Feeling fat and destined to be fat
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fitnessqueen91
Posts: 166 Member
I feel that never I ever do works. I feel like I should stop running because to be honest I'm not seeing results and I can't seem to lose weight. I weigh 11st 12lb (166 pounds) and I'm 5"7.5 (1.71m) and that's a lot. It's not even muscle. I measured my body fat percentage on the scales at boots and the first reading said 28.7% and the second 29.5%, which is an average reading. I think I will go to get my thyroid tested. It seems like I'm destined to be fat. I just redid my measurements and I'm 41 inches round the hips and 29.5- 30 inches round the waist 
. I just feel that in order to be thin and lose weight I have to eat like a rabbit. Normally I burn 400-700 cals through exercise and walking and eat 1600-1800 cals, which should give me a deficit. Some days I reach a deficit of 1000 cals!
I feel like the fat friend as I have friends that don't worry about their diet and don't do any exercise but are 140 pounds or less. One of my friends is taller than me and is like 145 pounds and does no exercise and doesn't watch what she eats. It's so unfair!
. I just feel that in order to be thin and lose weight I have to eat like a rabbit. Normally I burn 400-700 cals through exercise and walking and eat 1600-1800 cals, which should give me a deficit. Some days I reach a deficit of 1000 cals!I feel like the fat friend as I have friends that don't worry about their diet and don't do any exercise but are 140 pounds or less. One of my friends is taller than me and is like 145 pounds and does no exercise and doesn't watch what she eats. It's so unfair!
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Replies
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Cardio is great, but have you tried adding in weight/resistance training? I used to be cardio only and changed to mostly weights about 1.5 years ago. Never thought I would be able to lose weight either, but since then I have not only lost pounds I have lost inches. The scale is deceptive so I recommend taking pics or measurements.
For weight loss diet is key. You can run a marathon a day and not lose if your diet isn't in check. Make sure you are logging correctly. Weigh you food and avoid using cups/spoons or eyeballing. Avoid using generic or homemade entries. If you are counting your exercise calories eat back maybe 1/2.
I'd be happy to help in any way even if its just for daily support!5 -
I would say this is a pretty bleak post for someone who calls herself fitnessqueen. Why are you throwing in the towel, fitnessqueen? 1800 calories is a lot...I don't think scaling back ~500 calories would require you to "eat like a rabbit." Don't get discouraged, and add in weight training as was suggested. You'll find what works.6
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Reality check: you are barely overweight--between BMI 25.2 and 26. Those scales aren't accurate, but the numbers you mention are somewhat consistent with the BMI for an average woman -- not great, but not terrible, and you don't need to lose that much to get them to a more desirable number, even if they were accurate (but, seriously, ignore them, they probably are not).
Now, I totally get being just a little overweight but being unhappy with your body and wanting to get thinner and improve -- I'm all about the vanity weight these days. Running is great exercise and probably allows you to eat more without gaining, but it alone won't cause weight loss for most (most easily adjust eating).
I run, I love it, it helps me increase my TDEE, have goals to work for, and is a wonderful stress release. But if you don't like running, do something else. If you do, don't spoil it by obsessing about scale results -- set other fitness goals and focus on eating for weight loss.
No, you do not have to eat like a rabbit to lose -- the numbers you mention seem reasonable, but there may be logging issues, MFP can be difficult to figure out at first, especially the database. If you open your diary you can get a review from people here with experience.
Focusing on your friends isn't helpful. The older I get the more I realize that more people do think about their weight than I realized, but many people do just naturally have a level of activity (it does not have to be intentional exercise) or appetite that leaves them thinner than I would be if I didn't think about it. That's life, though, and there are things I have that others don't -- we all have things we struggle with and things we don't, and weight really isn't that terrible if I had to pick one (especially where you are, and if you get control of it now).
With respect to body composition, have you considered things like weight training, as others mentioned. It's something I wish I'd discovered when younger and -- along with running -- helped me focus on the positives of my body, being strong, feeling good, and not merely being as thin as possible.10 -
You may not be as thin as you'd like but that's a bit different than being fat. Every one of us is built differently. If you have a larger bone structure you're going to weigh more at the same height than someone who is finer boned. If you're lifting weights and have built up some muscle the same is true of someone at the same weight with a higher body fat percentage. If you spend your life comparing yourself to your friends and the people around you, you are destined to be miserable.
Rather than try to lose weight, why not instead spend your energy firming up? Start a strength/resistance program and focus on eating at maintenance and lifting heavy weights 2 to 3 times per week with cardio on the days between. A program like Strong Lifts or New Rules of Lifting for Women are great. I have done this for about 2 years and it's made a huge difference. I weigh 15 pounds more than I did at my lowest weight (5'3.5" and 122 pounds) but I can wear the same clothes. I'm firmer all around and I can eat more while maintaining this weight.5 -
I don't want to go on restrictive diets eating 1000-1300 cals or less and exercising a lot, but putting the weight back on because I'm constantly depriving myself. I did that before; I was on a low calorie diet, barely eating and exercising all the time and I still struggled to loose weight and I put it on even quicker! How is 1800 cals a lot if I burn say 600 or 700 cals in a day??0
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lemurcat12 wrote: »Reality check: you are barely overweight--between BMI 25.2 and 26. Those scales aren't accurate, but the numbers you mention are somewhat consistent with the BMI for an average woman -- not great, but not terrible, and you don't need to lose that much to get them to a more desirable number, even if they were accurate (but, seriously, ignore them, they probably are not).
Now, I totally get being just a little overweight but being unhappy with your body and wanting to get thinner and improve -- I'm all about the vanity weight these days. Running is great exercise and probably allows you to eat more without gaining, but it alone won't cause weight loss for most (most easily adjust eating).
I run, I love it, it helps me increase my TDEE, have goals to work for, and is a wonderful stress release. But if you don't like running, do something else. If you do, don't spoil it by obsessing about scale results -- set other fitness goals and focus on eating for weight loss.
No, you do not have to eat like a rabbit to lose -- the numbers you mention seem reasonable, but there may be logging issues, MFP can be difficult to figure out at first, especially the database. If you open your diary you can get a review from people here with experience.
Focusing on your friends isn't helpful. The older I get the more I realize that more people do think about their weight than I realized, but many people do just naturally have a level of activity (it does not have to be intentional exercise) or appetite that leaves them thinner than I would be if I didn't think about it. That's life, though, and there are things I have that others don't -- we all have things we struggle with and things we don't, and weight really isn't that terrible if I had to pick one (especially where you are, and if you get control of it now).
With respect to body composition, have you considered things like weight training, as others mentioned. It's something I wish I'd discovered when younger and -- along with running -- helped me focus on the positives of my body, being strong, feeling good, and not merely being as thin as possible.
Yes I know I'm overweight and I don't need a reality check!0 -
What am I meant to do to be thin then? Log every single morsel I put into my mouth, become obsessed and develop an eating disorder? Been there, done that!0
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you are probably not burning that many. set your goal to 0.5-1 pound (or the metric equivalent) per week. Choose an activity modifier that is true to your activity. Ignore the calorie counts on any machine or HRM. Log everything by weight.2
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fitnessqueen91 wrote: »I don't want to go on restrictive diets eating 1000-1300 cals or less and exercising a lot, but putting the weight back on because I'm constantly depriving myself. I did that before; I was on a low calorie diet, barely eating and exercising all the time and I still struggled to loose weight and I put it on even quicker! How is 1800 cals a lot if I burn say 600 or 700 cals in a day??
You don't need to go on a restrictive diet, you just need to eat the number of calories mfp suggests you eat to lose. Are you weighing and logging everything?1 -
fitnessqueen91 wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Reality check: you are barely overweight--between BMI 25.2 and 26. Those scales aren't accurate, but the numbers you mention are somewhat consistent with the BMI for an average woman -- not great, but not terrible, and you don't need to lose that much to get them to a more desirable number, even if they were accurate (but, seriously, ignore them, they probably are not).
Now, I totally get being just a little overweight but being unhappy with your body and wanting to get thinner and improve -- I'm all about the vanity weight these days. Running is great exercise and probably allows you to eat more without gaining, but it alone won't cause weight loss for most (most easily adjust eating).
I run, I love it, it helps me increase my TDEE, have goals to work for, and is a wonderful stress release. But if you don't like running, do something else. If you do, don't spoil it by obsessing about scale results -- set other fitness goals and focus on eating for weight loss.
No, you do not have to eat like a rabbit to lose -- the numbers you mention seem reasonable, but there may be logging issues, MFP can be difficult to figure out at first, especially the database. If you open your diary you can get a review from people here with experience.
Focusing on your friends isn't helpful. The older I get the more I realize that more people do think about their weight than I realized, but many people do just naturally have a level of activity (it does not have to be intentional exercise) or appetite that leaves them thinner than I would be if I didn't think about it. That's life, though, and there are things I have that others don't -- we all have things we struggle with and things we don't, and weight really isn't that terrible if I had to pick one (especially where you are, and if you get control of it now).
With respect to body composition, have you considered things like weight training, as others mentioned. It's something I wish I'd discovered when younger and -- along with running -- helped me focus on the positives of my body, being strong, feeling good, and not merely being as thin as possible.
Yes I know I'm overweight and I don't need a reality check!
Um, the reality check is that you are BARELY overweight, not doomed to be fat forever (or even fat, IMO). It's something you can fix easily if you want to. But if you just want to vent and don't want help or to feel better, that's cool too. Enjoy.20 -
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10437401/is-12-stone-fat#latest
You asked pretty much the same this here.2 -
fitnessqueen91 wrote: »I don't want to go on restrictive diets eating 1000-1300 cals or less and exercising a lot, but putting the weight back on because I'm constantly depriving myself. I did that before; I was on a low calorie diet, barely eating and exercising all the time and I still struggled to loose weight and I put it on even quicker! How is 1800 cals a lot if I burn say 600 or 700 cals in a day??
First off, you are not burning 600-700 calories in 1 day. Do NOT factor in calories burned in exercise, it is already accounted for in your TDEE calculation.
Crash Course:
Calculate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) which factors in age, weight, sex, height, activity level, etc. Eat 10% to 20% under this TDEE to lose weight (10% is slow deficit, 20% is aggressive deficit). Measure and log all your intake, every single morsel. I saw you mentioned you have a history, so you can do this with a professional or a less aggressive deficit.
So I suspect you are being too generous in how many calories you burn off. I work out 4 times a week and my TDEE calculator already factored it in - If my treadmill tells me I burned 400 calories, I CANNOT EAT THAT BACK. I suspect you have been.
And if you want a dumbed down approach, keep subtracting your daily intake by 100 calories every week, until you are losing 0.5lbs to 1lb weekly. Also the smaller you are, the less you have to lose (i.e. a 250lb male cutting weight can lose much quicker than a 120lb female), the slower your progression becomes (hence why I say 0.5lbs per week instead of 1lb per week).
The bottom line is - if you are not losing, you are eating too much. TDEE Calculators are an estimate, you will have to modify as you go. Not losing? Eat 100 calories less each day and reassess weekly.7 -
fitnessqueen91 wrote: »What am I meant to do to be thin then? Log every single morsel I put into my mouth, become obsessed and develop an eating disorder? Been there, done that
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