Weight loss and calorie intake

[ReallyFedUp]

In theory, I ought to be losing the excess weight gained due to medication with low calorie intake. Once medciation was changed, a slight loss occured but an awful long way to go.

I really don't eat lots of rubbish and intake is under 1500 with at least three, or four miles walked daily.

Breakfast 1 Yoghurt 89 calories

Mid Morning snack 1 orange 100 calories

Lunch 2 x Homemade Waffles with stewed Apple and a dollop of Creme fraiche with a drizzle of Maple Syrup. Approx 336 calories

Mid Afternoon, maybe a portion of Honeydew Melon 40 calories max

Dinner Egg Salad and maybe a couple of boiled new potatoes, no dressing. 350 calories maybe.

So where am I going wrong? No sweets, no milk in drinks, no soft drinks, no alcohol.

[bunblebeaz]

Hi ReallyFedUp,

The menu you posted was less than 1000cals, how long have you been using this sort of diet plan?

If you have a very low calorie diet VCLD you shouldn't use it for a lengthy period of time.

Also following a VLCD can slow down your metabolism so your weight loss slows down too.

weightwatchers.co.uk/util/a...

nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/...

[ReallyFedUp]

If I try and eat a normal diet I slap on pound of weight. The consultant told me I was lazy and ate too much.

[Hidden]

Hi ReallyFedUp,

Firstly I would look very closely at what you are eating. Come on now, be honest, have you forgotten anything?

Then, I'd think about how you are eating. Are you going too long a period without a snack? Are you eating something sweet that raises your blood sugar in a spike?

Then, if I didn't have any clues to follow, I'd go and talk to your GP or practice nurse.

Medication and medication withdrawal can have complex side-effects on bits of the body's functioning and some medications take a significant time to come out of your system. That process could be having an effect upon hormomes that help or hinder fat burn and fat storage.

I take a very safe, prescribed, inhaled steroid for my asthma but if I don't take it for a couple of days I get a blinding migraine. And I've done it often enough to be quite sure that it's the steroid levels causing it. Other people might get different, or no, withdrawal issues from it, but I get a migraine.

[ReallyFedUp in reply to Hidden]

I am being brutally honest with what I'm eating, prior to cutting down, when the Endo Consultant said I was fat because I was lazy, my intake was 1500 calories. Medication does play a large part as I should be taking 250 mg Levothyroxine after having thryroid cancer but have changed to natrual thyroid which does suit me better. Prior to the replacement thyroxine, weight was never an issue and that includes when pregant too.

My routine is actually very strict, waking up at 5.00am to take 3 tabs, allowing at least two hours to lapse before eating as per recommendation.

10.00 Fruit and vits and mineral tablets. They need to be taken at least fours hours after thyroid meds.

1.00 Lunch

3.00 Fruit or a couple of plain crackers +More minerals and cider vinegar

6.00 Dinner

10.00 Late dose of thyroid meds.

I drink one cup of black coffee per day, without sweetners or sugar. For the rest of the day I drink plain water. It is more than a little depressing.

[Hidden in reply to ReallyFedUp]

I think you're looking for rather specialist information in relation to weight loss/gain which you should probably be seeking, in your specific case, from a medical practitioner.

Such web-sites as this can really only give rather generalised advice about weight loss/gain and diet and exercise and the like.

In general, a whole host of things can have an effect on an individual's weight loss/gain from having an infection, stress levels, loss of sleep through to insulin resistance, intolerance to certain sugars and your metabolic rate.

As the thyroid - to put it simply - controls how quickly the body uses energy, makes protein and controls how sensitive the body is to other hormones, it clearly can change the effect of such weight gain/loss associated hormones such as adiponectin, ghrelin, insulin and cortisol.

I would strongly urge you to get specific medical advice about weight gain/loss relevant to your specific medical issues rather than seek general answers which may well not be relevant to your specific case.

Good luck.

[ReallyFedUp in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your reply doikosp. I have asked my GP and Consultant to no avail. Carry on fighting eh

[Hidden in reply to ReallyFedUp]

It may be worth just asking straight out for a referral from your GP to a dietician or to try to get an appointment with your practice nurse.

Or go to your GP and if necessary take the stance of if you're not going to assist me then how do I set about getting help with this?

I agree with others on this blog, that it sounds to me like you're eating too little and - as others have said - Very Low Calorie Diets are not recommended for long periods except under medical supervision.

But you have a history of thyroid issues and your thyroid is right in the middle of the business of controlling hormones. In the final analyis, diet or exercise or whatever, the actual mechanics of weight loss, fat storage, cravings for food, regulation of blood sugar, etc, are done on a day to day basis inside your body by hormones.

It just isn't possible to divorce the two issues, because they're somewhat 'joined at the hip'.

The point of correct diet and activity levels is to trigger situations in the body that encourage the hormones to regulate your body fat downwards. And most people get into overweight situations through years of doing exactly the reverse and persuading them to store fat.

Good luck.

[Steaders52]

Good morning Really Fed Up! No wonder you picked that name, it is so depressing when you feel you are doing all the right things and not seeing a positive result. I agree with doikosp that your diet does seem too low and you should think about increasing. You say that you walk 2-3 miles a day but if you have always done that you need to increase your exercise in order to lose weight. I take some meds which don't help my weight loss but I am slowly winning the battle this time. I really hope that you find the answer and see that weight start to go, don't be too fed up, carry on fighting indeed!

[ReallyFedUp in reply to Steaders52]

Thank you for your reply. The 3-4 miles walked is quite new in addition to the couple of miles I've generally walked for daily for years. I'm hoping to do the Couch to 5k, the extra walking is to try and build up stamina. At 60, I'm not quite ready to sit around waiting for life to pass me by, I want to be part of it and I know it is up to me to find my own way.

[Oldgirl]

Hi ReallyFedUp I am sure you are not eating enough and your body thinks so too so its hanging onto all you are consuming. Go into bootsdiets.com and try their web site for the week free trial. It lets you log your food and works out your calories and fat content. If you also log your exercise it will calculate how many calories you have burned too. If you are honest with this diary you will lose weight. Don't get down hearted but you have to be honest with all you eat and I'm pretty sure reading what you have said is just NOT ENOUGH.

[ReallyFedUp]

Thank you for your help and suggestions, I'm going to up the intake, keeping a food diary.

[DreamstoReality]

Hi really fed up,

I am no professional by any means but have had a lot of professional advice and hope I can share some of the things that helped me. From reading your post, I think your calorie intake and exercise may be out of balance. Your calorie intake is too low as it stands and could have serious health implications if you continue. I understand that you say that if you eat anything more then you end up putting on weight but I think this is due to your exercise regime. How long have you been walking 3-4 miles a day and at what pace?

If you are only walking at a moderate pace and have been doing this for a few weeks or more then it is not enough. Your body becomes accustomed to exercise and it will use fewer calories to perform the same amount of exercise over time. So if your body used 200 calories to do this originally then it may only use 50-100 calories to do it now. This added to your slower metabolism from eating too few calories is a recipe for disaster when trying to lose weight.

The government guidelines are 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise. Moderate exercise can be identified by your heart rate increasing and your body beginning to sweat. Your breathing should be enough to be able to talk but you shouldn't be able to sing a song as you exercise.

If you are struggling to increase your exercise due to your health issues then explain this to your GP and ask for an exercise referral to help you. For the next week, write a food diary and an exercise diary of everything you eat and do each day and show this to your GP. He/she should be able to advise you further and if you feel they do not give you enough assistance then keep pushing.

To help you until then I think the couch to 5K program would be great for you to have a look at and that you should give the 12 week plan a go. The links are below but please check these with your GP before you start due to your health condition:

nhs.uk/Livewell/weight-loss...

nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/...

[rubyvirk]

my mum battled with weight loss all her life and did not eat much but remained overweight

she had diabetes

towards the end she ballooned, but it was not due to overeating it was water retention

REMEMBER,,, being fat may not be a sign of greedy eating, there could be underlying physical reasons

we are all diverse!

love yourself and don't worry about your looks too much, your probably healthy where you are so maintain it

good luck