What am I doing wrong?

[codon2004]

I'm new here. Here's some background. I'm a 27 year old male, and currently weigh in at 380 pounds. I was very much in shape in high school, but have slowly and continually gained weight since then, until recently, when I got serious about getting healthy. Nobody, including doctors, can believe I weigh as much as I do... I'm 6'2" and even when I was very skinny I weighed over 200, so I guess I just naturally carry a lot of weight.

My fiance recently got lapband surgery (I'm somewhat jealous and may consider getting it in the future). I decided that I would try to lose weight along with her. It's been about 3.5 weeks since I started. I started out at about 396 and am now 380. But all 16 of that came off in the first 2.5 weeks or so, nothing in the last week. I've recently been laid off so I've been able to focus on my diet and exercise. I'm currently taking in 1500-1800 calories per day (I do a slimfast in the morning, maybe yogurt, egg beaters, fruit, I do smartones and lean cuisine, make a lot of chicken and tuna and fish, etc.) and everyday I work out for 40 minutes to an hour... basketball or on the treadmill until my shirt is soaked with sweat, a pretty good workout.

I'm not sure why I'm not losing anymore. Am I not taking in enough calories and my metabolism is dropping? Should I try easing up on the exercise for now? I feel like if I start eating a lot more calories I'm going to put the weight back on, and with trying to eat foods that are healthy, getting up to 1800 or so in a day is actually a bit of a challenge, I'm eating a pretty good amount. Does anyone who has weighed somewhere in my range have any advice on what their caloric/excerise combo was, and at what kind of rate they lost?

 

[KaraCooks]

Well, just doing a quick calculation, even using 12 calories per pound as your baseline (for someone who isn't all that active), I come up with a figure of 4500 calories to maintain your current weight. Drop that by 30% and you still get around 3100 calories to lose. That's almost double what you're eating now. Even saying you have a goal weight of 180, your maintenance calories for that weight would be 2500, give or take. I wouldn't drop down lower than that to start off with.

So my first thought would be to eat more. I know that's counter intuitive, but I do believe that eating more will make a difference.

The second thing I noticed is WHAT you're eating. You're eating a lot of processed food and with processed food comes sodium. I also don't see any veggies or fruit in there. Instead of the Slimfast in the morning, have yogurt and fruit (real fruit, not yogurt with sugary fake chemical-processed fruit on the bottom). Just as quick, better for you, fewer chemicals and preservatives. Instead of a Lean Cuisine for lunch, have a sandwich on whole grain bread or in a whole grain pita - maybe turkey or grilled chicken with lots of veggies - spinach, dark lettuce, tomato, cucumber slices, etc. Add a drizzle of olive oil or some slices of avocado for some healthy fat. For dinner, add in a big green salad, or roast some veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, etc.), or make some kind of cole slaw with mixed cabbage and carrots. Lots of veggies for nutrients and fiber.

Add in some healthy snacks - things like a handful of almonds (23 almonds is a serving), or an apple and some cheese, or some veggies dipped in hummus.

I think if you feed your body more, and more NUTRITIOUS foods, you'll see better progress.

 

[codon2004]

Thanks

Thanks, I definitely see what you're saying. I think I should try to get off of the frozen meals, and I've already been doing a lot of whole grain wraps with lettuce and turkey, etc., so maybe I'll expand on that. The sodium thing drives me nuts because it seems like so many foods that are otherwise clear of the bad stuff still have plenty of sodium. What are the effects of a lot of sodium? I know it can raise your blood pressure, and I assume it makes you hold onto more water and therefore hold onto/gain weight temporarily?

I do a salad or two a day with a light dressing. I need to diversify my tastes in vegetables. I like broccoli, green beans, lettuce, corn... but spinach, cucumber, slices of tomato, avocado, caulliflower have for some reason freaked me out a bit, so I think I need to be brave and try some new things.

 

[bigguy64]

I'm new here. Here's some background. I'm a 27 year old male, and currently weigh in at 380 pounds. I was very much in shape in high school, but have slowly and continually gained weight since then, until recently, when I got serious about getting healthy. Nobody, including doctors, can believe I weigh as much as I do... I'm 6'2" and even when I was very skinny I weighed over 200, so I guess I just naturally carry a lot of weight.

My fiance recently got lapband surgery (I'm somewhat jealous and may consider getting it in the future). I decided that I would try to lose weight along with her. It's been about 3.5 weeks since I started. I started out at about 396 and am now 380. But all 16 of that came off in the first 2.5 weeks or so, nothing in the last week. I've recently been laid off so I've been able to focus on my diet and exercise. I'm currently taking in 1500-1800 calories per day (I do a slimfast in the morning, maybe yogurt, egg beaters, fruit, I do smartones and lean cuisine, make a lot of chicken and tuna and fish, etc.) and everyday I work out for 40 minutes to an hour... basketball or on the treadmill until my shirt is soaked with sweat, a pretty good workout.

I'm not sure why I'm not losing anymore. Am I not taking in enough calories and my metabolism is dropping? Should I try easing up on the exercise for now? I feel like if I start eating a lot more calories I'm going to put the weight back on, and with trying to eat foods that are healthy, getting up to 1800 or so in a day is actually a bit of a challenge, I'm eating a pretty good amount. Does anyone who has weighed somewhere in my range have any advice on what their caloric/excerise combo was, and at what kind of rate they lost?

Hey Codon,
Welcome to the boards and congratulations on your decision to drop a few pounds. I understand your frustration regarding the rate of your weight loss. I went through and am still kind of going through the exact thing that you described. My first week I lost like 13lbs and then 4 lbs the second week. Then I ate the same, exercised the same... the third week I did not lose a pound... I was so devastated and was sure I was doing something wrong. Its so frustrating to work hard and want something so bad and not see the results on the scale. The following week after not losing any weight I lost 4 lbs.

If I have learned anything from several people here it is this though. You absolutely can not focus on a scale... you just have to focus on setting up a healthy lifestyle, the scale is secondary. The weight will come off but it will take time and patience. The scale is fun to see weight come off but you must remember from day to day and sometimes week to week it is not showing all the benefits of your new lifestyle. You can measure your success in pounds, but give yourself more time to get results.

The week I did not lose anything... I went down a pant size... Who knows why? The body reacts differently to a change in diet and I think sometimes it just takes time to adjust... I am not talking days either, I mean weeks and maybe even a month or two.

Our routine sounds real similar... good luck and check in often...

 

[Brnn]

KaraCooks is right, you need to step away from the processed foods and microwave dinners and start eating more in the way of fruits and vegetables. You should focus on more fiber, more protein, and less sodium.

Ideally, you should be consuming less than 2400 mg of sodium per day. Maybe keeping a journal of the foods you eating with the nutrition values will help you keep track of how much you're actually consuming?

Beans, nuts, soy products, and some dairy are all good sources of proteins as well. Surprisingly though, animal products (dairy especially) might also be responsible for keeping on those extra pounds, but for most people going vegetarian, let alone vegan, is a bit more than what people are willing to do. As for fiber, it will keep you full longer; you can get fiber from: whole grains, legumes, nuts, and a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Mixing up your exercise routine will also give your body a little extra boost.

Good luck!