Hi Everyone! I'm new and I would love advice and support

  • Hi! I'm new and I decided to join because I can't go on living this way anymore. I have come to a point where I am ashamed of who I am and how much weight I have gained (I gained 60 pounds over a year and a half) and I hate not being able to fit into my clothes.

    For a while I weighed 230lbs and was a size 18, and yes I was overweight but I felt comfortable and I wasn't really out of shape. I didn't hate myself back then.

    However, once I started going to college I started dating my current boyfriend and things were going great. I lost 30lbs and went down to 200lbs and a size 16 without trying at all, but some days I didn't eat and I wasn't starving myself, I was just extremely busy with college, family, friends, my boyfriend, work, ect. I was so happy and I looked skinny (even though it doesn't seem that skinny).

    Then I dropped out of college and I wasn't quite as busy and I gained the weight back over about 6-8 months. I just started eating normal again and it came back.

    Now I'm very unhappy because I'm unemployed and searching very hard for work, but I can't get a job. I graduated college and it's been over 2 year since I lost that weight. I now weigh 290lbs and it is a vicious cycle because I think my hormones, mood, and stress effect my weight a lot. I get 30 minutes of exercise AT LEAST 3-4 times a week and I've been really trying a strict diet. I do cheat sometimes but nothing that would make me keep gaining weight! I know in the past I had my thyroid tested and there was nothing wrong with it, so I can only think that now I have an incredibly slow metabolism due to my previous weight loss.

    The thing that gets me the most is that when I was losing that weight I ate whatever I wanted! I even ate frosting right out of the can because I used to love sweets! I didn't eat that much but some days I ate a lot of calories and ate other things like kraft mac and cheese and white pasta all the time.

    Now I eat tons of vegetables, exercise, drink tons and tons of water, and REALLY watch my calories. I just don't why I'm not losing weight, I'm not eating more than 1500 calories a day. If anything I still seem to be gaining weight!

    This is just making me so depressed and I could really use support. I'm too ashamed to reach out to my friends and family and I hate going out anymore because I feel so badly about myself.

    Thanks
  • Hey Hun,

    So first, your body is probably holding onto everything you're eating because you're not getting enough calories! At 290, a 2,000 calorie diet is plenty to lose weight. If you think about it, you're eating 1,500 and then burning maybe 500 so your body is going into starvation mode. We need at least 1,200 calories to survive a day. And us bigger girls need even more. Trust me, up your calories and you'll start shedding pounds.

    Also up your water intake. You should be drinking half your weight in ounces. Get some Propel water flavor packets to make it easier. I can't tell you how much it's helped me start feeling better and shedding pounds. I was in your situation over the summer. Worked out like crazy all summer and ate nothing but salads and stir fry and didn't lose a pound. My thighs actually got bigger because I was gaining muscle! But once I started eating more (including what I wanted), but in smaller portions, and drinking plenty of water, I feel much better and the weight has started to come off. I've lost 3 pounds in 11 days. It may not seem like a lot, but it's great for me because I also work out a lot and tend to gain muscle quickly.

    Eat what you want, but eat it in small portions and focus less on the pounds and more on developing good eating habits. Like eating whole grains, lean meats, etc. I would try and stay away from sugar or find substitutes. If you order a meal, eat half then and the rest 2-3 hours later. More frequent and smaller meals are better than spaced out large meals. Plus once you start drinking the water, you'll feel hungry more frequently. Just don't overdo it...listen to your body when it says it's full.
  • About a year 1/2 ago I walked into my doctors office and she said that I had lost 10 pounds. I haven't lost any weight ever since I gained the weight 15 years ago. I hadn't changed anything. I was eating the same and wasn't exercising. And somehow I had suddenly lost 10 pounds. Weight is sometimes weird that way. And then a week later from my blood test, from that day, I was delivered the news that I have diabetes. Go figure. Diabetes and I lost 10 pounds. Now over the past year I had gained it back and then some. Still don't know what the magic bullet was last year.

    But now I'm really working on my weight and it's happening a lot slower. But I find that I am feeling better now that I've introduced exercise and a better diet. I have to do low carb because of the diabetes. I hate the exercise while I'm doing it and immediately after. But I don't feel as foggy for the rest of the day. I also think that you can't stare at the scale. I work with a trainer and over 10 sessions once a week I had gained 2 pounds but lost 5 inches over my whole body. Again, strange how the body reacts to things somethings.

    I think stronger4me has some good concrete suggestions. All that I can really say is to keep at it. Try not to get discouraged. I have that issue too and I'm really hoping that I can push through that this time. Eventually it'll happen. It just sucks when you can't figure out why it happened in the past and not now.

    Good Luck!
  • You came here, which is a great first step.

    Post some sample menu's (2 or 3 days worth). Include EVERYTHING. Many here can help you once they see exactly what you're eating.

    How did you come to your daily calorie limit? There are many online trackers that can help with your initial start. Everyone is different, so your starting number may be different than someone else of the same height and weight. 1500 may be too low.
  • Well this is a great site for support so you came to the right place

    I agree you might be not eating enough. It sounds crazy lol I am an inch shorter then u and weigh less and with that same amount of exercise almost it has me at like almost 1550.

    Maybe up the calories to 1600 and see if it triggers anything? & make doubly sure not to guesstimate calories or round or eyeball because it is so easy to get stuff wrong and then be way off.

    What kindof strict diet are you doing?

    Maybe just need to try something else. No worries you can do it!