Should I be losing weight?

shellthesheep · June 2014

Hi all

A bit about me - I'm a 37 year old female, 5 foot 6, currently weighing just about spot on 300 pounds.

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia a few months ago and have been trying to lose weight to help with my chronic pain, but nothing was happening, even though I felt i was eating a very healthy diet. Previously I had decided to lose weight and lost around 3 stone in 5 months, but then around the same time as the Fibromyalgia pain started up I noticed that I was gaining weight again, and I put on almost 4 stone in a year. I wondered if something was wrong, so i spoke to my doctor who said it sounded like a thyroid issue, and did blood tests. The results showed that the level of my thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) was 5.1, the doctor said the high end of normal was 4.5. However, she said that this couldn't possibly be causing any issues at such low levels, and basically told me I clearly wasn't trying hard enough.

That was 4 weeks ago, and after being upset for a few days, as I knew I had been trying, I searched around online and found the myfitnesspal app and installed it. When I added my details it told me that my maintenance calories were 2600 and that my goal was 2100 calories per day. I decided not to change anything about the way I ate, as I felt I was already eating pretty healthily. In the past 4 weeks I have religiously recorded each and every calorie that I have consumed, and have found that I eat an average of 1440 calories per day. Some days will be a little higher, but never above about 1800, and some days when I'm able to go for a walk and burn off about 300 calories I'll be at about 1100. Each week my net calories under weekly goal stands at around 4000 - 5000. Yet in the past 4 weeks not only have I not lost any weight, I've managed to gain 4lbs.

Today I went to see my doctor again and showed her my food diary, and asked again whether possibly the thyroid issue could be preventing me losing weight. She told me again that she just didn't think I was trying hard enough, and expressed disbelief that I had logged everything accurately.

So my question is this...should I be losing weight on around 1440 calories a day? Everything I've seen online indicates that I should and that even if I'm not able to exercise each day (which I really struggle with due to pain) I should still be seeing a weight loss of around 2lbs per week.

Feeling a bit down about this at the moment as it feels like I'm never going to get anywhere, so any advice would be really appreciated!

serindipte · June 2014

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

If you aren't already using one, get and use a food scale. Weigh all solids. Measuring cups/spoons are not accurate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
Neither is guessing:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1270280-food-weighing-scale-miracles

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/

shellthesheep · June 2014

Thanks Serendipte. I do already use salter digital scales to weigh everything as I was concerned that maybe I was eating too much, I've also done things like measure exactly how much milk I use in coffee and tea...etc...and I account for things like having ketchup with a meal, using mustard...etc. I'll even weigh things like peanut butter and butter by weighing the cracker first, adding the peanut butter and then weighing again, so I'm confident that I'm as close as I can be to accurate calorie recording. I think the people I work with think I'm crazy because I scan the barcodes of literally every item I eat and can tell them to the gram what my food weighs!

A friend who doesn't really need to diet agreed to eat the same foods as me, to offer me encouragement, and in the time we've been doing this he's managed to lose 3lbs whereas I've put 4lbs on. The only thing I can think of to do is go even lower on calories, but on the days where I'm around 1100 myfitnesspal tells me off for not eating enough! I feel like I can't win at the moment!

LoosingMyLast15 · June 2014

i find it interesting that your friend is eating the exact same foods and has lost weight yet you gained. if you are accurate and it honestly sounds like you are then i would push the doctor for a thyroid test.

keep in mind we all lose at different speeds, you just might be at a much lower speed than your friend which i realize stinks but our bodies are all very different. keep at it and try not to get discouraged and i would not lower calories to 1100 or less.

serindipte · June 2014

Given the stats you list, your BMR is approximately 2096... That means that if you didn't even wake up, much less get out of bed to brush your teeth or pee, that's what your body burns. If you walk to the mailbox, even sit up, you're burning more.

IF you are being honest with your measurements, weighing your food, not absently eating without realizing it.. it makes no sense that you aren't losing. However, your calorie goal is WAY low. I don't know your activity level to add to that but you should likely be eating at least 1800-1900 minimum.

ETA:

I know it sounds backwards that you should be eating more when you aren't seeing any weight loss on that low number but try it, seriously, for at least two weeks. Just make sure you are being accurate in your logging.

Unknown · June 2014

This content has been removed.

shellthesheep · June 2014

I did already have a blood test for thyroid and the doctor said the level was 5.1 whereas the normal range is something like 2 to 4.5. However, she said that this was only a tiny bit over and couldn't possibly be causing any issues. Since then I've looked into it more and it seems that in the UK there is a different idea of 'normal' to pretty much everywhere else, and most places have the levels set to something like 2 to 3.5. I've also found out that the blood test I had is pretty meaningful without other thyroid blood tests at the same time. This is why I went back to the doctor, to show her my food diary and ask again if she was certain the thyroid levels couldn't be an issue, as there are so many websites online suggesting it could be preventing weight loss. However, all she seems to see is someone who is overweight and just assumes it's because I sit around all day stuffing whatever I can into my mouth and not caring at all about losing weight.

i've never had a particularly good time with my local surgery, it took them forever to diagnose me with fibromyalgia, I even got told at one point that aches and pains (it's not aches and pains, it's pain so bad I sometimes can't get out of bed) are just something I should expect at my age! i'm looking into other surgeries now, but I'm in a rural area in Lincolnshire and there isn't really anything else near, but at this point I'd happily travel just to get a doctor who will listen to me!

I'm definitely not absently eating, I've become a bit obsessed with the idea of losing weight and am completely aware of everything that I eat. I too have worked my BMR out at being around 2096 which is why I'm so baffled about the fact that I'm not only not losing weight, I'm actually putting it on. I've been making sure I stay well below my daily goal because all I can hear in my head is the doctor telling me that I'm not trying hard enough, but I'll try your suggestion of actually upping what I eat and seeing if getting closer to the goal each day makes any difference.

thanks for your help x

Unknown · June 2014

This content has been removed.

Should I be losing weight?

Replies

Categories