What Am I Doing Wrong?

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Pea4jjab
Pea4jjab Posts: 216 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was hoping I could talk some of you into looking at my food and exercise diaries and tell me what I'm doing wrong here? I've been actively watching what I eat and exercising since the end of February. I lost a couple of inches, but no pounds until the beginning of May. I lost 4 lbs. in the first 2 weeks FINALLY, but nothing since. In fact, when I weighed this morning just to see, I was up 1 1/2 lbs :(

Just a little background...I'm 42 (will be 43 next month), I am a happily marrried Christian Mommy to 9 (ages 11 months to 21 years) plus we have 3 babies in heaven that we never got to meet. I'm currently nursing our 11 month old and will continue until she decides to wean (most of mine have nursed until 12 months to 18 months on average). I am VERY overweight (obese) and need to lose around 80 lbs. or more :(:(:( I will say that my body has a hard time letting go of extra weight while I'm nursing. I had a much easier time doing it when I was younger, of course. I had my thyroid tested about 2 years ago because I've had many hypothyroid symptoms for awhile, but according to the doctor, my numbers were fine. Oh, and for now I'm doing my workouts at home alternating between Walk Away The Pounds on M,W,F (2 or 3 mile with almost 2 lb. cans), and T-tapp on T,Th, and sometimes Sat. Sundays I take off.

Soooooo...can anyone shed some insight for me? Give me some ideas or pointers?

Replies

  • Angela_MA
    Angela_MA Posts: 260
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    I might suggest lowering your carb intake and upping your protein intake. You can do this in the goals sections. Also are you doing any strength training? A couple days a week can help. Also, perhaps you want to up the intensity of your cardio, that can always help out too. Drink a lots of water I try to drink more then the 8 recommended glasses, especially on your work out days.
  • SheehyCFC
    SheehyCFC Posts: 529 Member
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    It looks from the numbers like you are doing ok, but I see a lot of "additives" or flavoring in there - creamers, ranch dressing, etc. I know they may fit into your "goal numbers" but that doesn't mean they are necessarily good for you. Also, with you nursing, I don't personally know (obviously) but have seen many posts on here that you are not going to lose weight at nearly the same rate. The last bit of advice I have is that losing inches is just as good... it makes us LOOK different, even if the number is changing... body tone can make a big difference in perception. Hope the pounds start to come off too though, good luck.

    *(WARNING: PERSONAL OPINION) I don't have a problem with some days being 400 under calories as long as it balances out over the week (you were over 300 in there somewhere too... but having a more balanced consistent diet may help.
  • SheehyCFC
    SheehyCFC Posts: 529 Member
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    PS: I agree with angusfam - a little strength training or increase in cardio intensity could do wonders for you
  • rmazurik
    rmazurik Posts: 2
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    What I do not see in here is what you are eating. I was having struggles until I learned to read label and be truthful to myself about what I eat. I would think noting about sitting down and eating a bag of chips, then I learned to read labels and found out that one bag of chips was almost 2000 calories.

    My suggestion with the infor you supplied is to continue to work out and really watch what you eat and make sure your are truthful to yourself. This was my biggest obsticle.

    Also, one of the things I learned is that muscle weighs much almost 7 lbs more than fat, or that is atleast what I was told. So if you are working out building muscle you might not see a weight loss. A scale can be you enemy because it does not give the whole story. Watch you inches more than your weight.

    If you burn more calories than you intake you will lose weight. There is no way around this. Keep it up. You will get there.

    Russ
  • aclark6818
    aclark6818 Posts: 209 Member
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    Are you eating enough?? Sometimes I noticed a spike in my weight loss when I have a few low days of eating mixed in with the higher days--always staying with my calories. I love the walk away the pounds!!!!, but my machine doesn't work anymore & I haven't gotten to do it in a while. Good Luck & and enjoy all of your babies. ( I come from a family of 14--12 kids, I only have 2--but that's good for me)
  • fcrisswell
    fcrisswell Posts: 234 Member
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    I might suggest lowering your carb intake and upping your protein intake. You can do this in the goals sections. Also are you doing any strength training? A couple days a week can help. Also, perhaps you want to up the intensity of your cardio, that can always help out too. Drink a lots of water I try to drink more then the 8 recommended glasses, especially on your work out days.

    I would say the same thing. But don't lower carbs too much while breastfeeding. You don't want protein spilling over into your breastmilk. But some people are more sensitive to processed carbs, pasta, rice, beads. Eat more protein, dairy, veggies, fruits and cut out a lot of the processed stuff. (I have not looked at your diary yet but the first thing I thought about when I read your post was, more protein). I had a baby 9 mo ago and went carb crazy while preggo and it spilled over afterwards. Had a hard time losing anything untl I joined here and got bak to my pre-baby eating habits of protein first.
  • nancymmorris
    nancymmorris Posts: 310
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    I would suggest lowering your carbs, increasing your protein and really watching your sodium. I set my sodium at 2000 and try to stay around 1500. I found when I wasn't losing, this was a hugh help to me. Good luck!!!
  • donnadickens
    donnadickens Posts: 19
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    Your numbers are good...but you need to lower the sodium, and carbs- even though they are within your okay range. Your breast feeding so your body will naturally use up more calories to produce more...lower your sugars, and get more sleep SLEEP is very important, and will definately help!...you may need to zig-zag diet to jump start the weight loss. ( eat more than the alloted calories for a couple of days then drop it about 200-300 calories below for a couple of days) during the drop of calories drink lots of hot tea...it will flush the body and you will see a difference in a week! Good Luck! and hang in there!!
  • denitraross
    denitraross Posts: 325 Member
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    I agree with the sodium - it is evil for weight loss. If I have to choose between a higher calorie count or lower sodium - I always choose the lower sodium option. I lost twice as much weight once I started watching my sodium and cutting out high sodium foods like frozen dinners, canned soups, Subway......the other culprit is sugar, really watch this as well.

    I also agree with adding strength training - you should be doind just as much, if not more strength training as cardio......cardio is great for burning calories, but strenght training burns calories and turns fat to muscle (and muscle burns more calories.....also when you build lean muscle you look so much better!!

    Feel free to add me as a friend for advice and support if needed - this system really does work :)
  • daniellecoursey
    daniellecoursey Posts: 1
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    I'm not a diet guru but am about your age (older, actually), also am trying to lose 80 lbs, and would just like to offer my thoughts. First, if you had your thyroid checked by a family physician, the tests may not be accurate. My hypothyroidism went undiagnosed for years because my family physician, as a norm, did not run the detailed tests that an endocrynologist would. When I went to an endocrynologist, she found my problem. But, thyroid is only part of it. Your metabolism has likely changed alot in the past three to five years, which makes things harder. My metabolism went south around age 40. I can't speak to nursing a child, but have you monitored your nutrients on the home page of the app? Look at your goal and your actual and focus mainly on your fats and sugar carbs. These things are important as most of your food flavor comes from fat or sugar and if you overdo it on those it will thwart your weight loss. I am a carb person. Proteins do not stay with me long, but carbs do, so I have to really watch the sugar carbs. One last thing, if your sodium intake (again, look at your nutrients) is very high, it will cause you to hold alot of fluids, which can look like a weight gain. I never weigh after eating Mexican food or Chinese food as it elevates my weight temporarily until all the sodium is out of my system.

    I hope this helps. If you want to friend me for mutual moral support, my user name is daniellecoursey.
  • jb_2011
    jb_2011 Posts: 1,029 Member
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    You'd be much better off by keeping your Sodium around 1500. Processed foods like canned soups are full of it.

    I had to cut way down on bread and tortillas. I might have one slice of super good quality whole-grain bread in the morning with almond butter but I definitely wouldn't have another slice on the same day and certainly not with rice at dinner. I'll probably never eat a white flour tortilla again after learning about how "empty" the calories are.

    The other thing I've done is added a Potassium column to my food diary, and keep a chart handy of potassium-rich foods. It's helped me a lot. We're supposed to have 3500-4000mg a day. You can read about it here: www.krispin.com/potassm.html

    Include Omega-3s daily. A few walnuts and a tablespoon of flax seed added to yogurt with fruit, and of course fish is good.

    I know it's not easy making changes in how we eat. It takes time to learn, and I think it's really great that you've reached out to the community for help! :smile:
  • Pea4jjab
    Pea4jjab Posts: 216 Member
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    I might suggest lowering your carb intake and upping your protein intake. You can do this in the goals sections. Also are you doing any strength training? A couple days a week can help. Also, perhaps you want to up the intensity of your cardio, that can always help out too. Drink a lots of water I try to drink more then the 8 recommended glasses, especially on your work out days.

    I think what I'm doing is considered strength training? I use cans that are just under 2 lbs. each as my dumb bells and use those during my Walk Away The Pounds workout. We do lateral raises, bicep curls, tricep work, extensions, etc. And then with my T-tapp workout, we focus on spinal alignment, neurokinetic flow, and lymphatic function using the whole body as a machine, working the muscles from the inside out.

    I only log 8 or 9 glasses of water usually, but I do drink much more than that on most days.
  • Pea4jjab
    Pea4jjab Posts: 216 Member
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    It looks from the numbers like you are doing ok, but I see a lot of "additives" or flavoring in there - creamers, ranch dressing, etc. I know they may fit into your "goal numbers" but that doesn't mean they are necessarily good for you. Also, with you nursing, I don't personally know (obviously) but have seen many posts on here that you are not going to lose weight at nearly the same rate. The last bit of advice I have is that losing inches is just as good... it makes us LOOK different, even if the number is changing... body tone can make a big difference in perception. Hope the pounds start to come off too though, good luck.

    *(WARNING: PERSONAL OPINION) I don't have a problem with some days being 400 under calories as long as it balances out over the week (you were over 300 in there somewhere too... but having a more balanced consistent diet may help.

    Yes, I know about the flavorings...I'm working on slowly cutting back on all that. I've already cut way back in the last few months. I am trying to find substitutes so that I can make this a lifelong thing rather than just a diet. My coffee is a huge thing for me. That's my one vice that I have. I used to only use the flavored creamers in it (2 cups a day), but I used a LOT- probably 3 servings worth. So what I do now is use mostly powdered creamer and just a tiny bit of flavored creamer and about 1/2 packet of Stevia. Anyway, my point is that I'm taking the changes slowly so that I can make this a permanent change.

    Btw, thank you so much for the help :) I'm learning so much here on MFP!
  • Pea4jjab
    Pea4jjab Posts: 216 Member
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    Are you eating enough?? Sometimes I noticed a spike in my weight loss when I have a few low days of eating mixed in with the higher days--always staying with my calories. I love the walk away the pounds!!!!, but my machine doesn't work anymore & I haven't gotten to do it in a while. Good Luck & and enjoy all of your babies. ( I come from a family of 14--12 kids, I only have 2--but that's good for me)

    I think I'm eating enough? I am mostly satisfied and not too awfully hungry anymore. I do try to listen to my body though and when I feel weak or hungry, I will grab some yogurt or a cheese stick or something like that.

    Thank you so much! How totally cool that you come fro a family with 12 kids!!! We LOVE children :D
  • jessicaj_824
    jessicaj_824 Posts: 114 Member
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    One suggestsion I would make is to change your traking so you track sugar instead of fiber. My trainer had me set my sugar to a max of 25 grams and that forced me to cut all those "extras" like coffeemate and salad dressing.
  • campi_mama
    campi_mama Posts: 350 Member
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    I'm nursing myself and while I agree with others to watch your sugar intake, don't cut it back too far or your milk supply will drop. For me, the "sweet spot" is about 55g a day. If I go much lower than that my supply drops. Make sure you are eating high quality foods as much as possible. Even though it's frustrating, keep at it. Consistency! You can do it!

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