Doctor says he doesn't know!!!

[flowerpetal]

I have been to see my doctor about my weight loss or should I say lack of it (3lbs in 6 weeks)
have given him my food diary and exercise log, he says he doesn't have a clue why i am not losing, and that there have been some new american guidelines that we should all be doing 90mins a day of moderate exercize to lose weight!!

so i am very frustrated- but have not lost hope- i am starting an aggressive approach to weight loss, with 2x a week weight's, 3x a week aqua aerobics and 5x a week on my step machine at home, limiting myself strickly to 1200 cal a day.
weigh myself only once a week.
if this doesn't work i don't know what to do.

[joysun]

It will work!!!!! 90 minutes is extreme!!!! Stay motivated and only weigh once a week so u dont get discouraged. YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!

[ontheway]

You will do just fine --- just keep your focus and stay motivated --- remember "You only fail if you stop trying" -- best wishes as you continue --the best is yet to come

[Barbie]

Have you had your thyriod checked? When I first went to my doctor about weightloss, the first thing he did is test my thyroid.

[Christy223]

Ditto to what Barbie said!!

[flowerpetal]

yep- have had thyroid checked and is all o.k.
good suggestion though!!

[Lorin]

Ditto #2 for what Barbie said.

1,200 calories seems quite low (especially with that much exercise). How tall are you? How much weight are you needing/wanting to lose? Are you eating enough? Are you drinking a lot of water? Have you lost in measurements if not in lbs?

[flowerpetal]

Hi Lorin,

I'm 5,6' weigh 175 lbs, wanting to go to 125lbs, i drink about 2 liters of water a day.

have been measuring myself as well and haven't lost any inches.

I haven't started on the above exercise and stuff yet- start tomorrow- i'll see how 1200 cal goes, if it feels like too little i'll try to add more in, but as with alot of people on Phen i could take or leave food.

[Lorin]

The problem, though, is if you eat so little calories and burn as many as you're about to on your new exercise program - your body may go into "starvation mode" and hold on to everything.

1,200 without exercise is low. 1,200 calories WITH exercise is dangerously low.

The rule of thumb is 3,500 = 1 lb. lost. So, figure your BMR (basic metobolic rate - the amount of calories you burn without any activity). Then, figure out how many calories you consume in a day (via journaling your food intake). Add in your activities/exercise and see what's left over each day. If you're in the negative, when you reach -3,500 you should lose one pound.

However, if your body thinks it's starving it will drastically slow your metabolism to keep hold of all fat.

I cannot recommend this program enough = www.fitday.com. This program is a food journal (fat, calorie and carb counter). It's also a mood journal and overall journal to keep your thoughts in. It has a weight and measurement log. It keeps track of your BMR and shows you very easily on the screen how many calories are left over each day after all food is eaten and all activity is counted. It's quite simple.

Please don't starve yourself -- that's never the solution. Find out how many calories are safe for you to lose the amount you need in a safe amount of time.

Okay, I'll get off my soap box ... GOOD LUCK!

[flowerpetal]

nono stay on your soap box!!!
all this info really helps!!!

i went to fitday.com,. i need 2,378 cal if i'm not doing any exercise, thta s as far as I've gotten so far- but i can really see what you mean.

i really don't want to starve myself coz i know that if i do that i will never be able to maintain after going off phen.

so- i am going to keep track of what i eat and what exercize i'm doing via fitday.com.

thank you so so so much your advise is very welcome and sp easy to understand (as so much of it usually isn't)

[Lorin]

Hi Flower ...

I am so glad my mumbling finally helps someone! I actually learned a big chunk of this information recently myself so I want to pass it on.

I think there are three key points to successful weight loss and they are as simple as can be:

1) WATER!
2) All food in moderation - and mark it ALL down.
3) Exercise

I'm not telling anyone what they don't already know. It's really quite simple - but not so easy to follow, huh? The journaling, in time, won't be necessary either as you will learn as you go along what's working and what isn't.

I think Fitday helps us achieve 2 of the 3 listed above. It puts it right in front of your face and allows you to simply see what you're doing right and what you may be doing wrong. It even shows if your mood is affecting any of your eating habits.

The 2,378 calories you mention is your MBR? That means if you eat 2,378 per day you will maintain your current weight. (ie: 2,378 eaten, 2,378 burned doing nothing = 0) So, use fitday to pick your first goal (yes, there should be more than one). The program will tell you how many calories you must eat to reach your goal by the date you set. The more you exercise, the more calories being burned - the more calories you are allowed to eat.

See, more exercise = more food. (Good healthy food, hopefully).

I maintained a great weight by simply exercising. I hardly watched what I ate ... but did I earn every morsel of food!

My personal plan is to also allow myself one cheat day each week. Nothing over the top, but something I can look forward to. I need to face the facts, I like food - I will always like food. If I forever deny myself - I will not succeed.

This plan may not work for you - but it's just a suggestion. In time, you may not want the cheat day as you will have adjusted your lifestyle so much that those cravings may just disappear.

Man, you give me permission to talk and do I talk!!!

I'm good at giving advice, but right now I'm not great at taking my own advice. Hmm ... maybe I need to do this too, huh?

[flowerpetal]

o.k so lets see if I have this right (i've just spent some time on fitday working this out)
i'm 175lbs now and 5 foot 4.

with NO exercise I use 2956 Cal per day.

with average of exercize I use 3455

To reach my goal in 6 mths time (175llbs to 112lbs) I need to lose 3.27 llbs per week, so I need to eat 11445 less cal over a week (3500=1lb x 3.27) or 1635 less cal than I actually need/use per day

If i don't exercize I need to eat 1321 cal per day to reach my goal. which is

with exercize (at 90mins =499 cal) I eat 1820cal per day to reach my goal


so 1200cal (average of what I get now) - 2956 = -1756 x 7 days = -12292 ( i need to eat 11445 less to reach goal)
now if I do the above am I starving myself??

and should I do this instead
1820cal (what to eat if I exercize) - 3455 (what i burn if exercize) = -1635 x 7 days = 11445 (i need to eat 11445 to reach goal)

I don't know if you are confused but i think i am,..or does that sound right???

[Suth]

I know that there is lots of people on here that stick to a 1200 cal diet and we EAT good..lol. Here is a sample day:

Coffee/ff cream 18
1-package of instant oatmeal/cinnamon/splendia 144
1-Vegetable Fiber Wheat bread w/ff Margarine 41
Egg, whole, boiled 68
1- Grapefruit 82

Granola bar, nonfat 142

Tuna sandwich 150
White potato, chips, fat free 66
Sour cream, fat free 2tb 24
Vegetable beef soup 80

Jello ff pudding 70

Shrimp Fried rice 140
1-c Greenbeans/w/onions/seasonings 45
Side salad 50

sf jello/fruit mix 35

Days total calories= 1155

[msjudy]

wow! that's a great menu for only1155 calories,thanks!

[joysun]

flowerpetal---------Lorin ---Help-------
total calories burned---3103
of that
Basal; 1676
lifestyle: 1424
total 3103 doing normal activities no exercise

so what does that mean, how many calories do i eat and what if i add exercise

[Lorin]

Flower ... not confusing at all! You totally have it figured out!! Fitday will keep it simple and do all the work for you. Just follow its' guidelines to reach your goal. Sounds like you can eat between 1,300 and 1,800 to reach your goal depending on the amount of exercise you add in each day.

If you're at 1,200 calories ... you are not eating enough.

I hope you are understanding this... are you?

[Lorin]

Suth, that's a great meal. However, that calorie intake all depends on your current weight, height and weight goal. A 1,200 cal/day goal should not be for everyone. Some people have more muscle and require more calories. Some people are larger boned and need more calories. There are medical conditions involved.

1,200 a day is great if you are 130 lbs and 5'6" and wishing to maintain your weight (this # is just thrown out there ... it's not fact).

1,200 per day for a 250 lb woman who is exercising 30+ minutes per day is simply unattainable. You can only stick to this strict of a diet for a small period of time. It almost guarantees failure. No one can do this for the rest of their lives. At some point, you will go nuts and start to binge.

That's why you should either find a program like Fitday, speak to your doctor to see what he/she recommends your calorie intake should be or seek the advice of a dietician along with a fitness professional. Reason being, all of us are different and for ANY diet program to suggest 1,200 for every person wanting to lose weight is ludicrous!

If you are doing well at 1,200 and feel content at the end of the day and your weight loss is constant and you've been doing it for a long period of time ... then it's working for you. I'm certainly no expert. Just be careful! You can do more damage than good.

(I know I sound like a know-it-all ... that's not my intent. I am a strong believer in "everything in moderation". I wish all of us could just learn to eat a reasonable amount of foods that we love without over eating. Throw in extra water and activities and you have a new lifestyle. Not a diet.) Just my $.02 - you can throw it out the window if you want.

[Lorin]

Let me also say that I lost my weight and maintained by eating probably close to 2,000+ calories per day. This, of course, was with 3 days of serious work-outs. I had a decent amount of muscle and could not have survived at 1,200.

Right now I'm consuming aproximately 1,600 - 2,200 calories and am losing about .5 per day (give or take). Why? Because I have dropped my intake by nearly 1,000 cals per day! I am also drinking more water. Now, when I throw in the exercise I'll be able to easily eat 1,800 - 2,200 (I don't want to really go higher). Again, depends on the person and their body.

[Lorin]

Joysun ... you wrote:

"total calories burned---3103
of that
Basal; 1676
lifestyle: 1424
total 3103 doing normal activities no exercise

so what does that mean, how many calories do i eat and what if i add exercise"

Let me understand ... are you saying your BMR is 1,676 and you burned an additional 1,424 through added exercise? If this is true than you can consume 3,103 calories that day and maintain your wait for THAT day.

What works best is taking your total +/- calories for the whole week to see where you are. If you are down appx -3,500 for the week you should have lost a pound. If you are even (give or take some) you should have maintained. If you are up - you probably gained a little.

It's simple:

More calories = weight gain
Same calories eaten/burned = maintain
Eat less calories than burned = lose

Again ... let Fitday (or a similar program) do the work for you.

How in the world did you burn 1,400 of additional calories? I'm impressed!

[joysun]

Lorin,

I am trying to get this but still lost I actually am close to your numbers. sw 222 cw 192 I am 5'4 and big boned( I bulk up with slight effort with weight especially legs). 33% body fat where my normal weight 135 I was 20%.

So above i noted I burn 3103 doing nothing, I want to start doing interval training 4-5 times weekly and minimal strength training to raise metablolism.

Where do i start to figure out how many calories to eat

[Lorin]

Here is what my Fitday program is set to:

20 lbs. in 5 weeks. It says:

"Based on the guidelines that a restriction of 3,500 calories results in one pound of weight loss, to achieve your goal of losing 20 pounds in 5 weeks and 3 days you should restrict your calorie intake by 1,842." This means I should eat 1,629 per day. This is for a weight loss of over 3 lbs. per week (which is not recommended). I can go higher to stay at the 2 lbs. per week.

My point is I can safely consume anywhere from 1,500 up to 2,000. As long as by the end of the week I am in the negative by at least 3,500.

Does this make sense or am I just confusing everyone more?

[Lorin]

Joysun ... I recommend you download fitday and build a program suited to your needs.

It will tell you EXACTLY how many calories to eat and show you each week if you're doing good.

My guess is you could consume the same amount of calories as I do ... but I'm really just guessing. It all depends on how much you want to lose and by when.

And, by the way, you've done fabulously so far!!! What have you been doing to have lost 30 lbs??

[Lorin]

Joysun ... I just set you up on my program and this is what it says ...

192 lbs on January 17, 2005
134 lbs on April 15, 2005
58 lb. weight loss
12 weeks (4) days
4.61 lb loss per week

Your baseline MBR is 1,538.

To lose 4.61 per week is not really safe especially over a 12 week period. You would have to have a very low caloric intake - below the lowest recommended (1,200).

Anyway, I hope this helps. Let me know if I can help more!

[joysun]

Lorin got your post after I posted last one! I was lost because I missed 3500 over week..lol.. I was like their is no way bmr is 3103 based on lifestyle and basal according to fitday????? That seems high to me... I am going to start over and make sure i do it right!! Thanks

[Lorin]

I'm sure you'll get it all figured out!

And watch, it will recommend 1,200 per day and I'll have just spent all this time say no! LOL... I should just shut my mouth.

What works for some doesn't work for all.

Do what works best for you and just stay focused and believe in yourself!

Hugs,
Lorin

[joysun]

Thanks Lorin it does help. For some reason I am not getting details on fitday.

I didn't do anything to lose!?!?!? It was actually scary for me. I started from advice of friend who had good weight loss, and I was still skeptical. She is one who would starve herself to do it. So I started nov 16 and immed no appetite, i forced myself to eat and on 6th day lost 61bs. That was prob just water, since I didn't drink hardly any prior to this my body retains and drink so much allowed me to release all that. Next thing I knew I was 30 lbs lighter by dec 31. I promise i didn't starve myself!!! But since then, three weeks I am at same weight. So I know I am not eating enough, which I never have, my metabolism ****s,and I need exercise.

From above u can see i Know what i need to do just lost on how much to eat!!!!

I am going to adjust goal date!!!! Thanks again...

[flowerpetal]

o.k so I've started my full-on exercise plan today.
tracking what I eat and keeping it between 1300-1800 cal depending on what excersize I do.

have been using fitday to track calories- wow somethings have so many cal- like a banana has 100calories- i only used up 100cal on my 20mins cardio first thing this morning- that was only one banana worth-seems like a lot of work for something i thought was really healthy.
i'm going to give it my all for one week and see how I go!!