Well I feel like I'm really stalled badly here now. Jesper I've talked to you about this but I'm really getting frustrated with it now. I've been reading that some people suffer from a sluggish thyroid. So I started checking my temperature. The highest temp I got was 97.34 and that was after my workout this morning. I've also had a low of 96.08, and that was 30 minutes after eating! So could this be causing me to stall or is it something more simple. I've tried eliminating dairy and nuts, I've increased calories a few times now, and I've tried many, many supplements...

I'm sure over the past few weeks I've had a calorie deficit of at least 1000 a day. Now just on this alone I would have thought my weight would drop. I mean theory would state with that much of a deficit you should lose weight, but its actually gone up, i think!

I just would like to know if anyone has any suggestions and/or experience? I'm currently weight training 5x a week and doing 60minutes of cardio 5x-6x a week.

Big Daddy- The best time to check your temp is in the morning when you first wake up ( before you get out of bed) with a basal body temperature thermometer (they are the most accurate) they can be ordered through a pharmacy for about $10, I keep mine on my bedside table, it can fluctuate quite a bit throughout the day. I take mine axillary since I usually sleep with my mouth open and that will throw it off, also if fans or a window a/c is blowing directly on you it can make a difference. If you do take yours in your armpit make sure you add a degree to it. There is a degree difference b/w that and oral temperature. If it is consistently below 97.6 then it sounds like it might be a thyroid problem, unfortunately tsh levels of your thyroid dont show as being high until after some time has passed usually and doctors wont give you meds for it until that time.

A few things you can do is take selenium supplements, vit b complex, and kelp tablets( All of them increase your thyroid function and speed up your metabolism). You should be able to find these at a local health food store. Also artificial sweetners and caffiene are notorious for dropping down thyroid function. Good Luck

What "theory" is this? - I think you'll find that most people on the site have a problem with a calorie deficit. I know Atkins seems to assume it's the right way, but many members have cut calories and found themselves to stall or gain.

Calorie deficit is the rock upon which the low-fat brigade have build their church. Experience from this site tells me that they (and Atkins to some extent) don't appreciate the effects of not eating a lot. If it worked for us on the forum, we wouldn't be low carbing.

You're 190 pounds. 10 x that for BMR = 1900 cals daily just to sustain your body's operations. A deficit of 1000 means you're eating 900 calories a day.


That is absolutely guaranteed to stall your metabolism.


FYI - I know a guy on Atkins who started at 320 lbs. He ate 3000 cals daily (still does ) and is now 190lbs. He maintains eating a lot helped him.

Have you read Protein Power? The Eades maintain we have a metabolic computer. In the lean times, it gets conservative. When food is plenty, it speeds up.

For many people, cutting calories just works against their metabolism.

It's like a dog chasing its tail. The less you eat, the more efficient your body becomes.


This just to throw a few thoughts your way. I am by no means an expert. My profile should convince you of that.



Re - thyroid. I'm getting mine checked by my doctor soon. I think I have a problem.


I think eating enough can encourage your metabolism to speed. It's wht I'm doing at the moment (I've tried everything else).

thanks for the input man!

the thing that I've always been told is 3500 calories = 1 lb of fat! So I use 1900 calories, but you also have to add daily activity on top of that, plus exercise on top of that. So I've been eating about 1900 calories but calculated with the exercise and daily activity a deficit of 1000+.

But what you mention about dropping our metabolic rate too low does make sense. However, I would think you still need to be giving your body less than it requires otherwise it has no need to burn its own fat.

I've read protein power cover to cover, one of the best books I've ever read!

I think my problem is too, that whilst I'm not cut up or anything I'm failry lean at the moment and I'm not overfat, so trying to get your body to dump those last few kilos is a pain.

Thanks heaps for your input, I'm getting some blood test back today so I'll let you know whats up...