I'm at my wits end!
 

Ok, so here is a little backstory so I can catch everybody up on what is going on.

I am 21 years old. All my life I was skinny, and very in shape. I cheerleaded, did gymnastics, etc. I never had to work out, never had to watch what I eat, nothing.

When I was about 17, I started noticing that I was gaining weight. I was buying new clothes and just coughed it up as I was shopping from new stores (which I was) and maybe the sizing was different there.

So, I noticed that it wasn't it, so I decided to start working out and eating healthy which was the only thing I could think to do. I lost about 10-15 pounds and was fine. I then all of a sudden ballooned (and when I say all of a sudden I am literally saying within a month) I gained about 40 pounds. I wasn't eating junk, I was watching what I was eating, everything. The heaviest I have been is 165. Now, since this has happend, my self esteem is non-existant, I'm really insecure and I don't go a day without crying.

I joined a new gym in May (may 1st to be exact) and was very determined. I went Monday-Tuesday-Thursday-Friday and would sometimes work out on the weekend if I wasn't busy or working. I worked my *** off. I would stay at the gym for 2-3 hours sometimes. Doing cardio, weights, crunches, everything. I cut SO much crap out of my diet, and was REALLY determined to lose weight this time (when I say this time it's because I would always try and then give up like a month later if I wasn't dropping pounds) but this time I stuck with it. Cut to now (August) and I have not lost 1 pound. I have worked my *** off and nothing. My legs got toned, that's about it. It's been 3 months and I haven't even lost a pound. I just don't know what else to do anymore. I was doing the ellyptical for 30-45 minutes depending on what time I got to the gym and the treadmill for an hour religiously everyday. I just don't know what else to do anymore. This has been an uphill battle for 4 years and I just don't know what to do anymore. Its killing my relationship with my boyfriend of 5 years, it's killing the fun I am supposed to be having since I'm young. Just for an example the other day we went shopping for an outfit for me because we were going out for his cousins bday and we went to 2 malls and a Target and I couldn't find ANYTHING that fit me. I sat in the dressing room and cried for 20 minutes because I just don't know what else to do. My mom said I could have a thyroid problem and I should get tested, but I don't want to spend all this money on tests just for them to turn around and say "your thyroid is fine and there is nothing wrong with you". My mom/dad/and boyfriend see that I'm busting my *** day in and day out and haven't eaten anything unhealthy and am basically working myself to the bone to lose weight and how nothing is happening.

My boyfriend is like well you looked a little bit toned and clothes were fitting that weren't but I wasn't losing any weight and I didn't look/feel any different. And the thing that kills me is he had to drop weight for the army and he worked out for a month (YES a month) and dropped 20 pounds and the first thing out of his families mouth when they saw him was "wow Dan, you look so great, have you been working out, you look so much slimmer" blah blah blah. And here I am working out for 3 months and nothing, and my friends and family have seen me since then and not once has anyone said, "O Jaim, have you been working out? You look good" or anything along those lines.

Like I said, I am at my WITS end and I just don't know what to do anymore. I don't know if I want to keep working out and busting my butt for so long at the gym to see no results. Or eat all this healthy food and watch what I eat and cut all these things out of my diet that I love just to see no results. I know I shouldn't give up but I hate the fact that I've tried and tried and tried for all these years and NOTHING is working. I just don't know what to do anymore and I need help!! What should I do if anything? Should I go get tested for my thyroid? Should I stop doing so much cardio? Should I eat anything differently? I've tried every diet, every diet pill, and I go online once a day and try to find new cardio workouts to do. I've talked to at least 15 personal trainers and they all tell me the same thing, do cardio and watch what you eat. I just need advice because this is killing me. I've been giving myself deadlines for things and the last deadline I have before I give up is the weekend of September 25-26. That's me and my boyfriends 5th yr anniversary and we are going away. And I told him I want to be in a little better shape so I actually have FUN and not worry about my weight and how I look the whole time. We went away 3 years ago, and while I had fun, I was constantly worrying about my weight. We've done so many things over the years that I would love to look back on, but can't because I HATE taking pictures. I have no pictures of anything fun we did because I avoid them at all costs :( I feel so bad for him but I can't help it. I know I'm probably talking in circles and this is probably MEGA long but to whoeever read this, thank you. And hopefully someone out there has some advice for me.

It's really not normal to gain that much weight at once, and while gaining muscle as you lose fat can make the scale not change much, I would think you would have seen at least a little change. Did your measurements change any? Because if they have, who cares wht the scale says. Otherwise, I think it would be worth having your thyroid tested.

Gaining 40 pounds in a month? Thats scary.. have you gone to a doctor? could be your hormones.. My mom had thyroid problems and she ballooned!!

I agree. Have your thyroid tested.

I know I'm just echoing the others, but I think it's important that you go see a doctor to get checked out. It sounds like something is wrong.

No. I thought maybe my chest was getting smaller (I used to be a full C, and now I'm a 38DD) but when I went to go try on bras it was the same size. I measured everything and nothing had changed. The only difference I saw was my legs got toned slightly but that's it. Everything else stayed the same.

Make an appointment to see a doctor. In the meantime, keep a detailed food diary and exercise log.

I was smart enough to start that when I started going to the gym in May, so I have a detailed book of every excercise I have done, things I have eaten/drank and everything like that, so hopefully that will help with something.

When she got tested, what kind of medication did they put her on? I don't mean to pry, but my boyfriend's brother had a thyroid problem and they gave him this "gel" that he had to rub on his tummy. Did she loose any weight after going on medication, if she did?

I have had a thyroid issue and have since I was super young. A couple of years ago I got all screwed up and pretty much quit taking my meds. It was awful on my body.. as soon as I'm back on it, my whole body changes and the weight starts dropping. I'm on Synthroid for it.

Definitely get checked, there has to be an issue keeping you from losing. Not to get too personal, but how has your monthly cycle been, as far as regularity?

I went on BC a little bit after I started gaining weight, and then went off of it because I switched jobs and lost my insurance and couldn't pay for it. I thought that I would drop some weight after I went off of it but no. My cycle took like 2 months to get back to normal but for the past couple years it's been as normal as it can be. Nothing has really changed with that.

Hmm, well that's good.. when I'm not taking my meds properly my cycle pretty much stops. Everyone is different though.

I would be a little concerned if I were you. I mean, to have that kind of discipline and not lose anything.. your body must be trying to tell you something.

I'm going to go with everyone els here and say seeing a doctor sounds like the best thing you can do. I admire your willpower by the way. I need to work out WAY more.

I can relate to you celigirl. I went from 125 to 154 in a month about 4 years ago and have been struggling to lose it. I can never seem to go down past 140 no matter how much I work out or how little I eat. I have finally decided to see an endocrinologist next week.

I agree about seeing a doctor. Your health, well being, and self esteem are worth the cost.

Another thing I just want to mention is that exercise is really only a small portion of the weight loss equation. People throw around different numbers, and it's all speculative, but lets say about 80% is what you put in your mouth, 20% is the calories you burn off. I know you said you kept a food journal and cut junk food out, but it really is easy to gain weight eating healthy foods. Trust me, that's how I got to 255 pounds. It's all about portions. I definitely don't want this to come out accusatory, and I apologize if you've already mentioned this, but how do you judge how much you are eating. Are you weighing/measuring at all? Eyeballing? It would be terrible if you were accidentally sabotaging your weight loss efforts because of portion underestimating.

Still though, gaining 40 pounds in the span of a month means eating an extra 4,666 calories/day above your maintenance level calories, so it seems there may be something else at play here.

Don't get discouraged. All of that working out has surely not been for nothing. You are definitely much stronger and healthier, and apparently more toned now.

I hope you do go to a doctor for some tests, and perhaps start tracking portions just to see where you are with calorie intake. Good luck!! :)

I would spend the money on the test to be safe, because if you don't it could be costing you a lot more in the future. If it comes back as okay, I would not shrug my shoulders and say 'oh well'..because like most others have said, it sounds to me like your body has something out of whack..maybe other hormones, as someone mentioned. And also, personal trainers are not doctors. They will tell you the same thing about it because that's what they specialize in, fitness and losing weight, not personal health. I also commend you on your effort, job well done there for sure!

haha.. Coincidentally, I just saw this article on CNN on called "4 suprising reasons why women can't lose weight". I can't post the full link because I have less than 25 posts.

cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/08/11/reasons.cant.lose.weight/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Interesting article nina!

Do you think it's possible to repair your thyroid/metabolism after a really strct crash diet? I did an intense one for 5 weeks and then stopped it cold turkey and went back to my bad ways. It caused me to lose my period for 3 months. Obviously my body was/is out of wack from it but is it possible to get my thryoid/metabolism back to where it was before I did the crazy diet?

Now that I see my post, that didn't come out exactly how I meant for it too. I meant that I'd suggest you talk to your doctor about your lack of weight loss if your measurements hadn't changed but yeah I would go see one either way to have your thyroid tested, because as we'll all said, 40lbs in a month is crazy.

Def. make an appointment ASAP. And let us know how it goes. I'm curious to see what he/she has to say.

Let me know how that goes and what they say! And good luck.

Ya, I wouldn't be eating 4,666 extra calories TRUST ME haha. I have a mini scale that I weighed all my food on and I looked up what portions were what and made sure everything was perfect. I measured everything out from cereal to milk. Like I was really adamant about making sure I didn't go over anything. I know it hasn't been for nothing, but it's discouraging when you try so hard and you don't know why you aren't losing weight.

I will. I am looking up doctors for the next few days and calling around and I'll be making an appointment as soon as possible. Hopefully some good news come out of it and I can figure out what's wrong.

I also forgot to add that I am always exhausted. I can sleep for 12 hours and wake up and I'll be tired within a couple hours. I read the symptoms of thyroid issues and that was one of them but do you think besides that it could be anything else? Tired, weight gain, anything? I tried looking around at work yesterday on my phone but I can only do so much haha.

Those are symptoms of depression. Obviously you would have other symptoms along with those though. I don't think you would gain so much so fast with depression though, unless you were on a specific medication. Maybe this is just the Social Worker coming out in me lol.

Celi,

All of that sounds like you have a damaged thyroid. I would def. get it checked out. Depression and fatigue are two of the signs of a damaged thyroid..

Definitely go to a doctor, like others have said. That is not normal, and there's very likely some sort of medical reason for it.

Good luck getting it figured out! I can sympathize with the frustration you're feeling.

That was a good article Nina!

For me the issue was gluten, I cut that out in April. It was nice to see it mentioned in the article.

I shot up 20 pounds within a month, then shot up another 20 pounds within another month, then slowly climbed up ANOTHER 20 pounds in another period of time. I used to weigh under 130 pounds and I went to 194.

I had my thyroid tested and that wasn't the issue for me, but then a friend of mine was diagnosed as a Celiac and was cutting out gluten and doing much better. He had similar health issues as mine. Cutting gluten was the best help for me, as well as eating better and working out.

I hope you find your answer soon!

Thanks guys. I should have an appointment soon, I just have to wait for my dads insurance to kick in since he just switched it. Hopefully it's soon because I really cannot continue living like this. It's killing me!! I'm still going to work out everyday and try not to give up so we'll see where it takes me.

Celigirl,

Just wanted to check in. Did you manage to make it to a doctor?

I went to an endocrinologist and got diagnosed with an enlarged thyroid. He has ordered a whole battery of tests for me to measure my TSH levels before prescribing any medications.

What does your diet look like? Give us a day example... also... you are 21. How often do you drink alcohol?

I would go to the Doc regardless... I am sorry you are having such a hard time. :hug:

Jumping in here and I have to agree, it really does sound like a thyroid issue, don't give up!

My mom has a thyroid issue that she developed after my brother was born. I would definitely go visit your doctor as she has trouble losing weight as well.