Weight Loss Seems Impossible

[moosemalibu]

I will preface this by saying: Yes, I understand that the size I am at is ideal for many people. I am not asking anyone to critique my choice. I am a body builder so please bear with me.. this is not your typical goal. I want someone to see if I'm being unreasonable with the demands I'm putting up on my body... here we go..

 

I work out 5 days a week: I lift heavy weights for an hour to and hour and a half. Twice a week I do high intensity interval cardio on the spin bike for 15-20 minutes.

 

I started this 'cut' at over 2000 calories and have dropped 10% each week to get where I am at currently -- this has been 2 months in the making. I eat 1900 calories at day, at 204 g carbs, 174 g of protein, 43 g fat each day. This puts me in a caloric deficit to lose approx. 0.8 lb/week (not including exercise). This is not drastic by any means nor do I feel like I am depriving my body at this number. HOWEVER.. weight loss (on the scale) appears to have stalled. The scale will not budge from 144.5-148 lbs. I am 5'8" and 28. I am 6 months post celiac disease diagnosis, my titers are normal as of March.

 

I have no symptoms from before EXCEPT my GI tract is not quite right. It seems to wax and wane... Some weeks I am great and others I am pooping fat, whole veggies, even rice. This is not normal.

 

I have an appointment already scheduled with my PCP on Monday to figure this all out. So far I have concluded that it could be a) I'm just not healed enough yet pancreatic insufficiency c) carbohydrate malabsorption e) I'm impatient f) microscopic colitis (this is based on previous convo with GI guy) g) Hypothyroid (even though was 'screened' by old PCP in December but she did not run full panel)

 

Now I don't want to say I haven't seen progress.. but the progress is SLOW. My measurements have barely budged and no change on the scale (and it's normal to fluctuate on a day to day basis due to water retention) I find this is unusual for my body not to respond to what I am asking of it.

 

So.. as I write this I may realize that it could be too much.. but please weigh in... THANKS!

[cyclinglady]

I am diabetic (celiac disease too) and chose the low carb, high fat diet to control my blood sugar three months ago. I dropped 10 pounds in a flash! I thought that having a kid at 40, plus getting older meant weight gain even though I am active. By the way, I have always had a normal BMI. I now weigh what I did when I was married. This diet has lowered my blood sugars. Carbs definitely cause me sugar spikes, so eating to my meter has been beneficial. I was not looking for weight loss.

LCHF might be worth researching. My husband who is also gluten-free went on my new diet 30 days ago. He has lost more than 10 pounds and his recent cholesterol showed an increase in HDL, a major decrease in triglycerides and an increase in LDL. Higher LDL? Well, there are two sizes and we do not know what which size he has but we do know that recent studies find that tracking HDL and triglycerides are more important. I go in next week for a check-up, but my levels are always low in all lipid categories despite being gluten-free for a year. I am working on increasing my HDL levels.

Do some research. Everyone in the past 30 years has been increasing their carb intake and lowering their fat intake and obesity and heart disease continues to worsen.

Impact on my strength? I started swimming again, teach water aerobics, run 3.5 miles twice a week, ride my bike 30 to 50 miles on the weekend, and lamely lift my hand weights when I remember once a week and walk my old dog. Not in the same shape as you, but pretty good for an old lady!

[Fenrir]

I understand the bodybuilding thing.

 

 

 

 

I was just starting to cut after bulk in these pictures and then I started getting hit with the Celiac symptoms. Funny enough, celiac made me want to eat all the time so I GAINED weight. Inactivity factored in as well, because I didn't feel like hitting the gym and I feel like I lost some muscle mass with the celiac as well.

 

So, I gained fat and lost muscle since then. I was planning to cut from about 18% BF to about 11-12% but now I just want to get back to 18% for starters and some muscle back.

 

So far, I'm have a little more trouble losing weight just because I'm still figuring out things I can and can't eat and I'm stil not feeling quite well enough to want to workout regularly.

 

Generally speaking you want to focus on protein and just get enough fat to keep hormone levels normal. Don't cut out carbs too much.

[NatureChick]

People who include intense physical activity in their lifestyles are at higher risk for developing specific vitamin deficiencies. And wouldn't you know, a couple of them are also the vitamins that are found in fortified wheat. They are also involved in a process called gluconeogenesis where your body converts food and/or fat stores to energy. You may want to look into the specific nutrients that your body needs in order to repair and build muscle and make sure that your diet includes foods that are high in those. 

If this were a problem for you, it could stall weight loss or muscle gain, but instead you'd be getting more and more exhausted. If you're not suffering any symptoms of having low blood sugar, I wouldn't think this was an issue for you, but if exercise causes problems such as disrupted sleep, it might be something to consider. These issues are more commonly discussing in the fitness forums where people are consuming fewer calories than they are burning - which seems to be when these problems start to become noticeable.

Otherwise, I would never drop my calorie intake below my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) which you don't seem to be doing. I definitely go through phases where my exercise levels seem to far outpace the results I see though I'm more about cardio than strength training. 

Water intake can also effect the weight. Muscle retains water when it is in the repair phase. Dehydration, excess sodium intake, and hormone levels can also make you retain water. Drinking more water actually helps your body to retain less of it. The formula is your weight divided by two = number of ounces to drink per day.

Have you considered adding a little bit or variety into your routine in order to see if it has any effect, for instance, increase cardio? 

[moosemalibu]

Thanks to everyone who has posted here. I took some time away to figure out the never-ending saga of GI issues and coping with that. I figured out I am egg intolerant (sucks). I am still at a plateau with my weight however I am not stressing over it as much. I bought a spin bike for home use because I love spin and wanted to have access for cardio at any time. So with adding consistent cardio I am hoping to push past the plateau. I have never stopped weight training (I workout 5 days a week for an hour or more with just resistance training). I track macros, etc. I drink 1 gallon to 1.5 gallon of water a day so I know I get enough water. So we'll see how things go.

[JamieRmusic]

Ok, so here is what I have gathered after reading books written by professional athletes and people who work hard gaining weight ("but she said loose weight?!" Yatta yatta, wait for iit...) I don't focus on fat loss, but weight gaining and muscle building, so please correct me if I am wrong and don't hate! Don't trust anyone blindly and always read up to be certain.

If you want to gain weight you need a surplus of 200 calories above your base level, including the amount expended with activity. So from a rest rate of lets say... 1800, then 2600 cal is required with moderate acitivity, 2800-3000 for weight gain when working out heavy 3x a week. From what I understand, the exact opposite applies for loosing weight. You have to eat "less" to loose weight, but at the same time you cannot let the numbers go too far down as your body stops functioning for one, and secondly it will go into survival mode. Meaning it will hang on to whatever it can to survive, and start to degenerate your muscles for bigger sources of nutrients. So baseline + figure out what you usually would need to maintain your weight, then deduct 200 from that.

I think it has more to do with balancing acids in the body. The less acidic food you eat, the less your body will hold on the fat and the quicker it should go. I might be off here so please correct me. Eating less carbs, more fats and protein, more greens as they don't add any weight, but zero them selves out. Then you'll build more muscles, still have energy converted from the fats and require less complex carbs which otherwise, would be stored as fat, if you didn't require more direct energy. Don't get me wrong, you need carbs, but through greens you get carbs that doesn't add any to your frame. 

Also from what you wrote I think you are on the right path. A combination of heavy weights and cardio should do the trick. Just give it time and try to tweak what you are doing. That is always the key to see progression and success with fitness. Drastic changes in program and diet usually won't do any good.

Oh, and by the way. Please please please, if you're going to do crossfit... don't set yourself up for injury with improper form. *cough*, "youtube"

Good luck!

[JamieRmusic]

I stumbled across an article while reading. It reminded me of this post and your problem. 

 

Open Original Shared Link

&
Open Original Shared Link

[MermaidPaz]

It's a fantastic thing that you've found out you are sensitive to eggs. Food sensitivities were they key to my weight loss.  After I found out I had Hashimoto's, I could starve myself and run a marathon and still gain weight.  I'm not talking about muscle gain for sure, I'm talking about jiggle gain.  Even with hormone replacement.  After cutting a lot of foods out of my diet, I was able to reintroduce to find out which foods were actually bothering me.  There were quite a few on the list besides wheat, rye, and barley.  Wouldn't you know it, I was back down to the weight I was pre-diagnosis, but I was actually a smaller dress size than before within 2 and a half months.  Only light exercise a few times a week, nothing intense.  All of the swelling and inflammation from foods that had been affecting me adversely all these years had actually made me bigger.  It compounded the weight that I had actually put on, which was only about 25 lbs.  Now when I have little exposures to my irritant foods, the swelling and inflammation are mostly in the belly area and subsides within a week or so.  Nightshades are the worst for me besides gluten containing foods.  They make me swell all over terribly.  It's not uncommon for me to gain a pant size overnight if I've had them.  This was probably a huge source of my problem for years because I loved peppers!  It's been such a dramatic change going from a size 11 to a size 3.  People would ask me if I was trying to lose weight and I really wasn't.  It just happened.  Thank goodness, because I was getting tired of feeling fat.  Best of luck, and keep your eyes peeled for other food irritants.

[arrrghMatey]

cut your carb intake in half.  You need to go on a high fiber, high protein diet.  Go down to 14oo calories a day, measure and weigh your food before you cook it.  If you are still not leaning out after 4 weeks at 1400 you may have type 2 diabetes and are insulin resistant.  Meaning your body will only transform the carbs you eat immediately into body fat, and the body fat you have will not burn off.  It sound to me like you are burning off your muscle mass, not your body fat. 

 

A personal trainer specializing in physique can get you on track in 2 months. 

[Peggy-O]

Do you share a kitchen with a gluten consumer? About a month ago I got some very good advise from some of the other members concerning cross contamination in my kitchen. I really took their advice to heart and split my kitchen and food prep and storage areas with my husband who is not gluten free. My point is that maybe the weight gain is one part inflamation. When I experience cross contamination my belly swells up like a pregnant woman. Since I have been more vigilant on the cross contamination I have lost a few inches off my belly  and one pound. LOL put me on World's Biggest Looser! I am like you in the way that I hit the gym hard, have hired a trainer, bought a fitbit to track my activity (which tells me I am very active).  I also bike, walk and am training to run. One problem I have found is many vitamins and supplements contain gluten as a filler and will only take those labelled as gluten free. Last summer I made myself very sick taking supplements to enhance my workouts and build muscle so be wary of those.  Know you are not alone! Keep on keeping on!

[Eliza Plank]

My gluten intolerance makes my weight loss seem almost impossible. I am noticing some slight improvements, but it consumes a lot of time and energy.
Some time ago, a friend and I started the same paleo-based diet and I came to notice that she is losing weight way faster. For instance, she's lost about 15 lbs in two weeks, while I lost barely 4. It's discouraging and devastating, but I don't want to give up just yet. I have a long way to go.
I'd like to go vegan for a while, so I can cleanse my organism and it will surely aid my weight loss.

Anyone has any experience with this? What fruits/vegetables should I not mix? I know there are different types of sugar, but I haven't read a lot of information about it.
Any suggestions/advice are welcome.