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Old 05-20-2010, 03:20 AM
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Hello All, and thank you for all your wonderfull advise!

enamoredsoul i do have hypothyroid and am taking medications for it, meds are keeping it at 1.3 level, i have asked my physician if the meds need to be increased a bit, maybe to bring it to 1.5-2 level, but he does not seem to like the idea. do you think i should get a second opinion?
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Old 05-20-2010, 09:16 AM
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Hi Farah!

I just thought I'd say hi because we had the exact same starting weight and we have the same goal weight! I started fitday on Oct. 1 and it's been a long, and like you, somewhat frustrating journey. I burned around 500-600 calories a day to lose no more then 1 lb per week. I think that is a perfectly healthy way to do it (even if it takes a while!).

I would not eat less then 1200 calories a day like someone else mentioned. I was not losing very much when I tried to cut out too many calories, especially when you're exercising that much.

I'm down to 129 right now and have hit a huge plateau, but I've heard that will happen when you get so close to your goal.

Just keep at it and it will pay off! Get ready to buy all new clothes though
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Old 05-20-2010, 12:28 PM
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If your thyroid meds are too high, that can negatively affect your heart, so it's not surprising your doctor would be reluctant to increase them. However, I firmly believe there is never a reason to not get a second opinion. Medicine is as much an art form as it is a science.

Average weight loss of one pound per week has gotten me from 182 to 153. A small loss is still a loss, and a week holding steady is better than a gain. Try not to weigh yourself too often, my weight can change by as much as 5 lbs between when I get up in the morning and when I go to bed. If I forget to weigh very first thing in the morning, I don't do it at all, because I know the changes won't be accurate if Im not weighing at the same time of day.

Also, stress increases your cortisol levels, and when your cortisol is high, it's harder to lose weight. This is easier said than done, but don't worry so much and find some way to release the stress. Try walking, listening to music, yoga, a hot bath, spending time on a hobby, trolling the fitday forum or whatever you enjoy. Find ways to love yourself as you are, because then you can love the improved you that much more.
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Old 05-21-2010, 01:00 AM
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thank you for the advise! now, i'm ebraced to say, i was about to lose motivation, specially today, since i weigh myself this morning and was up .4 lbs, after all that calorie counting, logging food and exercising!
but, i keep reading your messages, and use the advise, so hopefuly and eventually the weight lose will happen to me too. thank you all so very much!
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Old 05-21-2010, 02:15 AM
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Lots of good advice above. You don't say what your Protein intake is. I have found that by increasing my protein (even if it includes some additional calories) I lose more weight. I use protein shakes. I'm a guy and I also experience the up and down weight. I lose a little then bounce back up then lose again to a new low point and repeat. I try not to stress too much about it and here is why. One pound of body weight is the equivalent of 3500 calories. So to lose 1 pound a week you need to be at a 500 calorie deficit daily. So when my weight bounces up 2 pounds and I know I didn't take in 7000 calories over my maintenance I know it is just water weight and undigested food. Remember that everyones metabolic rate is different and the maintenace numbers you are seeing on Fitday or other sites are averages. If you are not seeing the weight loss you want adjust your intake or increase your cardio. (I suggest HIIT cardio as it is the most efficient at burning calories.. you can search for some other posts in the forum for more info on HIIT). But your current rate of loss is good. Don't get impatient, the weight doesn't ever come off fast enough. Go too fast and you lose muscle not fat.
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Old 05-21-2010, 03:35 AM
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Originally Posted by rpmcduff
Lots of good advice above. You don't say what your Protein intake is. I have found that by increasing my protein (even if it includes some additional calories) I lose more weight. I use protein shakes. I'm a guy and I also experience the up and down weight. I lose a little then bounce back up then lose again to a new low point and repeat. I try not to stress too much about it and here is why. One pound of body weight is the equivalent of 3500 calories. So to lose 1 pound a week you need to be at a 500 calorie deficit daily. So when my weight bounces up 2 pounds and I know I didn't take in 7000 calories over my maintenance I know it is just water weight and undigested food. Remember that everyones metabolic rate is different and the maintenace numbers you are seeing on Fitday or other sites are averages. If you are not seeing the weight loss you want adjust your intake or increase your cardio. (I suggest HIIT cardio as it is the most efficient at burning calories.. you can search for some other posts in the forum for more info on HIIT). But your current rate of loss is good. Don't get impatient, the weight doesn't ever come off fast enough. Go too fast and you lose muscle not fat.

this is exactly what i experience. the ups and downs of weight loss! but you have a very good point, saying when the weight shows up and you know you have not had that many extra calories, then it's not weight gain!
by the way, i do the ratios of 20/35-40/35-40 for fat/carb/pro or as close to it as i could. by last night i was reading an article on the internet, saying if your metabolism is slow, having more fat or protein is going to make it even slower. it was suggesting a ratio of 15/60/25 which includes complex carbs. what do you think about this theory?

Last edited by farahb7; 05-21-2010 at 05:00 AM.
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Old 05-21-2010, 04:56 AM
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If you're metabolism is a little on the slow side, and you're already getting 35-40% protein as you say, there's probably other factors at play. I don't agree at all with that article you mentioned saying to boost protein past 50 and dropping fat. Personally I find it hard to go that high in protein and I don't imagine I'd feel too satisfied.

Have you toyed with increasing fat? Try it for a couple weeks and see what happens. What we call fat is actually a collection of dozens of different chemicals, and they all have different, special roles in the body's metabolism and immune function, so if you don't get enough you could be inadvertently slowing down and/or increasing your chances of getting sick. Avocados, olive oil and coconut oil are my favorite sources.

Are you also getting enough sleep and/or "me-time" ? Stress releases cortisol (the "stress hormone") which makes it tough to lose weight. Ironically it also makes you have crappy sleep. Take a little rest this weekend and you might get a little metabolic boost.
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Old 05-21-2010, 05:05 AM
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i have been so stressed last few weeks with crappy sleeps. took on a big task, even though i know i can do it, it's still making me stress. interesting to think of the relationship between the two!
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Old 05-27-2010, 08:48 AM
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Originally Posted by farahb7
this is exactly what i experience. the ups and downs of weight loss! but you have a very good point, saying when the weight shows up and you know you have not had that many extra calories, then it's not weight gain!
by the way, i do the ratios of 20/35-40/35-40 for fat/carb/pro or as close to it as i could. by last night i was reading an article on the internet, saying if your metabolism is slow, having more fat or protein is going to make it even slower. it was suggesting a ratio of 15/60/25 which includes complex carbs. what do you think about this theory?
So the article suggested 15% fat, 60% carb, 25% protein? I have three problems with this. 1. All the studies I have seen with low carb diets have shown a greater fat (not just weight) loss than the same caloric intake with higher carbs. (This is attributed to the fact that the higher carb intake group took in less proteing and thus lost muscle as well as fat. So their bodyfat percentage did not go down as much.) 2. Unless all the carbs are complex (harder to metabolize than simple carbs) any large caloric intake is apt to derail your weight loss. Simple carbs are quickly digested and your body converts them into glycogen for your muscles to use as energy. However if your body percieves your glycogen levels to be adequate those same carbs are converted to fat stores. This can happen if you just eat a very large meal. Even if your daily caloric intake is at maintenance. Because it is easier for your body to convert muscle into energy than fat into energy when you exercise later you lose muscle instead of burning off the excess fat. This is the reason I advocate getting plenty of Protein. 3. I also have a problem with dropping your fat intake to less than 20%. This can lead to serious health problems. Fat is needed to support critical body functions like nutrient dispersal. I believe your current level of fat/carb/protein is good. I would advocate you look at some of the other ideas like switching up your routine, increasing your sleep or eliminating some stress rather than radically changing your macro-nutrient percentages.
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Old 05-30-2010, 03:00 AM
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hello all, just wanted to say thank you again, i have used all your wonderfull advise and am so happy to say that last week i dropped about 2 lbs!!!! that is a very big number for me, i have dropped 1/3 of my extra weight so far, and to be honest, even thoguh it seems frustrating at times, it hasn't been all that hard to do. been drinking more water, paying more attention to calorie deficincy( i actually understand what it means now) changing my exercise and it IS working!!!!!!
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