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Fit, fat, female, forty-four and feeling frustrated...forethought?
cwdelaney
Posts: 17 Member
I am a clean eater, I exercise regularly and I just finished week 5 of the arbonne 30 day cleanse: no gluten, no sugar, no dairy, no alcohol. I was 2 weeks in with my cohorts having lost 5-8 pounds and my scale unchanged when I logged on to MFP for the first time. I have been very diligent, weighing to the gram and mentally committed. I have not cheated and I am not fooling myself and eating too much, I know this. I bought a new digital bathroom scale and my weight went up 4 pounds, I am now maybe 1 pound down after 5 weeks. I am not giving up, I have 30 pounds to lose and I will not quit, but I need some positive advice. My friends think I need to go get my blood checked for cortisol and thyroid levels, others think I'm premenopausal. Any other suggestions???
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1. Don't compare yourself to others. You are not them and they are not you.
2. Weight loss isn't linear. Here's a 3-month weight trend for me where I was at or below my calorie goal every day:
3. Be open to troubleshooting advice. Sometimes we think we are doing things properly when we could be doing them better. Here's a flowchart with good general advice:
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If you have logged accuately and stayed the same weight for 5 weeks, then you can find out exactly how many calories you are using to maintain that weight. Simple add up the calories consumed and divide by the number of days. Reduce your intake by 500 calories per day to lose 1 pound per week.5
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Thanks for the tips and advice. I realize that the two scales weigh differently and I weigh about 1.5 pounds lower than I did 5 weeks ago on the old scale. As for this being my maintenance caloric intake, I think that it's already pretty low at 1430 calories and I was at 1200 for a few weeks with no loss, just fatigue and lack of energy, 1200 wasn't enough. I think my body wrnt into starvation mode. I am 5'7" and not petite. My goal weight is 155, at that weight I am strong, lower than that I feel weak and emaciated and I know I cannot maintain it. I could try maybe eating less of my exercise calories back and I am getting a fit bit to keep better track of my expenditures. Thanks again. ☺6
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When I refer to starvation mode I mean that my body was conserving calories and energy, reducing my ability to lose weight. This is definitely a real thing, especially when one goes from 2200 calories (before) to 1200, with no transition. I have increased it to 1430 calories and I feel better, just not losing. I am definitely stronger though. ☺19
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I will agree to disagree. But it's irrelevant, I'm not experiencing that anymore.12
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I will agree to disagree. But it's irrelevant, I'm not experiencing that anymore.
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/
Starvation mode is a myth.7 -
I'm not on here to argue or get criticized. I could post a number of health and nutrition
-based articles by sources not trying to get my money to subscribe to their program, that describe the metabolism changes that can occur with too low a caloric intake. I am looking for support from this community. I track every calorie and gram consumed, but I have decided to use a fitness tracker to ensure that my calories burned are sufficient. If this doesn't work, I will get my thyroid and cortisol levels checked. I totally agree that it is calories in vs calories burned that leads to weight loss, but there are many factors that can impact this ratio. I am mentally here, no excuses.13 -
I’m also 5’7” with a goal weight of 150-155lb. I joined this site after gaining some weight back, I went from 145-150 back up to 184 in a year. 1200 cals would be way too low for me. I’m losing eating 1500-2000 based on how active I am that day. I got stuck with no scale movement for about 4 months when I hit 165. I’m still not sure why but I stayed the course and am losing again without changing what I was doing. This week I am 159.
If you are 100% positive you are weighing and logging correctly and using your calorie goal set by this site you will lose. It just isn’t always fast or linear as water weight fluctuates.3 -
I've had plenty of plateaus while trying to lose weight. When you get close to an optimal weight I think your body just decides to stick there for awhile. Could you already be at a healthy weight? (You don't say, just that you want to lose 30). As we age our bodies do change and things slow down - i.e. we need less calories for maintenance and it does become harder to get the scale to move.
My maintenance calories are right around 1700-1800 with moderate daily exercise. When I eat more than that the scale starts to creep up. If I want to lose then I have to stop eating back my exercise calories. Then I will begin to lose slowly at around 1400-1450. That's not a lot but it is what it is. It's taken me over 2 years to find that sweet spot but I'm in no big hurry. Just focusing on health and fitness with a little slow weight loss as a bonus.
You mention an Arbonne cleanse. Is that associated with supplements or special products for the cleanse part? Or is that just a specific recommended way of eating? As I recall Arbonne was a beauty products company, but perhaps they've expanded their horizons into the diet products industry.4 -
Really it is just the change of scale. It sounds as though your weigh didn't change.
It is hard to accept but scales give different readings.
I had to get a new scale part way through my weight loss. I never knew what was my start weight was, or what my goal would have been, as the new one was a few lbs up.
Guess what, 7 years later it doesn't matter. I could have lost 25 lbs or 35. I will never know. What I do know is that I have the fitness, health, and body, that I was aiming for.
I didn't tatto my weight and goal on my forehead so no one else knows that I may be under or over my original goal either.
Go with the calorie goal MFP set you and eat back the apropriate amount of exercise calories. Using any type of tracker is only an estimate, treat it as such, and adjust from your real life results. (I never bothered with a fit bit. I used the MFP estimates, quite accurate for what I was doing, and adjusted)
If you are still menstruating you may want to use a weight trend tracker like libra or happy scale so you can track when water retention is masking losses.
Cheers, h.5 -
Thanks for the tips and advice. I realize that the two scales weigh differently and I weigh about 1.5 pounds lower than I did 5 weeks ago on the old scale. As for this being my maintenance caloric intake, I think that it's already pretty low at 1430 calories and I was at 1200 for a few weeks with no loss, just fatigue and lack of energy, 1200 wasn't enough. I think my body wrnt into starvation mode. I am 5'7" and not petite. My goal weight is 155, at that weight I am strong, lower than that I feel weak and emaciated and I know I cannot maintain it. I could try maybe eating less of my exercise calories back and I am getting a fit bit to keep better track of my expenditures. Thanks again. ☺
No such thing as "starvation mode" ... at least not in the way you're thinking of it.
Pick a number between 1430 and 1200.4 -
You're probably really close to losing mode--I'd knock off 150 calories a day and see what happens. I'm around your age and also very active, and I am amazed by how low I have to go to see the scale move. For me (5'4, 135ish) that's 1350 calories a day WHILE exercising 40-60 minutes 60 days a week. No fun.3
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Water weight can mask small losses particularwith things like periods and new exercise.
Are you using s weight trend app?1 -
I have a couple of thoughts. The Arbonne thing is likely one of those that cleans out your bowels and maybe even dehydrated you. I am unfamiliar with it so I could be wrong just going with what I know in general about cleanses. So the 5 - 8 pounds lost may have been deceiving. You are likely losing fat now but your body has put back the water and your bowels are likely functioning normally which means some weight in them again. What I am saying is the Arbonne cleanse may have taken you down say 6 pounds and then as you began eating again you replenished the lost fecal matter and water of maybe 4 pounds. The other thing is that we all have different requirements for calories although at your height and age I think you are where you should be to lose. Right now I am 5'5" and I am on 1290 calories a day. That is to lose .5 pounds a week. I am losing right around that. But I am 61 years old. I have a desk job and walk daily for exercise. My maintenance will be around 1450 - 1500. If you have a small amount to lose it takes alot more time. Hang in there you are doing all the right things.5
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Thanks so much everyone. I am down 1.5 today from 3 days ago, so the cleanse maybe the reason for the fluctuation. I'm going to stick with the 1430 calorie goal and the daily workouts and see what happens. Thanks again.4
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OP, am I understanding right that you are currently 185 with a goal of 155 and that you are 5'7"? I went back through the posts and that is what I have gleaned. What is your activity level like--both outside of exercise and what kind of exercise do you do?0
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open your diary1
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1
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OP, am I understanding right that you are currently 185 with a goal of 155 and that you are 5'7"? I went back through the posts and that is what I have gleaned. What is your activity level like--both outside of exercise and what kind of exercise do you do?
I am 185ish yes. I mostly have a desk job, with some days more active than others as I'm in the field once or twice a week. I classified myself as sedentary though. I do 30 minute HIIT classes 5 times a week with a 60 minute spin once a week. I walk the dog, chase a 4 year old and maintain a house and garden, solo. I try to do push ups and squats and dips regularly usually while watching good ole Netflix. I hope to start training soon for paddling race that I compete in annually. I was much thinner before having a baby at the age of 40. ☺3 -
you got this!, focus, willpower, strength! GO!3
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I think it would be worth getting a physical if you haven't had one recently. If your doctor doesn't turn anything up, it might be useful to see a registered dietitian (RD or RDN).
If you can find a lab that does testing, it might also be worth getting your resting metabolic rate estimated--while still not perfect, lab estimates tend to be more accurate than estimates based on standardized formulas.1 -
OP, am I understanding right that you are currently 185 with a goal of 155 and that you are 5'7"? I went back through the posts and that is what I have gleaned. What is your activity level like--both outside of exercise and what kind of exercise do you do?
I am 185ish yes. I mostly have a desk job, with some days more active than others as I'm in the field once or twice a week. I classified myself as sedentary though. I do 30 minute HIIT classes 5 times a week with a 60 minute spin once a week. I walk the dog, chase a 4 year old and maintain a house and garden, solo. I try to do push ups and squats and dips regularly usually while watching good ole Netflix. I hope to start training soon for paddling race that I compete in annually. I was much thinner before having a baby at the age of 40. ☺
I do the same thing while watching TV - squats, lunges, dumbbell exercises of all kinds, wall sits, leg lifts, calf raises. Before you know it you've got a strength workout on the books!
Have you thought about having a body fat analysis? (a real one, not just a scale provided one) With that level of activity you might have more muscle and less fat than you think. At 5'7" a muscular 185 isn't that far out of the range of normal.
And the possibility of entering peri-menopause being part of the issue is highly likely. Once the ovaries slow down on estrogen production, the fat cells start to fill that roll in the body. When I hit mid 40's my heretofore flat stomach started to get fluffy and the girls grew 2 cup sizes almost overnight. It's a real thing. If you end up at the doctor to check thyroid you might also ask for a blood test to check your levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and other hormones. At least that could be factored in (or out) of the equation.2 -
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RaeBeeBaby wrote: »OP, am I understanding right that you are currently 185 with a goal of 155 and that you are 5'7"? I went back through the posts and that is what I have gleaned. What is your activity level like--both outside of exercise and what kind of exercise do you do?
I am 185ish yes. I mostly have a desk job, with some days more active than others as I'm in the field once or twice a week. I classified myself as sedentary though. I do 30 minute HIIT classes 5 times a week with a 60 minute spin once a week. I walk the dog, chase a 4 year old and maintain a house and garden, solo. I try to do push ups and squats and dips regularly usually while watching good ole Netflix. I hope to start training soon for paddling race that I compete in annually. I was much thinner before having a baby at the age of 40. ☺
I do the same thing while watching TV - squats, lunges, dumbbell exercises of all kinds, wall sits, leg lifts, calf raises. Before you know it you've got a strength workout on the books!
Have you thought about having a body fat analysis? (a real one, not just a scale provided one) With that level of activity you might have more muscle and less fat than you think. At 5'7" a muscular 185 isn't that far out of the range of normal.
And the possibility of entering peri-menopause being part of the issue is highly likely. Once the ovaries slow down on estrogen production, the fat cells start to fill that roll in the body. When I hit mid 40's my heretofore flat stomach started to get fluffy and the girls grew 2 cup sizes almost overnight. It's a real thing. If you end up at the doctor to check thyroid you might also ask for a blood test to check your levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and other hormones. At least that could be factored in (or out) of the equation.
Thank you for this. I will check both.1
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