Long story short, I have been battling trying to lose 10 lbs (15 would be my ideal). My exercise regime was not helping except for keeping me toned, but if I do not lose this weight, next year it will be another 5 to 10 as I had started to notice creeping up on the scale and how my clothes fit.
In February, I bought a FitBit Charge HR and am not recommending that you do, but it has helped me monitor my activity level and intensity each day. I mainly cook from scratch because I am on a salt restricted diet, so I just use whatever comes close to a homecooked meal on the food search.
The FitBit calculates my basal metabolism based on my age, weight, height to help me determine how many calories I can take in and how many calories I need to burn to achieve my weightloss goals. I aim at 1/2 pound per week more or less and so far have lost over 7 pounds and I never feel hungry.
I could have probably lost the 7 pounds without the FitBit (I used to use the app called LoseIt), but like to think of it as a motivator. I monitor the intensity at which I workout, because that will help me burn more calories. I sometimes use my HR to determine my intensity, but prefer to see if I can hold a conversation while I workout to see how hard I am working out. If I have to take a breath after a few words, I am working hard, if I don't need to take a deep breath after a sentence I am working at a low intensity. Then if I am breathing hard after each word, I backoff because I am working outside of my cardiac threshold.
Find an exercise that works for you at the right intensity and eat only until you feel full, not what a chart or app suggests. Yes, meds can slow down your metabolism, but you can overcome that with the right exercise intensity. I eat around 1500 to 1600 calories a day, but have been burning around 2200 calories a day with my daily chores, activities, and formal exercise. I am about 5'7-1/2" and down to 143 lbs. My ideal would be 135.
