*still* not speeding up weight loss no matter what I try
(48 posts) (27 voices)-
So I've had a few posts on here about plateauing, fitness increases, being stuck, and I've gotten a LOT of advice from people that it worked on - but I can't seem to lose weight any quicker than a fraction of a lb per week. I've averaged half a lb per week when you look at it since the beginning of the year - some ups and downs, but that's basically it. And given that I have to lose at least another 50 it's pretty daunting.
The good news is I *know* I'm getting healthier. A quick review of fitness records shows this - 1/1/2009 I was pressing 100 lbs, now i'm easily up to 160's or more; I could do 1 pullup with 200 lbs of weight assist, now I can do 10 with 190 lbs of assist; etc. Used to do side extensions and cramp on the first one - now do several sets (15-8-4) with no problems. I feel better for certain. But the damn weight loss! How the heck did some users here lose nearly 100 lbs in a year!?!
I've tried:
logging everything I eat
by-the-book primal blueprint - the first 6 months
told to try dropping carbs under 100 - same
told to try dropping under 50, 25, and then as close to zero as possible - same
tried total carnivore - same
told "you aren't eating enough" - so kept my calories closer to my base (which at my size is approx 3000, i've calculated) except for days doing IF - same
Told to switch exercise to static contraction fatigure style - I've done that nearly 3 weeks, and while I've had some strength gains, no weight change.
Told to try a 90% fat diet - sameSO far the only time I lost more weight (like 2-3 lbs a week) was when I tried the rapid fat loss thing (just eat enough protein to spare muscle mass, and little of anything else) - but I got so cranky and depressed on it I couldn't stick it out more than a few weeks.
I take damage control, plus extra D & K everyday. Two times a week intense weightlifting. 2-4 times a week an hour walk at lunch with some sprints thrown in. I had a blood panel back in Jan to make sure I didn't have a thyroid problem.
If there is something I'm missing for the life of me I can't figure it out. I'm sure if I list a few things it *might* be, everyone is going to jump on it and say "oh well DUH that's the answer" but you'll forgive me if I'm skeptical - except I'm a scientist at heart and KNOW it must be SOMETHING.
Sleep? My sleep habits aren't BAD but aren't great - I probably average 6 hours a night. Could the lack of an hour of sleep a day be totally holding everything up?
Caffeine? I tank down 2-3 cups of coffee a day weekdays, not so much weekends.
Cheating? Generally 1-2 nights a week I'll go get a couple of drinks (usually just vodka). 1-2 times a week with a meal I'll get something carby like bread ,or have a carb-heavier meal. Sometimes during the IF if I get extra hunger I'll eat a pat of butter or something to stave off the hunger. And maybe once a week go off the wagon with something like a bag of M&M's at a movie. Are the occasional carb jolts stopping or reversing all progress?
Too much exercise? I'm never sore more than a day, and my fitness gains are NOT plateauing.
I've always been very metabolically resistant to change, but this is soooo slooow. If I have to keep to 100% compliance to get it to 1 lb a week, I will never make it.
Right now, I've been doing like a 80-90% fat diet. Its helping kill hunger, helping me not go crazy when I do IF, twice a week 24 hour fasts but *still* no or very little loss.
So...what am I missing? What's staring me at the face that I can't see? If I could just squeeze off a couple of inches and get my waist down to 42" (I'm at 45"), I'd get down to "normal American fat" and be able to take more advantage of social opportunities and buying clothes from a non-fat store that seem just out of my reach now and it would help my motivation a LOT. Blerg.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Snacking? I don't graze all day, but I generally stick to the 3 meals plus a snack or two deal. Again, keeping within whatever food plan I'm on.
Late eating? Some nights I eat dinner lateish, or have a couple hundred cals at midnight or before bed. Maybe once a week tops.
Posted 4 months ago # -
one_eye_mike
MemberI feel ya on this. I have a unique situation in that I had a pituitary tumor fifteen years ago and had to have the whole thing removed. I have to take steriods every day, along with a bunch of other stuff, and it's very, very difficult for me to lose weight.
I've tried every thing you list above, just about, and since I started the whole thing six months ago, gained 10 lbs.
The only thing that works for me is to keep my total calories as low as possible. I had all kinds of digestive issues cleared up by going low carb so it's well worth it for that reason alone.
I meticulously track my diet using the "Lose It" app on my itouch. For the last month I've kept my total calories at 1500 or less and carbs around 50 or less and the weight is starting to, very slowly, come back off.
Posted 4 months ago # -
OnTheBayou
MemberThe good news is, only two more years to go!
OP, I'm with you on your puzzlement. You've certainly done about everything possible, and with a decent objective eye. The bag of M&M's isn't helpful, but if that's sporadic and infrequent, it couldn't be THE answer.
I started my weight loss in May. The first month I lost twelve pounds and it became less every month until the end of August. I'm still in August, despite trying new things and old things.
I feel your pain.
Posted 4 months ago # -
groquette
MemberFrom what I've read sleep could be a major blocker -- but it would vary from person to person.
http://www.amazon.com/Lights-Out-Sleep-Sugar-Survival/dp/0671038680Some people aren't affected at all by caffeine, and can cheerfully lose weight drinking several cups of coffee a day. Other people get all out of whack from it (well, anecdotally, any way).
It does sort of look like your cheats are adding up and for some people I suspect that cheats like that wouldn't even be a blip on the radar, but it could very well be the wrench in your works.
The only thing I can think of to suggest is several 2 week long experiments where you try (yet another) variation, for instance
- 8 hours or more of sleep, or
- no caffeine, or
- no alcohol, or
- no heavy exercise (arthurb999 might want to shoot me for suggesting it, but for a 2 week experiment it probably won't harm), or
- absolutely no cheats (hard, but maybe 14 days could be done).You could also check out the "shangri-la diet" -- just don't pay any attention to the hypothesis for why it works. I suspect that it helps affect basal insulin levels; the rat psychologist who came up with the idea thinks it has something to do with a theoretical construct (never actually pinpointed) called a "set point".
Posted 4 months ago # -
Chunster495
MemberI would definitely cut out any form of cheating if you want dramatic results in a short amount of time. While the 80/20 works well for maintenance and slow weight loss,.. it appears that alcohol, bread, sugar here and there really does slow down your progress quite a bit. Go 100% for two - three weeks and see if that helps.
Posted 4 months ago # -
nina_70
MemberI know you mentioned your waist at the end. What about your other measurements? The reason I ask is there any chance you could be losing inches rather than lbs? Your strength is increasing so you could be increasing your muscle-mass (= more weight). I've seen it happen alot (people plateau in lbs, but are still changing body-shape), and just wanted to put that idea out there.
Posted 4 months ago # -
jostle
MemberI would second the suggestion to stop the cheats for a couple weeks. Everyone's body will react differently. I know my fiancee can't have any cheats or she plateaus, where as I could have 3-4 cheat meals a week and my weight has no change. Although, i cant stand most non-primal foods anymore. From the comment that you sometimes have carb heavy bread meals or M&Ms, I don't think your body has actually gone into a full transition of burning fat for energy. Once it's done this from my experience and friends on high fat diets, you don't crave those things and they actually taste bad. I've found once my body transitioned fully to using fat for energy, the only thing I have cravings for are things that are heavy in fat content like bacon, sausage, or avocado. Also, most sugar stuff, especially candy now almost has a bad taste once in my mouth to the point of wanting to spit it out.
Posted 4 months ago # -
emmie
MemberI've been eating low carb for years (before I discovered primal or was ready for this), and I can tell you that the alcohol, break, and candy IS the problem. If you're just eating the standard American diet and going low calorie, you can eat almost anything as long as you stay in your calorie range.
But when you're eating low carb, those "other" things that are off plan make it worse than if you were not dieting at all. It's common to 'gain' 2-5 lbs from a single 'dietary indiscretion'--which is mainly water weight. But if you're having these things during a single week, they counteract any positive effect of your low carb eating. That's why you seem to lose so little. If you lose 2 lbs of fat, you then add 2 lbs of water so that the scale shows no loss or only a minimal loss.
Stay primal, and you should be fine.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Vick
MemberOTB
I'm no Genius. There is a biological reason for the stall. It might be nothing more or less than resting. Mother Nature and our evolutionary process is smarter than we are.The key is to find the trigger to tell our bodies to burn fat not to store fat.
Change nothing and expect no changes. Quit eating and loss of weight is pretty much guaranteed. The healthy answer lies somewhere in between.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Anand Srivastava
MemberIt must be some hormonal issues.
On the flip side you are losing slowly but surely.
One last thing you could try is eating within a 4 hour window, everyday. I don't know whether you can manage that or not.
You haven't told whether your fasting insulin and glucose is fine. That might cause problems with carbs.
You said that the last 50 pounds looks daunting. Why are you so impatient? If you are consistently losing then its not a problem. You should look for any hormonal problems.
Are you sure you can continue the effort that you are doing now forever? If you are not sure on that you will have to look at what you can do to make it more enjoyable compared to present without adding bad things.
If you are tired all the time and you have no diabetic component then you might try adding a little carbs to see if you feel better.
This lifestyle is forever, so the most important thing is to like it. Don't do it just for losing weight. Weight can come back as easily as it goes.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Why am I so impatient? Mostly because I have plenty of friends who lose weight on traditional methods much, much faster and its frustrating. I just had a friend send out congradulatory emails on how they lost 50 lbs in 9 months on weight watchers while eating junk the whole time (mostly just caloric restriction, probably skinny fat, I know...)I'm not a carb addict by any means, but if eating bread once a week or going out for drinks is going to derail the entire week's weight loss that is a hard pill to swallow.
I'm not tired all the time and wake up easily. I'm not hungry all the time either. One problem is there is no way I am going to enjoy being on a 90% fat diet forever. I love fruit and veggies. Hell, I know I'm going to go against the grain to all those folks who say "once I got used to this I hate bread and candy" - my tastes have certainly changed quite a bit, but I still enjoy the occasional good piece of bread, or pasta, or whatever. I don't mind getting my diet to 80/20 or 90/10 or whatever works - but 100% meat and fat is simply not appealing to me.
I could switch back to regular primal blueprint, I suppose, but it seems even less likely I'll continue to lose.
As for consistently losing, the last 3 months has been a real slowdown. I've averaged half a lb a week for the year but the last month has been almost no change. I'm just feeling a little panicky.
But mostly its the feeling that I'm just missing something key. I keep playing with the system to see what it is.
I know it sorta sounds like I'm cheating all the time, but I'm not. I'm talking 1-3 times a week, which I would imagine falls in the 80/20 rule. Unless 80/20 is strictly maintenance. Last week I had bread at one meal and a 2 oz bag of M&M's at a movie. The week before, I had potatoes at one meal and two nights had a few low-carb drinks. The week before went on a trip and had a pancake breakfast plus a big serving of fries, on the same day. But the rest of the time I was on target.
I'll try not cheating at all, but let's be honest, that's going to be nearly impossible. The cheats I've usually saved for social occasions. It's one thing to skip popcorn at the movies, or ask for a chicken Caesar, but I'm supposed to meet some blind date tonight for dinner, hello? Yes I'd like the plain steak with nothing, please. Why are you looking at me that way?
It's also a question of motivation. When the weight is sliding off its a lot easier to stay on track. I'm totally obsessing over food right now with very little visible benefits and it's driving me craaaazy.
Posted 4 months ago # -
JulieD
MemberOne can lose 100 pounds in a year, but how many of those people have maintained that loss? If you are losing fat, even slowly, it really does pay off in the end. I understand your struggle because I have twice as much as you to lose, and it is going slowly, but it is coming off. If you are healing your body and gaining wellness, I tend to think that you are further priming your body to work the way it needs to, which will lead to further weight loss.
Congrats on your success so far!
Posted 4 months ago # -
Not to nitpick a fine point, but 1-3 cheats each week is more than 80/20. That and it's sounding habitual now.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Anand Srivastava
Member@roccoernest
I think you need to get easy on yourself. Don't be too worried of potatoes if they are not too often. Do worry about the M&Ms.
Remember the best part of Primal living is that you get to enjoy life while being healthy. Don't worry too much about weight. It might be that your worry is causing problems. Relax. You will slowly but surely have the body you crave, but let it come naturally.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Jaeden: given 21 meals (plus the occasional snack) a week, 10% would be two full meals. Not to nitpick either :)
The last week (so far) was:
Monday - 2 eggs, 4 slices bacon, microwaved in bowl at work, Coffee with Half-n-half; lunch was a big can of tuna (10z - about 250 cals) plus 2 tbs of butter; had a snack around 5 of 4 oz of cream cheese and an oz of macadamia nuts since I was skipping dinner. At lunch I walked an hour (about 3 miles), jogging a block here and there, and threw in an all-out sprint for 50 yards at the halfway mark. No dinner.
Tues - coffee w/hnh for bfast; around 4pm I had two ounces of cheddar,two slices of pepperoni, 1 tbs of butter in a little boullion just because the fast was getting rough. Diner was fajitas (beef/shrimp) with just the veggies+sour cream, no tortillas, and maybe 1 tbs of rice and 1 tbs of beans. Just a taste. Went to movies afterwards, had my M&M's.Got home and was still hungry so had a full fat greek yogurt with some half-n-half dumped in. At noon I did a static contraction style workout, 1-2 sets holding 60-90 seconds on each part (chest press, military press, leg press, hamstring curl, seated pulldown, side/back extensions), plus a set of regular pullups and 5 minutes on treadmill to warm up.
Wed - 2 eggs, 4 bacon, 1 oz of cheddar, coffee w/hnh again; 2 oz of cheddar, dozen macadamias, some almonds, and a tbs of butter for lunch. Chinese food for dinner: small egg drop soup, some plain chicken and broccoli (ate very little broccoli), maybe an oz of roast pork as plain as possible. Got peckish late night so had a tbs of coconut butter, oz of almonds, maybe 6 raisins, and a single square of 100% dark chocolate. Same lunchtime walk/sprint.
Thus - 4 slices bacon, another oz of roast pork leftover, coffee w/hnh; 2 oz of cheddar, 1 oz of salami and pat butter for lunch; omelette for early dinner with 3 eggs, mozzarella, Italian sausage. Ate a half dozen fries and maybe half a piece of toast with it. Went to movies again, ate a bag of pork rinds. Had some almonds (an oz) when I got home. No exercise.
Today: coffee w/hnh; 2 oz cheddar and a pat butter around 2pm (fast day), maybe a half tbs of peanut butter when hunger got bad. Not eating again until 8pm for dinner. Same weight-lifting workout.
Tonight I was supposed to go have a few drinks with friends. According to fitday, my calories totals were approx 1500, 2400, 2600, 1800, and so far 440 today (given that it says my maintenance cals are about 3000). On the weekend, I typically have the same eggs/meat for breakfast, and the dinner is looser depending on what I'm doing but still usually on course. All the nuts/cheese/butter is try and get to the high fat levels people suggested. When I was primal, i had a similar regimen but replaced all the extra fat with fruits and veggies. Some lunches is just my microwaving a lb of ground chuck, or eating half a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
Typically if I choose to cheat - the week before, for example, i had a couple of onion rings at one meal, a slice of bread at another, made an almond meal tortilla for one. Weekends I try to do some walking and more sleep. On average I'm getting 6 hours a night during the week.I suppose I can eliminate the nuts and dairy...but unless I'm going to be guzzling bacon fat I don't know how to keep up the high fat level that was suggested.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I also just want to also say that this diet isn't tremendously appealing to me - the high fat one, I mean, the one right now. I was very happy with a primal blueprint sort of thing, 50% fat cals, veggies, and fruit once a day or so - never felt a need to eat junk food or candy.
Posted 4 months ago # -
inga
MemberMaybe try drinking more water? I dont know how much you drink already but you left it out so it might be worth a mention.
I am currently losing on 30g protein from meats in each meal x3 meals a day with lots of salad greens and other raw veges and high fat dressings (home made olive oil based mayo). I cut caffeine down (not out), dropped all alcohol and stopped eating high fructose fruits and foods so my liver can improve its function thereby (theoretically) giving it more capacity to move belly fat. I'm aiming for the "magical" 8 glasses of water a day although I never get close but I'm ok with that.
Maybe you can get some ideas out of that but all I can really say is that it has to work for you. You could also try eating what you want for a while - I'm sure its not meant to be an unhappy process.
Posted 4 months ago # -
BlazeKING
MemberAre you doing heavy low rep compound free weight movements? Like..are you squatting? Are you deadlifting? Are you benchpressing? 3 times a week? Are you sprinting as hard as you can a couple times a week? Are you going for light walks or jogs or are you sitting most of the day?
You need to ask yourself these questions and change things. Frankly, I don't really think you need a 90% fat diet. Just cut out grains and keep it mostly low carb. You don't need to cut out berries and veggies.
Increase the intensity, reduce your calories. Try yerba mate tea, it keeps the hunger down.
Also, about those people who lose weight fast and brag about it...they have a really high chance of gaining it back. Don't let em get ya down.
Posted 4 months ago # -
BlazeKING
MemberLooking at your previous post, I can say that you just aren't being intense enough in exercise. If you want to change your shape quicker I'd highly recommend a barbell and low rep high weight squats, deadlifts and bench presses. These compound movements release GH and improve metabolism dramatically. One sprint and a jog doesn't cut it either. More sprints or circuit training at more intensity are necessary for high fat loss. Crossfit is a good program to look into if you need motivation.
Fries, pork rinds, rice, m&m's, bread etc...If you want dramatic weight loss you really need to follow the diet closely and exercise intensely. You are getting weight loss, so you are in the right direction, yes. But if you want more, you need to eat cleaner, lift heavy and get more intensity in your workout. Sometimes it's hard to count every calorie you are taking in, so a couple hundred more may slip in here and there without you knowing it and at the end of the week it adds up.
Posted 4 months ago #
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