I was wondering if there is anyone out there that can't lose weight at all. I have been keeping track of the foods I eat and the exercise that I do and I rarely make the amount of calories that are recommended for the day. I average about 1300 calories a day. When I try to eat a little bit more to hit the 1500 calorie range that is supposed to keep a person healthy, I can't do it.
I have quite a few food and health issues. First, I am an extremely picky eater. There are very few things that I will eat. There are some things that I cannot eat - spicy, peppers, soy, excess dairy, and even dark veggies make me sick. MSG nearly kills me (or at least feels like it). I also have Multiple Sclerosis. This is a very limiting illness. Although I do exercise, I can't do strenuous work outs because I won't be able to walk afterwards. This really stinks because before the illness, I worked out about 2 hours a day and enjoyed it. It was a stress relief for me. Now I have no stress relief. Ugh. Although the main source of my stress moved out some years ago, there are still days that cause enough stress to cause a flare up.
Is anyone else going through this sort of mess? If you have any ideas I will be glad to hear them.
Thanks
Michele
Heres the link to a thread that was started a while back (and still going) of a bunch of people that are trying to lose weight. I think this will help you:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-613431.html
Check out www.sparkpeople.com. Somebody else on here recommended it (I wish I could remember who) and it has helped me lose a bunch of weight. One of the best things is their teams. There are teams for people with every condition/disease/hobby you could imagine. I have PCOS which can make weight loss fun and there are a couple of teams for that. It's nice to be able to "chat" with other people in similar situations.
I don't think that you are eating enough. That may be part of the issue. Your body thinks that it is starving, the metabolism slows down to protect your body...
Really, though, I would talk to a doctor since you have some problems complicating the issue.
Sparkpeople is a great resource! I used it to get my nutrition in order when I was training for my first triathlon. I had a big problem with not eating enough calories so my body would go into starvation mode and hold on to every ounce of fat it could. Imagine the frustration of exercising 2+ hours per day and not losing anything!
IMO you need to figure out what you resting metabolic rate is so that you can better understand how many calories you are burning when you are just sitting around. That way you will know the minimum calories you need to be eating to shed weight with minimal activity.
Better yet, because you have a more complicated medical history, you may want to check with your doctor or have your doc recommend a dietician. There are a lot of online tools you can use, but most of the readings they will give you are just estimates based on age, height and weight. A dietician can give you real numbers based on your body.
It's a little more expensive to go this route, but it could save you a ton of frustration in the long run.
I'd like to add that whatever calories are going into your body, make sure they are GOOD calories. Your body's going to react differently to 650 calories from a Big Mac than it will to the same amount of calories from lean protein and veggies.
I'd like to add that whatever calories are going into your body, make sure they are GOOD calories. Your body's going to react differently to 650 calories from a Big Mac than it will to the same amount of calories from lean protein and veggies.
I understand what you are saying and I agree with it. When I read Big Mac, my stomach turned.
I know I don't have the perfect eating habits, and I have tried to eat right according to guidelines. Most of the time this method makes me ill. I'm not making excuses. I really have tried many times to change the way I eat. I do know that if I don't have a very high protein day, with moderate carbohydrates I get shaky and weak.
Thank you for the suggestions. I will look into www.sparkpeople.com. And I did check out the thread about losing weight, but I didn't see anything about eating too few calories. That's why I started this thread.
txcupcake, I used to exercise about 2 hours a day (before MS) and I gained 40 pounds in a year. That was really frustrating!
Thanks again for the suggestions and help. I really do appreciate it.
Michele
There is also another thread on here, the Chunky Monkeys, that are here to share information and support each other.
I won't ask your weight, but you may want to look online to see how many calories your current weight needs vs the weight you want to be at. Just because one person needs 1600 calories to maintain their weight doesn't mean everyone else does. It is based off your age/weight/sex. I've seen different formulas on how to figure this so I kinda go with a middle number myself. I base the calories I eat off the weight I want to be at in the end.
Two sites I have found with information about how many calories you need are:
http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/weight/calsburned.htm
http://weightloss.about.com/cs/nutrition101/l/blcalories.htm
You never want to go below 1200, because that is when your body thinks you are starving yourself, and it holds on to everything you put in. Also as others said you want to make sure you are eating good for you things.
I would schedule an appointment with your DR and get his advice on what you can do to help lose weight. He can also run some tests to see if you have things going on in your body that are working against you to lose weight. He may be able to suggest other people you can talk to to help figure out what type of exercise is best for you or the best eating plan for you.
As far as exercising, you just want something that gets you up and moving, using up those excess calories. Walking is a really good exercise, though it won't build muscles, but does help burn calories. Have you tried looking into water exercises? Those may be easier on your body.
Look also at how you're measuring what you're eating. Serving sizes are a lot smaller than we assume and it's easy to miscalculate the calories we take in.
I'd be pretty mad if I exercised 2 hours a day and gained weight!
It was awful! I even talked to doctors about it and they had no explanation. One doctor thought I was lying. So I sent him a copy of my exercise, food, and weight log. It was about 6 months worth of information and he still didn't have an explanation.
Apparently I am an anomaly. Some of my MS symptoms are normally seen, so I have been accused of making up things to get attention.
Thanks for the help. I'm going to try the Spark People and see how that works.
Michele
Have you had your thyroid tested? An abnormally functioning thyroid can cause weight gain despite diet and exercise.
Have you had your thyroid tested? An abnormally functioning thyroid can cause weight gain despite diet and exercise.
That's a good idea. It was checked several years ago and was normal. I was tested when I gained so much weight. I think it was close to low, but not close enough.
Thank you everyone. All of you have been very helpful.
Michele
I believe that sparkpeople is a free version of Weight Watchers. I know that every time it gets mentioned on the WW message boards the thread gets deleted! I do WW and it's like $15 a month, and it has been tremendously helpful for me.
How much weight do you think you need to lose?
I need to lose about 35 pounds. It would be so great to get back into the nice clothes that I had before the weight gain. For some reason I kept them. It's been at least 10 years ago that I ballooned up, but I always have the hope that I can wear those again.
Michele
Have you had your thyroid tested? An abnormally functioning thyroid can cause weight gain despite diet and exercise.
That's a good idea. It was checked several years ago and was normal. I was tested when I gained so much weight. I think it was close to low, but not close enough.
Thank you everyone. All of you have been very helpful.
Michele
"Normal" for everyone else may not be "normal" for you. If it falls in the "normal" range it could just plain be too low for your body.
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