QuestionHi I'm hoping you can help me. My metabolism is about normal because it takes about the normal amount of calories for me to gain weight, but when it comes to losing weight there is something very weird going on. I can't seem to lose weight. Not on 1500 cals or 1200 or 1000 per day. I have tried everything I can think of to get out of this plateau, which had lasted 8 months. I finally started taking phentermine, but I didn't want to as it can be a very dangerous diet pill. I wanted to lose weight the healthy way. Phentermine worked for about a week then stopped working alltogether. Now I'm back to where I started & am out of ideas.
I have tried exercising, drinking lots of water, phentermine, a vegan diet, the atkin's diet (worked for about 4 days then stopped working), a regular diet with less calories, not eating late, cutting out sugars, etc., etc.
What is wrong with my body that isn't letting me lose?
Please help or point me in the right direction where I can get help. Thanks.
AnswerElizabeth,
Nothing is wrong with you, but I have an idea what's wrong with your diet-Atkins worked for 4 days then stopped? How long were you on it? With any kind of diet, it's absolutely normal not to lose any weight for WEEKS at a time-but if you stick with it, the weight does come off. Diets take time to work. A lot of the time, weight comes of quickly in the first week or two, then plateaus-that happens with ANY diet, and you just have to keep going. Usually after about 5 or 6 weeks on the diet, you'll start to see slow and steady weight loss.
How about trying Atkins again (it's the diet that usually works best for people who've tried a lot of different diets) and staying on it for a minimum of twelve weeks? By staying on it, I mean two weeks of 20 Net Carbs, then one week at 25 Net Carbs, and if you've lost weight, then upping it to 30 Net Carbs (but don't go over 30 whatever you do).
You should also weigh yourself no more than once a week-absolutely NO running to the scale every morning to see how much weight you've lost overnight!
If, after 12 weeks, you haven't lost 5 pounds or more, then quit Atkins and choose another plan-but if you stick with it for the entire time, I can't imagine that happening.
Many people find a food diary helpful-I use the free one at www.fitday.com. It's really easy to log in every day and check off my foods, so that I know I'm staying on track. Using Fitday, you'll be able to keep your carbs under 20, 25, or 30 (depending on where you are) and also watch your calories (if you want to know how many calories you should be eating to lose weight, email me your age, height, weight, and body fat if you know it).
And please, don't take diet pills-they can cause sudden fatal heart attacks and strokes.
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