Very Discouraged with Failure to Lose Weight -- help!

[Anonymous]

I'm sure I'm inviting flames by posting, but be that as it may...

50 year old female, perimenopause, 5'5". Vegetarian diet (lots of raw veggies and fruit, fiber, eggs, tofu) eat relatively few carbs, don't drink, relatively low-fat diet (mostly olive oil). Work out 7 days a week, 30 minutes hard cardio daily, 3-4 days of lifting in addition. Try to IF most days, eating from 1-8 pm. Usually stay under 1500 calories a day. No thyroid/hormone problems that I know of, in good health, get plenty of sleep, etc. etc.

Been relatively thin my whole life, but in past two years have put on 15 pounds, all in the stomach, and it Will Not Budge. I am so ashamed. I now weigh as much as I did when I was full-term !

I hear so much conflicting information. Should I....
1) Cut calories to 1200 daily?
2) Try to drastically increase exercise ?
3) Try to change my diet ? I haven't eaten meat in over 30 years, so that's a non-starter.
4) Just give up and resign myself to being fat and bloated?

Looking in the mirror is incredibly depressing. What am I doing wrong?

[Anonymous]

You’re not eating enough.

[Anonymous]

How much do you weigh and what is your goal weight?

[Anonymous]

Yeah, hard to answer without knowing your current and goal weight.

[Anonymous]

If you gained the 15 since COVID I would ask yourself how much you live on a daily basis compared to ore COVID. I had trouble losing taking steps similar to you. Talked to my doctor and he talked me through my change in lifestyle. I go to the gym regularly but pre COVID I did that plus a lot of walking with commute, travel. It was just a lot of steps in a week that I am now missing. I upped cardio to 45 minutes and made an effort to move in my daily life. Gardening. Cutting the grass. Just walking more. It helped.

[Anonymous]

Move on a daily basis. Not live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You’re not eating enough.

She is eating plenty hence the weight gain.

[Anonymous]

In grams, what is your protein, carb, and fat intake?

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure I'm inviting flames by posting, but be that as it may...

50 year old female, perimenopause, 5'5". Vegetarian diet (lots of raw veggies and fruit, fiber, eggs, tofu) eat relatively few carbs, don't drink, relatively low-fat diet (mostly olive oil). Work out 7 days a week, 30 minutes hard cardio daily, 3-4 days of lifting in addition. Try to IF most days, eating from 1-8 pm. Usually stay under 1500 calories a day. No thyroid/hormone problems that I know of, in good health, get plenty of sleep, etc. etc.

Been relatively thin my whole life, but in past two years have put on 15 pounds, all in the stomach, and it Will Not Budge. I am so ashamed. I now weigh as much as I did when I was full-term !

I hear so much conflicting information. Should I....
1) Cut calories to 1200 daily?
2) Try to drastically increase exercise ?
3) Try to change my diet ? I haven't eaten meat in over 30 years, so that's a non-starter.
4) Just give up and resign myself to being fat and bloated?

Looking in the mirror is incredibly depressing. What am I doing wrong?

[Anonymous]

Talk to your doctor, for one thing.

[Anonymous]

I suggest trying intermittent fasting. You likely need less than 1200 calories at this point.

Also you could weigh and measure all the food you eat for a few days to see if you are truly only eating 1200 calories or if you just think you are only eating that few.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure I'm inviting flames by posting, but be that as it may...

50 year old female, perimenopause, 5'5". Vegetarian diet (lots of raw veggies and fruit, fiber, eggs, tofu) eat relatively few carbs, don't drink, relatively low-fat diet (mostly olive oil). Work out 7 days a week, 30 minutes hard cardio daily, 3-4 days of lifting in addition. Try to IF most days, eating from 1-8 pm. Usually stay under 1500 calories a day. No thyroid/hormone problems that I know of, in good health, get plenty of sleep, etc. etc.

Been relatively thin my whole life, but in past two years have put on 15 pounds, all in the stomach, and it Will Not Budge. I am so ashamed. I now weigh as much as I did when I was full-term !

I hear so much conflicting information. Should I....
1) Cut calories to 1200 daily?
2) Try to drastically increase exercise ?
3) Try to change my diet ? I haven't eaten meat in over 30 years, so that's a non-starter.
4) Just give up and resign myself to being fat and bloated?

Looking in the mirror is incredibly depressing. What am I doing wrong?

These are carbs. My guess is you’re not getting enough protein and fat. If you’re eating more than 2 servings of fruit each day, you’re getting too much sugar. Your total carb intake inclusive of fruit and veggies and fiber needs to be 75-100 grams per day. My guess is you’re getting 2 - 3x that.

[Anonymous]

How much do you weigh?
You say most days you eat 1500 cal. Are you weighing and measuring foods or eyeballing/estimating this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I suggest trying intermittent fasting. You likely need less than 1200 calories at this point.

Also you could weigh and measure all the food you eat for a few days to see if you are truly only eating 1200 calories or if you just think you are only eating that few.

Please do not listen to this. You should not be eating less then 1200 calories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure I'm inviting flames by posting, but be that as it may...

50 year old female, perimenopause, 5'5". Vegetarian diet (lots of raw veggies and fruit, fiber, eggs, tofu) eat relatively few carbs, don't drink, relatively low-fat diet (mostly olive oil). Work out 7 days a week, 30 minutes hard cardio daily, 3-4 days of lifting in addition. Try to IF most days, eating from 1-8 pm. Usually stay under 1500 calories a day. No thyroid/hormone problems that I know of, in good health, get plenty of sleep, etc. etc.

Been relatively thin my whole life, but in past two years have put on 15 pounds, all in the stomach, and it Will Not Budge. I am so ashamed. I now weigh as much as I did when I was full-term !

I hear so much conflicting information. Should I....
1) Cut calories to 1200 daily?
2) Try to drastically increase exercise ?
3) Try to change my diet ? I haven't eaten meat in over 30 years, so that's a non-starter.
4) Just give up and resign myself to being fat and bloated?

Looking in the mirror is incredibly depressing. What am I doing wrong?

These are carbs. My guess is you’re not getting enough protein and fat. If you’re eating more than 2 servings of fruit each day, you’re getting too much sugar. Your total carb intake inclusive of fruit and veggies and fiber needs to be 75-100 grams per day. My guess is you’re getting 2 - 3x that.

Are you a nutritionist or dietician? Otherwise you are not qualified to give this advice.

[Anonymous]

At 50 metabolism is shot for women. So you have to be hungry all the tome or be about 10 lbs more than you like.