Not losing any weight
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poppopjohn
Posts: 2 Member
Hi, my wife has been religiously imputing the calories needed to lose a pound a week. She eats healthy for the most part, but does enjoy a beer now and then. She has been exercising (walking 3-4 miles) 3-4 days a week as well as swimming in the evenings ( tried 10 days of two a days). In 6 month's, she has not lost a pound, and has even gone up a few ounces. It is getting very hard for her to stay motivated as she thinks this is her weight for ever (55yrs old). Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
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If she's been doing this for six months without any loss, she's eating too much.0
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I am 51 and exercise pretty religiously, have for years. What I know is that exercise isn't the key for losing weight, religiously counting calories is. Weighing your food and ensuring that you are truly eating what you think you are is super important especially as we get older and need even fewer calories. Exercise is important for fitness, feeling toned and dropping sizes, but for me it doesn't cause the scale to move the way I want. I have stuck at 1200 calories a day since January and have lost 32 lbs. I've gone over here and there, sometimes intentionally (eating a few exercise calories) and sometimes for vacation and deciding not to worry about it.
The quote that always sticks in my brain is that we often underestimate the calories we consume and over estimate the calories we burn. I have to believe that is part of what is happening with your wife. She can lose weight at 55, many people lose much older than that! It is definitely much more difficult than it was at 35 for sure!0 -
"eats healthy for the most part" - is she weighing her solids and measuring her liquids to truly know the calories she is logging? Is she in a deficit? A beer every now and then won't matter as long as it is included in her planned-for calorie intake. Is she aware of her intake/deficit?
Her activity level is fantastic - that alone should make her proud of herself
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Is she on here? If she is, can we see her diary? Sounds like a logging problem. Also, does she eat back her exercise calories?0
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I would ask her to take a good look into her calorie intake. She could be underestimating or overestimating what she consumes. weighing her food on a scale is much better than using measuring cups as we tend to measure incorrectly. Also eating too few calories, especially with the level of physical activity she is doing could cause her to hold on to the weight instead of losing. her body may be in starvation mode. she should be eating at least 1200 calories per day and eating back at least half of her exercise calories. If she is doing everything correctly and still not losing, I would seek advice from a doctor and also see a nutritionist. I wish her the best of luck and may she overcome this obstacle 0
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No. No. No.I would ask her to take a good look into her calorie intake. She could be underestimating or overestimating what she consumes. weighing her food on a scale is much better than using measuring cups as we tend to measure incorrectly. Also eating too few calories, especially with the level of physical activity she is doing could cause her to hold on to the weight instead of losing. her body may be in starvation mode. she should be eating at least 1200 calories per day and eating back at least half of her exercise calories. If she is doing everything correctly and still not losing, I would seek advice from a doctor and also see a nutritionist. I wish her the best of luck and may she overcome this obstacle
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No, just no. The human body does not go into "starvation mode" in the way you describe it.<<snip>>Also eating too few calories, especially with the level of physical activity she is doing could cause her to hold on to the weight instead of losing. her body may be in starvation mode.
community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/761810/the-starvation-mode-myth-again/p1
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Is your wife weighing all her food with a food scale? Because it sounds like, despite her best efforts, she is eating more than she thinks. Don't just trust packets or serving spoons and cups, get a scale which measures in grams or ounces and give that a go.
Or maybe she is overestimating the amount she burns exercising, also a common error. How does she work out how many calories she burns from exercise?0 -
she is eating more than she thinks she is0
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Show her this:
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As many have pointed out already, is she really certain of her intake? It is very easy to error on this -- in fact, I thin it's probably the most common error seen.
If she is weighing everything she eats so she's very confident in her intake, then it's time to look to other issues that may be throwing the calculations off. Since it's been 6 months, water retention should have evened itself out -- or at least wouldn't be hiding all of her results. It can hide results for a while, but I think only 3 months as a max for most people (or 10 lbs) and for most, it's much less than that.
So, if she's confident in her intake, does she have any of these symptoms: hair loss, fatigue, constipation, intolerance to cold (especially in hands/feet -- when you're cold all the time), coarse or dry skin/hair, brittle nails or muscle cramps/weakness? If so, she may have thyroid issues -- as these are classic symptoms. I know that this is how my mother was diagnosed with hypothyroidism -- in her 50s when she couldn't take weight off like she normally would and then discovered she had a lot of these symptoms. She'd just had them for so long that she thought they were normal, or at least normal for her.
Does she have an intense cravings for sweets or high carb foods? Does she tend to feel a big crash after a high carb meal (where there is little protein/fat)? If so, given the difficulty she's having losing weight, she may have insulin resistance. It's incredibly common -- over 45% of US adults have, many of which don't know it. But unexplained weight gain or difficulty losing/maintaining weight is probably the most common symptom. She should talk to her doc about checking for that -- the A1C test is the gold standard.
If she does have IR, there are various things she can do to help -- from medication to diet changes. For example, there was a study back in 2012 or so that showed that overweight women with IR lost twice as much weight on a lower carb diet. The results for their insulin sensitive counterparts was the exact opposite -- they lose almost twice as much weight with higher carbs. Protein was the same in all groups and the caloric deficit was the same. So same overall cals and protein, but dramatically different results based on carb/fat ratio and the woman's insulin sensitivity/resistance.
Do you know if she has any vitamin/mineral deficiencies? Vitamin D and magnesium deficiencies are incredibly common. From what I remember, deficiencies in Vitamin D have been tied to weight gain or difficulty losing weight and magnesium deficiencies in an indirect manner (through increases in depression and other issues).
Also, your wife may want to look into doing more resistant work --- that will help increase metabolism since muscle burns more cals than fat and help her keep as much of her current LBM (lean body mass -- i.e. muscle) in a caloric deficit. So if she does get the scale moving, she'll be losing more fat and keeping more muscle.
If none of this helps, then she may want to start experimenting with diet more -- such as calorie cycling regime like lean gains or IF regimes (whether a daily IF regime like 16:8 or 14:10 or a weekly one like 5:2). Just some ideas...0 -
lindsey1979 wrote: »As many have pointed out already, is she really certain of her intake? It is very easy to error on this -- in fact, I thin it's probably the most common error seen.
If she is weighing everything she eats so she's very confident in her intake, then it's time to look to other issues that may be throwing the calculations off. Since it's been 6 months, water retention should have evened itself out -- or at least wouldn't be hiding all of her results. It can hide results for a while, but I think only 3 months as a max for most people (or 10 lbs) and for most, it's much less than that.
So, if she's confident in her intake, does she have any of these symptoms: hair loss, fatigue, constipation, intolerance to cold (especially in hands/feet -- when you're cold all the time), coarse or dry skin/hair, brittle nails or muscle cramps/weakness? If so, she may have thyroid issues -- as these are classic symptoms. I know that this is how my mother was diagnosed with hypothyroidism -- in her 50s when she couldn't take weight off like she normally would and then discovered she had a lot of these symptoms. She'd just had them for so long that she thought they were normal, or at least normal for her.
Does she have an intense cravings for sweets or high carb foods? Does she tend to feel a big crash after a high carb meal (where there is little protein/fat)? If so, given the difficulty she's having losing weight, she may have insulin resistance. It's incredibly common -- over 45% of US adults have, many of which don't know it. But unexplained weight gain or difficulty losing/maintaining weight is probably the most common symptom. She should talk to her doc about checking for that -- the A1C test is the gold standard.
If she does have IR, there are various things she can do to help -- from medication to diet changes. For example, there was a study back in 2012 or so that showed that overweight women with IR lost twice as much weight on a lower carb diet. The results for their insulin sensitive counterparts was the exact opposite -- they lose almost twice as much weight with higher carbs. Protein was the same in all groups and the caloric deficit was the same. So same overall cals and protein, but dramatically different results based on carb/fat ratio and the woman's insulin sensitivity/resistance.
Do you know if she has any vitamin/mineral deficiencies? Vitamin D and magnesium deficiencies are incredibly common. From what I remember, deficiencies in Vitamin D have been tied to weight gain or difficulty losing weight and magnesium deficiencies in an indirect manner (through increases in depression and other issues).
Also, your wife may want to look into doing more resistant work --- that will help increase metabolism since muscle burns more cals than fat and help her keep as much of her current LBM (lean body mass -- i.e. muscle) in a caloric deficit. So if she does get the scale moving, she'll be losing more fat and keeping more muscle.
If none of this helps, then she may want to start experimenting with diet more -- such as calorie cycling regime like lean gains or IF regimes (whether a daily IF regime like 16:8 or 14:10 or a weekly one like 5:2). Just some ideas...
Wow! I know I'm not the OP, but thank you for this comment. This is very interesting to me, as I had not heard of any of this. I am off to learn more about insulin resistance and sensitivity now. I crave carbs ALL of the time... I tried a low carb diet once, but was unsuccessful but after learning more about my BMR, I know I was totally overeating back then, no where near deficit...also developed gestational diabetes in my third trimesters with both of my sons. I wonder if cutting my carbs , PLUS staying in deficit could help my SLOOOOOOOOW weightloss...0 -
lindsey1979 wrote: »As many have pointed out already, is she really certain of her intake? It is very easy to error on this -- in fact, I thin it's probably the most common error seen.
If she is weighing everything she eats so she's very confident in her intake, then it's time to look to other issues that may be throwing the calculations off. Since it's been 6 months, water retention should have evened itself out -- or at least wouldn't be hiding all of her results. It can hide results for a while, but I think only 3 months as a max for most people (or 10 lbs) and for most, it's much less than that.
So, if she's confident in her intake, does she have any of these symptoms: hair loss, fatigue, constipation, intolerance to cold (especially in hands/feet -- when you're cold all the time), coarse or dry skin/hair, brittle nails or muscle cramps/weakness? If so, she may have thyroid issues -- as these are classic symptoms. I know that this is how my mother was diagnosed with hypothyroidism -- in her 50s when she couldn't take weight off like she normally would and then discovered she had a lot of these symptoms. She'd just had them for so long that she thought they were normal, or at least normal for her.
Does she have an intense cravings for sweets or high carb foods? Does she tend to feel a big crash after a high carb meal (where there is little protein/fat)? If so, given the difficulty she's having losing weight, she may have insulin resistance. It's incredibly common -- over 45% of US adults have, many of which don't know it. But unexplained weight gain or difficulty losing/maintaining weight is probably the most common symptom. She should talk to her doc about checking for that -- the A1C test is the gold standard.
If she does have IR, there are various things she can do to help -- from medication to diet changes. For example, there was a study back in 2012 or so that showed that overweight women with IR lost twice as much weight on a lower carb diet. The results for their insulin sensitive counterparts was the exact opposite -- they lose almost twice as much weight with higher carbs. Protein was the same in all groups and the caloric deficit was the same. So same overall cals and protein, but dramatically different results based on carb/fat ratio and the woman's insulin sensitivity/resistance.
Do you know if she has any vitamin/mineral deficiencies? Vitamin D and magnesium deficiencies are incredibly common. From what I remember, deficiencies in Vitamin D have been tied to weight gain or difficulty losing weight and magnesium deficiencies in an indirect manner (through increases in depression and other issues).
Also, your wife may want to look into doing more resistant work --- that will help increase metabolism since muscle burns more cals than fat and help her keep as much of her current LBM (lean body mass -- i.e. muscle) in a caloric deficit. So if she does get the scale moving, she'll be losing more fat and keeping more muscle.
If none of this helps, then she may want to start experimenting with diet more -- such as calorie cycling regime like lean gains or IF regimes (whether a daily IF regime like 16:8 or 14:10 or a weekly one like 5:2). Just some ideas...
Wow! I know I'm not the OP, but thank you for this comment. This is very interesting to me, as I had not heard of any of this. I am off to learn more about insulin resistance and sensitivity now. I crave carbs ALL of the time... I tried a low carb diet once, but was unsuccessful but after learning more about my BMR, I know I was totally overeating back then, no where near deficit...also developed gestational diabetes in my third trimesters with both of my sons. I wonder if cutting my carbs , PLUS staying in deficit could help my SLOOOOOOOOW weightloss...
Glad to help. If you're interested, here is that study I referenced: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1038/oby.2005.79/full
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lindsey1979 wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »As many have pointed out already, is she really certain of her intake? It is very easy to error on this -- in fact, I thin it's probably the most common error seen.
If she is weighing everything she eats so she's very confident in her intake, then it's time to look to other issues that may be throwing the calculations off. Since it's been 6 months, water retention should have evened itself out -- or at least wouldn't be hiding all of her results. It can hide results for a while, but I think only 3 months as a max for most people (or 10 lbs) and for most, it's much less than that.
So, if she's confident in her intake, does she have any of these symptoms: hair loss, fatigue, constipation, intolerance to cold (especially in hands/feet -- when you're cold all the time), coarse or dry skin/hair, brittle nails or muscle cramps/weakness? If so, she may have thyroid issues -- as these are classic symptoms. I know that this is how my mother was diagnosed with hypothyroidism -- in her 50s when she couldn't take weight off like she normally would and then discovered she had a lot of these symptoms. She'd just had them for so long that she thought they were normal, or at least normal for her.
Does she have an intense cravings for sweets or high carb foods? Does she tend to feel a big crash after a high carb meal (where there is little protein/fat)? If so, given the difficulty she's having losing weight, she may have insulin resistance. It's incredibly common -- over 45% of US adults have, many of which don't know it. But unexplained weight gain or difficulty losing/maintaining weight is probably the most common symptom. She should talk to her doc about checking for that -- the A1C test is the gold standard.
If she does have IR, there are various things she can do to help -- from medication to diet changes. For example, there was a study back in 2012 or so that showed that overweight women with IR lost twice as much weight on a lower carb diet. The results for their insulin sensitive counterparts was the exact opposite -- they lose almost twice as much weight with higher carbs. Protein was the same in all groups and the caloric deficit was the same. So same overall cals and protein, but dramatically different results based on carb/fat ratio and the woman's insulin sensitivity/resistance.
Do you know if she has any vitamin/mineral deficiencies? Vitamin D and magnesium deficiencies are incredibly common. From what I remember, deficiencies in Vitamin D have been tied to weight gain or difficulty losing weight and magnesium deficiencies in an indirect manner (through increases in depression and other issues).
Also, your wife may want to look into doing more resistant work --- that will help increase metabolism since muscle burns more cals than fat and help her keep as much of her current LBM (lean body mass -- i.e. muscle) in a caloric deficit. So if she does get the scale moving, she'll be losing more fat and keeping more muscle.
If none of this helps, then she may want to start experimenting with diet more -- such as calorie cycling regime like lean gains or IF regimes (whether a daily IF regime like 16:8 or 14:10 or a weekly one like 5:2). Just some ideas...
Wow! I know I'm not the OP, but thank you for this comment. This is very interesting to me, as I had not heard of any of this. I am off to learn more about insulin resistance and sensitivity now. I crave carbs ALL of the time... I tried a low carb diet once, but was unsuccessful but after learning more about my BMR, I know I was totally overeating back then, no where near deficit...also developed gestational diabetes in my third trimesters with both of my sons. I wonder if cutting my carbs , PLUS staying in deficit could help my SLOOOOOOOOW weightloss...
Glad to help. If you're interested, here is that study I referenced: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1038/oby.2005.79/full
Also, if it helps, I don't think you necessary to have to go to the extremes for the carb restriction. Keto or LCHF diets are one way to restrict carbs, but they aren't the only way. Less restrictive ways may work well too depending on the person.
I've seen situations where people just make sure that they limit their carbs on a per meal basis and make sure they have adequate amounts of protein and fat in each meal/snack. Or keep carbs under a certain daily limit like 100 or 150, but far more than would be seen on a keto regime (which is usually 20-50 in most stages). Many manage to do this by cutting out highly processed carbs (breads, pasta, crackers, etc.) and focusing on non-starchy fruits and vegetables and limiting their starchy carbs/veggies to only one or two servings per day. But there are many ways to do it. If moderation works for you, then eating the high density carbs in moderate amounts may suffice.
In the study I reference, I think the carb restriction when from 60/20 carbs/fat ratio (protein was 20%) to 40/40. So not a crazy huge carb restriction, but a substantial difference that led to dramatically improved results depending on the woman's insulin resistance/sensitivity.
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At age 59 I was convinced that it was impossible for my body to lose weight. 15 months later I've lost 105 pounds and 55 inches. I just posted my story over in Success Stories. So yes, it is possible, age does not matter. Following a good plan does.0
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Weigh ALL your solid food in grams on a food scale...dont use cups or spoons!0
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lindsey1979 wrote: »Does she have any of these symptoms: hair loss, fatigue, constipation, intolerance to cold (especially in hands/feet -- when you're cold all the time), coarse or dry skin/hair, brittle nails or muscle cramps/weakness? If so, she may have thyroid issues -- as these are classic symptoms. I know that this is how my mother was diagnosed with hypothyroidism -- in her 50s when she couldn't take weight off.
I have Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroid disease), and I lost the weight just like everybody else—by eating fewer calories than I burn.
I followed the advice in the Sexypants post: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p10 -
editorgrrl wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »Does she have any of these symptoms: hair loss, fatigue, constipation, intolerance to cold (especially in hands/feet -- when you're cold all the time), coarse or dry skin/hair, brittle nails or muscle cramps/weakness? If so, she may have thyroid issues -- as these are classic symptoms. I know that this is how my mother was diagnosed with hypothyroidism -- in her 50s when she couldn't take weight off.
I have Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroid disease), and I lost the weight just like everybody else—by eating fewer calories than I burn.
I followed the advice in the Sexypants post: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
That's great that worked for you editorgrrl -- it doesn't work for a lot of hypothyroid sufferers (as you well know from the hypo board). Perhaps if your Hashi's had been more severe, you wouldn't have seen as positive results through just cutting calories. Or perhaps your Hashi's had little effect on your weight issues at all as you said you were losing before you were fully treated -- it was just a simple error because you didn't know how to count calories properly by weighing your food. Perhaps your Hashi's will get worse, you'll struggle with weight again and your perspective will shift. You're like that lifetime smoker that the tobacco industry trots out that says, "hey, I'm 94 and have been smoking for 80 years and I don't have cancer, so I don't know what the big deal is?" A broken clock is right twice a day too.
I personally was cutting at over 750 cals per day and that was what finally convinced my gp to look into it more seriously. When he saw that despite that caloric deficit I only lost 2.2 lbs over 3 months when I should have something lost like 18 lbs. And with such a little result, who know if that was even real loss or just water weight fluctuations. Once all the thyroid issues and whatnot got sorted out, I lost exactly as expected on that same cut (i.e. 1.5 lbs per week) -- no difference in food or activity level, just in results. It felt like magic or a miracle at that point, and weight loss, in comparison to what I was doing before, felt soooo easy. It wa really eye opening to experience what weight loss felt like to "normal" people. Of course, results will vary depending on how severe your thyroid issues and your own personal symptoms (not all hypo folks have difficult losing/maintaining weight -- but many do).
Continuing to cut calories is not always the answer for those with thyroid (or other) issues. Implying otherwise can be dangerous. Also, considering the original OP, this seems to be less likely since he describes his wife as religiously inputting her calories for over 6 months. Perhaps she's like you were and doesn't understand how to properly count calories by weighing her food as many have suggested as the first thing she needs to investigate, so this will all be an error on her part. Or perhaps she does and has other issues.
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