Thread: Balance between Food/Exercise and losing weight

Originally Posted by BlueSystem200

I am needing some guidance and I am not sure where to turn to, however I am at a point where I am debating on dropping some $$$ on a nutritionist to help at this point. However I am hoping to get a different opinion before using my vacation money.

5'2" 160lbs
Measurements 38in, 39in, 42 inches
BMI: 29.3

I quit smoking this year, calorie counted for months and did what I could to get at least 30 minutes of exercise. Yet, the scale goes up and the pant size goes up. I am having trouble with balancing between exercise, food and cravings. Note: I am on 2 medications, Synthroid for Hypothyroidism, I previously had Hyperthyroidism and had Radiation therapy to kill my thyroid, thus hormone replacement. Past 6 months, levels are under control and stable. I am also on a hormonal birth control. Only supplements I take are 25mg Vitamin D (under doctors orders), Wild Alaskan Fish oil and Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc.

I am struggling to stay at a calorie deficit. I use my fitness app and I started off at 1800 calories daily. However I am finding that I am not eating enough, yet nothing seems to be keeping me from feeling satisfied. Example: I would eat a bowl of vegetables equaling to 300 calories. An hour later, my stomach is grumbling for more food. I will eat a 3oz chicken breast with broccoli and rice. An hour later, I feel super hungry. I got desperate where I was able to eat a whole 16oz Delmonico steak and it only left me full for 2hrs max. It appears that 1800 calories is a stretch. I will have 1 serving of oatmeal, with chia seeds and peanut butter powder (equaling to 350calories or more). I am starving after an hour. It starts with the empty stomach feeling and then the headaches on the front and sides of my head until I eat something.

I have cut out sugar out of my drinks so coffee black, water only (flavored with lemon if anything), I stopped drinking tea as tannens make me sick. I barely drink, maybe once a month.

I have been hearing people saying that sometimes you have to eat more to lose weight. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around this as I was told you have to be in a deficit to lose weight. However I am struggling with either feeling hungry and light headed most of the time and in a deficit or feeling satisfied and energized, yet I am gaining weight.

I will admit I spend most of my days behind a desk and no, I am not switching jobs as many people have told me I should do.

I do not know if I am not understanding something or if I am missing something.

TLR: I eat in deficit and I am feeling light headed and can barely function. Anything I eat that is within 1800 calories I am light headed and migraines. I eat closer to 2500 and I feel fine. Somewhere in between some days I am good and others it is bad. My first meal btw is typically 2-3 hours after I wake up in the morning. I stop eating 2-3 hours before I go to bed on typical nights. In the middle of the night I do wake up overheated, but not hungry.

I wouldn't waste my money on a nutritionist if I were you.

You are right and the people telling you to eat more are wrong. What can sometimes happen is that you can retain water and eating more sometimes leads to a sudden water weight drop, making it seem like it speeds up the fat loss. But the underlying fat loss is affected by how steep calorie deficit you are in.

How long did you try to stay in a deficit before when attempting to lose weight? It seems a bit from your description like you try eating 1800 for a short while but then struggle with your appetite and raise it to 2500. Do I understand this correctly?

Also, are you eating any "cheat meals" that you don't count calories for?

I can't speak to the effects of your meds - I know both of those situations will cause you to gain weight. I'm not a doctor of any sort and can't really help you there.

But it's been shown time and time again that the calorie deficit is exactly how you lose weight. Meaning, if you're not losing weight, you're not in a deficit.

However, from experience...
The only exceptions to this rule are if you are weighing yourself at different times or under different conditions that would cause you to have an inconsistent amount of undigested food or water retention. Which is why, if you're tracking your weight, it's important to do it once a week at the maximum and always do it at the same time of day - preferably in the morning to avoid the aforementioned dietary irregularities. My most consistent weight is on a Friday morning after a full week of working out and watching my intake before any cheat meals or weekend inactivity.

Originally Posted by BlueSystem200

I tried for 2 months, however I could not take the headaches and the empty stomach pains. Especially when driving, I had one case I had to cheat and go to a rest stop to get a candy bar just to function. I gave up at that point and started eating to just feel normal and my fitness app calculates it close to 2500.

I try not to eat cheat meals as I feel they make the scale go up vs down. Only exception was when I had dental procedure and I was on broth, Ice cream and Yogurt for a week. I measured and kept my calorie count. I can only eat Halo-top ice cream as other brands cause me to have digestive issues. Most I had in 1 day is a pint. On a typical day when I don't have my teeth worked on, I rarely have ice cream. Like maybe once every 3 months (not an ice cream person or dessert).

I am wondering if you may have been eating too little dietary fat, which can make it really hard to function. I have some personal experience with this, at one point last year I started eating a lot of chicken, unintentionally dropping my dietary fat intake. After a while I completely crashed. It's worse than just normal hunger.

I recommend you read this and structure your diet accordingly:
https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=173439001

"Make sure that your diet meets the minimum protein and fat intake.

Protein minimum: 0.7 gram per pound of bodyweight (or target/ideal weight in the obese).
(for optimal body building purposes and during energy deficit higher intakes may provide additional benefits.)

Fat minimum: 0.4 gram per pound of bodyweight (or target/ideal weight in the obese)."

Try eating 1800 a day for a while, getting enough dietary fat according to the above recommendation. For instance, eat fatty fish daily. Try to see if that helps make it easier to sustain a deficit. It's normal to be hungry during a weight loss phase but you shouldn't be hungry all the time or feel it's hard to function.

Originally Posted by BlueSystem200

I am going by my pants size/clothes size: I went from a size 10, to 12 and my belly holds majority of the weight. I do my best to at least, minumum, take a 30 minute walk to keep active. If I can I can either do 1 hr of kungfu, 1 hr of walking or 1 hr of rollerblading.

What I am struggling with is how to be in a deficit and not feel paralyzed by headaches, dizzy spells and hunger pains where I get the empty stomach feeling and grumbles that are so loud people at my job go "didn't you just eat an hour ago?"

1st, don't go by pant sizes. Especially being female and on meds. Bloating can change pant sizes for pete's sake. Get a digital scale and weigh yourself once a week, on the same day of the week, at the same time of day.

2nd, read the post above me - getting headaches and dizzy spells tells me your body is missing nutrients. Being slightly hungry is normal as your body [and mind] adjust away from a lifestyle where a surplus is normal. Getting headaches and experiencing other health issues that make it difficult to function is not.