I can't lose weight, no natter what I do.

[EddieJohnson]

I think to drink enough water or liquid is necessary for attaining a healthy weight. I also had a strict exercise routine including running and gym. My diet was also accurate as I consulted licensed nutritionist for my diet. But I was not losing weight. It was a serious problem for me, as I did not know the root cause of it. I also tested my blood, but everything was fine. As I consulted one expert, instead of asking deep questions on my diet and exercise plan, he asked questions related to my job, work and sleep pattern. He did not pretend that it was wrong, but he advised me a new plan with some variations, that were daily meditation, increase in daily sleep and less food at night. Practicing such a plan helped lose weight.

 

[Maou]

It is really hard to lose weight. consult a doctor about that to know the underlying cause. have you tried the Keto diet? maybe it could work for you

Keto does work a little, but it is expensive. Even more so when you cook for two and they dislike it.

 

[EcK]

Keto does work a little, but it is expensive. Even more so when you cook for two and they dislike it.

I've yet to meet someone who's kept the weight off years later after Keto due to Keto. If it doesn't work long term: it doesn't work.
I'm not fat, but I eat very little compared to most guys my size, when I was younger I would always yo-yo up and down, and nothing would work long term - even crazy amounts of cardio and borderline starvation.

There are two main aspects to this:
a) biology, and people who never had to put that amount of effort just to have an average weight don't understand it and never will. Part of it is genetics, part of it is epigenetics (for ex your mothers' stress levels during pregnancy), part of it is just your body 'learning' some bad habits, and finally, stomach flora plays a role too.
b) habits : many people who are overweight 'nimble' a lot throughout the day and don't realize how much calories it adds up to, eating late at night is also a terrible idea if you are already predisposed to weight gain/retention, going into hardcore diets then binging on food due to starvation is counterproductive [it will both crash your metabolism and can quickly negate days of dieting - doing this is begging to fail as you are essentially willingly triggering a million-years-old hardwired response to actual starvation that is very hard to overcome]

The only thing that worked for me is consistency, each year, my weight fluctuates less and less, and my 'natural weight' goes ever so slightly down. So that if I eat like an average person, my weight will level at 10kg lighter than I would have a few years back.

Ultimately we have to work with what we have; some people will always have it easier - the only thing you can do is lose it slowly and keep the weight off long enough so that it becomes the new 'base weight' for your body. Until that happens, your body will always try to 'stock back up' to that original weight.

 

[Luminous]

I've been counting calories for months, in addition to exercising for an hour almost everyday. I am not entirely sure, but it feels like the only thing that has happened is that maybe my butt got bigger.

 

[Virtual ghost]

I've been counting calories for months, in addition to exercising for an hour almost everyday. I am not entirely sure, but it feels like the only thing that has happened is that maybe my butt got bigger.

Counting calories doesn't mean much if you eat plenty of them. Plus an hour of exercise is nothing if you are completely static for the other 23h hours a day.


This is why I do hours of various physical activity every day but I never ever exercise. Since exercising is "fake" and therefore you can't do it for hours, what you actually need to do to spend energy. As soon as you make a chore out of losing weight the lack of results is likely.

 

[Luminous]

Counting calories doesn't mean much if you eat plenty of them. Plus an hour of exercise is nothing if you are completely static for the other 23h hours a day.


This is why I do hours of various physical activity every day but I never ever exercise. Since exercising is "fake" and therefore you can't do it for hours, what you actually need to do to spend energy. As soon as you make a chore out of losing weight the lack of results is likely.

I don't eat a lot of calories. I could probably cut 100-200 more a day, with hunger and unhappiness, but were I to cut more, I'd be in dangerous territory.

The exercising I do is fun and not a chore. That's on purpose. And I'm not going to force myself to do physical labor, which would make me hate my life, all day.

 

[Virtual ghost]

I don't eat a lot of calories. I could probably cut 100-200 more a day, with hunger and unhappiness, but were I to cut more, I'd be in dangerous territory.

The exercising I do is fun and not a chore. That's on purpose. And I'm not going to force myself to do physical labor, which would make me hate my life, all day.

Being hungry basically just wears you down and therefore makes you more static. So for that reason it should be avoided. However one hour a day really isn't that much, especially if the rest of the time is generally quite static. You eat 2 slices of bread or a few cookies and you have already undone that hour. Plus more continuous activity through the day is good for having working metabolism, what spends energy.


I never said that you have to cut down trees and bushes, carry stuff on the hill, work with tools like me. But there is a middle ground. It is hard to lose weight if you are starving and therefore normal/sane diet plus stronger activity is how I do it. You say the current process isn't working for you and therefore I am simply saying "increase the genuine activities through the day if possible". You are probably doing what you are doing just an hour a day because it isn't fun for longer. Therefore add another hour or two of something completely different.


I am currently doing 3-5 hours a day of medium to hard labor scattered through the day and in quarantine. Therefore I am progressing well since I am constantly in clear minus with calories. I am not really fat and I never was but I want to use this time of frozen society to smooth myself out. What I am doing sounds horrible at first but the body quickly get used to it and I seem to be in much better mood than most in this situation, since I am doing something concrete.



That are my two cents on the topic/thread.

 

[SD45T-2]

I don't eat a lot of calories. I could probably cut 100-200 more a day, with hunger and unhappiness, but were I to cut more, I'd be in dangerous territory.

The exercising I do is fun and not a chore. That's on purpose. And I'm not going to force myself to do physical labor, which would make me hate my life, all day.

 

[Luminous]

The ironic thing is that I do shovel my driveway by hand. And I have mowed my lawn with an old fashion push mower (which sadly, doesn't do a good job.) An awesome neighbor has been doing it since I twisted my ankle, though, since it's tiny.

 

[Jonny]

I’m almost positive you could lose weight if you correctly and accurately counted calories. The biggest problem most people have is not counting everything they eat (or drink), or misjudging the calories when they do log. As far as your experiences you mentioned in your first post, people who adopt a new exercise regimen often find themselves eating more than they normally would unless they try hard to prevent it. And I’d bet money your average calorie intake was much higher than 1500-1800 calories or you would have easily lost weight. I’ve never witnessed a person unable to lose weight when their diet was strictly controlled. It’s basic biology.

Here is what 120 calories of red wine looks like:

And here's what 2000 calories of food looks like:

While things like blood sugar and hormone levels do impact metabolism, it is still far more important to count calories and stay within your budgeted amounts. It goes without saying that a bowl of oatmeal is preferable to a donut, calorie for calorie. But most people need to see results on the scale to motivate further effort, and a person will begin to lose weight more quickly by reducing calories to a target deficit than they will trying to revamp their entire diet to healthy alternatives or low carb or whatever.

I would invest 20 bucks in a food scale to better measure your portions, and log everything you eat every time you eat. At 280 pounds you should easily lose weight on an 1800 calorie a day diet, and you absolutely wouldn’t be starving yourself. Your excess weight is literally an evolutionary trait that prevents starvation. You would also lose weight if you ate 2300 calories per day. At 280 pounds, you have a lot of excess calories to work with, so anywhere from 1800 to 2500 should work. If you’re concerned about getting enough nutrients, just take a vitamin and be sure you have a protein, carb (whole grain or vegetable or fruit) and fat with each meal.

For the first few weeks you will be hungry and it may feel like you’re starving, but you aren’t. After a while your body will adjust and it will be much easier to stick to the diet without feeling strong hunger.

You need to want to do it though. I’d be more than happy to help you develop a plan. Back when I was a teen I was kinda fat (roughly 230 pounds at my peak) and lost a bunch of weight in high school. Now, I carefully manage my weight through diet and exercise. Just recently I dropped 6-8 pounds I’d put on over the prior year. Once I started properly counting calories and stuck to my calorie limit the weight fell off.

Like everything else, I keep a chart of my monthly weight ranges for reference. Here’s the last 4 years:

Finally, I would strongly encourage you to start watching episodes of My 600 Pound Life, Secret Eaters (UK), and Supersize vs. Superskinny (UK). These shows, while certainly part of that reality television genre, are helpful in that they can provide some closer-to-first-hand insights on the trouble people encounter trying to lose weight, and the common misconceptions people have. My favorite part about Secret Eaters is that almost everyone has the same story you have "I barely eat anything and I'm still fat!" and in every single instance it is shown that, no, they don't barely eat anything. The premise of the show is that cameras are installed in these peoples homes and, unbeknownst to them, private investigators follow them everywhere to corroborate their food journal they keep as part of the show. In every instance, when their food journal showed a calorie deficit and it was corroborated, these people actually lost weight. It was only when they ate things they didn't log, or lied in their journals, that they didn't lose weight. The other shows are helpful for other reasons. Please please please watch these shows...they can really help motivate you.

 

[Maou]

When I was using a calorie calculator (MFP) it calculated how much your body needs to run based on height, current weight, gender, and age. So it did not place me at 1500 calories as my limit, but a lot higher. As well as calculating net calories based on exercise. I manually adjusted my caloric limit down to 1500. Also, I haven't drank since april 17th. I use a fitbit tracker to track my steps, keeping in mind of the 25% error margin, or ~600 calories of error. According to fitbit, I burn on average 3036 calories a day.

Since quitting drinking, my resting heart rate has gone down by 10. But my weight has stayed pretty much the same. So my next goal is to cut out sugar, and carbs. Especially artificial sugars, and since a recent study was released saying its worse than sugar lol.

Ill post results beginning of august.

 

[Vendrah]

I had read the whole thread and its not like that I have much to contribute here.

I am somewhat overweight, not as much as some people here. Sadly, I have been that for many years.

I had tried a lot of stuff, and sadly I havent yet really found a super effective method, just a somewhat effective method that I have been not been able to apply it again lately.

I think the best tip I can give is to simply try to concentrate most of your calories as early as possible. Always eat modestly or near zero during the evening, and try to put your most caloric stuff for breakfast. I took that tip from Google Academy from articles of my native language that it isnt english, and that was many years ago to point out, but I there is at least one article supporting that view in one form or another, even though it wont do big miracles.

Another tip that was modestly inefficient, but at least somewhat works, is using green tea. Green tea is the only safe stuff for long-term, meaning that you can take green tea for your whole life without having much problems (watch for excess) and green tea, although very inefficiently, helps to reduce weight.

One thing that caught my attention is intermittent fasting, which is something I want to try on the future. I think [MENTION=20113]Tellenbach[/MENTION] mentioned in the thread here, and, actually, there seems to have some good scientific support for intermittent fasting:
Is intermittent fasting safe for older adults? - Harvard Health
Intermittent fasting might boost the creation of new neurons in a key brain structure

However, as Health-Havard-edu warned on the link, you have to check if you do not have some sort of disease that might be boosted by intermittent fasting.
There is another advisement, I had friends that, at teen age, had stomach problems because they usually spent way too much time not eating. So, for the fasting hours, the recommended is to actually eat a very small input of food with very low calorie stuff to prevent stomach problems. Another thing is that I would recommend to do the fasting focusing for not eating at night and to eat at day. And, of course, I do not think 5-2 is a good idea.
I had experimented myself many years ago and I had 3-4 days of eating a very low amount of food and 2 days increasing slowly the amount of food - I literally got hunger, felt a decrease in cognition, etc... And I had monitored my weight. I dont remember the numbers, just the approximate percentages.
Day 1 - 100% of weight loss
Day 2 - 50% of weight loss
Day 3 - 50% of weight loss
Day 4 - 50% of weight loss
Day 5 - 50% of weight loss
Day 6 - 40% of weight loss

In day 5 (or 4, I dont exactly remember), I had eaten as usual, but had tried some amount of chocolate.
It seemed that the chocolate made no difference. I dont remember the exactly number, but it was between 60-100 grams.
At day 6 (or 5, I dont exactly remember), I had increased the chocolate dosage and it answered.

What I did was unhealthy and required some good dose of discipline for the experiment, but with that I had learner that the very first day of reducing was very efficient, while the other days werent. That is my problem with 5-2 Intermittent fast, the second day is probably inefficient.

 

[Tellenbach]

May I also suggest replacing some of the carb calories with tree nut calories such as pecans, walnuts, pistachios, and cashews. Not only are tree nuts delicious, but they also reduce LDL and total cholesterol by a ton. I don't believe in the cholesterol theory of heart disease, but if high cholesterol is a concern for you, then eating tree nuts is one alternative form of treatment. Over a 5 month period, eating 100 grams of walnuts/day reduced total cholesterol by 10.3 mg/dL in one study.

I don't know if the Mediterranean diet works in fighting obesity since the studies are mixed, but there is no ambiguity when it comes to the health benefits of eating more nuts and veggies. Instead of candies or chips, put some walnuts in a bowl and snack on that.

 

[wildmoon]

It sounds like you're doing plenty. Bodies are a little bit more complicated than simply calories in vs. calories out. It sounds like you're already doing well on that front.

How are your inflammatory markers? Chronic stress and inflammation could be a factor here. If that turns out to be the case, the best thing would be to focus on anti-inflammatory foods and exercises that reduce stress rather than increase it.

Cutting out sugar and artificial sweeteners is a good idea, I hope it helps for you.

The main thing I would say is to not go TOO hard with the calorie restriction - starvation can cause your body to eventually gain back more weight than when you started, which I unfortunately know from experience. A moderate caloric deficit is better in the long term than a more extreme caloric deficit.

 

[Maou]

Cutting out carbs completely was impossible it seems, mostly due to my budget. Avoiding caffine has also been a problem. I could avoid soda easy, but I needed caffeine just to function normally. I've been drinking it since I was a kid, and I get brainfog without it. I would drink green tea more, the issue is I either have to brew it myself, or find unsweet kind. Which is impossible in USA without dropping some dollars. I also don't have a thermos to brew my own. So I decided to drink Bai supertea, for convenience. Erythritol isn't suppose to spike insulin, and it cant be stored in the body. So it just passes through. Stevia too.

Its been a pain, and I failed on some days to refrain from indulgence as I tend to stress eat. But well see. Also, I started this month at 290lbs.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

move to the moon

 

[Pinker85]

I think based on some of your other posts, namely the what is your food culture thread, you may need to work on building up healthy and diverse gut flora. It's my sort of theory that actually calories are not superly important, I know that's controversial but I really think the healthier a person's gut flora and healthier, more whole foods their diet the better able they are to maintain a healthy body weight. There are some studies coming out showing that people who seem to be able to eat anything and not gain weight tend to have different gut flora profiles than people who gain weight easier. Green tea sounds like a good thing to try to drink more of as it seems to encourage healthy gut flora.

Ultimately you know your body best and I think by experimenting you'll get more a sense as to what works for you. That you are keeping at it, asking others for insight and help etc shows that you really are on a good road and will figure things out.

 

[Maou]

I think based on some of your other posts, namely the what is your food culture thread, you may need to work on building up healthy and diverse gut flora. It's my sort of theory that actually calories are not superly important, I know that's controversial but I really think the healthier a person's gut flora and healthier, more whole foods their diet the better able they are to maintain a healthy body weight. There are some studies coming out showing that people who seem to be able to eat anything and not gain weight tend to have different gut flora profiles than people who gain weight easier. Green tea sounds like a good thing to try to drink more of as it seems to encourage healthy gut flora.

Ultimately you know your body best and I think by experimenting you'll get more a sense as to what works for you. That you are keeping at it, asking others for insight and help etc shows that you really are on a good road and will figure things out.

Oh yeah, I agree. Ive drank kombucha and kefier yogurt, as well as taken suppliments for it. Though admittedly, I dont do it every day.

Are you knowledgeable about foods that kill gut bacteria? (Other than alcohol)

 

[Pinker85]

Hmm, the method I know of but is not particularly scientifically backed is used by autoimmune sufferers called the AIP diet and is a restrictive keto oriented diet that cuts out a lot of foods thought to irritate the gut and cause inflammation allowing for the gut lining to heal. I've heard pretty compelling stories from people who have had their autoimmune issues clear up from following the diet but no actual studies I know of. I'm sure there are other methods, possibly even specific herbs etc but I am not familiar with these.

I think so long as you consistently were switching your diet to having lots of prebiotics (the things the good flora need to sort of have a leg up from the not so great flora) and lots of probiotics, fermented foods, trying to decrease things like processed foods and sugars etc you'd be changing the gut flora profile slowly. I also try to avoid antibiotics in any of my food. I know on FB a woman I was friends with went on a weight loss journey online and lost a fair amount, she went the keto/low-carb route if I recall correctly and had pretty good success, after about a year she began to switch to even eating rice and non-keto foods in small amounts but my theory is her gut flora had changed to where it didn't seem to cause weight gain to eat more a non-keto diet. My own personal experience is my health and mental clarity really goes down when I eat more processed foods and why I'm pretty zealous about my diet being healthy as it is integral to many other areas of my life, what I've found works for my body is mostly fruits and vegetables, beans, sprouts, and nuts, with limited amounts of antibiotic free proteins like sardines, chicken, oysters and octopus with organic organ meats every so often, homemade bone broths every so often, I also don't eat most nightshades except tomatoes, and lots of fermented foods. I try to eat as diverse a diet as possible with a focus on eating all the colors of the rainbow and most of my plates being primarily comprised of vegetables. I think everyone has to sort of figure out the diet that works for them, they feel their best on so really that is the other aspect, what foods help you feel the best.

Another aspect is definitely stress as I think that can change gut flora, granted not scientifically backed but think there is possibly a link. Some things you may want to look into doing are magnesium baths, magnesium supposedly gets depleted with higher stress and by replacing magnesium I've read it helps the body sort of buffer stress. It's readily absorbed via the skin and if you work a job with a lot of physical exertion, taking a magnesium bath to relax your muscles would help your overall body as would some kind of stretching regimen. You may also want to try but I'd be cautious as with any supplements is also taking magnesium, I'd look to get magnesium glycinate which I had read from others is easier on the stomach as magnesium acts as a laxative and can in some people cause stomach issues. I personally don't find it causes me stomach issues but take half a dose. Other things to help relax the body is listening to peaceful music, getting out into nature or watching nature shows, aromatherapy, a lot of people have good experience with progressive muscle relaxation and other stress reduction related techniques.

Increasingly they are finding a link between emotional health, having loving relationships and community with physical health, to where I think the picture of diet and health in the US which sometimes focuses so specifically on food is a bit limited. A bit of anecdote is that my cousin from what I recall always had weight challenges but as he explored personal therapy, began to go to therapy with his family to learn how to express themselves and resolve things more peacefully, he began to interestingly lose weight. I think he was on medication for a while then tapered off after a while but may still be on medication, not sure. Another aspect was he moved from an area he had allergies pretty badly to an area his allergies aren't so impacted, though he always had from what I recall weight challenges even prior to living in that area. What I think happened is multiple things sort of lined up. Now he is the thinnest I recall him being in his adult life and overall just seems a lot more at peace. So I think maybe the mind, body, relationships, diet everything works together to create health. What the magic key is for anyone maybe changes reliant on their personal experience.

 

[Lexicon]

Oh yeah, I agree. Ive drank kombucha and kefier yogurt, as well as taken suppliments for it. Though admittedly, I dont do it every day.

Are you knowledgeable about foods that kill gut bacteria? (Other than alcohol)

Just a thought: Do you like Greek yogurt at all? Dannon Oikos Triple Zero Greek yogurt cups are a decent enough healthy snack option for those looking to cut carbs & increase probiotic intake. Low carb, but no artificial sweeteners (sweetened w/stevia extract). It’s high protein, & contains fiber, so, it keeps you fuller longer. Contains both prebiotics & probiotics. Isn’t super expensive at most supermarkets or Walmart. There are higher probiotic products like kefir, but those tend to be expensive/not as convenient in terms of portability as an everyday snack, & a healthier option for a sweetness fix than other things.

There are ‘better’ yogurts out there, but this is the cheapest healthy one I’ve found.