Nancilaw's Journal, 06 June 2016

:( Maybe it's because you aren't eating enough so your body is holding onto the foods like crazy? Also maybe sodium and water retention?  

I agree you may be eating too little and causing metabolic issues. Read about it perhaps? 

journal shows you are either skipping meals or not logging them. Wasting some calories on fast foods. 

yes I skip meals as I sleep late so I often skip lunch. What do you consider fast foods that I am eating out of curiosity?  

At 62, your goal weight may be unrealistic. Take into account your height, skeletal size and age to determine a realistic weight, as you need to account for body fat accumulation over time. Also, increase your fats... If you want the body to operate on all of its functions, you cannot strip it of its resources. 

While I don't agree with Mahjohn about your goal bein unrealistic, I do agree that you need to increase your fats, and maybe your overall calorie totals a little to make sure you are getting enough fuel to keep your body working well. Are you logging everything you are eating? If you are, you may want to look at cutting some of the carbs in the cereals and bread and replacing them with healthy fats (like avocado.)  

800 calories/day is VERY low and your body is probably in starvation mode, which slows down your metabolism. I've read a great deal on this topic over the years and all sources discourage dropping below 1200 calories/day. You need a minimum number of calories just to perform bodily functions. I would suggesting boosting your calorie count to at least 1200 and see if there's a change.  

I don't think your goal weight is in anyway unreasonable. I do think your calorie intake is not enough. No woman should have less than 1200 calories a day to keep everything running properly. You need more calories and you will still have a deficit but it will help you instead of hurt you. I don't know what exercise you are doing but that can also help with your deficit. I currently weigh 111 and have a couple more pounds to lose to get to my goal. I am 5'1" and have a small frame. I am losing about 1 pound per week. It is slow but it is healthy. 

I also do not subscribe to a diet of eating certain things. I count calories. I eat what I like and I just make sure not to go over my calories and to get 30 minutes of good cardio in and 30 minutes of weights every day. It worked for me in the past when I first got on this site and it is working this time to get rid of the couple extra pounds I gained from vacations lol.. Don't expect fast results but I am sure if you do this you will slowly get those pounds down. 

I can't say whether your goal weight is or isn't unreasonable because I don't have enough info to comment on that. I will say 800/cals/day isn't enough. I say play with your diet more; switch it up a bit. Maybe you don't need to add more veggies?  

1200 calories is a random number that sounds nice, so people stick with it. You want about 9-11 calories per pound of lean body mass, so for a small petite woman, 1200 can be too much, four others not enough. The reason I say the goal weight may not be realistic is that we do not know height or skeletal size. For example, a 5'9" woman can weigh 15lbs and be perfectly fine, 119lbs for her would be too low. As we get older we naturally hold more body fat, the 22% you had at 22 would be the equivalent of close to 30% for a 62yr old. Fat is an energy source, and a protective cushion for our organs, and as we get older they need more protection. As you're a calorie counter, consider this. Let's say you need 1000 calories to maintain normal body operation. If you give your body a little less it will continue normally and you'll lose weight slowly.... Cut out a bit more and you stall, as your body shuts down some processes. Cut it even more and you force it to use stores it may not want to. Seems like you are right at that point. You can increase your fat some and get a good energy boost with free calories. 

Well if your getting down to the last 10 pounds, a slow loss is pretty normal. It' took a friend of mine 6 months to lose the last 10 pounds, so a pound every two weeks isn't that bad. As we age, we lose muscle each year so our metabolisms slow. I would work on building muscle (combo of strength training workouts and some cardio) and finding a healthy eating balance (plenty of protein and good fats).