Stuck (for a year)

JorshRod · May 2011

I'm at 275, I've been going up for more than a year now (from 260-275, started at 330 three years ago). In the last month I have started swimming five days a week for 45 minutes a day and restricting my calories to under 2000 (before exercise). I have not lost a single pound in a month of this.

To be fair, I occasionally go off my calorie restriction, but it is not like I go crazy, I might eat an extra 500-1000 calories one day per week. I am working hard the entire time in the pool, and I'm pretty sure I have a reasonable count on my daily calorie intake, I do not know why I am not losing weight!

I have been measuring my neck, chest, waist and hips during this period as well, and have not seen noticeable changes in any of them (~1/2" variation for any). The thing that is killing me is that I am working so hard right now, seemingly for nothing. What can I do to lose weight?

Hernandezedw · May 2011

Try changing your exercise routine.

Remi79 · May 2011

Are you drinking enough water? Some people on here say you're supposed to drink half your weight. I'm not sure if that's right or not, but I have been doing close to that and have started losing more weight than when I didnt' drink water.

deannab1996 · May 2011

I am in the same boat as JorshRod and would appreciate any advice someone could give. I have been working for years regularly and in the last couple of months have been really pushing myself. I am very good with calorie count with the occasional mess up but work out extra hard the next day to hopefully compensate. I am becoming very frustrated that I haven't lost anything and if I lose maybe a pound or two finally, it only goes back on with the occasional mess up. I am 156lbs with a goal of 145 but seem to be getting no where after about a year.....

WildflowerAL · May 2011

Have you spoke to your Doctor? You may have thyroid or other issues which may need to be treated to assist you with your goal.

mom23nuts · May 2011

I am in the same boat with you...some folks here say don't weigh just measure and I still don't see a difference there either.
Some folks say readjust your calories to account for your new weight
Some say you are building muscle but really no change in a month for both you and me?
some say eat back all your exercise calories and get your net as close to the original you started out with in the AM or close to 1200 at least.

Some say there is no such thing as starvation mode so no need to eat back your calories
Some say check your sodium and maybe readjust that to see if you are retaining water due to the high sodioum intake.

I say, I am so ready to give up and just eat chocolate til I F**ing pass out!!!

Maybe we both need to just go see a nutritionalist if we can afford it or maybe at the very least go have our thyroids tested.

I joined a gym and for heavens sake burned 800 calories today and am up 8lbs....I didn't let it show in the check in updates yet since I am too embarassed to even have that show in my daily sign off ticker.

Let me know if you find the magic answer becasue I need it too!!

JorshRod · May 2011

@Hernandezedw- I have some pretty bad back problems that prevent me from doing much of anything outside of the water. I try to rotate swimming strokes used weekly, and I also do water running one or two days a week for a change of pace. How much variation should I have in my routine?

TS65 · May 2011

I am in the same boat with you...some folks here say don't weigh just measure and I still don't see a difference there either.
Some folks say readjust your calories to account for your new weight
Some say you are building muscle but really no change in a month for both you and me?
some say eat back all your exercise calories and get your net as close to the original you started out with in the AM or close to 1200 at least.

Some say there is no such thing as starvation mode so no need to eat back your calories
Some say check your sodium and maybe readjust that to see if you are retaining water due to the high sodioum intake.

I say, I am so ready to give up and just eat chocolate til I F**ing pass out!!!

Maybe we both need to just go see a nutritionalist if we can afford it or maybe at the very least go have our thyroids tested.

I joined a gym and for heavens sake burned 800 calories today and am up 8lbs....I didn't let it show in the check in updates yet since I am too embarassed to even have that show in my daily sign off ticker.

Let me know if you find the magic answer becasue I need it too!!

OP - can you open your diary so perhaps we can help you figure out what's happening - you could be eating too much, too little or the wrong things. Without knowing what your diet is like, we can't really give any pointed advice - just stabs in the dark.

To the lady in the same boat - I just looked at your diary - there wasn't one day that you ate 1200 NET calories! Many days you were WAY under 1000 calories. I'd bet your body is holding on to whatever it can because you aren't feeding it. Try eating back your exercise calories for two weeks and see what happens.

READ THIS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

AND THIS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

Sure, there's people that will argue with it - but most of those haven't TRIED it. They are just going on the feeling that it "doesn't make sense." It DOES make sense if you take the time to read it and understand it. Ignore all pre-conceived notions you may have and do what it says.

** I'm one of those who wasn't losing anything - 3 weeks in and I had only lost 1.5 lbs. I've upped my calories from 1200 to 1544 (low) and 1853 (high) and I dropped 2 lbs THIS WEEK. You have to FEED YOUR BODY if you want it to work properly.

Good luck and hang in there!

deannab1996 · May 2011

I personally have had everything tested that could possibly hinder my weight loss just a few weeks ago. Everything is normal. I was actually a little disappointed..... frustrating....

JorshRod · May 2011

A typical food diary for me in a day would look like this:

Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled, small serving potato hash browns. (~270 cals)
Lunch: Large salad with egg/cheese and low fat dressing or soup and sandwich (multi-grain with lean meat). (~400-600 cals)
Dinner: A 3-6oz portion of lean meat, broiled or baked, salad and bread or fruit. (500-600 cals)
Snacks: 1-2 bananas or apples, a beer in the evening 2-3 times a week. (100-300 cals)

By my calculations I'm rarely ever reaching 2000 calories in a day and my swimming ought to be burning 500-800 calories/day depending on stroke type. At my weight (275 lbs + sedentary lifestyle) I should be burning around 2500+ calories per day easily, and thus should be losing around 2-3 lbs a week.

It is possible that I'm losing marbled fat within my muscle tissue and not yet dipping into the body fat stores, but my understanding was that I would burn body fat before I started to burn fatty tissue within muscles. I did make an appointment with my doctor for next week to discuss the issue.

Edit: How do I open my diary for others to see?

TS65 · May 2011

A typical food diary for me in a day would look like this:

Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled, small serving potato hash browns. (~270 cals)
Lunch: Large salad with egg/cheese and low fat dressing or soup and sandwich (multi-grain with lean meat). (~400-600 cals)
Dinner: A 3-6oz portion of lean meat, broiled or baked, salad and bread or fruit. (500-600 cals)
Snacks: 1-2 bananas or apples, a beer in the evening 2-3 times a week. (100-300 cals)

By my calculations I'm rarely ever reaching 2000 calories in a day and my swimming ought to be burning 500-800 calories/day depending on stroke type. At my weight (275 lbs + sedentary lifestyle) I should be burning around 2500+ calories per day easily, and thus should be losing around 2-3 lbs a week.

It is possible that I'm losing marbled fat within my muscle tissue and not yet dipping into the body fat stores, but my understanding was that I would burn body fat before I started to burn fatty tissue within muscles. I did make an appointment with my doctor for next week to discuss the issue.

Edit: How do I open my diary for others to see?

If you go to "home" then there's a link to settings, you can set your diary for public view.

JorshRod · May 2011

Opened it up.

TS65 · May 2011

A typical food diary for me in a day would look like this:

Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled, small serving potato hash browns. (~270 cals)
Lunch: Large salad with egg/cheese and low fat dressing or soup and sandwich (multi-grain with lean meat). (~400-600 cals)
Dinner: A 3-6oz portion of lean meat, broiled or baked, salad and bread or fruit. (500-600 cals)
Snacks: 1-2 bananas or apples, a beer in the evening 2-3 times a week. (100-300 cals)

By my calculations I'm rarely ever reaching 2000 calories in a day and my swimming ought to be burning 500-800 calories/day depending on stroke type. At my weight (275 lbs + sedentary lifestyle) I should be burning around 2500+ calories per day easily, and thus should be losing around 2-3 lbs a week.

It is possible that I'm losing marbled fat within my muscle tissue and not yet dipping into the body fat stores, but my understanding was that I would burn body fat before I started to burn fatty tissue within muscles. I did make an appointment with my doctor for next week to discuss the issue.

Edit: How do I open my diary for others to see?

It's possible that you aren't eating enough.

Let's assume your BMR is 2500 calories (what it would take to keep you alive if you laid in bed every day).
To lose 1 lb per week, you need a deficit of 500 calories per day.

2500 - 500 = 2000 calories

BUT... if you exercise (say 500 calorie workout), you need to add back in those calories.

2500 - 500 +500 = 2500

It sounds counterintuitive - you need to think of working out as a way to tone up NOT a way to lose weight. The "lose weight" part is built in by MFP under your deficit (set when you set your goals).

Based on what you're saying - you're barely reaching 2000 calories AND burning off 500 - you're only NETTING 1500 calories.

Think of your body as a car. Will it run well on empty? Nope. Your body is the same way. It needs fuel to work properly.

**As noted above, I increased my calories by 300 and have lost more weight this week than since I started. I was TERRIFIED to increase my calories (it just didn't seem logical) - but I get it now. It works.

**edited to add - look at your May 9 diary. You only ate 1500 calories AND burned 700+. that means you only netted 800 calories. If that is an average day - you are DEFINITELY not eating enough!

court428 · May 2011

Maybe you should try to use up your calories with healthier choices. I see things like beer, cheeseburgers, pizza, tater tots, and cake on your diary. You do not necessarily have to deprive yourself of these things, but you could choose one splurge just once a week as a treat.

mschelle · May 2011

Are you on any medications? Some meds will slow your metabolism and make it virtually impossible to lose..and often they make you gain. So all your hard work could be resulting in maintenance where you would otherwise have gained.

jenkay87 · May 2011

Calories are important but the QUALITY of calories are MORE important!!!! If you every foods full of vitamins and fiber, this is what your body needs to break down fat. They're a chemical cycles of breaking down fat. So if you body gets to a point in the cycle where it wants to break down the fat but is missing B12 vitamin then the cycle will stop and you will not lose weight. Vitamins are like helpers in fat breakdown. ill have to grow to like veggies and lean meats but once you create a habit it is easy. Take one day at a time. When you see a hamburger or pizza say to yourself ,

"I have had that hundreds of times and yes it was delicious but I'm going to try this instead because i need delicious vitamins!"

you can do it. I am a nutrition major and I know it is hard I struggle as well. Learn as much about healthy QUALITY food as you can.

You may want to get a food allergy test as well because if your allergic to the food your eating mal-absorption occurs a and can make your intestines flare up and not absorb vitamins.

jenkay87 · May 2011

BMR BMI are crap. They doesn't account for muscle men have higher muscle mass then ladies so it prolly work better for women. There is huge debate on the subject but the department of agriculture controls the government health education and they have had so many budget cut no one even cares,

JorshRod · May 2011

My Thursday food calendar was pretty bad, I went to a baseball game a Wrigley and at stadium food all day :-(. Coupled with our mother's day cookout it was a bad week.

I'm trying to take the advice of several and on here and several articles that were posted and try to fill up my calories with balanced foods and to increase my daily average so I am consistently netting around 1800 each and every day, rather than my current pattern of netting 800-1400 most days and 2500-3000 on the others.

Part of that problem is that when you eat the things you should, its hard to eat that many calories in a day, I'm too full!

nikki_zav · May 2011

@Hernandezedw- I have some pretty bad back problems that prevent me from doing much of anything outside of the water. I try to rotate swimming strokes used weekly, and I also do water running one or two days a week for a change of pace. How much variation should I have in my routine?

Looking at your diary, what are you drinking? You don't seem to be logging much water. So I would definitely increase you water amount. Keep an eye on your sugars and salts, especially if you eat out a lot. And last, more veggies. The fruit you are eating is great, but veggies are much less on calories and have a great amount of fiber to keep your system moving and working right.

Keep up the pool workouts.

Plarmore · May 2011

All the advice you're getting here has been good, but you'll probably have to do them all to get results. A few years ago I worked out with a personal trainer and here is some of the advice I got from him.

1. Water, water and more water. I am 6'1 255 (maybe less as tomorrow is weigh in day) and drink 2 to 5 liters per day depending on the temperature/humidity and how strenuous my workout for that day. When you body burns fat, a chemical is released that inhibits the future burning of more fat unless you drink enough water to flush it out.

2. The one thing these diaries don't show is what time you eat. You should eat within 1 hour after waking then every 3 to 4 hours there after. Eat smaller portions and spread your calorie intake out over 4 to 6 meals per day.

3. Rest. Take at least 1 day off per week from strenuous exercise and make sure you're getting plenty of sleep.

4. Exercise variation. Doing the same thing day-in and day-out, your muscles become trained and don't have to work as hard. 45 minutes of swimming 3 months ago was a much better workout than it is today. You want to mix it up with cardio, resistance, and stretching (very important). My routine includes 2 or 3 days of high impact aerobics, 2 days of resistance and toning, and 1 or 2 days of stretching/yoga, and 1 day of rest.

5. Supplements. No matter your diet, it is very hard to replace all the vitamins and nutrients lost through exercise. GNC, Beach Body Industries, and others have vitamin supplements specifically designed for those who work out regularly and some include fat burners or metabolism boosters.

Try incorporating all of these things for a few weeks to see if you can get the ball rolling again. Good luck.

summalovaable · May 2011

Drinking alcohol is supposed to hinder weight loss for up to three days after consumption. Cut your alcohol, and cut your carbs. If the pounds don't fall off welll then I couldn't tell ya!

Stuck (for a year)

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