over a year and no weight loss

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  • makemyfriendsfat
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    I didn't bother reading everyone else's responses but I read your whole original post. Have you had your thyroid checked and hormone levels? Since you had an infection, it could have thrown off other things in your body. Both of those things can really mess up your ability to loose weight even if you are doing everything right where you should be. There are natural meds you can take for those things if that ends up being whats wrong.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,302 Member
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    OP you have said you didn't know it wasn't normal to gain 65 pounds in 3 months? How about if you start there?
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    I will try to use measuring cups for stuff that can fit (Corn, carrots etc). Unfortunately, even 15 dollars for a scale is way over budget for me. I know that's probably hard to believe but my finances are very very slim owing to me not being able to work for a long time, even now I'm only quazi employed. and my wife and I are JUST making ends meet. It sucks. but that one of the reasons I have been trying to get my weight back down, so I can apply for more laborious jobs and hopefully make some more money.

    If you're willing to send me your name and address, I will buy and mail you a food scale.

    I know it's hard to hear criticism and after what you've been through health wise, I imagine it's also hard to hear the easiest solution might actually be the solution.

    Your weight gain was likely caused by being "bed ridden" for three months. If you're eating the same, and suddenly not moving, you're going to gain weight pretty quickly. We also don't know what or how much you ate in that time period - so no one on here is going to tell you if you weight gain is "normal" or not.

    For most people, it really comes down to accurately weighing and logging food (there is a food logging tool on here, so you don't have to manually write it down). Now maybe you're not like most people - but there's only one way to find out! I'd also ask your doctor for a copy of your most recent blood work. There are different schools of thought on "normal" ranges for thyroid numbers, so I would arm yourself with that information and look into it a bit more.

    Maybe it's already been recommended, but I'd take measurements of your body, too.

    I'm sorry you've had such a rough go of things. I hope that you can find the solution. Good luck, hon.
  • MyOwnSunshine
    MyOwnSunshine Posts: 1,312 Member
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    are used ones still accurate, I would imagine they would lose calibration after awhile

    I think they would be accurate enough. I've had mine for more than 3 years and it works well. I'd imagine, like most health and fitness equipment, that it is used heavily for the first week and then sits around collecting dust until January 1st of the next year.
  • Irvic
    Irvic Posts: 17
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    I've had my thyroid checked, though I've read there's more and less accurate ways of testing. Not sure which way was used. my hormones I'm not entirely sure. I know my vitamin levels haven't been checked but I kind of had to choose my battles with my doctors so it's still something I want to try to get done if I can.
  • zericaaaaa
    zericaaaaa Posts: 313 Member
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    I will try to use measuring cups for stuff that can fit (Corn, carrots etc). Unfortunately, even 15 dollars for a scale is way over budget for me. I know that's probably hard to believe but my finances are very very slim owing to me not being able to work for a long time, even now I'm only quazi employed. and my wife and I are JUST making ends meet. It sucks. but that one of the reasons I have been trying to get my weight back down, so I can apply for more laborious jobs and hopefully make some more money.

    If you're willing to send me your name and address, I will buy and mail you a food scale.

    I know it's hard to hear criticism and after what you've been through health wise, I imagine it's also hard to hear the easiest solution might actually be the solution.

    Your weight gain was likely caused by being "bed ridden" for three months. If you're eating the same, and suddenly not moving, you're going to gain weight pretty quickly. We also don't know what or how much you ate in that time period - so no one on here is going to tell you if you weight gain is "normal" or not.

    For most people, it really comes down to accurately weighing and logging food (there is a food logging tool on here, so you don't have to manually write it down). Now maybe you're not like most people - but there's only one way to find out! I'd also ask your doctor for a copy of your most recent blood work. There are different schools of thought on "normal" ranges for thyroid numbers, so I would arm yourself with that information and look into it a bit more.

    Maybe it's already been recommended, but I'd take measurements of your body, too.

    I'm sorry you've had such a rough go of things. I hope that you can find the solution. Good luck, hon.

    you are a very nice person! can you pay my rent too! haha no but seriously. I understand your frustrations, OP. I have noooooo money to afford a food scale at the moment, but I still do use measuring cups when I can. I always try to overestimate my portions and I have my calories set to a lower amount than what is recommended for my body so if I DO underestimate, it won't do much damage. I used to record my calories on paper but ever since using this website, I've noticed drastic positive results. another thing that has helped me has been using a heart rate monitor, my mother bought it for me last year on my birthday because I'd never be able to afford it haha butttt it has definitely opened my eyes to correctly logging my exercise. I hope you can find the answers you need :)
  • jnv7594
    jnv7594 Posts: 983 Member
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    we try, my wife has been diligently blanching and freezing tomatoes from our garden for the past week, unfortunately anything we can't grow we have to buy which gets expensive.

    Frozen veggies are a good and cheap option.

    I agree with this. I love green beans, and eat them almost every day. You can get a decent sized bag of them frozen for around a dollar. Plus, they are better for you anyway because they don't have added salt or anything else. Just steam and eat.
  • occultllama
    occultllama Posts: 31 Member
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    well, the diary is hand written and I don't have a scanner, so I'm not sure how I could get it on here. I'd be happy to transcribe some of the pages into a post though.


    I wasn't weighing my food, at that point, I large portion of what I was eating was prepackaged (Instant oatmeal, chicken soup,) anything my wife made for dinner was generally weighted at some point, packaged meet was portioned by the pound etc.

    here's an excerpt from the diary.

    Feb 23, 2014

    9:30 AM
    -woke up
    -felt crappy
    - very hungry (hunger pains

    10:30 AM
    -Cut up half a cantaloupe (93 calories)
    - hunger satisfied
    -mood diminished
    -feel very fatigued

    12:00 PM
    Ate other half of cantaloupe (93 calories)
    - Hunger satisfied
    -feeling ok

    2:00 PM
    -Sudden hunger pains (did not feel hungry before hand)

    3:00 PM
    - Ate Chicken and rice (About 650 calories)
    -hunger satisfied
    -feel fatigued

    5:00 PM
    Feeling very fatigued
    -Mood greatly diminished
    - Need nap

    7:30 PM
    Dinner - 12oz steak green beans carrots (about 800 calories)
    -hunger satisfied
    -mood = positive

    9:30
    Feeling fatigued
    -hungry
    -mood diminished
    motivation diminished

    10:00 pm
    ate banana (105 calories)
    stomach tension and heartburn
    bananas causing heartburn apparently

    Midnight
    had oatmeal (180 calories)
    sugar sifted out

    1:30 AM
    going to bed
    feel fine

    total calories 1816

    miles walked today 2.5 miles



    This is representative of my daily diet. Part of the problem though is that I was also sick at the time with a stomach occupying bacterial infection so different foods were doing different things to me, thats why you see the mood and energy recorded as well. Since I've gotten better, I changed my oatmeal to breakfast bars which have about 40 more calories. I do not have a lot of money so I've done the best I can with what I have.

    Okay, I don't know why no one said anything, or if this is even abnormal but along with more health checks and 99% accurate logging of food I would be sorting out my eating/sleeping schedule.

    You get up at 9:30 right? Get up, drink a glass of water, have a nice big, healthy breakfast (for example a bowl of oatmeal with healthy toppings). You need something with a bit of energy to start your day and keep you full(ish) until lunchtime.

    1:30pm(ish), lunchtime, chicken and rice sounds pretty good! Maybe ditch a bit of rice and include some veges though?

    5/6/7pm(ish), have dinner, again what you are eating doesn't seem too bad.

    Of course you can have 2 or 3 snacks throughout the day, between meals, the cantaloupe and banana seem like good choices. But don't be eating a bowl of oatmeal with sugar on it before you go to bed, that's nuts, and will probably give you some difficulty in actually getting to sleep.

    Someone already said something about protein, but maybe you want to adds some nuts to your diet. They aren't overly filling but they do give you a very large energy boost calorie wise.

    Also I noticed you didn't log any fluids? Unless it is black coffee/tea/water drinks have calories too, make sure you log them to get an accurate estimate of calories. Your body needs water to function, make sure you are drinking 2 litres or approximately 8 glasses of water a day.

    Regular food can help you with your fatigue, especially a proper breakfast.

    I don't think I have anything else to add, invisible illnesses can be a b*tch to work through, keep up the hard work.
  • Jayma375
    Jayma375 Posts: 60 Member
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    One thing I noticed from the one day's diary you provided was that you aren't eating any real food until 3pm when you have the chicken and rice. Try eating more earlier and less later in the day.

    Also, how do you sleep? It's been documented in literature that we can have a problem if you aren't sleeping well or long enough. My doctor sent me for a sleep study and now I have to use a CPAP machine. It has made a difference.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    I've had my thyroid checked, though I've read there's more and less accurate ways of testing. Not sure which way was used. my hormones I'm not entirely sure. I know my vitamin levels haven't been checked but I kind of had to choose my battles with my doctors so it's still something I want to try to get done if I can.
    Get everything done. Get new doctors if you have to.

    Don't take medical advice from strangers on the Internet. Don't take their word for it that you don't need a doctor, not even if they tell you that they're a nurse and that they're sure you don't need to see a doctor right now.

    Nobody is qualified to give medical advice online.

    See the doctor.

    I'm stopping now because I've said it enough. If you don't do it, you'll be a fool.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    Here are Scooby's reasons why people don't lose weight:

    1.You are eating more calories than you realize (75% of you)
    2.You are over-reporting your exercise (15% of you)
    3.You are not weighing your self accurately (9.9% of you)
    4.You have a rare disease (0.1% of you
    Not to question the authority of Scooby from the Internet, but where are the people who have other reasons?
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    To the 2 posts above.

    A big breakfast isn't necessary. It's discretionary. It won't prevent someone from losing weight if they don't eat breakfast. Look up intermittent fasting. Our body has energy reserves, glycogen, fat and food that's still being digested.

    Sleep is important but it won't blunt fat from oxidizing if you don't get enough. You can see an increase in cortisol and Grehlin but you will still lose weight.

    Agree. And eating three meals a day isn't necessary, either.
  • astartig
    astartig Posts: 549 Member
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    Honestly, what would it hurt to spend two weeks logging your food intake on here? If you are guesstimating calories like on your post with your example day it's very likely that you are over eating due to not really knowing how much you are consuming. You have already gone a year doing what you have been doing with no results, why keep doing it? Figure out how much you need to be eating to lose, weigh your food and log it on here and see what happens. It might surprise you.

    What she said! it's amazing how much *about and *exact can differ. it doesn't take *that* many underestimated calories to keep you at a stall.
  • sunburntgalaxy
    sunburntgalaxy Posts: 455 Member
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    3:00 PM
    - Ate Chicken and rice (About 650 calories)

    Dinner - 12oz steak green beans carrots (about 800 calories)

    Bold is your problem - you really have no idea just how many calories you're consuming - you're guessing.

    Take a week or two and measure and weigh EVERYTHING that goes into your mouth. My guess is you'll be surprised at how inaccurate your guesses are. That's not a personal criticism - pretty much everyone does it.

    I have to agree that your estimates could be way off - out of curiosity I looked up calories in a 12 oz steak and found a range between about 350 and 850 calories depending on cooking method, type of steak, etc. So how do you know 800 calories is correct - how did you determine that amount? If you didn't weigh and measure everything, and note cooking method (I don't cook steak and just quickly looked so I don't remember what they listed - grilling was one, something with cooked in butter which I think my dad would do) then how do you know it is about 800 calories?

    I weigh and measure pretty much everything I eat (ie, 63 grams of tomato, 62 grams of sugar snap peas included in todays dinner) so I can have an accurate calorie count (well, as accurate as can be with the information available based on that food items weight).
  • Snip8241
    Snip8241 Posts: 767 Member
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    You don't know how many calories your are eating, you're using estimates. You're guessing so your not eating at a deficit so you don't lose weight. It's as simple as you're eating too much. These links will help

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=guide+to+sexypants&page=1#posts-18361594

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

    THIS THIS AND THIS!!!

    If you don't know what you are eating...you don't know what you are eating.
  • jrodri0105
    jrodri0105 Posts: 91 Member
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    its all in your head. You won't take anyone's advice. If you aren't measuring your foods than you can easily overestimate your calories. Find a different doctors if you think its medical and not psychosomatic !
  • shabaity
    shabaity Posts: 791 Member
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    Ok here's something that has been mentioned before but I'm looking at it slightly differently. Look at your log and how you are feeling during this and after specific meals, you don't seem to perk up any till after you've added protein in. The mood and the fatigue seem to be insulin resistance as basically your popping your blood sugar with the cantaloupe but not really giving yourself anything to sustain it long term. This is the way it was explained to me several years ago is that carbs are short term energy, proteins and fats which are broken down differently give you longer term energy. That and for some people (ie me) little meals just leave them hungry and cranky and you don't perk up till after you start eating the larger ones either.