You keep hearing all sorts of advice on calories. Over years I'm like everyone else and been on every diet out there. But lately it's even more confusing. Back in 2004 I stopped dieting after 20 years and reaching 300 pounds. I used my head instead and lost over 100 pounds. I've maintained that loss without diets etc.

So what is my problem? I have no thyroid and even though I take replacements I'm stuck. The MD says I'm so lucky to have maintained my loss and should be happy. But I still am too big needing to lose about 60 more for health reasons. I know the thyroid controls many body functions including the metabolism. So for my questions, and sincerely hoping someone has some answers that make sense.

How do you rev up a metabolism when you have no thyroid and the MD says he can't up your replacements?

If a calorie is a calorie, why can't I lose when I am always burning more than I eat? At least that is what the figures show since I eat around 1200-1400 a day and basil is supposedly about 2300 a day acording to the charts. (Yes I dearly need a bodybug) And are colorful calories (greens etc) really better than a white (pasta) calorie as long as they are equal (meaning 100 cals per serving)?

I've read and the "trend" now is Acai Berry and Colon Cleasing. Ok maybe the Acai Berry could offer some help with energy but isn't this Colon Cleasing thing just a new twist on abuse of laxatives?

I'm sure someone will say I'm some silly old lady (yes I'm 62) but I'd like some easy to understand answers to what I feel are often confusing questions.

Granny

Good question granny - I'm right behind you at 52 - not quite a granny, but a granny in waiting. I don't take thyroid replacements and supposedly don't have any thyroid problems - but ditto your problem - if a calorie is a calorie is a calorie - and burning more calories than you're eating is supposed to result in weight loss, why am I still 300 lbs? I'm pretty much convinced. I have no metabolism.

Im sure you have a metabolism, just probably slow and doesnt get much faster as you exercise (maybe).
I have the bodybugg and it says on average I burn 1.4 calories a minute. When I am exercising I can jump up to 5-6.
Jillian says drinking water throughout the day boosts your metabolism.

I know they say a calorie is a calorie is a calorie, but I do wonder about the hormones/genetics in storing body fat...where that plays a roll!

Granny...what about Iodine?

I am going to throw a couple of things out there. They are just my opinion and could be an option for you.
1. Are you journaling your food? (every bite, every drink, everything even gum) There are lots of hidden calories in these things. If not then begin keeping a food journal and don't cheat with writing things down. Even if you grab a handful of nuts or candy, write it down and keep track of your calories. You can do this through lots of websites like calorie king, etc..
2. Are you eating enough? I don't know your height or weight, but it is possible that you are not eating enough calories and you body has went into a starvation mode where it hangs onto every calorie, because your body thinks it is starving.
3. What is your sodium intake like per day? To much sodium can cause you to retain weight.

To answer you question about metabolism, try weights/resistance training. Even if you have to purchase a couple of hand weights it is better than nothing and the more muscle you have the more energized your body will be and the more calories you will burn. Also drinking water (as someone has mentioned) will help you to burn more calories.

Also, I have a bodybugg and love it. But, you don't have to have one to lose the weight. Jillian actually said that she likes a good heart rate monitor better than the bodybugg. As far as calorie is a calorie. I believe that. It is a simple matter of calories in vs calories out. With that being said, there are things that will effect your weight from week to week like water weight. But these things should not effect you for more than a couple of weeks. For instance if you gain a couple of pounds and it is water weight, you should lose that in a couple of weeks time.

I hope this helps you and if you need other information, I can try to help. Good luck with you weight loss.

Hope I don't confuse others anymore but I was reading thru some other threads relating to calories, ie Calories in/calories out. Now if I don't eat enough calories for my basic body needs, the body goes into starvation mode so how do you burn more calories, or reduce calories without this?

I reduce calories and someone will say body in starvation mode. Increase calories and they say you have to eat less than you use. So explain this in simpler ways.

Everything says at least 1200 calories a day which I do. My activity level uses twice that so why am I stuck? I can't reduce calories any more or health suffers. I do different exercises from cardio/weight resistance training and even some weight lifting (hard to do with bad knees and a weaken wrist from being broke twice) but I try. I swim, dance have even done some raquetball so am in pretty good shape which is probably why I've not regained the orginal I've lost. So why am I still stuck?

Is it fat calories? Carb calories? come on people, I can't be the only one who has issues with the straight thing calories is a calorie-cal in/cal out thing.

Granny

[color="#0000FF"] I do appreciate all the feedback we get on different threads but things do tend to contridict theirselves. I'll keep plugging away but I do need to find some answers. No diets aren't the answer, neither is surgery or gimmicks. But health issues due to excess skin are becoming more and the MD would love to remove some of it and at this point due to it's presents insurance will cover it. Why am I putting it off, because I still need to get about 60 more off. I want to see all of my 34 grandchildren granduate, I want to enjoy the new greatgrandbabies I'm being blessed with (7th due any day) and well I also love life at this time. Just hate the pain of being old LOL, actually from former broken bones and the need for knee replacement that I'm just not ready for.

Granny

Well I tried to add comments to this but it didn't work right and I've no way to delete the post. Sorry for confusion.

Granny

Let me try to sort a couple things out and then we can move on from there.

When talking about different kinds of food there are two distinctly different aspects that you need to understand and differentiate. Nutritional value and Calories (capitalization intended). In the context of your question, they are two entirely different concepts.

Calories are a unit of energy (big C indicates a Kilo calorie, all our food labeling is big C Calories). The energy potential of each Calorie is the amount of energy it takes to heat 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius. The energy can be used for things other than heat (although most of your energy is used for heat production, we are endotherms after all), but that is the standard definition of a Calorie. It does not matter if it is 1 Calorie of protein, 1 Calorie of fat, 1 Calorie of cardboard, they all contain the same potential for energy, although will each have a different mass due to the differences of the substance and how that energy is stored.

Nutritional value, although normally people include Calories as a component, is not in the context of your question. Any Calorie has the same potential, but they do not have the same nutritional value. Nutritional value can be what things are in that substance that your body needs. Vitamins, minerals, proteins, lipids, fiber, etc.

Not sure if that answers your question, but hopefully it straightens out the premise a bit.

As someone with beloved thyroid problems too, I can hopefully address some of this as well. First, Ryan is right that calories themselves represent units of energy, and nutritional value is somewhat a different animal. My experience, and that of MANY others with hormone imbalances, is that in terms of impact on the various hormonal systems, different foods have dramatically different effects.

As a rule, and new research is continuing to bear this out, the less refined the food, the better it is, both in terms of nutrients and the food's impact on blood sugar. Those of us with hormone issues can be exquisitely vulnerable to blood sugar imbalances, so foods with lower glycemic loads (almost always foods that are not white, for example) are much more conducive to weight loss.

You also mention that you are eating 1200-1400 calories/day, with a basal metabolism of 2300. I'm not sure where you got your metabolic rate and if it's accurate, but an intake of 50% of your body's basal need can cause the body to pack on whatever weight it possibly can. (See the Ancel Keys Minnesota Starvation Study as a classic illustration of this.) In other words, you may need to eat MORE! I am NOT an expert on this and know nothing about your size, weight history, etc., but this is something to consider.

You might also consider a second look at your meds, actual thyroid numbers and, if needed, your doc. In my experience, internists and GPs know NOTHING about thyroid issues unless your TSH is off the charts. If your doc doesn't run TSH, free T4 and total T3 EVERY time you get a checkup, and if those numbers aren't above the 50th percentile of the range, you may in fact need a second opinion. You definitely need all three numbers, as TSH, while a sensitive test, doesn't necessarily give you the whole picture. The book Living Well with Hypothyroidism is a great resource.

Finally, does all this mean you should eat as many calories as you feel like and just hit the gym? No! For what it's worth, I have found that trusting my hunger (if my stomach is sending the message, it's time to eat) and eating unrefined foods as much as possible, along with plenty of exercise, is really helping me take off the pounds. Bob's continual reference to getting enough rest/sleep is key also!

I hope this helps!

Littlepistol,
Have you researched thyroid issues? If you would like I can send you some links. If you don't mind me asking are you seeing your family doctor or an endocrinologist?
You might want to listen or try calling into Jillian's radio show its informative. She is hypothyroid. Even if you don't call in, just listen and you can even download her past broadcasts. It may take awhile but its worth it.
KFI Radio Jillian Michaels
tqo

Sorry to see that you are having so much trouble losing weight. Thyroid problems make it especially difficult to lose weight because your metabolism is often so out of whack that you will always struggle with it.

Here's a couple of quick weight loss tips:
1. Eat 5-6 balanced, small portioned meals a day. This can help speed up your metabolism.
2. Cut out the sugar and high glycemic carbs
3. You need to exercise regularly. Don't just do boring cardio, learn about interval training. If you're weight prevents you from doing exercise then do them in a heated pool.
4. Focus on your body measurements and less on your weight. Weight fluctuations are misleading due to water retention. That's why a previous poster mentioned sodium.
5. Don't skip meals - See #1

Hope that helps.
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Blog: Quick Weight Loss Tips & Reviews
Squidoo Lens: Quick Weight Loss Tips

I agree with EVERY word of this! I don't believe weight loss can be "FAST" (as in lots of body fat lost quickly), but I do believe that this can jump start the metabolism and quickly get the process of losing a few pounds of body fat per week going.

I have hypothyroidism too. It is imperative that your meds be correct, and not based solely on the TSH number. If your doctor cannot treat it correctly, go to an endocrinologist who specializes in thyroid disorders. Also, with this disorder, your BMR is likely to be lower than what the charts tell you. I have to base mine on a sedentary person's output, and I'm not sedentary.

As mentioned previously, eat about 5 small meals per day. Meals tend to signal the body to increase metabolism, so 5 signals per day is better than three.

Drink lots of water. Lack of hydration will slow a metabolism down.

Eat foods that the body has to work on (expend calories on) just to digest, typically that is high fiber and clean protein foods. The body uses more calories to digest a piece of lean meat than it does to digest something like... mashed potatoes, rice, or white bread (high glycemic foods).

Exercise boosts metabolism, just like meals do. Two or three sessions a day will keep it boosted, but be sure and give yourself a free day every so often to recover. Muscles burn more calories, so more muscles means a high burn (metabolism). Toward that end, work to add muscle to your frame by lifting weights or doing resistance training.

Some calories are empty and dull whereas other calories are lively and smart - packed with vitamins and minerals. Your body will take either one, and use it or store it, depending on it's needs. Your body would prefer to use calories from carbs first, protein second, and fat third. You can trick it by temporarily depleting carbs once in a while, and it will go for the fat cells for it's energy needs IF you've given it adequate protein and water.

A calorie is a calorie is a calorie, a way to measure energy, a heat producer. When you're working out and producing heat and sweat, you know you are really burning the calories!

What Lisa is referring to here is how insulin affects weight gain. When you eat high glycemic carbs, things like sugary foods, you will spike your blood sugar levels which will raise your insulin levels. Your body does not need all of the sugar for fuel at that moment so it stores it as fat or glycogen. If you are not exercising then it will likely be stored as fat.

That's why cutting sugar out of your diet can make a huge impact on your weight. Add in some other factors like increasing meal frequency, drinking water before you eat, etc. can have a dramatic effect on your weight.

Here's an ehow.com article I wrote recently on simple tips to losing weight quicker.

How to Lose Weight Quickly

I thought I read somewhere about the combination of foods that you eat can also increase your metabolism. Is this true?

There's more to eating than just counting calories; it's the quality of food you eat that counts the most. If I don't pay attention to what I'm eating, I can easily reach 1,500 calories before I even get to my mid-afternoon snack. I don't "diet" at all; I simply choose healthy foods and pay attention to portion sizes; I eat 5-6 little meals a day rather than just 3 big ones and I make sure to also exercise on a daily basis. Depending on the intensity level of my exercise, I sometimes need to increase my food intake to ensure that I eat enough to support my active lifestyle.

What's important is to determine what works best for you personally since everyone is different.