Hi,
I am so tired of doing exercise and dieting--only to weigh more than I ever have in my life!
I am on the border between "normal" and "overweight", but I am extremely frustrated at my body. It is as if it is just trying to keep the fat on.
I haven't been completely sticking to my diet, but you would think that what I do would count a little? My body doesn't seem to think so. Grrr. I've been trying to lose weight for three years, but I only manage to gain it.

Because I only need to lose around 25 lbs, it takes so long and there is so little room for error (the amount of calories I need is already low--and that doesn't always work with the foods I want to eat.)

My biggest problem is the evening--I tend to have a few drinks with my husband, and then I eat more than usual. Sure, I only eat around 500 cal in the day, to make room for a big dinner--but somehow I end up staying the same weight. (or gaining more.)
But, I have to find a way to make all my efforts pay off, and to make sure my body listens! It sure can be frustrating!
I look forward to seeing how this forum works, and I think it is a great idea, especially since some of us have little or no actual support group.
Thanks

Maybe you're not eating enough? 500 calories in the day is really low. About how many calories is your dinner? And what exactly are you eating? Also, alcohol is full of empty calories. Lots of people have cut back on drinking or stopped completely just because of it. You could try swapping out some late-night-snacking with healthier, low calorie foods, if you work it into your calorie limit. I was always afraid eating late at night or eating before bed would backfire on me, and unless I ate something like bread or meat, or something very salty, it rarely did.

A friend of mine was similar to you- only when she cut out the nightly drinks did she start to lose weight.

I'd eat more during the day so you don't eat as much at night as well.

Good luck.

Eating more at night has been proven as a reason why a lot of people gain weight. So coupling that with your low cals in the daytime is why you're not losing anything, I think. I'm not a pro! Just trying to help...

We should "breakfast like Kings" according to some tv show I saw. So your bulk of calories would be best early in the morning. Have a light lunch and try to steer clear of the evening drinks (maybe have the odd one?) and a light evening meal. You shouldn't be eating any later than 3 hours before you go to bed...

I was feeling very similar to you last summer. I went on a diet during the spring and took my weight down to 9 stone through not eating carbs, then during my summer exams I ate mostly carbs to keep me going and by the beginning of summer I weighed 11 stone, which is more than I have ever weighed in my life.

Over the summer I resolved to get more exercise so each day I was doing more than hours walk everyday and when I was coming home in the evening I was having a big meal with dessert so although I didn't put on anymore weight I wasn't losing weight either, I was just staying the same old dumpy person despite putting effort in.

I tried to convince myself that it wasn't that bad even though I was really unhappy with myself to the point where I refused to let people take pictures of me. There are people who would kill to fit into a UK size 10 afterall. I kept making excuses like, "Oh I have big boobs, they've got to be adding at least a stone to my overall weight.

I finally checked my BMI and found that I was overweight for my height, panicked, cried, hated myself and finally ditched large portions, the dessert and sweet treats but kept the exercise (actually I took up running instead of walking.) and it's only now that I've started to lose weight.

Before I did all of that I just felt like it was actually impossible to lose weight and that I was stuck with a stomach that is shaped like a 'B' and massive thighs that rubbed together so much when I walked that I wore my leggings out in that area like it was just my genetics and there was absolutely nothing I could do to change. Is that similar to the way you feel?

I heard a lot of good advice from all your posts.
I worry about eating a lot in the daytime, because I know I tend to eat a lot at night. But I should just stop consuming so much at night.
I agree that I have to watch the wine, because not only is it packed with empty calories, but it also makes me more likely to eat for pleasure (or compulsion.) Plus, it causes me to retain water--which makes me freak out in the morning, when I see the scale!
Plus, I think I have a slow-ish metabolism, and that I only really need about 1700 calories a day to keep my weight, without exercise (there are so many different calorie calculators, but this is about what I consume usually, so this is how I know) Also, I tend to gain in my mid-section, and I have family history of diabetes, which suggests to me that I might have some insulin resistance.
I stuck to a diet of 1200-1400 per day, for two weeks, but when I weighed in and had lost almost nothing (about 1 lb in two weeks), I got discouraged because I am impatient.
I think I need to start exercising more, like belmagick said she did. That way my diet won't have to be extremely restrictive, and I can deduct the calories burned from my food intake. And I'll just have to be patient.
I'll have to find something to do in the evening, to avoid eating and drinking with my husband (he looooves to eat sausages, fatty pork, and loads of carbs, and sweets--and to drink sweet wines and beer.) His favorite snack (after dinner snack) is bites of bread, alternated with spoons of mayonnaise!

I have recently started mixing my wine, half and half, with Hanson's natural diet soda or water, and measuring it in a measuring glass.

I love all the diet tracker images on people's signatures. I am going to have to figure out how to get one--and make it move the right way!

Belmagick, that is how I feel. I almost want to write a letter of appeal to my body, it should at-least drop a pound for all the trouble and planning I've gone through! But--it's time to change before I actually give up.

Thanks everyone for your input--very sound advice and observation!

My mom stopped drinking almost a year ago. Lost 40 pounds and wondered why! At first I was worried because she didn't know why she was losing so much weight without having changed her diet. At the time I didn't know that she had stopped drinking. We were talking one night when I was at her house and discovered that she had stopped drinking. That's when I said "You're a dork ma, that's why you've lost all that weight without trying!" She's still losing!

I had to do the same thing. Cut out the drinks except for a couple times month and even then I'm wary for the exact reasons you are because that often leads to just plopping whatever in my mouth. Vodka and broccoli? Nah Vodka and chips and salsa? Absolutamente!