I'm losing my mind...:(
zonkiethegreat
Posts: 15 Member
I'm going to try to keep this short.....I'm losing it here....I'm almost 32 years old and about 5'8" and I've always fluctuated between 175-197 at most. But now, for the first time in my life I'm 220 pounds, and beside myself....I've been dieting on and off since I was 12 years old, and it has always been a struggle to maintain a good weight.
I started weighing 200 pounds around April of 2015, and it just kept going up to about 216. I was getting married April 2016 and I was DETERMINED to lose the weight so I started going to Orange Theory in June of last year, and I was hooked and went about 3-4x a week. Still even with that intense workout 3-4x a week and eating about 1,300-1,600 calories a day I only lost about 2 pounds in 5 months. As I got closer to the wedding, I dropped a few more and got down to 208 lbs. for my wedding by eating only 900-1200 calories a day. It is now July, and I'm 220 pounds, and I eat an average of 1,500 calories a day and I'm still exercising (a little less about 2x a week).
When I had noticed my weight gain creeping up over time, without even changing my diet or exercise habits drastically, I went to 3 different endocrinologists, and all of them said I was fine and within the normal range for my age and TSH levels. This was about a year ago, when I saw my last doctor.
I went back to the doctor last week with a vengeance, and showed her the numbers and how they didn't make sense. So, I'm going to get another set of tests done next week, this time I'm getting every single test done, including a glucose fasting test, and a cortisol test. In the meantime I just feel lost. I don't know what to do anymore.
I do take Metformin, as previous tests have indicated that I may become pre-diabetic, and have a pre-disposition for mild PCOS. I'm wondering if that is what's holding me back...???? I'm just so frustrated, it's all-consuming...:(
I started weighing 200 pounds around April of 2015, and it just kept going up to about 216. I was getting married April 2016 and I was DETERMINED to lose the weight so I started going to Orange Theory in June of last year, and I was hooked and went about 3-4x a week. Still even with that intense workout 3-4x a week and eating about 1,300-1,600 calories a day I only lost about 2 pounds in 5 months. As I got closer to the wedding, I dropped a few more and got down to 208 lbs. for my wedding by eating only 900-1200 calories a day. It is now July, and I'm 220 pounds, and I eat an average of 1,500 calories a day and I'm still exercising (a little less about 2x a week).
When I had noticed my weight gain creeping up over time, without even changing my diet or exercise habits drastically, I went to 3 different endocrinologists, and all of them said I was fine and within the normal range for my age and TSH levels. This was about a year ago, when I saw my last doctor.
I went back to the doctor last week with a vengeance, and showed her the numbers and how they didn't make sense. So, I'm going to get another set of tests done next week, this time I'm getting every single test done, including a glucose fasting test, and a cortisol test. In the meantime I just feel lost. I don't know what to do anymore.
I do take Metformin, as previous tests have indicated that I may become pre-diabetic, and have a pre-disposition for mild PCOS. I'm wondering if that is what's holding me back...???? I'm just so frustrated, it's all-consuming...:(
3
Replies
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If your lab work comes back in the clear, you're eating more than 1500 calories a day.
Are you weighing your food, or eyeballing it? We notoriously over estimate our calorie burn through exercise, and underestimate our intake. Are you counting all your oils you cook with, and any beverages you might drink? Fruits and veggies count, too (I mention that one because when hubs started a month ago he was blown away that I logged them. Thought they were "free" because they were healthy).14 -
How are you measuring your food? How do you know you are eating only 1500 calories a day? If you were only eating 1500, I think the weight would be falling off of you. You can think you are eating a "good diet" but eating too much will prevent weight loss. If anyone saw my grocery cart, they would think I was the healthiest person in the world. I don't buy chips, cookies, ice cream, anything like that. I buy fresh vegetables, beans, quinoa, chicken breasts, fish, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. But I struggle to lose the last 20 or so lbs because it's really hard to stick to 1400-1500 calories. That is a small amount of food, and for me, a very small margin of error if I go over. I can easily eat 2000 calories a day if I'm not careful about portion sizes.10
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I agree with the others, how sure are you on the accuracy of your food logging, as in do weigh and log everything you eat honestly and accurately?
For comparisons sake, I'm 5'8, age 44 and 147lbs and am losing netting 1600-1700 calories, it's very slow because I'm close to goal weight, but the scale is heading down.The only exercise i do is walking.
ETA: I've had plenty of stalls over the last 18mths, but each and every time I can trace it back to poor logging. I might have a few cookies i didn't log, an extra bowl of cereal, a few more dollops of mayo that i couldn't be bothered weighing and logging. All of these little omissions add up at the end of the week.13 -
I weigh all food that I cook, and when I eat out I have to eyeball it or take note of the chain I'm eating at. Honestly, a cheat day for me is in the 1800-2000 range. I also do not overestimate my calorie burn, that is for SURE. At Orange Theory we use heart rate monitors and even though they say I burn 416 calories in 45 minutes, I always log it as about 350.1
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I'm saying this with the kindest, most cheerful voice...there's no way on God's green earth that you are measuring your calories correctly.28
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As others said, you are not measuring correctly, or are using inaccurate entries in the database. I'm 5'7" 143 lbs and slowly losing on 1800 cal per day. That said, you may respond to carbohydrate restriction, considering the PCOS and tendancy towards diabetes. But regardless of method, being accurate in your logging is the first step.4
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Lone dissenter here. You may be logging your calories wrong, true, but you also need to make sure you're getting a full thyroid panel done. Doctors tend to go only by TSH without checking that your body is actually responding by producing thyroid hormones, or that there are no antibodies interfering with your glands.7
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Yeah, but do you weigh every single solid and semi solid foods? Do you log cooking oils, salad dressings, fruit and veg? Do you weigh very single recipe ingredient on a digital scale and log it into the recipe builder? Do you only use cups/spoons for liquids only? Do you log all your foods all the time? Do you log tastes, bites and licks? Do you choose accurate database entries that reflect the packaging of the food? Do you weigh pre-weighed and pre-packaged food?zonkiethegreat wrote: »I weigh all food that I cook, and when I eat out I have to eyeball it or take note of the chain I'm eating at. Honestly, a cheat day for me is in the 1800-2000 range. I also do not overestimate my calorie burn, that is for SURE. At Orange Theory we use heart rate monitors and even though they say I burn 416 calories in 45 minutes, I always log it as about 350.
Can you please open your diary so that we can take a look?
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Been there done that...turned out I had lyme disease and since treatment I have finally slowly been losing weight. So yes, you may be counting all your calories and exercising like crazy and not lose a pound...your thyroid is not the only thing that can impede weight loss.6
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I'm being honest here, I have no reason to lie about the numbers. If you don't believe me that's fine, but I'm telling you all that at the very very most on a bad day, I will eat 2,000 calories, and that's a bad day. So either my body has acclimated to eating very little, and therefore gains from anything over a certain amount or I'm intolerant to something, I don't know.
I only came on here to see if anyone else is experiencing something similar, because in the last 3 months, I've gained 11 pounds and I think it's because instead of eating 900-1100 a day I'm now eating 1200-1500 a day.....which still doesn't make sense considering I burn about 2100 calories a day just living without exercise (this is based on my FitBit). Maybe I've messed up my metabolism....maybe I need to cut carbs completely???
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Been there done that...turned out I had lyme disease and since treatment I have finally slowly been losing weight. So yes, you may be counting all your calories and exercising like crazy and not lose a pound...your thyroid is not the only thing that can impede weight loss.
Wow, glad you figured it out, and are doing better.0 -
Food scale.3
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ashliefisch wrote: »If your lab work comes back in the clear, you're eating more than 1500 calories a day.
Are you weighing your food, or eyeballing it? We notoriously over estimate our calorie burn through exercise, and underestimate our intake. Are you counting all your oils you cook with, and any beverages you might drink? Fruits and veggies count, too (I mention that one because when hubs started a month ago he was blown away that I logged them. Thought they were "free" because they were healthy).
I log it all, and I'm careful with sugary fruits like mangoes or bananas. I also don't drink any soda, not even diet. When I crave carbonated drinks I have La Croix Lime carbonated water. I can't weigh food when I go out to eat, so that I have to eyeball unfortunately.0 -
Most people eyeball when going into restaurants.2
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zonkiethegreat wrote: »I'm being honest here, I have no reason to lie about the numbers. If you don't believe me that's fine, but I'm telling you all that at the very very most on a bad day, I will eat 2,000 calories, and that's a bad day. So either my body has acclimated to eating very little, and therefore gains from anything over a certain amount or I'm intolerant to something, I don't know.
I only came on here to see if anyone else is experiencing something similar, because in the last 3 months, I've gained 11 pounds and I think it's because instead of eating 900-1100 a day I'm now eating 1200-1500 a day.....which still doesn't make sense considering I burn about 2100 calories a day just living without exercise (this is based on my FitBit). Maybe I've messed up my metabolism....maybe I need to cut carbs completely???
Lots of people are experiencing something very similar.2 -
queenliz99 wrote: »Food scale.
I have one, and I use it when I cook at home. Although to be totally honest, I don't cook a lot because of my business I travel a lot and often have to eat out for business dinners, and lunches.0 -
zonkiethegreat wrote: »queenliz99 wrote: »Food scale.
I have one, and I use it when I cook at home. Although to be totally honest, I don't cook a lot because of my business I travel a lot and often have to eat out for business dinners, and lunches.
That's your problem then.
"I weigh everything I cook but I don't cook often..."
You're ingesting more calories than you think.38 -
It's great that your having your Dr. run tests to see if there may be a medical issue. See if you may have Leptin Resistance. Here's some info about it:
https://authoritynutrition.com/leptin-101/0 -
zonkiethegreat wrote: »queenliz99 wrote: »Food scale.
I have one, and I use it when I cook at home. Although to be totally honest, I don't cook a lot because of my business I travel a lot and often have to eat out for business dinners, and lunches.
We go out to dinner/lunch once every 3mths or so at which time i guesstimate. I can almost guarantee you that if we ate out even just twice a week I'd be putting on weight too. Why? because it's near impossible to guess the calories in restaurant meals.
You may be a natural at estimating calories though. Me, I'm hopeless at it.
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Pcos could really do that to you if you have insulin resistance. Do you eat high carb?2
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zonkiethegreat wrote: »queenliz99 wrote: »Food scale.
I have one, and I use it when I cook at home. Although to be totally honest, I don't cook a lot because of my business I travel a lot and often have to eat out for business dinners, and lunches.
Your mention of using a food scale specifically when you cook is interesting, because it indicates that you might not have thought to be weighing all your food. I'm not kidding. Things like fruit should be weighed (can't log "1 banana" since they can be different sizes, and eyeballing it can be quite off). Packaged foods should be weighed: my packaged food (including slices of bread) often contains 20% more weight than the serving size, so if I were to just log 1 serving each time then I would be consistently eating more calories than I log.6 -
Theres some pretty good advice here...0
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zonkiethegreat wrote: »queenliz99 wrote: »Food scale.
I have one, and I use it when I cook at home. Although to be totally honest, I don't cook a lot because of my business I travel a lot and often have to eat out for business dinners, and lunches.
That's your problem then.
"I weigh everything I cook but I don't cook often..."
You're ingesting more calories than you think.
Unless your tests do come back with a medical issue then I suspect this is correct, sorry to say! If you're having to eyeball and guess at your calories a lot, and it sounds like you are, then you're probably incorrect more often than you think.
I'm 5'6" and losing on 1300-1400 per day - I weigh almost everything (sometimes I'm a little sloppy but it's not affecting my loss yet), and I do next to no exercise (just a little walking some days). But, we only get take out or a restaurant meal maybe 2-3 times per month, and I can usually find accurate info online for the places we frequent.
I do think that all the eating out is most likely to be causing your issue - how long have you had this job where you need to entertain, and does it coincide with your weight gain at all?3 -
zonkiethegreat wrote: »queenliz99 wrote: »Food scale.
I have one, and I use it when I cook at home. Although to be totally honest, I don't cook a lot because of my business I travel a lot and often have to eat out for business dinners, and lunches.
Restaurants rarely make food that meets their own published calories. This is likely the issue. Try cooking at home more, and bringing packed meals and snacks.
Still ask for those test results though. You never know.1 -
After excluding all health conditions that could lead to this, maybe you can try a plant-based diet. It worked magic for MANY people in terms of weight loss, so I suppose it won't harm to give it a shot
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zonkiethegreat wrote: »queenliz99 wrote: »Food scale.
I have one, and I use it when I cook at home. Although to be totally honest, I don't cook a lot because of my business I travel a lot and often have to eat out for business dinners, and lunches.
Your mention of using a food scale specifically when you cook is interesting, because it indicates that you might not have thought to be weighing all your food. I'm not kidding. Things like fruit should be weighed (can't log "1 banana" since they can be different sizes, and eyeballing it can be quite off). Packaged foods should be weighed: my packaged food (including slices of bread) often contains 20% more weight than the serving size, so if I were to just log 1 serving each time then I would be consistently eating more calories than I log.
It implies that the op knew the problem all along and was in denial...like so many here.3 -
zonkiethegreat wrote: »queenliz99 wrote: »Food scale.
I have one, and I use it when I cook at home. Although to be totally honest, I don't cook a lot because of my business I travel a lot and often have to eat out for business dinners, and lunches.
Restaurants rarely make food that meets their own published calories. This is likely the issue. Try cooking at home more, and bringing packed meals and snacks.
Still ask for those test results though. You never know.
We go to a pub and i always have the schnitzel parmigiana, and it's never the same twice in a row. One chef piles on the cheese, another one puts on more sauce, more chips one visit, a small handful the next, sometimes the schnitzels are huge, other times small. The nutritional info they provide on their website is pretty much useless!1 -
Unfortunately, doctors are notorious for ignoring Free T3 and Free T4 thyroid numbers. Your TSH can be in the "normal" range but few people do well if their TSH is higher then 1.5. But most labs say up to 4.5 or 5.0 is "normal." If I don't keep mine at 1.5 I gain weight like crazy (and really fast!). If I don't keep my FT3 and FT4 in the upper 2/3 of the range I gain weight and feel like crap, and lose my hair, etc. etc. So checking your thyroid is always a good plan. All that said, IF your thyroid numbers come back not "normal" but actually in the functional range (upper 2/3 for FT3 and 4 and TSH no higher then 1.5) then I have to agree with others - the eating out is probably doing you in. If you must do so b/c of your job, then perhaps you can order half size portions and then only eat half of that and take the rest home? But you will likely have to come up with some creative way to cut way back on what you are eating when you're out. Don't trust restaurant numbers on this one.1
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Your overeating most likely. If I'm eating out, I check portion sizes first and foremost. If your in the USA the portion sizes are HUGE. Leave food behind on the plate. Order just a salad for one meal. No dressing, bacon or cheese with salads. Fish or vegetarian as much as possible. Red sauces for Italian rather than white sauce. If it's morning tea, I skip and take my own Apple.1
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Or change your job to one where you don't eat out. Your health is more important0
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