Screwed up metabolism?

transientcanuck · June 2014

Hey everyone,

Long story here....

I've been on my current diet and exercise plan for roughly a month by now and I am very surprised and disappointed at the lack of results I've been seeing. To cover my stats, I am 26 years old, female, small-framed, 160 cm tall (5'3") and currently hovering around 65.4 kg (144 lbs). I've been on diets off and on again throughout my entire life, and until now, every single one of them have seemed to make me lose weight quite easily. Now I'm working even harder before and am seeing very few results. I was wondering if it has something to do with my metabolism being screwed up from previous diets.

These past diets that seemed successful included eating at a caloric intake at about 1300 calories a day. My most recent diet was a year ago and I went from 65 kg (145 lbs) to 58 kg (128 lbs) in the span of 5 months. The pounds just seemed to melt off easily and I didn't need to kill myself at the gym or be too strict with cheat days. I know I was under-eating, I know I was technically eating below my BMR. But it worked. And I looked really good.

Since then I have gotten complacent with my figure and have gained all of the weight back, plus some more. Now I'm at it again and the scale won't budge.

To make matters worse, I am trying even harder now than ever before. I am seeing a personal trainer on a weekly basis who monitors my muscle %, fat %, and measurements. She has advised me to go on a high-protein, low-carb diet of 1200 calories a day. I weight train with her once a week, have hour-long rigorous boxing sessions twice a week, and do calisthenics for 30 minutes every day that I'm not at the gym (which comes to 4 days a week). In addition, I am doing light cardio exercises for 30 minutes *every* morning before breakfast to maximize fat loss.

Over the course of a month I have lost 0% fat. I have gained and lost the same kilogram of muscle. And any weight I have lost have been from water retention. Not to mention, my measurements have barely moved. My personal trainer and I are both at a complete loss with what's going on.

The only explanation I could possibly have is that my metabolism has been completely screwed over from a lifetime of yo-yo dieting. Or, perhaps, it's all to do with the stupid birth control pills I've been taking. I heard they can be absolutely abhorrent when it comes to trying to lose weight...

So....tl;dr: I am working my butt off and I am seeing very little progress.

Has anyone here had a similar issue, or can anyone here know what could be my problem? Thanks so, so much!

paulawatkins1974 · June 2014

In

Cndngirl · June 2014

Sorry, no advice but would like to follow

MissJay75 · June 2014

I'm not an expert, but a few things jumped out at me. You've been logging for 3 weeks and 2 days, you might need to give it more time. Especially if your muscles are retaining water/glycogen from the extra working out.

I looked at a random sampling from your food diary, and I see you at 1000 calories a lot of days, and I didn't see any days over 1400. And it doesn't look like you are eating back any exercise calories. From what you are logging you need to be eating more not less. Are you accurate in your weighing, and diligent about logging EVERY thing?

ETA I also saw most days with no water logged. Are you keeping hydrated?

ApronMom · June 2014

I tried for 4 months and lost nothing at all, I went to my Doctor who not only recommended MFP but told me sometimes as our hormones fluctuate it can take a while for our metabolism to kick in to weight loss gear. I know you feel down about this but give your body some time, your hormones not only fluctuate from week to week but also from month to month. Unless you have a thyroid problem this will probably work itself out in time, just be patient and keep up the good work.

transientcanuck · June 2014

I'm not an expert, but a few things jumped out at me. You've been logging for 3 weeks and 2 days, you might need to give it more time. Especially if your muscles are retaining water/glycogen from the extra working out.

I looked at a random sampling from your food diary, and I see you at 1000 calories a lot of days, and I didn't see any days over 1400. And it doesn't look like you are eating back any exercise calories. From what you are logging you need to be eating more not less. Are you accurate in your weighing, and diligent about logging EVERY thing?

ETA I also saw most days with no water logged. Are you keeping hydrated?

Thanks for your reply. It's a possibility that I haven't been giving it enough time. Although I've only been actually logging for 3 weeks, I've been eating "clean" for the entire month. However, perhaps my first few weeks without logging may have been over my calorie goal.

About eating back calories burned, my personal trainer suggested me not to. So I must eat 1200 calories, even if I have worked out a lot that day.

Regarding being under calories, there were days when I just wasn't hungry. Is it recommended to eat to your goal, even if you feel satisfied at the end of the day? Perhaps I could try doing this.

And about the water, that is one thing I have been lazy with logging. I do make sure I drink a lot throughout the day; I just forget to log it. Maybe I should start to actually log it to see if I really am staying hydrated enough.

Thanks so much for your help

transientcanuck · June 2014

I tried for 4 months and lost nothing at all, I went to my Doctor who not only recommended MFP but told me sometimes as our hormones fluctuate it can take a while for our metabolism to kick in to weight loss gear. I know you feel down about this but give your body some time, your hormones not only fluctuate from week to week but also from month to month. Unless you have a thyroid problem this will probably work itself out in time, just be patient and keep up the good work.

Thanks for understanding. Yeah, hormones could have a lot to do with it. Especially since I've been switching oral contraceptives and they can often cause a lot of hormonal fluctuation. It's definitely frustrating, especially since I never know if my stats are due to hormones causing me to swell up or not

ApronMom · June 2014

Geeze we have a few more similarities, I was swelling horribly, another question I asked my Doctor about, she asked how much caffeine I was consuming? I was drinking a lot of caffeinated iced tea and coffee thinking they were diuretics and could help, she said too much caffeine can have an opposite effect and cause you to retain water (there were days, seriously DAYS when I lost pounds of water weight in a matter of hours). Watch that if you're retaining water, she told me that water attracts water. Since I really hate plain water I started adding a few things like cucumber and some chocolate mint (yea calorie free chocolate!) from my garden to give it some taste. I haven't been bloated since. So grateful I have a Doctor MUCH smarter than I.

MissJay75 · June 2014

It sounds like you are doing a lot of the right things, and eating high in protein. If you aren't hungry, and aren't weak/tired/cranky from the lower calories, you can stick there for a few more weeks and see if things change. If you find yourself hungrier, or weak or cranky or unmotivated, try 1400 -1500 calories a day.

It is probable the birth control pills contributing, I don't have a lot of experience here. You can check with your doctor to see if there is a different dosage that may lessen that side effect. You may also want to be tested to see if any other medical condition is contributing.

Other than that, try to keep your chin up. Don't give up! Focus on things other than the scale. Take pictures and measurements. Set fitness goals for yourself, and be proud when you achieve them regardless of what the scale says.

Screwed up metabolism?

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