Originally Posted by buckettgirl:
My husband used to be scrawny...but now is muscular as he works a hard labor job.

Yes, again my point exactly. The idea behind the "can eat all they want and never gain weight" comes with the assumption that, even if they ate as much as we do and had our level of activity, they wouldn't gain weight. Your husband, it appears, has a highly active job- so much so that he has built a lot of muscle while working at it, no wonder he needs to eat a lot of food. That does not mean that he could get a desk job, eat the same amounts, and not gain weight.

The problem, I see, with the "good metabolism"/"bad metabolism" idea is that it is too easy to use as an excuse for bad behavior and a way to discount good behavior. If you have a "bad metabolsim", does that mean that it's okay to not eat right and exercise? Conversely, if you have a "good metabolism", and spend a lot of time participating in active sports, do you not deserve praise for your healthy body?

Someone who has a "bad metabolsim" and eats right and exercises will look just like someone who has a good metabolism. Someone with a good metabolsim who sits around all day eating, will soon enough look like me!:)

I was going to type the same thing. :) While metabolic ratevariess from person to person - unless there is some medical problem, it is not enough to let someone eat like crazy and never gain weight. If you really log what people like that are eating and log their daily activity - you would find the same energy balance that each of us must maintain to lose weight.

I know it can seem like we are the only ones that have to work at it - but the reality is - it is all about lifestyle. The good news is that we all have the power to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

I wish you the very best.

Originally Posted by andoreth:
Besides, barring the very rare medical problem, those bodies that can eat anything they want and still not gain weight don't exist. Those bodies are either very active, eating a lot less on average than we can see from our perspective (they may eat a lot at the party, but what do they eat each day, every day?), or are using some very dangerous "alternate methods" to control their weight.

Two weeks without any movement on the scale is quite a common occurance. I went through 6 weeks without meaningful movement spanning March and April. I know of other people here that have gone through much longer. I know how frustating this can feel... but just because the scale isn't moving doesn't mean that nothing is happening. Your size may be changing, your muscles might be building, your water levels might be adjusting. In other words, anything can be happening, there is just no way to know what.

However, I can tell you one thing that IS happening: you are getting healthier. Every time you make that decision to eat right, to exercise, to moderate, you are making a decision for health.

Right now, I know that you have lost the metric (scale movement) that rewarded you for all of the work that you are doing, and it can be hard to continue under those conditions. My suggestion would be to find another metric to watch while you wait for the loss to resume. Maybe it will be inch size, maybe speed at the treadmill, maybe endurance, weights lifted, vegetables eaten. Some other challenge that you can focus on. (I now use number of cal's burned at my 1/2 hour cardio sessions, amount of "extra" time I spend active throughout my day, how close I stay to my calorie plan, AND weight.)

By having so many progress metrics, I have lots of chances to succeed even when the scale isn't being so friendly. It takes away the fear that all of my hard work might not be effective.

I'm sorry that you are having to feel this frustration right now. But, believe me, it is really worth it to stick it out and continue in your determination to become a healthier person! I was stuck at 314 pounds for 6 weeks, I'm now 306.:)

My best friend is thin and has never had a problem with her weight - when she quit smoking she gained a few pounds but needed to as she was way too thin before that. After gaining that few pounds she still wears a size 5. I would always think "gosh, she is so lucky that she can eat whaever she wants and doesn't gain weight," but then I actually started to watch her eat and discovered this; she ate basically whatever items she wanted but when I saw the proportions she was eating, it didn't compare to the large proportions I was eating. She would put a spoonful of this and a spoonful of that on her plate, whereas I was putting several spoonfuls of the wrong things on mine. She loves to cook and loves to bake and had a very heavy mother, but whereas she would eat 1 cookie for dessert, I'd eat 6. I am very active and so is she so I don't think she outdoes me on activity, but I can say one thing for sure, I'd eat w-a-a-a-a-y more calories in a day's time than she would because I was eating too much of the wrong things and she could eat little bits of them.

DNR

LivingWater -- I don't really have anything to add to all the great advice here, except to say that we started at the same place and have lost the same amount of weight. I don't know about you, but even if I never lose another pound, I know I'm better off than where I was before!

Keep doing what you're doing. Weigh, but don't worry about the scale. It will move again. I recently had 3 weeks of non-scale movement. The next week I lost 3 pounds, this week 2. And now I'm down another clothing size.

You can't make it all about the scale, or the scale wins. And you don't want that to happen!

I am a little late in posting, but to echo everything else that has been said, the food is not worth it. It was Meg who posted that you have to be willing to "pay the price". (BTW read Meg's story, it is very inspirational). This struck a very strong chord with me. Sure, I can over indulge and give in to my inner toddler and eat what I want when I want it. I also know I will gain the weight. Am I willing to pay the price? No, I am not. I am not willing to go through another year of having sore knees and bad health. No, I am not willing to have the only option of clothes shopping at the Plus Size stores. Will I over indulge sometimes? Yes, I will. I have to be willing to pay the price, if that means excercising my butt off then so be it. You can do this.

Originally Posted by Lifeguard:
I was watching an interview with Michael J. Fox last night & he told this story of god taking a whole group of people & everyone had to throw their "issue" into the middle for everyone to see. Then after a little bit everyone was told to chose the one they wanted & everyone took back their own.

I like this idea that no matter how unfair or terrible things seem we would probably find it preferrable to the "issues" others have if we had the choice. It may not be entirely true but I do think there is some real truth to it.

:cry: This is true. Although, I hate the fact that I will forever have to watch what I eat, at least I know what I have to do in order to deal with it, and it really could be a lot worse.

I feel like such a baby. I'm going to keep this thread and print it. I'll read whenever I feel like :tantrum: .

Another thing, my husband and daughter can eat whatever they'd like. But it's true, they're both high energy/very active and really do only eat when they're hungry. Which for my daughter is all the time, but she does play it off. My son is skinny but doesn't eat at all like my husband and daughter. He eats tiny quanities of food, only when he's hungry. He's also very active. I think he has my metabolism. I am not hungry very often and was able to stay skinny most of my life by eating like a bird (my grandpa used to call it). If I could just get that back into my head!

Thanks again everyone. :hug: to you all. :D