What else can I do to lose weight?

[carvi]

I am an obese, 66 year old woman who is pretty well doing everything I can to lose weight, but find  it very hard to lose even a few pounds. ( I am exercising about 5 hours nearly every week;  I eat lots of fruit and vegetables; I eat only a small amount of fat; I rarely cheat;  I don't eat after supper time.)  I take medication for high blood pressure and low thyroid and get a yearly check up.  Iguess I could go to the gym on top of my routine of aquasizing regularily, using weights, dumb bells, noodles, and  including 2x aweek doing lengths wearing flippers.  I have exercised most of my life and have always enjoyed being active--but I have never been a fast person when doing any of my pursuits. ( I usually concentrate on form rather than speed, which has never been my strength.  I have always worked out as hard as I am capable.  ( There are usually lots of others who are faster, stronger than I am.)  I guess I could try cutting back on the amounts of food that I eat, altho others  often seem to eat more than ).

My mother stuggled with her weight all her life,like myself. My dad was of average weight for his height until he reached middle age.
Do u have any ideas to help me?   Thanks, Carol.

[twehner5]

I feel so badly for you.  Without knowing more, it DOES sound like you are doing things right.  You remind me of Barb135 on here.  She posted a very helpful post recently about medical issues and weightloss.  She also has thyroid issues.  If you would like to read it, copy and post this in your address bar:  http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/762444.  ;

Please do not give up, and keep reading posts and let us know how you are doing!  We will try to encourage you.

[twehner5]

OOPS, I didn't realize it would work as a hyperlink!  There's a first time for everything!  I hope it helps!

[Barb135]

Welcome.  I hope you had a chance to check out the link that twehner5 sent to you, as there might be some useful information there.  I have hypothyroidism/Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, pernicious anemia and also take blood pressure meds so I can certainly understand your frustration.  

I had a hard time getting my PCP to take my thyroid symptoms seriously and I gained 30 pounds while waiting for him to figure out that there really was something wrong and to get the lab order to get my thyroid checked. Once diagnosed, my pcp refused to believe that the med he prescribed wasn't working for me(even when my lab results confirmed that); nor would he look at the records I had kept of how I felt.  I was sent to an ENT, cardiologist and gastroenterologist and all 3 told me that when my thyroid levels were balanced, I'd be able to lose weight.  In the end, the ENT referred me to an endocrinologist, who actually listened and based on my symptoms and other info I brought him, changed my med.  I haven't had new blood work since we changed my med, but I feel completely different and even lost a few pounds over the past month.  

The first thing you need to do is calculate how many calories you need daily to maintain your current weight, then create a deficit, either by adjusting your calorie intake or exercise.  

Do you keep a food journal?  I always recommend that because even though we think we aren't eating too much, sometimes we do without even realizing it.  AND, it's also possible that you aren't eating ENOUGH calories.  If you don't eat enough calories your body will hold on to fat because it thinks it's starving.  Keeping a food journal will let you keep track of that.  There are several web sites where you can calculate your calorie needs and that allow you to set up a food journal (spark people and live strong are 2 of them); they will track the calories of most foods, along with nutritional values.  

You can try varying your calories once in a while - like maybe one day add a 200 calories to the normal amount and then other days eliminate a couple hundred calories.  

It might also be helpful to change around your exercise routine.  If you do the same things every day, your body gets used to it and it's no longer a challenge (whether it's exercise or the number of calories).  Also, it would be helpful to create a weight and exercise tracker here on MedHelp to keep up with what you are actually doing.  

I would also suggest that you check out the thyroid community.  There are a lot of people there who are very knowledgeable and may be able to offer some suggestions.  If you have current blood work showing your thyroid levels, feel free to post them on the thyroid community or include them in a PM to me and I will see what I can do to help you.  

Hope to see your around a lot.