Leigh, I agree with some of the things that you said, and I wanted to offer some more information, since I left out a few things! Thank you for taking the time to check out my post and offer some guidance.
1. Thyroid medication and problems don't have as much of a effect on fat loss as some might think.
I certainly don’t expect that being on my thyroid medication is going to make me lose weight. But as someone living with Hashimoto’s Thyroid Disease I do know that is has a huge bearing on my weight loss. Hashimoto’s unlike some of the other thyroid diseases, is an autoimmune disease where your own body produces antibodies that attack the protein in your thyroid eventually killing it and making it unable to produce horomones that your body needs and your that metabolic system depends on.
It’s not that I feel that it makes me gain weight, it’s that I already gained a LOT of weight while not being treated correctly, and while suffering from Hypothyroidism before I was properly diagnosed. (Hashimoto’s is the Disease and Hypothyroid is the condition caused by it.) I also take complete responsibility for not eating correctly as a young adult, and digging myself quite a large hole that I am now trying to get out of!!! To say that having a thyroid disease does not equal overweight is not necessarily true. Especially if you are not being treated correctly, and you don’t know you have it! Some of the side effects are depression, anxiety, and trouble sleeping. I doubt that a person would be able to lose a good amount of weight if they are anxious all the time, depressed, and not sleeping. I have also learned to monitor my symptoms myself so I know when to call my dr. to order bloods for an adjustment to my meds. Because of the degenerative quality of this disease, my medication needs to be monitored closely and changed often. So my metabolism is more often than not, out of whack.
2. Diet doesn't seem to be your focus and there lies the problem.
I wasn’t as concerned with asking about my diet because my husband and I have both drastically changed the way we eat in order to facilitate my health. I actually do keep really good records of what I eat on a regular basis using myfooddiary.com. Otherwise, I would not be able to calculate my daily intake, and I would be completely lost! I also keep track of my calories using a heart rate monitor. I usually burn in the neighborhood of 3000 to 3500 calories in a week, in order to guarantee a pound of fat loss using exercise.
On a regular day, my normal eating pattern would be every three hours or so, until I get to the gym. I am typically in the gym for an hour and a half. I do my 30 minutes of training, and then 55 minutes of interval training on an elliptical, since it’s easier on my knees than the treadmill. Here’s a rundown of a normal day:
Breakfast is an egg white sandwich on a whole grain English muffin and one ounce of cheddar cheese. This meal is 341 calories with my morning coffee.
Snack #1 would be either a luna bar, a kashi bar, a piece of fruit, a handful of nuts etc.. this snack is usually approximately 200 calories. (180 for the luna bars 200 for the nuts and less for the fruit obviously)
Lunch is usually either a whole wheat wrap with lettuce, tomato, and grilled chicken (583 calories) or a salad with grilled chicken, avocados, and light dressing. (600 cal)
Snack #2 is either another handful of nuts, a serving of cottage cheese, fruit or another luna bar if I haven’t had one earlier. This meal is also approximately 200 calories.
After the gym is dinner which can be an egg white omelette with avocados and cheddar or turkey burgers with veggies or some kind of meat (usually chicken, or scallops, or turkey etc…we rarely eat beef.) and veggies. On average depending on which meal it is this runs about 600 to 700 calories.
I am usually right around 2000-2100 calories or a bit under depending on the combination of meals. I also log my exercise and my calorie burned totals every day.
3. Don't aggressively train
I don’t feel that I aggressively train, and I know my body. I have also been to the dr and was given direction about my knees and I understand what is wrong, and I understand that getting the weight off will help them in the long run. I will eventually need knee replacement, but at the time being they feel I am too young. If I am hurting for any reason, or in pain I know the value of a good rest and recooperation day.
I train and do a lot of cardio because my father had 6 bypass surgery at age 42 and then double heart valve replacement at 65 and my mother died 5 years ago of a massive stoke and I would like to NOT like to find myself in either of those situations. I train now to be healthy.
All of that being said…the reason I posted here is because I have been doing all of these things, and I am still not losing like I would like to! I am hoping that this book will give me some insight and I can hopefully finally find something that will unlock whatever it is that is not working for me. I appreciate your comments and your help and I will definitely try to keep everyone updated!
|