fustrated that nothing is changing

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Im just under 13 stone 5'2" 54 peri menopausal. Since January I have been exercising, cutting down. I dont drink alcohol, I dont eat after 6pm, Ive recently cut down on my dairy, Im careful what and how much I eat due to reflux. My portions are smaller than before. I eat more protein.

I have PT and exercise with swimming x3 times a week total (and I put a lot of effort in)and spend a lot of time on my feet.

Yet my weight is the same, to confirm too my size is exactly the same too. (I was so upset to measure myself earlier to check this)

I would of thought my body would of lost at least half a stone since January for goodness sake

The exercise is exhausting me and I do ache loads so I am putting effort in. My PT is excellent and really works me. I cannot do anymore it takes 2 days to recover and I have to work etc. (Yes, I need to discuss this with him).

Its like my body is fighting to hold onto my fat. My sleep is excellent and my stress level is normal. There is nothing physically wrong with my all my bloods are good. I recently had full tests and everything is good.

Husband cant understand he is fit and skinny and is also puzzled to why I havent lost any weight. I should be around 9.5 stone

Without going onto a total fast and starving myself (which will really mess me up) is there any hope that I will get to size 12 in my lifetime again?

I need some help on this please.

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,784 Member

    Right, csplatt.

    I looked at her FOOD diary here and it is blank.

    Ms. Floppy, without a ballpark idea of your food intake you won't be inclined to eat less - which is what is needed to lose weight.

    You can't out-exercise your fork. If you haven't lost any weight in six months, you need to eat less.

  • BostonBill99
    BostonBill99 Posts: 29 Member

    Floppy,

    Been at this my whole life (I am 69). Lost over 100 lbs…twice, and gained it back. This time, I am down 53 lbs and I think I have found the secrets - planning and sacrifice. You must plan your meals every day for the next day, never exceed 2000 calories. Limit your carbs; my daily carbs are less than 1/4 of my total caloric intake, sometimes 1/8. I gave up bread and starches (potatoes, etc.) Fasting doesn't work, been there. Starving yourself makes your body switch to survival mode after the first few days and again, you'll lose nothing AND get sick. You need a new mindset - its not the same old game. Your PT is great, but you need to plan to eat and eat your plan, and limit the carbs. It will work.

  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,816 Member

    If you are not losing weight, then you know what your current calorie maintenance level is. Log your meals and all snacks for a few weeks to see how many calories you are eating. Then reduce that amount by 250-500 calories as a daily goal. Weigh or measure every bite, at least at first. Estimating amounts does not work well, because people tend to underestimate how much they are eating and overestimate how many calories they burn with exercise.

    You may actually be losing some weight, but the heavy exercise you are doing may be causing your body to retain water to rebuild muscle. If your weight is fluctuating a lot, that may be why.

  • floppybackend
    floppybackend Posts: 57 Member

    I used to log a lot but havent in a long while. I have added in today as a typical day.

  • floppybackend
    floppybackend Posts: 57 Member

    Thank you. Yes we eat extremely well here from scratch and mainly organic. We live on a farm so good quality meat, good and plentyful veg and salads. Im big into planning and having a good healthy fridge. I am so much more careful with carbs and starches compared to a few years ago. Compared to my eating say 1 year ago my portion size is a lot smaller.

  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 15,323 Member

    Eating a smaller portion is neither necessary nor sufficient in order to eat less calories.

    What is in the portion counts.

    The balance of calories in and out determines the direction of your weight.

    Intense exercise may or may not burn more calories than less intense activity when you consider the totality of the week.

    Understand: this is not discussing what is better for your short or long term health.

    I'm just stating than one hour of intense exercise that knocks you into "I'm dragging myself though the day" status for two days MIGHT get your total caloric burn over the two days to something less, not something more, than what you might have burned by less intense activity.

    Potentially.

    I.e. this is not something that is known to have happened but something that you should consider whether it has happened.

    Also exercise burns seldom give permission for extra eating.

    Again not advocating to not exercise.

    Just advocating that Calories are what determine the trajectory and if the trajectory is most important the caloric balance needs to move to primacy in terms of your consideration.

  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 15,323 Member
    edited June 5

    Earlier today I said:

    Also exercise burns seldom give permission for extra eating.
    Again not advocating to not exercise

    A fairly important word is missing changing my intended meaning: also exercise burns seldom give permission for excess (as in excessive) extra eating.

    It sure sounded nicer in my head!

    Given that I am an advocate of eating back the actual amount of additional calories generated by exercise such that one ends up achieving one's reasonably selected deficit — and not either a much smaller or much larger deficit… the missing word and change in meaning were unintentional!

    Given how wholesome your diet appears to be I would suggest, at the very least, some trial logging concentrating in particular on higher calorie items.

    Weighing how much coleslaw I used for my salad at the fish and chip shop a couple of days back (53 Calories worth) was much less of a concern as opposed to weighing the dressing "on the side" that I added to that slaw mix (and which I also used to dip my chips in!)… cause the dressing was 189 Calories all by itself…

  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,660 Member

    @PAV8888 gets it. It pays to refeed conservatively.

  • ddsb1111
    ddsb1111 Posts: 1,051 Member

    It sounds like you’re doing a great job focusing on food quality, which matters a lot for your health, energy, and overall well being. But if we’re talking strictly about fat loss, quality isn’t the driver, calories are. That’s the part most people miss, even when eating clean, organic, or farm fresh.

    You could eat the most nutrient dense meals in the world and still not lose weight (even gain weight!) if you’re not in a calorie deficit. On the flip side, someone could eat processed food and still lose weight if they’re eating fewer calories than they burn (though they’d feel worse and perform worse doing it that way).

    So yes, keep the organic, the planning, the vegetables, that’s all great for your health. But if fat loss is the goal, you need to track total energy intake. Portion sizes may be smaller than a year ago, but that doesn’t guarantee a deficit.

    This is the hard truth most of the wellness world avoids: food quality is important for how you feel, but quantity is what controls your weight. Once you internalize that, everything becomes much more clear and effective.

  • age_is_just_a_number
    age_is_just_a_number Posts: 1,028 Member

    check out this thread

    Setting calorie goal weight loss post menopause — MyFitnessPal.com

    I posted a reply with links to research I've done.

    Menopause is a kicker that people warn us about, but doesn't seem real until we get there and realize, oh crap, this is actually happening and I'm getting this symptom and that symptom…etc. Weight management in menopause is more difficult than before. Not impossible, but more difficult for sure.