Sara's New Weight Loss Diary

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puggmum

New member
Hi, I'm new to the site. I've been dieting for about 9 months and lost 62lbs. I eat a low fat low calorie diet. My doctor precribed me some medications as well to help with weight loss. My starting weight was 267, I'm down to 205 right now. I'd like to get down to 130, so I still have a long way to go. I've been a little frustrated lately because I feel like I'm not losing weight. I've lost 2lbs in the last 3 months. I'm very strict with staying below my fat and calorie allowance but I just don't see weight coming off anymore. I'm disabled and there's little to no exercise that I've been able to do, so one of my doctors suggestions was that maybe now was the time that exercise was going to start to play a factor in my weight loss. I have the app My Net Diary and I login everything I eat. According to that diary I should be losing almost 1lb a week. I knew I was on a plateau before, because of eating the same breakfast everyday, but I've changed up my foods and eat more of a variety now. I never never go over 1200 calories or 40g of fat.

Anyway I'm hoping I can login some of my routine in here and get some advide.
 
I think that it may be worth you increasing your calories very carefully for a while as your body might have got too used to the 1200 calories... If you could eat a little bit more without gaining anything - your body might appreciate it a bit more if you reduce calories again.
 
I have a hard time eating 1200 calories. My daily calories have always been under. I can't imagine eating over that. I'll look at my past days and figure out what my average is. It's just depressing to have lost that great amount of weight(the most I've ever lost) and then all of a sudden not be lossing anymore.
 
what sort of disability do you have, it will help with working out what type of exercise you might be able to do ?
 
puggmum said:
If I were to increase my calories what would I increase to and for how long?
Click to expand...

I am not in any way an expert.
I have read that a lot of people get through plateaus by having a refeed so that they can convince their hormone levels that there isnt a famine going on. As I understand it - if your calories are too low - your body can think that there is a famine and sets itself to survive on very low calories.

I suggest that you try to step your calories higher - towards a calculated maintenance level.

I cannot really come up with a value for that without knowing more about you. For instance I know nothing of such things as your age, height, or for that matter the nature of your disability.

You should be able to work that out for yourself.

Get a free account from and set up your profile information (by clicking on the "profile" tab). It sounds like you would want to select the most sedentary "lifestyle activity level").

If you then click on the "activities" tab it shows your calculated calorie burn with no surplus activities. If you do any exercise you can log it and see how it increases your calculated maintenance calories...

I know that you have said that you are disabled and that will alter the averages - but I can say that the average reasonably active person will maintain their weight on a calorie level of about 15 times their weight in pounds... For someone weighing 205 pounds you are talking 3075 calories. The average reasonably active person will lose weight on a calorie level of between 8 and 12 times their weight in pounds... For someone weighing 205 pounds you are talking between 1640 and 2460 calories.

I have read that some people have this increase for maybe a couple of weeks to try to get them back on track and then do an occasional increased calorie couple of days to perk things up.

I understand that people tend to experience a water weight gain if the surplus calories are carbs - but that this would be resolved by drinking more water (like any water weight gain)...

It may well be to your advantage to set your weight loss calories higher than 1200 calories though - and maybe to vary them about a bit... You have come along way with the 62 pound loss (especially since you are disabled and unable to exercise) but you have another 75 pounds to go if you are to realise your ambition - so you are in the middle of a long term project so you could save yourself a lot of problems if you give yourself more room to change things about... Big projects tend to be a marathon and not a sprint... Cutting calories too low can make things harder and not easier... I think that the longer you have the calories cut for - the harder it is to set things right with a refeed - so there is a risk of having to eat at an extra low level to simply maintain weight once you get to goal.

It is however well worth ensuring that you hit all sorts of nutritional targets with the calories. It is worth making sure that you have enough water, protein and calcium for instance and ensuring that you are limiting your sodium. All these things have an impact on how we lose weight in addition to their obvious value for good health.
 
Tru is an exercise expert. I am so pleased that she has popped into your thread - as I am sure that she will be able to think of something that you would be able to do to help.
 
Thank you for all the advice, I'm definitely going to check out that website that you mentioned. So I guess my problem has to be yhe calories. I've never been a big eater. I've never had much of an appetite. So since I started trying to lose weight, this time, I've pretty much switch my diet to fat free foods, fruits and vegetables. I'm hoping to log in my daily meals and hoping that maybe as people see my habits they can offer advice. I have no doubt I have a problem with calorie intake, after hearing your advice. Anyway so here's my food dairy for today.

Today was a bad eating day, not normal at all. I thought to day was Saturday so the kids were late for school so I missed breakfast.
Oh, forgot to mention my age and height before. I'm 29 and 5'4
So here was today's foods:
Breakfast: Skipped :(
Lunch: Yogurt 80 cal.
Naval orange 70 cal.
Dinner: Grilled chicken leg 90 cal
Grilled chicken thigh 170 cal
Roll 90 cal
Butter 33 cal
I also took a fiber and a calcium supplement. I drank my 8 glasses of water. I stopped, not to long ago, drinking juice, tea and soda and started only drinking water. So this was my daily entry, please don't judge me to harshly.
 
I did manage to walk for 15 min on my treadmill at 1.5 at the full incline. I can't lift my legs much so I just kind of shuffled, and when my hip bursitis got too painful I stopped. I'm hoping that maybe I can do this again tomorrow, maybe for longer, if I'm not in too much pain. Another thing that makes it hard on the treadmill is I need to hold on to walk on it, another problem I have is bone spurs in my hands so it makes it hard to hold onto. I've seen people balance on treadmills without holding on, maybe I can learn to do this too :) but I do need a cane to walk so I don't know if I would be able to do this.
 
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So I was thinking maybe I'd give yoga a try again. It was super painful last time and I had to stop, but I didn't have 62lbs lost to motivate me.

Also I checked out that website and one part said calories 1500 the other part under weight loss days calorie goal 1100 and something. So I'm a little confused. Does that mean 1500 will maintain my weight and the 1100 and something is what I should eat to reach my weight loss goal?
I'm thinking about making an appointment with a nutritionist. The last one I saw was years ago when I was thinking about getting the bypass surgery and she was a total, well I don't think I should say, she would tell me to find foods I liked that meet certain criteria and I would amd then she would tell me there was no way that food meet that criteria. So I told her I'd prove it to her and she said that I needed to start eating foods I didn't like to change my taste. Which I never understood. I'm all for trying new foods but, why did I have to eat foods I didn't like? I'm not very picky either there isn't much I don't like. Anyway I think I'll see a nutritionist, hopefully theyre better than the last one.
 
I haven't weighted myself since getting out of the habbit of eatting the same breakfast everyday but I'm down 3 more pounds. 202lbs. I can't wait to be down in the 100lbs range. 65lbs down :)
 
Congratulations on your 3 pound loss. That is brilliant! :party:

When I key in profile info of a female, born 1983, height 5ft4 and weight 202 pounds and opt for the most sedentary option for lifestyle - then click on the "activities" tab it says that the calculated burn in 24 hours with no exercise is 2,060 calories. That is the maintenance level.

I don't know where you found the numbers that you mention.

It would be worth trying to remember what foods the nutritionist was suggesting - or what criteria you were trying to fulfil. It doesnt sound like the last nutritionist has too helpful to you last time if she could not explain herself. If you can remember - maybe someone here can try to work out what she was getting at. Sometimes two heads are better than one and someone else can understand.

Maybe a nutritionist appointment would help. Quite a lot of us have ailments that can both be helped and hindered by key foods. A nutritionist would be able to flag that up. I hope that you find a better nutritionist than last time.
 
You need to EAT!!! Eat at LEAST 1200 calories!!!! You really are starving your body, and a lot of people notice plateaus when they are not eating an appropriate amount of calories. Please please do eat. I don't know why your doctor wants you on low fat. Food fat does not become body fat.
 
We need some fats for example for our skin.

There is a difference between healthy fats and unhealthy fats. Omega-3 for instance is very good for us.
 
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