Dr. is not helpful, what to do next?

2

Replies

  • ShodanPrime
    ShodanPrime Posts: 226 Member
    Order some private labs, and learn to communicate with your doctor.


    Most likely, there is a problem in tracking. Be it weighing or logging.
  • vczK2t
    vczK2t Posts: 309 Member
    2) Look at the entries in your diary for foods that aren't prepackaged and verify with another site (such as USDA for fruits, vegetables, and meats) that the calorie counts you are using are correct. There are a LOT of inaccurate entries in the MFP database and they can sabotage our efforts if we don't know they are wrong! For example, on April 8 you have 4 ounces of chicken breast. If that is 4 ounces cooked, the USDA tables show that as 43 calories per ounce, or 172 calories instead of the 124 you logged.

    what i bolded. i take the MFP entries with a grain of salt, since i admit i don't weigh and/or measure most of what i consume.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    In spite of you asking for different advice, I am going to say that I agree with the above posters about weighing your food. You say you are weighing now like you have in the past, but from the few entries I looked at, it doesn't look like you weigh anything. Yes, you can math from the packaging information, but if that information is wrong, you are cheating yourself. If you are running a small deficit (250 calories/day for 0.5lb/week) then those inaccuracies do add up. You are right that the banana entry will not change by 500 calories, but it could be off by 40 or 50. Potatoes are terrible for this because they do vary significantly in size, even within the same type of potato. A couple more inaccuracies like that and suddenly your small deficit is gone.

    Having said that, if you really feel strongly that your issue is hormonal, then demand your doctor do blood work. It doesn't matter that she is new, you have to advocate for your own health and you have a right to that information. You can even have it done as part of a yearly physical. If she still refuses, find a different doctor.
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
    edited April 2016
    Ok, don't weigh your food. Keep doing what you're doing, but eat less. Skip a "handful" of chips or gold fish here or there.

    Change doctors if you're not happy with your current PCP. Working in health care, I will say that people think they can come and tell their doc "I want labs!" or "I want an MRI!" and they get it. Not how it works. We have to be able to justify it. Not just for provider licenses if things go to court, but to get your insurance to pay for it as well. And trust me, you don't want to pay out of pocket for labwork. Odds are, your doc isn't doing lab work because she knows something is amiss with what you are doing, and not your blood. But you can find someone who will at least run preliminary labs.

    But, OP, what happens if your thyroid is perfect and you don't have PCOS and it turns out that you're just older than you were when you were losing, and now your tdee is lower and you're eating too much? What will you blame it on then, if not yourself?[/quote]

    +1
    Hormonal issues doesn't change the way you lose weight.
    I have half my thyroid and went through early menopause. My hormones are about as screwed up as you can get. Still lost 65lbs using CICO
    sorry, quoting issues
  • rightoncommander
    rightoncommander Posts: 114 Member
    rbipf18dbjln.jpg

    cmbx2mom, you're complaining that the posts are unhelpful, but quiksylver's flowchart looks like what you need to me because basically, none of us here knows. We're not medical practitioners, and even if we were we'd need a consultation and probably test results to determine the issue. All we can say is that 95% of people who say they are logging accurately and still not losing are not logging accurately. What else did you expect people to say?

    I do agree some of the posts are condescending and unhelpful at best, and disturbing at worst. Telling you to weigh everything, including stuff that has the weight on the packet and bananas, is probably not the best way to assure you of the poster's genuine concern, since people's idea of a medium banana probably varies very little from person to person, and a 57g chocolate bar probably weighs 57g. LeanButNotMean44 (who doesn't live up to his name or his t-shirt) telling you that products are systematically heavier than the packet states just tells you he has a problem: either his scales are bust or he's not using them right. The food industry is not in the habit of giving food away!
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    rbipf18dbjln.jpg

    cmbx2mom, you're complaining that the posts are unhelpful, but quiksylver's flowchart looks like what you need to me because basically, none of us here knows. We're not medical practitioners, and even if we were we'd need a consultation and probably test results to determine the issue. All we can say is that 95% of people who say they are logging accurately and still not losing are not logging accurately. What else did you expect people to say?

    I do agree some of the posts are condescending and unhelpful at best, and disturbing at worst. Telling you to weigh everything, including stuff that has the weight on the packet and bananas, is probably not the best way to assure you of the poster's genuine concern, since people's idea of a medium banana probably varies very little from person to person, and a 57g chocolate bar probably weighs 57g. LeanButNotMean44 (who doesn't live up to his name or his t-shirt) telling you that products are systematically heavier than the packet states just tells you he has a problem: either his scales are bust or he's not using them right. The food industry is not in the habit of giving food away!

    It's actually very common for the weight on prepackaged food to be different than what it states. Unless all the people where who weigh their food have broken scales or are doing it wrong. :/

    (hint: they aren't)
  • cavia
    cavia Posts: 457 Member
    regular tracking does NOT work for my body

    Regular tracking works for every *body*. The trick is to regularly track which you aren't.

    I looked through your diary for February and March. In February you have 11 unlogged days and 2 days that are partially logged. March has 13 days that are either unlogged or partially logged. None of your entries look weighed.

    Log every day - bad days, good days, recovery days, cheat days, weekends - they all need to be logged. Dust off your digital food scale or invest in one and weigh every single caloric solid. Cups and measuring spoons are only for caloric liquids. I think your goal of 1600 calories per day is appropriate. Once you tighten up your logging you should see the scale begin to move down again. Right now you're eating more than you think you are.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    rbipf18dbjln.jpg

    cmbx2mom, you're complaining that the posts are unhelpful, but quiksylver's flowchart looks like what you need to me because basically, none of us here knows. We're not medical practitioners, and even if we were we'd need a consultation and probably test results to determine the issue. All we can say is that 95% of people who say they are logging accurately and still not losing are not logging accurately. What else did you expect people to say?

    I do agree some of the posts are condescending and unhelpful at best, and disturbing at worst. Telling you to weigh everything, including stuff that has the weight on the packet and bananas, is probably not the best way to assure you of the poster's genuine concern, since people's idea of a medium banana probably varies very little from person to person, and a 57g chocolate bar probably weighs 57g. LeanButNotMean44 (who doesn't live up to his name or his t-shirt) telling you that products are systematically heavier than the packet states just tells you he has a problem: either his scales are bust or he's not using them right. The food industry is not in the habit of giving food away!

    My bread regularly has a variance. And my protein powder tells me that "1 scoop" is a serving, but when I weigh it out, I find that a serving is actually closer to 2/3rds of the scoop. Or maybe I too am using my scale incorrectly?
  • ketorach
    ketorach Posts: 430 Member
    rbipf18dbjln.jpg

    cmbx2mom, you're complaining that the posts are unhelpful, but quiksylver's flowchart looks like what you need to me because basically, none of us here knows. We're not medical practitioners, and even if we were we'd need a consultation and probably test results to determine the issue. All we can say is that 95% of people who say they are logging accurately and still not losing are not logging accurately. What else did you expect people to say?

    I do agree some of the posts are condescending and unhelpful at best, and disturbing at worst. Telling you to weigh everything, including stuff that has the weight on the packet and bananas, is probably not the best way to assure you of the poster's genuine concern, since people's idea of a medium banana probably varies very little from person to person, and a 57g chocolate bar probably weighs 57g. LeanButNotMean44 (who doesn't live up to his name or his t-shirt) telling you that products are systematically heavier than the packet states just tells you he has a problem: either his scales are bust or he's not using them right. The food industry is not in the habit of giving food away!

    My bread regularly has a variance. And my protein powder tells me that "1 scoop" is a serving, but when I weigh it out, I find that a serving is actually closer to 2/3rds of the scoop. Or maybe I too am using my scale incorrectly?
    Protein powder is the worst. They give you the scoop and it's not right! So unfair...
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    rbipf18dbjln.jpg

    cmbx2mom, you're complaining that the posts are unhelpful, but quiksylver's flowchart looks like what you need to me because basically, none of us here knows. We're not medical practitioners, and even if we were we'd need a consultation and probably test results to determine the issue. All we can say is that 95% of people who say they are logging accurately and still not losing are not logging accurately. What else did you expect people to say?

    I do agree some of the posts are condescending and unhelpful at best, and disturbing at worst. Telling you to weigh everything, including stuff that has the weight on the packet and bananas, is probably not the best way to assure you of the poster's genuine concern, since people's idea of a medium banana probably varies very little from person to person, and a 57g chocolate bar probably weighs 57g. LeanButNotMean44 (who doesn't live up to his name or his t-shirt) telling you that products are systematically heavier than the packet states just tells you he has a problem: either his scales are bust or he's not using them right. The food industry is not in the habit of giving food away!

    It's actually very common for the weight on prepackaged food to be different than what it states. Unless all the people where who weigh their food have broken scales or are doing it wrong. :/

    (hint: they aren't)

    This.

    -I weighed a protein bar the other day that was 10 g heavier than the package stated. I have no reason to distrust my digital scale. That's a 40 calorie difference (for my particular brand of bar).

    -A 75 g banana and a 105 g banana has a difference of about 30 calories, though one does not look much bigger than the other.

    -Peanut butter is extremely dense, and a serving is ~32 g. If you mismeasure and have 37 g instead, which is very easy to do and does not add much to the "tablespoon" in the way of volume, that's another 30 calorie difference.

    ^^That right there is a 100 calorie difference, which is a big deal if you run a small deficit. Add to that a "handful" of cashews or a "handful" of chips/cheez its, and an inflated exercise calorie burn, and your deficit is gone for the day.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,328 Member
    ZBuffBod wrote: »
    Don't ask for advice if you are not willing to listen. No one knows what you already "know" so they are responding to your question based on their experiences. Most everyone who responded has hundreds/thousands of posts, you have 39...you think they might know something?!!

    Here is the answer to your not weighing your PB. It DOES make a difference. Since we don't know anything, maybe the fitness guys in the videos below do know. Up to you if you really want to learn so here are two videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGcdyfDM3oQ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhusX6R-rkU

    To these I will add this, notice how similar the amounts of food look, but one is pretty much twice the calories. That is the difference a scale and weighing everything can make.

    https://youtu.be/vjKPIcI51lU
  • lizzy_satellite
    lizzy_satellite Posts: 112 Member
    The best way to prove that everyone here is wrong? Weigh and measure *absolutely everything*, every single day, for a few weeks. Don't rely on your own knowledge, on packaging weights, or guesstimates. Weigh it anyway. What is there to lose by treating it as a controlled experiment (well, apart from the obvious)?
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited April 2016
    rbipf18dbjln.jpg

    cmbx2mom, you're complaining that the posts are unhelpful, but quiksylver's flowchart looks like what you need to me because basically, none of us here knows. We're not medical practitioners, and even if we were we'd need a consultation and probably test results to determine the issue. All we can say is that 95% of people who say they are logging accurately and still not losing are not logging accurately. What else did you expect people to say?

    I do agree some of the posts are condescending and unhelpful at best, and disturbing at worst. Telling you to weigh everything, including stuff that has the weight on the packet and bananas, is probably not the best way to assure you of the poster's genuine concern, since people's idea of a medium banana probably varies very little from person to person, and a 57g chocolate bar probably weighs 57g. LeanButNotMean44 (who doesn't live up to his name or his t-shirt) telling you that products are systematically heavier than the packet states just tells you he has a problem: either his scales are bust or he's not using them right. The food industry is not in the habit of giving food away!

    It's actually very common for the weight on prepackaged food to be different than what it states. Unless all the people where who weigh their food have broken scales or are doing it wrong. :/

    (hint: they aren't)

    This.

    -I weighed a protein bar the other day that was 10 g heavier than the package stated. I have no reason to distrust my digital scale. That's a 40 calorie difference (for my particular brand of bar).

    -A 75 g banana and a 105 g banana has a difference of about 30 calories, though one does not look much bigger than the other.

    -Peanut butter is extremely dense, and a serving is ~32 g. If you mismeasure and have 37 g instead, which is very easy to do and does not add much to the "tablespoon" in the way of volume, that's another 30 calorie difference.

    ^^That right there is a 100 calorie difference, which is a big deal if you run a small deficit. Add to that a "handful" of cashews or a "handful" of chips/cheez its, and an inflated exercise calorie burn, and your deficit is gone for the day.

    Yep, for smaller women trying to run a small deficit, 20 cals here and 30 cals there leads to zero weight loss over time, I know that first hand! I was missing 50 cals a day just by not weighing my rolled oats and banana from breakfast every morning...
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    You are at an age where perimenopause typically starts - DIM - a hormone balancer made from broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables. I'm not aware of any side effects but it can interact with drugs processed through the liver, you can check with your doctor.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    The other thing is, when you think you've got servings nailed because you did use a scale for a good period of time and just carry on your merry way with a tablespoon here and a handful there, calorie creep becomes a thing. It's just human nature to grab a couple of extra chips/crisps, a little more on the spoon of peanut butter, a little extra on the knife full of butter. Voila, a couple of extra hundred calories without even realising. Followed by frustration because you are absolutely convinced you are not eating more than you think. Happens to the very best of us. If it's calorie dense you can bet it's going on the scale. And bananas vary wildly, some weeks they're massive, other weeks teeny tiny. Sure I weigh one in a bunch and use that but I'm losing as expected.

    Do I weigh pre-packaged food? At this stage no, because as I said I'm still losing at the rate I desire. I also find with spot checking most things I eat to be accurate but that may be a UK/US variance too. My protein scoop is accurate too, yay for me.

    You don't want to hear but what have you got to lose by throwing the scale on counter and using it every time you eat? It takes no more extra time than logging anyway. And less washing up than cups (which I will never understand the use of!).
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
    The other thing is, when you think you've got servings nailed because you did use a scale for a good period of time and just carry on your merry way with a tablespoon here and a handful there, calorie creep becomes a thing. It's just human nature to grab a couple of extra chips/crisps, a little more on the spoon of peanut butter, a little extra on the knife full of butter. Voila, a couple of extra hundred calories without even realising. Followed by frustration because you are absolutely convinced you are not eating more than you think. Happens to the very best of us. If it's calorie dense you can bet it's going on the scale. And bananas vary wildly, some weeks they're massive, other weeks teeny tiny. Sure I weigh one in a bunch and use that but I'm losing as expected.

    Do I weigh pre-packaged food? At this stage no, because as I said I'm still losing at the rate I desire. I also find with spot checking most things I eat to be accurate but that may be a UK/US variance too. My protein scoop is accurate too, yay for me.

    You don't want to hear but what have you got to lose by throwing the scale on counter and using it every time you eat? It takes no more extra time than logging anyway. And less washing up than cups (which I will never understand the use of!).

    In regards to the bolded.

    I work in the grocery industry. Law in the US allows/encourages food to be over package weight by penalizing companies that don't hit the packaged item's printed data.

    In addition to this, the laws governing this allow for a food to be up to 25% heavier than the package states as long as it's "in the favor of the customer". Almost everything that I personally weigh is over to some degree, and although not all by a large margin, quite a bit of it is. And as for my company's house packaged products, we routinely overfill in "favor of the customer" because it guarantees that there won't be fines, fees or lawsuits based on inaccurate labeling.

    I had no idea. Thanks for this valuable information.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,328 Member
    The other thing is, when you think you've got servings nailed because you did use a scale for a good period of time and just carry on your merry way with a tablespoon here and a handful there, calorie creep becomes a thing. It's just human nature to grab a couple of extra chips/crisps, a little more on the spoon of peanut butter, a little extra on the knife full of butter. Voila, a couple of extra hundred calories without even realising. Followed by frustration because you are absolutely convinced you are not eating more than you think. Happens to the very best of us. If it's calorie dense you can bet it's going on the scale. And bananas vary wildly, some weeks they're massive, other weeks teeny tiny. Sure I weigh one in a bunch and use that but I'm losing as expected.

    Do I weigh pre-packaged food? At this stage no, because as I said I'm still losing at the rate I desire. I also find with spot checking most things I eat to be accurate but that may be a UK/US variance too. My protein scoop is accurate too, yay for me.

    You don't want to hear but what have you got to lose by throwing the scale on counter and using it every time you eat? It takes no more extra time than logging anyway. And less washing up than cups (which I will never understand the use of!).

    In regards to the bolded.

    I work in the grocery industry. Law in the US allows/encourages food to be over package weight by penalizing companies that don't hit the packaged item's printed data.

    In addition to this, the laws governing this allow for a food to be up to 25% heavier than the package states as long as it's "in the favor of the customer". Almost everything that I personally weigh is over to some degree, and although not all by a large margin, quite a bit of it is. And as for my company's house packaged products, we routinely overfill in "favor of the customer" because it guarantees that there won't be fines, fees or lawsuits based on inaccurate labeling.

    I had no idea. Thanks for this valuable information.

    Laws are, or at least were, similar in Canada. I remember when I was in grade 6 or 7 we did a unit on weights and measures and one of the experiments was to bring in some pre-packaged food and compare the labeled weight to the actual weight. As I remember, and this is almost 40 years ago, all were over by at least a little. When the teacher asked us why we thought that was the case none of us knew, then he explained that packages had to contain the amount on the label or fines would result so manufacturers would put extra in to avoid this.

    In terms of stuff like protein power, bread slices, and the like, there will be variation because of inconsistencies. For example the bread is sliced but one slice is slightly thinner than the other, or for protein, how packed down it is. I have never figured out why 1 Tablespoon of Peanut Butter can vary so much from the expected weight, but my experience is it does, often to the point of being double the stated weight which is a big deal calorie wise since a Tablespoon is 100ish calories.
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
    cmbx2mom wrote: »
    Ugh, so I wasn't sure I should post this question because as expected I got the usual answers. I went 10 years being able to control/lose weight by calorie counting and weighing as I am doing now. I am not eating 2100 calories and have 1600 in my diary. Yes I use teaspoons not weigh my pb. Yes I log 1 banana vs. grams of banana. That is not 500 calories difference and as u see I said I try to go under 1600 calories to account for slight differences.
    So ok wait, you said by counting and weighing, but then you said that you don't weigh (but used to). How do you know this is 100% accurate? What should be, what has been, and what is can be different. You never know when the manufacturer will have changed something so the weight may be different, or after time what seemed like 1 serving really actually isn't. I get what you're trying to accomplish, but without even being able to verify, how can you be absolutely positively sure that you're on point, when you're not?
    cmbx2mom wrote: »
    I like Shakeology, it mixes better than protein powders and it's faster to dump 1 scoop vs adding in 10 different ingredients.
    That's fair, whatever works best for you, that response already got tisked anyways. :wink:
    cmbx2mom wrote: »
    And I have been doing lots of reading about how calories in vs out is NOT an accurate way to lose weight. As far as trying methods, I try for a couple months because regular tracking does NOT work for my body anymore.

    Out of curiosity, where have you done this reading at? Random websites, or medical studies? I'm not going to say that CICO works for absolutely everyone, but without medical issues there should be no problems. If your Doctor refuses to listen to your requests for at least basic bloodwork, get a new doctor. I had issues with my original endocrinologist that would not listen to me and treated me like I was an incidental in the room, I found one that would listen and explain things to me, that's part of what I pay them for to provide the service that I need from them.
    cmbx2mom wrote: »
    Unless u have something new to say (no more of the you r not weighing enough) please disregard this post. It is SO frustrating when people just assume u are eating a lot more than u say. Yes I take a handful of chips....after years of tracking I know that my handful is about 0.5 servings. I also know that the bread I buy says x # of servings per bag and I know how to do math.
    I'm sorry you feel that way, I would rather tell people "I know what a serving is, in fact, after I take what I know is a serving, I weigh it to confirm, and I'm right". And if you are great, if you're not, well, more informed. You're the one that is having issues, not us. We're just trying to say that you should verify and double check because something has to be off, and if you can say 100% that it's not your logging because you cross checked by weighing, then you can also take that information to your new doctor as proof.
  • ShodanPrime
    ShodanPrime Posts: 226 Member
    rbipf18dbjln.jpg

    cmbx2mom, you're complaining that the posts are unhelpful, but quiksylver's flowchart looks like what you need to me because basically, none of us here knows. We're not medical practitioners, and even if we were we'd need a consultation and probably test results to determine the issue. All we can say is that 95% of people who say they are logging accurately and still not losing are not logging accurately. What else did you expect people to say?

    I do agree some of the posts are condescending and unhelpful at best, and disturbing at worst. Telling you to weigh everything, including stuff that has the weight on the packet and bananas, is probably not the best way to assure you of the poster's genuine concern, since people's idea of a medium banana probably varies very little from person to person, and a 57g chocolate bar probably weighs 57g. LeanButNotMean44 (who doesn't live up to his name or his t-shirt) telling you that products are systematically heavier than the packet states just tells you he has a problem: either his scales are bust or he's not using them right. The food industry is not in the habit of giving food away!

    My bread regularly has a variance. And my protein powder tells me that "1 scoop" is a serving, but when I weigh it out, I find that a serving is actually closer to 2/3rds of the scoop. Or maybe I too am using my scale incorrectly?

    The protein powder likely tells you that one dose is 32 grams, or there abouts.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    rbipf18dbjln.jpg

    cmbx2mom, you're complaining that the posts are unhelpful, but quiksylver's flowchart looks like what you need to me because basically, none of us here knows. We're not medical practitioners, and even if we were we'd need a consultation and probably test results to determine the issue. All we can say is that 95% of people who say they are logging accurately and still not losing are not logging accurately. What else did you expect people to say?

    I do agree some of the posts are condescending and unhelpful at best, and disturbing at worst. Telling you to weigh everything, including stuff that has the weight on the packet and bananas, is probably not the best way to assure you of the poster's genuine concern, since people's idea of a medium banana probably varies very little from person to person, and a 57g chocolate bar probably weighs 57g. LeanButNotMean44 (who doesn't live up to his name or his t-shirt) telling you that products are systematically heavier than the packet states just tells you he has a problem: either his scales are bust or he's not using them right. The food industry is not in the habit of giving food away!

    My bread regularly has a variance. And my protein powder tells me that "1 scoop" is a serving, but when I weigh it out, I find that a serving is actually closer to 2/3rds of the scoop. Or maybe I too am using my scale incorrectly?

    The protein powder likely tells you that one dose is 32 grams, or there abouts.

    It tells me that a serving is 1 scoop/26 grams. But a scoop is much more than 26 grams. If I didn't use a scale, I would be consuming more than I thought.
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
    Mine tells me a serving/scoop is 46 grams, but it's actually 3.75-ish level scoops. :D
  • ketorach
    ketorach Posts: 430 Member
    The protein powder likely tells you that one dose is 32 grams, or there abouts.
    Mine says "1 scoop (32g)". 1 level scoop is *not* 32g, though. I weighed it and now I know what 32g looks like in the scoop, so I eyeball it.


  • soulofgrace
    soulofgrace Posts: 175 Member
    Weigh.your.food.and.log.it. For at least a month or two. Take your log to your dr. if what you see doesn't jive. There are no other answers unless you have recorded evidence to the contrary. I am a 49 woman with autoimmune issues. Weighing and logging is the ONLY thing that has ever worked for me. Good luck.