Totally lost....

I have read the boards and I am so happy for the people who have lost even a little bit of weight.  I on the other hand am new to all this, i have never had to worry about my weight or self image until now, last year not only did I turn 35 but on mothers day completely tore my ACL.  I went from very active to nothing for over 7 months.  I am now approximately 40 lbs heavier (which is still 20lbs more then full term pregnant).

Here's my issue... I have reduced my calories to 1400 on my not very mobile days and increase to about 1650 the days I swim or run.  I eat a healthy 1400, I drink lots of water and stay away from snacks or eating after 7.  I feel like I am getting bigger, not smaller.  There are happy posts of people loosing anything up to 7 or 8 lbs in the first week.... well I am 2 weeks deep and haven't moved an inch or an ounce!!  I am quite tall and hide things well but I have noticed my waistline has increased and my thighs and hips are problem areas.... I just don't know what to do....

Hi there. My first advise to you would be to relax. I have a few questions for you

1)      Have you been running and swimming as an exercise in the past? If yes, then it may be time for you to change it, because your body is very contained and comfortable with your exercise routine, and the scale won?t budge. Try going to the gym and do some cardio and weights. That way you can vary your workout each day between workouts at the gym to give your body some challenges each day.

2)      You have only started 2 weeks ago, so all is not lost. Try zig-zagging your calories(which you are already doing to a certain extent) a little more, like 1300 calories when you are sedentary, and 1600 when you work out. I would recommend to you however, to exercise 4 to 5 days a week. Which doesn?t give you many sedentary days. From my own personal experience, 3 days doesn?t seem to be enough for me to get the weight loss kick start. You may have the same issue.

3)      Choose whole grains over refined. Get 3-5 servings of veggies, and 2 servings of fruit each day. Switch meat intake to fish and lean chicken. One must take 2 servings of fish in a week to get the benefits. Limit your fat intake to 30-45 grams of fat per day. One tablespoon has approx 15 grams of fat.

4)      Do you drink enough water? If you don?t, you probably are retaining that water, and the scale wont budge due to this problem either. I drink anywhere from 12 to 16 glasses of water each day. 8 glasses is only the daily minimum, not maximum!!!

5)      Take your vitamins, and get your thyroid checked. If you have noticed a change in your appetite, your weight, hairloss, constipation, these are all symptoms of an underactive thyroid. I started 5 months ago, and managed to lose 45 pounds, before I was diagnosed with hypothyroid. My doc was amazed I was able to lose so much inspite of having the condition (hypothyroid makes you fat, or makes weight loss hard). So if I can do it despite having a problem, I?m sure you can being healthy!!! When I started my weight loss, I used to only go for 20 minute walks 5 days a week, and play some golf and eat 1200 calorie diets. That?s all!!! No strenuous workout, and I did this for about 2 months, before I changed or increased my routine.

6)      Lastly, Good Luck. And be patient!!! Look at it this way, you are eating less, AND exercising, you possibly can?t put on any weight, and there definitely has to be some weight loss due to the calorie deficit you create between burning and consuming. If the scale doesn?t budge today, it will budge tomorrow!!