Too few calories?

[roseandrc]

Hi Everyone,

Newbie here. Quick background: female, age 56, wt 180, goal 140-150. Very familiar w/ low carb, Somersized successfully for years, in the 90's. I do believe I have some hormone problems (female, thyroid? leptin? insulin? etc.) that are making it quite hard to lose.

I've been following a very similar plan (Rosedale Diet) for 4 weeks, so far I haven't seen the results I am hoping for (lost 8 lb the first 2 weeks, nothing since.) I felt like I was an outsider at the Rosedale support group so I went looking for a another and found this one. Figured I could kind of combine the two plans and hang out here...

At the other site, I was unsuccessful at getting thoughtful feedback on this question. Bear with me, it takes some explaining:

My current protein range per EFGT would be around 45-65. If I take the top # of 65g, then take in 35g carb, that's 100 g or approx 400 cal for the day. My basic metabolic requirement per ****** is around 1250. To get to 1250 then, I will need to take in around 850 in fat. This all supports (I think?) the EFGT ratio, no problem there. And I am able to do it, but the calorie count does seem kind of low (according to "conventional" diet wisdom...)

"Everybody" is telling me that's not enough calories, but I can only reach the 1200 # if I eat the max protein. Which is probably too much protein considering I'm retired, fairly sedentary, and don't have much energy. (I have been getting in 30 minutes at least 3-4 times weekly. trying to get my metabolism going.) I'm drinking a lot of water, and I do not snack between meals at all.

I know that Groves does not ask you to count calories but I am trying to get to the bottom of why I'm not losing, (not enough calories? Have I put myself in starvation mode?) I do not feel dissatisfied with the amount I am eating. Before I started tracking in ******, I felt really good. I didn't know that my calories were in the 800-1000 range (partly because I was keeping my protein in the 45-50 g area.) Since I found out my intake was that low, I've started trying to get it up around 1200.

Note, differences between EFGS and Rosedale: Ratio is 25/25/50, (though my ratios have been more like EFGS.) You keep sat fat low in RD, (though I've started cooking w/ CO,) take fish oil & other supplements, eat no dairy & little red meat, mostly eggs, fish, & poultry for protein.

Maybe when I read the book (might purchase it today,) my dilemma will be solved. In the meantime do you folks have any experience with this question?

Thank you...... Rose

[CarolynF]

Hey, Miss Rose:

If you have thyroid issues, and menopausal stuff going on, it is a whole different story.
Please have your thyroid checked for sure..Thyroid affects your whole body..heart, etc..
and it should be optimized for sure.

If you do have a thyroid issue, it will be very difficult to lose weight if you aren't properly
medicated. NOW, even if you are properly medicated, it is very hard to lose weight.

I'm 59 (hypothyroid/post-meno) and totally "hear" you on the slow weight loss.

The older we are, the less we can eat. 1200 is a good amount of calories to aim for..800 is definitely way too low, but you can get your calories up there very easily.

Now, you might have to cut back on those 35 grams of carbs, too. You could up the protein/fat a bit to make up for it. You could go probably up to 70-75 grams of protein and cut your carbs back to 25 and see what happens.

Now, you aren't eating grains are ya? That can be a "weight stopper" for sure.

I recommend you get your thyroid checked and other hormones, if your doctor will do this.

I did Somersizing for a while, but enjoy the Atkins/Grove approach better..

HTH

[roseandrc]

Hi Carolyn,

Thank you for your thoughts. "Miss Rose", I like that!

Yes, I'm realizing that I need to get to the bottom of the hormone problems. It's just that I have so little faith in allopathic medicine. (Grove is right up my alley!) I've been dealing with the wt gain since menopause. The energy lack mainly in the last year. Have been wondering about my thyroid for several years, of course my thyroid tests always come up normal, and the last time, in May, they did the full array of them, T3, T4, and antibodies. I really don't want to take the thyroid med if I can avoid it, and that's all the allopathics could do for me. (If lab reports are "normal" they won't treat me at all.) I would sure like to heal it with diet if I can. May have to go to a naturopath to get any help, expensive but I will do it if necessary. Was hoping diet changes would fix some of the problems, but I don't want to beat my head against the wall for another 2-3 months with nothing to show for it. I'm definitely also going to see about getting my female hormones tested and treated (bio identical,) everything ties together.

I never went back to the high carb lifestyle completely but after gaining I found it so hard to lose wt that I had kind of given up trying, and I was maintaining pretty easily at 50 lbs over my supposedly ideal wt. Ha! I'm guessing I was taking in around 2000-2500 a day.

I'm eating no grains, I can live without 'em pretty easily. I don't know if I can live with the idea that I will never be able to eat a burger in a bun without gaining. The carbs I've been eating have been brightly colored veg, avocados and nuts. No fruits except a few cherry tomatoes now and then.

Something I forgot to mention, I was drinking a fair amount of alcohol before going on this program, none now. That could probably do some weird things to my metabolism too, I'm finding out just about anything can.

Rest assured, I AM going to get some more tests done.

Miss Rose

[roseandrc]

To answer part of my own question, here's a quote from the book, it was posted by Carolyn in the informational outline of the diet thread:

[COLOR="Blue"]"So, you wouldn't need to eat 2,000 calories if you have an office job. But, then you would probably need to eat more if you are a builder's labourer or a marathon runner. If an individual is satisfied and not hungry with 1,200 to 1,300 calories, that's fine."[/COLOR]

Miss Rose

[CarolynF]

Now, hopefully you can find a good doctor who will go by how you feel..
If you do need meds, there is nothing that will replace thyroid meds. Mary J. Shomon wrote an excellent book called "Living Well with Hypothyroidism"..

You can certainly take natural thyroid (Armour) if prescribed by a doctor. If you have a copy of your tests, then go to the Health Board under Thyroid and ask Pam about the
results. She is an expert for sure. Just post the numbers and the lab range and she
can tell you if your doctor missed something.

[roseandrc]

EXCELLENT....

[Fifi_in_PR]

Hey new friends, I've been reading around here and decided to register as I have some very important info. The best calculator to figure out your ideal weights I have found takes into consideration the all-important bone structure. The only way you can figure out your ideal body weight is if you know if you are small, medium, or large boned as bone weighs little or a lot. I'm 5'-0", 50 years, weigh 134.5 (lost 50 lbs. on Kimkins K/E with absolutely no problems whatsoever contrary to what I've been reading about it) have kept it off for over a year following l/c, which I love and I have large bones. I wear a size 1/2 jean or a boys' size 14 regular pants, and XS top. I've been trying to get to a lower weight but I don't think my body is going to give in as I am already very thin and my bones are showing. According the regular charts, I am supposed to be at 116 lbs. Yeah, right! Also, the hormones were a big issue for me as I tried for years to lose weight. It wasn't until I fixed my elevated male hormones with a natural product that took a year and a half of usage before I started to lose weight, did I then lose all of my weight with K/E. Here's the link to that calculator so you can all have your true ideal body weights taking into consideration your bone structure:
Ideal Body Weight Calculator - MyDietExercise.com

I hope you find this to be helpful.

Fifi

[roseandrc]

Thanks, Carolyn & Fifi,

Carolyn, yesterday I went to the doc, stopped by the local compounding pharmacy first. They have packets already made up with information, health history & symptoms charts they want filled out, and a checklist of blood tests needed (to give to the doc.) There were 8 or 10 things to be tested, including female, male, and several thyroid. The pharmacy goes through all this stuff to determine what they think you need, and make recommendations to the doc. I think my doc will be cooperative, we'll see. The pharm has money at stake, I guess that's why they take more interest in it than many docs do. Anyway I'm making progress.

Fifi, I will definitely check out the site you mentioned. (Until now) I was always pear shaped, bone structure too. Quite "sturdy" in my lower half, quite tiny on the upper half. I always figured that made me medium in bone size. For now I've been getting my cal up around the 1200-1300 mark, a little higher than I had been, should be better for me.

BTW, I used to hate my pear-shapedness, now I would love to have it back, and I hope to when I lose this extra wt.

[Sunny7]

Miss Rose,

You don't have to go without a bun for the burger. Have you heard of the oopsie rolls?
Check it out on the recipe section. I made a batch this morning. I eat them quite often. You just don't have to stop at burgers. Use them for anything you would normaly make a sandwich with..

[roseandrc]

Hi Sunny,

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction, I will definitely be trying those out.

For now I'm keeping things pretty simple, (salads, stir-fry, eggs,) not doing the specialty LC recipes (like desserts) yet, but will probably venture that way when I get a few more pounds off. I used to make a lot of the Somersize recipes back in the 90's.

[CarolynF]

Rose: Let us know what happens, K?

[roseandrc]

Will do!

[LinCO]

Hmm, low thyroid AND too few calories both = low metabolism.

I hear you about not liking allopathic medicine. (I won't rant, but I could.) I believe hormone disorders can affect you but be too subtle for typical medical interventions. Personally, I go to a chiropractor who practices applied kinesiology. She advertises treating metabolic disorders. I have tried several alternative practitioners, but she's the *one*! She has me on hormone balancing (perimenopause). Then I asked her about thyroid and it came back yes. Now I take Enzymatic Therapy's Metabolic Advantage. I started feeling "like myself" immediately. I just buy this stuff at the health food store.

With this stuff lined out, I have been playing with my macros and calories on ******. I work out a LOT. I'm finding I do better with 125+g of protein/day and about 1400 cals. Even tho this says I have a 1100 cal deficit.