Dieting is not a cookie-cutter type activity

Posted on January 8, 2015

My last blog post was about my weight going up and me not getting discouraged. Well, I have found that my weight has been fluctuating between 2 weights roughly since a couple days after I signed up for the first DB of January that I joined.

My lowest weigh out in December or the beginning of January from December's DBs was right on the money at my lowest goal weight for those DB's of 170.5. The first one I weighed in for this month I weighed 169.7. Since then I have weighed in for 2 more with a weigh-in of 170.6. I have another weigh-in to do this weekend. However, each day when I check my weight when I get up, it is either 171.3 or 170.6.

Now some people seem to think that 1,000 calorie deficit is too much (but it's simple math dictating this people if I need to lose now almost 8 pounds by the end of the DB's I have to have a loss of 2 pounds a week or 7,000 calorie deficit for the week). I seem to be burning a litlte bit more, so I am actually eating more this month than I did last month.

I met all of my DB goals eating between 750 and 950 calories a day almost every day. Occasionally, I would eat around 1000-1100 but not often and on those days I would have a gain the next day on the scale instead of a loss. My calorie burn last month was usually around 1900-2100 according to my fitbit which adds in the basal metabolic rate for someone my height and weight.

So far this week, I have been burning a few more calories even having a couple days showing 2300-2400. I am eating around 1000-1300. And my weight is stuck. I am not trying to be rude or complain, but to all of you people who say I have to eat more; while that may work for you, it obvioiusly does not work for me.

I have Rheumatoid Artirits, Endometriosis, and have been in a severely bad car accident 11.5 years ago in which I had a severe liver laceration, both of my lungs collapsed, I had an aoritic tear, I had brain contusions, and I had 7 fractured ribs and a fractured shoulder. I get rundown/sick often. My body does not work like a normal body anymore. I take medications for my RA that I'm sure alters my metabolism a little bit. My body does not work like everyone else's.

Dieting and exercise and weight loss is not a cookie cutter experience. I really love DB and it's plethora of support and encouragement. I love being able to check in and post what is going on with me, to get it off my chest and move on and look at tomorrow as a new day. I like how DB is causing me to try new things and make adjustments and changes when my weight gets stuck like this. In the past with all the times I have tried changing my habits since I gained weight a couple of years after my car accident (I didn't gain weight until abouta year after my physical therapy stopped that lasted a year).

Through DB I have finally learned that yes, the walking with my fitbit is important, but it's not the only thing I need. I have found I lose the most weight when I do Yoga with one of my Yoga apps or any number of videos from various sources. The next best thing is using my AeroPilates Reformer. Lastly, my Sit 'N Cycle stationary bike does help some, but it's about equal to the walking or just a little better.

I have been extremely tired and run-down feeling this week. I am getting the RA pain in my ribs/chest I tend to get when it gets this cold at this time of the year. I think when my RA is flaring up like this, it slows my metabolism down and makes me just feel chronically fatigued. However, I have been fighting through it this time. I have my fitbit step goal set to 5,500 a day which I have no done 15 days in a row but I have actually gotten over 10,000 3 days this week. On Wednesday ngiht, I rode my Sit 'N Cycle for 30 minutes. Thursday night, I completed week 1 day 1 of my c25k app by alternating walking and jogging in my kitchen. also Thursday night/Friday morning, from 12:45 AM to 1:15 AM, I used my AeroPilates Reformer for 30 minutes.

I am pleased with the amount of exericse I have been trying to get this week. In addition to my weight being stuck and feeling like a giant is gripping me around the ribcage trying to squeeze the life out of me, I have been finding it in myself somehow to keep moving. I haven't done any Yoga yet this week, but I will get at least 30 minutes of it in before 11:59 PM Sunday. I like to save the Yoga for the weekends a lot of times. It gives me the time to get away from my family being home and the loud TV downstairs to just come to my room and shut the door and relax and stretch and exercise.

Comment Now!

TravelFunKes

01/09/2015 9:22AM

Good for you for listening to your body, and I'm impressed with your stick-to-it-iveness in the face of some serious adversity.

GeminiWitch83 Amanda likes this comment.

View 4 more comments

GeminiWitch83 Amanda

I do too. I am in 2 DB10's so far and plan to join another one in February and they do seem like they are better paced for me (especially when I get stuck for the first week of the DB4). However, keeping up the momentum and desire to follow through for 6 months is usually the problem for me. I can do alright usually for a few weeks or even a couple months. But then I find excuses to back out of it and I eventually revert back into eating all the wrong things and not moving enough. I feel I kind of need the DB4 to keep me energized and motivated right now every day as well as the DB10 to keep me motivated to actually remember to stay in it for the long haul. I think the combination of the two help me see the different goals and help me keep in mind that I have to do this for a healthy lifestyle, but not just as a diet.

GeminiWitch83 Amanda

I'm just speculating here, but I have been considering eventually taking at least a month off from the DB4s and see how that goes... However, I think I will probably join DB4s again in February just to keep up the intensity and desire to stick with it right now, but I think I may take March off from the DB4's and just let myself not be quite so Nazi-like about it, but stay on track for my DB10s and see how that goes. I will re-evaluate and see if I need another kick in the pants in April with DB4s again. It may be better to take February off though since I will have been going hard at it from the end of November through all of December and all of January. I really don't know. I will have to see when all of my Jan games end (one of them doesn't even start til Jan 12 though. I am weighing in for that this weekend.

Julie G.

01/09/2015 8:37AM

Women should NEVER eat below 1200 calories a day. Your body is probably going into starvation mode. It takes the average woman 1400 calories just to maintain basic body functions (e.g., pump heart, breath), and if we do not obtain enough calories to maintain those functions, our bodies will begin to store everything we eat as fat.

View 2 more comments

GeminiWitch83 Amanda

Oh and I forgot i often put 3 berries in my water so I get a treat at the bottom and am eating berries and drinking water all evening long, so I'm not hungry at all.

Julie G.

I agree that not everyone is the same, but medical experts state that women should never eat less than 1200 calories. I was trying to help you figure out why you haven't been losing weight. But it's your body and you can do what you want!

Teresa Marie

01/09/2015 8:15AM

It is soooo not cookie cutter! I'm sure you've seen this -- but just in case :) http://eatdrinkandbeskinny.com/weight-loss-frustration-part-ii-13-tactical-plateau-busters/ and I bet #2 would be good and #3 if you do use any artificial or zero calorie sweeteners :) Let me know what you think!

GeminiWitch83 Amanda likes this comment.

GeminiWitch83 Amanda

Thank you! Yes I read this yesterday! I actually finally broke the plateau and am down 1.3 pounds from yesterday. I'm finally under those 2 weights I kept yo-yoing between. I added in a cup of juice with every meal yesterday and pushed to burn more calories. I am trying to keep up the concept of varying my workouts/exercises so hopefully my body doesn't get used to them.

KnightofWren

01/09/2015 6:06AM

Right on the money: It's definitely not a cookie cutter experience! I feel you on the metabolism thing. I found that with PCOS I'm a bit insulin resistant so I have to watch my carbs and exercise works much better for me when I focus on muscle strengthening rather than aerobic/cardio calorie burning. In other words: I can lose weight eating bacon and doing squats but it's much tougher for me if I want to eat rice and jog.

GeminiWitch83 Amanda and Teresa Marie like this comment.

View 4 more comments

GeminiWitch83 Amanda

I took birth control pills from when I was young until I was in my early 20s. It helped the pain and super heavy, long painful periods a lot. However, when I was almost 24, I had a blood clot in my lung and had to go off of the medications. I was found to have a genetic abnormality which causes my blood to be more likely to clot and so I cannot take any type of hormonal medications ever again because they also increase the risk of blood clots. After that I was stuck with the pain for a few more years and horrible periods again until I switched Doctor's and after seeing her for a couple of years with the issues, she recommended the first surgery as an exploratory laprascopic procedure which was minimally invasive that helped remove a lot of the endometriosis and adhesions. However, the large endometrioma on the one ovary she tried to pop when she was in there for that surgery was still there and had to come out too with that tube and ovary.

GeminiWitch83 Amanda

I really am happy someone finally got in there and found out what the problem was and has treated it for the most part. My periods aren't even that painful most of the time anymore. They are still long and have a few heavy days, but are bearable now as compared to how they were before where I couldn't function without narcotic pain meds. I haven't had to take any narcotic pain meds for any type of menstrual or female pain for over a year now. It really does pay off to switch Doctors until you find the right one who keeps looking until they find the answer. I hope you can get some relief too.