I'm devastated and need help :'(

Meli7Ann wrote: »

I just looked at your diary. Your calories for the day are great. However since you're asking, I would cut the high carb high sugar foods. Replace the bagel with perhaps more eggs and a lower-carb fruit like strawberries. I would not have any high sugar fruit like pineapple and do away with potatoes and replace that with a salad with a little bit of dressing, no sugar though, look for sugar and everything you're eating. If you cut out carbs and cut out sugar I have no doubt you will drop weight.
I had a gain this week but I'm reading it might be because I just started a workout routine I hate when I gain it's frustrating.

Good luck!

Carbs and sugar are not responsible for fat gain. OP will just drop a few pounds of water weight doing this. She will be creating a calorie deficit dropping those foods, but she doesn't have to drop those foods to see weight loss.

Calories are king.

Finallyfit1976 wrote: »

Meli7Ann wrote: »

I just looked at your diary. Your calories for the day are great. However since you're asking, I would cut the high carb high sugar foods. Replace the bagel with perhaps more eggs and a lower-carb fruit like strawberries. I would not have any high sugar fruit like pineapple and do away with potatoes and replace that with a salad with a little bit of dressing, no sugar though, look for sugar and everything you're eating. If you cut out carbs and cut out sugar I have no doubt you will drop weight.
I had a gain this week but I'm reading it might be because I just started a workout routine I hate when I gain it's frustrating.

Good luck!

Thank you so much for your reply. Yes, you are right, when I looked at my diary at the end of the day yesterday, I found that I had a lot of carbs. that's why today I will try to minimize them as much as I can. Please keep looking at my diary, I appreciate your input .

No need to cut out carbs. Add more protien and fat to your day (or try to get equal amounts of p/f/c) and let the carbs fall where they may. No need to cut out favourite foods unless they're overtaking nutrition and you're always hungry (or gave a medical condition/allergy.)

Finallyfit1976 wrote: »

deannalfisher wrote: »

you need to tighten up your logging - you have lots of cup measurements or general (apple, 1) etc

What do you mean by tighten up my logging? do you mean weigh the apple to see how many grams instead of just saying 1 apple ?

Weigh everything that isn't a liquid. Even prepackaged and single item foods. Weigh fruit and veg. Weigh everything. Cups/spoons for liquid only. No halves, pieces or counts. Weight.

Replace bathroom scale battery too.

deannalfisher wrote: »

Finallyfit1976 wrote: »

Meli7Ann wrote: »

I just looked at your diary. Your calories for the day are great. However since you're asking, I would cut the high carb high sugar foods. Replace the bagel with perhaps more eggs and a lower-carb fruit like strawberries. I would not have any high sugar fruit like pineapple and do away with potatoes and replace that with a salad with a little bit of dressing, no sugar though, look for sugar and everything you're eating. If you cut out carbs and cut out sugar I have no doubt you will drop weight.
I had a gain this week but I'm reading it might be because I just started a workout routine I hate when I gain it's frustrating.

Good luck!

Thank you so much for your reply. Yes, you are right, when I looked at my diary at the end of the day yesterday, I found that I had a lot of carbs. that's why today I will try to minimize them as much as I can. Please keep looking at my diary, I appreciate your input .

there is nothing inherently wrong with carbs (and I eat close to 300g of carbs a day) - I'm down 12lbs in 5 months eating just slightly below maintenance and I have a daily bagel (today it was asiago cheese with onion/clive schmear)

Quoted to bring this up again.

There is nothing wrong with carbs. I've eaten lots of carbs throughout losing over 100lbs.

Finallyfit1976 wrote: »

I lost already 50 in 2 years now and I went from 258 to 200 and now I'm stuck. My weight fluctuates between 200-205 for over 6 months now. I have tried low carb, counting calories ( 1400/ day) and I workout 5-6 days a week. I do T25 and the Hammer and the chisel. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. My weakest point is the desserts and I'm trying to control it as much as I can but seriously losing this weight is killing me. It seems that I'm losing inches since ever one is telling me that, however, I need to see this on the scale. I will open my food diary to all of you to review and guide me. I will update this post every day if I found responses from you guys.

You are doing fantastically well. Remember, scales only give you a meaningless number if you don't take in to account other things such as body fat % and muscle mass. Given the amount of exercise you do and the comments you get regarding losing inches: That is your answer. You are building muscle (good) and losing fat (good). Muscle is denser than fat, so although you look smaller, the scales don't reflect the difference in density between fat and muscle. If you google '1lb of fat vs 1lb of muscle' you will see the difference in volume.

<stern voice> So stop putting yourself down. It sounds like you have changed your body composition so much that the numbers you were used to seeing on the scales no longer apply to your new body. I've lost all of three lbs, but I look different and my clothes are loser because I am building muscle.

If you can, invest in scales that also calculate body fat and muscle mass percentages. Measure your progress with a tape measure and by the fit of your clothing.

But, and I can't stress this enough: STOP PUTTING YOURSELF DOWN! You are doing a FABULOUS job!

Finallyfit1976 wrote: »

deannalfisher wrote: »

you need to tighten up your logging - you have lots of cup measurements or general (apple, 1) etc

What do you mean by tighten up my logging? do you mean weigh the apple to see how many grams instead of just saying 1 apple ?

yes - i.e. 1 apple could be 150g or it could be 250g depending on the size - that will cause your calories/macros to vary quite a bit

you have many measurements for solid foods in liquid format (ml for potatos) - which makes no sense

Sugar will kill a diet.

Well, first of all - congrats on having some brain cells after 4 kids!

I like all of the above tips, but you need to do what's doable for you.

You may have some undiagnosed thyroid / hormone issues along with just postpartum stuff.

Check out https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/symptoms/

I look at this as not a "diet" per se with a beginning and an ending, but more of an incremental lifestyle change. That way, it's a journey and I can't fail unless I get off the road and park my butt someplace and don't move.

(Picture one of those cute camping trailers with a beach umbrella, a lawn chair, a cocktail table with a margarita on it, and a cutesy lawn ornament flamingo. If I am going to go off the trail, I am going to do it in style.)

For me, deprivation doesn't work.

So, my goal for this lifestyle change (eating plan) was to pick an eating plan that offered me the best results without the pain of deprivation.

One of the things I did was to consciously make the switch from how I was eating to a new way of eating. Because while I know that it's Calories In / Calories Out (CICO), I don't like being hungry / starving because it makes me cranky and I then obsess about all of the food out there that I am now not allowing myself to have.

I knew going in that based on CICO, that I burn calories just by being alive.
If I eat as many as I burn I would be in stasis (and not lose).
If I eat more than I burn I will gain weight.
If I eat less than I burn I will lose weight except if I am in an extreme calorie deficit. Then my body goes into preservation mode and my metabolism might slow down and hold onto what I have b/c it thinks I am starving.

I knew from my own past experience that carbs and sugar are the devil. If I eat one sweet thing, then, I can't stop. I know that if I eat simple carbs (like bagels / white potatoes) my heart will race. If I eat complex carbs (like canned white beans) then I feel okay, but I don't really lose weight. I have restricted sugar and carbs before and knew that by restricting them, I am not craving them and I feel better.

The eating plan that does this for me is Paleo / Keto (low, low sugar/carbs and high protein/fat/fiber); my ratios are: (45% protein, 40% fat and 15% carbs/sugar).

See this website for a list of paleo websites:
http://paleoiq.com/best-paleo-diet-blogs/

I started by making incremental changes last November (one meal at a time), with the end goal being that I would hover around 1400 calories because as an older woman my skin doesn't bounce back as it did when I was younger. By losing the weight slowly, I have minimized the sagging skin.

It took several months of tweaking before I finally found my "sweet spot" in terms of balance between carbs and protein and (since January I have lost about 23 pounds). And... I am only complaint calorie wise about 75% - 80% of the time. I have some health issues and can't really exercise. Despite this and being tied to a desk all day, I have lost and continue to lose weight.

For me, eating low carb and low sugar all of the time some amazing things happened:

• I don't crave sugar (I have an entire box of Charms Wild Berry Blow Pops in my file drawer that I haven't touched since November because I don't crave sugar; I once measured my stress level by how many of them I consumed in one day);
• My moods are more even and I don't have blood sugar spikes and crashes;
• By consuming more healthy fats my joints don't hurt as much and I am more or less satiated on 1400 calories.

I used Paleo Leap and Paleo Tribe for the recipe ideas (they have some great low calorie recipe options) but this isn't necessary. I do think preparing and eating food that I make as opposed to boxes or eating out has helped me a lot. Boxes say they are low carb (but they have lots of other additives in them to make them taste good.)

I also take 7-keto DHEA (fat burner), desiccated adrenal (80 mgs -- I started and maintain a very low dose) and desiccated adrenal cortex (250 mgs). I have more energy and they have helped my allergies and my hormones.
See this website: https://www.yourhormones.com/signs-symptoms/

Most women suffer from advanced adrenal fatigue and adaptogenic herbs don't work. To rebuild your adrenals desiccated adrenal extracts are very helpful. (I was on prednisone, but was able to stop taking it.)

See these websites:
http://www.drnorthrup.com/adrenal-exhaustion/
https://www.yourhormones.com/adrenal-fatigue/

IMO in the beginning, you shouldn't "train hard" you should balance gentle cardio (like brisk walking) with strength training. With keto you burn stored fat because that's what you burn for energy.) Look at reducing unnecessary drama that makes you crazy.

Also, explore the term "estrogen dominance". Body fat makes you hold on to excess estrogen. Having had babies, your body is used to hanging onto the fat in preparation for the next baby. That is normal and natural.

See these websites:
http://www.drnorthrup.com/estrogen-dominance/
https://www.womentowomen.com/hormonal-health/estrogen-dominance/
https://www.drlam.com/blog/estrogen-dominance-part-1/1704/

I got rid of all of the chemicals in my home. Everything is fragrance / dye free or natural cleaners. Frebreeze and similar products are endocrine disruptors and can actually make it difficult for people to lose weight. I also gave up scented lotions and perfume.

I am post menopause so I am also taking a boatload of natural progesterone (prometrium 200 mgs.) Since you are still having periods / child bearing age your doc may not be open to this.

Discuss this with your doctor. Based on your family history of breast cancer, it may well save your life or not be right for you.

About cheesecake, I haven't tried this recipe yet but it seems very popular! Good luck, you can do this! community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10500016/low-calorie-protein-cheesecake/p1

I agree with folks here suggesting you get accurate numbers for food and exercise, and to make your own single serving treats. It is so much easier to make this work if you have hard data instead of vague guesses!

____________________________________________

Down 140lbs: My story.

Save the cheesecake for your birthday. One of the things about 'treats' is they lose value if they happen every day. Save treats for special occasions. That doesn't mean you have to give up sugar, but limit it. i.e. instead of ice cream, have a single serving of chocolate pudding or a chocolate chip cookie or a single piece of fudge. Eat fruit for dessert. Or limit your higher value higher calorie treat to the days when you exercise more, i.e. if you go on a 5 mile hike, then have an ice cream cone or piece of pie. If you run for 10 miles, have a slice of cheesecake. If the habit of eating dessert every day has caused you to get fat, it's time to change the habit.