I can’t seem to lose weight!

[Anonymous]

I’ve always lost and gained weight but have always been able to lose it back. I’m usually in the 150-160lbs range, and I’m 5’3. Throughout the last few years- I ended up gaining 30lbs. I’m now 180, and having an even harder time losing weight. I do both strength and cardio. I cooked almost all my meals at home, try to prioritize protein- though I’m not a big fan of animal protein. I’m also pre-diabetic. I’ve tried working with a nutritionist, I’ve done keto, I bought a peloton. I’m just stuck, and have decided to go back to low carb since it has helped somewhat in the past. There is so much contradicting info online. Idk what to do anymore! I just feel so lost and hopeless.

[Anonymous]

Cut alcohol and processed white carbs. Count calories. Focus on Whole Foods — high (lean) protein, veggies, fruit. Do HIIT workouts and weightlifting. I just lost 20 lbs doing this after weight would not budge.

[Anonymous]

How long did it take you to lose the 20lbs?

[Anonymous]

9 weeks

[Anonymous]

Why fight it, get metformin or one of the injectables

[Anonymous]

Not OP but similar situation. Calorie deficit and lost 4 lbs in 3 months of dieting. Tried metformin and nothing. Don't the injectables just have you eat less? I mean not sure how much less I could eat.

[Anonymous]

I am in the same boat as you. I weighed about 40 pounds more than I should. I play 8 hours of tennis per week, walk/jog 5 miles per day and ride my bike. I've tried low carb, vegan, high protein, whole40 and nothing. I finally started the injectable (I had high blood pressure and high cholesterol). After 5 months, I have lost 11 pounds and reached a plateau. I am eating significantly less than before but no weight loss. I'm wondering if weight loss with a post-menopausal metabolism is impossible no matter how few calories are consumed. My next move is to try serious strength training.

[Anonymous]

Things that work for me:

1. eating in a calorie deficit and tracking accurately (good rage is goal weight x 10-12 so GW of 150 lbs would be 1500-1800). I mention tracking accurately because when i don't lose is when i track that I ate x calories but really finished my kids grilled cheese, added extra cheese to my chilli and added in other random bites, licks and tastes.

2. tracking consistency- that is how many days a week you are staying in your calorie range. This is especially important. If you are not hitting 85+ % consistency/month they you are not really doing enough to lose weight and undoing your progress. hitting 70% consistency will feel hard, like you are doing everything, but will not give you the results you want.

3. Don't add more exercise, but rather really, really focus on diet. You see it all the time where those trying to lose weigh list all the exercise they do but don't mention diet or have a vague diet. vague meaning "I eat healthy" but don't define what healthy means. High protein and low carb is great but calorues are still king and need to be tracked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Things that work for me:

1. eating in a calorie deficit and tracking accurately (good rage is goal weight x 10-12 so GW of 150 lbs would be 1500-1800). I mention tracking accurately because when i don't lose is when i track that I ate x calories but really finished my kids grilled cheese, added extra cheese to my chilli and added in other random bites, licks and tastes.

2. tracking consistency- that is how many days a week you are staying in your calorie range. This is especially important. If you are not hitting 85+ % consistency/month they you are not really doing enough to lose weight and undoing your progress. hitting 70% consistency will feel hard, like you are doing everything, but will not give you the results you want.

3. Don't add more exercise, but rather really, really focus on diet. You see it all the time where those trying to lose weigh list all the exercise they do but don't mention diet or have a vague diet. vague meaning "I eat healthy" but don't define what healthy means. High protein and low carb is great but calorues are still king and need to be tracked.

This is all good advice but I disagree on not adding exercise. Lift heavy and do run/walks to burn steadier and faster. Use a tracking app for food and weigh everything (at least in the beginning) to see what portions really look like. You’ll be shocked to learn how many calories you’re really consuming. Drink a ton of water.

[Anonymous]

It’s not more exercise; it’s diet.

Exercise is for building muscle, toning and body composition. Only caveat is type of exercise. We lose muscle mass as we age. This means adjusting the type of exercise to maintain muscle mass.

Diet is for weight.

Look at the macronutrients of your diet. % of fat, protein, carbs plays a big role in satiety.

It’s not no simple as calories in, calories out. Calories are a good place to start, because it is easy to underestimate caloric consumption.

Also look at overall blood work. I had been tired and gaining weight. Everyone kept telling me thyroid! Thyroid was fine, but I had horrible anemia with really low ferritin. For me, severe anemia led to puffiness, weight gain and insane food cravings.

Prescription drugs and supplements are another thing to consider. These can have a significant impact on weight.

Sleep! This also makes a huge difference. Look at your sleep quality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Things that work for me:

1. eating in a calorie deficit and tracking accurately (good rage is goal weight x 10-12 so GW of 150 lbs would be 1500-1800). I mention tracking accurately because when i don't lose is when i track that I ate x calories but really finished my kids grilled cheese, added extra cheese to my chilli and added in other random bites, licks and tastes.

2. tracking consistency- that is how many days a week you are staying in your calorie range. This is especially important. If you are not hitting 85+ % consistency/month they you are not really doing enough to lose weight and undoing your progress. hitting 70% consistency will feel hard, like you are doing everything, but will not give you the results you want.

3. Don't add more exercise, but rather really, really focus on diet. You see it all the time where those trying to lose weigh list all the exercise they do but don't mention diet or have a vague diet. vague meaning "I eat healthy" but don't define what healthy means. High protein and low carb is great but calorues are still king and need to be tracked.

I agree with all of this. I am not good at tracking so I made a rule to start each day with slow-cook oatmeal (I make a big batch and reheat each morning). That keeps me from getting hungry and makes a big difference in staying away from hunger-driven poor diet decisions. If you’re not good at tracking, just eat the same thing for many days in a row.

Eat like you’re diabetic. Learn what foods have a high and low GI. I was also pre-diabetic and it was a wake up call. I figured I either learn how to manage this now and reverse it, or learn how to manage it later when the stakes are higher. Lunch and dinner start with a vegetable, always. If the meal doesn’t include a salad, I’ll snack on a cucumber or bell pepper while I’m cooking. I only drink water and unsweetened tea. If I want something sweet, I have it, but for me a sweet craving usually means I need protein or water so I try those first.

These are lifestyle changes for me. I’m not dieting, this is my life now. I exercise 4-5 days a week. It took me a year to drop 6 lbs. Its frustrating as hell, but the other option is diabetes.

One thing that helps me is I think about where I would be if I haven’t made any changes. So if you were on a path of gaining 5 lbs a year and you gained none… that means you’re still 5lbs better than would have been.

[Anonymous]

Adding extra exercise is just going to make you feel hungrier. Ditch all the workouts for a solid 6 months while eating at a true calorie deficit. You can lose 1 pound a week without feeling starving and be down 30lbs by spring break. Once you are lighter you can add back in all the movement while being mindful of portion size.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Adding extra exercise is just going to make you feel hungrier. Ditch all the workouts for a solid 6 months while eating at a true calorie deficit. You can lose 1 pound a week without feeling starving and be down 30lbs by spring break. Once you are lighter you can add back in all the movement while being mindful of portion size.

OP already exercises. It’s ridiculous to tell her to stop exercising as that’s part of overall healthy living. She needs to choose better exercise, like heavy weight training and HIIT. Endless cardio won’t do much but those two, in addition to controlling calories and eating the right foods, will help her achieve her goals and have a healthy body at the end (not just be skinny-fat).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why fight it, get metformin or one of the injectables

the lack of research on long term used scares me a bit. Also, most of the weight comes back when you stop. I don’t want to inject myself with medication of any kind for a prolonged period of time. Also- there are many compounded versions of it that haven’t been vetted by FDA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Things that work for me:

1. eating in a calorie deficit and tracking accurately (good rage is goal weight x 10-12 so GW of 150 lbs would be 1500-1800). I mention tracking accurately because when i don't lose is when i track that I ate x calories but really finished my kids grilled cheese, added extra cheese to my chilli and added in other random bites, licks and tastes.

2. tracking consistency- that is how many days a week you are staying in your calorie range. This is especially important. If you are not hitting 85+ % consistency/month they you are not really doing enough to lose weight and undoing your progress. hitting 70% consistency will feel hard, like you are doing everything, but will not give you the results you want.

3. Don't add more exercise, but rather really, really focus on diet. You see it all the time where those trying to lose weigh list all the exercise they do but don't mention diet or have a vague diet. vague meaning "I eat healthy" but don't define what healthy means. High protein and low carb is great but calorues are still king and need to be tracked.

This is all good advice but I disagree on not adding exercise. Lift heavy and do run/walks to burn steadier and faster. Use a tracking app for food and weigh everything (at least in the beginning) to see what portions really look like. You’ll be shocked to learn how many calories you’re really consuming. Drink a ton of water.

I should have phrased it better. I didn't mean don't' exercise or add some exercise, but way too often people who want to lose weight state all the exercise they do or ask if adding in spin classes or OTF or strength training will help them lose weight. While it certainly doesn't hurt and is beneficial for health and maintaining weight, the reality is people often prefer to add in exercise instead of really focusing on diet, because dietary changes and cutting calories is hard. We also tend to overestimate how many calories we burn through exercise while underestimating how many calories we consume.