<sigh> bad metabolism?

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Ellebeegirl
Ellebeegirl Posts: 34 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I hesitate to bring this up because I know how it is viewed when a heavy person blames it on a slow metabolism....but has anyone successfully turned that situation around?

I am a life long yo-yo dieter. Most recently I did 3 rounds of very low calorie plus sublingual hcg in 2010. After gaining it back 3 times, I gave up trying. In January of 2011 I gave up dieting for good. I eat healthy choices, all the stuff you're supposed to do. I gave up fried foods, the only processed food I might have is white bread on a restaurant sandwich occasionally, very low sugar and very low artificial sweeteners. I'm scared of chemical foods and preservatives so I limit them the best I can, etc. I recently started logging my food to verify I'm eating what I thought and I run between 1500 and 1700 calories a day.

In March I started strength training and cardio. I don't mess around at the gym, I have a trainer and I workout 4-5 times a week for over 2 months now.

I have gained 30 pounds since October of 2010. It is still going up. I'm frustrated beyond words. I am in the process of being checked out by my physician to make sure nothing is wrong physically, but I don't think she will find anything. In my mind 4 months seems like a long time to see no results when I'm doing everything I've been told to do. I'm heavier than I have ever been by 20 pounds and I am fighting the urge to fad diet-even though I already know what the result would be.

I am going to keep on keeping on, but geesh?!! Anyone else? I would love to hear someone say "it is getting ready to turn around for you, Lori. This is how it worked for me...."
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Replies

  • bethvandenberg
    bethvandenberg Posts: 1,496 Member
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    Give it another couple of months. Are you measuring your food? that may be if you're eating too big a portion size. Drink a ton of water. Then drink some more. :) You're on the right path. Just hang in there. I know it's frustrating.
  • cessnaholly
    cessnaholly Posts: 780 Member
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    Hi,
    I've been there. I've been overweight since my gall bladder was removed and I was in a bad car accident. Anyway, its been 10 years and i've never been able to lose. What worked for me was NOT dieting. I just started tracking what I ate and walking. I lose about 1 pound every week and 1/2 or so but it has been steady. I'm seeing it as changing my eating habits and a new lifestyle rather than working extra hard to watch what I eat and exercise like crazy.

    It took many years to put it on. It will take a long time to take it off. There will be bumps in the road. You'll gain a little and lose a lot more. Just take it one day at a time and you will mke progress. It gets better. Start slow and do what you are comfortable with. You'll do it!
  • thirteenblessings
    thirteenblessings Posts: 51
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    Hi Lori!

    Well I'm kind of in the same boat. Since January of this year I've gained 25 pound, for seemingly no reason. I thougth I was eating healthy, and I work out nearly every day , running and resistance training, so I thought for sure there was something wrong with me.

    Two weeks ago I went to my Dr. and had a gamut of tests run and she found nothing wrong with me, I'm perfectly healthy. Thyroid is fine, etc.

    So I found this website and since joining I've lost 6 pounds. That's 6 pounds in a little under 2 weeks. So I guess even with my "healthy" eating and exercising, I was simply eating too much. Now that I am tracking my food and becoming aware of everything I eat and drink, I'm able to lose weight.

    Don't give up! And Welcome!!!
  • fcrisswell
    fcrisswell Posts: 234 Member
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    Have your thyroid checked.

    Then MAKE sure you are measuring not just guessing at you food amounts. Most people way underestimate serving sizes and THINK they are eating way less caloriewise than they actually are.

    Get rid of any calorie drinks, soda, juice, etc. Somethings sneak in that you don't even think about.

    Drink lots of water.
  • registers
    registers Posts: 782 Member
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    There is 1 reasons, why people gain fat. Besides issues with things such as the thyroid. The issue is insulin, 2 things that increase insulin, high caloric intake per meal, and carbs. If you're meeting your caloric requirments for weightloss, and are exercising. The only thing I can foress the issue being is access carbs. If you are eating a lot of carbs. Cut back on them. I am not saying they're bad, they are good for us, but in moderation.
  • crissa413
    crissa413 Posts: 67
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    Have you ever had your thyroid checked out?? I experienced a big weight gain last year along with some other things like fatigue and talked to my doctor about it and she recommended we check out my thyroid. After taking a blood test, she told me that I'm slightly hypothyroid which causes your metabolism to be really slow and results in weight gain. Maybe you should get yours checked out, if you haven't already.
  • FrenchMob
    FrenchMob Posts: 1,167 Member
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    HCG - Nuff said. It probably destroyed your metabolism with that "diet".

    You need to slowly build that back up and you're on the right track with some strength training and cardio. But you also have to meticulously measure your food and log properly, and for a awhile, don't restrict your calories too much...I would say no more than a lbs a week, but without knowing your stats (height & weight) it's just a guess.
  • wimom27
    wimom27 Posts: 19 Member
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    I was beginning to feel like you for awhile. I had lost a little then hit a plateau and lost nothing for several months no matter what I did. I have changed my diet drastically from what it used to be and have gone from sedentary to exercising daily. I finally went to the doctor and had things checked out and other than low vitamin D and iron, everything else looked good. Well, even though my thyroid function tests said ok.... I decided to add some herbal thyroid support drops to my daily intake as well as continued on my exercise regimen and just changed some of what I was doing for exercise as well as continued to eat right. FINALLY, my metabolism must have kicked in because I began losing... SLOWLY, but still losing. I have now lost 20 lbs.! It is still only coming off about 1-2 lbs. a week, but SOMETHING is better than nothing.
  • NancyCatherineWalker
    NancyCatherineWalker Posts: 35
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    For what it's worth this is exactly why I'm here. I dieted and upped my exercise for a year and came out heavier then I went in. I've only been here a few days but I'm starting to see results. I know that I have a hormone issue that contributes to my problems but I'm not going to let the weight win. Hang in there!
  • Sasha_Bear
    Sasha_Bear Posts: 625 Member
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    I'm curious to know how many calories you are burning during these workouts, because 1500 to 1700 maybe to much are you creating a large enough deficit?
  • Fergo1948
    Fergo1948 Posts: 1
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    I started dieting when I hit 17 stone using calorie counting which worked until I reached 16 stone where no matter what I did, even dropping calorie count as low as 1000 a day I could not get any lower.
    So I sent for Audrey Eytons F2 Diet book which I followed religiously. I was eating more food, but different food, to what I was eating before and would you believe I lost 9.5 pounds in the first two weeks. This diet keeps you on low fat high fibre food and it works for me.By the way I am male, 63 years old and a bit sedentary but I started cycling to work and doing a few extra miles at weekends.
  • Ellebeegirl
    Ellebeegirl Posts: 34 Member
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    Thanks everyone! Gosh, I should have written here weeks ago. Let's see if I can answer some questions...

    I'm not comfortable yet saying what I weigh, mostly because it is still going up and it makes me cry. I'm between 200 and 220, 5'7" and 43 years old.

    I do 30 minutes of strength and core training, followed by 15 minutes on the treadmill walk/jogging. I'm building up the amount of weights I use and building up to jogging more than walking. It's all to build my core and help burn some calories. I've not ever been to a gym before in my life-so I am a beginner. But I do take it seriously and work as hard as I can when I'm there.

    I don't measure my food, it is my all or nothing mentality and that seems too much like a diet. The whole point of changing the way I eat and exercise was to not diet. That is also why my calories have ended up in a range between 1500-1700 most days. I don't want to "diet" at 1200 calories or something. I want to eat and think about food in a normal way, like people that have never dieted.

    I'm not asking for a miracle. I'm not looking to lose a certain amount in a certain time limit. I don't care if it takes me a year to lose the excess I've gained. I just need to see a downward trend at some point.

    I've gone through the gamut of tests. I've been on synthroid for 7 years. My TSH was low normal, so I'm pretty certain that is still regulated sufficiently. My doctor did adjust my doseage a little from 112 to 125. My chem 7 is a bit of a mess. Sodium-low, Potassium-high, Calcium-low, Albumin-low, Alk phos-low....I see an ob-gyn later this week for a hormone check. I have an appt with an endocrinologist, but not until July.

    I have no illusions that I have not done this to myself. I've absolutely done this to myself, but surely others have done it and eventually fixed it, right?
  • Glucocorticoid
    Glucocorticoid Posts: 867 Member
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    Try actually measuring your food for a few weeks. Too much error in "eyeballing it"
  • thirteenblessings
    thirteenblessings Posts: 51
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    There is 1 reasons, why people gain fat. Besides issues with things such as the thyroid. The issue is insulin, 2 things that increase insulin, high caloric intake per meal, and carbs. If you're meeting your caloric requirments for weightloss, and are exercising. The only thing I can foress the issue being is access carbs. If you are eating a lot of carbs. Cut back on them. I am not saying they're bad, they are good for us, but in moderation.

    I agree 100% with this. Also since starting MFP, I've been trying to watch my carb intake. I'm not "low carbing" but Im not having carbs at every meal anymore either and when I do have them, I try hard to choose whole wheat and grain options. It really makes a difference in how I feel and my weight loss efforts! I have PCOS too though so definitely I'm more sensitive to carbs than other people might be.

    Edited to add that I"m not having my nightly glass of wine anymore either, more like a weekly glass of wine. I don't miss it honestly. Instead of drinking that wine after dinner, I do my resistance training workout instead, which also really helps to curb late night cravings :)
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    your blood numbers tell me that you probably have some deficiencies in your diet, I realize you have thyroid issues to deal with, but the synthroid should correct that. It would be helpful to know your other thyroid numbers though (T3 T4 numbers, TSH isn't all that accurate usually, it's a precursor number, not an actual sign of an under-active thyroid).

    It would also help to be able to see your food diary. Right now that's private, tough to see whether you're eating correctly without that. As I'm sure you've been told by your trainer, it's not as much about the exercise as it is about the diet. We lose weight by eating the right amount and right kind of food. Exercise is what we do to become healthy and support our metabolism, but you eat right (by right I mean the right amount of nutrients and the right kinds of nutrients) to drop fat.
  • Ellebeegirl
    Ellebeegirl Posts: 34 Member
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    SHBoss,

    I've only been tracking my food for 2 days. I was just looking at the nutrients section last night, and I am for sure off in places, hardly any potassium and calcium is low, so I have some things to work on. But calorie-wise I err on the side of over-estimating.

    Do you think a deficiency could still be around from the extreme dieting I have done over the years? I know, for instance, that blood sodium or blood calcium isn't really an indication of sodium ( or calcium) in my diet but more how it is absorbed and processed in the blood. At least that is what I think, please correct me if I'm wrong.

    I don't think my GP did the T3-4 tests, I hate the whole thyroid thing. It is so inaccurate. When my doctor saw me she listened to my story and said "you look like a thyroid patient-you have the look" We were so certain that was going to be the answer. But, no. That is why I'm moving on to see an endocrinologist because I know it is a difficult thing to pin down.
  • sizehealthy
    sizehealthy Posts: 13
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    Your best bet is to see what your doctor says. Maybe a thyroid problem?
  • wildon883r
    wildon883r Posts: 429 Member
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    A person can't measure there food for life and they shouldn't have to. The normal plate size 20-30 years ago was 9 inches and now adays its 13 inches in diameter. Look at all the amount of fat people now compared to that time frame. You can measure with your eyes when filling your plate. Eat a single serving of everything on your plate be it meat, fruit, veggie.. A 16 ounce T-bone steaks is 4 servings of meat not one. You'd have to eat a bushel of fresh veggies to even come close to a calorie goal :). Fruits are about twice as caloric as veggies do to natural sugars which are not bad for you but do count. Water retention can affect what you see on a scale. Don't forget to have plenty of (HEALTHY) fat in your diet. Your physical conditiong/muscle mass plays a huge role in calorie burning. Good Luck.
  • drdove23
    drdove23 Posts: 7
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    Lori,
    I share your reluctance to "diet" - just thinking about it sets my teeth on edge and makes me think of all the times I've not lost weight. Also it makes me hungry. LOL! I also agree with the thyroid testing - TSH is, as has been mentioned, terribly inaccurate, and I've found very few endocrinologists who will work with you to truly assess your metabolism with a full panel. And most general practitioners don't know how to INTERPRET a full panel if they order it! Its also hard to find a doctor that will take time to listen to your "diet history" - this is a really important part of your medical history, but it often is not even addressed! I'll tell you a secret - I'm a family medicine physician, and MOST residencies in this country give -NO- official training in nutrition and exericise science. Example? ME! I'm overweight and have been for years, and I have very little idea of how to change that besides "decrease calories in, increase calories out". ASK your doctor what training they have had in nutrition, you will be suprised!
  • korgscrew
    korgscrew Posts: 99 Member
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    I've been told you can't create a calorie deficit with exercise alone.

    Try tracking what your eating using this site and see what you intake is.

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