Why am I not losing weight?

[julieven]

Background: After 3+ years of infertility treatments (lots o drugs) + stress + pregnancy loss + generally down in the dumps, I finally decided a healthy me was more important than wasting another five years TTC. So in April, I started birth control pills (the long cycle ones where you only get a period once every three months), physical therapy for a neck injury and appreciating the family I have.

By June, the BCP's resolved screwed-up cycles, water retention, and also no more migraines! I got cleared to exercise after completing the physical therapy/torture on my neck. I also took an InBody analysis offered at my work that stated I need to:

• lose 29.3 pounds of body fat
• gain 6.6 pounds of lean body mass (muscle)
• my basal metabolic rate (minimum calories needed to sustain life at a resting state) is 1310 calories

I started a 12 week fitness plan June 11th:

• 2 days a week with Bowflex (strength training)
• 3 days a week 30 minutes brisk walking on the treadmill
• 5 days a week 1 mile walk during lunch hour
• 1500 calories a day

I have not lost a single pound or fraction of a pound and my 12 weeks is nearly up. I re-did the In-Body analysis after the recommended 6 weeks and its nearly exactly the same.  

I have never had weight to lose before. I am trying to lose the recommend 25 pounds to get back to being me.

I do feel better when I exercise.

I do not like the restricted calories and am hungry all of the time. Like I wake up because I am hungry, not fainting or anything. Hungry me is crabby. I am starting to get all emotional when I record my calories, nearly to tears. I don't like obsessing about it. I don't want to be that person anymore than I want to keep lugging around all these extra "baby fat" pounds without the baby itself.

What am I doing wrong?

[laohaire]

Well, I will just tell you my experience. It doesn't apply to everybody but it probably applies to some.

A few years ago I started trying to lose weight by reducing calories and exercising. I did weights and jogging, and didn't count calories at first but just ate less. The exercise was clearly a health benefit for me, and I felt better and stronger, but none of the fat was coming off. Everybody just said "oh, you're just gaining muscle" but truly, the fat wasn't budging. My clothes size was not going down, my stomach still looked exactly as huge, etc.

At some point I read something about how you have to count your calories because everybody thinks they are eating less than they really are. So I counted calories and was SHOCKED to find I was eating 900-1100 calories a day. And more on the 900 side. That's a starvation diet. And I was absolutely the same as before, except for having more stamina, which was awesome, but I felt absolutely stuck, and also felt (no surprise) weak often.

I actually gave up for a while and didn't bother dieting or anything. It was maybe a year or so later that I decided to go wheat-free, not because I thought it would do anything, but just because I had health issues that no doctor could help me with and why not? I had no symptoms of celiac (and to be clear, I DON'T have celiac) but when you have health problems you try all sorts of crazy things. So I quit wheat and its close cousins (oats, rye, etc.). I also quit refined sugar at the same time (I ate all the whole fruit I wanted though - but no juice). It was hard at first to figure out what to eat because my whole diet, it turned out, was based on wheat. But 24 hours after I stopped eating wheat, I had a huge surge of energy. And within about 3 months, I'd say, all the weight came off. I didn't count calories and didn't go hungry, and incidentally I didn't exercise either (though I do believe it's important for health).

For dinner, I went with a formula: a meat (or poultry or fish), a starch, a veggie. A starch might be quinoa, or roasted potatoes, or squash, or cauliflower. A veggie would be green beans, or salad, or broccoli, or greens sauteed in butter.

For lunch, soup and/or salad. I made the salad with plenty of good stuff, like black olives, avocado, feta cheese, almonds.

For breakfast, fruit and cheese. Or leftovers. Fruit and cheese is a really luxurious breakfast, though. A simple plate of grapes with a few slices off a swiss cheese block, for example.

For the occasional dessert, I found a few things that worked - such as cutting up some apples, sprinkling with cinnamon and putting some butter on it and baking it in the oven for a delicious baked apple treat. A tiny spoon of maple syrup can make it decadent, but it's actually quite sweet on its own. (A bit of lemon juice if the apples aren't tart, a pinch of salt if the butter isn't salted).

Well, that's what worked for me - and boy, did it work. I hope you find something that works for you.

[julieven]

Hi Laohaire - Thanks for the reply. This is kinda funny because I have a gluten-free house! My DH and DD are both diagnosed celiacs. So are his mom, brother, sister, and niece. I even got tested when my DD did, just to make sure that undiagnosed celiac was not causing my seconday infertility.

However, I am kicking around the idea of cutting out carbs, since I have hypoglycemia and I know eating sugary or grain-based food doesn't make me less hungry and they mess with my blood sugar, so why do I eat them? The 17 day diet is gluten-free friendly, so my DH and I are going to start it on Sunday. Its basically fiberous vegetables, fiberous fruits, and lean protein. So it will knock down the sugar and grains. And the first phase does not count calories. Which makes me happy, since that was freaking me out.

[artekah]

I don't have any advice but I just wanted to say that you are *awesome.* And keep up the exercise--that is great for you regardless of your weight!

[heatherdeg]

Originally Posted by julieven 

However, I am kicking around the idea of cutting out carbs, since I have hypoglycemia and I know eating sugary or grain-based food doesn't make me less hungry and they mess with my blood sugar, so why do I eat them? The 17 day diet is gluten-free friendly, so my DH and I are going to start it on Sunday. Its basically fiberous vegetables, fiberous fruits, and lean protein. So it will knock down the sugar and grains. And the first phase does not count calories. Which makes me happy, since that was freaking me out.

So a few things stick out here...

First, I think you mean starches and sugars because carbs are in vegetables and I'm thinking you don't mean you won't eat veggies.  I know--everyone uses that term that way.  But it's inaccurate and I can't help myself. 

Second, if you're diagnosed as hypoglycemic and had fertility problems I would be willing to be you are actually hyperinsulinemic.  It goes largely undiagnosed because the doctors check your sugar--not your insulin.  Even the extended glucose-tolerance test is rarely done tracking both sugar AND insulin (and most labs don't even have a reference range for the insulin levels--which might be why the doctors don't bother).  Even when they run it, they often misinterpret the results.  Sad, but true.

You might want to look at The Blood Sugar Solution by Dr. Mark Hyman if you can find it in your library (it was just released in May, but your library may have a copy).  That would be the quickest way to figure out how to eat and exercise to get it under control.  You should feel better within a month.  No calorie counting, no limiting stuff.  Just feeling better.

Hugs, mama.

[julieven]

artekah - That is so nice of you! Not feeling awesome yet, but I'm getting there.

heatherdeg - Thanks for the book rec. My library did have it, so I put a copy on hold.

[julieven]

heatherdeg - I finished reading The Blood Sugar Solution by Dr. Mark Hyman. I am so overwhelmed! Help!

[hedgehogs4]

I find that I do not enjoy calorie restriction - i've been following the New Rules of Lifting for Women:  http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Rules-Lifting-Women/dp/1583332944 - I'd rather increase my metabolism through building muscle mass...  this is an interesting thread as well....

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

[~Adorkable~]

while i have having trouble TTCing i found out i had a insulin resistance, and yeah like Heather said, most labs do not understand how to check for it, so it went undiscovered a few times. and since my blood sugar was fine they always said i was fine. but low and behold my insulin was very high and the extra that my body did not know how to use was running amuck in me. it was causing a slow steady weight gain and it was impossible to loose any and it was messing up my cycles and my dreams of mommy hood.

i went on a sort of pre diabetic diet, not even too strict of one and things started to really change for me. for a short time i was on metformin, but hated the side effects so chose diet choices over meds.  i got things working smooth and wham! twins!  the pregnancy has also really reset my body, i'm doing way better now but do feel like i need to get focused on my food choices again sooner rather than wait for the issue to crop back up.

[julieven]

hedgehogs - Thanks for the links. I know my metabolism is out-of-whack and I know I need to build my lean muscle mass. It is just going to take a lot longer than I thought to get back to where I was. My brother-in-law has lost over 100 pounds and kept it off for 5+ years and I agree with him that you have to keep going until your body "resets" (metabolism and hormones). Once it "resets" I should start feeling it and seeing it.  

adorkable - I am thinking about following just the diet part (no supplements, no blood testing) of  The Blood Sugar Solution by Hyman. I don't want to take medication or supplements for ever without knowing they individually accomplish something. So diet first (with existing exercise), then if nothing happens, go talk to my doctor about thyroid and insulin testing. I know my pregnancy with my DD reset my system/body to a good point, but the ART and pregnancy loss seems to have also reset everything to a not so good point.

[heatherdeg]

I know. It seems overwhelming at first. The book lays out steps--and they number each as "week 1" and so on, but know that one "week"s tasks can take you a month to achieve. Definitely try to take the bloodwork for a baseline. If you have a doctor, the BSS has a document on how to work with your doctor so you can get what you need.

Just take it slow. All the things he is suggesting are mostly things you'd be doing to get on a clean diet anyway.

If it helps, skip looking at supplements for the moment. Break it down into manageable pieces and take it slow so you really get each piece down. But it can be done. I believe the book also has a support community of it's own and their own nutrition or program consultants check in on there (I think they do, anyway).

If something specific is overwhelming you, let's talk about it in specifics--so be sure to post that!

[julieven]

heatherdeg - So, I'm not really a phase kinda person - I just jump in. Anyway - I started a modified basic plan diet (probiotics from plain kefir and plain greek yogurt) on Monday and kept to my established exercise schedule. I added the magnesium and D3 supplements because the online quizzes showed those as the recommended supplements for my worst scoring quizzes.

I decided not to get the blood tests. I am not looking to prove there is something wrong with me, I just want to feel better and I am totally fine keeping to a restricted diet if that is the way to get there.

Anyway - 4 days and I have lost 4 pounds! I am feeling well and I really like a lot of the foods that I have added to my diet. Like they are filling a craving I didn't know I had. I am excited to see what 6 weeks will give me. Thanks so much for this recommendation!

[Revend Brosen]

According to me you are not doing anything wrong dear. It takes some time to lose weight. Keep it up and carry on that what are you doing. I am sure that your problem will be solved soon.

boot camp bondi

Edited by Revend Brosen - 10/6/12 at 12:30am

[heatherdeg]

Originally Posted by julieven 

heatherdeg - So, I'm not really a phase kinda person - I just jump in. Anyway - I started a modified basic plan diet (probiotics from plain kefir and plain greek yogurt) on Monday and kept to my established exercise schedule. I added the magnesium and D3 supplements because the online quizzes showed those as the recommended supplements for my worst scoring quizzes.

I decided not to get the blood tests. I am not looking to prove there is something wrong with me, I just want to feel better and I am totally fine keeping to a restricted diet if that is the way to get there.

Anyway - 4 days and I have lost 4 pounds! I am feeling well and I really like a lot of the foods that I have added to my diet. Like they are filling a craving I didn't know I had. I am excited to see what 6 weeks will give me. Thanks so much for this recommendation!

YAY!!!  I got the bloodwork done as a baseline.  It did highlight some issues I didn't realize I had (and I appreciated that) but for the most, it really helped me feel like I was on a good course.  It was also a way for me to gauge what my food was doing to me on the journey. 

So thrilled to hear you're feeling full.  Magnesium and D deficiencies can really toy with you in so many ways.

It's 2 weeks since this post--how are you doing???  How do you feel?  Are you still on track?