I don't know where to go from here.

amother

Wed, Oct 27 2021, 12:21 pm

Hlep me out. I am 5 2', and around 155 lbs.
I was 125 when I got married, and gained lots with pregnancies.
I decided to take a nice break after my last baby to try and lose weight, so that it doesn't pile up endlessly.
But its not working, the weight is just not budging.

I drink one cup of coffe a day, no sugar. I drink lots and lots of water.
I eat healthy balanced meals. (oatmeal for breakfast, scrambled eggs, salmon salad, tuna patties, or cottage cheese for lunch and chicken and vegeables for dinner.) I eat fruits for snack.
I eat almost no refined sugar (except a bit of chocolate which I cannot give up lol), and I do my best not to eat carbs like bread or pretzels.
I do around 25 minutes of low impact cardio most days of the week, and sometimes core workouts.
My two weak points are that I sit at a desk job all day, and I am a little less careful with what I eat on shabbos.

I feel that I am leading a balanced healthy lifestyle. I am doing my best to lose weight in normal way, but I am not really getting anywhere.

Is my only option to start trying out crazy different diets, or doing intensely difficult workouts for hours? Cutting out different food groups? Limiting fruits? It is so frustrating because I eat and exercise in a way that feels right to me, but its getting me nowhere.

I really want to just be ok with my weight, but according to the BMI, I am overweight, plus I do have lots of body fat, which of course I don't love. And I know I will only gain more in future pregnancies.
So does that mean I am unhealthy that I am officially overweight? Should I just give up

amother

Red

Wed, Oct 27 2021, 12:23 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I'm not sure if this is what you want to hear, but you are absolutely not doomed to hate your body for the rest of your life. Have you ever heard of intuitive eating? The BMI means absolutely nothing.

amother

Jade

Wed, Oct 27 2021, 12:41 pm

I wear a smart watch. Just running errands and doing whatever used to add up to 8000 steps without thinking about it. I started a desk job a few months ago and now I'm less than half that. Sadly, I'm now gaining pounds.

I think you need to exercise more than you think or just move around more after work, to negate all the sitting.

amother

Pearl

Wed, Oct 27 2021, 12:44 pm

Op I'm in the exact situation as you down to the height and weight. I realized that my portions were larger than they were supposed to be so even though it was healthy it was till too many calories.
After cutting down my portions and adding lots of exercise I lost five pounds in two weeks but unfortunately I haven't lost anymore since then two weeks ago I'm keeping at it but its really discouraging Sad

endlesslybaking

Wed, Oct 27 2021, 12:47 pm

The only sure, fireproof way to lose weight is: calories in, calories out. The body burns its fat reserves when it is burning more calories than it is consuming. This is science. However, it's also a hick of a way to give yourself an eating disorder.
I would recommend you see a dietician or nutritionist who can tell you what you can implement, or why what you're doing now is not working. Also remember, slow and steady wins the race. Lots of women who lose lots of weight do so over several years, it doesn't happen in just a few weeks or months.

amother

Goldenrod

Wed, Oct 27 2021, 1:01 pm

Are you on hormonal birth control? It sometimes makes it really hard to lose weight.

I would try switching up your exercise. If you are working out anyway, maybe try something else. Strength training is supposed to be really good for weight loss. I added strength training into my exercise routine, and even if the weight doesn't fall off as quickly as I would like, I definitely am more toned and therefore feel more confident. I enjoy feeling stronger and seeing that I can gradually use heavier weights as time goes on.

addicted2techgirl

Wed, Oct 27 2021, 1:04 pm

For me, the first thing to acknowledge was that as I get older, my body’s base weight goes up (25, 30, 40 etc) thats not to say that you cant lose the weight, just that its gets more difficult with each passing year. (I just turned 30)
As others said, Seeking help from a nutritionist can be very helpful.
You mentioned your balanced diet which seems great on the surface. Would you consider a food diary for a little while, where you’re completely honest with yourself so that you can evaluate where you go wrong?
Also, sometimes when you hit a plateau, it might be worth it to change things up for a short amount of time to kickstart weightloss (paleo for 10-15 days comes to mind). It’s definitely tough, but imo everyone can do anything for 10 days.
Another thing to consider is that your body might not agree with certain food groups like gluten or dairy. Most adults dont do well with dairy, not because of the dairy itself, but more so because these days its highly processed.
These are just a couple of things that have worked for me in the past.

amother

SandyBrown

Wed, Oct 27 2021, 1:07 pm

Sounds very similar to me. After 4 kids I had gained 30 lbs
I went on weight watchers and saw immediate results. I really though I was eating so carefully, but when I started tracking everything I saw how the food was adding up.
I started at 157 and am down to 139. My initial goal was 135, but if things keep going well I may try for 130

amother

Aqua

Wed, Oct 27 2021, 2:07 pm

I have the same issue, same bmi and I eat healthy and exercise every day and it's hard to lose and I'm tracking everything and I used to think calories in, calories out, but clearly my body doesn't agree. It's hard. I wish there was an answer. I think pcos has something to do with it, but I don't know what else I should do.

southernbubby

Wed, Oct 27 2021, 2:10 pm

endlesslybaking wrote:

Apparently it's been recently discovered that not all calories behave the same way in the body. A 200 calorie cookie and a 200 calorie piece of fish are not the same.

lamplighter

Wed, Oct 27 2021, 4:38 pm

Keep a food journal for 2 weeks and write down everything you eat and all your exercise.
Then take it with you to a dietician and see what they say.
It does sound like you are eating balanced, but if you want to see change there will need to be change. If your body is resisting the change it may need to be more drastic (cutting out food groups etc). You can decide if that's the route you want to go or not.