Very slow weight loss - what am I doing wrong?

[HMJ 2]

Hi guys,

I've been having a daily meltdown since weeks. I had my surgery on March 18 at 86kgs and since have only lost 12kgs.

I hear people who have had the same surgery talk about losing 50 pounds in the same time period but not me. Since July 13, I've lost maybe 2 pounds, not even a kg.

They say it is because I started at a lower weight but I don't know if that's an actual thing.

I have average 900 calories per day. I have about 55-60gms of Protein without any shake. I also snack but never more than a few pieces of whatever - crisps, small biscuits etc. I maintain three meals of which at least two are healthy.

Since August been doing power yoga one a week and Zumba thrice a week.

What should I do? How am I failing myself?

Would love your help please!

[Bob2013 326]

Are the crisps and small biscuits included in the 900 calories? If not then there is your problem. You have to be honest with yourself. When you weigh out a portion of say 3ozs. Make sure its 3ozs and not 3.5 ozs rounded down. That little bit extra turns the 900 calories to into alot more, meaning slower weight loss.

[LisaNLasVegas 91]

It's hard to offer advice with the information you have provided. If you are eating 60 grams of Protein, that only amounts to 240 calories. What are the other 660? Fat? Carbs? How many grams of sugar are you eating per day? Log everything that goes in your mouth - everything! Measure everything. Use an app like my fitness pal - it will calculate how many calories you need per day and how many you should cut to lose weight. When I weighed 220 pounds, my daily calorie requirement to lose 2 pounds per week was 1200. WIth your BMI at 28 (I don't know your weight - I don't know KGS), I don't know what your calorie intake should be. Is it possible that you are at your goal weight and your body is maintaining?

[HMJ 2]

Hi,

I am using My Fitness Pal since June, and to first answer Bob2013's question, I log each and everything into it. And because a lot of the foods I eat are homecooked, I know for a fact that there isn't half as much fat in the ones I cook than the option I am forced to chose from My Fitness Pal's food lists. So it might be overestimating the fat but then also the meat because I know I don't eat as much meat as those dishes might offer. I am very honest with the food diary. Everything goes in there. No point in cheating : ) at this point right?

Also, Lisa, I according to the app, I am eating perhaps roughly about 150gms of sugar per WEEK. Is that too much? Maybe I should cut down on sugar?

It says I have roughly 23% Protein in a week of all groups , thats 405 gms of Protein. 276gms of fat, and 719 gms of carbs. (this is a sample week out of a few).

74kgs is 162.8lbs/pounds.

My nutritionist is never very bothered about my calorie intake in total, just what is going inside me, so I don't know my intake. My Fitness Pal says its about 1,200 but it doesn't factor surgery into it!

What do you guys think? What should I change? Am I failing?

It's hard to offer advice with the information you have provided. If you are eating 60 grams of protein, that only amounts to 240 calories. What are the other 660? Fat? Carbs? How many grams of sugar are you eating per day? Log everything that goes in your mouth - everything! Measure everything. Use an app like my fitness pal - it will calculate how many calories you need per day and how many you should cut to lose weight. When I weighed 220 pounds, my daily calorie requirement to lose 2 pounds per week was 1200. WIth your BMI at 28 (I don't know your weight - I don't know KGS), I don't know what your calorie intake should be. Is it possible that you are at your goal weight and your body is maintaining?

[Kindle 8,667]

I don't track or measure, but just looking at your fitness pal numbers raised a big read flag to me. I've read a lot of people try to get 50% of their calories from Protein and 25/25 from fat and carbs. According to your sample week, you are eating 24% protein, 35% fat and 41% carbs. So sounds like you need to shift your diet to way more protein, a little less fat and way less carbs,

Edited August 16, 2014 by Kindle

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

Well it is not logical to think that if you have only 50# to lose that you will lose 50# as fast as someone who has 150# to lose. You are likely to get to goal faster but not likely to noise 50# as fast. Consider yourself lucky, after I lost 50# I still had 110# to go.

[Kindle 8,667]

And ditto to what Cowgirljane said. Your BMI is pretty low, so you are already close to what a lot of people set as goal. They just had to lose way more to get there. You should look at percentages of total excess pounds, not just number of pounds lost. Actually, I take that back. You shouldn't be comparing yourself to others at all.

[RJ'S/beginning 5,357]

All meals should include Protein first. That is number 1. Two you need at least 1000-1200 calories a day. Your body will stop losing if it feels threatened at all. ( she's starving me so I will store food ) Water 64 oz.

The fact that you are losing is a positive right. Comparing yourself to others is only going to discourage you and sabotage yourself.

Take 2 lbs. of butter and put it on the table. Pick it up with one hand and feel how much it actually weighs. you will be surprised you carried that extra weight.

Take 26 lbs of butter and put them on the table and try to lift that. You need to step back and think am I like everyone else. Does my body react like everyone else's. The answer is no! We are all different in makeup and back ground and genes and circumstances.

Keep up the exercises and keep your goals ahead of you. This is not a race..This is a lifetime battle and although we can encourage and help each other. Your journey is different then mine! okay

[Mary Cade 23]

I am a very slow loser too I walk six miles everyday. Write everything down

[une nouvelle vie 327]

@RJ'S/beginning, I love reading your responses. You're always so caring and positive yet truthful and direct. That's a wonderful and rare thing.

@@HMJ, you mention homecooked meals and how they're probably not fitting into the preset items on MyFitnessPal. I've never used that program but SparkPeople has a recipe calculator where you can enter in precisely the items you used in your recipe and the nutritional content of each serving. I use my surgeon's site for tracking but when I make something homemade I use the recipe calculator on Sparkpeople and then transfer the data to my regular tracking place. Maybe that might help?

[HMJ 2]

Oh, thanks for mentioning the ratio. I think I really am struggling with how to actually balance my meals more towards Protein. My nutritionist recommended whey isolate, which not only tastes nasty, it also makes me wonder if...well...I'm guessing natural Protein is probably better for me.

Are there any recommendations from you guys as to how to snack on protein or what are alternatives to meat?

Thanks again for all the lovely answers. I felt a bit cheery after reading them, made me realise more than a few things! Then the last two days as I noticed a small drop in weight. Maybe a pound or so. Won't log it till it sticks!

I don't track or measure, but just looking at your fitness pal numbers raised a big read flag to me. I've read a lot of people try to get 50% of their calories from protein and 25/25 from fat and carbs. According to your sample week, you are eating 24% protein, 35% fat and 41% carbs. So sounds like you need to shift your diet to way more protein, a little less fat and way less carbs,

[Kindle 8,667]

My favorite snack is mixed nuts. But I also reach for Peanut Butter, edamame, cheese, plain Greek yogurt flavored with Protein powder, cottage cheese, roasted soybeans, seasoned pumpkin seeds, Protein Bars, and Jerky.

As for the whey isolate, it is real food. And it is the best source of Protein there is as far absorbtion and bioavailability....better than meat, eggs, soy, etc. It comes from making cheese. Basically, they mix rennet, enzymes and cultures with milk and let it settle in a large " tray". What settles out is the curd, which they remove and age to make whatever cheese they are making. (Or eat it plain....ever eat cheese curds?). The protein in the curd is casein. You will see this as an ingredient in a lot of protein powders. The liquid that settles to the top is the whey. Then they dry this, making whey Protein Powder. Whey isolate is just whey protein with less fat and lactose. You can actually see this in yogurt and cottage cheese...that watery liquid that sits on top is the whey.

As for the taste, there are dozens of different brands and flavors of protein powders out there. You may try picking up or ordering samples to find one you like. I get 30-40g protein daily from my protein/fiber smoothies. The base flavors I use are chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, apple, cherry, lemonade, and cake batter. Then I mix in a Fiber supplement and either fruit, Torani SF Syrup, PB2, or Water enhances for variety.

Edited August 18, 2014 by Kindle