So, this is a long one...I had my first child at 23, ended up at an unhealthy 220, didn't really worry about it too much as I didn't feel too badly. 2nd child 2 years later, still the same weight. One day my husband tells me I disgust him...helpful right? So, for about 2 years I'm seriously depressed and feel like nothing can get better, then in 2009 I decided I was done with him and his negativity and horrible stuff he would say. I started running, 20 seconds was all I could go before I'd be gasping, but I was determined and went before or after work every day and did 4 miles of walking and running. I increased my time up to 5 minutes in the first few months before I had to do a recovery. Then came the next issue, he began complaining that I was gone extra time for my running. I had already lost 10 lbs, it was the proverbial straw that broke that poor camel's back. I left him and moved out of state to reassess my life. Within 3 years of the beginning I had lost a total of 60 lbs and kept it off for 2 years.
Cue the bronchitis...the first time it hit it lasted a month, year 2...6 months...year 3 2 months...and just got over another bout of it and my vocal chords and lungs are still recovering...since that started I gained back 50 lbs of my hard won victory.
I've had everything tested, all are normal. I prefer fresh veggies to any other food and eat fried things maybe once a month. I don't drink regular pop, avoid most processed foods and even started adding more lean meats (rabbit is fat free!) and I can't lose anything anymore. I've been adding 3 miles twice a week plus lots of yard work. I'm sure if I had an elliptical at home it would be easier, I belong to Planet Fitness and try to go 2 times a week and I have a gym at work.
the hard part is I work at a call center, the last 20 lbs has been from the steroids I was on to battle the bronchitis. My previous weight loss involved a lot of not eating...I can't do that to myself again, I nearly went bald. I'm so frustrated I don't know what to do. I have a closet full of beautiful clothes that I wore less than 2 years ago!!

Try to exercise 4-5x a week minimum and add in some weight resistance. Running is great but what I learned is after a while your body gets used to it. That's what happened to me. I lost a lot but then it started to come back.

I highly recommend Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred DVD! You can get it at Walmart for around $11 and you will need two 5p hand weights, 3p isn't enough. Keep running but adding in HIIT is very effective. Good luck.

It's hard but you can do it.

You need to measure portions and be precise for a while. I can't tell you how many people think "I eat healthy, I'm still fat, therefore it must be magical and out of my control." They just scoop stuff out of the pot and eat till their plate is clean. You don't have to eat so little you go bald, that sounds terrible - plan out a 1500 calorie diet based on lean meat and produce, supplemented with small amounts of healthy carbs and fat.

Exercise is of course wonderful, but for a lot of people, they just eat back their burned calories and then some. That has to be controlled to lose body fat.

I don't have any weight loss advice, but as the mother of severe asthmatics, I do have some other advice. If your health insurance allows it, get yourself to a pulmonologist - many allergists will have the necessary equipment that you need for a proper diagnosis. I suspect you have asthma. You should not be going on prednisone even once a year. Although it is a life saver, it is also a very potent, body chemistry altering drug. It may be that you need an inhaled steroid (like Flovent). Not that they're the safest things, but if they prevent you from going on an oral steroid, it may be your best route. You may only need it until your lungs heal.

With my kids, my goal is always to lessen or eliminate the inhaled steroids so I have them on alternative therapies as well. Magnesium, vitamin k2 (MK4), and Vitamin D work as anti-inflammatories and have gotten one of my kids off the inhaled steroids completely.

This exactly. If you use a digital scale, weigh everything, and you still get no loss after a while, that's the time to see your doctor to rule things out. I can easily eat at maintenance if I don't weigh my foods.

You may think you're eating healthy and you may well be but you're eating too much healthy food.

You are overeating and your body is storing the excess energy. It doesn't matter the type or health of the food, it's too much.

To practice portion control considering downloading a calorie counter and investing in a food scale! I use Myfitnesspal and a biggest loser scale I got on amazon!

This is definitely me I eat back my calories and then some. I have a portion control plate and I'm going to try and use it starting today. I feel like the only time it would really work would be dinner. because I'll have all 3 of the portions on the plate.

Breakfast is usually coffee and bread
lunch is a big salad with some sort of protein and stuff added
Dinner is the epic portion size where the plate would come in

But the killer is the snacking in between meals. If I could just go one week without snacking between meals that would be a HUGE STEP FOR ME

There is a lot of good mixed advice above!
I'm on board with the priority on what you eat, using a calorie tracker and gradually making changes towards weightloss. Lots of people lose weight without strong exercise, just calorie tracking and walking. Definitely no starving yourself this time!

With chronic lung issues, or being the type who gets colds that stay in the lungs, cardio is always going to be a challenge. Have you considered weight-lifting? Ladies who lift seem to keep their weight off and age really well! It's something I've been giving a lot of thought to trying...

Myfitnesspal.com makes logging all of that easier, and it's free.

For example here is my lunch (the dressing is misleading, it's actually weighed to 28g, which is also their version of 2T so the info matches up).


Just knowing all of the details makes it easy for me to fit in snacks and tweak if I need to (pre-logging rocks). If you like snacks, fit them in!

I have my fitness pal . I was using it for awhile then I slacked off

Just my opinion.

I think, keep a detailed journal, blog, notes on paper whatever, of food and activity, and your meds, life. Take pics of your scale if need be. Just log it all!

Then go see your Dr.

If you cannot get any satisfactory answers from your current Dr. Find a new one.

If possible, work with a nutrition person.

Going bald, something is not right.


Something is missing.

Do not be afraid, to admit what you have been doing is wrong, Figure out, how to do it in a better way!

And insist, that the pros listen! If they do not, find another one!

WE pay for that. Get your moneys worth. If they do not help, FIRE them!