I need help

[angel10152]

I am a 30 year old female, I'm short at only 5'4, and I weigh roughly 207 lbs. I have lost 50 lbs in the last 10 months and I am proud of that, there's a very obvious difference in pictures. I would like to lose another 50. I know I'll still be considered obese for my height, but with four pregnancies, my body shape has changed. My hips and shoulders are wider than they were pre-pregnancy. My body will never look the same, but I have four beautiful kids to show for it. For the last few weeks, I've been stuck at this weight, no change. I know plateaus are very common and I've read all about moving past them. But I worked my butt off to lose the weight I have, I don't know that I can really push any harder than I am now. I walk at least 4 miles a day, do pilates and yoga, and an exercise routine working on a different set of muscles every day. I do take weekends off to relax but usually end up walking the 4 miles or more anyway. Also, my doctor suggested a 1400 calorie diet to maintain energy and shed the pounds. The problem with that is that I can't seem to even reach that goal in a day. I recently decided to go vegetarian for personal reasons and that has made it even more difficult. I don't usually eat during the day, only dinner and maybe a snack later in the evening. It's not that I'm trying to starve myself for any reason, I'm really just not hungry and if I force myself to eat, I feel tired and crappy and sometimes even sick. I need help finding a way to eat small things that are kind of high in calories throughout the day so I can get to 1400 calories. I really feel part of this plateau is that I'm not eating enough, but I don't know how to fix it. If anyone can make some suggestions, I would really appreciate it. This is mostly a weight loss community, there aren't a whole lot of people looking for ways to be able to eat more, but this is where I am.

[Dominique]

At 30/5.4/207, your calculated BMR is 1644 (it could in fact be a bit lower that that, because of the large amount of weight you’ve already lost). Given that, and the fact you are quite active (4 miles a day + 4 kids must translate in quite a few steps per day!), 1400 sounds too little to me. How much does your Fitbit say you’re burning per day? My guess is it’s well above 2000 calories.

[angel10152]

Yes, I burn roughly 2,800 calories a day, double what my doctor suggested I take in. Everything says the key to weight loss is burning more than you eat...but my body doesn't seem to handle it all that well when I burn 3 times or so more than I'm eating. I'm fine with the calorie goal set by my doctor because she feels this is the right amount to help me lose a lot, but I still don't know how to get enough calories. I eat 800-900 calories a day, tops, and I just don't know how to fit more in without feeling bloated and sick. I've always eaten this way, it's not a new change for me.



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[jvreedy]

I finally learned to eat right. After telling my doctor one day how frustrated I was she said just eat right and exercise. She also told me to stop doing so much research online. And stop comparing myself to people on facebook. I know what you are going through. I have struggled for years. Highest weight 275 10 years ago. I'm at 206 now and have a ways to go but we can do this!!! And you have lost 50 pounds! Wow! Let's do this. I have about 40+

[SunsetRunner]

A handfull of cashews can easily get you 300-500 calories. A protein bar can get you about 200 calories. Because you are vegetarian I would focus more on getting enough protein in your diet since that is the hardest part about the vegetarian diet. Try to spread out your calories. It sounds like you eat all those calories pretty much in one sitting. At least have something small in the morning. Don't push any harder with your exercise regime. That's not the problem. If you're really only consuming about 800 calories a day, the problem is you aren't getting enough calories. Remember that it's about balance. If you're only consuming 800 calories then you shouldn't be exercising. That should be more like your rest day. Really 800 calories is only done if you are fasting and only periodically. If you are burning more calories then you need to consume more calories.

[GershonSurge]

First of all, congratulations on your weight loss. Not many have reached this high level of achievement, and you should be proud of yourself. I put you right up there with people who have hiked the Appalachian Trail or walked across the United States 

I'm on a whole food plant based diet, so I can relate to the difficulty with eating enough calories. I'm at my goal weight, so eating enough is often a challenge.

Many people who are vegetarian still eat obviously junk foods, so check yourself for this. For the purposes of this post, a junk food is anything that is not in or near it's natural state. Normal cooking is fine. Whole grain bread would qualify. as a good food. Oils such as olive oil, etc., are junk food. They pack in the calories and are immediately stored as fat if you don't use them right away. For me, they make me feel yucky. Virtually all the processed meals that come frozen in a box are not healthy. The popular store bought vegeburgers are junk.

I suggest learning about condensing calories so you can consume more without increasing the volume. It isn't difficult. For instance, a serving of rice will have more calories than the same size serving of boiled potatoes. Pasta is high calorie. Be sure to measure pasta so you don't get too much. Rice, beans and corn is a high calorie and healthy meal. You can add a serving of nuts or peanut butter a day if you need to.

Many nutrition programs recommend meal planning. An easy way to do this is plan a week's worth of meals and keep repeating the cycle. In a short time, you will be able to include variations. A meal plan doesn't have to be difficult.

Breakfast

Oatmeal, applesauce (mixed with the oatmeal to add flavor), some sugar for taste if you need it, and a banana

or

Pancake and a banana

or 

Bagel sandwich with mustard, greens, cucumber, tomato.

Lunch

Rice and steamed vegetables

or

Steamed potatoes and vegetables

or

Vegetable sandwich with vegetarian baked beans

Supper

Same as lunch, but use a whole grain pasta if you are behind on calories. Add a side of vegetables.

Fill in snacks as needed to get the calories. 

I know you said you don't like to eat early in the day. At least give it a try with small amounts. There is nothing wrong with delaying breakfast until you feel up to eating it.

Stimulating normal hunger

This can be done by eating more carbs in the form of rice, beans, lentils, bread, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other starches while at the same time, reducing fat. If you don't feel physical hunger pangs, try eating only three meals a day and see if that helps. If it's possible, eat them at the same time each day. Have some "emergency snacks" such as raisins and peanuts in case you start to get weak between meals. (If you have any diabetes related problems, ask your doctor. I know nothing about diabetes.)

Overtraining

The symptoms you describe are consistent with exercising beyond your current capabilities. I ended up in the same situation last week, and suddenly gained a few pounds. After taking a few days off, I lost the weight while eating more. 

Conclusion

During every heroic endeavor such as yours, there are setbacks. I read a book on the psychology of those who completed the Appalachian trail. The only difference the author found was some kept going and others didn't. You can find your way past this and reach your goal as long as you keep moving -- even in the wrong direction at times.  

[Angel525]

Even if your not really hungry you definitely need to find a way to eat more.  I lost quite a bit of weight myself a few years ago and had a similar issue to yours until I basically retrained my thought process on how to eat through the day. If your only eating a once or twice a day your body is taking that food and storing it as fat because it doesnt know when its next meal is coming.  Ideally you want to eat at least 3 times a day but better is to eat 5-6 times a day.  With 4 kids I know this is tough, I too have 4 kids and a career. 

The way I have done it is to eat something for breakfast, even something small.  I'm not a big breakfast eater so this was hard for me.  I usually take in about 300 calories for breakfast.  If you cant eat something, try a smoothie, which is great if your on the go.  I have a fantastic smoothie recipe that is high in protien if you would like it.  Then, about 2 hours after that I have a small snack, something like carrots and a light/fat free ranch dressing, or a cucumber cut up in some sort of dressing or vinegar.  Usually about 12:30 I will have my lunch, which again is about 300 calories, a nice salad with a container of greek yogurt, or maybe a lean cuisine meal with the yogurt.  Then, about 3:30 I will have another small snack, sometimes just pretzels and hummus. About 6pm I have my dinner which is usually the biggest meal I have, around 400-600 calories.  If I'm still hungry later in the day, since I know I'm getting ready to go to bed I will have something small, like an apple or a piece of fruit.  This usually lands me between 1400 and 1600 calories for my day.  My diet is high in sugar, unfortunatley sugar is something I struggle with, but it has helped me loose. 

The one thing I do stick to though as well is a "cheat" day. Not a day when I gorge, but a day to not count calories, and enjoy those foods I would normally not eat, like chicken wings, pizza, cake, something like that.  Doing this helps to keep your metabolism guessing so it doesnt get complacent with the low calorie counts.  You need to do this to hopefully get out of that plateau your in and to avoid it again.

I hope this helps you and you are able to get to your next goal!!  Good luck!

[A_Lurker]

@angel10152 - I'm one of those people who need to eat more to lose weight.  I eat more, I move more, I lose weight.  When I cut calories too drastically my loss will stall until I eat a little more. The 2800 calories burned could be a little high, but let's assume it's say 10% off.  This means you're burning 2520 calories.  Eating very low calories can screw with your metabolism so if you've been eating this little for 10 months it may be time for a reset before you continue your weight loss journey.  Take a few minutes and read about a metabolism reset here:  http://eatmore2weighless.com/the-metabolism-reset-guide/  (you can ignore the protein / fat / carb ratios as if you're vegan you'll likely never hit them)

See, the thing is, after undereating for a long time, you don't want to suddenly increase your calories.  That most certainly can lead to a gain.  Consider a slow increase in your calories - a few nuts, some hemp/soy protein powder and such.

Although I'm not a vegan, I'll give you a website of a woman who always has the greatest looking recipes on there:  http://ohsheglows.com/   Although over the years she published recipe books there are still tons of recipes on the website.  Actually well over 1000 actually.

[TexasTommy]

Just echoing what others have said I belive you are eating too few caloires.... Your body is holding onto those calories for dear life becuase it thinks it is in a survival mode.... I know you say you feel bad eating more but you are going to have to find a way to get around this. Expecting to eat 1400 calories in one sitting is not a very good habit... If this contiues I would reccomend seeing a specialist to help even out your diet.

Congrats on the weight loss success!

[angel10152]

All of the responses I've gotten are pretty much the same. Everyone is telling me I'm not rating enough and need to eat more. I already know this, I actually said that myself in my initial post. I don't expect to fit all of my calories in one meal and it's not that I feel bad when I eat during the day. This is not a personal choice, I am not choosing to refrain from earing during the day. I get physically sick, I will throw up, if I try to force breakfast. I am not starving myself intententionally, I am truly not hungry. I thank everyone for yhe responses so far, but they aren't helping. I'm looking for ways to fit calories in throughout my day in small meals or snacks that won't make me feel full and sick. When I created this post, it was to explain that I know I need to eat more and I'm looking for helpful tips to do just that. Someone had mentioned smoothies in the morning and I like that because I can drink it and don't have to actually force myself to eat. I really just need small items that pack a lot of calories that I can squeeze in during the day without causing myself to feel sick.



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[CJinAZ]

Nuts are generally high in calories, for a small amount.  Maybe try a little scoop of nut butter in your smoothies.  That would add calories, without adding bulk to your stomach.  Montel Williams has some excellent smoothie recipes, as he does two liquid meals a day, and one solid meal a day.  He has controlled his MS this way for years.  Protein bars tend to pack more calories, for less bulk as well.  There are lots of vegan brands on the market these days.  I'm not one for breakfast either.  I find smoothies give me fuel, without the over full sensation. 

[emili]

if smoothies are going to work, then smoothie your way through the day till you get to dinner. You really just need one in the morning and in the afternoon. Its not breakfast or lunch, its just a drink. But you pack it with stuff you need. nuts, nut butter, avocado, orange juice, yogurt, milk, all kinds of fruit, veg (think green). You can add in a little chocolate syrup to make it more fun for you. Come up with 5 or 6 different shakes and drink up. If you get the bullet, you can actually make soup in the thing- awesome snack before dinner to get some more nutrients in. There are tons of smoothie recipes out there- try them all.

[nolahorserider]

I agree Plateaus are a pain.  However, just stick with what you have been doing.  Sometimes it takes a bit of determination and motivation before it comes off.  Have you tried measurements?  You may be losing inches and gaining muscle, that's not bad but sometimes that is just what happens.  Congratulations on losing 50 pounds. I lost 30 pounds and I'm sort of stuck right now too!  But I know that I am bulding muscle. 

[nolahorserider]

800 to 900 calories is not healthy!  You need to find a way to get at least 1500 calories in for what you are burning.  Try adding more fruit and veggies to your diet.  Peanut butter and celery, cottage cheese and peaches or whatever fruit!  

[angel10152]

I know this is not healthy, again, that was the whole point of my original post. I'm not going for more than the 1400 calories my doctor suggested. And I eat a ton of fruits and veggies, that's what most of my diet consists of. But real fruits and vegetables don't contain many calories, if any. Peanut butter contains the much needed calories, but also contains a huge amount of fat. I need to consume more calories in a day, that's been well established many times but I am still trying to lose weight and cannot load up on foods full of fat.



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[GershonSurge]

You can increase your calorie count by adding more starches like rice, potatoes, whole grain bread, corn, pasta, oatmeal, etc.

These foods do not make people gain weight. It's the things people put on these foods that cause weight gain. 

Since you are vegetarian, I recommend reading "The Starch Solution" by Dr. McDougall.

[angel10152]

Thank you for this reply. It's not that I haven't appreciated the attempts of others to help me, but no one seemed to be getting what i was tryimg to say. This is one of the more helpful replies I've gotten and I thank you.

[Annabel398]

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@GershonSurge wrote:

These foods [starches like rice, potatoes, whole grain bread, corn, pasta, oatmeal, etc.] do not make people gain weight. It's the things people put on these foods that cause weight gain. 

---

Seriously? This is such bad science. Rice, potatoes, bread, and pasta most certainly do make people gain weight. If you don't believe researchers, ask your grandparents. They knew what to feed a child to fatten it up, and it wasn't butter or olive oil, it was pasta and potatoes!

The original poster would be better served by taking earlier advice and adding nuts or nut butters to her diet. She spoke of feeling unable to consume large quantities of food, and most nuts are extremely calorie-dense (i.e., many calories in a small amount of food), so they seem like the ideal way to bring up her caloric intake with minimal discomfort or inconvenience.

As a bonus, finding raw nuts is easy (I'm assuming that the OP wants to avoid processed foods, extra sodium, and so forth), and while brown rice and potatoes are also easy to find, good bread is not. Supermarket bread is full of preservatives, and fresh-baked bread means spending a pretty penny at a good bakery or spending your own time baking it fresh. (I personally make my own sourdough bread, but home-baked bread stales FAST and not many people have the time or desire to bake daily.)

[angel10152]

It's really not "bad science." If you believe leverything people say is bad for us really is, then we're all going to starve. Just recently I read that scientists have proven coffee causes cancer. Really? So white bread is the equivalent of satan and should be avoided at all costs...pay more money to buy wheat bread because it's healthy. Oh wait, that's right, now they say wheat bread is bad for you as well. 56cI truly even read a study claiming that women should avoid fruit because it's full of sugar!! I find it very sad that people can no longer think for themselves. Yes, our grandparents knew how to make kids fat...and yet, we weren't. Years ago, people ate whatever they felt like and moved constantly. This obesity issue wasn't an issue until recent years. People need to stop dwelling on what science says because science says whatever will bring in more money.



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[AuroraKat]

Actually, WHO has published a press release just this June 2016 suggesting that there's no conclusive evidence linking coffee to cancer. However, they did link very hot beverages (coffee and others) to increased instances of esophageal cancer. The press release can be found here in pdf format:

http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2016/pdfs/pr244_E.pdf

Yes, nutrition is not an exact science. Far from it. The vast majority of studies are correlational, which do not establish definitve causal relationships between variables. However, they do give us a good amount of insight and often lead to more in-depth research that may prove or disprove a theory proposed by the original correlational study. At any rate, coffee has not been linked to cancer by scientists at this time. Just wanted to point this out so that folks who drink coffee (including myself) do not panic.