Can't lose weight and trying hard

[doutri2]

I had Zumba class Thursday, Hula Hooping class Friday, rode my bike on Saturday, climbed stairs for 30 minutes on Sunday, counted calories all week and still can't lose weight.  

I'm so frustrated.  

[Mermaid3011]

Hi @tickfit1949

You are doing a great amount of workouts and walking! Congratulations! After reading that you are only taking in 1200 cal or less but burning so much more I would suggest that you reduce your deficit to 500 cal. Eat a little more.

In the last 8 months I've lost actually 50 lbs and whenever I "wanted too much" and ate too little my weightloss stopped. My body was holding on for dear life - literally.

Also remember that 80% of your weightloss is based on what and how you eat. Real foods are key. Honey nut Cheerios are yummy, but high in sugar. Maybe the regular Cheerios will do? Or even a bowl of oats or some alternative grains like Amaranth? They are so quickly cooked, cooled in containers in the fridge and last all week! If you want something easy and quick for breakfast I LOVE my protein breakfasts. Combining a high quality protein shake powder with almond milk, 1/2 banana and 1 cup baby spinach... its so yummy and filling!!

And lastly - if you feel discouraged: join one of our challenge and accountability groups! I am going to start one through a closed Facebook group on Labour Day and you are more than welcome to join. Message me if you are interested!

[Mermaid3011]

Hi @nkotblove

Weightloss is such a long journey. How are you doing these days? Any changes? Can we help you?

Best
Birgit

[Inga]

tickfit1949 I flatly disagree, to me 15 pounds is a big deal. I wouldn't add more exercise but I wouldn't add more calories either. Consistency over time is what is going to count. just get your 10,000 steps most days over time and add your bowflex a few time per week. You say you are 66, I hear you, I am 52 and studies show that most of us post-menopausal women just have very efficient metabolic systems, it is supposed to be a good thing. 🙂

I would add more variety, steam some vegetables and have a cup of marinara on them instead of the chiicken and salad for routine meals unless that is what you actually like. I am vegan so I don't eat meat or cheese, I go for WHO levels of protein which are quite low compared to what most Americans think they need. I do eat a lot more variety and quantity of fruits and vegetables than most people do which is really good especially as we get older.

[Raviv]

---

@Inga wrote:

@tickfit1949 I flatly disagree, to me 15 pounds is a big deal. I wouldn't add more exercise but I wouldn't add more calories either. Consistency over time is what is going to count. just get your 10,000 steps most days over time and add your bowflex a few time per week. You say you are 66, I hear you, I am 52 and studies show that most of us post-menopausal women just have very efficient metabolic systems, it is supposed to be a good thing. 🙂

I would add more variety, steam some vegetables and have a cup of marinara on them instead of the chiicken and salad for routine meals unless that is what you actually like. I am vegan so I don't eat meat or cheese, I go for WHO levels of protein which are quite low compared to what most Americans think they need. I do eat a lot more variety and quantity of fruits and vegetables than most people do which is really good especially as we get older.

---

Link please, because all I could find on the WHO website was this:

TL/DR - intake of protein that was as much as 2-3 times higher than the "safe level" was still pretty darn safe and they struggled to find problems with those larger amounts.  The requirement was defined as the lowest intake you could get away with assuming "modest levels of physical activity."  So basically the minimum to keep your body functioning.  And it was 0.83g/kg of body weight per day.

"Definition of requirement  - On the basis that dietary protein requirements must provide for maintenance and any special needs of growth, reproduction and lactation, the protein requirement can be defined as: the lowest level of dietary protein intake that will balance the losses of nitrogen from the body, and thus maintain the body protein mass, in persons at energy balance with modest levels of physical activity, plus, in children or in pregnant or lactating women, the needs associated with the deposition of tissues or the secretion of milk at rates consistent with good health. It is acknowledged that this definition of the requirement in terms of nitrogen balance does not necessarily identify the optimal intake for health, which is less quantifiable. It is assumed, however, that the body protein mass is maintained at a desirable level, as discussed in section 2.4.1 above. The impact on health of intakes higher than the requirement defined above is discussed in section 13."

"The protein requirements of adult men and women of various body weights are shown in Table 46. For adults, the protein requirement per kg body weight is considered to be the same for both sexes, at all ages, and for all body weights within the acceptable range. The value accepted for the safe level of intake is 0.83 g/kg per day, for proteins with a protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score value of 1.0. No safe upper limit has been identified, and it is unlikely that intakes of twice the safe level are associated with any risk. However, caution is advised to those contemplating the very high intakes of 3–4 times the safe intake, since such intakes approach the tolerable upper limit and cannot be assumed to be risk-free."

Table 46 Safe level of protein intake for adult men and women

Body weight (kg)      Safe level of protein intake (g/kg per day)

40                             33

45                             37

50                             42

55                             46

60                             50

65                             54

70                             58

75                             62

80                             66

(All ages >18 years, 0.83 g/kg per day of protein with a protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score value of 1.0.)

[Mermaid3011]

Mmmhh.... interesting.... my daily goal is to get 50-60g of protein in. But it's hard... especially since I am vegetarian/vegan, so I am usually having a protein shake in the morning with banana and spinach. 20g right there. With soy or almond milk even a bit more...

[tickfit1949]

I would love to eat oats, but they make me gag! I could probably do the
protein shake for breakfast, but what high quality shake powder?? Are
the egg beaters and light string cheese not a good option? I don't get
hungry often, not like I used to. In fact I could probably just eat
twice a day. I am weighing, measuring and logging all my food. I
thought salad (lettuce, green onions, mushrooms and tomatoes)with no
dressing, fresh vegetables and protein would be good choices for
dinner. Guess I may be eating too much fruit, I do love my fruit. I
would be interested in one of your challenge and accountability groups
on Facebook. I have lowered my deficit to 500 and will continue getting
in my 10,000 steps a day, Bow flex workouts 2-3 times a week and bike
riding 4 miles twice a week and try to have patience with my weight
loss. What percentage of protein/carbs/fat do you recommend for someone
my age?

[Mermaid3011]

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> body { font-family: "Calibri","Slate Pro",sans-serif,"sans-serif"; color:#262626 }

Well egg beaters and string cheese are IMHO fairly processed foods and I usually prefer food as natural as possible. 

But then again the protein shake I use for breakfast is processed too, though in a beneficial way. It makes me actually feel fuller much longer and since I often forget to eat or just can't eat all the veggies I should be eating, I use the shake and know i've gotten most of the vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein I need.

I used to buy VegaOne at my local health food store, but it's not as filling. Then I tried PGX from my drugmart and it's filling but somehow gritty in texture. I tried a third one - I think it was nutrisystem or something like that. Taste? Uhm... not so great.

In July a friend of mine had me try a shake she uses and that's what I am buying now online. It's more expensive for me personally worth it, since i'm saving 10$ every morning that I would have spent for fresh juice and ‎an omelette at my office canteen.

Oh and I whizz the powder up w 1 cup of baby spinach, half a banana and lots of ice. Yummy!!

‎Birgit

[tickfit1949]

I love fresh fruits and vegetables and my main meat is chicken, which I
could eat everyday. I do like the light string cheese and found an
avocado hummus that I really like and is only 45 calories for two
tablespoons..I use this instead of mayo on my low fat, high fiber wheat
tortilla along with chicken and string cheese for my lunch with a fresh
peach or some other fruit. I do drink at least 64 oz of water during
the day and it is usually more. Must be getting most my carbs from my
fresh fruit, but I thought those were good carbs. Guess I don't know
what I am suppose to eat. I want to enjoy my food and not feel
deprived. Need some suggestions/recipes. I do like soups, but not when
it is hot outside.

[Mermaid3011]

You are making some really good choices I think! 

I had some issues in the beginning w fruit too. One serving of fruit is often smaller than we think. And carbs are important!! But fruit is sugar and you want some complex carbs that your body uses for digestion and energy. Quinoa, amaranth, whole grains.

I am sure we can hook you up with ‎recipes in our challenge and support group. Actually I am going to post a few recipes right now!

Birgit

Sent from my BB.

[Inga]

The 0.83g/kg of body weight per day is not he minimum it is the "accepted level for safe intake" and is easy to get to even on my diet. There is no actual benefit to more protien and what they mean by the term "cannot be assumed to be risk-free," is that there is current thinking that the chronically high Western protein levels may be the link to our high arthritis and autoimmune disease and they have an ongoing study but no results yet.  

here is the full paper on the protein recomendation -I think the site is going to strip this link though. 

WHO Intl Bitstream

[Raviv]

---

@Inga wrote:

The 0.83g/kg of body weight per day is not he minimum it is the "accepted level for safe intake" and is easy to get to even on my diet. There is no actual benefit to more protien and what they mean by the term "cannot be assumed to be risk-free," is that there is current thinking that the chronically high Western protein levels may be the link to our high arthritis and autoimmune disease and they have an ongoing study but no results yet.  

here is the full paper on the protein recomendation -I think the site is going to strip this link though. 

WHO Intl Bitstream

---

Yep, that 's the same paper I cited, where it said double or triple the "safe limit" didn't seem to be a problem.  Which kind of makes the whole "safe limit" thing a misnomer - a limit that really isn't one.

But I did struggle to find an actual number for minimum intake, and I'm sure there is one.  I just couldn't find it anywhere fairly obvious, even though the paper is titled Protein and Amino Acid Requirements in Human Nutrition.

I did find this on a completely different website, since I was seriously having trouble nailing down a number in the WHO paper:

"The WHO (World Health Organization) set the minimum protein intake at about 1/3 of a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. The first column in the chart below reflects this minimum amount."

Does that look about like what you had found?  

I would think someone walking 5 miles a day and using a Bowflex 3 times a week would qualify for "Medium" or "Typical," not just minimum to survive.  The column labeled "Medium" is about 1.5 times the minimum for each weight or 0.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.  "Typical" is 1:1 ration of protein to pound of bodyweight.  I have seen anywhere from 1g/kg bodyweight to 1g/lb of bodyweight, which would obviously be much higher, as the minimum.

Regardless, my point was not "Eat all the protein!"  It was only that removing the protein, which was already not a huge amount, and replacing it with even more carbs in a carb-heavy diet, was probably not the optimal solution, especially when attempting to add muscle, which it sounds like is the whole point of using a Bowflex.  If the OP was doing something like running or something similar, then yes, you could up the carbs.  But not when trying to build muscle.

[KJScarp]

I agree with the previous posters that you are eating too few calories, especially given the amount of exercise you are doing.  The closer you get to your goal weight, the harder it will be to get the weight off, so you should decrease your caloric deficit to compensate.  This is a good rule of thumb for healthy weight loss:

2 pounds per week (1000 calorie deficit per day) = 80+ pounds to lose
1.5 pounds per week (750 calorie deficit per day) = 40-80 to lose
1 pound per week (500 calorie deficit per day) = 15-40 pounds to lose
1/2 pound per week (250 calorie deficit per day) = 10-15 pound to lose

I don't understand why you are restricting fats to the degree that you are.  Vitamins A, E, D and K are fat soluble, which means you need to eat fat with the foods containing those vitamins, or you will not absorb those vitamins.  The 2015 Dietary Guideline Advisory Committe is revising the guidelines to reflect that cholesterol is no longer a nutrient of concern (it never should have been a nutrient of concern - the original guidelines that were set forth in 1977 was based on flawed science):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/02/10/feds-poised-to-withdraw-longstanding-warni...

Additionally, the Acadamy of Nutrition and Dietetics has petitioned the DGAC to deemphasize saturated fat as a nutrient of concern:

"B. Saturated Fat

In the spirit of the 2015 DGAC's commendable revision of previous DGAC recommendations to limit dietary cholesterol, the Academy suggests that HHS and USDA support a similar revision deemphasizing saturated fat as a nutrient of concern. While the body of research linking saturated fat intake to the modulation of LDL and other circulating lipoprotein concentrations is significant, this evidence is essentially irrelevant to the question of the relationship between diet and risk for cardiovascular disease. The 2010 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on the use of biomarkers as surrogates for disease outcomes examined LDL and HDL as case studies and concluded unequivocally that they were not suitable for use as surrogates for the impact of diet on heart disease.38 The IOM concluded that, "lowering LDL-C does not always correlate with improved patient outcomes,"39 and described the evidence from the ILLUMINATE trial (in which a drug therapy that successfully evidenced decreased LDL-C levels and increased HDL-C in fact caused an increase in cardiovascular events and death)."

http://www.eatrightpro.org/resource/news-center/on-the-pulse-of-public-policy/regulatory-comments/dg...

You don't have to go hog wild on fats, but you should replace the low fat dairy with full fat dairy, and the egg whites/Beaters with whole eggs.  Use a few tablespoons of dressing on your salad - if you don't want to go with a commercially produced dressing, drizzle the salad with olive oil and vinegar and add some avocado slices and/or slivered almonds.  Drizzle some melted butter over your veggies.  Greek yogurt is a good source of protein - buy some plain, unsweetened full fat yogurt and add fruit and stevia to sweeten it up (my favorite brands of greek yogurt are Kalona SuperNatural or **ahem**e).  When the food manufacturers remove fat from the products, they replace the fat with sugars and other junky fillers to mimic the taste and mouthfeel of the missing fats.

Maybe replace some of the fruit you eat with more veggies.  Instead of pasta, you can make zucchini noodles.  Cauliflower is a great sub for potatoes/rice.  Both Trader Joe's brand and Birdseye now sells riced cauliflower in the frozen food dept.  There are recipes online for mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes.  Sweet potatoes are very nutritious - I usually bake a sweet potato and then drizzle butter or coconut oil on top, and then sprinkle with ground cinnamon.

Moving on to protein.  As we age, our protein requirements increase, for a few different reasons.  1) we tend to lose muscle mass as we age (but weight training and resistance exercises help to combat that loss); and 2) our bodies have a more difficult time metabolising protein as we age.  By age 70, it is recommended that protein intake be increased from .8 grams per kilogram of body weight to 1 gram per kilogram of body weight:

"Recently, it has become clear that the requirement for exogenous protein is at least 1.0 gram/kilogram body weight. Adequate dietary intake of protein may be more difficult for older adults to obtain. Dietary animal protein is the primary source of high biological value protein, iron, vitamin B(12), folic acid, biotin and other essential nutrients. In fact, egg protein is the standard against which all other proteins are compared. Compared to other high-quality protein sources like meat, poultry and seafood, eggs are the least expensive. The importance of dietary protein cannot be underestimated in the diets of older adults; inadequate protein intake contributes to a decrease in reserve capacity, increased skin fragility, decreased immune function, poorer healing, and longer recuperation from illness."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15640517

A recent study published last month in the Journal of Nutrition shows that 7 amino acids found in proteins protect against cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis and blood pressure.  Protein from animal sources was found to lower pulse wave velocity (arterial stiffness), while protein from vegetable sources was found to lower blood pressure:

"Conclusions: These data provide evidence to suggest that intake of several AAs is associated with cardiovascular benefits beyond blood pressure reduction in healthy women. The magnitude of the observed associations was similar to those previously reported for other lifestyle factors. Increasing intake of these AAs could be an important and readily achievable way to reduce cardiovascular disease risk."

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/early/2015/07/22/jn.115.214700.abstract

With regard to exercise, you do need a rest day or two.  You are more prone to injury if you overdo the exercise.

[KJScarp]

For some reason the second brand of yogurt that I buy was changed in my last post.  It's the brand pronounced "Fa-yeh".

[Mermaid3011]

I completely agree with adding calories, reducing the daily deficit and taking it a bit slower. 

Also healthy fats! YES! 

But may I suggest not to use full fat dairy or eggs? 

That kind of fat is actually the one that gives your arteries issues, increases cholesterol etc..

I'd rather suggest Avocado, Nuts, Seeds (that includes peanut butter as long as its unsweetened and as natural as possible), Olives and Olive Oil, fatty fish like salmon, soymilk and tofu.

[tickfit1949]

Thank you for all the information.  I have had high cholestrol for over 20 years.  Only one year 2007 was it under 200. Doctor wanted me to start using a statin, but I don't want to do that so he suggested Red Yeast Rice.  Then I decided to try diet/exercise to see if that would help also.  I started doing all this Aug 7th when I got my Fitbit and RYR.  

I will try adding some butter, salad dressing, whole eggs and regular cheese, in moderation of course. I do love veggie's too, but the fruit was satisfying my sweet tooth.  I do not like salmon, but try and eat fish at least once a week, either cod or canned tuna.  Can't seem to find trout, sole or snapper.  Haven't tried talapia, did try rock fish, but it was way too fishy.  Like I said chicken is my favorite and turkey, next pork tenderloin, pork spareribs (boneless) or steak but only 3-4 oz.   Love sweet potatoes, zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, snap peas, carrots, brussel sprouts.  Will try this new way of eating this next week with my deficit being lowered and see what happens.  Thanks again for information and support.

[tickfit1949]

If you cut out ALL carbs and sugars, what do you eat??  Doesn't sound like something you should/could do for the rest of your life.  I know I tried to fast for one day and could not, had to chew something!!  So what is your calorie count for those days, or don't you log your food.  What do you do for exercise?

[KJScarp]

It's not the fat/cholesterol that cause problems within the arteries, it's the sugars.  Blaming cholesterol for heart disease is like blaming a fireman for starting the fire because the fireman is at the scene of every fire.

Cardiovascular disease presents itself as inflammation within the arteries that cause lesions to develop on the arterial walls.  Cardiologists liken the damage to a brush or sandpaper repeatedly scraping against a wall.  One of the roles of cholesterol is to repair the lesions.  If the walls are lesion-free, the chiolesterol travels throught the vascular system freely.  When lesions are present, the cholesterol attaches to the arterial wall and builds up, like a scab.  When the scab eventually breaks off, bad things happen (stroke, heart attack).

Your total cholesterol number is not very helpful in determining whether you are at risk for CVD.  Most people are unaware of the fact that 75% of patients admitted to the hospital with a heart attack have cholesterol levels that are in the normal range:

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/majority-of-hospitalized-heart-75668

Your triglyceride number, your triglyceride/HDL ratio, and your LDL particle size are much more reliable in determining cardiac risk.  When people eat a diet that is high in sugar, refined carbohydrate and oxidized oils that are high in Omega-6s, it results in low HDL, high triglycerides and small, dense LDL particles that more easily penetrate the arterial walls, leading to CVD.  A diet that is low in sugar/refined carbohydrate and leads to low triglycerides and large, fluffy benign LDL particles that do not penetrate the arterial walls and do not lead to CVD.  Saturated fats will raise HDL, and the higher your HDL levels, the lower your risk of heart disease.

This article has links to the studies regarding saturated fat, cholesterol and CVD:

http://authoritynutrition.com/top-8-reasons-not-to-fear-saturated-fats/

Rather than relying solely on your total cholestrol number, run your stats through this cholesterol ratio calculator:

http://www.hughcalc.org/chol2013.php

Five years ago my total cholesterol was 237, my triglycerides were 130, my LDL was 159 and my HDL was 61.  Running my numbers through the ratio calculator I linked to above, I was considered a borderline risk for heart disease.  My doctor was pressuring me to go on a statin, but she told me she would prefer that I try to improve my lipid profile through diet before putting me on a medication that carries significant side effects.  I agreed to try it her way.  I eliminated sugars and grains from my diet and increased the saturated fat content of my diet.

The following year my lipid profile results showed my total cholesterol of 230, my triglycerides were 78, my LDL was 141 and my HDL was 73.  Running those numbers through the ratio calculator, my total cholesterol number was still considered a borderline risk for heart disease, but my ratios fall within the ideal/optimal range.  I was happy, doc was happy and no statins!

Sorry for the novel, lol.  I just wanted to point out that it's not so simple as merely looking at one number to determine cardiac risk.  And that saturated fat/cholesterol is not the villian that they were once made out to be.  Hence the revised DGAC guidelines.

[KJScarp]

I don't cut out all carbs.  I eat lots of non-starchy vegetables (the exception being the occasional sweet potato), meat, eggs, seeds, nuts,  dairy and the occasional legumes (lentils, all-natural peanut butter).  I eat butter, olive oil,  coconut oil, avocado oil, macadamia nut oil, lard (the real stuff from the farmer, not hydrogenated Crisco). I don't eat much dessert type foods, but when I do I use stevia or Swerve as my sweetener of choice.  If a recipe calls for small amounts of pure maple syrup or honey (no more than a few tablespoons for the whole recipe), then I will splurge.

Some people have problems with dairy (intolerances or weight loss stalls), but I'm not one of those unlucky folks.  I don't eat sugars, grains, vegetable oils (i.e. canola, soybean, corn).

A typical breakfast for me is eggs fried in butter or a veggie omelet with some type of meat.  Bacon or sausage or leftover meats from dinner the night before - pork, chicken, steak - I don't discriminate.  20 oz. of coffee with 2 T. of heavy cream.  That meal will carry me through to dinner.  If I feel peckish in the mid-afternoon I will grab a handful of almonds or macadamia nuts or some string cheese or some olives.

A typical dinner is 6 oz. of meat, fish or seafood with a big salad or some other non-starchy vegetable.

Next month it will be five years that I've been eating this way.  There are members in some of the Facebook groups that I belong to that have been eating like this for 15-20 years.  It works for me - the food is tasty, my lipid profile improved and I've lost 80 lbs.

My husband is a Type 2 diabetic and he's reduced his insulin requirements by 2/3 and is off of his statins.  Life is good 🙂

[tickfit1949]

Good job, not sure it would work for me, especially if I can't have fresh fruit. I think I would feel deprived, but maybe I would get used to it.  I will look into the Paleo diet and see.  I know there are times when I really feel bloated and I don't know why that is.  I don't drink anything but one cup of coffee with creamer in the morning and rest of the day water.  I was going to try smoothies, but there is that fruit again. 

Here was my cholestrol stats from July 29th this year:

Your Total Cholesterol of 271 is HIGH RISK
Your LDL of 176 is HIGH RISK
Your HDL of 68 is OPTIMAL
Your Triglyceride level of 133 is NORMAL
RATIOS:
Your Total Cholesterol/HDL ratio is: 3.99 - (preferably under 5.0, ideally under 3.5) GOOD
Your LDL/HDL ratio is: 2.588 - (preferably under 5.0, ideally under 2.0) GOOD
Your triglycerides/HDL ratio is: 1.956 - (preferably under 4, ideally under 2) IDEAL

Was confusing to me, didn't seem too bad?  But doctor thought I should do statin drugs, not me - side effects are worse than what he was trying to treat.  All the other years were close to the same: my HDL and Triglycerides were always ok.

Thanks for your input. 

[Mermaid3011]

Mmhhh.... I can't speak to any of those stats since i am not a doctor / medical professional. But I could imagine that you would like the Paleo diet. There are some pretty yummy recipes out there... my favourite are pumpkin pancakes!

Smoothies are high in fruit and therefore sugar, yes, but you could have a combination of fruit, veggies, maybe almond milk and a nutritional powder / protein shake. It would cut down your fruit intake but still give you something for your sweet tooth.

My fave is 1 serving of chocolate protein shake powder, 1 cup almond milk, 1/2 or a whole frozen banana, a handful of baby spinach and ice... whizzzzzzz delicious! I love chocolate for breakfast. 🙂