Too many carbs? I can not seem to lose any weight.

Hi everybody!

I'm Kim & I'm new to this forum.

I'm a Female- age 42-- height 5'5"-- 200lbs

The following  shows the breakdown of what I have been eating for 4 weeks-- April 10, 2009- May 7, 2009. 

If my BMR is 1860, then an average of 1277 calories per day = 583 calories restricted per day should mean a loss of 4081 calories per week. That is approximately 1.2 pounds per week.  I have not lost any weight at all. None.

I have a desk job and have issues with exercising due to a meniscal tear in my right knee.

Should I cut back on carbs seeing as they are approx 44% of my intake?

Help, please! 

Thank you,

Kim

Grams Calories %-Cals   Calories   1,277

Fat 38.8  --27 % ; Saturated 11.9 --8 % ; Polyunsaturated 3.1 -- 2 % ; Monounsaturated 6.3 --4 %;  Carbohydrate 142.3-- 44 %;  Dietary Fiber 14.4 per day average;  Protein 92.3-- 29 %

Bummer about the knee.  Can you do some lifting? ANY movement helps.

There's a school of thought here that BMR is your metabolism in a coma, but I don't buy it.  The BMR test is administered on patients that are awake and are allowed to watch unexciting videos during the test.  For me that is the same as sitting at a desk all day in front of a computer, especially if you're having difficulty walking around, so your BMR is probably closer to your actual metabolism than cc's sedentary level.

There's also a school of thought here that you should use the BMR of your normal weight for calculating deficits.  From your stats I calculate a BMI of 33, and to get to the top of the healthy BMI range at 25 you'd have to lose 50 pounds down to 150.  The BMR for that weight is around 1400, which would mean that your deficits COULD be more in the range of 100 calories per day.  The real bummer is that if this is true, you could only have around 200 calories/day deficit by reducing eating to the 1200 minimum, and at that rate it would take 2-1/2 years to drop 50 pounds. 

Shifting off some of the carbs to protein and fat couldn't hurt healthwise.  It would reduce blood sugar swings and hunger pangs.  But I don't think that it would speed up weight loss.  Not the way activity would.

Use the CC calculator, inputting your age, size and an activity level of 'light' to start with.   'Light' covers most normal activity, even if you're not actually doing vigorous exercise.  I estimate that you need around 1400-1500 cals a day to lose weight on that basis.  So 1300 wasn't too far away.  The guidlines for the macro nutrients are fats 25-30%, protein 15-25% and carbohydrates 40-65%.   44% carbohydrates is a pretty low carbohydrate diet.

I'd suggest you increase your intake of fresh vegetables, fruit and wholegrain foods so that you get your fibre up past 25g.  This will increase your carbohydrate intake but in a good way.  If your digestion is working efficiently that helps reduce fluid retention.  Drink plenty of fluids (about 2 litres a day) for the same reason.   Keep your sodium intake below 2400mg for similar reasons and also for general good health.

Other things you can check.... Eat regularly - minimum 3 meals a day with healthy snacks like fruit in between if you're hungry.  And keep your intake reasonably steady (within 100 cals) rather than going very high some days and very low on others.  These things are designed to give you a steady intake of energy and I've found that helps weight-loss.

Finally... exercise.  Be as active as your injury allows.  If your knee can't be used try to find exercises that use the upper body or which support your weight e.g. swimming.

Moved from duplicate thread:

--------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------

cs17
May 08 2009 14:31

I eat alot of carbs a day (probably more then I should) and I dont have a problem losing weight, and I also eat roughly 1200 calories a day.

 I would try dropping the fat a little bit and add more Fibre.

Fat - 10% (Olive Oil, Nuts, Seeds)

Grains- 30% (Cereal, Breakfast Cereal (oatmeal etc), Potatoes, Pasta, Rice)

Milk & Dairy products - 15% (Always choose low fat. i.e. Skim Milk, Reduced Fat etc)

Meat, Fish, Alternatives - 15% (meat, eggs, beans (lentils, kidney etc)

Fruits & Veggies - 30%

not sure if that helps but its basically the food triangle. It's the % of what you should eat everyday, always try to "balance" your meals.

--------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------

I averaged about 1772 calories/day (about a 500 cal/day deficit) for about the same period.  My carbs were 46%, my protein was 18.2%, and fat 31.1% (alcohol makes up the balance of 4.7%) and I have been losing weight steadily.  My fiber is considerably higher (28 g fiber/day), so that may be an important factor for me.  Could you up the quantity of grains/vegies in your carbohydrate portion?

I hesitate to ask if you are confident you are logging your calories accurately?  Do you weigh/measure everything you eat?  Everyone takes umbrage at this question, but truly, I believe it is the most common reason for not losing weight.  Well, maybe overestimating calories burned during exercise is also a factor for a lot of us, but you say you are not exercising, so my bet is it may be underestimating calories.

sometimes it takes a little while, could be a few weeks for some weight loss. I know they say a calorie is a calorie but for me if my carbs get past the 30-35% per day I lose no weight and I workout with weights 5 days a week and some interval cardio. 

I can't explain it but I find a 40 prot, 30 fat and carb woks best. I don't get hungry and I have a ton of energy and loose about 1 pound per week, as far as the knee that just restricts some lower body activity. I have had 5 knee surgeries so there are some things you can do. You need to build muscle have a good workout program and change it up every 6-8 weeks. Stick with it and you will see results

 Gi-Jane is right . . . If it matters any to anyone. I am here to support her comment.  As a diabetic you should have  (3) 15 G servings for three meals a day. . . But this is general information anyone should follow if they are not trying to follow a low carb diet.  You my dear are basically at the minimum for a low carb.  I wouldn't do anything any different, except try a little movement. Perhaps, it is time to see a Physical Therapist to see if there is anything you can do to strengthen that knee of yours. It couldn't hurt if you haven't already asked your Orthopedic for a referral to one.

Take care and God Bless.

Thank you everyone for the info & comments. I appreciate the input.  Maybe I should drop my calories by another 100 per day & ask my Doc for another cortizone shot for my knee.

But I wonder sometimes if I'm just not like everyone else.  Living on 1100-1200 calories per day & still not losing weight is just not normal, is it?

For example, yesterday, my total calories = 1157 & I believe it is rather accurate. However, I must rely on the commercial label for nutrition data & I do measure my food.

Yesterday's fat was 28%; carbs 23%; & protein 48%.

Side note: I am not looking forward to Mother's Day dinner & our vacation in France & Italy next month is going to suck.  We'll be staying with my husband's family in France & I'm going to be bombarded with croissants everyday.

Thanks again for everyone's input.

Original Post by gi-jane:

Finally... exercise.  Be as active as your injury allows.  If your knee can't be used try to find exercises that use the upper body or which support your weight e.g. swimming.

This is really good advice.  If you can get just a little exercise in, you shouldn't have to cut back on your cals at all, maybe even you could add in a little, which would help getting your metabolism fired up.

I'm currently nursing a meniscus injury too (waiting for the insurance to approve the MRI to find out if a tear or not), but still able to do upper body exercise.  The other thing that I've found is a Chair Aerobics video that lets you get the heart rate up without aggravating anything.  I admit it's a bit mind numbing, but even that little extra bit of exercise/burn helps.  Just a thought and an encouragement that you're not completely restricted from exercise because of your injury.

By the way, from the stuff I've been reading, if you do take up swimming, don't use the breast stroke, as that's not so good for the knees, esp. meniscus problems - bad bend angle or something.

Original Post by khcambron:

Thank you everyone for the info & comments. I appreciate the input.  Maybe I should drop my calories by another 100 per day & ask my Doc for another cortizone shot for my knee.

But I wonder sometimes if I'm just not like everyone else.  Living on 1100-1200 calories per day & still not losing weight is just not normal, is it?

For example, yesterday, my total calories = 1157 & I believe it is rather accurate. However, I must rely on the commercial label for nutrition data & I do measure my food.

Yesterday's fat was 28%; carbs 23%; & protein 48%.

Side note: I am not looking forward to Mother's Day dinner & our vacation in France & Italy next month is going to suck.  We'll be staying with my husband's family in France & I'm going to be bombarded with croissants everyday.

1157 calories is low.  If you're sure you're counting accurately, you want to be up around 1300-1500 calories/day (ideally at the higher end of that range unless you're TOTALLY sedentary) not below 1200.

Re: the vacation.  Do like the Europeans do (or, at least, what the thin ones do).  Eat the yummy delicious food in controlled portions.  Instead of ignoring the croissant, have half of one and a piece of fruit or two as well.  At dinner, start with soup and salad.  That'll fill you up so that you don't overindulge in the entree.  Also, eat slower.  You don't get twice the enjoyment from eating twice the calories; you get twice the enjoyment from eating for twice as long.  Small bites, savouring each one.

Here you go!  A book of sitting exercises that can really boost your HR.

"Get Fit While You Sit".  It is just a good reminder of things you can do and my friend had the same problem as you and purchased this book.  She had been using it every since.  I also purchased it on Amazon for 4.78Cents.

If you are truly interested in getting in some exercise, I recommend you go to your local library and see if they have it and go at it for the borrowing time.

Take care and God Bless.

Maybe you are made of tougher stuff than me but I feel like cutting calories that low will only make you miserable. while its true calorie counting is the most scientific method to lose weight and it can be reliable (usually) there are also emotions to weigh. If I eat that low of calories, by the end of the day I am ready to either flip out on someone or cry. haha. Something that really worked for me was south beach. I lost 20 pounds in a few months and I NEVER felt hungry. I agree with others that it would be beneficial to find a way to incorporate exercise. If your knee is injured then swimming is an excellent way to work out without putting pressure on it.

Original Post by thhq:

There's a school of thought here that BMR is your metabolism in a coma, but I don't buy it.  The BMR test is administered on patients that are awake and are allowed to watch unexciting videos during the test.  For me that is the same as sitting at a desk all day in front of a computer, especially if you're having difficulty walking around, so your BMR is probably closer to your actual metabolism than cc's sedentary level.

Hi, sorry for the dummy question, but how do I calculate my BMR and what does it mean?

BMR is the 'base metabolic rate'... the amount of energy you need to do nothing at all ie. coma-like state.  The RMR is the 'resting metabolic rate'... the amount of energy you need to be at rest.  The only way to reliably calculate either is to be hooked up to monitors and breathing tubes. 

Use tools like CC to work out roughly what amount of total energy you use up based on variables such as your age, height, weight and activity level.  Deduct 500-700 from that and you'll be above your BMR. 

There's a practical consideration in all this.  People can get very caught up in the maths of weight-loss and nutrition.... BMR calculations, body-fat %, split of macronutrients, calories... and then find that the desire to eat healthily and lose weight becomes something contrived and unnatural.

Thanks for your explanation GI-Jane!

I was wondering because everyone is always talking about it. I just do some exercise every day and limit my food intake, but not extremely calculated or specific.

I agree that if you become very engrosed in it, it can become too important.