Primal Journal-deMuralist page 132

[athomeontherange]

your dinner from last night sounds yummy!! Sounds like you have a full schedule.. ALL THE TIME..LOL Make some time to plant in your garden though.. you gotta have "you" time.

[demuralist]

So, I didn't get to the garden, and it is unlikely today.

Gotta take DS downtown for his conference (we got him some nice clothes and he is excited-he has always enjoyed 'costumes' and coat and tie qualifies-and looking forward to the whole experience), which will make me late for work and so I will have to work late to make up for it. Then, it looks like I have to go to Knoxville to pick up DD. They are coming back from their spring break and the dorms are not open yet. Was hoping someone would drop her off in Nashville. But it will give us time to chat. So that is a 6 hour round trip, which I will likely have to do on Sunday as well.

So I am playing with the same 2 to 3 pounds. I really need to tighten things up, I know what to do, I really need to do it. It honestly comes down to only eating it if it is plated. That is the only way I can see what I am eating and it seems the only way I can mentally know that I ate. also the kinds of food I eat standing up, are not the same as the kinds of foods I eat plated and sitting down. Standing tends to be nuts, cheese, and dried fruit-pantry things. Plated there is always a lean protein and at least a couple of veggies. I don't think there is anything terribly wrong with the foods i eat when standing, it is just that they tend to be calorie dense, and plated foods tend to be nutrient dense. While I am trying to lose weight, nutrient dense works better.

off to walk the treadmill and ruminate.

[demuralist]

the scale is a harsh piece of equipment. up .6 on a day I swear I did everything right. Go figure?

So the thought for the day is, if I am trying to lose fat and the scale is not a good judge, how the heck can I know what or when I need to tweak. I cannot just go on and trust that because I am following a program that I am losing that is totally how I got to where I am.

I would just love to understand what people did that is truly different than today that would explain the explosion of obesity. So far the explanations do not really fit with my lifestyle. I rarely eat out at any restaurant (once so far this year), never at fast food, I am getting close to 10,000 steps a day on average, and did actually for years until my hospital stay slowed me down. In fact the most consistent weight gain I have experienced besides pregnancy is the weight I gained when I was working out daily, 6 days of cardio and 3 days of weight training.

Lost 40 pounds with weight watchers (which was still 80 pounds over goal) and then stalled and stayed there for 4 years until I managed to gain it all back. At least that was not with extra gain.

Then I lost 50 pounds more or less following 4 rules...1. eat only when physically hungry, 2. eat only what you REALLY want, 3. eat slowly and consciously, 4. Stop when your are no longer hungry

That worked until I tried to start a cake bite business at home. 2 years of recipe testing and 50 pounds was right back.

So here I am 35 pounds (+or-) down from that and stuck. How can a reasonably active woman of 250ish pounds not lose weight on 1500 calories of real fresh food? So frustrated/irritated.

[athomeontherange]

I hear you..have no answers as I have been there and trying to work it out myself. I a
Trying to consume less and have my body burn fat for fuel. Easier said than done. I am incorporating fast 5 into the mix

[demuralist]

I am going to go back to my 4 rules. Because when I take the energy to figure out what I really want it is almost always a BAS. I know that I need to eat less than I expend, but unless I really listen to my body how the heck am I supposed to know how much that is?

The reason it stopped working before, I started to try to control the process.

[marcadav]

t
So here I am 35 pounds (+or-) down from that and stuck. How can a reasonably active woman of 250ish pounds not lose weight on 1500 calories of real fresh food? So frustrated/irritated.

I wont even hint that I understand the fickle intricacies of getting the scale to move down. I do know I gained weight (50+ lbs) eating very little
-- small bowl of oatmeal, 3 egg whites breakfast, salad with chicken lunch, meat, salad, starch dinner--
while putting 5+miles a day on the treadmill and walking a couple of more daily miles with a friend. All of this while raising 3 kids, virtually alone, and tending to my 1/3 acre yard.

I believe I only found success when I:
1. Got optimal hormonally-- thyroid, sex hormones, Vitamin D, iron (I'm hypothyroid and perpetually perimenopausal at 55)
2. Took the focus off weight and put it on health and daily healthy choices.
3. Took "bad carbs" out of my diet but did not track anything.
4. Told myself I could stay obese If I got healthy, stayed that way, and made healthy lifestyle choices daily.

FWIW, I think 1500 calories might be too low given ALL your not lazy self does.

[demuralist]

thank you. I needed that.

I am due for a yearly physical. I will ask her do run tests for all of the vitamins/minerals that it is reasonable to run. I know I am Vitamin D deficient. I would be shocked if I was iron deficient. I wonder about CoQ10 (just did research on this for DH and of course after reading thought, hey I have those symptoms! but I am like that, always looking for the missing piece).

The thing about tracking....I didn't the last time I lost the 50 pounds, doing the 4 rules, so now I have no idea what I was eating. Kind of frustrating, because it would be nice to have a clue. It would not have been low carb, not primal. But not likely low fat either.

I am going to focus on the 4 rules for food, movement that I enjoy (the 30 minutes of the treadmill so I can watch a movie of my choice, and gardening), and work on making each choice the best that is reasonable at the time.

well, starting now, because of course, I tasted the cupcakes I made for Monday, but I am not feeling dinner I can tell you that!

[marcadav]

If it's helpful these are the tests I would have done:
1. Thyroid- TSH, free T4, free T3, antibodies (TPOab, TgAb) reverse T3
2. Sex hormones-- estradiol (day 14 of cycle), progesterone (day 21 of cycle), testosterone, FSH
3. Vitamin D, Vitamin B-12, Magnesium
4. Iron--hematocrit, hemoglobin, ferritin (must be specifically asked for)
5. hs-CRP (checks inflammation)
6. Blood sugar-- fasting glucose, fasting insulin, HbA1c
7. Cholesterol Panel
italicized words = tests that may be hard to get doctors to run

My view on when to test sex hormones (at their peak) differs from the norm being suggested on the MDA forums. My favorite go to "guru" for female issues is Dr Elizabeth Lee Vliet.. I love her book, Women, Weight, and Hormones. Welcome to Dr. Vliet's Home Page

I have never heard a story like mine. I was in my mid forties, having been diagnosed hypothyroid a few years earlier and feeling worse than before diagnosis. Went to a new doctor after being told by my then doctor that "I was f***ed, my genetics were f***ed.

After upping my meds, that doctor deemed me "healthy"--gotta love that all powerful TSH. I, still feeling like death warmed over, asked for a female hormone panel and when my estradiol (estrogen) came back undetectable he told me to see my gyno ASAP. Funny thing is-- I was having regular periods and my FSH had come back normal. I was also gaining weight beyond belief. I'm 55, on BHRT for 10+ years, and still having regular periods UGGGGHH.

I say all of this to let you know I understand your frustration, confusion, disbelief. Feel me to ask any question you might have. I'm no expert but can give you ideas based on my experience.

[RMS123]

Chris, sorry to hear about your frustrations (and, as you know, I share them too). I'm trying to think positive of great, positive, post, because you always present such positive and constructive posts for me. Unfortunately, I must of have left my brain in one of the cities I visited this week

I would say this - I know without a doubt that you will get this figured out. In the meantime, while you are working through this, know that you are a gorgeous (let me tell you again, I would take your body shape and hair in a heart beat!), smart, healthy, and hard-working (I don't get anything near done what you do in a day!).

I like your approach with the 4 factors. I did the "I can make you thin protocol" and actually lost a decent amount of weight (of course, then I plateaued and seemingly lost those good habits...not sure why). I also think (and have no doubt I could be completely wrong) that the body has certain set points and it has to be persuaded to move again...perhaps you are at one of those.

Anyway, I hope you have a simply wonderful day!

[Sabine]

What about your stress/cortisol? Seems like with the busy life you lead, that might have an impact. Remember, just because something is enjoyable or what you want to do, does not mean it is not a stress on your body. It might be an interesting exercise to track things like: how many DIFFERENT activities you do in a day(change is a stress), your down time between activities, your total down time, sleep, sex (alone or together, I know there are complications there) the amount of skin stimulation you receive, noise levels around you.
You do so many things that are GOOD for you, may be there are things building up that are bad for you, that need to be thought of- subtraction, instead of addition.
Whatever it turns out to be, I know you will find it eventually. The human body is a complicated, but not impossible puzzle. You can do it!
Also, I find it really helpful to ask myself, when I am wishing for quicker thinness, or the ability to eat whatever I want, when I want it, darn it, am I feeling good now? Being able to answer 'yes' is a blessing we can't forget to be happy with.
Side note: do you find it more appealing to have BAS as the weather turns warmer? I found I was just not interested in the winter months, even though I usually love salad.