[Titanic18]

hi everybody
im Sophia, im 19 (soon to be 20) from England.
I'm becoming really quite concerned about my weight, ive never been super skinny so its not really that, but that my weight seems to be climbing without any real cause. I've been suspected of having thyroid issues in the past but all tests always came back negative, they said i had a very large thyroid but there was nothing actually wrong with it.
i spoke to a doctor today and he said to book an appointment at the beginning of my next menstrual cycle for blood tests. But that wont be for another month or so ( i have long cycles)
over the last year ive put on 2 st (28lbs) i wasnt exactly light before and i can say that probably 9lbs or so of that i know why i put it on, but the rest im not sure.
To give you some background about me without things getting too deep, my family was extremely abusive towards me, and it has caused me a lot of issues, i finally got away from them when i was 18 and i now have no contact with them.
Soon after leaving, i started drinking heavily, and i also started to starve myself but it didnt do anything because of the drinking.
i have now been completely sober for 6 months, and in that 6 month have tried to develop a better relationship with myself and my body.i started eating healthier and more nutricious foods. i began swimming, and i go crazy dancing to my shakira playlist for half an hour if its too cold or icy to go outside, i also have a punch bag and gloves.
I know im not the healthiest person, but my weight certainly shouldnt be getting any worse, even if it stayed the same.

i was beginning to feel grown and sexy and like i was really improving my self esteem. But then i started to notice stretch marks, and i weighed myself, only to discover i was now 196lbs ! When i told my fiance he just said "well, its in all the right places", but now my self esteem has fallen from the sky. all over a number.

the thing is, i dont "look" 196lbs and i think its to do with my shape.
A year ago, my measurements were 28" waist 39" hips, i know thats rare to have that difference. Now im 36" waist and 43" hips. Basically, i look like im giving Kim kardashian a run for her money even though all i did was eat yesterday...

i tend to go on body fat percentage rather than BMI cause i read somewhere BMI is unreliable. my body fat percentage now is supposedly 27% . i feel horrible and disgusting right now, but equally im scared to actively start trying to lose weight in case i wanna lose too much. ( when i starved myself before i wanted to be 112lbs.)

Sorry for the depressing info, am i in the right place?

[stronggal]

Hi Sophia,
Yes, you are at the right place. Just making sure about the body fat percentage, is it really 27%? Or your weight, is it really 196 pounds? Unless you are some kind of ultra jacked body builder, at 5'4 and 27% body fat, you should weight around 150 pounds. I remember when I was around 27%, I was 147 pounds.

You should be lucky to have a boyfriend who likes you for who you are. I am sorry about your family, I hope your issues get solved soon, and you see your doctor, and get things straightened out. Congrats on being sober for so long. I hope your doctor exams come back fine. If you need anything, feel free to message me, or post on this forum. Best wishes to you.

[wefrogy]

hello and welcome! You have made a great start by joining the forum I am sure you will find motivation and tips here to help you along the way. Best wishes to you

[Titanic18]

thank you both i went back and used a more thorough body fat percentage thing and it came back at 39% which seems to be correct.
Not good but at least i know where i stand.

[Esofia]

Congratulations on getting away from the abuse and giving up alcohol. That's huge!

You mentioned that you're eating more nutritious foods. Could you run through what you typically eat? One of the things that made me put on weight is that people say things like "have a handful of almonds before bed to help you sleep", and I had no idea how nutrient-dense they were until I started calorie counting. Turns out that they're pretty high in calories. They're good things, but a little goes a long way. So it's possible to eat healthily in a way that looks fine, but is actually enough calories for you to put on weight. If that's what's happening, the good news is that it's not too hard to fix, you just need to learn more about nutrition and log what you eat. Have you tried putting a day's typical food into a calorie counter to see what you seem to be taking in?

Also hi, I'm in Scotland!