Need some advice

Hi all,

I'm really stumped on why I'm not really losing any weight. I've tried changing my diet around and exercise before and it still wouldn't work. Here's an example of an ordinary day in my life:

Breakfast: 2 apricots, some grapes

Morning snack: 3 tangerines

Lunch: Salad with cucumber, tomato, onion, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and chicken, home-made mayonnaise as dressing.

Afternoon snack: About a fistful of mixed nuts (cashews, walnuts, almonds)

Dinner: Salad with cucumber, tomato, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and hard boiled eggs, home-made mayonnaise as dressing.

I've been eating sort of like this, sometimes I'll eat beans and vegetables, but it's mostly like this. I don't have eggs too often, either. But anyway, I study and work part time, and I haven't had any motivation to exercise. I've been really good about not eating any junk food and I'm still at 149lbs, I may have lost 4 pounds but in a month, I don't think that's normal.

Yes, I know exercising helps but would it really? Or just dig me deeper into this weird plateau? If I exercise, I generally just do an hour on the elliptical everyday. But... with my current schedule and that exercise, I found that I wasn't eating enough because I was so tired. The thing is, I'm satisfied with my diet. So, what do you suggest I do for exercise?

I did this diet back in '06 and I lost 30 pounds, but then I only went to school and nothing else and I'd take an hour walk around the neighborhood.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations. ;)

Honestly... I'd suggest some carbs.  Specially if your tired alot. and about how many calories does that add up to?  Maybe some more protein.

Honesty if you did this diet in 06, and then went of it.... well your back here.  Have you gained the weight back?

It's going to be nearly impossible for any one to give you advice with out knowing your stats and about how many calories you eat and burn each day.    So please give us some more info to work with.

does not sound like much food.you may need to eat more!

Okay, sorry for the lack of information. I basically changed my lifestyle a lot, I wasn't eating healthy before, too many carbs, never fruit, etc. But I did fall off the wagon and I started eating more freely. However, right now I only have 8 more pounds than I did in '06, so it's not a significant weight-gain. I'm still not at my goal weight, though.

I'm 5'2" and probably a medium frame, 149lbs at the moment like I said before. When I found this site, I used to add the foods I was eating and they would amount to 1200 or 1300 calories. Which is what CC suggested for me with a sedentary lifestyle.

This is what the Burn Tool is telling me: You burn 1800 calories during a typical day.

I got the diet information from a nutritionist, but I don't have the money to go anymore. She did scold me about not eating carbs. She suggested once a week eating pasta, whole wheat bread and some other types of food that are carbs which are eaten here in my country.

I really feel like I eat a lot. Today I had a medium banana, an apple, an apricot, later I had three tangerines. I had chicken breast for lunch along with a salad made of tomato, corn and peas. I just threw a bunch of watermelon in the blender and drank about two cups of it. I'm going to have a cup and a half of chickpea soup made with chickpeas, red peppers, onions, cabbage and carrots. It's really quite a bit of food, and I'm not exercising at the moment.

I'm not really tired if I don't exercise, but when I tried my current schedule with this way of eating and exercising, I was totally deadbeat and actually couldn't go on the elliptical. Which is why I'm not exercising right now.

I haven't had any bread or pasta for about a month. I guess I should start adding that to my diet, huh?

i'd definatly reconsider looking at the food pyramid (www.mypyramid.gov)

it has that whole, have the most amount of servings from the grain family type thing going on.

the amount of fruit your eating sounds delicious,
but, there's nothing like a balanced diet!

I think you do need to add some grains and other complex carbohydrates to your diet in order to get the right energy.   The nutritionist was right.   You don't need enormous amounts.  A small portion of cereals or oatmeal for breakfast, a few tablespoons of pasta with lunch, a small bread roll with supper.   Wholegrain foods provide useful B vitamins.  

You should also consider your iron intake.  Eggs, nuts, green vegetables and chicken are good sources but you may need to add in some red meats now and again or take a supplement.   You don't seem to get much calcium either... no dairy products?  If you're trying to lose weight it's good to eat some low-fat dairy products since this helps limit the absorption of fat.  For good health it's important to get enough calcium. 

As for your calorie allowance, it's unlikely that you have a completely sedentary lifestyle.  You can probably increase your activity level to 'light' and therefore aim for 1400-1500 or so cals a day... which will significantly help your energy levels.   Every so often (every two weeks) have a day where you get your full 'maintenance' calorie intake of 1900-2000.   This has the dual benefit of boosting your metabolism (which will get you off the plateau) and also giving your energy levels a much-needed lift.

If you carry on feeling very fatigued then you should consult your doctor.  A physical check may be in order.

I agree all those fruits and veggies are healthy and I really want some grapes now.  But it's best not to exclude parts of the food pyramid from your diet.  Some protein, carbs and fat are necessary... maybe try adding them in small amounts at first as was suggested.

I wanted to throw this out there too - losing 4 lbs in a month is actually fantastic... especially without exercise.  The general recommendation is that 1-2 lbs per week is healthy, and you're losing 1lb per week.  May not seem like that much, but try holding something that weighs a pound and think about how that came off of you!  Times 4 in your case! 

The only 1-lb suggestion I can think of is a 4-stick package of butter, which I guess is apropos in an ironic kind of way.

I guess our weight loss methods in my country are more extreme, since what they aim for here is generally 2 pounds a week. ;) Odd, eh?

I do eat protein all the time, but mostly chicken and tuna. I have been avoiding red meats but I did have some this week. I will sometimes add cheese to my salads but I really haven't had much dairy, no. I didn't know it helped limiting fat absorption. I love having yogurt but it was off limits... Perhaps the nutritionist would have added them later on if I had kept going to her, eh?

Sometimes I'm a blob and I do fit the sedentary lifestyle, but I guess my activity is mostly light since my job/school requires a lot of moving around from point A to point B. I just feel like I eat plenty, though. I don't know how to eat more, because when I do, I gain weight. I tried eating more carbs, I think it ended up being about 1500 cal diet and that's when I gained back those 8 pounds. It just didn't work for me, and I didn't feel better physically.

I should probably get some bloodwork done. I have been thinking about it, but I just don't see why my body is all out of whack if I was just fine back in June. This crazy swing has been going on since August or so. Which also led me to think this might all be stress induced...

You eat a lot of whole fruits which are good.  But they tend to be lower in calories, with a lot of bulk, same as fresh veggies.

Since you are getting plenty of those, you could cut out a serving or two of those and add some whole grain pasta or red meat,  which will be more calorie dense.  meaning more calories less bulk.   You feel so full because most of your foods are low calorie high bulk, if you try a few calorie dense foods you can add a few calories and actually feel less full.

There are a lot of threads about this, and I'm not the most knowledgeable.  Maybe some can point you in the right direction.   I know peanut butter, nuts, and olive oil are high calorie food with very little bulk.    There is a list of such food some where...  maybe the weight gain forum.  (Though don't let the title fool you, it good for people who are loosing weight but maybe feeling like they are stuffing themselves and are too full to eat properly.)

Definitely try to get some carbs, red meat, and dairy in there some where.  It will probably help a lot with your energy levels.  And more energy means more calories burned!

Original Post by gabita:

.I tried eating more carbs, I think it ended up being about 1500 cal diet and that's when I gained back those 8 pounds.

 Anyone that has excluded starchy carbohydrates from their diet for any length of time will tell you that reintroducing them causes weight-gain.  It's because a low-carb diet reduces your glycogen stores which contain a lot of fluid.   The answer is actually to persevere and carry on because once these stores are back to normal, you won't gain more on top.

If you gain weight on 1500 cals it usually means your metabolism is depressed because you've not been eating enough.   The answer there is to consume more food and again... persevere even if the scales show a gain at first.

Try to 're-balance' your body with the right amount of food.. say 1900-2000 cals a day.. and a good balance of all the food-groups.  Don't panic if you gain but keep with it until your metabolism is back to normal  Once your weight has settled then go back for weight-loss (if you still need to) by trimming the calorie intake to 1400-1500 but maintaining the same balance of foods.

Thanks for all the advice. I did read about the weight gain due to re-introducing those carbs and I really tried to keep at it but my pants were too snug and I freaked out! Last night I had a bowl of spaghetti for dinner, so I'm slowly trying. We'll see how things go from here. 

It's weird because I'm not losing weight, but my dad tells me I look like I'm not eating well enough. So, I'll try to do better from now on! ;)