SW: 220 CW:172 GW:140 5’2 Med history: Hypothyroidism with hashimotos, GAD, insomnia.
Eight years ago, I weighed in at my heaviest (220) and decided to make a change. Six years, multiple diets, workout plans, getting my thyroid under control, I lost 30lbs.
Over the last two years I have been on and off consistent workout routines and healthy eating. I could never break below 182lbs. I’ve been more consistent over the last year or so though and still couldn’t break that plateau. My thyroid levels were exactly where they needed to be and had been for a while, I had my depression and anxiety under control, I’ve never been a binge eater (I actually realized over the last few months I under eat), and I have no past trauma that I can think of that I would need to work through.
Following the Beachbody containers and workout plans was probably the most successful thing I tried, that I actually liked, and maybe where I saw the most changes in my body. But I felt the food list was a little restrictive so instead I track food on Lifesum.
I have managed to stay in the 180 range and keep off the original 30lbs which is a huge success itself.
Once quarantine hit, I started WFH. I have a bunch of workout equipment so I decided to go all in. It was my ideal scenario of being forced to cook all of my meals, have access to my workout equipment during the day. I would sometimes do my workouts during meetings I didn’t have to present it. Super cool! But March-June I wasn’t seeing any changes in my body. I felt pretty good, but not seeing results is hard.
One of my friends said I should go to a weight loss clinic and get advice. I’ve done the whole nutritionist thing and was put off by that experience, but she said they were fantastic so I went.
They had me try the Mayo Clinic diet through July and stick to my strength training workouts. Nothing changed 🤷🏻♀️. I went in for a consultation and after telling the NP my history she decided to put me on 15mg phentermine for 30 days to see if it would help and stick to my healthy eating habits and 30 mins of exercise (at least walk, but try to focus on weight lifting)
1st month: I lost 1.1 lb of body fat! I was super proud. The phentermine gave me a good boost of energy for maybe two weeks and then I felt normal again. She upped the dose to 30mg.
2nd month: Total body fat loss was 6.2~ lbs! Energy levels were ok, but seeing the fat loss was so nice. So we kept going.
3rd month: This is where I messed up. I was having issues with my sleep (side effect of phentermine) so I tried a new medication for it and my energy levels DROPPED. I was so unmotivated and depressed. I stopped taking that sleep aid and moved to another which helped a little. But I didn’t workout much because of that. Lost weight, not as much as the previous month, but did not lose body fat. This is my fault and I’m aware. Doctor put me on 37.5mg.
I also did an RMR test and found out my optimal caloric intake for weight loss is lower than we expected, but not bad at all.
1/2 way through 4th month: This is where I am now. I am losing weight. Not sure about body fat since I only know when I go into the clinic. I am under eating, but I almost always do. Even before the phentermine.
I told the NP this would be my last month taking the phentermine for a while. My body needs a break and now that I’m below that plateau, I want to see if I can keep it up on my own. I am obviously very worried about gaining that weight back, but I’ve been trying to make sure I keep up with actually working out again and eating well. Still working on eating as much as I need.
I still have no idea why I wasn’t able to break my plateau originally. I know I have a tendency to under eat. It’s not an issue with food, it’s that I don’t feel hungry a lot. I always eat before and after workouts. It is also SO HARD to eat all of my calories because the food I eat doesn’t have many and I feel full pretty quickly. Even my GP and the NP were stumped before the phentermine. I have been working on loving my body the way it is, because I feel myself getting stronger, but I see no changes in some of my monthly progress photos. But it’s not something that consumes my life or I let make decisions for me. I remind myself all the time how great I feel when I workout consistently on the days I don’t feel like working out, that helps with motivation. Despite the pandemic, I’m in a good place in my life & have been for a bit. But when you’re working hard at something and you don’t see the physical changes as well, it’s hard.
I don’t know if anyone has a similar experience or maybe sees something from this that I don’t? Any advice and suggestions are appreciated 💕
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