Last resort - $$s on a nutritioinst?

M

maza

New member
I am 28 years old and as I have been undertaking regular gym sessions for well over a year, eating healthy and the results are not happening for me, I have booked to see a nutritionist. This to me is a last resort, I have studied a sports diploma at college, have a well structured fitness plan, have a partner who has been a fitness instructor and have listened to all the usual advice coming from these circles associated with weight loss and nothing has worked.
A past visit to a doctor and a naturopath has turned up no answers for me and my worry is that a nutrionist may not really have anything to offer that I dont already know?
I am hoping to discusss all thoughts with people who may have personal experience of this or the thoughts of people who think they may be able to help.
 
maza said:
I am hoping to discusss all thoughts with people who may have personal experience of this or the thoughts of people who think they may be able to help.
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Do you mean us here? If so, here goes.

First i admit i haven't had your problem.

Second, i think its a good idea to see a nutritionist. What have you got to lose? But i gather there are nutritionists and nutritionists so i would advise perhaps going with one recommended by your doctor or one at a public hospital.

Third, the obvious thing to look at would be to see how many calories you are eating each day. Do you keep a regular diary of what you eat and count calories at all. I would assume you've done all this. But if not, then its obviously what you should do.

If you have done all that and are sure your calorie intake is a good number in comparison to your resting metabolic rate (usually it would be considerably less to create the calorie deficit that enables weight loss), then the only other thing that comes to mind is do you have insulin resistance . You would seem to be young for that but your doctor can test your glucose levels and there are other tests you gp can get done to be sure. If you are insulin resistant, then you won't respond to the sort of weight loss program that most people would. This condition is considered pre-diabetic. And I presume you've had your thyroid function tested as well which is part of a basic blood test. To determine insulin resistance, you need a few extra tests. I am sure there is a ton of info on it out there in google world. I am not an expert on it, but i've just been talking to my neighbour recently who went through the whole process and has been diagnosed with it. So she's been put on a special diet. You have to eat quite differently if you have this condition apparently.

That's all i can think of that might potentially be of use. But it would be interesting to know some basic details about you, like your current height, weight, RMR (resting metabolic rate which you can work out by googling a BMR calculator) and how many calories you actually eat each day. If you want to get really carried away, you can start a diary in the appropriate section and start recording all your food and exercise.
 
I personally believe weight loss is related to genetics. Some exercises work great for certain people but not for others. Same thing with food. One person can do great on one plan and another person can find it doesn't work for them. Genetics.
 
I think that some face to face accountability can't hurt.
Also, It's simply IMPOSSIBLE that you've tried all of the food combinations that might help you lose weight. Nutritionist are really good at this sort of thing. My mom had a lot of success losing weight when she visitied a nutritionist. I hope it works for you. Different tactics work differently for different people, and nutritionist hopefully have a few strategies that you haven't tried yet.
 
My feeling is if you've really tried everything, as you say, then a nutrionist may not be able to help you- it's probably a medical condition and you need to go back to your doctor. It also depends on what you mean by "healthy diet". I thought I had a healthy diet for years and that I was just doomed to be fat. Then I started calorie counting... and discovered exactly why I'd piled on the weight over the years. I'm losing weight very quickly now, and that's despite having an underactive thyroid and polycystic ovaries.
 
Hi Maza,

The words "Last resort" are a little concerning for me. I think people get caught up thinking that you can "fail" at dieting, but really.. it's better to think of dieting as a set up experiment, that are either successful, or something to learn from. "Failing" a diet is not possible, because there is no right or wrong eating habbit. You might just not have found one that works for you. If you think of a "last resort" it will back you into a corner, and you are not in that place. Some people have to try many diets before finding one that is right for them.. and you will keep trying too. Best of luck, and I think for your next test, if you have the money, check a nutritionist out.
 
maza said:
I am 28 years old and as I have been undertaking regular gym sessions for well over a year, eating healthy and the results are not happening for me, I have booked to see a nutritionist. This to me is a last resort, I have studied a sports diploma at college, have a well structured fitness plan, have a partner who has been a fitness instructor and have listened to all the usual advice coming from these circles associated with weight loss and nothing has worked.
A past visit to a doctor and a naturopath has turned up no answers for me and my worry is that a nutrionist may not really have anything to offer that I dont already know?
I am hoping to discusss all thoughts with people who may have personal experience of this or the thoughts of people who think they may be able to help.
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Melancholy said:
Hi Maza,

The words "Last resort" are a little concerning for me. I think people get caught up thinking that you can "fail" at dieting, but really.. it's better to think of dieting as a set up experiment, that are either successful, or something to learn from. "Failing" a diet is not possible, because there is no right or wrong eating habbit. You might just not have found one that works for you. If you think of a "last resort" it will back you into a corner, and you are not in that place. Some people have to try many diets before finding one that is right for them.. and you will keep trying too. Best of luck, and I think for your next test, if you have the money, check a nutritionist out.
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I thought the same thing. Why "last resort", you know?

Anyway, there is nothing wrong with seeing a nutritionist. But, I would recommend sifting through the information you will find on this forum first. I mean, it's free. And, it's the same exact information you will get from a nutritionist - only it won't be paired with a salesman's approach and you won't have to empty your wallet just to hear it. So, look around the forum first before you start dishing out money to talk with a nutritionist.

In all honesty, the nutritionist isn't going to tell you anything you can't find here on the forum. Most of what they are going to tell you is common sense for most people.
 
ChefChiTown said:
In all honesty, the nutritionist isn't going to tell you anything you can't find here on the forum. Most of what they are going to tell you is common sense for most people.
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^.... eh.... maybe... those guys really know their stuff.
Also, they're going to give you charts and graphs and lists of stuff to do.
Maybe you need more structure to your weight loss. Seriously.. these nutritionist guys are pretty good.
 
FortyFour Reply

Hello, Thank you very much for your information and advice FortyFour. Here are some details about me my calorie intake is on average between 700 - 1000 calories per day which I have pretty much have stuck to for well over a year, as well as trying different diets such as hcg diet which was a homeopathic diet taking droplets and a 500 calorie a day diet with only aloud to eat lean meat and green vegetables limited fruit and lots of water and after 6 wks I went from 63kg to 60kg which happened in the 1st week then I lost nothing not 1 kg in the next 5 wks, maybe i didn't do it for long enough but obviously something going on so I have had blood tests which all came back within normal limits including the Thyroid but I have ot had any special tests for Isulin so I will keep that in mind. I weigh 62 kg, 5ft 4ins, and I worked out my BMR to 1414Kcal/day. I exercise 5 times a week a variety from running, I walk to and from work 5 days a week 40 mins, aerobics classes and a balance class which includes Yoga, Pilates etc. And I drink at least 2 litres water a day. Im sorry I know this is alot of info, if you have any other advice I would appreciate it. Also I have weighed between 53 and 55 kg nearly all my life so although the difference might not seem much my body has totally changed and the fact I can't make any difference no matter how hard I try. Thanks again ;-)
 
Have you heard of Cortisol? Its the hormone that is released during stress- so if when exercising the body feels like it is under stress it will hold on to the fat in the body to protect it- does nayone no anymore about this?
 
You need to go back to your doctor. Eating under 1200 calories a day is an absolute no-no, you'll have damaged your metabolism, which is why you won't be losing weight. Your BMR is what your body needs to function before you even get out of bed and even just potter around the house- can you see why eating 700 calories a day is a bad idea?

Presuming you don't have metabolism problems (which you probably do- so you'll need to see your doctor, tell them what you've done, and get medical advice to fix this), given your BMR and activity level, you need to eat somewhere between 1200 calories and 1692 calories a day to lose weight (1692 to lose 1lb a week, 1200 for nearly 2 because 1200 is the absolute minimum).

Starving yourself will make things worse in the long run- if you've really been eating that little for a year, you may have a hard road ahead of you.
 
Yes, further to what Amy has said, you have been starving yourself and stalled your metabolism. That's why you have not seen the results you hope to see. I am not convinced its permanent or seriously damaging though. Start eating more and then you will see the results you aiming for.

I am currently just about 62kg. I am only a little taller than you and want to be 55kg. I've just come down from 69kg. I recommend you look on my diary and read the daily eating reports i've posted. You probably can skip all the other stuff. I've also listed my exercise.

You can start eating similar to me and see how you go (to show you how much works). But do as Amy says and eat more within the range that she mentions. This means some fairly tedious calorie counting but i think its worth it to figure out just how much you should be eating. I don't actually know what my calorie intake is but i figure its about right because I am losing weight and not starving. I am also exercising.

I will be on the forum for about another 17 days and then i'm heading off for a couple of months when i expect the weight loss will continue but i can't get to the net. I hope to be about 55kg by the time i'm back and think i could do it even if i was staying at home.

So yeah, given what we know about you now, I don't think you need to see a nutritionist, or even a doctor at this point, unless you want to find out more about your metabolism but i guess you could find that on the net too with a bit of searching.

You are unlikely to be insulin resistant.

If you didn't know about the effect of not eating enough, i suspect you don't know very much about nutrition either. I strongly urge you to learn about good nutrition. I have some good links on my diary page but you could do worse than reading a few different library books on the subject too. You will come across conflicting information but you should also be able to weed the total fallacy from the essential basics.
 
Thank you Amy1985 - I don't feel like I'm starving myself - why is that? I totally understand your advice and it sounds like I probably have done the damage to my metobolism- so fustrating I know myself after having studied nutrition to a point what is right and wrong trying to burn more calories than you eat, I feel like I'm eating healthy diet having fruit and veg and protein etc everything i knw that is good and if im hungry I will not deny myself a snack! ;-( Thank you again for your comments I do appreciate them
 
I'd rather err on the side of caution with this sort of thing- there's a reason why they say "don't have under this amount a day", and at low calorie diets people run all sorts of really bad health risks. I'm not a doctor or anything like that, but I'd rather say "you need to see a doctor" rather than potentially have some bad health consequence be left undiagnosed before it gets (even more) serious.

I don't know why you're not hungry on that little- me, I'd be starving. I think it's another question for the doctor. The bad news is that you'll probably gain some weight when you go back to normal, but the good news is that tomorrow (or whenever you're back to normal- I'd advise asking the doctor about that, rather than a nutritionist) is a new day and you can get the lasting results you want starting then.
 
monkey said:
I personally believe weight loss is related to genetics. Some exercises work great for certain people but not for others. Same thing with food. One person can do great on one plan and another person can find it doesn't work for them. Genetics.
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I think it's pretty well established than weight loss is more a factor of calories in vs calories out.

Plans/programs are irrelevant. It all comes own to calories.
 
What we mean by starving yourself is "starvation mode" which refers to body function. You probably won't die eating what you are eating but you are eating less than is healthy, by which i mean your body isn't getting enough calories to function at its best. Some organs or tissues are being deprived of nutrients in order that you have enough energy to keep going. And your metabolism slows down to enable everything to a least keep running.

When you are eating fewer calories than your Basal metabolic rate, its referred to as starvation mode.

The body doesn't know you are on a "diet". It only knows its not getting enough calories to function normally. So it goes into defensive mode and that means, shutting down a few less vital operations and slowing everything down in order to keep the vital ones going.

People seem to forget that food is essentially fuel. That is the first function of food. It keeps the body going, just like petrol keeps a car going. You know when you are driving along and all of a sudden you realise that you may not have enough petrol to get to the next fuel station. What you would do is drive slowly to help you get further so if you do run out, you won't have to walk so far or you may have a better chance of actually getting to the station.

Anyhow read this link. This was the best i could find in a few minutes that explains how the body responds to insufficent calorie intake.



You can make a good analogy in terms of time management. But read the link first.

Say you have one day and you have many things to do.
The day is your calorie allowance and the things you have to do are equivalent to your organs and body functions.

Say you normally have three days to do all the same tasks. When you have three days, you can cruise along and everything feels great.

But now all of a sudden you have one third less time but the same number of tasks to get done. Something has to give. Now you can't do all of the jobs that need doing. You simply do not have enough time. So some things won't get done. And those things could be important things too - you know like sending the mail out, picking up some fresh milk, emptying the garbage. But these things are not as important as the other things you have to do today - such as collecting the kids from school and meeting that important project deadline which is today. So all your energy goes on meeting the deadline and because you can't leave the kids at school, they get collected too (but the milk and mail can wait until tomorrow and you forget the garbage).

So when you don't have enough time to do everything, you just do the most important things and the less important things get let go til tomorrow. You go without milk in your coffee and maybe the bills don't get paid on time and now you have to wait till next week to empty the garbage so you will have to put up with some bad smells around.

But then tomorrow comes and you've got another deadline and lots to be done and again you don't have enough time. So you put off some more jobs.

And again the next day. And so it goes on.

If you are in business and you keep this up, you are going to end up in trouble. Sure you can go without milk in your coffee but you do have to pay the bills. So things go wrong. Keep doing it and who knows where it will end. The business gradually becomes dysfunctional. So what you have to do then is get more time. The way to do that is take on less work and lighten the load. Well thats one way. More time equals more calories here. And you have to do that because you can't alter the other factor which is your bodily functions. They are a fixed thing out of your control.

Anyhow, i hope you appreciate now the importance of eating enough food to fuel your body properly.

When you start your diary, maybe write down what you ate yesterday so that we can see. And also so that you remember when looking back.
 
Monster said:
^.... eh.... maybe... those guys really know their stuff.
Also, they're going to give you charts and graphs and lists of stuff to do.
Maybe you need more structure to your weight loss. Seriously.. these nutritionist guys are pretty good.
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Yes, they might know their stuff. But, that stuff isn't some magical information that can't be obtained for free here on the forum or in about a million other places.

Structure is important though. And, some people (unfortunately) need to pay somebody else just to get a little structure and organization in their lives. Personally, I think it's a waste of money, but...if it works for you, it works for you.
 
nutritionist may help identify...

what makes you bloat. But you can do that yourself.
 
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