Trying to lose weight, tried just about everything possible

I’m trying to lose weight. Been trying now for about 3 years, had some recent success with a ketogenic low carb/high fat diet – about 12-15 lb, which as nothing to sneeze at but then nothing for nearly a year. Then of course, nothing and actually gained weight back while still trying the low carb. I figured that my body had adjusted to it, and of the 12-15 lb, I’m sure a good portion of that is initial water weight loss. It was the hardest one to do, eating a lot of FAT is never easy, and having no carbs meant I had difficult workouts and CARDIO – don’t even get me started.

But, it capped off several YEARS of trying to lose weight none of which were successful. I have tried doing low cal 1800-2000 for about five weeks. I was WEAK, I couldn’t think, I was tired and very cranky and even sad. Being 6’5" and 245, I think it was way to few cals, which trying to do exercise 4-6 days a week, weights, biking, tennis, walking, (skiing and windsurfing in specific seasons) hiking, etc.

I have tried AMPING up my cardio, doing essentially 1.5-2 hours every other day. I have tried AMPING up the weight training, during cardio/circuit training with a trainer to the point that I couldn’t STAND anymore – and REALLY cranking up the weight/strength, but nothing, not a POUND lost!

But, lately, I have been reading a lot about “having to EAT to lost weight” Meaning, if one eats TOO little for TOO long, one essentially will STOP losing at least fat, and will burn off muscle and the body will somehow adjust (although, the mechanics of this don’t seem sound – more on that later)

So, I have data. I track everything, when I did the low carb I HAD to track everything since I really didn’t know HOW to eat THAT much FAT in order to get my numbers up. It worked out as far as eating though, even though I didn’t lose any more weight. If I had to think about it in detail, I probably lost a lot of water, and then MAYBE some FAT over time – and possibly muscle.

But, what my analysis showed me of the eating I did over the past 2+ years, is that short of the few months when I did the low carb and it worked, I ate between 2000-2300 cal a day. That sounds pretty good right, 2000 cal a day.

But, I’m 6’5", I work out about 4-6 days a week, I KNOW I have an RMR of 2600, so my maintenance is like 3700-4000 a day depending on what formula one uses. So, if I was giving my body only 2000-2500 (some days might have been a tad lower, I just though it was okay “spooking” the body a couple days a week should be okay) COULD I BE EATING TOO LITTLE?

Some of the other data points have been is the fact that I FEEL as if I was losing muscle. I had STRENGTH and I know i ADDED strength, but felt like areas of my body were getting weaker with time. Certainly, if I was catabolizing some muscle that would make sense.

The argument that many make here and other places is, if one eats TOO LOW below this maintenance level the body will get spooked. It slows down the metabolism (this is where the contradiction comes) and will STORE FAT and BURN MUSCLE since it thinks it is not going to get enough food.

The contradiction is, if my NORMAL BMR should be say 2200, plus a multiplier to make it like 3700, but I am in starvation mode, ISN’T my NEW NORMAL BMR now LOWER and doesn’t my body actually NEED FEWER calories?

I’d rather at the moment believe the former, that I NEED more daily calories and keep the weights and cardio strong, but that at some point my body might say, “hey, things seem okay, crises over, we can let go of some of that FAT” and I MIGHT for the first time start to lose weight again?

So, i’ve been trying to EAT more and posting mostly here on DB. I have been able to eat 2800-3000 cals for about the past three weeks. I’m shooting for a month of this. Of course, I have gained now about 3-5 lb. I knew I would gain SOMETHING coming off of a relatively LOW carb diet. Not NOT carb, but LOW carb.

Could it be, is there a way to better understand this and even TEST for it?

Speaking of tests. I have had my thryoid tested. I have had my testosterone tested. I have had my blood glucose levels tested and while they show 100-106 or so from FASTING BC, multiple doctors have said it is not pre-diabetes or something other. But, regardless of this I cannot SHAKE any weight?

Any thoughts and challenges would be most appreciated. I wonder if someone else here had been through this before and found a way to break the cycle. It shouldn’t be this hard if one can be precise in what they eat, have the mental fortitude to stick with something and patience.

My advice would be to stop chasing the fads and the diets and start living like a healthy and fit person.
Eating too little can be as bad as eating too much. I would recommend finding out how many calories your maintanence level is, lower that by maybe 20% and go with that. Eat a balanced diet full of lean protein, whole grains, fruits, vegetables and healthy fat and try to stay away from overly processed foods (bacon, Haigen Daz, fast food, etc.)
i would also keep exercising and keep that balanced as well. Continue to do weight trainng and doing cardio, but also find ways to be more active in everyday life. Go for walks, play a sport or sign up for a marital arts program. Hours of exercise at the gym isn’t always the answer.
It looks like you have been putting a lot of effort into losing weight. I think you may just need to step back and try living healthy. Sure you still need to create the calorie deficit, but in a way that puts you on path of health and fitness for life.
Pamela

www.ThrivePersonalFitness.com

Thanks for the response. So, I think I have the calorie deficit, eating now 2800-3000 cal a day (actually trying to eat more as noted in the first post for a while now) If my RMR is 2500 and my activity is high, that would put me at 3700 or SO, depending on what formula one uses. I figured one at 3600 and another at 3900 so 3700 was on the low end of the higher side.

At 2800-3000 a day, that should be a “healthy” calorie deficit of 800 or so cals a day, right?

As for exercise. I do a sport called tennis, and mountain biking, both of which are 1.5-3 days a week depending on the week and the time of year. I hit the gym 2-3 days a week at most, now trying to get more cardio in than weights, but I want to keep the weights up in order to maintain muscle mass. Are you recommending NOT doing the weights?

I don’t eat many processed foods, yes there is the occasional .5 serving of rich ice cream, once a week now (or less, but hadn’t really had ice cream in about 12 months or more) and I do eat bacon some mornings, which amounts to about 60-70 cals, offers a pretty good bit of protein and some fat. At that pace, is that something you would recommend eliminating altogether?

Other than that, it is a diet of

whole grains
eggs
yogurt
lean meats
chicken
fish
cottage cheese
peanuts
salad fixings
fresh vegetables
chicken

really very very little pizza (maybe once every TWO months)
pasta is only whole wheat and again weekly at the most.

What other suggestions would you make

First off, I feel your pain!
Have you checked out these blogs?
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/12/b…
This post talks about leptin resistance, which seems to be shaping up as a bigger deal than insulin resistance lately.
Anther good site is leangains.com
His results speak volumes.
Marksdailyapple.com has a lot of good info on it, especially when it comes to over training (which can tax the adrenals and stall your weight loss among other things).
I also believe chronic cardio is a waste of your time. Google it but here’s one link:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/case-against-car…
It is also a community of people who really know their stuff. You might try there for advice.
Good luck!

Tivo Boy
I took a quick look at your nutrition today and the last time you posted and you are eating very large meals. It looks like you are eating 600-800 calories each meal and only eating 3-4 times per day. You macros are also pretty far off to really cut weight. Your macros have your fat and carbs to high and your protein to low. I suggest a 45-35-20 or 40-40-20 split. Getting your fats from lean meats, fish and omega fats is the best way to go. Your eating nuts but I suggest the unsalted natural version as opposed to roasted. I would be happy to help with a diet plan for you. I work with numerous NPC athletes on nutrition and lifting routines. Email me at info@getrippednutrition.com if you want me to help you.

thanks all!

@getripped1 I’ll send you an email shortly.

As for the meals, I do try to eat about 500-600 at my main meals, Bfast, lunch, dinner.

Bfast may appear higher on DB, since I sometimes will put in the snack as bfast. Making 500 now 680 or so.

Same is true for lunch, and then dinner i might include some desert one night, which makes the 500-600 appear to be 800.

that said, if I am trying to consume 2800-3000 a day, I pretty much HAVE to eat 500-600 per main meal, making say 1700, then about 200-300 in snacks (which is a pretty big snack) making 2600, then maybe a protein shake in there, making 2800 or so?

I am shooting for 40/30/30 P/C/F in my macros. While it may not always end up there that is my target. I don’t think now that I have adjusted targets on DB, that it is smoothing out the %’s correctly.

Also, I am still using Fitday so some WHOLE DAYS are over there and not here.

Every thing is possible in life the main thing that how much your desire to get it . losing the weight can achieved by your concentration and passion…

I feel your pain and I’ve been there too. I’m just an average person not very tall or anything never really had trouble with weightloss till I started teaching aerobics. I completely stalled out and was doing more exercise than ever and at times even gaining. Couldn’t figure out WTH was going on till I did two things first was I purchased a body bugg that I wear religiously. That little lifesaver taught me that I was starving my body. Here I was burning 4000+ calories a day and eating only about 1000 and like you doing it all as big meals.

The second thing I did was I started reading a site called transformation.com it’s by Bill Phillips. I had actually learned about it through Ediets.com which offers an eating plan for Bill’s latest program called Eating for Life (don’t waste your money on ediets though). I now eat every 2-3 hours smaller meals with much more protein. If I had an off week I know it cause like you said my energy level is zero.

Check it out maybe its something that would work for you. There are a lot of amazing stories on it. They also have assignments that transform your thinking as well as your eating and body.

I would recommend you the Anabolic Diet which is actually bit more advanced carb cycling method. You can find more info here:

http://stronglifts.com/anabolic-diet-101-the-de…

Eat bodyweight in pounds x15 (you are a woman, for a man it’d be x18). This calorie intake should be for both carb and no-carb days. Keep doing that for 3 weeks. Eat 6 times a day – breakfast being 1/4 bigger than other meals, dinner 1/4 smaller. Not even one less meal less than 6. This is enough time to get your metabolic rate FAST.

For the first 3 weeks stop doing cardio – do 20-30 minutes 2-3 times a week at most. You have adapted to cardio too well.

Do weight training 3 times a week – half body sessions, no isolating exercises – just compounds. Pushing, pulling, squating, picking (like deadlift variations). For example – Monday – upper body session, Wednesday lower body, Friday upper, Monday lower, Wednesday upper, Friday lower – etc.

After 3 weeks, cut your calories by 15% on low carb days, on carb days you might keep them body weight x15. Increase the cardio A BIT (if you start blasting your body again you will have very good results at first and then will screw up in the long run). You will lose >1.5lbs / week.

Take at least 1gr protein per pound of bodyweight.

Supplement with a lots of fish oil (10-15 grams / day), take some ZMA.

Under my supervision (mostly consisted of the stuff above) I got the girlfriend of a friend lose her first 40 pounds, she was 260 and keeps getting leaner. She got screwed up metabolic rate, now she feels better than ever and goes towards her goal of 150lbs.

If you decide to listen my advise – every 12 weeks, do 3 weeks on your body weight x15 + 100kcal on this diet and reduce cardio for the period. Eating low carb will protect you gaining fat when eating at maintenance. Then your body will be ready to shed another bunch of fat.

watch what you put in your body. there’s so many hidden additives in our food supplies. try to go organic if you can. i’ve been struggling with the same issue for the last 4 years. i finally got it down. you have to make a lifestyle change. being fit is a culture. i started watching arnold’s and stallone’s workouts and realized that its a just a culture. don’t diet, just change the way you look at food. i eat candy all the time. natures candy “fruits”. i drink my veggies. ;-)) workout and eat right and make it apart of your lifestyle. also surround yourself with the same type of people with that kind of mind set. i’m finally going down.

Yes, keep weight training! Muscle burns more calories than fat, so adding/maintaining muscle will help you lose fat and maintain your loss in the long run.
I just meant that you can workout more efficiently, that hours of cardio may not be the answer for you.
The food list you provided looks great, but those little bits of pizza, bacon, ice cream and the like can add up. Quality of food can be just as important as quantity.
Pamela

www.ThrivePersonalFitness.com

Have you considered getting a scale that would measure your percentage of body fat? I think that, were I in your situation, I would be working on improving my fat-to-lean ratio rather than focusing on my weight. If you were to focus on weight training while maintaining the same body weight, your body fat percentage would slowly go down.

i have been in the same vote and it sucks, i have to loose 20lbs which isnt much… my body is mostly muscle. My dr. says my weight if ok but that i should try and loose some weight. i tried every diet around then the other day i went into my dr’s office and found out she is not just a dr, but she is also a trainer and explained what i neededt to do. Before i was running on the treadmill at like 5.5 speed and having a HR of 160-180 well, then you can only run a certain amount of tie and then clunk out… she stated you should have a HR between 130-150 (depending how often you exercise)…. and with that HR you can last a lot longer and loose weight that way…. it was interesting she wrote out a hole plan for me.. im gonna try it… its different from everyone workout or trainer or diet i have done. Wish me luck and ill keep you posted… good luck on the weight loose, keep your chin up…. support always helps

i have been in the same vote and it sucks, i have to loose 20lbs which isnt much… my body is mostly muscle. My dr. says my weight if ok but that i should try and loose some weight. i tried every diet around then the other day i went into my dr’s office and found out she is not just a dr, but she is also a trainer and explained what i neededt to do. Before i was running on the treadmill at like 5.5 speed and having a HR of 160-180 well, then you can only run a certain amount of tie and then clunk out… she stated you should have a HR between 130-150 (depending how often you exercise)…. and with that HR you can last a lot longer and loose weight that way…. it was interesting she wrote out a hole plan for me.. im gonna try it… its different from everyone workout or trainer or diet i have done. Wish me luck and ill keep you posted… good luck on the weight loose, keep your chin up…. support always helps

tivoboy, ive been through it. We are about the same size (im 6’4 250) and ive been losing weight (very VERY slowly) for the past 3.5 years (at one point I was 310).

The best thing that I can tell you at this point, is eating under 2k calories, is a killer! I currently work out 5-6 days per week, 3 days of weights plus light cardio, and 3 days of strenuous cardio. I also use a bodybugg, and know almost exactly how many calories per day that I burn depending on what day it is. On cardio days, I normally do about 60-90 minutes of intense cardio, and burn anywhere from 800-1200 calories during that time, with a total daily burn ranging from 3700-4200 per day (I am a network administrator so im in front of a desk and computer most of the day) but bottom line, is under 2k is BAD! Im generally between 2200 and 2400 as far as intake goes. There are days that I go well over that as well, but its not as bad, as going under 2k.

@CJJ Thanks for the post. I have one of those scales, I really don’t feel they work too well. Very dependent on hydration and the readings vary frequently. I’ve done a hydrostatic weight/fat test, it was 29%, and I would LOVE to get my number down, but not being able to lose any weight puts that at beyond difficult. I’m sure that IF I was able to lose say 10-15 lbs, I would probably lose some fat, since I lift and eat and do cardio typo exercise and sports.

@valburke. this is very good info, all should note it. Indeed, I have always tried to maintain my HR between about 120-135 when doing any form of steady state cardio like walking, running, etc. Running, I cannot keep it that low, so I try to do HIIT running drills. Biking, I know I get VERY high (this seems to be the way my heart works) so when going up a hill and pushing it, I head up to 185+ and it stays there for 10-15 minutes. This is not normal, but I have had it checked out and EKG done. It recovers quickly once I pull the load off. But, the main take away is, if you want good fat burning cardio, keep the HR long and increase the time.

@tomahawkeer Are you saying, DON’T eat that low calories, under or to near 2K? Indeed, that is what my concern was, which is why I am targeting 2800 a day, some a bit higher when I do weights AND cardio that day. I have the feeling that keeping my intake at 2k-2400 a day has left me flat and fat, and upping it has made me feel MUCH better while only putting on about 3-5 initial lbs now over what is about a month. I would love to think that I am resetting my bodys thinking/fear and will get it to a place where it feels good about intake, output and starts to let GO of some fat. this too is a test, but all other tests/diets have failed me.

No, im saying that under 2k is not enough. Ive found that 2200-2400 is a sweet spot for me (possibly 2500 if its a hard day at the gym) 2800 probably isnt too far off for you, and if it works, do it. If your burning 3700ish per day, and consuming 2800 per day, 900 calorie deficite is a very good number to have, and should yield close to 2lbs per week weight loss.

Well, I’m not about a month in to EATING MORE than I was. Recall, I was eating between 2000 and about 2400 on average a day. That wasn’t working, nor was the low cal.

Well, now in a month of eating 2800 cals a day, some 3000 cals a day, I do SEEM to be gaining. I don’t know what sort of weight it is, muscle or fat.

For the first few weeks, I felt a LOT better. I felt SOLID and though, okay, i’m going to maintain muscle here, and maybe start losing some weight. I’m letting my body know, i’m here to FEED it and not STARVE it.

but, as of today, I have probably put on another 4LB, currently weighing MORE than I HAVE EVER in my entire life at 250 ish. Not sure what to think, water retention, am I finally eating TOO MUCH?

I know I have been eating some stuff, like ice cream once a week, or I had a donut on Easter – but come on, I’m trying to get the calories in and have been avoiding anything like that for several YEARS now.

I’m getting my protein up over 150 DAILY and trying to keep the macros to 40/30/30,

Any thoughts, should I now RATCHET DOWN back to say max 2500 or should I up the cardio and weights. The weights are going up a bit, even though I am trying to hold steady. Cardio is now about five days a week (I know none of this shows up on my profile, it is just too cumbersome to put in weight workouts in this system)

Well, here is an update. now six weeks in.

It doesn’t look good, at least not on the surface. I not sit at about 252, showed 254 yesterday, but I had eaten and drunk a lot of fluids, this AM it was 252.

It just seems to go up and up. Not really sure what is going on. I know my legs are at least stronger, but I’m not trying to go gang busters with strength, legs included.

I KNEW I would add some weight, but hadn’t really counted on a 10lb real weight gain for this trial. I was eating really pushing to get 2800-3000 cal a day, after about five weeks, so about 4-5 days ago, I tried to cycle the cals a bit. Days when I wasn’t working out ONE DAY A WEEK I tried to hit 2400-2500, and on days when I worked out 1 hr, weights or cardio, I tried to hit 2800 cals, and on days when I worked out REALLY hard, so 2 hours a day, or 4-5 if I was hiking I tried to hit 3000-3200. I weight and measure everything. I’m shooting for 40/30/30, cab/fat/protein and on hard days, 40/30/30 protein/fat/carbs.

But, I know my WAIST is bigger, at least all my pants fit WORSE now. It could be my gluts are bigger, making pants fit tighter. Could be thighs, could be the actual circumference, could be my butt a bit higher, not sure. Need to measure.

I THOUGHT this working at a “deficit” to what my body SHOULD need would yield something. I thought that I should be eating at at LEAST a 500 cal a day deficit, I simply cannot be THAT LOW and yet can it be TOO MUCH?

I’m about to just shoot myself in the head at this point, I just can’t win.

Without knowing exactly what you’re doing, it’s so hard to give advice that will help you.

I’m wondering if you’re really eating what you think you are (have you weighed your portions). I also noticed you said you eat more when you work out – that’s not ideal. And I’m wondering what you actually are doing in the gym. It’s been vaguely referenced as “cardio” and “weight lifting.” I’d love to know more about what a typical workout looks like for you.

I’m thinking that at this point, the best option for you might be to get some personalized help or an actual exercise and nutrition program. Go to your doctor and see if there are any signs of medical issues that might be hindering your progress. Find a reputable trainer that will help you with workout design and nutrition. Or if that’s too expensive, invest in an on-line program like Precision Nutrition and combine it with a workout program like “The New Rules of Lifting.” I am a big advocate of the Turbulence Training program as well (I’m an affiliate, but only because of my results), and I have a free workout I give away for people who sign up on my blog. If you like it, you could certainly invest in a membership to that site.

http://www.lookinggoodmom.com

Thanks for the reply lizanneh.

Well, first things first. What I am doing now, is trying to eat more, closer to 500-1000 BELOW maintenance. I don’t know what that is (of course I do, I’ve read everything on the planet in the past 2+ years trying to understand the various logic behind calculating what ones energy NEEDS are. I have also had a BMR test done and such and hydrostatic body weighing – so I think the numbers are right) but science logic and whatnot says, my maintenance is about 3500-3700 cals a day.

What I have been doing is, trying to eat more like 2800-3000 cals a day, since I had been eating more like 2000-2500 a day, that did nothing. Again, I’m not going to go into everything I have tried in the past 2-4 years, but lets just say it is about everything. I THINK i noted some of that above.

When I say I eat more when I work out, I mean instead of the 2800 I have been trying to eat, I eat the 3000. So, for example this weekend when I hiked 8 miles up 3000ft over the course of 3.5 hours, I managed to up my OVERALL calories for the day by 200 cals.

Just a note, yes I weigh, yes I measure, yes I can count. I put the same amount of OJ in the 4 oz cup I have for OJ and weight 1 oz of peanuts and if I cook burgers with a 1lb package and it makes four burgers of equal size, I am going to assume that is a 4 oz burger.

As for workouts, I workout or exercise about six days a week. I do try to rest one day with nothing. That would be a day I try to eat the 2800 cals.

I do weights 2-3 days a week and cardio 3-4 days a week. Some days overlap but I try to limit that to one day a week.

My weight routines are usually 45-60 minutes, comprising 8-10 exercises, 2.5-3 sets per exercise, 8-15 reps, depending on what exercise and how much weight. am I building or just maintaining. The exercises are done in pairs, with about 30-45 seconds in between reps, with about 1-3 minutes between completed pairs. I built this with a wonderful trainer about 4.5 years ago. So, it knocks me out when I do it, I feel very exhausted at the end, lots of sweat, lots of pumped up muscle. Here are some examples of the workouts and exercises.

As for strength, I don’t really know how to judge ME vs. someone else.

When I bench flat bench, I can do 200lb, and I have long arms which makes it harder.

Incline DB is 65-70 EACH ARM.

Lat pull down with 180lb,

RDL with 225lb,

Seating DB curls with 45’s, overhead triceps pushups with 85 lb DB’s.

I can do 100lb on a delt fly machine, reverse that is. 70lb reverse barbell curls for forearms, you know the ones with your hands pointed out.

Legs press sled with 330lb, and calf raises seated with 125lb using both calves.

Bent over rows, 55 lb each arm, or 120 in a single bar.

My cardio, is a number of things. Try to do tennis 1 hour, sometimes 1-2 times a week. Hr is usually in the 160-175 bpm range. Mountain biking up the 3000ft peak around here, or walking on the treadmill if it is raining. I usually do that at 5% incline at 3.4 mph, for 1-1:15 hour. Sometimes I walk outside at 3.5 mph for 1:00-1:15. These should all be good solid 400-600+ cal workouts. I haven’t gotten back into swimming yet this season. Also, the hiking like I noted above, I might do 2-4 hours, going up a mountain.

I have had every single medical test there is. Test for Lot T, thryoid, diabetes, cushings, elevated cortisole, etc. I have not had an ANA done yet, migtht do that. While my T might be on the lower end, the world class specialist here at Stanford didn’t think it warranted a dosing. Same for the world class Thyroid guy I went to in Chicago, no problems there. My fasting glucose, IMHO at 109 seems on the high side, right next to the 110 that gets them concnered, but they didn’t think it warranted anything. Could be that I am now just a fat pig, that will raise ones glucose and make them appear pre-diabetes.

In the past eight years, I’ve added 50LB to my what was 200. that just doesn’t seem healthy. I put on 25 lb when my mother was dying about six years ago, and I have been trying to get it off since then. Now, just in the past month, I’ve added 10lb more trying to EAT CLOSE TO MAINTENANCE since I had been eating rather low. But, that just doesn’t seem to work.

Okay, I think I misunderstood your intentions. I thought you were asking for advice. After reading your latest post, my conclusion now is that you were frustrated and venting. So let me appropriately respond by saying that it sounds like you lead a healthy life and it sucks that you can’t find out why you’re gaining weight.

I’d be surprised if anyone who doesn’t know you IRL and can’t follow you around and/or train you personally or examine you personally would be able to find the missing link.

lizanneh,

I hope you didn’t misinterpret my response post as anything other than that. The previous one, indeed was a bit of a rant and release of frustration. As you can see from the initial posts and responses, I HAVE been at this a while with no success, which just baffles the scientist and overall very smart dude in me. It is extremely unusual that I cannot solve a problem of basically any sort. And yet, with science and motivation and a regimented approach to trying and testing alternative solutions over long ENOUGH periods of time, I cannot find success. And, it really scares me that I have essentially added 25% to my body weight in a period of about six years. That just does not seem healthy.

that said, of all the things I have attempted, reducing intake, monitoring intake (which is of course a part of EVERY solution I have implemented) altering the content of the instake, low carb/high fat, vs. relative equal macros, etc. OVERWHELMING exercise regimens vs., reducing intake and trying to limit exercise, etc. The only think I have NOT tried, is essentially long term starvation.

Back in what, Sept 2008, I tried to simply limit intake to 1800 cals a day, continuing workout out (although, with that few cals it was hard to even get out of bed) I did that for a week, and was not only exhausted but put on four pounds. That made NO sense of course and I figured it was not going to work.

So, the only thing I have NOT tried is like 1500 cals a day and just doing it for a month, keeping at it, I know I can eat that little, I don’t have a problem with hunger or cheating or things that could break that – but at SOME point the body has to give in and start to reduce. I do’nt mind losing SOME muscle, but just losing muscle and NO fat, I don’t know if that would happen, would it?

I know, it sounds totally counter to EVERYTHING we strive to encourage people to do, start slow, measure the reduction, don’t go TOO low below maintenance, fast weight loss only leads to rapid weight gain in the future. But, I’m totally at my wits end.

@tivoboy,

Have you been to you doctor for a physical (including bloodwork) lately? There are a few medical conditions that can make cause weight gain. For example: thyroid disorders, which are fairly common.

@dianebl,

I know my post was a long one above, but here is the data from it

I have had every single medical test there is. Test for Lot T, thryoid, diabetes, cushings, elevated cortisole, etc. I have not had an ANA done yet, migtht do that. While my T might be on the lower end, the world class specialist here at Stanford didn’t think it warranted a dosing. Same for the world class Thyroid guy I went to in Chicago, no problems there. My fasting glucose, IMHO at 109 seems on the high side, right next to the 110 that gets them concnered, but they didn’t think it warranted anything. Could be that I am now just a fat pig, that will raise ones glucose and make them appear pre-diabetes.