Not Losing Weight; What Gives? - Weight Loss Message Board

horizons · 08-14-2008, 03:14 AM

I am a 5'6" female who weighs 201 pounds at 21 years of age. Like most of my family, I am overweight, my mother weighs close to 300 lbs and one of my uncles weighs over 500 lbs. I didn't have a problem with my wieght until a few years ago when I was admitted into emergency surgery to have a partial historectomy because of a tumor. Since then I have been on non-stop birth control to stop me from having any cycles from my remaining ovary. I have been diagnosed with a slight thyroid problem (hyperthyroid), but my doctor said this only presents itself when my chronic bronchitis flares up and is not present at other times. Shortly after I had my surgery and gained over 70 pounds a few years ago, I went on the South Beach Diet and amazingly got back down to my weight before the surgery. Then, we had a lot of deaths in the family and circumstances that made it a whole lot easier just to go pick up food than to make it at home....consequently, I gained all of my weight back.

I've gone back on the South Beach Diet, but irritatingly, I've lost virtually no weight. The first week I was on the diet I lost absolutely no weight at all, the second week I lost 9 pounds. Now in the third week (I'm still on "phase 1" since I didn't loose any weight in the first week), I haven't lost anymore weight again. I'm also using ******.com in order to track my calories. Its getting really irritating, yesterday for breakfast I had 1 boiled egg and a slice of fat-reduced cheese, for lunch I had a frozen South Beach meal and for dinner I had a 5 oz skinless chicken breast with 3 tablsepoons or so of squash. I meal was similar yesterday except I had soup for lunch and a chef's salad for dinner. I weighed myself this morning and I gained a pound.

I'm eating right, and I spent 20 minutes (in 10 minute incremets) riding my stationary bike yesterday and I still gain weight. What gives? I can't get under 200 lbs for the life of me.

redsoxgirl2418 · 08-15-2008, 10:56 PM

adding more exercise would probably help. A stationary bike doesn't burn calories like a walk, elliptical, or treadmill, so you should probably try to extend the time you spend on the bike to a half hour (add a few minutes as time goes by to keep your workout growing). Maybe add in a 20-min. walk at some point in the day.

I went on a low carb diet in the past and while it worked great the first time, I had no luck trying to do it after that. Maybe try more of a low-cal diet with whole grains, lots of fiber, fruits and veggies, and lean meats like chicken, turkey, lean pork and beef cuts. Sometimes your body just needs a change. I firmly believe that low carb diets screw with your metabolism because I never had as much trouble losing weight before the atkins that I went on as I do now.

horizons · 08-16-2008, 02:52 AM

Thanks, I'll try to increase my exercise time. Right now I'll have to do some increases on the bike and forget walking for a while. I broke my ankle a few months ago and have just started walking on it this month. Its a lot better than it used to be, but I do limp pretty bad and just walking across a parking lot right now leaves my ankle in fatigue.

Unfortunately, I'm arleady doing a low calorie diet on top of the South Beach Diet. I'm eating chicken and lean beef. I'm eating lots of fruits (those low in sugar) and lots of veggies. I'm also eating whole grains (South Beach diet does let you have bread, as long as it is whole wheat bread). Yesterday I had one scrambled egg, a 6 oz chicken breast and some whole wheat pizza for a total of 1,400 calories in my day in addition to riding my bike and I gained yet another pound.

Nothing is seeming to work, cutting certain foods out doesn't work and neither does cutting calories.

janewhite1 · 08-16-2008, 08:18 AM

So you are building up the muscle in a leg you haven't used in months?

Get out a tape measure and measure your waist. It's possible you are losing fat and gaining muscle, the muscle in a healthy leg weights a LOT.

Also, do you have weight fluctuations associated with water retention? Are you measuring on the same, reliable, scale at the same time of day?

If you are looking for more exercise, you could always try weight training. Again, might cause you to gain muscle, so fat loss needs to be measured with a mirror, a tape measure, or a tight pair of pants rather than a scale.

horizons · 08-16-2008, 04:56 PM

I don't know if I have a tendency to retain water or not, but yes, I do weigh myself on the same scale every day, and always first thing when I get up in the morning, usually around 4-5 am.

I did "weight training" (ie physical therapy) for chronic subluxing patellas for many years and worked up to lifting 180-something lbs with my leg, but I've since stopped since I haven't had any dislocations in a while. While I can't go to the gym and do weight training now because of my financial situation, it might be something I look into once I can find another job.