Weight not coming off!

[Spidey66]

So 2 weeks ago I started logging my calories on MFP. i'm very overweight, started at 17st 1 (the shame) at MFP allocated 1580 cals. I'm sticking to it except Monday as that was my birthday.

Many days my calculations are a couple of hundred cals under but I'm leaving it as I suspect sometimes I'm underestimating cals especially for instance cereal, pasta.

The first week I went down to 16st9.5 so 5.5lbs off, so I was chuffed....but this week it's gone up to 16st 12, so it's gone back up 3 lbs. Ok on my birthday I let it ease so I could have pizza, wine and cake in the evening but not enough calories to wipe out the rest of the week and add 3lbs on!

I'm 56, i'm not really clear if I've been through the menopause properly as I had a hysterectomy 7 years ago so obviously no periods since then but no other real symptoms. I've got an underactive thyroid but I'm on thyroxine and I had bloods done 2 months ago and my thyroxine does not need adjusting.

HELP!

Here’s a pasta tip. Cut up a small eggplant into pieces the size of rotini or small cubes. Grill the eggplant.
have half pasta (rotini) half eggplant. Works well with tomato based sauces.
half pasta half potato works well with pesto.

Take it slow and you'll get there.
I've taken 5 pleasant months to get to my target weight by just cutting carbs, snacking and general portion sizes. I'll still have some carby veg like carrots in a coleslaw, but have felt liberated by just ignoring them the rest of the time. As a result, losing 2.5 stone has been pretty effortless. I don't have time to add additional exercise on top of what I get as part of general life, so absolutely doable with low carbing, calorie counting, a bit of light touch intermittent fasting and portion control. Having broken the carb addiction I don't even think about food unless it's a meal time.
I've been a complete carb junkie for over a decade since having DC, but last week I got back to pre-baby weight and brought old clothes down from the loft to see if they'd still fit and they do!

Another thing that I noticed was you suggesting that surely fruit is better than chocolate or crisps. It made me think that you're talking about snacks? I found that once I got out of the snacking frame of mind, as in just not snacking at all, things really became so much easier. A few days of weaning yourself off the idea of snacking, and then you're free!
Also, the notion of foods being "filling" is not necessarily helpful. If a meal has the required nutrients and calories, it doesn't really matter if you're hungry after eating or not; job done, you've refuelled. Feeling sated or full or hungry or peckish are just sensations in the body (albeit some more pleasant than others) and has no bearing on whether you have received enough nourishment or not.

It's such a relief to realise!

Hi, could someone pls explain the Tdee rate and the basal? rate to me pls.

How do you feel since you were put on Levothyrox ? Did it help your symptoms?
Bear with me.....
The standard test is TSH ( thyroid stimulating hormone) that rises when your T4 levels are low.
Levothyrox is T4 so it lowers your TSH. Job done according to your Dr.
BUT T4 needs to be converted into an active form, T3, and many hypo patients don't convert well.
So you feel rotten and pile weight on. The last thing your body needs is a restricted diet.
Can you get tested for free T3 and T4, vit D deficiency and low ferritin?
Then concentrate on sorting your treatment out properly, that on its own should help your weight loss but it is a slow process.
Have you been tested for Hashimotos? An autoimmune disease that attacks the thyroid. If you have this being gluten free can make a huge difference.
I have been in your shoes & would love a £ for every time I was treated to an eye roll and the advice to eat less & move more. I went on a strict diet and didn't cheat, I put weight on! That was my wake up call.
I was given an enormous amount of help on Health Unlocked and it saved my life.

If your problem is poorly treated hypothyroidism I hope this points you in the right direction. There is a lot of quality help & support out there.

@NanaNelly BMR is the amount of energy your body burns (in theory) just breathing and performing bodily functions like digestion…think someone on bed rest. TDEE, adds to this number (the BMR) calories burned based on information about your activity level; sedentary desk job, moderate or hard core training.

Thank you. Much appreciated.

I downloaded the nutracheck website and I much prefer it to MFP.

You might find this helpful

How to lose weight when you are hypothyroid.

That's interesting stuff about the thyroid. I just assumed that if my TSH and T4 were OK that was it, job sorted. My most recent bloods said they were in normal range. I've seen the results but don't have them to hand. It's probably worth double checking them.

WRT the other levels, I'm not sure, except they tested my blood glucose at the same time (the test where they check your 3 months glucose levels) and they were fine. After my broken shoulder I started taking VitD and calcium supplements because I was worried about osteoporosis. I mentioned it at a fracture clinic appointment and the consultant agreed it would be useful. I'm waiting on a bone density scan though the fracture clinic were confident it's probably not osteoporosis, when I came off the bike I hittthe ground with some force and its likely it's that and just that which caused the fracture.

Like said I had a hysterectomy in 2015 for fibroid. As I was pre menopausal at the time and I was having it for fibroid rather than ovarian cance, they left my ovaries because I would then still be producing oestrogen which helps prevent osteoporosis. As a result while my periods obviously stopped straight away they said other menopausal symptoms would happen when my time was ready. So far the only symptoms I've had has been vaginal dryness. I assume by my age I've gone through the menopause but don't know for certain but obviously the menopause can also cause weight problems.

I've cut back on snacks, but I admit I have a sweet tooth but am doing my best to reduce this a lot, but will instead of eating some chocolate or biscuits between meals I am having some fruit but the last few days I've cut back, but today for instance I had some strawberries and fresh pineapple after my dinner.

I am trying to cut back on the carbs, but while I'm measuring my portions more now, and am eating smaller portions I struggle to know what to eat instead. Like, cereals or toast are my go to breakfast. I don't mind soft boiled or poached eggs, but I'd always have toast with it and i don't know what I could have instead. This evening I made a stir fry chicken and pineapple from one of the Pinch of Nom cookbooks, and yes I had rice (measured with a Rosemary Conley portion pot to ensure my portion size wasn't too big!) because it didn't seem right without that or noodles!

There is nothing evil about fruit. You Tube up the Galveston Diet. Dr. Haver’s views on women’s diet needs. She believes it’s processed foods that are problematic to women and visceral fat.

@spidey, you can have an omelette with your eggs and to make it higher in protein you could add one egg white to two eggs then fill your omelette with tomato, peppers, mushrooms, spinach leaves, or even just one of those things. If you like cheese you can even do a cheese omelette. Honestly once you get into the idea of reducing carbs it becomes much easier. I never thought I could to it but I can and I now have one slice of toast a nutritious bread at breakfast with any thing else I eat.

My breakfasts - but truth be told I’ve always eaten well and my issues have been way too much of a good thing. I’m now very much aware of portion control.

Poached or boiled eggs with a bit of avocado on the side and cherry tomatoes.
Smoked salmon, avocado, homemade hummus with one toast.
Brie with tomato and hummus with one toast
Smoked salmon with Brie and tomato and one toast.
Left over chicken with hummus tomato and toast
An egg with anything from the able list.

It can be very difficult relearning now to eat well and it might make it easier on you if you concentrate on one thing at a time so maybe concentrate on trying new breakfasts for a couple of weeks and see how you like it.

I must be the only person in the world who hates avocados. Vile things! I don't mind omelettes too much though they're not as quick to prepare in the mornings as a bowl of cereal!

Could you prepare a breakfast the night before. Overnight oats. Hard boiled eggs. A plate with cheese and tomato’s on it just waiting for toast. Turkey ham and Hummus. Smoked salmon. Smoked Mackerel. A pate made of smoked mackerel or salmon and cream cheese you could put on your toast.

This evening I made a stir fry chicken and pineapple from one of the Pinch of Nom cookbooks, and yes I had rice (measured with a Rosemary Conley portion pot to ensure my portion size wasn't too big!) because it didn't seem right without that or noodles

do you know how many grams of protein your allowing yourself everyday?

But that aside things that you’d normally serve on a carbohydrate like rice or noodles are delicious served on a salad or vegetables instead. In fact chili con carne served on a chopped salad with a dollop of yoghurt on the chili is one of my favorite things to eat.

@Spidey66 You could be me!
The NHS doesn't effectively treat hypothyroidism of any type, if you are lucky and it is treated early you might be able to convert Levothyrox and do well, but even those people find it difficult as they get older because their stomach acid is lower, (sorry can't do full stops on this laptop):
Some simple things you can do are to take your Levo first thing in the morning with water and wait at least an hour before eating/drinking coffee etc, it does work better that way:
If the problem is your thyroid then counting calories is not the answer and your body will become even more stressed:
There is a lot you can do, but do them slowly, one thing at a time, otherwise you have no idea what is working: It takes time to heal the damage:
I have been on T3 for 10 years now and I am still overweight, but I look and feel different and feel much happier in my own skin now: Thyroid weight with the accompanying mucin makes you feel flabby and lumpy and it doesn't respond to exercise:
You need more bloods tests to help you and I know the NHS isn't great for this but it would be worth paying for them yourself: I am lucky to have regular tests (I'm not in the UK) Before being treated with T3 I had high cholesterol, depression, diagnoses of CFS, ME and gallbladder problems, this is very common, etc etc: My TSE result is now negligible and makes most Dr's panic, it should mean that I am hyper, but I am in better health than ever:
Have a look at this forum, there are some incredibly knowledgeable people on there: Thyroid UK Mucin

OP, i find MFP exasperating. Lots of people get on with it fine but i did not, with my best most honest attempts I still gained weight. I think this was for two reasons; I simply could not accurately record what I ate, and it allowed me to eat up to a certain amount, especially if counting exercise. Weighing food and using the calorie guides on the packets of food really helped me. Pour out the cereal or pasta you want to eat and weigh it. I found that much more helpful.

Thanks for this recipe! I just tried raw cauliflower slices and this would be great with them.

I’ve struggled with it as well and have now gone over to the Nutracheck website a previous poster very kindly mentioned. It’s way better IMO than MFP.

To be honest I’m happy with mfp and as long as you check the info once scanned against the label on the pack it’s stored so you don’t have to check it against the label again.

Where I live it MFP doesn’t really have food items listed on the app.

Ps @EffedOffred
Have been on the thyroxine for about 5 years. It appears to have made minimal effect, I still struggle to lose weight, get tired easily (had Hbabc or whatever it is, diabetes is ruled out)and often struggle with depression (am on citalopram). But as you've found if T4 and TSH are OK you're on your own! And I just put it down to "well you'd be worse if you weren't on the thyroxine!". I'm only on a relatively small dose, 75mcgms. I was told about taking on an empty stomach, so take it as soon as I get up, then have a shower/dressed/everything else before breakfast.

Wrt other breakfasts, while I'm not mad on porridge I could do overnight oats.

I weigh myself at work as the scales are better than home. I'm going to weigh myself tomorrow. Actually I'm thinking the 2nd reading where I'd lost 5.5lbs may have been a fluctuation, as it went straight up 2lbs. I think I should look at it as I've lost 3lbs, which although not fantastic is a move in the right direction.

I think you will lose weight with MFP but you need to give it some more time.

Just make sure you are eating enough. If your meals aren't filling, you will snack more.

@Spidey66 I remember being so relieved when I finally got a diagnosis and was handed the prescription and told that would sort it: It didn't matter how hard I believed I became increasingly ill and unable to function: I blamed myself for years for not dieting hard enough, not trying hard enough etc: They were the worst times:
The treatment of women (it is mostly women) with thyroid problems is scandalous: ght
If you are hypothyroid and feeling unwell despite Levo, calorie counting will not do you any good: Read the link I sent you about mucin from health Unlocked and consider joining: I think you will learn a lot of useful stuff:
Weight loss should not be the primary goal, it will happen naturally when your treatment is properly balanced and your metabolism is functioning properly:

re swimming.
If you go to a lane swim session it shouldn't be as busy as a casual session, and people should be following the lane rules so even if it's busy you should be able to swim.