Can't lose the fat...what am I doing wrong? (veggies, Alli, smoothie)
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Okay guru's....I'm getting highly frustrated and need help. I have extra weight that I am trying to get rid of and I cannot figure out what the hell I'm doing wrong. It's driving me BONKERS.
Here's some basic info:
Current stats- Female, 41 yrs, around 5' 3 1/2", weight has crept up to 150
Goals - fat loss...I'd like to lose about 15lbs. I have a good amount of muscle but it's hidden under a layer of fat.
Current diet - This is where I think I'm failing but I don't know how to tweak it. I am under a doctor's care for Hashimoto's and she had suggested a 1400 calorie diet so I tried that and I gained weight. I've cut it to 1250 calories and I'm still gaining weight, not packing on the pounds, but I'm up 5lbs over where I was about 3 months ago.
I don't eat processed food or fast food. I don't drink anything other than water, coffee, sometimes tea and the occasional glass of wine. I don't eat beef or pork products because of an allergy and I don't eat soy products because it is not recommended with the medication I'm on (Nature-Throid).
Exercise - I work out 5-6 times a week at a gym doing a weight circuit and HIIT. It's heart-race based training. Have been going since mid-April. (Orange Theory is the place if you want more info on the workout, since I'm a novice and don't know how to better describe it). I have also started adding some steady-state cardio in, typically 3-4 times a week...just a 3 mile run.
I used to work out at 5am and noticed that the calorie burn wasn't where I wanted it. My doc recommended I switch to a later time. Going at 6:15 has helped a lot but I can't continue that time once I'm back at work.
Supplements - None except for a muti-vitamin and additional Vitamin D
Health Issues - Hashimoto's. I'm under treatment for it and it's controlled at the moment. Labs are all stellar except for my FBG...it will be normal one visit and then elevated the next (low 100's). That makes me nervous! They check it every visit because I had gestational diabetes. A1C has always been well within normal range. I do have a lower resting heart rate and they are going to do a bit more investigating with my next appt. Typically it's in the mid/high 40's. It's been like that for as long as I can remember though. I had an RMR done about 5yrs ago or so...and I was barely breaking 1,000 calories.
I sleep about 5.5/6 hours a night. It is almost impossible for me to get more sleep than that, I just automatically wake up and I'm not tired anymore. I've been trying to get to bed earlier but it just doesn't work. My body turns off around midnight and it's up around 5:30/6am. It's been a routine for so long and I've tried to tweak it but I have not been successful.
Oh and lastly...I lost 80lbs about 10yrs ago. I had no issue losing the weight, pretty much fell off with diet and exercise and lost it in about 8 months time. I did not have (or was not diagnosed) with Hashimoto's at that time. I have kept it off for the most part, have gained back about 8lbs since then which is why I'm writing today
Looking for suggestions on what I need I might need to change.
From reviewing your daily intake of food, looks like you are eating quite a bit. You are probably taking in more calories than you are burning up. The recipe for weight loss is taking in fewer calories than you use. Simple.
My daily diet:
Breakfast
1 cup yogurt OR 2 cups watermelon
Lunch
two pressure cooked chicken breat tenders (costco)
1/2 cup mixed salad with light sprinkle of cheese, 2 tsp of low cal dressing
Dinner
Mixed salad (I usually split this, eat half, take other half in lunch next day)
few tortilla chips for crunch
low cal dressing
poached tilapia filet
snack: four or five whole grain crackers with small amount of peanut butter or a slice of cheese, 1/2 apple
I am 5'8", 165, work out four or five days a week on treadmill (mostly running) or elliptical. I do NOT get off the machines for one HOUR. I sometimes swim after working out to cool off.
Breakfast (typically one of the following):
-Scrambled egg with 2 egg whites, spinach, tomatoes and a bit of feta
-Cottage cheese with berries
-peanut butter, spinach and banana smoothie
-hard boiled egg and a piece of fruit
Lunch
-half a grilled chicken breast over a chopped salad
-tuna (this is a really good recipe: Canned Tuna Ceviche | Skinnytaste )
-rolled deli meat with veggie sticks and hummus
-Greek zoodle salad (craving that right now!) or shredded brussel sprout salad
-Quinoa with veggies, usually cold
Dinner
-Grilled fish and grilled veggies
-Grilled chicken and veggies
-Soup and salad (nothing cream based...I'm not fond of cream based soups at all)
-Angel hair and grilled shrimp (stick them on a kabob and they are easy to cook on the grill)
-Zucchini boats stuffed with turkey sausage and tomatos (hmmm, I need to find that recipe. I could go for that tonight)
Usually I have a salad with dinner.
Snacks (usually 1 or 2 a day, depends on how early I got up and how late we are having dinner)
-nuts
-fruit
-veggie sticks (carrots, green beans, celery, cherry tomatoes, cuckes, snap peas...etc) with hummus
-chips and guac (okay, *guilty* not entirely good for you...but I just stay within my calories and only eat a serving)
-frozen greek yogurt (literally...freeze the greek yogurt, take it out and let it sit for 15 minutes and then enjoy)
-pretzels
Fitness is 75-90% food-related. And you're exercising a lot, so keep it up
You said that these foods above are just an example of what you'd eat...so hopefully you're not eating all of that in one day, which would be way too much. I'm sure you're not eating that much all in one day because you said you're at 1250-1400 daily calories.
Take out the feta cheese, peanut butter, deli meat, peanut butter (use almond butter instead), turkey sausage, pasta, chips, and pretzels.
Focus on the veggies, fruits, nuts (esp almonds & walnuts) seeds, berries (esp blueberries), quinoa (an excellent carb/protein!), other whole grains, and for meats yes your eggs and chicken are a good choice...also get some salmon & mackarel in there.
From reviewing your daily intake of food, looks like you are eating quite a bit. You are probably taking in more calories than you are burning up. The recipe for weight loss is taking in fewer calories than you use. Simple.
So would your suggestion be to consume 1,000 calories a day?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zelpha
Fitness is 75-90% food-related. And you're exercising a lot, so keep it up
You said that these foods above are just an example of what you'd eat...so hopefully you're not eating all of that in one day, which would be way too much. I'm sure you're not eating that much all in one day because you said you're at 1250-1400 daily calories.
Take out the feta cheese, peanut butter, deli meat, peanut butter (use almond butter instead), turkey sausage, pasta, chips, and pretzels.
Focus on the veggies, fruits, nuts (esp almonds & walnuts) seeds, berries (esp blueberries), quinoa (an excellent carb/protein!), other whole grains, and for meats yes your eggs and chicken are a good choice...also get some salmon & mackarel in there.
Just for clarification, I am eating about 1250 calories a day. I measure/weigh everything I eat and write everything down. I eat 3 meals a day, but not ALL of that food in one sitting under each meal.
All the bullet points are just examples of a typical meal. Grilled chicken and veggies is ONE dinner. A piece of fruit and an egg is one meal..etc.
Unless there is something wrong with your metabolism, if you eat 1250-1400 calories, you should lose weight.
So assuming your body is "normal," that might mean you think you're eating 1250-1400, but really you're eating 1550-1800 - ish. Oh, and do not count your exercise calories, as most people tend to overestimate and it hurts them in the long run.
So continue to exercise, but don't count that as calories burned, and then shoot to eat about 1400 calories and weigh and measure everything and make sure you're being accurate.
Also, if you haven't already, figure out your BMR and eat just a 150-200 calories above that. That may very well be 1400, but if it's different, then try that.
I am 5'0 and 47 years old and I burn 1300 calories being alive, maybe 300 walking around during the day and such, so I must eat less than 1600 calories in order to lose weight. I have been counting for almost one year and JUST "graduated" to a digital food scale in order to have more accuracy. A tablespoon of peanut butter is NOT what you think it may be by eyeballing!
If you were to lay in bed and do nothing for 24 hours, your body would burn around 1000 calories merely by existing.
With working out fairly hard 5-6 days a week, and eating only 1250-1400 calories /day, your weight should begin to melt away.....
... as long as, IMO, you eliminate such things as the feta cheese, peanut butter, deli meat, turkey sausage, pasta, chips, and pretzels. Those kinds of foods are unclean and contribute to weight gain, bloating, hypertension, etc.
Unless there is something wrong with your metabolism, if you eat 1250-1400 calories, you should lose weight.
So assuming your body is "normal," that might mean you think you're eating 1250-1400, but really you're eating 1550-1800 - ish. Oh, and do not count your exercise calories, as most people tend to overestimate and it hurts them in the long run.
So continue to exercise, but don't count that as calories burned, and then shoot to eat about 1400 calories and weigh and measure everything and make sure you're being accurate.
Also, if you haven't already, figure out your BMR and eat just a 150-200 calories above that. That may very well be 1400, but if it's different, then try that.
I am 5'0 and 47 years old and I burn 1300 calories being alive, maybe 300 walking around during the day and such, so I must eat less than 1600 calories in order to lose weight. I have been counting for almost one year and JUST "graduated" to a digital food scale in order to have more accuracy. A tablespoon of peanut butter is NOT what you think it may be by eyeballing!
I use a digital scale and I almost always go by weight of the food, not the measuring cup, just to keep myself honest. I would probably make it a "heaping cup" if I used measuring cups...lol
I think my doc is going to do a BMR on me with my next appt. That and a heart study to monitor my heart rate over a 48 hour period. I guess she's going to try and determine whether everything is running as is. She's looked at my food intake and exercise as has the dietitian and they said on paper I should be losing weight. I did pretty much the same thing 10yrs ago and I lost weight with no issues...but it was 10yrs ago and I was 30-something, not 40-something.
My trainer told me I am likley gaining muscle, which maybe 2-3lbs okay...but 5lbs? I'm not sure I believe that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zelpha
If you were to lay in bed and do nothing for 24 hours, your body would burn around 1000 calories merely by existing.
With working out fairly hard 5-6 days a week, and eating only 1250-1400 calories /day, your weight should begin to melt away.....
... as long as, IMO, you eliminate such things as the feta cheese, peanut butter, deli meat, turkey sausage, pasta, chips, and pretzels. Those kinds of foods are unclean and contribute to weight gain, bloating, hypertension, etc.
I'll kick those things out of my diet and see if that helps. The chips and pretzels aren't an all the time snack...maybe once every other week, but I'll cut those out and see if that helps. The deli meat is just sliced roasted turkey breast, not the processed/pressed meat. I get it in the grocery store...they roast a fresh turkey breast and slice it at the deli counter...you have to specifically ask for it though. It's not the stuff that comes in plastic shrink wrap.
omg, your trainer told you it's muscle?? Sorry, I think you might need a new trainer. It is NOT easy to build up muscle. I have seen ONE person do it, and she works her ass off. I've seen her at 150 and thin and then at 157 and thinner, so in that case, she is getting more muscle, but I think it's much more rare than people want to believe.
What about your measurements? Have you noticed how your clothes are fitting?
omg, your trainer told you it's muscle?? Sorry, I think you might need a new trainer. It is NOT easy to build up muscle. I have seen ONE person do it, and she works her ass off. I've seen her at 150 and thin and then at 157 and thinner, so in that case, she is getting more muscle, but I think it's much more rare than people want to believe.
What about your measurements? Have you noticed how your clothes are fitting?
Well, I do work my ass off, and I don't use 5lb weights, but yeah I agree...5lbs of muscle might be attainable for an 18yr old boy, but not a 40+ year old woman! LOL
My measurements have gone down a smidge (an inch in the waist, 3/4" in the thigh, 1/2" in the arms, 1.5" in the hips). I might just be impatient, but I was hoping the scale would move too after 3 months, and not in the direction it's going!
I was just combing over myfitnesspal and some other stuff, to see where I could make some changes and noticed that my cycle is 10 days late. Maybe it's there is something hormonal going on? I have an OB appt at the end of August...thinking I should call and make it sooner now.
"Nuts" are great in moderation but it's super-easy to overindulge. Are you eating a lot of them? They're calorie-dense and yummy. I have a handful in my oatmeal every day, but that's it.
Your diet looks very calorie-dense to me. Lots of animal products. Are you scrutinizing the ingredients of everything? E.g., does the hummus have oil in it?
I would strip out animal products and added oil, and up the starch (potatoes, rice, lentils), beans, and veggies such as broccoli and cauliflower. That worked for me.
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