What more do I have to do??

S

slpknt2886

New member
Hello all,

Ok here is my problem, my dad passed away a few months ago and ever since then, I have gained lots of weight. I was also gaining a lot of weight 6 months prior to his death. So now, I am trying to lose the weight to get healthy again. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I reduced my calories down to around 1200 per day. And I exercise for an hour 4 days a week. (I work with kids, so I play dodgeball, kickball, etc ) About 2-3 days a week, I walk/jog a mile on the treadmill. I drink about 5 bottles of water a day, a few glasses of skim milk, and no soda. I eat fruits and veggies, lean beef, and lots of chicken. But I am not losing weight. I have been doing this for a 3 month now, and only lost 2lbs. What could I possibly be doing wrong. And what are some alternatives that I can do to lose weight?
 
I'm sorry about your loss. It can be hard to get on track when you face a loss like that, so congratulations on sticking with a diet and exercise program!

If you can't figure out where you're going wrong I would start by creating a food journal if that's not something you already do. There are many free sites online where you can do this. Enter absolutely everything you eat. Measure it if you are the least bit unsure of how much you are eating. This is a great educational experience that will help you in the future, and you may find you are consuming more calories than you think.

I hope other members come up with more ideas for you!
 
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Sounds like your actually doing things well... so the only thing I can think of is your diet in terms of WHEN you're eat and what at what time....

Can you give a typical day's breakdown of what you eat and when??

Simple rule also is make sure you get protein, carbs and good fats in for you breakfast. Dont eat carbs after about 6pm if you can and try to split your daily intake of food into 5 - 6 meals...

thats the only thing i can think of... apart from actually doing MORE exercise - HIIT, resistance training etc...

hope this helps
 
You may need more calories for the day. Such a low number may be putting your body in "starvation mode." Nuts, peanut butter, and high-fiber cereals (Like GoLean crunch) are all pretty calorie-dense and healthy for you.
 
CaseyAtMartin said:
You may need more calories for the day. Such a low number may be putting your body in "starvation mode." Nuts, peanut butter, and high-fiber cereals (Like GoLean crunch) are all pretty calorie-dense and healthy for you.
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Nice point - That's why I asked about the 'when and what' for their eating habbits..

If they're only having 3 meals a day - that could mean the body is 'holding onto' what it can as there are long periods of none eating...

We'll have to wait and see what they say about that hey :)
 
My dad just died in October, and until that point, and a little afterward, I struggled with weight gain as well. About a month after his death I decided that life was too short to be fat / tired / unhealthy. For me, my dad's death (at 59 from cancer) was the beginning of my decision to change my life. Until that point, the fear, grief and anxiety that was part of his illness made me gain a whole lot. I'm sad that dad isn't here to see how well I'm doing, but he's a part of the process every step of the way.
 
Shrinking said:
My dad just died in October, and until that point, and a little afterward, I struggled with weight gain as well. About a month after his death I decided that life was too short to be fat / tired / unhealthy. For me, my dad's death (at 59 from cancer) was the beginning of my decision to change my life. Until that point, the fear, grief and anxiety that was part of his illness made me gain a whole lot. I'm sad that dad isn't here to see how well I'm doing, but he's a part of the process every step of the way.
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wow, that must be hard to deal with - I wouldn't know personally how it feels, just imagining it is bad enough!

But I'm pretty sure your father IS watching your EVERY step... keep up the good work friend and stay strong ;)
 
Sorry about the loss of your dad.

In addition to what patsfan said about logging your food to get a true measure of your calorie intake, you might also take a look at your calorie output. For example, jogging/walking a mile, depending on your weight, will only burn around 200 calories or less.

I would advise the following steps:
1) Google "basal metabolic rate calculator" and find one to calculate your BMR.
2) Keep track of every little thing you eat and drink during a 2 week period to get an accurate picture of your calorie intake.
3) Take a cold hard look at your exercise and realistically try to calculate the number of calories you are expending.
4) See what the difference is between your calorie intake (Food & Drink) and your calorie output (BMR + Exercise).
5) Develop a lifestyle that gives you on average a 500 calorie per day deficit, which will translate into 4 lbs. per month. Try to make at least 500 calories of the deficit come from exercise, but not more than 1,000. If too much of the deficit comes from food, you'll starve yourself, and your body will slow down your metabolism.
6) If you run an average 500 cal/day deficit, you eventually will break through your plateaus (unless you have a thyroid problem or some equally rare disorder). I was at a plateau for 5 weeks, and then dropped 5 lbs. in the next 2 weeks. Sometimes you just have to be patient.
7) Incorporate weight training into your exercise, and take a look at high intensity interval training. Both are useful ways of breaking through plateaus and increasing your overall health.

Good luck!
 
wala said:
Nice point - That's why I asked about the 'when and what' for their eating habbits..

If they're only having 3 meals a day - that could mean the body is 'holding onto' what it can as there are long periods of none eating...

We'll have to wait and see what they say about that hey :)
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Yo Wala, hope all is well.

Meal timing really doesn't play much of a factor in weight loss, believe it or not. I can dig some good studies out on the subject at hand if you are interested. A defecit is a deficit, and your body is not going to add any tissue to an already shorted body.
 
To the original poster, TomO had some pretty good advice there. As much as you would not like to hear this, I would be willing to bet that your calories are not at 1200 on a consistent basis. With the amount of exercising you are doing, in the initial stages, that would have triggered some serious weight loss until your physiological survival mechanisms kicked in.

So, the food log is the right place to start.

Also, I am not sure of your stats, but 1200 is probably a little low to start with. Actually, it is probably a little low for anytime. What made you choose 1200?
 
Steve said:
Yo Wala, hope all is well.

Meal timing really doesn't play much of a factor in weight loss, believe it or not. I can dig some good studies out on the subject at hand if you are interested. A defecit is a deficit, and your body is not going to add any tissue to an already shorted body.
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well we learn something new everyday! No need for the article tho, i trust what you say all day mate

Things are good yeh, dont get a lot of time to come on here with trying to build my new site.. but i get on when i can...

hope alls good with you mate
 
Steve said:
To the original poster, TomO had some pretty good advice there. As much as you would not like to hear this, I would be willing to bet that your calories are not at 1200 on a consistent basis. With the amount of exercising you are doing, in the initial stages, that would have triggered some serious weight loss until your physiological survival mechanisms kicked in.

So, the food log is the right place to start.

Also, I am not sure of your stats, but 1200 is probably a little low to start with. Actually, it is probably a little low for anytime. What made you choose 1200?
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My calories range from 1200 to 1500 depending on the day. Typically 1200 during the week and 1200-1500 on the weekends. I started a food log a few months ago with the Selfdietclub.com. And my estimates are almost exact. I chose 1200 because I thought it would be a perfect calorie deficit to lose weight. I think that the inability to lose weight has something to do with stress and the hormones that come with that. To the point in which I skip periods often. So I think I might start to try yoga or something to calm me down.

What do you guys think about the South Beach diet? I am going to start that tomorrow.
 
How is the stress level in your life currently? While you can't gain weight in a calorie deficit, stress can slow your metabolism since it's another survival response. If you say you've been missing periods because of your stress I can almost guarantee it's also the reason for your lowered metabolism.

Are you eating small meals throughout the day or sticking to the three squares? Eating smaller meals more often can help ramp up your metabolism.

Theres no real reason to start a specialized diet if you've already developed the ability to control your caloric intake. Many sources have pointed that lowering your carbs and upping your protein intake for a little while can help jump start your weight loss.

You might be overestimating your cardio workouts as well, look into interval training and as you get more use to that then some HIIT workouts.
 
slpknt2886 said:
What do you guys think about the South Beach diet? I am going to start that tomorrow.
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The most important thing about a diet is find one that works for you, and that you can stick with the rest of your life -- yes, you read that right, the rest of your life.

For decades, I have looked for the perfect "diet". It took me a long, long time to realize that the perfect "diet" really didn't matter. The first and most important thing I had to understand was the concept of energy balance, i.e., if you take in more calories than you consume, you will gain weight; if you take in fewer than you consume, you will lose weight.

Once you understand that, you see all "diets" for what they really are -- a bag of tricks to help you get to and maintain an energy deficit so that you can lose weight.

And when you understand that, it becomes clear why exercise is such an important part of the equation. No matter what diet you're on, you'll have bad days. Not only that, the more you lose weight, the fewer calories you consume doing everything -- from your basal metabolic rate to intense exercise. It's regular exercise that, from an energy balance point of view -- gives you that all important reserve to keep your body on the deficit side of the equation.

Having said all that, your diet (in the sense of quality of the food you eat) is extremely important. If you eat a lot of crap (highly processed carbs, high fat steaks, pizzas, ice cream, etc.) you will find it almost impossible to stick to a calorie deficit. Why? because all that sugar will give you a temporary "high", followed by a crash, during which you will crave more food.

A lot of "diets" move you away from the basic idea of FOOD. They want you to become a damned chemist to understand what's good for you. I think it's a lot easier to concentrate on stuff your grandmother would recognize as food -- oatmeal, whole grain bread, vegetables, fruit, lean meat, seafood, olive oil, nuts, etc. AND, real food like that will make you far more satisfied for a much longer time.

Please don't interpret this as a dig against the South Beach diet or any other diet. I've been on them all over the past 40 years, and I don't have an axe to grind in particular with any one of them.
 
KissMyHuman said:
How is the stress level in your life currently? While you can't gain weight in a calorie deficit, stress can slow your metabolism since it's another survival response. If you say you've been missing periods because of your stress I can almost guarantee it's also the reason for your lowered metabolism.

Are you eating small meals throughout the day or sticking to the three squares? Eating smaller meals more often can help ramp up your metabolism.

Theres no real reason to start a specialized diet if you've already developed the ability to control your caloric intake. Many sources have pointed that lowering your carbs and upping your protein intake for a little while can help jump start your weight loss.

You might be overestimating your cardio workouts as well, look into interval training and as you get more use to that then some HIIT workouts.
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The stress in my life is unbelievable. I work with 150 screaming children everyday. I actually dread going to work.. it is that bad. And then stress from not being able to find a real job, and being turned down due to lack of experience. And stress with personal issues at home and with my fiance, college, bills, etc. It is a never ending circle of stress. At one point after my father died, I would have occasional panic attacks.

So I would have to agree that the stress level is a main factor. If I could merely find a real job. Then I think my stress level would drop immensely.

Can stress really make me gain a lot of weight? And make it near impossible to lose weight???
 
slpknt2886 said:
Can stress really make me gain a lot of weight? And make it near impossible to lose weight???
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I don't think it's the stress per se that causes you to gain weight. It's just that food is such a convenient way to respond to stress. The stress can come from work, or lack of sleep, or hunger, or any number of causes. Your brain doesn't really compartmentalize the cause of stress though; it just wants relief from the most available source. So sticking that piece of cake in your mouth can appear to be just the right thing, from your brain's point of view.

I trying to learn to satisfy my stress in more healthy ways. If I get too stressed, I try to go to the gym and have a good workout instead of eating. That's not always possible to do when you're at work, but you may be able to fine other ways of reducing the stress in a healthy way.
 
Absolute shots in the dark here, but...

slpknt2886 said:
I exercise for an hour 4 days a week. (I work with kids, so I play dodgeball, kickball, etc )
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How intense are these playtimes? I doubt that an adult could get too crazy with the kids, so with that in mind, are these playtimes intense enough to truly be worthy of calling it exercise with weight loss in mind, or is it mostly just going through the motions?


slpknt2886 said:
About 2-3 days a week, I walk/jog a mile on the treadmill.
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For how long and at what speed?


slpknt2886 said:
I drink about 5 bottles of water a day
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Those little tiny bottles, or a 750 mL Camelbak bottle?


slpknt2886 said:
lots of chicken
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How is this chicken prepared? A KFC chicken breast has about 3 times the calories and lots of other bad stuff as compared to grilled. Are you taking into consideration your food's preparation in this regard?
 
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