Weight loss stress

[Jayhawks216]

I think I need serious help.  I am 5'6" and turned 40 today.  I have been logging my food and being really good about what I eat and cut my calorie intake down.  My calorie intake vs output has been about 1000 for the output better than my intake.  I am very frustrated.  My goal is to lose 50 pounds by my 41 birthday.  All I seem to do is gain all the time what am I doing wrong.  I am frustrated and depressed!

[WendyB]

You are only eating 1000 calories a day? Most people do not go below 1200 for a women. and Maybe even eat more.

Try upping the calories you are eating. You do need to eat to lose weight

[peterr]

What exercise do you do?.  When I first started I looked at my food intake an realised my calorie count was OK, but 37% of calories was coming from fat.

A 1000 calorie defiict sounds good but need a bit more info, exercise, nutrition before we can give you some pointers.

[peterr]

Oh and BTW, Happy Birthday!

[CarolS]

JayHawk, I agree with Wendy.   I'm 55 years old, and reached my 20 pound weight loss goal by keeping my deficit at around 500 calories but I always ate at least 1200 to 1300 (and most days it was closer to 1500).

I'm not counting calories right now as I am within my goal range, but when I was counting, I used a food scale and weighed everythng I put in my mouth.

50 pounds in a year is attainable, but expect to have ups and downs (no pun intended) in your weight loss.  I find that the more I move, the easier it is to maintain my weight or to lose a few pounds when it starts creeping up.

Stay with the program and come here for encouragement.  All the best to you!

[dony59]

Personalmento ho perso 8 chili di massa grassa in otto mesi e ho acquistato 2 chili di massa magra.

con una colazionie equilibrata che apporta tutti i nutrienti, uno spuntino a metà mattina con un frutto o una tisana, un pranzo con tanta verdura e carboidrati complessi come pasta integrale riso integrale pane integrale, uno spuntino di metà pomeriggio macedonia senza zucchero un frutto, uno yoghurt magro e sostiutire la cena con un sostituto del pasto, questa potrebbe essere la strada giusta, quella che ho affrontato io e che ti da modo di controllare il peso raggiunto.

puoi sostiutire il. pasto di mezzogiorno con carne bianca  (Proteine) e verdure legumi che sono ricchi di proteine, e fare il frullato alla sera accompagnato da verdura. bisonga modificare le nostre abitudini alimentari e il nostro stile di vita per creare benessere

se vuoi informazioni sono a disposizionie e buon viaggio.  

[Jayhawks216]

thank you

[slmaiden]

While I don't know how long you've been counting your calories and "being good", my best advice is to give it time. Fat is stubborn. For me, sometimes several weeks will pass and the scale will not budge, then between one day and the next it will drop 3 lbs. If you stick with it, the weight WILL come off. It's frustrating but if you're committed to making lifestyle changes, the time will pass anyway, right? Also, I have to measure my food. I found that I had slightly skewed portion sizes and that I wasn't being as good as I thought. So while you may think you're cutting 1000 calories, it might only be 500-750. I also make sure I don't lie to myself. If I'm going to snack, I weight it out FIRST, so I know exactly how much I'm eating rather than thinking, "I only had a handful, it can't be that much". It sneaks up on you very easily. I hope this helps!

[Oryth101]

I am sorry you are going through all this @Jayhawks216! Like what slmaiden said it takes some time! Now the important part! Happy Birthday! Okay, had to get that out of the way first. I was listing to a podcast one day with Jillian Michaels as they discussed about Stress and the impact with weight loss. What they described is that your body is resilient and can handle a whole lot of stress. However it comes with a cost the cost starts with a “C”. The Cortisol, your body’s Cortisol is a critical hormone that takes many different actions in your body. The key factor is that they play is the maintenance of blood pressure as well as the provision of energy for the body. Cortisol stimulates fat and carbohydrate metabolism for fast energy, and stimulates insulin release and maintenance of blood sugar levels. The end result of these actions can be an increase in appetite.

Cortisol has been termed the "stress hormone" because excess cortisol is secreted during times of physical or psychological stress, and the normal pattern of cortisol secretion (with levels highest in the early morning and lowest at night) can be altered. This disruption of cortisol secretion may not only promote weight gain, but it can also affect where you put on the weight. Some studies have shown that stress and elevated cortisol tend to cause fat deposition in the abdominal area rather than in the hips. This fat deposition has been referred to as "toxic fat" since abdominal fat deposition is strongly correlated with the development of cardiovascular disease including heart attacks and strokes.

List below is the topic Jillian Michaels discussed. I'm sure you will find it interesting to read. It may help with you frustration. The last paragraph is key that I believe would solve your issue. Please read, unless if you are short in time, at least read the last paragraph.

Stress Got Your Metabolism Down?

I'm sure you've heard of the fight-or-flight response, and you probably know that it's the way your body reacts to danger or stress. But do you know what the fight-or-flight response is? You guessed it: It has to do with hormones.

When you're faced with a danger, your adrenal glands release three hormones: norepinephrine, epinephrine (also known as adrenaline), and cortisol. Norepinephrine and epinephrine cause several changes to help you survive the danger, including a pause in insulin release so you have lots of blood sugar available for energy, an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, and a suspension of your appetite. After the danger has passed, cortisol tells the body to stop producing norepinephrine and epinephrine and stimulates your appetite again.

This response evolved to help people deal with short-term survival situations, like an attack by a predator. The trouble is, it occurs in response to all stressors, including the deadlines pummeling you at work and the traffic that drives you crazy. When stress is always present, your body can't get rid of the excess cortisol built up in the blood. That cortisol just hangs around, causing lots of trouble: It turns young fat cells into mature fat cells that stick with you forever, and increases your cravings for high-fat, high-carb foods.

When you give in to those cravings, your body releases a cascade of rewarding brain chemicals that can set up an addictive relationship with food — you stress, you eat. If you don't consciously control the pattern, you can become physically and psychologically dependent on that release to manage stress. In fact, people who self-medicate with food tend have hair-trigger epinephrine reactions and chronic high levels of cortisol.

You can help yourself keep cortisol in check by limiting caffeine intake to 200 milligrams a day; avoiding simple carbs, processed foods, and refined grains; and getting plenty of high-quality protein. It's also crucial that you find stress-relief techniques that work for you. If you can tame your stress response and lower cortisol levels, you'll have a much easier time losing weight.

[badminton]

Happy Birthday! 

Weightloss is best started by sitting down with your doctor, and talking about it, and abut your heatlth. When you go to see your doctor, make sure you take a food log with you, and your exercise log/fitbit log. Weigh in, discuss your long term goal, ask whether the doc can refer you to a nutritionist, and ask if you should have any testing done for thyroid, etc. 

Ramp up the walking, try to eliminate all food 4 hours before bedtime, and to not eat more than 30% of calories at the last meal of the day. Eat high quality food -- fruits, veggies, lean proteins. 

Build in fun activities that burn calories. 50 pounds in one year is one pound a week. Do-able, if you can stick to it when you get bored or frustrated or discouraged.  There will be weeks when you might gain, and weeks when you might get stuck. But there will be other weeks where you might lose 2 pounds. Do it for you, for the healthier, happier you.