Very little weight loss: Looking for non-traditional advice

Here is a "non-traditional" way to count calories.

Once a week (or however many times you CAN), prepare a menu plan for yourself and count the calories in the menu plan.

Prepare your food, measure it, and store it for easy grab & go eating throughout the week. If you want a bit of variety in your week, do 2 different menu plans and alternate days.

If you want snacking wiggle room, prepare menus with 100-200 calories less and ONLY count your snacking calories.

It is not traditional "count as you go" but pre-counting calories. However, you don't have as much on the fly choices and you HAVE to stick with your menu unless you plan to count as you go when you deviate.

And here's a good video blog about meal planning: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=819374251418299&set=vb.206180602737670&type=2&theater

Steve really knows his stuff!

If you aren't dedicated to counting calories and measuring portions then you aren't dedicated to losing weight. Simple as.

Low thyroid function creates a situation where you unfortunately have to be even more strict that the average person. It sucks. It really really does. It is not fair. However, your body wants to hold on to weight. You will have to actually count calories and move as much as you possibly can in order to make headway.

Do everything you're already doing but lift heavier weights. You should also weigh your food, but if you don't want to, w/e

In the past I measured food and calories. It is not something I can sustain for every meal for the rest of my life. So no, I do not currently count calories. However I do eat reasonable portions and periodically I will go back and count for a week at a time to make sure my portions are OK.

Sounds like your "reasonable portions" are your maintenance calories.

Wow, people are kind of rude.
If you want to try something different, you might check out the Metabolic effect, you can look at the website for free and the book is really cheap http://www.metaboliceffect.com/ It is written by two brothers who are biochemists, trainers and naturopathic doctors. They don't make you count calories but you do have to stick to the proportions of food and nutrients that your body needs and you need to be strict about it. They also have good advice for building muscle AND while you do need to create a calorie deficit to lose weight, that is not the whole story. Our bodies are not strictly calculators, there are dozens of hormones that regulate metabolism and weight loss and certain foods turn them on and off.

I like to do a quick peruse over people's profiles and post history, as often one or two posts from someone don't give us the full picture.

Walnut milk! Excellent in smoothies, baking, or other recipes.

To make walnut milk, soak the nuts overnight in water, then blend and strain in the morning.

It's an excellent way to make recipes creamy without dairy calories.

If you're not tracking calories, and thinking you're somehow making out in the deficit calorie by drinking straight walnuts over "dairy calories," then perhaps you should look into some nutrition classes, or at least--if not actively counting calories--actually seeing calorie vs. calorie in different foods.

Otherwise, you're not eating "too much" if you're not gaining. You're simply eating at your maintenance. If you want to weigh less than you are, you have to change your "reasonable portions" to smaller ones. If you want to lose fat, couple that with strength training.

Wow, people are kind of rude.
If you want to try something different, you might check out the Metabolic effect, you can look at the website for free and the book is really cheap http://www.metaboliceffect.com/ It is written by two brothers who are biochemists, trainers and naturopathic doctors. They don't make you count calories but you do have to stick to the proportions of food and nutrients that your body needs and you need to be strict about it. They also have good advice for building muscle AND while you do need to create a calorie deficit to lose weight, that is not the whole story. Our bodies are not strictly calculators, there are dozens of hormones that regulate metabolism and weight loss and certain foods turn them on and off.

Who is being rude? The people giving silly answers are doing so because she DID ask for non-traditional advice.

As for your last bit... yeah, people will preach thermodynamics to you all day, but if you do throw in certain disorders, things legitimately get screwy, and this is coming from a very objective, "science or die" person who's had to be told this by numerous endocrinologists, one of whom has even thrown the research at me to help me see that yes, some people really are different. OP has a recently diagnosed thyroid disorder. Her glucose is off. These two things could very well make her needs and/or her results different than others. However, if after 6 months of strict weighing/measuring and counting calories, we could consider that an issue, as the "estimating portions" is a user error that thyroid or no thyroid issue can't make a difference in.

However, in all of that, no food has ever been responsible for "turning metabolism on or off." Some foods can reduce the effectiveness of thyroid pills--is that what you mean?

I agree with the overwhelming suggestion to count your calories. You could be overeating...but undereating relative to your activity level could also prevent you from losing weight. The key either way to is figure out just how many calories your consuming. It isn't fun and can be tedious, but you won't have to do it forever once you figure out what's going on and get a good feel for how much you should eat each day to lose.

The food I eat is 90% whole, unprocessed, and clean. (I don't count calories or measure food because it simply isn't realistic for me. From time to do I do it short -term as a way to re-orient myself to correct portions.)

The above is why you are not losing weight. Also, you will not get much non-traditional advice (i.e. new diet, cut out all fat and sugar, etc) because those things are fads based on broscience and myths.

As far as weight loss goals go, in order to lose weight you must eat less calories than you burn. Even with medical conditions, you can find that number, but it takes a bit more work.

If you don't count calories or weigh your food, you have no idea how many calories you are eating. I suggest you make a habit of counting calories, weighing food (not measuring, because it's not accurate), and ensure that you are using correct portion entries. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

Also, either figure out your TDEE or eat back a portion of your cardio calories.

Sorry, this is it. Bets of luck!

This.

But if you want some non-traditional advice, I suggest having more sex. Not only does it burn calories, but it may improve the quality of your sleep.

You're welcome.

winning right here.