I know how frustrating this is for you! I went through a similar deal (or should I say ordeal). I know drs. (and everybody else) kind of roll their eyes and say "well, if that's all you're eating, and you're exercising that much, you should be losing weight". Gaah, enough to want to scream!

Keep in mind that everyone is different and I am quite a bit older than you so, obviously, not all the same rules are going to apply but what ended up being the problem for me was not so much the number of calories but where those calories were coming from. I was drinking gallons of stuff with artificial sweeteners and 99% of my food was highly processed convenience food. As soon as I ditched the artificial sweeteners and went heavy on the whole foods things turned right around. Again, everyone is different and there are zillions of posts from people who can lose steadily without giving up their Crystal Light and can still have a slice of pizza for lunch now and then, but might be something to think about.

Hang in there, you CAN figure this out!

I thought about that too. I noticed I was drinking a lot of diet coke, putting Splenda in everything from coffee to oatmeal to cottage cheese and I was eating frozen meals for lunch and dinner. So I quit drinking diet coke , cut out 99% of my splenda use, and started making my own lunches and dinners. The dramatic effects...I gained 3 pounds.
Although I noticed that when I stopped drinking diet soda, my sugar cravings decreased, it didn't do much to help my waistline.

I'd be so mad. I sure don't have any answers, just that I sympathize with you. I started really working out this spring and still haven't lost a pound. At first I thought it was because I was turning fat into muscle. Than I decided it must be because I was eating poorly. That's when I started keeping my food diary and realized I eat pretty healthy naturally. I've started really counting calories and keeping it at around 1500 a day, but I also have a doctors appointment for Tuesday. I'm heavy enough that my weight poses real risks, so I figure it's time to bring my doctor into the equation.

At your height and weight, you are within the normal BMI range - near the high end, but that may be due to muscle mass. And clearly, you are able to maintain a high level of activity. It doesn't sound like there is an endocrine problem at work here, unless you're experiencing symptoms you haven't told us about. Gaining 30 lbs. over the course of 2 years is not so extreme as disappointing as it may feel. When I began having thyroid problems my weight could fluctuate by 10 lbs. in a single week.

I agree with the poster that suggested getting a BF analysis. You may simply not have much excess body fat to lose.

You wrote "no matter how much I exercise or how little I eat" you can't lose weight. This doesn't sound like a healthy approach to weight management IMHO. Perhaps it's time to shift the focus to your health for a while? It sounds like you're active and fit and it would be sad if you weren't able to enjoy that.

I hope I don't sound preachy - I apologize if I do!

I understand your frustration I have gained 50 pounds in 4 years and I feel like i have been dieting 95% of the time.... 4 doctors have checked my thyroid and written me off. Have you looked into "estrogen dominance"? I am starting to thinK that is my problem because of my other symtoms.... google it maybe you have the symptoms too?

Hi everyone!!
Thanks again for everyone's support and advice! Right now, my body feels like one big mystery and I'm trying to figure out what is causing me to gain weight when, under normal circumstances, I should be losing at least 1-2 pounds a week.

hmtklein: I've never heard of estrogen dominance...I'll definitely look into it. Thanks!

To answer a few questions and to put a few things into context...I realize that 30 pounds (actually now closer to 35) over the last two years doesn't seem like a lot of weight to gain, but the way I put it on and under the circumstances in which I gained it, it's very suspicious and extremely frustrating. I never gained the weight gradually, it was in "chunks." I would stay at a certain weight for a month or two and no matter how hard I exercised or how well I ate, it would not budge. Then, I would go out to dinner or to a party, overindulge for one night and I'd gain 5 pounds. Now I know what most of you are thinking...that it was just water weight/bloating and that no one could gain 5 pounds in one night, but that's exactly what happened. No matter how much water I drank, exercised, watched my diet, the weight stuck and it stayed stuck until the next time my body decided to gain a "chuck of weight." It just seems that there is NO correlation between my calorie input and output. I can work off a million calories, but the second I eat an extra 500 calories, I put on 5 pounds.
At first I thought I was eating too few calories so I started increasing my calories and decreasing my exercise. For a while, my weight didn't budge, so I slowly kept increasing my calories. Right now, I'm eating about 1600 calories, my RMR is about 1400, I'm working about an hour and half, five days a week...and I'm starting to slowly gain weight...again, the math just isn't working.
To touch on two things 3Beans said about endocrine problems....I actually do have ALL the symptoms of PCOS and an underactive thyroid, but I've had the tests done, and apparently I'm fine. Also my weight does fluctuate by as much as 10 lbs within any given week, but when I say I've gained 35 pounds, I mean the upper end of my "range" has increased by 35 pounds.

Again, thanks for listening and thanks for all the support!!

My aunt had that same problem. She started out something simple like counting calories at 1300 calories a day with a little exercise and kept switching things around. Up the calories, down calories, more exercise, etc. Her weight never budged (She's about 5'-6" and 190 lbs) I don't know if it would help you or not, but here is what she did.

8 Day cleanse/fast- lost 6 pounds ( I think it was the lemonade diet) then
Started eating unprocessed foods and watching her calories then lost another 20+ lbs.

It's hard for me to understand, but it's kind of like it reset her system. I didn't have that same problem when I started eating right, but no matter what she tried her body wouldn't budge previously, and this helped.

I agree that it could be the foods you are eating. In general you may want to cut out all artificial sweetners (as I posted somewhere else diet soda has been known to increase weight gain) because of their effect on the pancreas, eat only whole foods (meaning unprocessed or less processed), and stick to foods that have a low Glycemic Index. Oatmeal, although healthy fiber wise, converts to sugar incredibly quickly and can really do a number on your insulin.

Perhaps look at some of the more protein and *whole* -based food diet guidelines. I suggest Dr. Weil and Dr. Perricone...amazing stuff!

GOOD LUCK!

hmm, lemonade diet...i've never heard of it. does anyone know what it consists of?