What am i doing WRONG?

kelli_panzera · May 2009

I started my new way of life here in the beginning of March. I dropped about 15 pounds in 3 weeks, then zip. I dropped my calorie intake to 1200 and started working out every day for an hour to an hour and a half. I have gone nowhere for the last 3 or 4 weeks, and even though i'm not giving up, I just don't get it. I am diabetic and have always been heavy. I feel like my body is desperately trying to hang on to this weight, and the more work I do, the more tired I feel. Some days my body just hurts and i'm not overdoing it...I feel like i'm not putting enough into it! I bought an HRM and I burn at least 650 on a light morning. I thought maybe my body thought it was starving, so this week i've upped my cals before exercise to around 1400 and i'm hoping for the best. My goal is to be fit and to be able to cope with this damn disease, so now that i'm done ranting if anyone has any ideas or advice I am all ears. And belly, LOL. Thanks in advance to all who take the time to read this!

Kelli

amymeenieminymo · May 2009

How many calories were you eating before when you dropped the 15 pounds? I would go back to that....if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

You do need to adjust how many calories you eat as you lose weight, but I think mine has adjusted by 50 calories a day for every 10 pounds I lose. So I am guessing before you ate around 1400 or 1500....dropping to 1200 after losing 15 pounds was probably too drastic.

kelli_panzera · May 2009

When I dropped the 15 pounds I was eating 1200. So hence my problem...there's no going any lower. And even if I could go lower, I was so dang hungry it was painful!

jlhcrh3 · May 2009

Have you been taking measurements? You can lose inches without losing weight. And I would have tried upping my calories a bit before I lowered them, especially by that much. Oddly enough, eating more can help you lose weight. lol

LeanLioness · May 2009

As a fellow diabetic, I have to ask?

Are you watching your carb intake?

That is a MUST for diabetics..................your carbs should be mostly from vegetables, nuts, seeds, berries, some of the lower glycemic fruits and some whole grains, such as sprouted breads...........not conventional breads and little to none on processed foods.

Make sure you are eating adequate protein and healthy fats............will help keep you full and satisfied longer...........

Drink lots of water.

I, myself, consume between 1800 and 2000 calories per day.

amymeenieminymo · May 2009

I started my new way of life here in the beginning of March. I dropped about 15 pounds in 3 weeks, then zip. I dropped my calorie intake to 1200 and started working out every day for an hour to an hour and a half. I have gone nowhere for the last 3 or 4 weeks,

Kelli

You said you lost 15 pounds, and then dropped your calorie intake to 1200....unless I am reading it wrong, but thats what I got out of that.

Even still 1200 may be too low. I really wish MFP didn't allow people to set their own calories, but rather just make everyone enter their input and let MFP calculate how many calories you should be eating. Not that it's an annoyance for us to answer your questions, but everyday there are people saying they eat 1200 calories but they are not losing. 1200 is the suggested bare minimum that one should eat, and going below that could cause serious health issues and starvation. It is not necessarily the magic number that everyone should be eating to lose weight.

When I started, my height and weight and the amount I wanted to lose put me at eating around 1550 calories a day (before exercise).....it has since dropped to 1400 after losing 39 pounds and will probably drop again to 1350 once I hit 40 lost.

Again, not trying to sound annoyed at the confusion, but I think too many people are coming here and starting out wrong by eating 1200, not losing and getting discouraged....not the best way to start a new lifestyle.

CasperO · May 2009

Your body thinks you are living in a Sally Struthers ad and you're starving, so it's hanging onto everything it can get hold of.

Honestly enter all your data including the exercise you are doing and the site will give you a calorie "budget". That's what you need to eat.

We all grew up with this ethic that suffering leads to reward, but this ain't a religion, it's just healthy living. You don't have to suffer - and you will not necessarily be rewarded for suffering. Not eating enough is just another form of abusing your body.

Please please please take care of yourself. Eat RIGHT, not just less - get your exercise and drink your water and it will come.

evie_wundt · May 2009

I think your body is trying to catch up to the 15 pound loss. I speculate that a lot of that initial loss was water/fluid and you're still losing, but it's not showing up on the scale. Stay the course. Give it another two weeks. I bet you will get on the scale one day soon and you will loose a couple of pounds.

stratdl · May 2009

Hey Kelli,

I just read a thread that might give some insight to your dilemma. Look at the following:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/53880-has-anyone-tried-this-just-curious

I don't know if this is the answer, but at least it's one explanation--don't give up!!! :drinker:

-Deborah

hairtender80 · May 2009

HI I'm new at this toobut, I did start having protien drinks in the morning and after I work out and that is helping me. They aren't very good but it will help your body get rid of the carbs and yucky stuff that it doesn't need. I don't t know if it will help but its worth a try.

Good luck!!!

mfinney · May 2009

i know you don't wanna hear this.... but 1) you are seriously overtraining -- you can't work out for that long every day. your body needs rest and recovery time. somedays, you just have to take it nice and easy and allow your body to do without the stress.... and if you're simply doing cardio --- a 20-30 minute interval workout 4 times a week is going to do a lot more for your body than and hour to hour and a half everyday... I promise. 2) i think your body is starving and in survival mode, trying to hang on to everything you put in because it's not getting enough -- your body can't burn every single calorie you put in and survive 3) From no more info than you've given, I'd be willing to bet that your body is burning muscle and you COULD also be suffering from lactic acidosis.... something common in the "overtrained" world... and you are especially at risk of this being a diabetic.

In plain English, you are doing a lot of damage to your body, and desperately need to rethink your strategy and possibly get with a doctor and discuss these things --

We want to see you healthy! Not hurting!

chrissyh · May 2009

your body may need more calories - if you are only eating 1200 and exercising without eating any of that back - your body needs some fuel.

I was at 1200 and with exercise burn - below and stopped losing - now that I make sure I net (after exercise) at least 1200 - eating around 1380 on normal days about 1600-1800 on workout days and I am losing again.

kelli_panzera · May 2009

I am taking all of your ideas really seriously in my quest to solve my dilemma. LeanLioness, I am allowed 160 carbs per day. Most days I don't meet the 160 but I am quite below. Some days I splurge (bad girl, old habits die hard) but I really don't go over the carb count my dietitician gave me. I have watched your carb concious posts especially because carbs are my enemy! And I probably am working out too much too soon. I don't expect a beach body and i don't expect to wake up tomorrow and say "wow, that was easy". I know that some days I feel so dang tired and at least when I drag myself into the gym I feel like I have accomplished something. Honestly, doc said get the weight off...he didn't say how. So while I believe I am more fit than i've been since I was young, I am still at risk for all the problems that diabetes presents. I am thankful for MFP. Some days I just feel like a failure and today I posted because I just needed to get this out of my system. Luckily there are people like you out there who can offer some hope and new solutions to try to make this journey easier, rather than give me a stupid look and say, "Have you tried just not eating so much??"
Thank you ALL, for being there when I needed a rock today!

What am i doing WRONG?

Replies

Categories