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HELP. I can't lose weight. I'm starving.


clank72
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I'm fed up.

 

I'm 39 yrs, 6'2 228lbs. 20% BF. I'm stuck here for 2 years. If I LOOK at food I gain weight. I used to weigh 280lbs when I was younger and kept most of it off, just because I don't eat Pizzas and Burgers anymore.

 

I have a slow metabolism (Endomorph body). I gain muscle easy. But my dream is to be ripped and have a stomach like the skin on the back of my hand.

 

I do one hour of cardio 5 times a week which includes Walking/Jogging/Spinning. I workout until I am in PAIN when my feet, knees hurt or until I get cramps. I do regular full body weight training.

 

"IF" I eat over 1400 calories I don't' see any changes in weight. 1400 calories a day is nothing on a vegan diet. Half cup Oatmeal, 1oz of Walnuts and some raspberries and I'm already over 300 for one meal. Stuffing buckets of veggies to get calories doesn't work for me and upsets my stomach to the point where I keel over on the couch. I tried 80-10-10 and gained 10lbs of fat and started to have Hypoglycemia.

 

I AM STARVING TO LOSE WEIGHT

 

It's not my thyroid, I already got that checked out. All my blood work comes out fine. I've done tons of detoxing and juicing. So I am not "toxic" that bad. I haven't "damaged" my metabolism because I've been the same all my life. Eating MORE simply puts on more FAT, end of story. I pound vitamin B12 and vitamin D daily.

 

My diet consists of

 

Oatmeal

Walnuts

Raspberries

 

Lots of salad

Seeds

Veggie wraps

 

Brown rice

Beans

Veggie Stir fry

Few Apples a day

 

Protein Powders, Tofu and Soy screw up my digestive system really bad and constipate me. I can't do it.

 

My girlfriend of 4 years is SICK of hearing about it. She eats 3500 calories a day and weighs 125lbs. Natural born Ectomorph.

 

EAT LESS AND DO CARDIO??? IS THAT THE ONLY AWNSER FOR ME?? DEAR GOD!!

 

I'm desperate, hurting and starving. Any help would be great.

 

-Mark

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1400 Calories! That is no where near what you should be consuming imo. I'm impressed that you have the power to consume so little.

 

There is no such thing as a 'damaged' metabolism.. your body just adjusts - ie. in times of famine, it makes sense for the metabolism to slow down. A person can live on 500 calories a day and doing so will extend their life (because metabolism slows so much). But it doesn't sound like life extension is your goal here.

 

I would definitely up your calories to a minimum of 1900 (for your current size). Increasing your protein amounts helps with fat loss. Protein powders are easiest option .. have you experimented with different kinds?

 

If you are worried about upping calories (and it sounds like you are), maybe intermittent fasting would be a more palatable plan for you ... something like a 5:2 diet (try google for details).

 

Sometimes you have to experiment on yourself to see what works for you and what doesn't. Good luck!

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I have the same ?roblem! i will try drinking soy isolate after my workouts, im not sure if its healthy, do you trust it? its the only vegan ?rotein ?ower i know here in Uruguay,

I think intermitent fasting will do well, i have tried and it works! the ?roblem is that i dont manage to behave the other 5 days left !

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Clank,

 

I am assuming you are a guy?

 

Have you ever had your testosterone and other hormones checked? I had trouble losing fat and found out I had very low testosterone. I am using HCG therapy to hopefully raise it permanently. Many chemicals we are exposed to can suppress our testosterone production. You can often restart production with short term therapy.

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stcalico is spot-on, if you restrict calories too long your system will adapt and metabolism will slow to match your intake as a form of self-preservation, it can be scary to break that cycle but don't fear it too much, it can be done. I was somewhat the same at one point, had been up to 270ish as a teenager and got down to 192 lbs. in my first year of training, but starved myself for most of a year and was living off of 2000 cal./day while weight training 5x/week and running 6 miles/day at least 3 times weekly. Basically, my body was in complete famine mode, and made the most of what it had but wouldn't lose any fat. If cutting calories were all it took to lose fat, we wouldn't be bombarded with various diet plans, fat loss products, etc., so that's the golden rule to keep in mind in that restricting calories does NOT necessarily produce the results you want.

 

I found that my best way to lose fat is keep protein high, carbohydrates to a low/moderate level, and to get a fair amount of healthy unsaturated fats daily. This allows me to eat MUCH more food without gaining fat - but, I do have to sacrifice a lot of the convenient things I used to eat that revolved around bread, rice, and pasta, which used to dominate a lot of my meals years ago. Some of us just respond differently to various macronutrient ratios, I cannot lose fat and have a carb-heavy diet (not counting good vegetables, a bit of fruit, and a few whole grain items), but now all my meals are prepared around protein as the base and everything else is planned secondary to it.

 

Another thing - excessive cardio on top of restricted calories will only hurt your goals further. Ditch the cardio ASAP for now, and consider moving to weight training instead. Cardio does NOT help you build any muscle (which will adjust your body composition, even if you did not lose any bodyfat for a bit but put on lean mass, you'll technically be leaner over time and will have a lower bodyfat percentage), and will starve off hard-built muscle faster than you can imagine, especially with a low-calorie diet. Pain does NOT equal gain for cardio work, sure you may be improving your endurace, but you're also making sure you're not getting any closer to your end goal at the same time. A sound, sensible weight training protocol done for a few months with minimal cardio (perhaps 2-3 days of moderate paced 30 minutes walks, but no more than that) would be a better approach for now to kick-start things a bit in the right direction. More muscle = more calories burned, which will get your metabolism moving in the way you're hoping. After all, if what you were doing was actually going to work, you'd have reached your goal by now, so it's time to abandon ship on your previous approaches and start from a new angle.

 

So, my recommendation for a potential turnaround on things would be -

 

1. Increase calories to 2000 per day for now. Make it primarily protein (something like 2 servings of Vega One twice per day would be a good start, that'd get you most of the way there), or, something similar that's protein-dominant and has no crappy empty calorie carbohydrates in it.

 

2. Start a sensible weight training program that will get you in the gym 3x/week initially. Not "train until you die" with endless sets and reps, rather something that focuses on good compound movements to hit legs, upper and lower back, chest, shoulders and a bit of arm work (don't worry about ab stuff, it's not going to help you lose any midsection fat). 60 minutes max training 3 times per week, maybe alternating upper and lower body workouts, done with free weights and lifts that have proven to be good like squats, deadlifts, benching, rowing, pull-ups (or, pulldown machine) and overhead presses should be the base.

 

3. Each week for the 6 weeks after starting, increase calories by 100-150 calories/day with good whole foods (you can begin to incorporate more quality carbohydrates at this time and not just protein), maybe a bit of good fats like olive oil or coconut oil, as once you get into the weight training you're going to need more calories for recovery. You want to SLOWLY acclimate your system to getting used to the extra food intake, and unlike with cardio, after weight training your body will actually do something good with the extra calories by helping build more muscle.

 

You may find in time that with such a system, you'll eventually be eating 3000+ calories per day once your metabolism gets back to where it should be (I eat around 3300-3700 cal./day on my training days, around 3000 on my off days now), so long as the food is what your body is making proper use of and you're responding well, things will work out, but there also needs to be PATIENCE, nothing is going to show amazing results overnight, but after a few months, you're going to see much better results than you are by starving yourself and running your body into the ground with excessive cardio that's only killing valuable muscle mass while keeping your fat levels the same.

 

There's no perfect way that we just happen to fall into, some of us have years and years of experimenting under out belts and are still figuring things out, myself included. If we could all lose fat doing the same thing, there'd be only one diet and exercise program you'd need, and obviously, that isn't the case. Follow what has been proven to work, avoid the things that are keeping you in a rut, and I'm sure you're going to be closer to your goals in due time!

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VeganEssentials,

 

Thanks for taking the time to write that info, it's really appreciated and sounds like what is going on with me. I will take some of these advice and go with it.

 

As of a week ago, I have stopped the extreme cardio based from another persons advice (they said the same thing you did about it) and have really focused on the weight training. I'm getting really strong and went from 228 to 231 in a week. This was a surprise to me as I felt and looked leaner in the mirror. It's a scary thought to have the scale increase but I'm following through to hopefully get out of this starvation cycle. Because I know eventually I will be only eating rice cakes to get by and I don't want that to happen.

 

As for protein I've recently discovered "Pea" protein that is easier for me to digest. I will also checkout the Vega.

 

Thanks again for everyones help.

 

-Mark

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  • 3 months later...

1400 calories doesn't sound like a healthy amount of food. If you eat too little you'll put your body into starvation mode and your body will cling to any calories you give it so it can survive the hard times.

 

Your weight loss needs to be gradual or you'll work against yourself. Use a calorie calculator and check how many calories you need to get by everyday and try lower that by a couple hundred and see where that gets you.

 

Again, slow and steady does it or you'll never get anywhere. Also, the fact that you mention pain concerns me. You should be careful not to put strain on your joints, especially if you're already a heavier person. You really don't want to be hurting yourself like that or you'll end sedentary while you go through recovery.

 

Push yourself, don't kill yourself.

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  • 2 months later...

Read the book "EAT TO LIVE" by Dr. Joel Furham. it is a vegan diet, where you eat as much as you want, and lose weight. I also did a raw vegan diet, where I lost 25lbs in a month eating as much fruit and leafy greens as I wanted. I ate about 20-25 bananas a day for the first week, after the first week I added 2lbs of dark leafy greens per day for the vitamins and minerals I wasn't getting from the bananas. Drink tons of water, and make sure you're going clear pee at minimum 7 times a day. Keep your fat intake to less than 10% a day of calories, getting that less than 10% from walnuts or avocado. Read 80-10-10 by dr graham if you want more info on a Low-fat Raw Vegan diet for athletes.

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in my humble opinion, you sound like you're doing these ridiculous fad diets flying around 80-10-10- is that high protein or carb? if it's protein it sounds like the atkins diet, in which case it could be not the tofu and protein powders upsetting your stomach, but only eating protein is making you shit bricks

seriously, these fad diets arent good for you, stop eating, your body will say "shit, i aint getting any food, i'll keep this fat i got stored up for later" and maybe burn some muscle instead?- coupled with the high protein diet(if thats what it is) your body prefers carbs as a food source, if it doesnt have that, it will burn other things you like.

 

but seriously, you shouldnt starve yourself, if you feel like shit while you're on a diet, you need to find something else, you need more than 1400 calories a day,

 

someone please correct me if i'm spilling bullshit though, i'm no expert.

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I tried 80-10-10 and gained 10lbs of fat and started to have Hypoglycemia.

 

What were you eating when you did 811 and gained 10lbs of fat! I did it for 1 month and lost 25lbs, eating mostly bananas (15-25 a day), then I added vitamix-juiced 1-2lbs of spinach with strawberries a day for vitamins and minerals.

 

Since I started adding cooked oils (the hot bar at the local health food store) that are in the different vegan curries and such, I have plateued and haven't lost anymore weight, and maybe even gained some back. i plan on going back to 811 lfrv in a week, and will try to do it for a month.

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in my humble opinion, you sound like you're doing these ridiculous fad diets flying around 80-10-10- is that high protein or carb? if it's protein it sounds like the atkins diet, in which case it could be not the tofu and protein powders upsetting your stomach, but only eating protein is making you shit bricks

seriously, these fad diets arent good for you, stop eating, your body will say "shit, i aint getting any food, i'll keep this fat i got stored up for later" and maybe burn some muscle instead?- coupled with the high protein diet(if thats what it is) your body prefers carbs as a food source, if it doesnt have that, it will burn other things you like.

 

but seriously, you shouldnt starve yourself, if you feel like shit while you're on a diet, you need to find something else, you need more than 1400 calories a day,

 

someone please correct me if i'm spilling bullshit though, i'm no expert.

 

80-10-10 is a high (healthy) carb, low fat, diet. 80% of your calories come from healthy carbs (whole food, plant-based carbs, nothing that is refined), and 10% or your calories from fat and 10 from protein. I did it for 1 month and lost 25lbs, eating between 8 and 11 pounds of food a day. I wasn't starving myself and was eating a ton and still lost weight. right now I am eating about 2lbs of greens/vegetables a day, and then some rice/beans, very little grains. as i get into the gym I am lookng for a good protein supp to take, so if you have any recommendations..

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hi dk i just want to say sorry about the tone of my previous post, reading back on it now, it seemed a bit too aggressive

anywho, you could try sunwarror, they offer free samples from their site, or vega ( this site is affiliated with vega ) and maybe they can give you some samples so you can see if they upset your stomache

 

both cost a premium, but i think both are organic & raw, which might be easier on your digestive system if you cant handle protein powders, but if you can find a generic or a lower price brand name that works for you, your wallet will thank you.

 

btw what were you using before? just a generic brand from ebay or something?

 

but yeah, sorry about the aggressive last post, i'm on the other end of the spectrum, i'm a skinny guy and 1400 calories is like, just about half of what i need in a day, and just sounds totally unhealthy to cut that much of your diet.

i would also recommend trying to eat more dietary fiber, as it will help you feel fuller for longer, and aid with digestion.

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Just to clarify, 80 10 10 isn't really about calorie restriction more to do with where calories come from. You should not aim to starve yourself under any circumstances, long term. 80 10 10 is about getting lots of fresh produce into you.

 

Clank hasn't been back to this topic for a while, hope he got on ok.

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  • 9 months later...

Hey guys, I'm back and I'm ready to stop being a "Know it all" and ready to start listening. Because I have been told I am eating to few calories more then once.

 

My theory was, if I were to increase my calories I would gain muscle and keep the fat! This has been a past experience of mine so it's quite frightening to even think about eating more which got me into obesity years ago in the first place.

 

But here's what I realized...

 

It's not so much the higher calories as it is which TYPE of calories I am taking in. If I am just taking in a bunch of junk, I will gain fat. But according to what this board says - "get more protein" is the best, so then I will do this.

 

I will follow this advice and return back here for an update. Yes it's more then a year later and I'm still in the same boat. I'm breaking a RAW food diet to burn fat, just to let you guys know. Because according to this board I need more protein which involves more powders and Tofu, it's a little against my health beliefs but I want the fat off so bad it's taking over authority at this point.

 

I am starting today on my high protein, "high calorie diet" slowly.

 

Note: I am following VeganEssentials advice on raising my calories.

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Check out eatright.org. If your insurance covers a register dietitian, invest in them if it is just a co-pay. 85% of your body is from diet. They will be able to calculate your body needs. Forgot the fad diets. 80-10-10 is stupid and dangerous. Taking in so much fruit will upset your stomach and the acid from the fruit could ruin your teeth. Maybe you need to take a probiotic because you have gut bacteria or maybe you are retaining water.

 

As far as workouts the best workout for your body type is circuit training. Weights and cardio mixed in together. So lets say you do a set of squats, superset with jump squats or kettlebell swings. Maybe you can do thrusters, superset with 45 sec jump rope. somewhere in the middle of the workout sprint tabata on the treadmill 20 sec sprint/ 10 rest for 10 sets. Moderate cardio makes you more hungry. Interval training suppresses your appetite so you are take hungry after the workout.

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  • 1 month later...

Don't listen to people who OVERLY protest a diet using hyperbolic words like "Dangerous" while they're plugging a website. Instead, check out my Youtube channel for some truth http://www.youtube.com/user/Gary1111001 (vegan 20 years, 80-10-10 for 5 years, thin big-eater 45 years)

 

If the body's metabolism adjusted completely, people wouldn't be fat.

 

Here I explain why diets like 5:2 and I.F. make you fat.

 

Do you realize now that if the 10 pounds you gained on 811 was fat, it was just a response to your previous under-eating, etc

 

PS - 80-10-10 is better if you learn the facts and myths. For all others... zip it.

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