I don't think my metabolism exists

by Stephanie

I need help, please.

I'm 25 years old and just had a baby in Oct. I'm no longer breastfeeding and am looking to take off the 50 lbs I'm still carrying around from it.

I have been strict for the last 2 weeks. I haven't been following a "diet" but I've been eating healthfully and about every 3 hours. I used to not eat breakfast, and only eat about twice a day, maybe 1200 cal. I'm eating every 2-4 hours now and healthy foods (apples, oatmeal, almonds, whole wheat breads and english muffins, peanut butter (sparingly) soy protien shake, 1% milk, eggs, lowfat yogurt, bananas, fiber one ceral and granola bars, tuna, lean turkey ground turkey) about 1500-1700 cal per day.

I have heard that if you are on a very low calorie diet, once you start to eat normal again, you will just gain the weight back and your metabolism will slow. In addition I have COMPLETELY cut out coffee and reg soda for the last 2 weeks and have been drinking nothing but water about 4 water bottles a day (80 oz) and I've done 30-45 min of cardio about 3-4 times per week and strength training twice in the last 2 weeks.

I HAVE GAINED A POUND, what am doing wrong? My pants aren't getting looser, so I'm not gaining muscle and losing fat. Any time I go on a "diet" I'm successful at losing weight quickly but I wanted to do it the right way and not gain it back this time.

I'm getting depressed, I don't know what I'm doing wrong, I've even been taking green tea supplement and Lipo 6 to help with energy since I'm not drinking caffeine anymore.

I've done a ton of research and there is conflicting info everywhere, I know there isn't a "magic" plan that fits everyone but i just can't believe in 2 weeks, eating healthy and exercising and not drinking extra calories Ive managed to put weight on. I'm at the end of my rope, I will try anything at this point, I'm thinking I need to do a cleanse or get my thyroid checked or something.

I work full time at a call center where I sit ALL DAY and I come home to my 6 month old, I don't have a lot of time to exercise 2 hours a day, it's a miracle I can even get in 45 min.

Any info and help would be appreciated.

Stephanie

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Discouraged about weight
by: Dr. Dan

Dear Stephanie,

You raise some very good points.

First, I understand you saying you're getting depressed. It is very discouraging if you are doing everything you think you should do and you still don't lose weight.

You mention conflicting information in the weight loss field. Very true. It can be very hard to sort out fact from fiction.

You are right about very low calorie diets and their effect on your metabolism. Reasonable, steady weight loss is the solution.

You are drinking water. Good. You say you cut out regular soda. Does that mean diet soda too? Research shows that diet soda makes you have cravings and gain weight.

You don't need to exercise 2 hours per day to lose weight. The amount of time you are putting in is adequate. But you need to look at the intensity of the exercise.

You need to keep the intensity high and to improve at least a little each workout. That means one more repetition. One more set. Or finishing your walk a few seconds faster than the previous walk. Or running at least a little bit farther in the same time. It varies depending on the exercise you choose.

Finally, your diet. Two things about that. One, you say you eat 1500-1700 calories per day. Unless you are weighing your food your portions could be off. All overweight people -- proven beyond any doubt in good research studies -- all overweight people underestimate the amount of food they eat. Want to lose weight? Then get a food scale. And then use it.

Second, I think your diet has too much carbohydrate. Fruit is not a diet food, despite what you've read. Fruit sugar is sugar. An apple a day is OK. It's very hard to lose weight eating bananas.

I don't think you get enough protein. How would you know? Look up your recommended daily protein, fat and carbohydrate. Keep some records for a few days.

By the way, weight does not come off steadily. Your weight might stay the same for some time. It looks like nothing is working. Or you're doing well and all of a sudden one day it looks like you gained several pounds. Just keep doing what you are doing. And then one day you'll get on the scale and you've lost several pounds.

There's always ups and downs. Try not to worry about it. The long term is what matters. You should keep a weight graph. That way you can keep track of your long-term results.

Don't get discouraged. You can do it.

Yours truly,

Dr. Dan

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