Advice Please - Hormones, Aging & Weight, Oh My! (warning - long post)
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Hesitant to comment to much as it sounds like you need to seek medical advise. But I’m confident suggesting you should cut as much processed/added suger out if you diet and throw in some intermittent fasting. No more than 14 hours though.1
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scottyaus2732 wrote: »Hesitant to comment to much as it sounds like you need to seek medical advise. But I’m confident suggesting you should cut as much processed/added suger out if you diet and throw in some intermittent fasting. No more than 14 hours though.
Neither of these, cutting processed/added sugar, or intermittent fasting, are needed.
Cheers, h.13 -
Sigh. Not to throw oil on fire and especially when people are having trouble.
OK. Here is the thing. MFP and FITBIT USE THE SAME FORMULAS. The same.
They are both estimating calories spent based on the Mifflin St Jeor RMR equation. They both use MET tables for calculating activity. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE is that MFP assigns four levels of activity ahead of time. Fitbit "detects" your activity and doesn't start with a pre-conceived notion.
The only reason the suggested eating calories would be different is because you deliberately omit activity from MFP or because Fitbit is mis-detecting extra steps or activity or higher activity due to heart beat increases.
So there is functionally no difference and no reason to change the "base method". In fact, assuming that the Fitbit is not broken and you're not engaged in an activity that confuses it, the Fitbit can be considered to be a more CONSISTENT estimator, and this means that it is a better tool to use to do exactly what the OP is proposing to do.. adjust calories based on your body's feedback--without increasing the estimation uncertainties.
So I would stay with the tried and true and worked to date method--use Fitbit TDEE and adjust from that.
Now you said, OP, that you had a weight gain during a vacation and, in fact, your graph shows a major increase sometime after July.
In my opinion your answer lies in the pre-vacation weight reduction you did most recently and which was actually quite as fast as any weight loss in your maintenance level situation should be... Looks like you didn't weight from April to May or so... but you should have data from June to July when you weighed regularly before leaving for vacation... and this was definitely a downward trend and with a good enough slope to take you to where you want to be.
Assuming your activities now are similar IN NATURE to then... I would eat that small or that large of a deficit as you were eating at that time and re-access my situation a good 4-6 weeks later. I suspect it will be a smaller deficit than you are targeting now.
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I would find a different endo who could deal with the thyroid. It’s rough losing weight when you’re hypo and a competent endo should be able to get it in range.3
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Neither of these, cutting processed/added sugar, or intermittent fasting, are needed.
Cheers, h. [/quote]
What do you base this on?
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Gee whizz, quotes are not working correctly.
@scottyaus2732
Meal timing is personal preference, not needed for fat loss.
The amount of any kind of sugar one eats is irrelevant for fat loss.
What is needed for fat loss is a calorie deficit.
Sugar may need to be cut back to reach ones nutritional goals, but has nothing to do with fat loss if one is in a deficit.
Cheers, h.
ETA, I’m not taking this conversation further and detailing a thread.
The debate forum has lots of debate threads on both subject and include research on both subjects.16 -
In the interests of wrapping up and not derailing I’m inclined to disagree with you.
Suger is nasty stuff and can play with your metabolism. Fasting also give the body time to heal and not continuously have to process food.
Best of luck to you.
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My question would be, how do you look in the mirror? How are your clothes fitting? You mentioned lifting, has your nody changed from lifting weights? Some advice I got from a bodybuilder I respect was to go by how you look in the mirror. If you feel you’ve gained weight, eat less..
There’s a great podcast called Screw the Scale by Paul Salter. Worth listening to.
Btw I’m 44, 5’5”, weigh 155, lift 5x per week (4 days an hour LISS), also on thyroid medication. I’ve always been around 140 lbs. until I started lifting 5 years ago- but feel leaner than I ever have (I can see my abs so 🤷🏻♀️). Screw the scale lol!
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Wow. You're good!Sigh. Not to throw oil on fire and especially when people are having trouble.
OK. Here is the thing. MFP and FITBIT USE THE SAME FORMULAS. The same.
They are both estimating calories spent based on the Mifflin St Jeor RMR equation. They both use MET tables for calculating activity. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE is that MFP assigns four levels of activity ahead of time. Fitbit "detects" your activity and doesn't start with a pre-conceived notion.
The only reason the suggested eating calories would be different is because you deliberately omit activity from MFP or because Fitbit is mis-detecting extra steps or activity or higher activity due to heart beat increases.
So there is functionally no difference and no reason to change the "base method". In fact, assuming that the Fitbit is not broken and you're not engaged in an activity that confuses it, the Fitbit can be considered to be a more CONSISTENT estimator, and this means that it is a better tool to use to do exactly what the OP is proposing to do.. adjust calories based on your body's feedback--without increasing the estimation uncertainties.
So I would stay with the tried and true and worked to date method--use Fitbit TDEE and adjust from that.
Now you said, OP, that you had a weight gain during a vacation and, in fact, your graph shows a major increase sometime after July.
Thank you so much for detailing all of this.
Yes - that major spike in early August was the post-vacation weigh in.
In April to May, I was so incredibly frustrated that in fact I only weighed in once a week during that time, instead of daily. So I have data, just weekly not daily. (And I always record my intake - except on vacation).
In my opinion your answer lies in the pre-vacation weight reduction you did most recently and which was actually quite as fast as any weight loss in your maintenance level situation should be... Looks like you didn't weight from April to May or so... but you should have data from June to July when you weighed regularly before leaving for vacation... and this was definitely a downward trend and with a good enough slope to take you to where you want to be.Assuming your activities now are similar IN NATURE to then... I would eat that small or that large of a deficit as you were eating at that time and re-access my situation a good 4-6 weeks later. I suspect it will be a smaller deficit than you are targeting now.
This is along the lines with what I was thinking. When I look at my graph now, it does show a consistent downward trend pre-vacation. I guess I get spooked now given that I'm already hovering slightly above where I want to be, and I'm finding it more difficult to get back down into my preferred weight zone.
And at the risk of being chastised for omitting information
, I did start back up my weight training again at the end of July. I've been around the forums enough to know that adding new exercise can increase water retention.
I really do appreciate all of you seasoned veterans and your insight. It helps to have others review the situation and point out things we may not be able to see.
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Lolalikeslolagets wrote: »My question would be, how do you look in the mirror? How are your clothes fitting? You mentioned lifting, has your nody changed from lifting weights? Some advice I got from a bodybuilder I respect was to go by how you look in the mirror. If you feel you’ve gained weight, eat less..
There’s a great podcast called Screw the Scale by Paul Salter. Worth listening to.
Btw I’m 44, 5’5”, weigh 155, lift 5x per week (4 days an hour LISS), also on thyroid medication. I’ve always been around 140 lbs. until I started lifting 5 years ago- but feel leaner than I ever have (I can see my abs so 🤷🏻♀️). Screw the scale lol!
Well, I was getting a bit soft & squishy for my liking, as I had let the weights slide for a long time. I started back up again and I do like the tightening and definition I'm starting to see again. I don't hate the way I look in the mirror, but the majority of my jeans don't fit. It's part vanity, part wanting my clothes to fit again. I want to look in the mirror and not see "chubby".3 -
@krael65
Yeah I hear you! We’re our own worst critics..! I took a video the other day of myself doing dips at the gym (which took me years to do unassisted) but instead of thinking, holy *#i@& I look strong, all I could think was that my elbows looked old 😂 maybe it’s better to focus on the parts we like about ourselves. Hard to do though! (Edited because I messed up the reply/quote part)3 -
Wow. You're good!Sigh. Not to throw oil on fire and especially when people are having trouble.
OK. Here is the thing. MFP and FITBIT USE THE SAME FORMULAS. The same.
They are both estimating calories spent based on the Mifflin St Jeor RMR equation. They both use MET tables for calculating activity. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE is that MFP assigns four levels of activity ahead of time. Fitbit "detects" your activity and doesn't start with a pre-conceived notion.
The only reason the suggested eating calories would be different is because you deliberately omit activity from MFP or because Fitbit is mis-detecting extra steps or activity or higher activity due to heart beat increases.
So there is functionally no difference and no reason to change the "base method". In fact, assuming that the Fitbit is not broken and you're not engaged in an activity that confuses it, the Fitbit can be considered to be a more CONSISTENT estimator, and this means that it is a better tool to use to do exactly what the OP is proposing to do.. adjust calories based on your body's feedback--without increasing the estimation uncertainties.
So I would stay with the tried and true and worked to date method--use Fitbit TDEE and adjust from that.
Now you said, OP, that you had a weight gain during a vacation and, in fact, your graph shows a major increase sometime after July. Thank you so much for detailing all of this.
Yes - that major spike in early August was the post-vacation weigh in.
In April to May, I was so incredibly frustrated that in fact I only weighed in once a week during that time, instead of daily. So I have data, just weekly not daily. (And I always record my intake - except on vacation).
In my opinion your answer lies in the pre-vacation weight reduction you did most recently and which was actually quite as fast as any weight loss in your maintenance level situation should be... Looks like you didn't weight from April to May or so... but you should have data from June to July when you weighed regularly before leaving for vacation... and this was definitely a downward trend and with a good enough slope to take you to where you want to be.Assuming your activities now are similar IN NATURE to then... I would eat that small or that large of a deficit as you were eating at that time and re-access my situation a good 4-6 weeks later. I suspect it will be a smaller deficit than you are targeting now.
This is along the lines with what I was thinking. When I look at my graph now, it does show a consistent downward trend pre-vacation. I guess I get spooked now given that I'm already hovering slightly above where I want to be, and I'm finding it more difficult to get back down into my preferred weight zone.
And at the risk of being chastised for omitting information , I did start back up my weight training again at the end of July. I've been around the forums enough to know that adding new exercise can increase water retention.
I really do appreciate all of you seasoned veterans and your insight. It helps to have others review the situation and point out things we may not be able to see.
You have some time when you started weight training where you were not weighing yourself daily (vacation time?). The spike corresponds with that too. Water retention with lifting can last 4-6 weeks. Give it a bit more time. Have patience.1 -
@nutmegoreo - that makes sense. Thanks again everyone for all of your input!0
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I just sync MFP and my Fitbit. I let steps come over but don't add any extra for them (just whatever credit it gives me). I have read that to do both is to double count.
Wanted to come back to this post because I think you might be confused on how the MFP and FitBit syncs work. Are you saying you let the two programs sync and adjust the step count but you don’t eat back any additional calories earned from FitBit because you think it is double counting?
If so that’s incorrect. The syncing process is a true up of what MFP thought you’d burn based on the activity level you chose and your stats that you entered, and what FitBit says you actually burn - inclusive of purposeful exercise and daily activity. You should be eating those back it is not double counting.
What activity level have you chosen?
What is your typical daily step count?
What is your typical daily calorie burn from FitBit?
Have you enabled negative calorie adjustments for days when you truly are less active?1 -
Thank you for your reply. Actually, my thyroid levels are in the normal range. That's why he took me off of the medication, and also why he's not that concerned about my weight "issues", as I'm actually within a normal BMI. From his standpoint, it's not a medical issue.rheddmobile wrote: »I would find a different endo who could deal with the thyroid. It’s rough losing weight when you’re hypo and a competent endo should be able to get it in range.0 -
Has your endogenous thyroxine level remained within normal range without medication though?0
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I stopped taking the levothyroxine on July 7, so I've been off of it for 2 months. These are my labs.Has your endogenous thyroxine level remained within normal range without medication though?
EDIT: I was hyperthyroid (Graves disease) for several years (late 90s to mid 2000s) then in remission (normal levels, no meds) until last fall.
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Following this post avidly as it could be written by me LOL, I'm a long term maintainer - or HAD been until recently!
OP you are at a healthy/low weight for your height - I'm the same height (and similar age), although for me anything below 125 and I look gaunt and unhealthy, but everyone carries weight differently/differing body types so that part is relative and personal.
You know what to do by the sound of it and are doing it, so have faith, just like I will - when we don't have much to lose its slow going at the best of time.
All the best.
Ruth1 -
LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »Following this post avidly as it could be written by me LOL, I'm a long term maintainer - or HAD been until recently!
OP you are at a healthy/low weight for your height - I'm the same height (and similar age), although for me anything below 125 and I look gaunt and unhealthy, but everyone carries weight differently/differing body types so that part is relative and personal.
You know what to do by the sound of it and are doing it, so have faith, just like I will - when we don't have much to lose its slow going at the best of time.
All the best.
Ruth
Thanks Ruth!
It is interesting how we all carry our weight differently. I sometimes wonder if since I'm not "well endowed" up top, I need a lower body weight to account for that compared to other women who may be more well endowed. I also wear a larger clothing size (jeans, anyway) than most women report who have my stats (height and weight). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Interesting, but something I've accepted.
Your posts have also resonated with me. Yes, we know what to do. And fortunately, with age comes wisdom. And patience! All the best to you as well! 1 -
@krael65 well I am of the well endowed type plus I have broad shoulders, wider hips - so bone structure counts as well. I really think I WAS meant to turn out taller than I did LOL, my sis is 5ft 9!
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