What am I missing?

[no_hypocrisy]

I've changed my eating habits and lifestyle and I'm still 30 pounds too heavy. The numbers won't budge. I look 4 months pregnant perennially.

I'm talking about:
Walking two hours (800 calories and 5.5+ miles) on a treadmill 5-6 nights a week (3 miles/hour on an incline)
Portion control
Low sugar, low fat (hardly any confectionary treats e.g., candy, cake, pie, etc.)
Rare red meat, rare wheat products, rare dairy products
one meal vegetarian out of three daily
daily calorie count about 1500
normal sugar levels
thyroid fine except for immune antibodies reading

Should I be checked for insulin resistance?
What is my problem? I used to think I was doing all the right things but not enough of them. I'm confounded.

[supernova]

1. Wow, that's a toughie

and you sound a lot like me in the I exercise a lot and can't seem to lose weight category. In my case I suspect that I have a thyroid problem, but I won't know for sure until I can get tested-- no insurance. I had the standard test a handful of years ago which only tests for T3 I believe. That was normal. But I've read that you can have problems if either T4 or TSH are low as well or are at the low end of the acceptable range. So you need a full profile.

Back to you. Do you drink a lot of caffeine? especially coffee? Coffee makes you secrete cortisol. It's the fight or flight hormone, but also a "store my fat" hormone! Try omitting coffee if you drink it, and stick to things like green or white tea.

Insulin resistance (aka metabolic syndrome) is tricky, you have to be careful about what carbs you are eating, at least initially. Are you sticking to veggies and some fruits (mostly berries and melons) that are low on the glycemic index? These are foods that are processed more slowly and don't give a quick energy boost followed by an equally quick "crash" into fatigue, even sleepiness. Low GI foods release their energy more slowly and at a more stable rate than other foods. Anything made from flour is out or most grains really, and fruits and veggies with a high sugar content. (If you omit them and start losing weight, then you know these foods were a problem. You can slowly reincorporate them as you reach your goal weight, and probably not eating them as often as you did before.

That's food.

For exercise, have you been doing the same things for a while? If you have, you might consider switching to intervals training for cardio. Do you do any strength training with weights at all? Putting on muscle will help burn calories faster. Fat doesn't use as many calories as muscle does.

Glycemic Index: http://www.glycemicindex.com/
Interval training: http://www.intervaltraining.net/

Welcome to the exercise group!

[wildflower]

2. Some people can't lose weight unless they eat very few calories

Because of a low-running metabolism. According to this literature I've read, this can mean having to go as low as 1100 calories to be able to lose weight.

You may want to (1) keep a food journal to double-check the calories you're eating, and (2) get more tests done on your thyroid, as well as things like insulin resistance, PCOS, etc.

Maybe someone more knowledgeable about metabolism and these medical conditions can weigh in.

[Big Blue Marble]

3. This may surprise you but you maybe working out too much.

Your calorie level seems good. But when you subtract your calorie burn that
only leaves about 800 calories per day. That is a starvation diet to be sure.

At these caloric levels, your body is in a starvation response and most likely
is protecting you from famine. Your metabolism may be slowing down.


After struggling with my weight for 15 years, I finally lost 35 pounds last year
while eating more food and doing less exercise than I ever had on any weight loss
program. I am doing high intensity interval training 3 times a week for
35 minutes each session. I am also following Jon Gabriel's model for
weight management: The Gabriel Method. Jon's theory is that our
bodies will weigh what they want and we must learn to work with them not
push them to give up the fat. He calls it turning off the fat programs
and turning on the "SMART Programs." He personally lost over 200 pounds
with his method.

I had insulin resistance. Everyone who is overweight does. I also have
always had a slow metabolism and a sluggish thyroid. On these plans,
it did not matter. The weight came off. It is a slower process. But it came off never-the-less.
And it came off around my waist. I am down 3-4 sizes from a year ago

Two other things I do are eat a low glycemic diet which it looks like you are already
doing and hold my eating accountable by using Sparkpeople.com to track what I eat.

PM me if you have more questions. Jon's says people who are attempting to lose weight
are the most disciplined in the world. It is clear that you are in this category. With
as much effort as you are willing to do, you deserve to see results.

[City of Mills]

4. I don't think walking is enough

I'm not an expert BY ANY MEANS - so take it for what it's worth, but I don't know...is there any way you can jog for a half hour instead of walking for two hours? I don't know your limitations, but I know when I was walking a lot I really didn't gain/lose any weight, it just sort of maintained...I had to do something more strenuous (something that made me breathe harder/sweat more) before I lost any weight. Our bodies seem to adapt so quickly to our routines, so in order to break through you might have to figure out an alternate exercise as well, maybe even something like jumping rope or if that's not an option, invest in a punching bag and some boxing gloves...it's a good workout and therapeutic too :)

To be honest I'm not exactly a heavy person or anything but I am fairly health conscious...good luck to you, it sounds like you're at least on the right track with your eating habits and your commitment to an active lifestyle :)

[AwakeAtLast]

5. I'm going to say add some kind of strength training

And I am not any kind of expert either. I think building up some muscle might help you burn off what you need to.

[MissMillie]

6. mix things up a bit

our bodies have evolved into machines that try to maintain.

If you're doing the same things over and over and over again, your body may have figured out how to maintain with your routine.

Have a week where you add whole grains every day (in reasonable portions), or red meat

Or one week up your calories by 200 and then the next drop them by 200

Do something different for exercise. See if you can't find an aerobic routine that involved hand weights.

[MrMickeysMom]

7. Has anyone mentioned muscle work?

Nothing fancy... if you have 10 lb, 5 lb dumbells, and ankle weights, or are able to do cor stabilization moves, this can really increase your muscle mass so that you can burn more calories, even while you sleep. The keep is to learn to do it without hurting yourself.

Hang in there... MMM