Advice on painfully slow weight loss

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Hi Guys I joined slimming world on 23rd September last year. First week 8.5lbs lost simve then so 5 months I've lost 1 stone more. I have an underactive thyroid but have had full bloods done and my levels are all okay however I'm very deficient in vitamin d so have been put on a dosage of 4000 iu a day for 10 weeks but it's making me very constipated and for the past 2 weeks I feel so tired and lethargic.....I have no get up and go. I don't want to take laxatives....I did last week once and it did the trick but since then I've hardly been to the loo (sorry tmi). When will the vitamin d kick in and how can I speed up weight loss. I have a good balanced diet lots of veg lean meat not much carbs. Any advice would be very welcome. I have over 12 stone to loose so would expect to have lost around 3 stone by now. I love slimming world and my group is so supportive but most people who go have 3 or 4 stone to loose and I know I have to do that 3 times over it's hard sometimes to ever see me hit my goal.

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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Are you also counting calories or are you just doing Slimming World?
  • xLyric
    xLyric Posts: 840 Member
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    Speed up weight loss by eating less or moving more (or both).
  • Lesscookies1
    Lesscookies1 Posts: 250 Member
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    Do you use a food scale ? I second the counting calories question.
  • drivingahead
    drivingahead Posts: 47 Member
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    I do both count calories and use a scale.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    I do both count calories and use a scale.

    What's your current calorie goal and how much are you losing on average per week?

    If you open your diary, we may be able to help with more specific advice.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,867 Member
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    It sounds like you're very tired and not moving much.

    This reduces your calories out. And slows weight loss. Till your health issues get resolved moving more may not be an easy option.

    It also sounds like you're constipated. This makes your weight level appear to be higher than it really is.

    Slimming world apparently tries to reduce your calories by steering you towards quote unquote good foods that are free to eat and which in their repertoire include pasta and rice which I personally find easy to over eat.

    They are also trying to reduce your reliance on quote unquote bad foods by assigning them a sin value and only allowing you a limited number of sins.

    Hopefully by making these "better" choices you will have a caloric deficit and lose weight.

    In my books there's only two kinds of foods: foods on which I'm willing to spend my calories because the mix of satisfaction and satiation I will get out of them is worth the expenditure. And foods that today are not quite making that cut.

    Other than some funny, in retrospect, experiments, and together with some basic macro goals, this appears to have worked well enough for me.

    Log the calories of your free foods by weight precooked...

    You might be surprised.

    And move more as soon as you can or accept a perfectly valid but perhaps slower rate of loss.
  • kam3190
    kam3190 Posts: 157 Member
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    Thats roughly a almost a 1lb a week in total. Thats pretty average
  • vanmep
    vanmep Posts: 410 Member
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    What would you call that painfully slow? How long did it take you to gain the weight?
  • staraly
    staraly Posts: 54 Member
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    I also have an underactive thyroid. My weight loss tends to be very slow but steady so you sound similar. The following are some things that I've found helpful.1) Constipation is also a symptom of untreated or undertreated underactive thyroid. A home remedy you can try is recommended on the Livestrong website.
    "You can help relieve constipation by using a mixture of 1/2 cup of plain bran flakes, applesauce and prune-juice, made in a storage container and refrigerated. Every morning, consume 2 tablespoons of the mixture along with your regular breakfast. Increase your intake of fruits and vegetables and go easy on binding foods such as rice and bananas."
    Also cheese & red meat (including lean) are very binding. Make sure you are getting enough water & carbs, but not too much. I find the carb ratio here on MFP to work well for me but you might need to adjust a little. 2) It can take several months to get the benefit of Vit D. You don't suddenly feel better: It's more like you look back and can't believe how crap you used to feel. 3) With an underactive thyroid, low iron can also be a problem. Even normal but at the low end of the range can be too low, especially if you have a Vit D deficiency. Check with your doc but they might not be too helpful if all they can see is the "normal" range. Be careful not to get into an iron overload situation if you do it yourself. 4) Digestive problems are common with underactive thyroid due to low production of stomach acid. This can lead to multiple deficiencies and gastric issues like leaky gut, which makes it hard to loose weight as well. Read up about these issues and incorporate some of the recommended measures. I'm currently using collagen powder and L-glutamine while waiting to see the specialist about an ulcer and getting fantastic results.
    Sorry for the long post. I hope there is something in it that can help you.
  • saraonly9913
    saraonly9913 Posts: 469 Member
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    Might want to try Miralax or prune juice.

    Quote: "Slow progress is still progress. Keep going !!
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,009 Member
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    Have you spoken to the doctor who put you on the vitamin D about your constipation?
  • LinCharpentier
    LinCharpentier Posts: 1,122 Member
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    Thank you @staraly what I was looking for was a name so I could pull it up in journal.