Just Plain Fat

[curiousgeorge]

I'm just plain fat. Was before dx and even more so now. I was dx in the summer and have gained 15 lbs since then. I'm the fattest I've been in my non-pregnant adult life. I just hit 180 lbs. I am 5'5". I don't eat very much at all and its geneally a pretty good diet. I just don't get it. I have well treated thyroid issues (armour and cortef for adrenal support). I run and I'm fit but i'm FAT. I'm really worried about hitting 200lbs.

HELP. Thoughts?

[Mother of Jibril]

Sometimes, if you restrict your calories too much, your body thinks you're starving... and it starts storing every possible calorie as fat.

Could you tell us more about what your diet is like? What do you typically eat for meals and how many meals do you eat each day?

[curiousgeorge]

Well today for example.

I had home made ginger carrot soup (made up of all veggies and chicken stock) for brunch and a cup of coffee

I had some macadamia nuts and some black tea (no sugar or milk) for a snack.

Second snack of a kids yoghurt (danino with dha and omega 3 fatty acids)

and for supper I had a home made stew thing in my pressure cooker with beef, carrots, corn onion ginger broccoli, califlower. Had a bowl of this with a homemade corn meal muffin.

That's it for today so far. Will have a glass of milk and a small snack of something later.

I take 3 grains of armour, cortef, various vitamins including a b complex thng from the doc and a calcium, magnesium, D supp.

I just did a 30 min workout on the treadmill with weights. I should youtube myself... my kids think it funny. I sing Abba with my ipod and lift wights and run. I'm quite the show.

I have no doubt I'm in starvation mode but how to get out of the rut? Its crazy.

[celiac-mommy]

Well today for example.

I had home made ginger carrot soup (made up of all veggies and chicken stock) for brunch and a cup of coffee

I had some macadamia nuts and some black tea (no sugar or milk) for a snack.

Second snack of a kids yoghurt (danino with dha and omega 3 fatty acids)

and for supper I had a home made stew thing in my pressure cooker with beef, carrots, corn onion ginger broccoli, califlower. Had a bowl of this with a homemade corn meal muffin.

That's it for today so far. Will have a glass of milk and a small snack of something later.

I take 3 grains of armour, cortef, various vitamins including a b complex thng from the doc and a calcium, magnesium, D supp.

I just did a 30 min workout on the treadmill with weights. I should youtube myself... my kids think it funny. I sing Abba with my ipod and lift wights and run. I'm quite the show.

I have no doubt I'm in starvation mode but how to get out of the rut? Its crazy.

I'm estimating ~800 calories, if you only had 1 serving of the macadamia nuts. 800 is too low for sustaining life functions-your RMR is probably twice that!! If you want to work out most days, I would aim for ~ 1400-1500 calories a day!

[MySuicidalTurtle]

Regular working out does nothing for me at all but I lost weight doing an hour of yoga 2-3 times a week. I was also watching my calorie intake. I stopped doing yoga for a few months and did more cardio, biking, and running and it did not nothing at all. So, I started doing yoga again with some running and it works well.

So, my point is that you need to find what works best with you and your body. Try new things, watch your portions, and do different work outs.

[lizard00]

Breakfast. I'm not sure how long it was until you ate, since you called it brunch. But if you do that regularly, it's not good for your body.

You need to eat breakfast, it gets your metabolism going first thing and has been proven over and over that people who eat breakfast regularly have an easier time losing weight and keeping it off.

It definitely looks like you're eating too little, and then adding in the exercise is making it worse. Because your body has to expend calories to exercise, while not really having enough to even function. If your body thinks its starving, it will take from your muscles first. Add some high calorie nutrient dense foods: nuts, avocadoes, another piece of fruit or two (although that's not so high-cal).

[nasalady]

I have no doubt I'm in starvation mode but how to get out of the rut? Its crazy.

Unfortunately I understand all too well! I even went through a period where I wouldn't eat anything for days or even weeks at a time. Sure I lost weight, but I always gained it back plus more! And I didn't have to eat much to gain; I ate far less than many of my "skinny" friends.

Try eating less per meal, but have your meals more often: 5-6 smallish meals per day is good. But, as a previous poster pointed out, make sure you're eating more than 1400 calories per day if you want to get out of starvation mode!

Good luck!!

JoAnn

[curiousgeorge]

Oh brunch is generally after I get the kids out the door and the morning rush is over yet before the lunch rush.

I have a yoga date with a freind next week so we shall see.

Its so frustrating because I've never had any luck loosing weight other than when I'm post partum. Grrr.

[julirama723]

It sounds like the types of foods you are eating are healthy, but I agree with the others, you need to eat MORE!

I had to guess on your age, but by plugging 180 pounds and 5'5" into the BMR calculator, it gives you a BMR of 1579 calories. That means that your body burns 1579 calories doing nothing but breathing. If you get up, move around, do chores, exercise, etc. your body burns more calories.

Using the Harris-Benedict equation (which estimates daily caloric need based on exertion/exercise) and using the equation for "moderately active" it multiplies your BMR calories by 1.55, giving you a DAILY CALORIC REQUIREMENT OF 2447 calories. This is needed to MAINTAIN your current weight. It's recommended to cut 500 calories per day to lose weight (anything more risks starvation mode or unhealthy eating habits unless you are severely overweight) so you still need 1900 calories a day!

Here are the links for the formulas I used:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Running puts me in great cardiovascular shape, but as far as overall "fitness" is concerned, lifting weights gives me the body that I want. Plus, building muscle means you can burn more fat, even while at rest. Muscle is metabolically active tissue--it requires more calories to use it, and it also requires calories at rest. I ran a marathon this summer and my body was flabby, even though I was logging at least 20 miles a week for 4 months. When I weight train regularly, I shrink in size, my body is firm, and I look about 30 pounds lighter than I actually am.

You might want to try spicing up your workouts. Run on one day, do strength training the next. Go to yoga. Do pilates. Try circuit training. Go to a spinning or cycling class. After about 6 weeks your body adapts to what your doing and needs a new challenge.

[sbj]

Yes, I would change your eating plan quite a bit. You should be eating three square meals a day - at about the same time each day - and you should finish up with a snack in the early evening. (I found that while losing weight I was actually eating MORE for breakfast than I had before.) You need to get your calories from the proper balance of carbs, protein, and fat. (Don't cut anything out entirely - just eat the correct amount.) You should eat (approximately) 3 servings of vegetables, at least 2 servings of fruit, 6 servings of starches, 2 servings of fat free milk, 6 oz. of meat, and small amounts of fat and sugar each day.

Fat is not all bad and it looks as if you need a bit more. It looks as if you lack dairy. I don't see enough carbs - you should get 150-200 grams per day accounting for 50-60% of your total calories. Are you getting enough fiber? Should be 20-35 grams/day. Where's the fresh fruit? (No juice. Eat whole fruit to take advantage of the fiber.) Watch out for yogurt as it is often loaded with sugar.

I recommend following the American Diabetes Association guidelines even if you are not diabetic. Their guidelines helped me to lose 40 lbs. I'm not sure what your proper caloric intake should be but I'm 6'3" male and weigh 230 Lbs - I need to consume les than 2400 calories per day to lose weight. I would think that your intake should be about 1500-1800 calories per day but please consult a dietician.

Open Original Shared Link

As the link states, your best course of action is to visit a dietician who can help develop a weight loss plan with you and just for you. The rest of the advice you've received here is excellent. Cardio alone is not enough - you need strength training, too. Especially important for women with celiac disease who are at greater risk for osteoporosis.

And don't be so hard on yourself. Genetics are difficult to overcome. Losing weight will take a lot of work over a long period of time so cut yourself some slack. Your goal is good health. Don't think of this as a diet or workout plan - these are permanent lifestyle changes. You can do this.

[maile]

All the advice above is good but I would caution 1 item....you should eat more but from my experience it would be easier on your system and better for you mentally if you increased the caloric intake over a couple of weeks.

from my experience, both personally and having worked for one of the national diet companies many moons ago, coming off a Very Low Calorie Diet abruptly will wreak havoc on your system. Your body is already incredibly efficient at storing calories, this is why you aren't losing weight despite your activity and caloric levels. By building up gradually with specific types of foods you can make the process a lot more enjoyable and less frustrating!!

in general:

try adding an extra serving of low glycemic fruit (berries are good) with an extra serving of protein (hard boiled egg or cottage cheese (if you can eat it)) and do this for about 4 or 5 days then add in other items such as a fat (avocado or coconut milk are good choices)

Ultimately try for 4-6 small meals per day with about 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% fat (nope not a "Zone" person this breakdown is quite common in most of the weight loss plans out there....(as an aside I don't subscribe to the "official food pyramid" diets since I found out that the food pyramid is allegedly passed by the food lobbyists before it is published for the general public jmho!) for the carbs, you seem to be on the right track in general I'd just up the fruit intake.

this is what I would suggest to tweak your example of a "typical day" (this is just my own opinion, feel free to disregard!) but build up over a couple of weeks...

Well today for example.

I had home made ginger carrot soup (made up of all veggies and chicken stock) for brunch and a cup of coffee

- this lacks protein, adding a 1/2 c of red lentils to the dish will boost this for protein as well as fiber (plus they cook quickly without soaking) If you are trying to lose weight increasing your protein will make you more satisfied and your body will use it to build and repair the muscle that you are breaking down with your weight program

I had some macadamia nuts and some black tea (no sugar or milk) for a snack.

add half an apple, if you slice it thin it seems like more (silly, I know )

Second snack of a kids yoghurt (danino with dha and omega 3 fatty acids)

while yogurt contains some protein, your system treats it more like a carb, add a bit of cottage cheese or protein powder to round it out

and for supper I had a home made stew thing in my pressure cooker with beef, carrots, corn onion ginger broccoli, califlower. Had a bowl of this with a homemade corn meal muffin.

this looks good, no comments for this meal

That's it for today so far. Will have a glass of milk and a small snack of something later......

I just did a 30 min workout on the treadmill with weights. I should youtube myself... my kids think it funny. I sing Abba with my ipod and lift wights and run. I'm quite the show.

try having the milk and say a piece of fruit after your workout, it will do more good that way, this is also the one time where you don't necessarily need to balance the protein and carb as the timing of this snack will allow you body to use the carb right away instead of storing it for future use.

I have no doubt I'm in starvation mode but how to get out of the rut? Its crazy.

gradually! it's a pain I know, believe me I know! but gradually will be more beneficial in the long run.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Protein! Are you having any besides for the nuts?

I would add eggs, fish, broiled chicken, and lean meat, maybe one small serving at each meal. (Are you vegetarian? If so, then you'd need to find another protein source, and iron, too.)

Look for organic, if possible--you don't need additional hormones, pesticides, and antibiotics!

[curiousgeorge]

I eat lots of meat. I have lean beef several times a week in some form or another. I still have ferritin issues though although I'm getting dextran shots and I can feel the difference.

I am 41 I know someone asked.

I bought a biggest loser work out dvd this week and did it today and it totally kicked my butt. It was cardio with weights so lets see if that helps

Thanks for thinking this through with me. I made some potato soup today for lunch and added some ham for protein (along with oinions, garlic, celery carrots). I have an issue with fruit. Its too sweet and makes me cough. I'm more of a veggie gal. Peach salsa meatloaf for supper tonight with sweet potatos.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

The other thing that occurs to me is some kind of Vitamin D deficiency? A friend of mine and her mother were recently diagnosed with this, and in the mother's case, it caused a parathyroid problem. My friend spent the whole summer outdoors, but apparently her body was not able to synthesize vitamin D from the sun--something blocked that in her system?

They are both on supplements and feeling much, much better (and my friend was also very heavy, and whenever I saw her, she ate VERY healthy meals), so I wonder if sunshine/vitamin D has anything to do with inability to lose weight?

[curiousgeorge]

Nope,, had vit D tested and it was fine. I also take a D supp.

[Jamie]

I'm just plain fat. Was before dx and even more so now. I was dx in the summer and have gained 15 lbs since then. I'm the fattest I've been in my non-pregnant adult life. I just hit 180 lbs. I am 5'5". I don't eat very much at all and its geneally a pretty good diet. I just don't get it. I have well treated thyroid issues (armour and cortef for adrenal support). I run and I'm fit but i'm FAT. I'm really worried about hitting 200lbs.

HELP. Thoughts?

I don't know.. I was just diagnosed a few days ago and I have read up on a lot of websites that it is very easy to gain weight on the gluten free diet due to your body suddenly absorbing everything and the high sugar content in all the foods. I am very healthy concious and I am very concerned that I will gain weight on this diet because I am also hypothyroid... However... in the excercise department... I'm set... my advice to you would be cross training and interval training. It sounds like you are running a lot which is excellent... but you don't want to get youe body too used to doing any excercise because you will hit a platue and stop losing the weight. Cross training is doing a different excercise each day. Run one day, Bike one day, Swim if you can another day... yoga, dance, group excercise, martial arts, strength training.... anything it is possible for you to do... but don't just run... also... 30 minutes a day is great..(if that's all you really have time for)... but if you're really serious about losing the weight... I would suggest reving up your work outs to at least 45 minutes to an hour... as for interval training... intergrate it into your cross training(doing different activities everyday)... interval training is getting the hreat rate really high, getting it down for about a minute and then getting it high again... you can interval train by doing jumping jacks for a minute.. then doing a strength training move for a minute... jump rope for a minute... strength train for a minute... and so on for an hour.... or on a tredmill.... instead of staying at the same speed.... which makes it easy for your heart... get it really high... by sprinting... or walking at the highest incline... for 1 minute... then walking at a fast pace for a minute... for recovery... then keep repeting this process... this is going to give the heart a work out and speed up the metabolism.

[curiousgeorge]

I do do that with the dreadmill in the winter. I bike in the summer (and tow my son in a trailer behind my bike). I eat very little grains and don't really buy any of the gluten-free products out there. I've stared doing yoga and I have quite the disparity between upper and lower body strength. I've been making green smoothies too with spinich and various veggies. I even bought a body fat scale and egads I'm 35% fat according to this thing.

[legoman666]

After I was diagnosed with Celiac disease and went on a gluten-free diet, I gained about 10-15lbs. Not being able to eat copious amounts of everything was definitely a bummer. Before being diagnosed, I was about 145lbs @ 5'10", then afterward I gained about 10lbs without changing the amount of food I ate. I was simply getting more out of the food I was eating without realizing it. So I cut all pop and snacky foods from my diet.

I drink diet pop instead and snack on carrots (go through about 1lb every 2 days, heh). I also started riding my bike a lot. I joined my university's cycling team and even did a few races. I lost about 15-20lbs by doing this. Now that it's cold out (my mother called me a fair weather cyclist), I don't ride anymore. Since I cut the exercise out, I also dropped the amount of calories I ate daily from 2500 to ~1600. I am now at 127lbs which is probably a little low, but I'll probably bulk up again when it's warm and I'm out packing muscles onto my legs.

Typical eating:

Breakfast:

6oz soymilk (60 cal)

1.5 cups rice chex (150 cal)

banana, sliced up and in the cereal (100 cal)

Lunch:

leftovers, today was white chili (300 cal)

fruit, today was some mango and an apple (90 + 40 cal)

sometimes have a lite yogurt

Snack:

Lots of carrots (70 cal)

fat free veggie dip (30 cal)

Dinner:

some meat dish + pasta, today is baked chicken spring rolls (400 cal)

dessert, today is some sugar free brownies I made (90 cal)

Mid evening snack:

fruit, today is an apple (90 cal)

Total: 1420 + random bits of snacking throughout day = ~1550 or so.

[Mysh]

Breakfast is definitely a metabolism kicker - don't miss out on it. It must contain protein (as should all meals) to kickstart your day. I would not include protein in my snacks at all as your body really needs about 5 hours to digest protein. Having meals sooner means that your body may hold onto the undigested protein and convert it to fat. Maybe you could have salsa and carrot sticks instead of dip?

I'd also say that water intake is crucial. I carry a water bottle around with me - it's amazing how much water you can drink when it's right there with you.

I would also look at the fruits you are eating - and stick with apples, oranges, mango. Some fruits are naturally high in sugar and should really only be eaten occasionally.

Good Luck - I have about 20lbs I'd like to lose too.

[Live2BWell]

I do do that with the dreadmill in the winter. I bike in the summer (and tow my son in a trailer behind my bike). I eat very little grains and don't really buy any of the gluten-free products out there. I've stared doing yoga and I have quite the disparity between upper and lower body strength. I've been making green smoothies too with spinich and various veggies. I even bought a body fat scale and egads I'm 35% fat according to this thing.

(( Hugs ))

Getting accustomed to gluten free living is difficult! At diagnosis my weight was 211 (I am just over 5'7) and after diagnosis my weight seemed to go up overnight. Within four months my weight was at 240! I am now balancing out and trying to pay closer attention to how eating gluten free fits into healthy and balanced nutritional intake. I have started practicing mindful eating, and am also focusing on eating more fresh foods. I have just begun this journey, and it's been a challenge, but gratefully I have lost some weight and am now at 233-ish; My goal is to be around 165-170, which is a good weight for my build.

I have decided to make meal plans, as I am finding that being gluten free and "flying by the seat of my pants" is just not working out very well for me

It's certainly a different way of being, but I think looking at it as "different" or an opportunity to learn new things/be creative is a plus in getting away from the blues (it has been for me.)

Hang in there!

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I drink diet pop instead and snack on carrots or so.

Diet soda is associated with INCREASED weight gain.

From Wikipedia: An independent study by researchers with the Framingham Heart Study in Massachusetts, has turned up results which indicate that the consumption of diet soda correlates with increased metabolic syndrome. Of the 9,000 males and females studied, findings stated that 48% of the subjects were at higher risk for weight gain and elevated blood sugar. The researchers also acknowledged that diet soda drinkers were less likely to consume healthy foods, and that drinking diet soda flavored with artificial sweeteners more than likely increases cravings for sugar flavored sweets.[3]

Animal studies suggest that artificial sweeteners cause body weight gain, theoretically because of a faulty insulin response, at least in cows and rats. Rats given sweeteners have steadily increased caloric intake, increased body weight, and increased adiposity (fatness). [5] Adding saccharin to the food of calves increases their body weight as well.[6]

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Whoops, sorry, double post!

[Rebecca's mom]

Our family has been gluten-free for the past year, and I have lost 40 pounds without even trying, simply by eliminating gluten from my diet. I have found, however, that I have to limit the amount of GRAINS that I eat - I eat potatoes and corn (to me that is a vegetable) with no problem whatsoever.

I also have found that in order to LOSE fat, a person has to EAT fat - lots of it. I know that flies in the face of everything that we have had drummed into our heads the past 20-30 years, but there is plenty of research out there to back that up.

Even the Framingham heart study found that the people who ate the most fat had the lowest amount of heart disease (regardless of their cholesterol levels), and the people who ate what they wanted actually appeared to LOSE the most weight.

For me, I have found that if I eat more fat, I am satisfied more quickly, and I stay satisfied much longer. I guess that gives my body "permission" to release the body fat that it has been holding on to.

Anyway, that's my $.02 worth - it's worked for me, even though I was skeptical at first......