Hi everyone! This is my first post on here, as you can see by my post count...after a night of lurking I figured I would be able to find the support I'd need here.
To make a long story short, I'm a 5'4 college girl who's never been overweight (I don't think my BMI has ever gone above the 22s) yet I can never hold down the weight I feel most comfortable at. I've yo-yoed back and forth ranging from 100 at my tiniest adult weight, to the low 130s, and I'm honestly not sure where I should aim for, though right now the goal is to hit between 110-115 before school starts again in August.
Here's where things get complicated. I eat between 1000-1200 calories a day. I work out every day. I love powerwalking, running, and arm exercises, I know I should work harder on my abs but still I get enough exercise to be consistently losing weight. Yet I am currently stuck at 120, have been for the past three weeks, and don't know what's wrong. The only time I've been able to go below 120/upper 110s has been when I've put myself on extremely restrictive and unhealthy diets, which I don't want to do again. Before you tell me I'm getting too few calories now, remember that: I've only been able to get to my goal weight, which is not an unhealthy one (110-115 at 5'4) through unhealthy methods. And I know that my body is made to maintain a lower weight than my current one, because I am very small-boned and was an extremely skinny child before I hit puberty.
I hate seeing my friends who are at the same height and weight as me lose two or three pounds a week from eating 1500 calories a day and working out every other day, while I eat no more than 1200/day, work out EVERY DAY for at least an hour, and struggle to lose a pound in 2 weeks. Again, I'm not getting too few calories. I
gain weight whenever I eat more than 1400/day. I've never been checked for hypothyroidism/metabolism issues but I think I will ask about this the next time I go to the doctor. I am completely lost and have tried every type of diet (South Beach Diet as well as my own combination of calorie counting and just plain healthy, mindful eating). And I don't eat 1200 calories of junk food a day: I eat things like apples, broccoli, chicken, fat-free yogurt, and the occasional sandwich on low-carb whole-grain bread. I do drink a considerable amount of alcohol when I'm away at school but when I'm at home I mostly stay away from it. Does anyone have any insight? I'm completely lost