Why weight gain won't come off - any ideas? is this a hormone issue?

[Anonymous]

I think metabolism slows down as we age and losing weight is much slower. I do the right things and only loose about half a pound a week - so your 1.5 pounds per month is still a loss, progress.

[Anonymous]

track your calories using MyFitnessPal.com. Weigh/measure everything you eat for a while. Most people have no idea how many calories they eat or how inaccurate their eyeball estimates are.

[Anonymous]

I'm 35 with similar stats... I've been trying to stick to 1400-1500 calories/day and working out at least three times a week and I've only lost 5 pounds since July (3 months). It is slow going, but I've learned that's how it goes.

I recently found out (through a gym assessment) that my resting metabolic rate is around 1400 calories. Add 20% for a person with a desk job, so I'm at about 1680 calories burned per day if I don't work out. So if I eat 1400 calories and don't work out, that's only a 280 calorie deficit. One pound of fat = 3,500 calories, meaning it takes me about 12-13 days to lose a single pound. So when I work out the math, it actually makes sense why it's only been 5 pounds since mid-July. I haven't been perfect, and even slight slip-ups make a big difference.

Basically what I'm saying is that it's probably not that your weight gain won't come off... it just takes a long time, and that's totally normal.

[Anonymous]

You're heading in the right direction -- give it another month and see how it goes!

I'm no expert, but I'd recommend keeping your carbs very low for another month, and if you can, going a bit further for the next few weeks by dropping all fruit and adding more non-starch veggies.

At the same time, try your best to up your protein even more and add some basic weight training (simple 5-8 lb weights + squats + planks) to build muscle. Extra protein + additional muscle might improve your resting metabolic rate (meaning you'll burn a bit more calories each day).

On a related note, you said you're barely losing lbs. on the scale. But how does your body seem to you? Are your clothes any looser, especially in the places where you most recently gained weight? (Last on, first off).

FWIW, I've just started working with a doctor/nutritionist and am doing in-office weigh-ins every two weeks with a scale that measures actual weight as well as fat/muscle composition. These first two weeks I've only seen 2 lbs. of total weight loss, but her machine says I've dropped 4 lbs. of fat and added 2 lbs. of muscle. My clothes are definitely more loose around my waist/belly and my body seems a bit different.

Even so, this is the place where I've tended to give up in the past. It's crazy hard to cut back on carbs (!) and I'd have interpreted the two lbs. as just fluctuating "water weight," so I'd deem it a waste. But this time I'm sticking with it for -- taking it two weeks at a time to see what happens. Slow and steady is fine as long as it keeps moving in the right direction. (FWIW my goal is to lose 20-25 lbs.)

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should consider intermittent fasting. Like you, I had lost 20lbs before by working out and eating better, but that was years ago, now that I am older and had a baby it's been a bit more difficult.

Even working out everyday I wasn't losing as much as I wanted to, so I tried intermittent fasting and it has been amazing, seeing changes keeps me going. I lost 10 lbs in 6 weeks.

+1 I eat from 1-7 or 8 pm only, and nothing but water or black coffee in the morning from when I wake up until lunch. Also I suggest you try to stick to 1200 calorie per day when in weight loss mode. I don’t eat bread or wheat products, almost no rice and grains, only lean protein like tuna, salmon, chicken, and salads with no dressing, roasted or grilled vegetables w a little olive oil and lemon. Eat berries for fruit rather than apples. Don’t snack between meals, don’t drink alcohol. Very hard to start but I’ve lost 26 lbs since July, from size 14 to 10, and I do have cheat days if we have an event or concert to go to...then I eat some carbs and have a few drinks, but this is only once every few weeks as I found that 1 cheat day can undo a whole weeks worth of restricted eating now that I’m 50. I dont exercise bc my job is pretty demanding right now, so this works for me. Good luck, ionly gets harder as you get older— This is not post- pregnancy weight for me but rather I ate whatever I wanted for 3 years and gained 40 lbs! If I knew it would be this difficult to lose I would have tried harder not to gain the weight in the first place.

[Anonymous]

I still think it’s funny that skipping breakfast is now called intermittent fasting. Like- wow- MIRACLE I cut one of three meals a day and slowly lost weight. DUH

[Anonymous]

How old are you OP I was in the same boat. I had my 3rd child and was really ready to drop weight and get back in shape. It literally took my body 3 months to start making progress. We just are not as quick to bounce back I think as we get older. Just stick with it, over time it will happen.

[Anonymous]

Thyroid issues are common in your late 30's, assuming that's about your age. Could be worth getting a general checkup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still think it’s funny that skipping breakfast is now called intermittent fasting. Like- wow- MIRACLE I cut one of three meals a day and slowly lost weight. DUH

For me the IF framework helps more with the after dinner eating -- basically forcing me to notice how much I want to snack/eat/binge at night, and then helping me stay focused on not doing so.

But yes, I do agree with your "DUH" comment. Of course it's common sense that fewer calories after dinner (or at breakfast) will help with weight loss.

But for me "common sense" isn't always "common practice" -- especially when it comes to maintaining healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle more generally.

YMMV, but so far the IF framework has been helpful. It's not rocket science, but it's helping me notice and eliminate a bad habit. All good!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think metabolism slows down as we age and losing weight is much slower. I do the right things and only loose about half a pound a week - so your 1.5 pounds per month is still a loss, progress.

Yes. I personally think that if you lose faster than this your body might "notice" the weight loss and hang on to it. You are doing great just not gaining at your age. Keep at it! You have a healthy sustainable lifestyle and I wouldn't beat yourself up for not losing as much as you did when you were younger.

[Anonymous]

How old are you? I'm definitely finding in my 40s that weight is really stubborn about coming off. I have many older colleagues (past menopause) who confirm that the 40s decade leading up and through menopause is really tough to avoid putting on weight and really hard to get it off. THey all say that post-menopause it becomes easier again.

[Anonymous]

This might be a flexibility issue. I know stretching is not the most appealing aspect of weight lifting, but neglecting to stretch after a workout can have detrimental effects on your workouts. For example, decreased flexibility is the obvious big one, but it can affect your power and muscle fiber activation. And more muscle fiber activation translates into more energy used, which means more calories burned. Here is a link to some good exercises that could help increase your power and how much calories you can burn.

https://workoutupgrade.weebly.com/

[Anonymous]

I would have no patience with this.

I’d cut back on carbs drastically. I’d still eat salads but that’s it.

I’d have bloodwork done.

[Anonymous]

I’d rather be a little chunky than live on 1200 calories. Life is for living.

[Xymox]

Anonymous wrote:I have a pretty good handle on what works for me to lose weight, having been up and down over the years. I've lost 20+ pounds in the past (put it on after a pregnancy) and now am trying to lose it again. This time though, I can't seem to make the needle move at all. I'm really watching what I eat (mostly fruit, vegetables, protein, no breads, no sweets, etc), using weight watchers, and working out 3 times a week (running, cycling). I should be dropping weight, but I'm not - it's been about a month and I've lost maybe a pound and half. FWTW, I'm starting at 5'5, 170lbs. Could it be something else? Is this a hormone issue ? Any ideas? I'm going to make an appointment with my GP but would appreciate some thoughts.

Your plan for weight loss seems really good and if it was effective in the past, then it can be really connected with hormones. Also like it was mentioned in previous responses the age can have an influence on this too, how old are you? Usually starting from 40-50s it becomes easier to gain weight and harder to lose it, aging processes in body are a common reason for this
Also problems with hormones are a very often thing for bad weight loss too. The main ones in this case are estrogen, testosterone, cortisol, insulin and thyroid.
These ones cause such problems:
- low estrogen stimulates appetite greatly
- insulin resistance increases storing fat instead of using it as a fuel for your body
- high cortisol is one of the main hormones and if you have problems with it, they create a general hormonal imbalance including all the hormones I mentioned above
- low testosterone makes slower your general metabolism and makes you doughy which reduces your positive body changes because of regular trainings
- low thyroid increases general weight gain, depression and brain fog

I think that you need to consult with a doc because the hormonal imbalance is a complicated thing and only professional help https://www.nexelmedical.com/ can be really effective in your case. There are also many natural ways for balancing the hormones like changings in your daily diet, avoiding alcohol and too much sugar, acupuncture, adding more vitamins in your food and so on. But be careful with all these methods, always consult with your doctor before trying them.