Sunday, July 22, 2012

Another weight loss post

This is not the first and will not be the last time I will whine about this topic.

I am not losing weight. I now own a fit bit, so I'm able to accurately track and challenge myself to move more every day (a fit bit is a high tech pedometer which helps measure intensity of work out, steps take, etc. It's a wonderful tool and only about $100 at Amazon.com) I have figured my calories based on activity level using a BMR calculator. After listening to the podcasts at fat 2 fit radio and how they say weight watchers and so many other weight loss plans don't give you enough calories, I have been basing my daily calories off of my BMR. This means I should never eat less than 1830 calories per day since that's the number of calories it takes for someone with my build to live if I were being tube fed, in a coma.  I have checked other calorie calculators and this is the response I always get. If I exercise, I'm to increase the number of calories so that my body doesn't feel like it's starving. All the dieting I have done through the years has damaged my metabolism.  I have read other research on the subject and believe this is the true, healthy way to diet.  To lose weight reasonably, you alter the calories it would take to maintain your body at the new, desirable weight and that's only about 300 calories per day different. 

I also know that when I eat 1800-2000 calories per day of good, healthy food, I'm not hungry. I don't get that starving feeling a person gets when they eat badly and have too much sugar.  I have been choosing better food, though the last couple days I have cut myself some slack and eaten some things I like, but don't eat often anymore. With maggie becoming a vegetarian, we're eating less meat and more veggies at home as well.

So, why this rant? 10 days ago I weighed in at 222.8.. Woohoo I thought, I'm finally going down...then this week I weighed in at 225 and this was with good nutrition, proper exercise and lots and lots of steps taken.  My calorie deficit has been 500 or more each day. My fitness pal keeps saying "if every day were like today you'd weight 214, or 207, or 200, or whatever" in 5 weeks. But it's not happening. I drink tons of water...over 100 oz per day (can you imagine how much time I spend in the bathroom?) I'm fitter than I have ever been. I can go through long work outs and stay strong. It's awesome! But I am still obese.  I have talked to the doctor and he says that my thyroid is in order (not sure if there are other hormones I should be looking at) I think that perhaps I need to find someplace that does actual basal metabolic testing because I don't know how I can be eating right, exercising and still gaining. If it truly is a calories in, calories out game, then why is my pounds not going down?

Anyway, I know that the only answer is to keep plugging away and that eventually my body should relent and give up the weight. But it's so frustrating that 5 years ago I lost 18 pounds in 2 months without trying or exercising (of course, it came back the same way) I would give anything to be hyperthyroid for awhile and speed along my metabolism. 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Alice, the Fem Center in Colleyvilke has a wholistic approach to women's health. I have a friend that was pretty stuck and went and had a hormone work up ( progesterone, testosterone, and estrogen) they were way out of whack and she is now on a compounded hormone which insurance paid for on her account and she dropped about 35lbs in 2 months and more importantly just feels better. Might be worth a shot. They have several on/guns there as well as at least one internal medicine doc
My two cents,
Melissa

Alice Perryman said...

I have been told about them by someone else as well and have wondered if they could help. I also have come to the conclusion that it's not really calories in and calories out at all...at least not for me. There is way more to it. There is thyroid or hormones or intolerance and food allergy. I'm not sure what the right answer is but in spite of my best efforts for the last month of really working at my food, I'm still not losing, so I'm still missing a valuable component somewhere.

Resuming my blog

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