Please reassure me I'm doing this right- I'm tempted to drop the cals a bit?...

I'm 35, female, 5ft 2", sedentary and my BMR is (according to most sites!) 1535cals. I'm following my dietitians advice to eat my BMR, and in the 7wks since I saw them & started strictly eating between 1500-1550, I've actually gained 5lbs?! I had a few 'off-days' over Christmas- 4 at most, where I was away from home, eating out but still tried to make the best choices I could?

For about 6wks before I saw them I had roughly been eating that amount (varied between 1350-1500) after advice here to eat my BMR (I had been eating 1300 or so with no loss either?)

I have increased my 'exercise' from none to about 15-20mins a day of using weights/stepper, but am not using enough to build that amount of muscle- not by a long shot!

I'm hypo, but my levels are under control. I suffered from an ed for years but have been 'recovered' for a year. I cannot understand how/why I am not losing weight, and actually gaining? I'm tempted to drop my daily intake to 1200cals (the minimum) to see if thats makes any difference? Even though I wasn't losing on that either.

I had been determined to keep eating my BMR until I saw the 'experts' again, but I can't see what they can suggest that will make a difference?

I'm at my wits end here.....

I think you should stay with what you've been advised and not drop the calories.   I think you have to be incredibly careful, given your history... not because I think you could plunge back into an ED necessarily but I think your body, at your age etc., finds it very easy to bobble along on 1500 cals and adjust your metabolism accordingly.   And that, if you drop the calories, it seems to adjust down to match rather than burn fat stores.   I'd be very tempted to go with a higher amount and keep upping the exercise.  

I'd certainly be asking the dietician whether there's something else going on... metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, thyroid problems....

Thanks gi-jane, I found it strange that after my 'holiday' I'd gained 5lbs (though I didn't think I'd overate by THAT much?) that it has stuck around, and I'm now 'maintaining' 179lbs eating 1500cals a day, whereas before I was 'maintaining' 174lbs eating 1500cals a day. So it appears that no matter what my weight is- I'm maintaining it eating 1500cals a day?

Its very confusing and frustrating. I know you know how frustrating it is for me, I post quite frequently looking for reassurance and usually get it, but patience will only carry me so far?...

I look forward to what the 'experts' have to say, although I fear they'll think I'm deluding myself about what/how much I'm eating, or think I'm not counting/weighing everything? I know if I was faced with a case like me I probably would think I was 'cheating' myself somehow?

You see I wonder if you have to pace this really gently.....  You were maintaining on 1900 a while back if I remember rightly?   Your body did adjust 'up' quite well for a time.    So maybe you have to have another couple of months at 1900 cals ..... then a month at 1500 with extra exercise (lose 2 or 3 lbs maybe) ... then back to 1900 for two months.   You see what I mean?  A sort of 'cycling calories' exercise but rather bigger cycles.   And if you keep the exercising up as a regular thing along the way, you might find your body changes shape, if not actually losing weight.

I see where you're coming from. I tried the maintenence calories for a few months but slightly overestimated my intake and ended up gaining quite a bit (11lbs eating 1900-2000cals when I 'should' have been having around 1800cals- not a huge difference but it added up?)

Do you think the dietician will suggest I up for a few months to 1800 or so get my body used to an increased intake then drop it again? I'm reluctant to try that just yet (I want to show them I can do it their way iykwim?) but it sounds like a plan. Just a lot of wasted time over the past 6mths if that did work! LOL! I'm not that bothered about the 'shape' of my body at the minute (body control undies work wonders!) but I need to get my weight out of the 'obese' range?

I thought you were losing on 2000cal when your body got used to it?

Nope. I haven't lost anything in months. I tried eating maintenence to 'fix' my metabolism, but overestimated slightly (took myself as 'average' needing 2000cals when according to calculators using my stats, I only needed 1800 to maintain) so over the course of 4-5mths I slowly gained 11lbs! I thought it was 'normal' gain at first from eating 'normal' calories as I had been warned would happen, but the gains never levelled off as predicted, I just kept gaining!

So I decided (stupidly) to restrict again to 1300cals. I lost 2lbs the first week, and nothing for 6wks after that, which is when it was suggested I try upping a bit and eating my BMR. Which I've been doing ever since?

scary.

you should just stay off the scales for a while... and eat healthy, and eat CLEAN... no artificial sweeteners, diet drinks, meal replacements, white bread, refined sugar.. etc. Just all natural wholesome foods like nature intended.

Hey a hundred years ago or so was anyone overweight? Not really... I know that everyone says "a calorie is a calorie" but I think that is BS. The way whole foods with complex carbs, unsaturated fats, and quality proteins are broken down in the body are a lot different then how refined sugars, saturated fats and poor quality luncheon meats are broken down in the body...

REAL foods require more energy to break down, but yet leave you feeling more statisfied and energic so that you have the energy to get out and get moving, as opposed to eating processed foods which leave you feeling tired and sluggish and just bad overall (guilt plays a roll in that too)

I haven't weighed myself in months, and my diet has fluctuated from 1200-1800cal or so, and I still fit into ALL of my clothes that I did from months ago. Bodies are judged on how they look anyways, not how much they weigh... a woman weighing 140lbs can look thinner then a woman of the same height weighing 120lbs depending on the fat: muscle ratio

seriously, don't weigh yourself... sure you may lose "weight" on a low calorie diet, but you are just going to be a lighter version of your former self.. low calorie diets dont determine what you lose, it will mainly be water, toxins, muscle and some fat... if you eat well and work out, you will lose greater amounts of fat while maintaining lean mass

eat small meals freguently, and learn to tell when your body is hungry.. don't deprive yourself because your afraid to go over (X)cal, just eat a little more at one meal or else be doomed to binge/overeat later... fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, you know the basics.

and lastly... EXCERSIZE MORE! Just do it, trust me, you WILL feel so much better about yourself, you'll have more energy during the day, a better outlook on life, you'll sleep better, and have more of a 'glow'... it might be difficult at first, but challenge yourself a little more eat day, you'll learn to love it! I feel terrible if I don't get a little activity in everyday, it makes me happy!!

eat properly, excersize regularly, and go by how you look and feel, learn to know what TRUE FITNESS feels like.

I have noticed that all calories are not created equally.  Meaning that there are some foods even though its 1200 calories I dont lose on.  Then I switch up the same 1200 calories with different foods and BAM!  I lose.  Some things have to much sodium, msg, maybe things that constipate you.  try different foods.  Some foods that dont agree with you.  Watch your drinks,  hidden sugars, sodium,  If I do artificial sweetners  they do not agree with me at all.  I wont lose when I drink them.

I eat no processed foods (fresh veg & meat/fish), wholemeal cereals, pasta, rice & bread (the odd time I eat bread!) and drink plenty of water. The only 'vice' I have are a packet of low-fat rice cake snack things I can get here (83cals, 1g fat and 0.1g sodium)- they're like a substitute for chips? And a larger version (a substitute for cookies!).  Because I eat so well it's tough to eat 1500cals as I'm often really full, but I've been making an effort to do so to keep my intake up where it should be?               &nb sp;       

I only drink water or tea. I've avoided all 'bad' foods for months now in an effort to 'solve' my problem?        &nb sp;               &nb sp;               &nb sp;               &nb sp;               &nb sp;               &nb sp;    

but do you feel healthier?

or does your "health" still rely on these numbers going down?

....

some of the thinnest and leanest cultures in the world eat an average of 2000cal a day... here in north american we also eat an average of about 2000cal a day, but yet our society is generally heavier and well, fatter.

what's the difference?... quality of food, and daily activity.

so 2000 calories is the average intake for both societies, but when it comes down to it, who gains weight? the people who eat natural, fresh, wholesome and nutritious food, OR the people who eat processed, refined, chemically laden food

plus the leaner cultures "work" for their food; they walk a lot, and generally are more active than us lazy americans... which keeps their weight down, and their body fat down

....

I don't really know what else to tell you if you say you are in fact eating as healthy as you do... perhaps you are underestimating the calorie content of food? or maybe you have a medical condition like a thyroid problem

Well I 'feel' healthier, but that because I stopped eating cr*p food like junk food, takeaways, processed meats/fish etc.

But I am clinically obese- which is not healthy.

I dont' want to be a size zero or anything- just at a weight where I am not at risk of developing other health problems? As I've said, I am hypo, but my levels are stable with my meds. If I have any other conditions that may hamper my loss efforts, I don't know of them? I use online calculators to log the cal content of the food I eat reglularly, and usually double-check two different ones to see if they're the same/similar.

Thanks for taking the time to give me your thoughts on the situation? I guess I'm just one of those people who are destined to battle the bulge harder than others? It's so disheartening to read of all the other cc-ers who drop their cals a bit, eat a bit better, and the lbs just melt away. I'm delighted for them, but also extremely jealous!

oh man i hear ya... or those ones that RAISE their calories and lose more weight!! ahhh, so frusterating.

its not a one size fits all deal... we all need to find something that works for ourselves; and its deffinately not easy.

i wish i was one of those lucky people with jackrabbit fast metabolisms that maintain their weight eating whatever... my boyfriend is like that, GRRRR!!

or i wish i never had to get a f-ing ED, I used to be able to maintain my weight of about 110-115lbs eating whatever i wanted..

*sigh*

UPDATE: I'm beyond frustrated now. I'm exercising for 40mins a day (walking 3miles), eating 1350 as suggested by CC, and have still not lost a SINGLE lb. My head is all over the place.

I'm starting to wonder if I should approach my Doc about trying a VLCD for a week or two to try and 'shock' my body into letting go of this weight. Seriously. I know its not a long-term solution, but I'm so fed up doing everything 'right' and nothing is happening.

I have been eating at least my BMR for nearly 6mths now and nothing- even though my dietician has declared that "No-one should be obese eating what their body needs"- well, I AM, and nothing seems to be working for me. They've more or less said theres nothing else they can suggest- I'm consistently eating the 'right' foods, in the 'right' amounts, and exercising, and to return in 6mths to see how I'm getting on? Thanks for nothing, eh?

What to do....what to do.....