I know this is sort of cliché, but I’ve been feeling pretty bad about being chubby. I find it unfair a shitload of girls eat twice as more and still manage to remain thin (I know the whole metabolism talk, btw) I started getting chubby at the age of 8 or so. My eating habits are honestly quite healthy, and have pretty much always been. (‘pretty much’, because I used to have eating attacks once in a while, lets say every 2 weeks, because of stress and sorrow, but apart from those, I’ve always eaten healthily. Those were almost a year ago.)

I haven't stopped this "diet" (it’s not a diet, I basically just limit myself to a certain amount of calories, meaning I am not deprived of any food items) I've been on for a few months now. I gained weight, after having lost some. I’d lost about 4kg/9 lbs before gaining more than half of it back. Since the day I gained those 2.5 kg/5.5 lbs back, it’s always very constant. No weight change. I eat about 1300 calories a day (which is not much, but enough) and still managed to gain weight. I go swimming once a week, go for a long walk often, do excercises at home, and it just won't go away. You cannot NOT lose weight whilst eating that amount of calories and practising sport daily.

I'm nearly crying because not giving up is hard in this case. I just wish I knew why it won't work out for me. But I'm not giving up. I want to reach my goal, lose a few more pounds.

However, I know that when you practise sport, your fat changes into muscles and so, but, as far as I know, that is only when you do big amounts of sport. I do enough on a daily basis; I don’t overdo it. So I can’t have gained weight because of muscles. And I would know if I had lol. I also know that a healthy way of losing weight takes a lot of time, I’m very aware of that. But after months having passed by, I’m going crazy. The thing is, I wouldn’t have been so bothered if it hadn’t been for me not noticing any changes in my clothes. I just haven’t lost any weight. Well I have, I could feel it in my clothes when I had lost a few pounds, but it's all back now.

I drink enough, I eat enough and I practise enough, so...my question to you is:

What could be the reason, health related or not, for me gaining/not losing any weight? Could there be something wrong with my body?

I had (a) pneumonia last year in July, and I know that’s damaged my breathing system and lungs a lot. This also being the reason I was unable to do sport for a fairly long time (a long time ago, though). I have anaemia, this being the second reason practising sport is still a bit hard for me, but I can do it either way. It’s just taken a lot of pain and effort for me to slowly build up my condition again. It’s still not great, but good enough for me to do sport on a daily basis, like I’ve said before. Then there’s my heart, it goes way too fast sometimes (150 per minute) but that only occurs once in a while. So...this is all I know of, that is “wrong” with my body. Could it be related to any of this?

Btw, please don’t come with ‘you’ve got to learn to accept your body the way it is’ talk. I accept my body, that doesn’t mean I can’t improve it. And my doctor has told me losing a few pounds wouldn’t hurt heh. (I currently weigh 76 kg/ 167 lbs whilst being 5’9” tall. I don’t look huge seeing as I’m quite tall, but yeah, I’m pretty chubby).


Any appropriate advice will be appreciated. Thank you in advance for reading this novel. It's quite a long post because I've been bothered by this for quite a long time. I rather ask you first before going to the doctor.

Okay, fat does not turn to muscle. But on that note muscle weighs more than fat and what you want is lean muscle mass not fat. The "only" way as far as I'm concerned to maintain a lo-fat percentage is through exercise, who woulda thunk? Weight training can add lean muscle mass and allow you to consume more calories, in other words eat more to feed the muscles. Have a "professional" at a health club or your doctor get you on a good exercise regime that includes weight training - this is especially important for women as we age because it increases bone density and reduces the risk of bone related issues.

I was a semi pro ice hockey player and a swimmer through college so I have had lots of experience in training.

I had this exact same problem. I went to the gym everyday to maybe walk on the tredmill or do ellipticals. However, I also gained weight. I tried so hard to lose it and all my friends just sit around and eat a lot. They all eat very late at night: midnight or later. I know that is bad, so I didn't as much as they did and they are all twigs.

About a month or so ago, I was getting desperate trying to think of the best way to lose it. I called Jenny Craig (I know, eyeroll) and it turns out they charge about $4500 a MONTH. CRAZYNESS.

I also was trying a diet my mom recommended to me: it was based off a 1200-1300 calorie a day diet like you. It didn't really help. I didn't really follow it that much. Well, I did the first few days, actually trying to maintain colories.

Breakfast:300 calories
Lunch:400 calories
Dinner:500 calories and if I had a big craving I was allowed a 100 calorie snack once a day.

That didn't help, I mean, I don't think it was very healthy anyway. The normal person is supposed to eat 2000 daily, depended on your BMI (body mass index) which mine is very close to 2000.

My choir director lost a whole bunch of weight because she said that before she never ate. She never had time too. When you don't eat, your metabolism slows down and changes.

I was going to try getting up early in the mornings, having a good breakfast (which is what you are supposed to do and everyone says it helps you lost weight) Eat lunch, snack a little. Eat dinner and don't eat after 8 or 9 pm.

And of course, excersise daily. I have been slipping a little with that. oops.

Anyway, I hope this helps somewhat. I don't know of any valuable advice I have offered you, but I wish you luck!

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Lacrymosa dies illa, qua resurget ex favilla judi candus homo rues. Huis ergo parce Deus, pie Jesu Domine! Dona eis requiem. Amen!

I am in the same boat, except I'm thicker than you. I know how you're feeling. Have you been tested for thyroid problems? If I were you I'd talk to your doctor about that. It could be that you do have problems losing weight due to something you can't control, and there's a wide variety of tests doctors generally do for people who have trouble losing weight.

Ultimately, there's no advice that I can give you aside from 'eat healthy' or 'exercise'. But you've heard that a million times, right? (We all have!) But if you're trying and not succeeding, then there's obviously something else going on that you don't know about. Maybe you could try a different diet to see if it works? I think your doctor will be key in helping you choose one that's right for you.

I'm sorry I'm not much help, but at least I can say that I know how you feel. Good luck with it.

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-fka Cathryn-

Don't restrict your calorie intake, it doesn't work. I know, i did it for years, i ate no more than 500 calories a day, sometimes a week. And i'm back to where i started. not complaining, i kinda like me now !!!!! basically if you want to lose weight you should take off 500 calories from your overall daily intake which at your age should be from 2000 calories to 1500. Also you should never miss a meal, 3 solid, healthy, balanced meals a day. Exercise won't automatically gain you muscle over the fat you say you have, although looking at your stats i'd say you're great the way you are. Do exercise because it is great for you, it helps sped up you metabolism, gives you a glow in your skin and burns calories which ultimately will help you lose weight. Don't fall for the faddy diets. if your doctor reckons it's a good idea for you to lose some weight, why don't you ask if he/ she can organise a meeting with a nutitionist or someone simular. PM me if you want to talk, i hope this helps. xox

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my stuff- http://evboard.com/showthread.php?t=29402

That's what I meant, yes. Thank you, I'll definitely keep the health club thing in mind.

I'm actually pretty sure it is. I mean, I eat that amount of calories and don't really feel like I need to eat more. I'm just not hungry for more at the end of the day. If you eat really healthily and make vegetables and such the main part of your meals, it's not hard to limit yourself to 1300 whilst still being healthy. Also, I told my psyhochologist about this, she asked some dietician whether 1300 is enough, and she said yes. I've done my research, no worries, I'm eating enough .

I knew the things you said, but that's okay. I'm glad people are helping by even reading this . And thank you, I'll need it =).

Ah right, I know there used to be something wrong with them and there still is. They actually hurt a lot, but not constantly. Damn I'd totally forgotten about that! Omg thanks I'm kind of shy about going to the doctor, but hey. If this really could be the/a cause, I'll definitely have to.

I just looked up the symptoms of Hypothyroidism, and they totally match. (Extreme fatigue, hair loss, difficulty to lose weight/weight gain, etc) That + the fact they used to hurt a lot...big chance it's my case. I think I may have had it before, well I remember something similar..maybe it just hasn't cured at all.

Lol well don't want to sound mean or anything, but I don't think you can really compare what used to be your case to mine 500 is indeed awfully low. 1300 is healthy. And btw, it's not like I eat literally 1300 calories a day. If it gets to 1400 or 1500, it's all fine with me. 1300, to me, is more of a rough idea of how much I should eat a day.

Lol nah definitely not going for those weird diets. I've been there before. Which is why I rather do this, keep an eye an the amount of calories I eat. I'm slowly letting it go, because I'm progressively becoming aware of how good/bad food items are (have always been pretty much, but there's always some food items you'd never thought of that they would contain that many calories) And it lets me eat whatever I want (doesn't mean I'm eating chocolate or candy everyday or so=p) but in reasonable amounts. I'm not a candy/chocolate/all that kind of person anyway.


And yes, I could go see a dietician or so, but the problem is that I/my family can't afford it and I estimate myself clever enough to be able to have a good daily diet, and to know what that consists of.

I've two things to say:

1. Talk to your doctor. Most doctors can work specifically with their patients to configure some kind of weight loss regime that works for you and they are capable of targeting why you may have a problem losing weight. Doctor's are the best; my doc is also a psychiatrist and an eating disorder specialist... she's the healthiest person I know, and she knows exactly how to help someone get the body and attitude they want. And chances are if your particular doctor doesn't have specific answers, they know another doctor that does.

2. The key to weight loss is burning more calories than you intake. That's no secret. You have to make sure that when you exercise and all of that you are actually burning more than the 1300 calories you're consuming every day. The web is a doll, research what kinds of activities help you burn how many calories... that may also help.

Beyond that, I've got nothing. Hope it helped.

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I don't know if this will help, but I read a health article once that if you eat too much before bedtime, that won't help weightloss very much at all. I read that you should eat the heaviest meal in the morning- for breakfast. Then have a "light" lunch- like a sandwich or salad or something. And for dinner, don't eat too heavily, and don't stuff yourself. Eat until you are nicely satisfied. And food shouldn't be eaten one or so hours before going to bed. That's what it said. This actually makes sense, because, if you fill yourself in the morning, you have more calories that you can burn during the day- and lunch and dinner are only really meant to tide you over until bedtime. If you eat before sleeping, your body doesn't digest the food as well, and so it stores it as fat.

So if you have a 300, 400, and 500 calorie meal, you should eat it in order from largest calories to least, or at least eat the 500 calorie meal for breakfast or lunch.

I also heard about this diet, which, may or may not be "trendy", but it claims if you eat a little bit every 3 or so hours, plus exercise/calorie-burning, it will help you to not gain too much weight. You are supposed to eat a relatively substantial breakfast, then 3 or so hours later have a light snack, like fruit or something, then 3 hours later have lunch- like a salad or sandwich, then 3 hours later have another light snack, then 3 hours after that have a light dinner, then maybe, depending on when you go to bed, have a light snack after that. But it's based around the "stereotypical" times for meals, with snacks in between. Supposedly it helps even out your calorie-burnage and intake. By keeping a constant level of intake, it helps you run smoothly all day- without things like caffeine/sugar crashes killing you at 2:30pm or whatever, or without you feeling overly full from one meal then starving for the next, or vice versa. But it only works if you are active. If you're lazy like I am sometimes, it won't really work as effectively.

But either way, I hope that helped. My main point was about the calorie intake in the first paragraph- about how loading up before bed is the worst idea. It's like letting a car run on a half tank of gas all day for a long trip, then tanking it up just before you get to the destination when you don't need it anymore. Kinda the same concept- why tank up when you don't need the fuel? Same thing with eating- why eat so much when you aren't really going to be burning it off as energy anyway?

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Between me and my bro, I'm Teh Big Sis
To everyone else, I'm just Robinwyn

www.stumptuous.com

Though it's more of a ladies weight-lifting site than a weight loss site, there's still lots of tips on there for losing fat and gaining muscle. It's one of my favorite websites, and I recommend it to anyone.

I used to be pretty chubby until I was 12 or 13. Except I'm weird, my body really only stores fat on my stomach, so I was one of those freaky looking kids with the skinny arms and legs and the huge stomach. It was kind of funny.

So while everyone's giving you all the great physical advice I'll go for the psychological approach. In my experience, if you want to change anything about the way you are, you have to learn to accept what you are first. You have to find a way to make yourself feel comfortable in your body the way it is now so you start to like yourself more. Then you are more willing to do good things for yourself and plus getting rid of the stress will help you lose weight too. Also try to stay away from the negative people in your life. Like my dad used to always call me fat and then he moved away and I lost 30 pounds. Crazy. It might sound cheesy but I really think that liking yourself is the key to any change.

Oh and try to always get a good night's sleep. Speaking of which I should go to bed now. Oh and try martial arts!