I have spent 4 months being completely confused. Can someone help?

I hate to be another one of those "help me" posts, but i am truly confused.

Basically for the past 4 months or so I have been having a lot of trouble losing weight.  (Ive actually been having trouble for the past year and a half, but ive spent the last 4 months trying to use this site and apply its techniques).   Although I havent been perfect with my diet and exericse, I know that I have done the right thing at least 75% of the time.   I have had pretty steady deficits (I usually eat between 1500-1900 a day and my burn meter on the sedentary level is 2100).  I also exercise for 20-30 minutes on the elliptical at least 3 times a week.  I have been doing this for 4 months and have had moments of losing weight and gaining weight.   I have basically been oscillating between 216.6 and 223.   For almost a year now, I have been eating very few processed foods.     I understand that weight loss is supposed to be slow and I have made an entire lifestyle change.   I just dont understand why Im not actually losing anything.  

I got my thyroid checked last November and the endocrinologist said everything was fine.  Also, I was diagnosed as insulin resistant and put on medication for it.  I have done a lot of research on insulin resistance and have tried eating lower carb, which also tends to produce the same oscillating effect on my weight.  Nothing permanent.

 I am 20 years old, 5'4, 221 lbs.   I am big enough to at least be losing something permanently, doing what im doing.   I seem to be some kind of master of maintaining my weight.  I havent gained real weight in a year and a half, but I cant seem to actually lose.   I will never give up on my goal, but I am just so dumbfounded.

also, I am going to post my weight log in my gallery on my profile so you can see how wacky it looks. 

I would try adding strength training, or HIIT, and/or zig-zagging calories to get your metabolism up. (your body gets used to same workout)

I currently zig zag slightly (1200 some days, 1400 other days) but adding the strength/circuit training bumped me up pretty good.

track your measurements too, not just scale. those change more than the scale. :)

good luck

i do track my measurements.  they have stayed almost exactly the same since january.  i have lost .25 inches on each calf, but everything else is the same.

I would suggest you make sure what you are recording is accurate.  Do you weigh and measure everything?  Are you positive you are eating 1500-1900 per day?

Also, when you exercise are you really giving it your all?  Or are you just getting on and doing 30 minutes of so-so effort. 

I'm not trying to belittle your efforts, but sometimes it's easy to estimate foods by eyeballing and not get the calories right.  Small mistakes in estimating cereal, a spoonful of peanut butter, etc. those kinds of things can add up and give you a few hundred more calories each day which negates your efforts. 

If the exercise is routine and you're doing the same thing three times a week, I would suggest you shake it up.  Try lifting some weights, or go outside and jog, swim in pool, ... do something different, because from what you are saying, what you are doing isn't working.  And that just leads to resentment and frustration. 

I dont weigh everything.  i use measuring cups to measure certain things, but i dont measure everything 100%   I am pretty sure that Im eating 1500-1900 calories a day.  I try to keep it varied so that if I do eat more one day, then it balances out the next day.  I also make sure to overestimate my calories when i log them (i dont do it online, i write it all down).  other than measuring every morsel, i try to make sure that little errors are still being accounted for.    When I exercise i definately give it my all.  I end up out of breath and dripping in sweat.  I do a hills interval program on the elliptical.   

I think my first step should probably be to add more days of exercise and vary it more.  I guess im just wondering why i havent even lost even 1 lb of permanent weight in the 4 or 5 months.   even with small errors in calories, i dont think everything im doing would be negated.   

also, ive heard that cardio exercise doesnt help build muscle and can even eat away at muscle.  however, is it possible to be gaining muscle in my legs from lugging around 220 lbs on the elliptical a few times a week?  my legs do feel firmer, but i hate use the "im building muscle" excuse.

I do think getting a food scale and varying the exercise could help, as the others suggested.

Have you considered getting one of those GoWear Fit or Bodybugg to find out if your burn rate is either higher or lower than CC estimates?

how exactly do the GoWearFit and Bodybugg work.   Are the expensive?

When your working so hard trying to lose weight "pretty sure" your weighing things right doesn't cut it.  It's not time consuming at all and it really helps keep you on track.  Why go another 4 months being "pretty sure"?

The bodybugg and gorwear are expensive ($150-400) but I have heard they are great.  I have a Polar HRM (about $130) on backorder (yuck). It focuses mostly on heart rate and making sure you're in your target zone (the higher the heart rate the more percentage of fat you burn). It does count cals burned per a given workout too.  Ugh, it just sucks that I probably wont get one until mid-June.  The reason for the weight: it comes with a chest strap sensor which I read over and over again are more accurate at reading cals and heart rate.

Good luck! No go and get that food scale...walmart sells one for under $30 (I think I got mine for under $20 but I'm not sure).

 

I don't have either, so I can only go by what I've seen on the web.

GoWearFit is cheaper - 180 on Amazon right now (I think bugg is ~250).  And I think you need to pay a monthly fee to use the GWF functions on the web - you upload the data to a website. You have to buy a separate watch if you want to see your at-the-moment burn. I'm not sure what BB does on that front.

Basically, they are similar to HRMs that measure calories burned, but the HRMs only measure burn during exercise - they aren't accurate when you aren't active. GWF and BB supposedly can measure your heart rate (and maybe some other things? temperature, etc?) and track it throughout the day (and night).

I'm just thinking that maybe your metabolism isn't on par with what the calculators say. For some reason I thought you had said once that you might have PCOS? If so, that would definitely change your burn rate.

I think bdasko got a GWF - you might get in touch with her and see how it's been working for her.

The human body is an amazingly adaptable creation.  If you have been eating roughly the same amount for 4 months and doing basically the same amount of exercise for 4 months and your weight has remained the same then what you are doing is maintaining.  Forget the charts and graphs that tell you what the average person your size will burn, you have 4 months of data that prove what you actually burn.

To lose you need to create a deficit which means you need to eat less or exercise more.  I recommend that you try to exercise more because in my opinion 20 - 30 minutes 3 days a week is not even enough to promote good health.

That sounds so frustrating!

I used to weigh and measure all my food, then figured after a few months that I knew how to eyeball accurately (and always "rounded up" when logging), but then I weighed and measured again and I was WAY off - I was thinking I was eating 1400/day and it was more like 2000. Oops! Easy mistake, and easy to fix - it's definitely worth it to get a food scale.  Also, I was also "tasting" while I cooked, justing having a "little sip" of my boyfriend's beer, etc - that was REALLY adding up.

Increasing your exercise sounds like a great idea, because if you've been doing the same thing for a while your body may have gotten used to it. Maybe you could also check in with the endocrinologist again, see if anything's changed in 8 months? Some people are pretty sensitive to minor changes to thyroid-stimulating hormones, or insulin.

Original Post by jessicasbc:

I dont weigh everything.  i use measuring cups to measure certain things, but i dont measure everything 100%   I am pretty sure that Im eating 1500-1900 calories a day.

Okay, I believe you, but I wanted to put this link in here anyway.  It talks about measuring vs. weighing food and is very informative. 

Basically, you may think by measuring you are getting the proper portion sizes, but weighing is much more accurate. 

I would keep the calories about the same, aiming for more around 1600-1800 and add in some strength training.  Keep your cardio going as you need that to burn calories, but add in squats, push ups, sit ups all of which can be done at home pretty easily.  There's a group for the 100 push up challenge.  At the least, you will build some muscle and that should give you a positive result.  Also if you can consult with a nutritionist who specializes in diabetes that might help.

Just wanted to add, if you haven't done so already, that you could try adding more natural sources of fiber to your diet.  It's very filling and will get you to lower your calorie intake almost without effort.  Vegetables, beans, and whole grains are good sources.  It has worked for me on every attempt I've made to lose weight.   I don't weigh everything I eat either, I just focus on a lot of bulk of very low calorie foods, and get good results with that.  Good luck!!

thanks for all the responses everybody.  i went out and bought a food scale today at publix.  i dont really want to be someone who weighs every morsel of food they eat, but it'll come in handy for meat and stuff im sure.   do you guys weigh everything you eat?

amethystgirl--my doctor never specifically diagnosed me with pcos, but since pcos and insulin resistance go hand in hand and ive always had problems with my periods being regular, im pretty sure that i do have pcos. 

smwhipple--i agree that its a good idea to start doing pushups, squats, etc..  im kind of worried about squats because my knee tends to act weird when i put too much weight on it, but i definatley want to start doing more than just the elliptical.

i also looked into the gowearfit and its kind of expensive for me, but I just might get it anyways.  i dont know if my metabolism is slower than it should be  (insulin resistance makes it possible), but i wouldnt be suprised if my body didnt follow what all the calculators are telling me.  

i kind of feel stupid for spending all this time not knowing what to do.  its taken me a year and a half to lose about 32 lbs and i still have 80 or so to go.     To this day, im still not sure how i lost those 32 lbs because it seemed to happen so randomly and without any rhyme or reason  to it.  Im just having a hard time figuring out what my body really responds to.

For me, the Polar F3 is a great heart rate monitor, I bought mine off of e-bay.

Check your form for squats (stumptuous.com), I didn't think that I could do squats with my screwed up knees, but using the proper form and doing a complete squat I'm fine.

 

Its great that you got the scale - trust me, it makes a HUGE difference! You really should weigh everything you possibly can --I did the measuring cups for a long time and was shocked about the difference once I started to use the scale. Even the most basic things were quite different, like cereal!

 

As for the exercise, I agree with the above that 20-30 mins is not enough for weight loss. You're basically just warming up at that point -- I've noticed the real calorie burn doesn't start until around the 20 min mark. (for example,  noticed  there's a big jump in how quickly the average calories per minute go up after that mark - -yes. just one of the stupid but interesting games I play to keep me going!) Just tonight I was on the elliptical as well and watched this happen on my heart rate monitor!  Also, if you haven't already significantly done this, start increasing your grade level and resistance level on the machine.  (again, see a major increase in the calories burned when doing this - the elevation increase in particular make a big difference)  You can switch up and down and play around with it, but you need to make sure you're NOT steadily going at a 'comfortable' level -- you need to keep challenging yourself.

I bought a Polar F6 a couple of months ago, and it has been fascinating to see all of these nuances in my workouts, and really helps to make sure that I'm really burning what I assume that I am. I also got mine on eBay, for just under $100. 

I'm also 5'4 and started this at your current weight, and am now down nearly 40 pounds. I know its a REALLY hard mental game when you know you have a big number to lose -- don't let yourself get frustrated and give up! Start making some of these changes that all have recommended and you most likely will start to see some movement and get some of the enthusiasm and confidence back! Good luck!!

Jessica-

I agree you should change your exercise regimen.  I am 5'4", but I started out at 155 (apr. 5), and I am now down to 142 (may 27).  My exercise has all been walking with some weight training.  I naturally walk between 3 and 3.5 mph when I walk so all the walking I do normally (from home to campus, etc) burns calories.  Then I started going to my colleges gym, walking on the treadmill at 3.5 mph ON AN INCLINE for an hour.  The incline really helps.  After going several times I was able to maintain a 3.5mph walk on a 10deg incline for an hour (according to the machine I burned 530 calories).  The incline (I think) also helps you (maybe) firm your ham strings and butt.

Do you listen to music when you exercise?  If you don't, DO...if you do, get upbeat high tempo songs and try to keep your stride to the beat.  Most of the songs on  my iPod have tempos that keep me walking at or around 3.5mph. ["Blue"-Eiffel 65, "Sweet Child of Mine"-Guns n Roses, "Breathless"-The Corrs]<---those are some

I hope this helps you out

Original Post by jessicasbc:

thanks for all the responses everybody.  i went out and bought a food scale today at publix.  i dont really want to be someone who weighs every morsel of food they eat, but it'll come in handy for meat and stuff im sure.   do you guys weigh everything you eat? 

Most things, yeah.  At least, I do until I know the serving size cold.  (e.g. I have a set of glasses that happens to have one of the decorative lines at exactly the 1 cup mark, and I know exactly what 1 serving of my favourite cereal looks like if I use one of my blue bowls.) 

Even if you don't want to always weigh, try weighing everything for 1 week.  You might be surprised at some of the portion sizes, and once you train yourself to recognize the right portion sizes, you can stop using the scale.  If you find your weightloss plateaus, pull out the scale for another week and re-train yourself with it.  The most important foods to weigh are the calorie-dense ones like peanut butter, cheese, oil, etc. and the ones where portion sizes are all over the place like bread and meats.  If you don't bother to weigh the lettuce/spinach in your salad, that won't make a speck of difference.

1) weigh and measure EVERYTHING if u have the chance ie at home with the scales near you2) i have very stubborn PCOS. THE ONLY TIME i can lose weight is while i am on Dianette, which is birth control for pcos management. I'm not saying you need dianette or even the BCP, but it is very important your hormone irregulation is treated. PCOS is known to dramatically slow weightloss; your hormones need to be balanced to lose weight.