Rut

bigpap97
bigpap97 Posts: 54 Member
edited November 24 in Health and Weight Loss
i have lost between 75 and 80 lbs and hit a rut. I have been teetering back and forth for about 2 months. I don't know what to do, I am drinking around 100 oz' of water a day and eating right. I have not been able to exercise regularly because I have a bad back and it has been giving me problems and I have been under a lot of stress because I found out last week that I have vein reflux in my lower legs so I have cramps and swelling, please any help to get me out of this rut.

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Congrats on the awesome weight loss so far!! When you say eating right, are you counting calories?
  • HippySkoppy
    HippySkoppy Posts: 725 Member
    Firstly, well done on your weight loss, that's an epic amount and you should be very proud.

    Everyone has ruts (stalls, lack of motivation, plateaus etc etc) so it may be a bit of a comfort to know that you aren't alone. It must be very frustrating seeing a lack of movement in the scale readings for the past 2 months but you are carrying an injury and I guess this is affecting your ability to exercise and generally move freely.

    As @queenliz99 already asked....I second this pertinent question. In you saying that you are eating right....are you continuing to weigh your foods?? If you don't use a digital scale, now would be the time to invest in one as it would be a great help to have that side of things tied up accurately given the problems elsewhere. Have you thought about the need to make adjustments to your calorie intake as you are dealing with lack of activity to help with the CO side of the equation??

    Also....the fact that you are in pain will be increasing your cortisol levels and this can have an effect on weight loss ie slowing things down. Your body is trying to cope with the back injury and now the problem with your leg, you have mentioned swelling from the vein issue, could that be masking any losses??

    Other than making absolutely sure your CI side of things is spot on....or lower than what it was before the injury and getting help for your current health problems, having patience and being persistent will help you through.

    Just know that you aren't alone.....these stalls happen ALL the time (often followed by a large 'whoosh' loss....something to look forward to).

    All the best and hope you get well soon.

  • bigpap97
    bigpap97 Posts: 54 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    Congrats on the awesome weight loss so far!! When you say eating right, are you counting calories?

    Yes I am counting calories and my goal is to stay under1200. So far it is working well never feeling very hungry between meals. I eat a lot of fruit and drink at least 100 oz' of water a day. Thanks for the
    Firstly, well done on your weight loss, that's an epic amount and you should be very proud.

    Everyone has ruts (stalls, lack of motivation, plateaus etc etc) so it may be a bit of a comfort to know that you aren't alone. It must be very frustrating seeing a lack of movement in the scale readings for the past 2 months but you are carrying an injury and I guess this is affecting your ability to exercise and generally move freely.

    As @queenliz99 already asked....I second this pertinent question. In you saying that you are eating right....are you continuing to weigh your foods?? If you don't use a digital scale, now would be the time to invest in one as it would be a great help to have that side of things tied up accurately given the problems elsewhere. Have you thought about the need to make adjustments to your calorie intake as you are dealing with lack of activity to help with the CO side of the equation??

    Also....the fact that you are in pain will be increasing your cortisol levels and this can have an effect on weight loss ie slowing things down. Your body is trying to cope with the back injury and now the problem with your leg, you have mentioned swelling from the vein issue, could that be masking any losses??

    Other than making absolutely sure your CI side of things is spot on....or lower than what it was before the injury and getting help for your current health problems, having patience and being persistent will help you through.

    Just know that you aren't alone.....these stalls happen ALL the time (often followed by a large 'whoosh' loss....something to look forward to).

    All the best and hope you get well soon.

    Yes I have a Weight Watchers digital scale, very pricey. Did you ever have problems with hitting a wall and how did you get out of it. Seems the harder I try the worst it gets, any help would be appreciated.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Way to go on your loss. Can you open your diary?
  • OsricTheKnight
    OsricTheKnight Posts: 340 Member
    Nice work on the weight loss!

    Two options:

    (1) be happy
    (2) eat less and be happy when you start losing more

    Osric

    P.S. I excluded exercise because you implied that was not an option.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    edited September 2015

    Yes I am counting calories and my goal is to stay under1200. So far it is working well never feeling very hungry between meals. I eat a lot of fruit and drink at least 100 oz' of water a day.

    You need to eat more, unless this is supervised by your physician. You need to open your diary :)
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    i would wager you are eating slightly more than you think you are, and when you have less to lose, it can make a BIG difference (especially if you can't exercise to compensate for extra calories).

    Without an open diary, no one can say what the problem might be. i do know that when i reached 65 pounds lost, i came to a screeching halt until I adjusted my calories and increased exercise (I know, not an option for your situation).
  • OsricTheKnight
    OsricTheKnight Posts: 340 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    Yes I am counting calories and my goal is to stay under1200. So far it is working well never feeling very hungry between meals. I eat a lot of fruit and drink at least 100 oz' of water a day.

    You need to eat more, unless this is supervised by your physician log accurately. We can help, You need to open your diary :)

    Fixed that for you ... say what you mean, unless you really believe the OP is gaining on < 1200 kcals.

    Osric
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    Yes I am counting calories and my goal is to stay under1200. So far it is working well never feeling very hungry between meals. I eat a lot of fruit and drink at least 100 oz' of water a day.

    You need to eat more, unless this is supervised by your physician log accurately. We can help, You need to open your diary :)

    Fixed that for you ... say what you mean, unless you really believe the OP is gaining on < 1200 kcals.

    Osric

    I agree, good catch :)
  • HippySkoppy
    HippySkoppy Posts: 725 Member
    Sorry @bigpap97 have only just seen your question about wall hitting and my answer not that long ago would have been All. The. Time.

    I was stupidly stubborn and kept going, pushing myself too far while carrying injuries, ill-health and general exhaustion. It is really hard to just let go and realise that time heals everything and yeah it is as frustrating as Hell but you will come out the other side.

    My first thought is just deal with your medical issues first.....get well. Back injuries can be very difficult to treat and can seemingly take forever to heal. The vein issue I cannot speak to...but I would really recommend that you return to your Doctor and ask for clarification of your health problems and referrals to anyone like a Physiotherapist or Exercise Physiologist to help set you up with a personalised programme.

    I have used both of these services and found the exercise physiologist to be more helpful.....they set me up with specific routines designed to work with my problems not against them and of course this then gave me a sense of control back which is very important....I know I was struggling with the frustrating sense of powerlessness that my infirmity created.

    Be as proactive as you can. I'm glad you have scales and use them. Make sure your entries are from accurate and reliable sources and not generic ones. Use grams and the USDA sites. Log everything oil, butter, sauces etc.

    I really like that @Liftng4Lis has asked to see your diary....she is very knowledgeable and proficient at spotting issues and has helped many people on MFP....maybe you would feel comfortable for that to happen. Sometimes a fresh set of eyes make all the difference.

    Again, if you were relying on your exercise to give you that deficit and weight loss, now is the time to reassess the CI side of your equation.

    Thanks for the FR, gladly accepted and I hope you see this on the forum.

    All the best.
  • HippySkoppy
    HippySkoppy Posts: 725 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    Yes I am counting calories and my goal is to stay under1200. So far it is working well never feeling very hungry between meals. I eat a lot of fruit and drink at least 100 oz' of water a day.

    You need to eat more, unless this is supervised by your physician log accurately. We can help, You need to open your diary :)

    Fixed that for you ... say what you mean, unless you really believe the OP is gaining on < 1200 kcals.

    Osric

    I agree, good catch :)

    +1000000

    Dude eat more......I totally missed this above...this is NOT healthy.

    .....and people can only help as much as you allow, please open your diary for fresh perspective.....or if you are unwilling to do this you need to go back and REALLY check the accuracy of your CI data.
  • bigpap97
    bigpap97 Posts: 54 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    Yes I am counting calories and my goal is to stay under1200. So far it is working well never feeling very hungry between meals. I eat a lot of fruit and drink at least 100 oz' of water a day.

    You need to eat more, unless this is supervised by your physician log accurately. We can help, You need to open your diary :)

    Fixed that for you ... say what you mean, unless you really believe the OP is gaining on < 1200 kcals.

    Osric

    I agree, good catch :)

    +1000000

    Dude eat more......I totally missed this above...this is NOT healthy.

    .....and people can only help as much as you allow, please open your diary for fresh perspective.....or if you are unwilling to do this you need to go back and REALLY check the accuracy of your CI data.

    How do you open your diary I can't figure it out
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    My Home/settings/ diary settings . set to public
  • bigpap97
    bigpap97 Posts: 54 Member
    All I can find is My Profile
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    edited September 2015
    Are you using the app or the website?
  • bigpap97
    bigpap97 Posts: 54 Member
    App
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    In app settings/diary settings/diary sharing/public
  • bigpap97
    bigpap97 Posts: 54 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    My Home/settings/ diary settings . set to public

    Ok I have it set to public
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Your food diary is all over the place.
    You say that you are at a plateau but this can not be because your are not eating enough to keep an old women alive let a grown man. I can say old because I am old. LOL

    But if your diary is correct then you are eating more then you think. It is all about calories in vs. calories out.

    One more thing, you are not logging everyday, you have a lot of missing meals and days. You need to tighten up your logging and get a food scale to weigh all your solids.
  • HippySkoppy
    HippySkoppy Posts: 725 Member
    OK -
    My 2 cents worth had a look at just over the 1st week in Sept.

    Lots of generic items. Cup measurements. Things like peanut butter and jelly sandwich 1 sandwich. Nectarines Large.

    The accuracy is off. How much did that cup of macaroni and cheese weigh. How much did the bread weigh, how much jam did you use, likewise butter and peanut butter. Define large.Tilapia was mentioned as 1 piece that's not accurate either.

    There were some days were you are going over into the 1400's but the rest either you have not logged completely or you are not eating breakfast or lunch and only getting CI @ around 400's-600's.

    Do you drink coffee, tea, soda etc cause there were no fluids mentioned.

    You need reputable site like USDA, use your digital scales and ditch the cups and weigh in grams.

    Please eat more.



  • bigpap97
    bigpap97 Posts: 54 Member
    Sometimes I miss meals because of back pain I know it sounds weird but I just don't feel like eating and all I drink is water or decaf tea 2 or 3 times a week I will have a Gatoraide. I don't weigh my food I use measuring cups
  • catt952
    catt952 Posts: 190 Member
    You have had your thyroid tested right?
  • VykkDraygoVPR
    VykkDraygoVPR Posts: 465 Member
    bigpap97 wrote: »
    Sometimes I miss meals because of back pain I know it sounds weird but I just don't feel like eating and all I drink is water or decaf tea 2 or 3 times a week I will have a Gatoraide. I don't weigh my food I use measuring cups

    Since you use measuring cups, you almost assuredly are accidentally underestimating your intake. If you want to accurately count calories for solid (or semi-solid) food, then you absolutely must weigh. Measuring cups are only useful for liquids. With solid food, the measurement you get is effected by how much you compress the items, or even just by size of the pieces. A cup of pureed strawberries is different from a cup of whole strawberries, for example.


    It doesn't sound weird to skip meals because of pain. It's fine if you do, just make sure that you make up for it through the day, after you tighten up your logging.
  • bigpap97
    bigpap97 Posts: 54 Member
    catt952 wrote: »
    You have had your thyroid tested right?

    Yes I have had full blood work ups done
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    I'm sorry, I don't need to keep piling this on you but this is one more really good video. I hop you don't hate me now.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA9AdlhB18o
  • bigpap97
    bigpap97 Posts: 54 Member
    Wow this is really an eye opener but how do you turn oz's or grams into calories
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    bigpap97 wrote: »
    Wow this is really an eye opener but how do you turn oz's or grams into calories

    Most database entries have the option to log by weight. You just need to choose the weight from the drop down (for example, I choose 100 grams of banana and then enter 1.4 servings if my banana weighs 140 grams).
This discussion has been closed.