Why am I not losing weight? Banded 5 months ago.

AZA · 12-16-2007, 02:31 PM

I'm trying to stay positive but I'm getting really frustrated with my lack of weight loss. I had surgery nearly 5 months ago and I've only lost about 15 pounds. I had good restriction with my last fill for a couple of weeks - it's loosened up somewhat so I'm going back for another fill this week.

I track everything I eat and I average 1200 calories a day. I eat less than a third of what I used to! I've also recently added exercise - walking on a the treadmill for 30 minutes a day.

I really don't understand why I'm not losing. My BMI is 50.8 and according to the on-line calculators, I burn 2800 calories a day with a sedentary lifestyle (I am somewhat active but I wanted to be conservative with my numbers).

In theory, to lose 3 pounds a week, I should consume (3,500x3) 10,500 calories less than I burn.

2,800x7=19,600 calories burned in a week (this doesn't even take into account the exercise I do)
1,200x7=8,400 calories taken in during the week

So per week, I have a deficit of 11,200 calories which should equal a 3.2 pound weight loss per week. In reality, I'm only losing about 0.8 calories per week.

What am I doing wrong??? Should I switch to just doing protein shakes? Should I do low-carb? I thought weight-loss was a matter of burning more calories than consumed.

Any advice?

I'm getting discouraged. I'm so glad I didn't tell many people I was getting this surgery because I hate having to explain why I'm not losing weight yet.

WASaBubbleButt · 12-16-2007, 03:12 PM

Would you write out an example or two of your daily menu? And write out exactly what you do for hard cardio and let's see if we can figure out out.

When you write out the menu, please include brand names. Sometimes we are pretty good at coming up with better alternatives.

You are correct, with your calorie restriction and BMI, it should be melting off so let's see if we can figure this out.

AZA · 12-16-2007, 05:02 PM

Here are some sample menus from the past week (from low cal to high cal). I rarely eat exactly 1200 calories per day. I might do 800 calories one day and 1400 the next. But my weekly average is consistently 1200 per day. I rarely eat breakfast, I never did prior to being banded and I’m just not hungry in the morning. I’m mostly vegetarian (I do eat fish, dairy and eggs). I might eat chicken breast or ground beef once a month.

838 calories, 93 carbs, 34 fat, 25 protein
Breakfast:
Small coffee, one cream, one sugar 113 calories
Lunch:
President’s Choice Indian vegetable biryani rice (0.8 serving), 200 calories
Dinner:
President’s Choice cheesy macaroni (1.25 cups) 425 calories
Snack:Orville Redenbacher's Smart Popcorn Mini-bags 100 calories

1213 calories, 161 carbs, 39 fat, 68 protein
Breakfast:
Small coffee, one cream, one sugar 113 calories
Lunch:
Slice of cheese pizza 345 calories
Dinner:
2 cups of spaghetti with parmesan cheese (no meat) 595 calories
Snack:
Atkins Advantage Bar Chocolate Mocha Crunch (0.9 serving) 198 calories

1620 calories, 141 carbs, 85 fat, 60 protein
Breakfast: coffee with cream 90 calories
Lunch: tuna wrap 500 calories (purchased at my work cafeteria)
Dinner: President’s choice cheesy macaroni (2 cups) 600 calories
Snack: cranberry muffin 350 calories

I live in

Canada

so some of the brand names are different. I don’t have any problems health-wise except that I’m chronically anemic.

Looking at my menus I do see that I still eat a lot of pasta, breads, and cheese, all of which I used to binge on prior to being banded. I used to be able to eat a WHOLE cheese pizza - now I can only eat 1 slice. I now eat much smaller quantities of these foods.

I do recognize that my diet is short on fruits and vegetables (I really don’t like many – I know that’s ironic coming from a vegetarian). I usually have a cup of fresh strawberries 3 times a week and a salad about once a week.

I'm still struggling to get to a good fill - I know I probably shouldn't even be able to even eat pizza and rice.

AZA · 12-16-2007, 05:10 PM

In terms of exercise, I went from doing nothing (except for working full-time and taking care of my kids) to walking 30 minutes on the treadmill (4x a week) and doing about 45 minutes of Dance, Dance Revolution (4x a week).

Chickie · 12-16-2007, 05:16 PM

The trick (for me, anyway) was and is to eat as many whole foods as possible. Fruit, veggies beans and so on. I focus on quality, not quantity.

Starting an exercise program will help in a big way. When did you start with that?

wsb · 12-16-2007, 05:22 PM

your carb levels are really high, the rice and pasta maybe what is keeping you from losing. My doctor wants the carbs less than 30 a day.

ELoo · 12-16-2007, 05:32 PM

I know what its like to be a slow user. I used a body bugg for a while and when my numbers showed a calorie deficit to lose 2 pounds per week, I would actually lose 0.5 lbs. I am a slow loser.... but I have PCOS which I think contributes to that. Try to cut out refined & processed foods. Switch to whole grains and add more fruits and vegetables. Since you don't eat much meat you probably aren't getting enough protein so you may want to try adding a flavorless protein powder to your food or a fruit smoothie. I like Unjury flavorless protein. It has a weird smell but you can't taste it.... in fact I am so used to it that I don't smell it anymore. The other thing that stands out to me is that you can eat 2 cups of spaghetti. You aren't tight enough. There is no way I could eat that much pasta in one sitting anymore. I am lucky to get 1/4 cup down. And actually I am more successful with whole wheat pasta than the white stuff. I am far from perfect with my diet and I know change is hard but these are the things I am working on for myself. Be careful, this is a tough time of year with sweets everywhere and they go down VERY EASY! Hope this helps.

transformer · 12-16-2007, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wsb

your carb levels are really high, the rice and pasta maybe what is keeping you from losing. My doctor wants the carbs less than 30 a day.

I agree! Focus on getting in lean proteins and green veggies (non-starchy ones) first, then have some carbs if you have room left. That has really helped me so far!

Make sure to drink enough low-calorie liquids during the day, too. That'll help flush the old fat out!

Let us know if there's anything else we can do to help!

Chickie · 12-16-2007, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ELoo

I know what its like to be a slow user. I used a body bugg for a while and when my numbers showed a calorie deficit to lose 2 pounds per week, I would actually lose 0.5 lbs. I am a slow loser.... but I have PCOS which I think contributes to that. Try to cut out refined & processed foods. Switch to whole grains and add more fruits and vegetables. Since you don't eat much meat you probably aren't getting enough protein so you may want to try adding a flavorless protein powder to your food or a fruit smoothie. I like Unjury flavorless protein. It has a weird smell but you can't taste it.... in fact I am so used to it that I don't smell it anymore. The other thing that stands out to me is that you can eat 2 cups of spaghetti. You aren't tight enough. There is no way I could eat that much pasta in one sitting anymore. I am lucky to get 1/4 cup down. And actually I am more successful with whole wheat pasta than the white stuff. I am far from perfect with my diet and I know change is hard but these are the things I am working on for myself. Be careful, this is a tough time of year with sweets everywhere and they go down VERY EASY! Hope this helps.

Many lower BMI bandsters feel they are slower losers. It probably isn't your PCOS that is causing the slower weight loss unless you have insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes or very imbalanced hormones. And even then, with medication, proper restriction, diet and exercise we are on a level playing field with the rest of the population.

WASaBubbleButt · 12-16-2007, 06:22 PM

I'm with the others here regarding carb intake. You can't use white carbs for fuel and expect good things to come of it. Do you know that you eat more carbs in a day sometimes than I do in a month? ;) I'm referring to the bad carbs. Your diet is loaded with bad carbs and hardly any good carbs at all. Pasta, muffins, sugar.... I really can see why you aren't noticing a bigger difference on your scale.

Another thing I notice, you can eat two cups of pasta? That's quite a bit of pasta. And where is the nutrition in your food? Two cups of pasta and parmesan cheese? What are you eating that is good for you? Look at the second day's menu. Where is the nutrition in your food? There isn't any. Coffee, pasta, cheese, cheese pizza and a mocha bar? Do you realize you ate 4 times more carbs than you did protein?

What if...

Keep your coffee for breakfast. I know coffee drinkers like that a great deal.

Instead of flour based pasta, how about Spaghetti squash? Eat as much as you want at first so you don't feel deprived. If that means the whole darn thing, so be it. At least you are getting some nutrition in. Put a little meat sauce or marinara sauce on it instead of lots of cheese.

Instead of pizza, how about a fancy loaded salad? Lots of fresh veggies, diced chicken, something with nutrition.

Instead of a mocha bar, an apple, or an apple and a pear, or an apple, a pear, and a banana. If you are going to load up on carbs, at least make them good carbs.

I'll bet you that if you cut out all white carbs the pounds would start melting.

AZA · 12-16-2007, 07:21 PM

I appreciate all the advice. I've always avoided a low-carb diet because I thought it was next to impossible if you weren't a big meat-eater.

I still don't understand why it makes such a difference. Why aren't 1200 calories of chocolate, or 1200 calories of apples, or 1200 calories of pasta the same 1200 calories?

About the exercise, I only started about 2 weeks ago and it hasn't made a difference yet on the scale. I do feel that my clothes are fitting a bit better since starting to exercise.

What are the resources for learning more about low-carb diets? Is it mainly Atkins and South Beach?

WASaBubbleButt · 12-16-2007, 07:47 PM

My personal opinion is that if I were you I wouldn't even worry about going low carb. I would focus on GOOD carbs in your diet. Your diet... do you realize that if you were a child eating that diet you likely wouldn't grow? ;) ;) ;) There is very little nutrition in your diet. The bad carbs just turn to glycogen and sit there waiting for you to use them. Your food is... empty. Loaded with fat and calories but very little nutrition. You eat the way I did before I was banded. We ALL ate that way for the most part or we wouldn't be fat.

You are correct, it really shouldn't matter where the calories come from as long as we are counting calories. I don't claim to have the least bit of understanding when it comes to that. The field of nutrition is changing on a daily basis. Horrible as this sounds, I don't even put a lot of stock into what NUTS say. Their field changes with each study that is completed.

What I know is what works for me. When I eat crap foods I crave more crap foods. When I eat healthy foods (after time) I began to crave healthy foods. When I load up on white carbs I become a big, fat, couch slug. When I eat healthy carbs I have the energy to do anything I want. I can go running, power walking, anything I choose.

What if you just try this... knock out all white carbs from your diet. Flour, sugar, rice, pasta, potatoes, anything like that. Cut it ALL out from your diet. Try it for a week. I'm not saying count carbs or stop all carbs. I'm suggesting dumping the white carbs for a week and see what happens. It's not easy! Actually, the first three days are hard, very hard. You'll feel like climbing the walls and you'll be hungry, moody, and maybe even nasty. It's part of it.

I bet you a cyber dollar you'll notice a change in your scale. I don't know why it works. I just know that if I eat white carbs the scale doesn't move. If I stick to healthy carbs the scale moves. It shouldn't, it really can't. But it does.

WASaBubbleButt · 12-16-2007, 08:01 PM

I just realized you said you are a vegetarian. I can relate to not liking many veggies, I was a vegetarian for many years as well. Thing is, you are using fillers now instead of quality food.

Ever read about dog food? It's full of fillers and not much nutrition. So the idea is to buy a better quality dog food. We need to do the same. Skip the diced chicken suggestion on your salad and throw a few black beans in there. If you like pasta you will likely enjoy spaghetti squash. I love it and I hate everything. Instead of meat sauce, marinara sauce. Even Alfredo sauce if that is what it takes to get you used to better foods vs. white carbs.

Do you eat any fish? Or is that out too?

The veggies.. it's hard to get used to eating them but if you work with it and don't try to choke down what is gross, you should be able to find things that are good. It does take trial and error.

Yellow squash raw... on top of salads. Try a variety of dressings such as Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing for a bit of flavor, it's still veggie. If you stick to better quality foods you can eat a much larger quantity of them. And quite frankly, you need to do that due to nutrition issues right now. I have known people that were obese and suffering from malnutrition. My sis was one of them. Malnutrition doesn't mean a lack of calories, it means a lack of nutrition. I think we eat in such a way for so many years that we don't really know how bad we feel anymore.

I'm just throwing out thoughts here. I've been where you are, I fully understand. I'll do anything I can to help. Sometimes when making big changes to your diet you need to do it in steps. Gradual steps. Changing everything over night doesn't always work. So take it one step at a time.

Also... what about a fill? Do you supposed a fill might be in order?

hazeleyegrl1 · 12-16-2007, 08:19 PM

your carbs are too high.
try the NO BREAD, NO RICE, NO PASTA for a week and see how it goes.

no bread means you have to cut out ALL bread...even a weight watchers pizza would be off limits.

i'm done a lil over 30lbs in 3mo. as of today and i stuck w/the
"no bread, no rice, no pasta" for over 2months before trying them EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE in my diet....BUT, now, i eat only whole wheat bread, brown rice, and pasta that is made from vegies.

GOOD LUCK with whatever you decide to try.
Wishing You the Best,
xoxo, Hazeleyegrl1

IndioGirl55 · 12-16-2007, 08:22 PM

I agree with Wasabb pretty much - I don't eliminate all white carbs as i do eat 1/2 cup rice with dinner which is fish & veggies and will have wheat toast or a sandwich every now and then - but yes 2 cups pasta seems like a lot - I had 2/3 c last nite - whopping 230 calories just for 2/3 of a cup.. but I had room in my 1000 calories for the day and I wanted some as it's been 5 month since i had some - and you know what it wasnt that good - i enjoyed my cauliflower more..

A calorie is a calorie - but your body reacts differently to carbs fat and protein ... If you ate 1000 calories of lettuce or 1000 butter - i bet you on the lettuce only you would lose weight and with the 1000 butter you would gain - try the experiment yourself - do as Wasabb suggest and I bet you will lose... all calories are not created equal... Sorry...

Add Unflavor protein powder to your coffee - let it cool a bit first

You state you are a vegetarian - do you each chick or fish - how about beans... Eggbeater is great for protein and low in calories.