Difficulty losing weight

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suzettedees
suzettedees Posts: 85 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My name is Suzette. I was in a car accident 2 1/2 years ago that changed my life forever. The long story is long so I'll keep it to the short story. I have gained 20 pounds since my accident but would like to lose 50. I live with chronic pain and have flare ups that make it difficult to get out of bed in the morning but, I am making a commitment to get healthier. I have kept a food and exercise journal and recently began logging on the app. My problem is I mostly eat healthy, I lift weights 3 times a week (one day with a trainer) I do cardio and core strength work 2 times a week at the gym and I do 1.25 hours of an intermediate hike 2 times a week. In a month I've lost a whopping total of 1.5 pounds. If I eat my 1590 calories to lose 2 pounds a week, I gain weight even though I have a extra calorie deficit through the 8-10 hours of exercise I do a week. It seems the only way I can lose weight is to eat less than 1000 calories a day but as soon as I eat the 1590 I start to gain everything back I lost. I am feeling depressed and frustrated.
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Replies

  • NoIdea101NoIdea
    NoIdea101NoIdea Posts: 659 Member
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    Don't panic! It can feel disheartening when you have circumstances that may seem like obstacles, but it is still totally doable. Weight loss in simply eat less calories than you burn-you don't need to exercise to lose weight.

    Firstly, (and this is a biggie, it is amazing how much of a difference it can make if you aren't doing it), are you weighing all of your food with a scale (as in, one that measures exact grams or some other denomination of weight) or are you just going off of packets or measuring cups?

    Also, how are you determining how many calories you are burning? An HRM, My Fitness Pal, the machine readings in the gym, etc?
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
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    Hi Suzette. Try 1200 calories a day, tops. Don't worry about exercise; as I assume you are going through some sort of physical therapy now. If not, you need to seek it. Don't give up.
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
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    you say logging your food

    But do you also weigh all your food? to the gram on a food scale?
  • suzettedees
    suzettedees Posts: 85 Member
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    I'm using MyFitnessPal as an indicator of how many calories I've burned as well as the equipment at the gym for my cardio work outs. I also the MapMyWalk app for hiking and walking.

    Exercise is part of my rehab program and after exercise I am able to get about an hour of pain free life.

    I haven't been measuring with a scale but, I do have a food scale. Probably should get it out of the cupboard and dust it off lol. I read packages and the required serving sizes although I try not to eat prepacked processed food. I eat a lot of raw vegetables from my garden and lean meats.

    My husband who works out about half as much as I do had lost 9 pounds and is down a pant size.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    Try 1300 or 1200 instead of 1000. It takes time for many people to find their sweet spot.

    Never give up!! You can do this! :)
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
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    suzettedees wrote: »
    I'm using MyFitnessPal as an indicator of how many calories I've burned as well as the equipment at the gym for my cardio work outs. I also the MapMyWalk app for hiking and walking.

    Exercise is part of my rehab program and after exercise I am able to get about an hour of pain free life.

    I haven't been measuring with a scale but, I do have a food scale. Probably should get it out of the cupboard and dust it off lol. I read packages and the required serving sizes although I try not to eat prepacked processed food. I eat a lot of raw vegetables from my garden and lean meats.

    My husband who works out about half as much as I do had lost 9 pounds and is down a pant size.

    Start weighing ALL your food..no cups or spoons or serving sizes

    You will see a huge difference in what you can eat..your portion sizes and your weight loss too.


  • char316
    char316 Posts: 72 Member
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    Hi Suzette, I can totally emphasize with your situation. I was in a car accident 25 years ago and still deal with pain. Keep moving but be careful not to overdue it. I have not necessarily kept up the exercise and I think that is why I am having difficulty with weight loss now. I know if I overdue I pay for it and it ends up setting me back. I agree with weighing and measuring what you eat. I also agree with not going under about 1200 calories a day. Don't give up. I have been discouraged myself. I know how difficult it is.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
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    I'm with the others that suggested a food scale. Use it for EVERYTHING you eat and drink.
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
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    char316 wrote: »
    Hi Suzette, I can totally emphasize with your situation. I was in a car accident 25 years ago and still deal with pain. Keep moving but be careful not to overdue it. I have not necessarily kept up the exercise and I think that is why I am having difficulty with weight loss now. I know if I overdue I pay for it and it ends up setting me back. I agree with weighing and measuring what you eat. I also agree with not going under about 1200 calories a day. Don't give up. I have been discouraged myself. I know how difficult it is.

    not measuring!
    Weighing make the difference :)

    Look at this short video what the difference between weighing and measuring can be.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
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    I agree that using a food scale is what you need to do. Don't worry about adjusting your calorie goal, just worry about being accurate in meeting it.

    The only way you can insure you're being as accurate as possible is to weigh, preferably in grams. They're much more precise than ounces and measuring devices.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
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    PeachyCarol wrote: »
    I agree that using a food scale is what you need to do. Don't worry about adjusting your calorie goal, just worry about being accurate in meeting it.

    The only way you can insure you're being as accurate as possible is to weigh, preferably in grams. They're much more precise than ounces and measuring devices.

    Absolutely!
  • Marilyn0924
    Marilyn0924 Posts: 797 Member
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    Ditto on the food scale, and be wary with MFP's calorie burn calculations. They are notoriously overinflated. Aim to eat about 50 - 75% of those exercise calories back. The weight loss will come.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
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    Just to add to the great advice about weighing your food- there a number of entries in the MFP database that are incorrect. If in doubt double check your entries against the USDA database.

    Cheers, h.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    OP, are you taking any medications that might impact weight loss? I noticed you said you have chronic pain as a result of your accident, so if you're taking meds, you might want to check to see if that could also be a contributing factor as well.
  • suzettedees
    suzettedees Posts: 85 Member
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    It seems the consensus is to weigh everything. I'm certainly willing to try that and I may find I am eating more than I think I am.

    I am on pain Meds. I take about 3000mg of extra strength Tylenol 800mg of ibuprofen and 300mg of Lyrica for referred pain and numbness in my leg. I am also taking Synthroid for hypothyroidism. My thyroid medication was increased 6 weeks ago and I have a doctors appointment Friday.

    Thank you for your advice, I was feeling very nervous on asking for help. I was feeling like I was failing. I will definitely bring out the scale and hope that the food scale changes the weight scale :)
  • Debmal77
    Debmal77 Posts: 4,770 Member
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    suzettedees wrote: »
    It seems the consensus is to weigh everything. I'm certainly willing to try that and I may find I am eating more than I think I am.

    I am on pain Meds. I take about 3000mg of extra strength Tylenol 800mg of ibuprofen and 300mg of Lyrica for referred pain and numbness in my leg. I am also taking Synthroid for hypothyroidism. My thyroid medication was increased 6 weeks ago and I have a doctors appointment Friday.

    Thank you for your advice, I was feeling very nervous on asking for help. I was feeling like I was failing. I will definitely bring out the scale and hope that the food scale changes the weight scale :)

    Never feel nervous about asking for help. Tons of great and helpful people on this site. On Synthroid myself. When I started used a food scale I started losing on a more consistent level. Best advise I have received. Good luck!
  • jasmineconroy
    jasmineconroy Posts: 10 Member
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    atypicalsmith wrote: »
    Hi Suzette. Try 1200 calories a day, tops. Don't worry about exercise; as I assume you are going through some sort of physical therapy now. If not, you need to seek it. Don't give up.
    I personally would find that too hard. I have in the past year put on a hell of a weight due to stress eating and not having healthy options. Keep going. Aim for health. Focus on protein, fat and carb goals :) you go!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    Hi Suzette, I agree that weighing everything you eat and drink on a food scale. You don't have to eat less than 1000 calories.

    The one thing that jumped out at me was the Lyrica..
    My husband suffers with sciatica and back pain and he has a script for Lyrica sitting here, but he's too scared to start taking it as his doctor forewarned of weight gain with it as do the testimonials he's read. Have you found that your appetite increases with it?
    Sorry to answer your question with a question, but I've been wanting to talk to a real life person who's taking it.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    suzettedees wrote: »
    It seems the consensus is to weigh everything. I'm certainly willing to try that and I may find I am eating more than I think I am.

    I am on pain Meds. I take about 3000mg of extra strength Tylenol 800mg of ibuprofen and 300mg of Lyrica for referred pain and numbness in my leg. I am also taking Synthroid for hypothyroidism. My thyroid medication was increased 6 weeks ago and I have a doctors appointment Friday.

    Thank you for your advice, I was feeling very nervous on asking for help. I was feeling like I was failing. I will definitely bring out the scale and hope that the food scale changes the weight scale :)
    You'll see a lot of thing have more calories than you thought and you will probably see that some have less, too. It's very eye-opening. :)
  • rwhyte12
    rwhyte12 Posts: 203 Member
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    Try to add in some good fats (olive oil), avocado. This will help weight loss get going. Tylenol and Ibuprofen, both of these can lead to liver disorders. Be careful with them.

    Do you have swelling in your feet and lower legs? I found that was caused by going over 100 grams of carbs for myself.

    Good luck.

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