I have been vegan for 2.5 years. I don't eat salt and very little sugar. Literally the only sugar I consume comes from a banana and occazionally corn. I have been gluten free for 22 days. I eat veggies, beans/lentils/legumes. I only drink water and a protein shake for breakfast which is 410 calories. I eat 1,300 cals a day or fewer. I work out 5 times a week. An hour of kettlebells every other day along with walking 20 minutes and 30 minutes of qi gong. I change up my workouts every month. Last month I did Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred and before that Shred it with Kettlebells.

I cannot lose weight to save my life! The needle is stuck! It has been stuck for years. Doctors cannot tell me why I cannot lose weight. They just tell me I need to lose weight. (Like I don't know) 

A few years ago I lose 35 pounds. At first I thought this was a plateau but the needle has been stuck for at least a year. So it obviously isn't a plateau anymore. 

I am so frustrated that I have actually becomed depressed. I feel as though I am doing everything correct and by the book and nothing is happening. 

Does anyone have tips/ideas? I would like to lose 30 pounds but I would settle at 20. 

Thanks so much.

I've decided that I'm destined to be pudgy, it is in my jeans and genes.  My goal was to get healthy and feel my best, which I did by eating a more vegan and sometimes raw diet.  But recently began to gain and was no longer feeling good. I went to an Herbalist because of my weight and feeling otherwise blah.  I ran a full marathon, burned 2800 calories in one day and still gained 7 pounds that week.  

People that looked at me thought I was pregnant, my Mom wouldn't believe that I wasn't.  My chest gained two cup sizes.  It was the strangest thing.  Doctor and midwife both checked blood, thyroid etc. and couldn't find anything wrong.

So I went to the herbalist.  She said my Cortisol was off and my Adrenal gland wasn't doing what it should.  She said if your cortisol is off, you could eat nothing and still gain or not lose weight.

We changed my exercise routine, and she gave me some stuff to help get my adrenal and cortisol happy again.  I've lost all the swelling, a few pounds, my chest is back to normal size and my stomach no longer bloated.  I also did an elimination diet, to get rid of foods that were bothering me.  

So I'm back to my pre-marathon self.  Still a little fluffy but at least I'm feeling great which is my major goal. 

Telling you this, in case your Adrenal could be at play.  Worth a looksee anyway.  Its not something that either of my medical professionals looked for, but the herbalist found it in 5 minutes.  At first I thought she was a little odd, but when it started working after 3 days, I knew she was on to something.

Good Luck.  As for the depression, know that your amazing no matter what size.   Stop looking at the scale and just do what you can to feel your best.  The weight will come off naturally when you get everything else in check.

Hi Vegmom, 

Thanks for your reply. I am glad you are feeling better and have found the culprit. Every doctor assumes that it is my thyroid and it always comes up normal. I will be checking into that as soon as I can afford it. I don't have health insurance so it will be awhile. Hopefully things will fix themselves out before I am able to go. 

I can't stop looking at the scale. I'm obsessed with it. I did lose weight in High School (long time ago) when I worked out 4 hours a day and only ate 30 grams a fat and 900 calories. But I want to lose weight the healthy way and I am trying my best to be patient. 

I am of the opinion that genetics can only dictate so much and that there are many reasons why some have problems losing weight.

Pending you have nothing else going on it always comes down to calories in vs caloires expended, take more in than you are expending you will gain weight.

But there can be many conditions which can make losing weight stubborn, some of the most common reasons include weak adrenal glands, sluggish metabolism from low thyroid function and hormonal imbalances.

Bitter herbs are good in that they cleanse the liver, so that they can metabolize excess hormones.

Do you have any other symptoms might be easier to narrow down what is causing the problem. Ill be back later with more information.

Amla

Track what you're eating. Just because you're eating well doesn't mean your meeting all of your macronutrient counts (fat, fiber, protein, carbs, etc.). Getting too little (or too much) of any of them can severly impair weight loss. Just because you've got the cals down doesn't mean the rest is where it needs be. Services like My Fitness Pal or Sparkpeople make this quick and easy (I particularly like MyFitnessPal because it's a lot quicker to eat stuff and really shows that you might need more cals when you do a lot of work). If you're doing all of that work (kudos to you on that - that's the hard part for so many people!) then your problem might be eating way too many calories. Your body needs cals to lose cals - otherwise it clings on to what it has (i.e. weight). 

Let us know how things go. I'm told increasing cals and stopping all working out for a five day period than jumping back in can jump start efforts but haven't ever tried it. 

The last month I have felt extremely sluggish and sore like I have mono or something. I always write down what I eat and how much I exercise. I hurt my shoulder last week so I took a week off due to the fact I couldn't move my head at all. I have also had cravings for tuna fish sandwiches for the last month. I thought about some sort of deficiency would cause my cravings so I upped my protein and I added more flax into my diet. 

I am the type to gain muscle fast. I have lost inches but not weight. My loved ones tell me that belly fat is the last to go and my body is working on the inside and soon I will be able to see the difference on the outside. But they are my family and they have to tell me nice things like that to keep me from going bonkers. LOL 

I agree with Vegmom ... I think you should find a good natropath ... one that knows how to read a blood test.  I am seeing one in Australia (who does skype consuls btw around the world) and she asked me to get blood tests done ... the doctors reviewed the results and said I was fine ... she looked at them in finer detail (ie not just the standard reference ranges) and my adrenals were completely shot which affects everything!  I read up why doctors don't do anything about this and it's because they wait until it turns into an actual disease with a name ... google adrenal exhaustion.

Anyhow ... I have been on herbs with her since the beginning of the year and I am feeling so much better.  I was so tired before I didn't realise how bad it was.  Perhaps search out someone that can look outside the usual boxes.  Send me an email if you'd like the contact details for my natro.

Hi Terra,  I've had the same struggle throughout my life, and actually wrote a post about it in recognition of Love Your Body day, which was on Oct 19th. 

http://eatplantsandrun.com/2011/10/23/loving-animals-loving-myself-how-veganism-is-changing-my-self-image/