for a week or two to fuel your body with only good stuff. No frozen pre-prepared meals, no eating out. My mother in law does not cook. I know that can be challenging, but salads, veggies, fruits, lean meats, nuts, good proteins. I would bet dollars to donuts that eating out and the frozen meals are part of the problem. Not saying that all frozen is bad, frozen veggies, frozen fish, there are some good frozen choices out there, just stay away from a meal in a box.

4. If you think you might have thyroid issues or insulin issues please please please go to a doctor who will listen to you and run the tests. My sister in law, who is a nurse, once insisted that I needed to have my thyroid levels checked. My doctor rolled his eyes when I told him, but he ran the tests anyway.

Even though so far, this thread has not gotten ugly like some have and usually do, it is still a bit frustrating to read. You are searching for answers when all we can do is give advice on what has worked for us. It is now up to you to pick through the bits and pieces and see what makes sense to you.

One last word from what has worked for me...Get something that measures your steps. Something like a fitbit (which I have and swear is the reason for my success) is ideal, there are several kinds out there. But even a simple pedometer and making sure you get 10,000 steps a day minimum in addition to any workouts you do could make a huge difference.

albayin · May 2014

Don't feel too bothered by a few posts...When you ask for advice, people often feel entitled. Some are very good at delivering message; others might not be so good...And it's annoying that some pick on certains words and going on and on about it even it's not what you meant or asked for opinion about. We all have to learn how to take home the useful and ditch the non-sense...:)

Good luck~

bajoyba · May 2014

I have to agree with a lot of the advice you've already gotten.

First, as others have suggested, see a doctor and rule out any medical issues that may be making weight loss more difficult for you.
If there are no medical issues, then it's your diet. I know you think you're being very accurate and are very good at estimating, but the truth is, if you're not preparing your food yourself, and if you're not weighing it, you don't really know how much you're eating.

At many restaurants (even chain restaurants with calories listed), the waitstaff does a lot of the food prep and plating. They're often in a hurry, and their last concern is portion size/calorie control. My husband worked briefly as a waiter at a chain restaurant, and do you know how they made salads? They just grabbed handfuls of lettuce out of a big bin and put it on a plate. Of course, a discrepancy in calories from lettuce isn't going to make or break your success, but that's just an example of how much effort and care restaurants often put into serving size - not much.

Even the labels on prepackaged foods are often not accurate. I weigh my donuts, english muffins, hamburger buns (etc.), because even though the label says a serving size is 1 english muffin, and 1 english muffin is supposed to be 100 calories, my english muffin often weighs a lot more than the package says it's supposed to. There's no way I can tell just by looking at my english muffin that it's exactly the size it's supposed to be.

I've gotten pretty good at eye-balling some foods, like shredded cheese, because I've weighed it so often. On the other hand, 1/4 cup of shredded cheese is not the same amount of cheese or the same amount of calories as 28 grams of shredded cheese. And even though I can come pretty close to a serving size of cheese just by grabbing a handful, I still weigh it every single time, because the accuracy is worth it to me.

Preparing more of your food at home and buying a food scale really will make a big difference.

nvrsleep3 · May 2014

This quote is spot-on. I don't know if you've responded that you are mixing it up, but if you aren't, my suggestion is DO.

I understand that you are frustrated. I also feel as if you feel like there is no solution. I've read the posts, and I think you might be being defensive because people are telling you things you may be trying or people who have blunt candor because they are very serious about this, but please understand that people are taking time out of their day to advise you! This is my fist post, and I feel like all if these people ARE supporting you, even if they are blunt.

I hope you realize this, and consider what people (even the ones you think are attacking you) are advising. They have a good reason for the advice--it's helping them, and it might help you. Congrats on your weight loss, and good luck to you!

seehowyousoar · May 2014

OP, here's my 2 cents on it.

I understand that you think you might be doing everything right. But it's obviously not working, it has the counter effect.

Now, I want to say that this is not an attack. I really want to help you.

Basically, about your plateau... We can't say "Well if you're sure about everything, then you're maybe just unlucky and meant to never be skinny", because what help would that be? It wouldn't be anything sides an excuse.
((Also, on your comment that you are built big -- many people think they're built big, but then they lose weight and it turns out they actually have a small frame! And even if you do have a big frame, you could still be within a healthy weight range.))
What we can do is give thoughts on what could be the problem. And possible problems for a 2 year long plateau would be either that you have a medical problem ((to which: go see a doc! If your current one isn't cooperating, see a new one!)), or that you're eating at maintenance or over maintenance.

Yes, I've seen you write many many times that you're absolutely sure that you're under maintenance -- but then how would you explain that you're not losing? Here's my proposition. Try what everyone has been saying. Get a digital scale and weight and log everything for a bit - a month or two. Can't hurt, can it?
At best, you'll start losing weight again! Yay!
At worst, you still won't lose. If this happens - good job, you've found your new maintenance calorie level. Try lowering, do for a month or two again, rinse and repeat.

All in all:

Please contact your doctor and do tests.
Also, try weighing everything for a month or two and see how that goes. Whats the worst that can happen?

EDIT:: Also, if you don't know -exactly- what you're eating, you're probably underestimating it a lot!! Few years back I used to eat a lot of meat and I'd be underestimating the calories for it because I had no idea what kind of meat it was so I couldn't log it accurately.

enterdanger · May 2014

I've struggled with weight for a long time and like you I'm in the happy spot for a while and then plateau for months. I finally looked at all my food diaries to see what they had in common. I've figured out that two of my beverage choices were what was hurting me. I Iove beer and make sure that I save enough calories to drink one occasionally. The weeks I drank even one or two beers I didn't lose any weight. I was under my calorie limit even with the beer, but alcohol must really affect me.

I have a similar issue with diet soda. I adore diet coke. However, if I drink even a diet soda a couple of times a week, I just don't lose weight regardless of how few calories I eat.

I refuse to give up beer completely, but I limit myself to one like every other week and I've completely given up diet soda. Now, I'm losing again.

Maybe there are specific foods you just don't react well to.

dawnna76 · May 2014

You need to see a doctor other than you obgyn. Their practice isn't the help you need for this issue. See a metabolic doctor. There could me much more going on than just a thyroid problem. If you truly have tried everything else. Seeing a doctor who specializes in health and nutrition and metabolism is your next bet. If you lived in the seattle area I could recommend someone.

_HeartsOnFire_ · May 2014

I'm sorry, but no. There's no way you'll confuse your body.

She doesn't know how much she's actually really eating. She's obviously at maintenance. She needs to find out exactly how much she is eating, and lower a little bit. AFTER she goes to the MD.

Luciu5 · May 2014

OP, cut your daily calories by 100-200. Weigh yourself weekly and continue for 3-4 weeks. If you did not lose an average of 1-2 lbs per week, than cut another 100. Continue doing this until you are losing 1-2 lbs per week on average. Even if this means logging what appears to be an unhealthy number of calories per day.

Your logging is incorrect and losing less than 2 lbs per week is a healthy rate. So maybe you'll be logging 500 calories or something, but if you aren't losing 4-5 lbs per week, at your weight, I guarantee you are eating way more than what is being logged. Even with hypothyroidism, that only means you have to eat a few hundred less calories than if you had a normal thyroid. Still, get it checked out though but that only really affects very very few people.

Or you could stop sucking at counting calories but that's more difficult than just cutting more.

Also about your family and how big you all are. Ever see two different skeletons side by side? They all look about the same, besides height. Stop blaming genetics and start taking responsibility for your body. You could be dead sexy if you wanted to. Everybody can.

sunshinesoprano · May 2014

Again I say about my doctor...I HAVE TALKED ABOUT IT WITH HER. She even said she couldn't know how I felt.

OMG...before you all jump my case, read the posts

I never said I wasn't going to weigh my food.

Most of the people think I'm trying to starve myself because I eat so little.

I appreciate all of you who have given me advisement. I'm not being defensive, but rather trying to explain that I"m not a novice at this and am really stuck. Some of you seem to not care about anything but being heard. That's fine.

firstsip · May 2014

I didn't get on your case, yet for someone who claims to not be defensive... why would you interpret my post in anyway like that?

I read all your posts on here. I didn't see anywhere where you specifically got thyroid tests or asked for a blood panel. I could assume your statement that "She keeps saying it's food" means you might have asked that and your doctor hasn't given you the bloodwork, but if I've learned one thing about these forums, it's not to assume things. Provide us with more detail if you want us to know the intimate details of your journey. Plus, the fact that a gyno wouldn't be the doctor to go to for thyroid advice at all, a GP or (better yet) an endo would be.

Unfortunately, I'm seeing "The lady doth protest too much"--you interpreted attacks by page 2, you "assume" responses before they're said, and now lengthy posts full of as much objective advice as possible (with doses of empathy in many of them) get dubbed as "People only care about being heard" and passive-aggression.

Well, it's a forum. People want to be heard when they share advice with you, a forum is designed for different voices *to* be heard; the issue here is that you don't appear to want to hear what so many are saying, and seem to be hearing things that no one is doing (a.k.a, attacks).

sunshinesoprano · May 2014

You are rude.

2 year plateau and confused about differences in calories

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