The weight WON'T come off!

B

BonnieL

New member
Hi all! I'm new here and this is my first post, so hopefully I've put it in the right spot! :)

I am a 28 year old, 5'7 - 160 lb woman. Since I was 16 my weight has always been right around 145 (size 8) until this past year when I got married and put on the "newlywed 15".

About a month ago I finally got motivated to start shedding the weight and getting back into my old clothes, but my weight-loss plan isn't working!

Here's what I've been doing:

-1300 calories a day (lean proteins, lots of fruits and vegetables, healthy fats...usually split 40/30/30)

- drink 8 glass of water a day

- avoid "fake" foods

- Bikram (hot) yoga 3 times a week (burns about 500+ calories per session)

- light cardio 2 times a week (burns about 200-300 calories per session)

Like I said, I have been on this schedule for a month and HAVEN'T LOST A POUND! Yes, my muscles feel more toned, but my size remains the same (i'm at a size 12).

This is unbelievably frustrating. I have never had any trouble losing weight in the past, when I put my mind to it. I feel like my body is broken!

Also, my appetite has reduced to nil - which is really strange for me because I usually LOVE to eat! Now it's all I can do to choke down 1300 calories a day...

Can someone please tell me what I'm doing wrong? I'm at my wits end!

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help! :)
 
First there is no doubt we can help. I would love though if you could answer me a few questions...

1-List a days diet in detail
2-How are you accounting for your calories
3-What do you do for a living, also what is day to day activity
4-Are you taking any medications
 
Hi Leigh! Thanks for your response!

This is an average day's diet for me:

Breakfast:
- 1 cup of coffee w/ splash of half & half
- Lowfat Vegan Blueberry Bran Muffin (from Trader Joes)
- 1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt w/ tablespoon of honey

Lunch:
- 1 cup lowfat cottage cheese
- 1 apple
- boneless/skinless grilled chicken breast

Dinner:
- small green salad with oil & vinegar
- 2 cups of tomato soup
- 1 or 2 hard boiled eggs

If I want a snack, I'll usually have more fruit or cottage cheese.

Like I said, this usually avarages out to 1300 calories a day (or less). I use fitday.com to keep track of my portions, calories, and protien/carb/fat breakdown. I'm religious about it and never cheat.


I am a full-time student, and I'm off for the summer, so the majority of my current time is spent in front of the computer. However, I life in San Francisco, and pretty much walk anywhere I need to go, so I do get a fair amount of exercise in addition to my time at the gym or yoga studio.

I am not on any meds.

A couple people have suggested that maybe I'm not getting enough calories and my body is in "starvation mode", but honestly this is the technique I've used to lose weight my entire life and it's always worked (until now)! Also, my appetite has really dwindled. I'm rarely hungry anymore, which is VERY out of character for me. :)
 
You know what you're doing, so just keep at it. I know that frustration, but it will come off in time....it really will!
Don't let the scale make you crazy. You are at a pretty good weight right now and your body probably doesn't think you need to lose very much.

Not to get too personal right away, but is there a chance that you are pregnant? Newlywed, 28 years old...just a thought. :)
 
BonnieL said:
Hi Leigh! Thanks for your response!

This is an average day's diet for me:

Breakfast:
- 1 cup of coffee w/ splash of half & half
- Lowfat Vegan Blueberry Bran Muffin (from Trader Joes)
- 1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt w/ tablespoon of honey

Lunch:
- 1 cup lowfat cottage cheese
- 1 apple
- boneless/skinless grilled chicken breast

Dinner:
- small green salad with oil & vinegar
- 2 cups of tomato soup
- 1 or 2 hard boiled eggs

If I want a snack, I'll usually have more fruit or cottage cheese.

Like I said, this usually avarages out to 1300 calories a day (or less). I use fitday.com to keep track of my portions, calories, and protien/carb/fat breakdown. I'm religious about it and never cheat.


I am a full-time student, and I'm off for the summer, so the majority of my current time is spent in front of the computer. However, I life in San Francisco, and pretty much walk anywhere I need to go, so I do get a fair amount of exercise in addition to my time at the gym or yoga studio.

I am not on any meds.

A couple people have suggested that maybe I'm not getting enough calories and my body is in "starvation mode", but honestly this is the technique I've used to lose weight my entire life and it's always worked (until now)! Also, my appetite has really dwindled. I'm rarely hungry anymore, which is VERY out of character for me. :)
Click to expand...

Okay well I don't think that you are quite starvation mode...right now. But I bet your body still isn't wanting to let things go and that you have senstive hormones to a decifit. Sense this is the case, if you really do know that you are taking in this amount of calories or less and aren't losing weight. Then you need to take this a sign that your need to safe guard your hormones and burn off more than you starve off. You are obviously eating low enough to trigger appetite suppression. When you eat to low of a caloric intake for you body needs this will hinder a peptide response in the body, the end result being a loss of appetite signaling due to a triggered "storage mode" system the body fall into.

Best way to fix the problem? Eat.

Another problem is your protein is far to low. Protein creates a higher thermic effect which we can use to rev the metabolism some in a deficit. It also will help in repairing your tissues. This does not mean no carbs, this just means to focus on protein as an important dietary aspect.

Following these guidelines to get a base for how you need to be eating and what your caloric intake should be. It's a great start. Re-post what caloric intake you calculate yourself needing. :)

http://weight-loss.fitness.com/nutrition/13065-easiest-nutrition-guidelines-ever.html

As for you exercise program, you need to be throwing in some resistance training along side your aerobic training.

Look at this sticky for a start of information on lifting, and ask questions if you need from there.

http://weight-loss.fitness.com/weight-loss-through-exercise/11048-workout.html

Final thought...

-Not eating enough
-Not exercising the right way
-Not pairing foods in the best manner

You have solid foundation though, just tweak a little and the fat should start falling off.
 
I would seriously consider going on a six meal a day diet. Don't eat much more food in total just spread it out throughout the day. Your body won't think you are starving and it keeps your metabolism going.
 
Thank you SO much for your insight!

The "sensitive hormone" idea definitely rings true, as I have been told before (by multiple doctors) that I have low adrenal gland function (leading me to have trouble managing stress, etc.)

I calculated my calorie intake needs to maintain my weight using the Harris Benedict Equation and came up with approx. 2300 calories per day, meaning if I were to reduce that amount by 30%, I still need at least 1600 calories per day! WOW! That sounds like A LOT considering my appetite, but perhaps by eating more will actually cause me to become MORE hungry?

Starting today I will:

- up my calorie intake to 1600 a day

- add more lean protein to my diet

- start replacing a portion of my cardio routine with resistance training

I'll give it a week and post back later with the results!

Thank you again for your help. I can't tell you how encouraged I feel to not give up and become more healthy and lean. :)
 
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Hi,

I also think you are too low on calories, it works for a while but then your body does go into a mode where it hangs on to everything you eat. Might have worked for you in the past but it isn't a healthy way to lose weight.

I eat well over 2,000 calories per day and still lose weight. The difference is that I do 45-60 minutes of hard cardio every single day. Yeah it was tough at the start but after a few weeks it was easy. If you have trouble motivating yourself then exercise with other people, I used to run with a group every day and looked forward to it.

Good luck, I'm sure you will get there, be patient!
 
BonnieL said:
- Bikram (hot) yoga 3 times a week (burns about 500+ calories per session)

-
Click to expand...

Just a little question, Are you doing this Yoga in a "hot" room? If so, may I ask why? Increased external heat does not equate to increased calorie expenditure. Only increased water and mineral loss through sweat. Also, how do you figure it burns 500+calories?
 
Hi Trevor!

I have tried several different yoga studios, and found that I prefer the hot yoga because the heat helps to loosen me up - allowing me to stretch deeper into each pose.

I know that sweating doesn't equal burning more calories, but I actually find the heat to be quite relaxing and comfortable (the studio I practice at never raises the temp over 99 degrees), and we stop to drink water throughout the class in order to stay hydrated.

I got the 500 calorie number after checking many different calorie counting/fitness websites. Those sites range in estimates from 300-900 calories burned, so I'm guessing it's somewhere in the middle. The classes are 90 minutes of intense balance, strengthening, and stretching poses - so it's quite the workout!
 
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I would actually wager you are burning more calories than that, but at the same time creating a nice electrolyte imbalance, so make sure to re-fuel nicely when done. A lot of water and half of a banana would be great post yoga.

I would also look into designing a really solid routine all the way around for your resistance work. 1 day a week, while great in adding anything, isn't going to help you really get those results.

I would try to make a schedule of aerobic and resistance work. Like...

m-Aerobic
t-Resistance
w-Yoga
t-Aerobic
f-Resistance
s-Yoga
s-Rest

More is not always better, rest is very important to fat loss. :)
 
Update!

I know I said I'd post an update next week, but with my new plan in place, I'm already seeing results after only 2 days!!!

Since my original post on Tuesday I have taken the advice from Leigh and:

- raised my calorie intake from 1300 to 1600 a day

- added more lean protein to my diet, as well as broke down my eating into 6 small meals a day

- added resistance training (weight machines on wednesday, and actually took the day off yesterday)

and AMAZINGLY I have lost 3 pounds!!! This marks the first time in over a month of diet and exercise that the scale has budged one ounce.

I'm totally shocked. I don't think I really believed deep down that eating MORE would equal weighing LESS. But sure enough my appetite is back and the numbers on the scale are finally moving down... INCREDIBLE!

I'll definitely be sticking with this plan for the long term. Only 12 lbs to go!!!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR ADVICE AND SUPPORT!
 
Congrats Bonnie!
Doing hot yoga sounds like a lot of fun. I could really use something to help me stretch again. I think I'll look into that.

- Sunny
 
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