This started out as an answer to "why did you get fat" but then it got long so...

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  • shrinkingletters
    shrinkingletters Posts: 1,008 Member
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    RCKammerer wrote: »
    Some people can struggle to lose weight. I have a harder time, and lose slowly because of my thyroid. But if you are consuming less than you are burning, then there should be loss. Do you have a fitbit or something of that sort? I use my fitbit charge hr to monitor the calories I burn during the day. Do you exercise? Eating healthy is great! It does take more than just eating healthy to lose. If you are eating more than you are burning, healthy food or not, you will not lose. It is hard to guess how many calories you are eating. Try measuring your food for a bit. It can help. Have you had your thyroid checked? Vitamin D? Those things can greatly affect the rate your weight comes off if you are doing all as you should be then those 2 things should really get checked out. Also if you are eating more carbs than necessary, your body could hold on to weight as well because those carbs will be turned into fat if not used for energy.

    You were doing well before this. No. All calories turn into fat if not used. Carbs may cause some water retention, but they don't magically turn into fat more specialer than any other calorie from another macronutrient.
  • Itsonlymeagain
    Itsonlymeagain Posts: 18 Member
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    Maybe a visit with a nutritionist is in order then. I know my TSH is in line. I also know my a1c, glucose, and most other blood chemistry are normal. My LDL and HDH are normal but cholesterol is over the borderline high. Doctors don't usually pay much attention to me when I ask about weight loss, especially when I say I have family history of obesity, because there is nothing there for them to treat, labwork wise.

    I see that some here are very adamant about weighing food and I'm not on line with that. I simply can't be a slave to food that way... if a measuring cup won't do then maybe I will continue with my issues. I spent my life thinking obesity was not genetic and lecturing my own parents about their choices while my dad was eating home grown salad by the bowlful and my mom was stirring stock and canning tomatoes. And now here I am eating my own words and feeling the same exasperation they must have felt.
  • shrinkingletters
    shrinkingletters Posts: 1,008 Member
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    Itsonlymeagain wrote: »
    Maybe a visit with a nutritionist is in order then. I know my TSH is in line. I also know my a1c, glucose, and most other blood chemistry are normal. My LDL and HDH are normal but cholesterol is over the borderline high. Doctors don't usually pay much attention to me when I ask about weight loss, especially when I say I have family history of obesity, because there is nothing there for them to treat, labwork wise.

    I see that some here are very adamant about weighing food and I'm not on line with that. I simply can't be a slave to food that way... if a measuring cup won't do then maybe I will continue with my issues. I spent my life thinking obesity was not genetic and lecturing my own parents about their choices while my dad was eating home grown salad by the bowlful and my mom was stirring stock and canning tomatoes. And now here I am eating my own words and feeling the same exasperation they must have felt.

    Then why join a calorie counting site that promotes CICO? Slave? It takes seconds to weigh food. I wish you the best in trying to find the magical reason why you're a special snowflake and "can't" lose weight. The forums will be here when you're ready to face reality.
  • sprc1616
    sprc1616 Posts: 14 Member
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    Itsonlymeagain wrote: »
    I see that some here are very adamant about weighing food and I'm not on line with that. I simply can't be a slave to food that way... if a measuring cup won't do then maybe I will continue with my issues.

    Counting calories/weighing food isn't for everyone! No shame in that. Have you tried a low-carb or ketogenic diet? I like bread too much to take that route, but it has been successful for many people who feel the same way you do about weighing food.

    Good luck!

  • derekspiewak
    derekspiewak Posts: 31 Member
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    Itsonlymeagain wrote: »
    Maybe a visit with a nutritionist is in order then. I know my TSH is in line. I also know my a1c, glucose, and most other blood chemistry are normal. My LDL and HDH are normal but cholesterol is over the borderline high. Doctors don't usually pay much attention to me when I ask about weight loss, especially when I say I have family history of obesity, because there is nothing there for them to treat, labwork wise.

    You seem to be a believer in the "Health At Every Size" movement that's going on right now. I would agree with you that your health is much more important than your size, but unfortunately HAES is nonsense. Your size has a great deal to do with your health. It predicates things like heart disease, type II diabetes, liver disease, and even dementia.
    I see that some here are very adamant about weighing food and I'm not on line with that. I simply can't be a slave to food that way... if a measuring cup won't do then maybe I will continue with my issues. I spent my life thinking obesity was not genetic and lecturing my own parents about their choices while my dad was eating home grown salad by the bowlful and my mom was stirring stock and canning tomatoes. And now here I am eating my own words and feeling the same exasperation they must have felt.

    What are you trying to do here? Argue with people who have actually done this successfully? Why would any of us care more about your weight loss than you? Eat measurably fewer calories than you burn and the weight comes off. Or don't. It's up to you.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
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    sprc1616 wrote: »
    Itsonlymeagain wrote: »
    I see that some here are very adamant about weighing food and I'm not on line with that. I simply can't be a slave to food that way... if a measuring cup won't do then maybe I will continue with my issues.

    Counting calories/weighing food isn't for everyone! No shame in that. Have you tried a low-carb or ketogenic diet? I like bread too much to take that route, but it has been successful for many people who feel the same way you do about weighing food.

    What makes you think that low carbers don't have to weigh their food?
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
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    Itsonlymeagain wrote: »
    Maybe a visit with a nutritionist is in order then. I know my TSH is in line. I also know my a1c, glucose, and most other blood chemistry are normal. My LDL and HDH are normal but cholesterol is over the borderline high. Doctors don't usually pay much attention to me when I ask about weight loss, especially when I say I have family history of obesity, because there is nothing there for them to treat, labwork wise.

    I see that some here are very adamant about weighing food and I'm not on line with that. I simply can't be a slave to food that way... if a measuring cup won't do then maybe I will continue with my issues. I spent my life thinking obesity was not genetic and lecturing my own parents about their choices while my dad was eating home grown salad by the bowlful and my mom was stirring stock and canning tomatoes. And now here I am eating my own words and feeling the same exasperation they must have felt.

    I'm sorry, but your body is not a special snowflake created by special snowflake parents. I promise you that your entire family's weight issues are caused by eating more calories than you burn. Full stop. Your body has to be obey the universe's laws of thermodynamics because, well, you live in this universe.

    If you are not losing weight, you are not eating less than you burn. It sounds like you're not gaining either, though, so congrats on finding your maintenance intake!

    This is why you weigh. It's so easy to eat more than you think you are without doing so.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

  • gemdiver00
    gemdiver00 Posts: 77 Member
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    Itsonlymeagain wrote: »
    if a measuring cup won't do then maybe I will continue with my issues.

    You came here looking for support, people are encouraging you to use a food scale, you refuse. There's not much more the community can do if one doesn't have an open mind.

    Good luck with your "issues".
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
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    gemdiver00 wrote: »
    Itsonlymeagain wrote: »
    if a measuring cup won't do then maybe I will continue with my issues.

    You came here looking for support, people are encouraging you to use a food scale, you refuse. There's not much more the community can do if one doesn't have an open mind.

    Good luck with your "issues".

    The funny thing is that it's actually easier and more efficient to weigh with a food scale than it is to use measuring cups.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
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    Itsonlymeagain wrote: »
    I see that some here are very adamant about weighing food and I'm not on line with that. I simply can't be a slave to food that way... if a measuring cup won't do then maybe I will continue with my issues. I spent my life thinking obesity was not genetic and lecturing my own parents about their choices while my dad was eating home grown salad by the bowlful and my mom was stirring stock and canning tomatoes. And now here I am eating my own words and feeling the same exasperation they must have felt.

    It takes less time to weigh food than it does to try to measure it in cups and spoonfuls.

    Maybe come back when you're *really* ready to lose the weight instead of trying to come up with more excuses, because clearly you aren't there yet. And there's nothing wrong with that! But insisting that you're a special snowflake for whom CICO magically doesn't apply will not fly here because science. We love science. ;) If you are eating in a calorie deficit you will lose weight. If you're not losing weight, you're not eating in a calorie deficit. I don't know how to make it any clearer than that for you.

    I wish you the best on your journey.

  • Itsonlymeagain
    Itsonlymeagain Posts: 18 Member
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    @derek... no I'm not part of any movement and I don't believe it either. I already said I want to lose weight because I'm feeling it in my joints, among other raesons. What I DID say is that medical doctors don't pay much attention for me because there is nothing for them to treat. High TSH? here's a pill. High aic? here's a pill. What does a medical doctor do for someone with normal labs? Not much.

    I don't mean to argue but some people are being irrationally hardball and I don't appreciate that. There is not one way to do things and it's stupid, literally stupid, to say measuring 1/2 cup of oats is vastly different than weighing it. I'm not a stupid person. IT's not like I"m packing them down in tight. So when I say I measure the food I'm looking for an honest discussion on why this is so bad vs weighing. I don't see it. Sorry, I don't and being nasty instead if informational is not helping me or anyone else who may be reading and not commenting.
  • shrinkingletters
    shrinkingletters Posts: 1,008 Member
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    tincanonastring wrote: »
    gemdiver00 wrote: »
    Itsonlymeagain wrote: »
    if a measuring cup won't do then maybe I will continue with my issues.

    You came here looking for support, people are encouraging you to use a food scale, you refuse. There's not much more the community can do if one doesn't have an open mind.

    Good luck with your "issues".

    The funny thing is that it's actually easier and more efficient to weigh with a food scale than it is to use measuring cups.

    And less dishes and cups and spoons to wash. Win-win.
  • shrinkingletters
    shrinkingletters Posts: 1,008 Member
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    Itsonlymeagain wrote: »
    @derek... no I'm not part of any movement and I don't believe it either. I already said I want to lose weight because I'm feeling it in my joints, among other raesons. What I DID say is that medical doctors don't pay much attention for me because there is nothing for them to treat. High TSH? here's a pill. High aic? here's a pill. What does a medical doctor do for someone with normal labs? Not much.

    I don't mean to argue but some people are being irrationally hardball and I don't appreciate that. There is not one way to do things and it's stupid, literally stupid, to say measuring 1/2 cup of oats is vastly different than weighing it. I'm not a stupid person. IT's not like I"m packing them down in tight. So when I say I measure the food I'm looking for an honest discussion on why this is so bad vs weighing. I don't see it. Sorry, I don't and being nasty instead if informational is not helping me or anyone else who may be reading and not commenting.

    It's not stupid. It works. You want to lose weight, so do what works. What's stupid is continuing doing the same thing and making the same excuses for yourself, and expecting things to change. If that's what you want, go check out the "law of attraction" thread and start on your magical vision board. OR: Someone already posted an informational clip very explicitly showing why weighing is so important. You can watch that and get with the program.
  • sprc1616
    sprc1616 Posts: 14 Member
    edited August 2015
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    snickerscharlie wrote: »
    What makes you think that low carbers don't have to weigh their food?

    I admit this opinion is not at all evidence based and just anecdotal! My mom doesn't own a food scale but when she cut out most of her bread/sugar/pasta/rice carbs, she started dropping weight just because those foods were so calorie-heavy and they made up most of her diet.

  • morkiemama
    morkiemama Posts: 897 Member
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    Itsonlymeagain wrote: »
    @derek... no I'm not part of any movement and I don't believe it either. I already said I want to lose weight because I'm feeling it in my joints, among other raesons. What I DID say is that medical doctors don't pay much attention for me because there is nothing for them to treat. High TSH? here's a pill. High aic? here's a pill. What does a medical doctor do for someone with normal labs? Not much.

    I don't mean to argue but some people are being irrationally hardball and I don't appreciate that. There is not one way to do things and it's stupid, literally stupid, to say measuring 1/2 cup of oats is vastly different than weighing it. I'm not a stupid person. IT's not like I"m packing them down in tight. So when I say I measure the food I'm looking for an honest discussion on why this is so bad vs weighing. I don't see it. Sorry, I don't and being nasty instead if informational is not helping me or anyone else who may be reading and not commenting.

    Weight =/= volume. They are not the same thing. Measuring using spoons, cups, etc. is NOT the same as weighing the food in grams, lbs, ounces, etc.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    Comes to a calorie counting website and says she doesn't want to count calories....makes sense....lol2.gif
  • sugaraddict4321
    sugaraddict4321 Posts: 15,730 MFP Moderator
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    I know you feel like people are being really down on you, but please don't see it that way. For the vast majority of people without any medical conditions, it really is a case of eating more than you burn. Why not try an experiment? For the next two weeks, eat exactly as you have been, but weigh everything and log it. Just to compare and see how close to 1400 you really are. Maybe you're super close and you can tell us to all go jump in a lake. Maybe you're way off. There's no way to know for sure if you don't at least try weighing for a few weeks. ;)
  • SweetPeasMom55
    SweetPeasMom55 Posts: 3,385 Member
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    I'm 5"2" I started off at 168 in may I am down to 150.5 I always make sure every day that I exercise enough that I have an excess of at least 500 calories. I started off with just measuring cups but I did go get a digital scale and everything became so much easier. I am 48. If you are logging everything correct and the bottom says in 5 weeks you should weigh this amount and in 5 weeks you're not even close then something is hinky with the measuring. Don't take it personal we all learn from each other and scales are just a little more accurate. And No I did not start losing til I followed everything to the letter and got a boot to the rear by a buddy on how to do it. Good Luck!
  • sprc1616
    sprc1616 Posts: 14 Member
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    Many food blogs have written about the differences in weighing vs measuring ingredients - I suggest you check them out! http://www.browneyedbaker.com/volume-weight-baking-why-should-weigh-ingredients/
  • allbarrett
    allbarrett Posts: 159 Member
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    Where do you think your weight came from if not your food? This is something I wonder when I see these threads (and they come up regularly). If CICO doesn't work for you...where exactly is the extra mass coming from?

    Basically, you are working with an equation. If Calories In = Calories Out, then you maintain your weight. If Calories In < Calories Out, you lose weight, if Calories In > Calories Out, then you gain. For this equation, it simply doesn't matter where the calories are coming from. So, if you aren't losing weight, you aren't eating fewer calories (the CI) than you are using to live each day (CO). Either reduce CI or increase CO. The easiest is to reduce what you are eating ("you can't outrun your diet") but ultimately how you choose to accomplish balancing the equation is up to you.

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