Unable to lose weight

Tantrix

Tantrix

New member
Hi there...noob here!! First; a little about myself;

  • Male
  • 5'7" tall
  • 45 years old
  • 200 lbs
  • I have COPD with only 30% lung capacity.
  • I have a bad shoulder and can't lift anything over 20lbs with my left arm.
  • because of my COPD; I can't walk more than about a block before having difficulty breathing.
  • Cardio or exercising is out of the question for more than a minute or two.
  • I only eat about 1400 calories a day (between 400 and 450 calories is fat).
  • I don't eat processed foods (OK maybe once a week as a treat).
  • 1/2 of my diet is fruits and veggies, the other half is lean meats and chicken.
  • I do not add salt to any of my food ever.
  • I drink 8 - 10 glasses of water a day.
  • My blood pressure is high normal.
I cannot get below 195. Any ideas?
 
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If you're not losing weight, then I'd say it's 90% probable that you're not counting your calories accurately.

Also understanding that you have COPD, building up to steady exercise is possible. There are several members on this board who have COPD and have slowly built themselves up to regular amounts of moderate cardio as well as full body weight work. Even if you can only walk for a couple of minutes now, you can slowly increase that over time and build lung capacity.

Perhaps you could post a few days of your regular eating and we could look at it and give you better advice.
 
Thanks for your response!! I can assure you that the calories are being counted properly. I use a scale for weighing meats etc and I do calculate appropriate portion sizes...eg: skinless, boneless chicken breast uncooked is 35cal. per once. I take out a small chicken breast; weigh it and multiply the ounces by 35 and you have your calories. I only use spices and about 1 tsp of olive oil (60 cal).

I figure out all the calories (including condiments) using a book I have (given to me by a nurse friend of mine) or I look on the internet and get an average calories for a specific food based on 3 or 4 reliable sites.

I do walk everyday (and have been for about a year and a half) and little improvement has be accomplished with my endurance over the past 18 months.

One other thing I do is keep my fat calories between 25% and 30% of my total calorie intake daily (1 gram fat = 7 calories).

Though I am new to this site, I am far from new in respect calorie counting knowledge. I just want to get down to a healthy 140 - 150 so my health will improve and thus my quality of life.
 
How long have you been stuck at 195? Some people, especially those over 30, have a slow metabolism and weight loss takes them more time. Your regime seems fine though, you should see loss eventually unless you have a health disorder.
 
Been walking for about a yaer and a half or so. Counting calories for almost 8 months. let me remind you that (aside from my walking) I have been rather sedentary for about 8 years or so. My weight fluctuates between 195 and 205. I did succeed in getting down to just over 180 lat summer (for my wedding) and aside from continuing to eating more healthy my daily diet has not changed much at all...yet I have gained back the weight. I wish I could jog, run and do some weight training but with a lung capacity of only about 30% of a normal for a man my age and height it makes it difficult or impossible. On many days I become breathless walking up the stairs to the bedrooms. Even tough I have seen some improvement in my endurance because of my walking; my lung capacity remains the same... the improvement has been in the way my body uses the oxygen...my O2 saturation is around 96% (normal people's is around 99% or 100%). The O2 stats will not improve any more.

I always hear that you MUST eat healthy and exercise to lose weight. What does a person like myself who is incapable of doing a 1 mile jog or do aerobics or even weight training do? Do I reduce my weekly calorie intake by 3500 calories (500 cal a day) so I can lose a pound a week? Right now being on 1400 calories a day vs 2100 calories a day I need to maintain my weight is not working.

I don't know...but I would love to be 150 lbs again.
 
If you are truly eating only 1400 calories and not losing weight, then there is something else going on here. Are you taking any meds for any of your health problems?

If your measurements are 100% accurate, then there has to be something else at play here.
 
I was actually thinking that there may be an issue else where so I am seeing my doctor and running some test including a thyroid test. If I have a thyroid condition that could be a reason for being unable to lose weight. Will keep you updated for test results.
 
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