Possibly an underlying issue?

ErinLeeeee · April 2015

Hi friends. I have a 43.3 BMI, so I pretty seriously need to lose weight. The thing is, with my weight, the exercise I'm doing and way I'm eating should be leading to weight loss... but it's not.

I can't figure out how to boost my weight loss, since I don't have time to add in more activity and I'm trying to stick to minimum healthy calorie consumption.

Have any of you found that there's an underlying health issue preventing your weight loss?

I don't want to defer responsibility for my own weight loss, but I'm concerned with the lack of results for how hard I'm trying.

Thanks for your support!

K3rB3ar89 · April 2015

I tried for a month heavy work outs calorie deflect and never moved I just found out I'm insulin resistant.. So they put me on a drug called metformin oh I also have pcos but metformin is supposed to help you with your sugar levels and I was told it helps with hunger.. 3 days on it and I deff notice the hunger isn't there as bad as it was.. If you tried and figure everything is right you may wanna ask your doc! Good luck and I know it sucks!

azulvioleta6 · April 2015

Oh yes. I have terrible metabolic problems, including hypopituitarism. The years when that was undiagnosed were when I gained weight. Once I got treatment (daily injections) I was able to get some control again.

I started out at about where you are in terms of BMI. I'm about to break into the 20s now.

Have you ever thought about seeing an endocrinologist? Have you had your thyroid checked recently?

999tigger · April 2015

If you want a more relevant answer then you should open your diary, its normally becayse you are eating more than you think and burning less. You dont need to do any exercise to lose weight, just be at deficit.

Are you weighing with a scale all your food?
Whats your age, heigh and weight.
How long have you been dieting and what was the start weight and whats your current weight?
Are you eating exercise calories , if so what % and how are those burns calculated?
Have you lost any weight at all?

mhankosk · April 2015

Do you have a food scale? If you don't, get one. You are most likely eating more than you think. Especially when things are measured in cups. You will notice, once you start weighing your food, that what you think is one cup or tablespoon of something is too much. It helped me considerably.

BWBTrish · April 2015

ErinLeeeee wrote: »

Hi friends. I have a 43.3 BMI, so I pretty seriously need to lose weight. The thing is, with my weight, the exercise I'm doing and way I'm eating should be leading to weight loss... but it's not.

I can't figure out how to boost my weight loss, since I don't have time to add in more activity and I'm trying to stick to minimum healthy calorie consumption.

Have any of you found that there's an underlying health issue preventing your weight loss?

I don't want to defer responsibility for my own weight loss, but I'm concerned with the lack of results for how hard I'm trying.

Thanks for your support!

So how do you know how much calories you eat? Do you weigh ALL your solid food on a food scale.
Because not losing weight is always because you eat to much calories.

Emilia777 · April 2015

I’m sorry you’re not seeing results, but hang in there! Before considering an underlying condition, a few questions.

1. How long have you been tracking your calories: it can take a few weeks until our bodies catch up and weight comes off, especially if you’ve started exercising, because of stuff like retaining water.
2. Do you use a food scale: it’s very easy to underestimate the calories we eat if you don’t weigh the food; cups are very unreliable.
3. Do you eat back your exercise calories: it’s generally accepted that exercise burns are overestimated, so most people only eat back about half.

Normally, if you’re eating at a deficit, weight should definitely start coming off. Don’t give up, you can absolutely do this

BWBTrish · April 2015

azulvioleta6 wrote: »

Oh yes. I have terrible metabolic problems, including hypopituitarism. The years when that was undiagnosed were when I gained weight. Once I got treatment (daily injections) I was able to get some control again.

I started out at about where you are in terms of BMI. I'm about to break into the 20s now.

Have you ever thought about seeing an endocrinologist? Have you had your thyroid checked recently?

This could slow down your weight loss indeed, but not losing is always because you consume more calories than you think/burn.

However the speed or how fast you lose weight can be effected by a medical issue.

ErinLeeeee · April 2015

Thanks so much K3rB3ar89! I've never heard of that before but the more I read about it now it sounds like something I should get tested for!

I've put off doing to the doctor because I know they'll tell me what they tell me every time (obese, need to make huge lifestyle changes,etc). How do you get tested for insulin resistance?

Emilia777 · April 2015

ErinLeeeee wrote: »

Thanks so much K3rB3ar89! I've never heard of that before but the more I read about it now it sounds like something I should get tested for!

I've put off doing to the doctor because I know they'll tell me what they tell me every time (obese, need to make huge lifestyle changes,etc). How do you get tested for insulin resistance?

You should also consider the things everyone else has pointed out: rate of loss, how long you’ve been logging, using a scale, eating back exercise calories. You don’t have to answer, but it would help us help you if you did. Even if a medical condition was at play, you still need to ensure your tracking is accurate if you want to see results.

So_Much_Fab · April 2015

Ok, before you go and get tested for a whole slew of medical issues -

1. Do you know how many calories per day you need to cut in order to lose weight?
2. Are you weighing and measuring everything you put in your mouth?
3. Are you using a food scale?
4. Have you consistently been under your calorie goals (properly weighing and measuring as noted above) for 4-6 weeks?

If you've said NO to *any* of the above, then you're not doing it right.

Read this.

K3rB3ar89 · April 2015

You don't get tested for a slew of issues its blood work to check sugar levels which happens in pre diabetics which can be very common and it reduces your chance of weight loss because your body doesn't deal with insulin properly. For myself I ate at a deflect weighed everything did everything right and no one could figure out what was wrong. I posted on here and I got a lot of these same comments telling me everything I'm doing wrong when I was doing everything right.. You should however open your diary abs I'll take a look too.. This site gets frustrating sometimes because everyone gets opinionated on what works for them but everyone's diff and sometimes it is medical..

So_Much_Fab · April 2015

K3rB3ar89 wrote: »

You don't get tested for a slew of issues its blood work to check sugar levels which happens in pre diabetics which can be very common and it reduces your chance of weight loss because your body doesn't deal with insulin properly. For myself I ate at a deflect weighed everything did everything right and no one could figure out what was wrong. I posted on here and I got a lot of these same comments telling me everything I'm doing wrong when I was doing everything right.. You should however open your diary abs I'll take a look too.. This site gets frustrating sometimes because everyone gets opinionated on what works for them but everyone's diff and sometimes it is medical..

Once OP logs at a reasonable deficit every day for 6-8 weeks and sees no results (scale OR measurement) then I will suggest checking in with her doc.

kellykneppergrundy · April 2015

I went through something similar and spent 3 months eating at a deficit and exercising and losing nothing. Eventually I was diagnosed with a severe vitamin d deficiency, which can slow weight loss to a crawl. Furthermore the antihistimine I was on has been linked to weight gain. I was able to stop taking the antihistimine and start taking prescription strength vitamin D and very soon after the weight started coming off. I am now maintaining a steady weight loss at the same deficit I was at before. I wish I hadn't wasted 3 months before checking with a doctor.

Maleficent0241 · April 2015

Yes, but weight issues were just one symptom. My hair was falling out in clumps, lost my period, dizzy all the time, etc so it was clear something was off. Odds are you're eating too much. If more accurate logging doesn't work, check in with your doc to help fix any issues that may be affecting how many calories you are expending. Even with a medical condition, you still have to eat fewer calories than you burn. The equation just looks a little different.

ErinLeeeee · April 2015

So_Much_Fab wrote: »

Once OP logs at a reasonable deficit every day for 6-8 weeks and sees no results (scale OR measurement) then I will suggest checking in with her doc.

Thanks! I'll stick at it a bit longer before checking with a doctor.

My purpose for this post was just my curiosity about other people's experience with underlying health issues and overcoming them.

I understand the importance of weighing food, counting every bite, etc.

I've been doing most of my journaling on paper in a WW binder, so unfortunately my fitness pal log isn't up to date.

Unless my heart rate isn't getting up to what it should in my Zumba classes, etc, and I am not burning as many calories as I think, I am at a deficit. Maybe I'll have to get a heart rate monitor.

Thanks again for all your replies!

Chrysalid2014 · April 2015

[comment deleted]

ErinLeeeee · April 2015

kellykneppergrundy wrote: »

I went through something similar and spent 3 months eating at a deficit and exercising and losing nothing. Eventually I was diagnosed with a severe vitamin d deficiency, which can slow weight loss to a crawl. Furthermore the antihistimine I was on has been linked to weight gain. I was able to stop taking the antihistimine and start taking prescription strength vitamin D and very soon after the weight started coming off. I am now maintaining a steady weight loss at the same deficit I was at before. I wish I hadn't wasted 3 months before checking with a doctor.

Thanks for sharing your story Kelly! It's helpful to hear...

ErinLeeeee · April 2015

azulvioleta6 wrote: »

Oh yes. I have terrible metabolic problems, including hypopituitarism. The years when that was undiagnosed were when I gained weight. Once I got treatment (daily injections) I was able to get some control again.

I started out at about where you are in terms of BMI. I'm about to break into the 20s now.

Have you ever thought about seeing an endocrinologist? Have you had your thyroid checked recently?

Thanks for sharing azulvioleta6! Congrats on your weight loss! I have never had my thyroid checked so that's something I'll keep in mind...

LKArgh · April 2015

Chrysalid2014 wrote: »

ErinLeeeee wrote: »

Thanks so much K3rB3ar89! I've never heard of that before but the more I read about it now it sounds like something I should get tested for!

I've put off doing to the doctor because I know they'll tell me what they tell me every time (obese, need to make huge lifestyle changes,etc). How do you get tested for insulin resistance?

The test is called HbA1c. It's a standard blood test. You need to fast before you have the blood drawn, so I usually go first thing in the AM so I don't have to go too long without my morning tea!

No. HbA1c is a test typically done to figure out if you have diabetes under control or not. Insuline resistance is diagnosed usually by a blood glucose and insuline test. Insuline resistance will not prevent you from losing weight. On the contrary, it is often caused by obesity, and will be managed by losing weight.
So, if you get tested, chances are the dr will tell you to lose weight to manage it, not the other weight round. It comes down to eating less, moving more.

azulvioleta6 · April 2015

TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »

azulvioleta6 wrote: »

Oh yes. I have terrible metabolic problems, including hypopituitarism. The years when that was undiagnosed were when I gained weight. Once I got treatment (daily injections) I was able to get some control again.

I started out at about where you are in terms of BMI. I'm about to break into the 20s now.

Have you ever thought about seeing an endocrinologist? Have you had your thyroid checked recently?

This could slow down your weight loss indeed, but not losing is always because you consume more calories than you think/burn.

However the speed or how fast you lose weight can be effected by a medical issue.

Oh, I've lost 90 pounds. I get how it works.

If someone has a metabolic problem, it can be really tough to ever burn more than you consume. For example, my BMR is about a quarter of what it should be. If I didn't know that, I would be a pretty frustrated dieter.

I am taking the OP's word for it. What she describes sounds worthy of a medical check.

Chrysalid2014 · April 2015

aggelikik wrote: »

Chrysalid2014 wrote: »

ErinLeeeee wrote: »

Thanks so much K3rB3ar89! I've never heard of that before but the more I read about it now it sounds like something I should get tested for!

I've put off doing to the doctor because I know they'll tell me what they tell me every time (obese, need to make huge lifestyle changes,etc). How do you get tested for insulin resistance?

The test is called HbA1c. It's a standard blood test. You need to fast before you have the blood drawn, so I usually go first thing in the AM so I don't have to go too long without my morning tea!

No. HbA1c is a test typically done to figure out if you have diabetes under control or not. Insuline resistance is diagnosed usually by a blood glucose and insuline test. Insuline resistance will not prevent you from losing weight. On the contrary, it is often caused by obesity, and will be managed by losing weight.
So, if you get tested, chances are the dr will tell you to lose weight to manage it, not the other weight round. It comes down to eating less, moving more.

Thanks for correcting that – I got confused. Please ignore me!

Possibly an underlying issue?

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