What if I am just meant to be fat?

bwogilvie

Rather than reinvent the wheel, I'll refer you to three excellent posts here that will lay out an effective way to lose weight and discuss some of the pitfalls to which people are prone:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

After you've digested those, some of the other links on this page are useful:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read

Finally, Dr. Yoni Freedhoff's recent book The Diet Fix might be useful; he emphasizes calorie restriction, but with an emphasis on developing new habits and on being satisfied with what you eat. One of his recurring questions to ask yourself is, "How much [i.e., how little] of this do I need to be satisfied?" The ten-day reset is a bit gimmicky, but other than that, it's one of the three best diet books I have read. The other two are John Walker, The Hacker's Diet (free online at http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/e4/), and Richard Watson, The Philosopher's Diet which despite its title is not so much about losing weight as it is about how hard it is to make any major change, and also how rewarding it can be.

DonnaRe2012

You said your counting your calories and keeping them around 1400? But what are you eating? Are you eating clean? Fruit veg lean protein etc?

Mr_Knight

Is this even possible??? Can your body just like where it is and that is why you don't lose? I am so sad that nothing changes despite my effort. I feel defeated. Depressed. Disgusting.

If you feel "disgusting", then it doesn't sound like "it is meant to be".

Slasher09

Weigh everything. Stick to your calorie goals. Get a good burn at the gym or at home (or wherever you can) 5-6 days a week for 30-60mins a day (wear a HRM to see what you are burning). If you have done all of this for a month and STILL there is no change (and I mean REALLY stuck to this for a month then get your thyroid/etc levels checked. Some people don't lose weight as easily as others, but many many people are not fully aware just how much they are overeating.

Scooter_99

I log what I eat. I don't guess. Food is not a weakness for me. I can control that pretty well. I don't use it as a coping mechanism if that is how this came off. I went to different types of doctors because I was and still am baffled as to how I could be this big when I am so disciplined. I even had food allergy testing done. Saw a GI doctor. A kinesiologist, a hormone specialist, an endocrinologist and on and on...I was looking for something that could medically be in the way. I would bring in my food diary and show these doctors and it's just a mystery still. I have had tons of labs. Some say maybe its PCOS. Some say I must have a bad thyroid. These things check out find. Estrogen dominance is the only thing i clearly had an issue with.

Scooter_99

Yes, typically i start with eggs in the morning that I make as mini quiches, I will add berries to this meal sometimes. I eat almonds as a snack, or half of a small avocado. Mid day is usually lettuce wraps with tuna, chicken or turkey in them. Or a salad with the meat in it. I do not pack on the dressing, just saying that now before someone is quick to say that must be why. Afternoon snack is usually baby bel light cheese, or a tbsp of organic peanut butter. Dinner is almost always 5-6 oz chicken, grilled, or fish with a veggie.

Unknown

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daphnec1994

There is actually a lot of support on the set point theory. Basically, most people have a small range in weight where there body is "set" at. Not that you can't become smaller, its just that it takes a whole lot more work to change your body in either direction, above or bellow your set point. This sounds like a made up excuse for people who don't want to put the work in but I honestly learned this in university.

opalescentmirage

A fitness trainer friend of mine told me that losing weight is 80% diet and 20% exercise. Be aware (as others have mentioned in this topic) that the calories MFP calculates that you burn during exercise is an estimate. I purchased a Polar FT4 heart rate monitor to use during my workouts. It consists of a chest strap Added bonus - it gives a calories burned reading on it (you input your height, age, weight into the wrist "watch" monitor). In my experience, the calories burned during my workouts (based on my heart rate monitor) is way lower than what the MFP preset says. I definitely don't think that 1,400 calories per day is too many. Less process (boxed/packaged/etc) food and fewer carbs is generally prescribed. And, yes, more vegetables! (I am "preaching" to myself here too as I have recently gotten serious about this whole thing again.)

Just stick with it! Perseverance is key!

deansdad101

To be honest I don't work out as hard as I could be because I know that the working out is not going to be the game changer. I don't know what is. Sometimes I wonder if I am eating too little other times I wonder if 1400/day is too high. Every calorie calculator out there says something different. I ate a paleo diet last year for 3 months and didn't lose but I didn't gain during that time either. I make good choices and I like healthy food. I also drink a gallon of water a day. Could it be the 2 glasses of wine I have on Saturday night? I am just lost on why this happened.

Skooter;

So far you have received just about every myth, pearl of "conventional wisdom", "opinon" (based on nothing more than "I heard it on the internets"), and dogma one must espouse if they are to be "accepted into the club".

My favorite is "it's all your own fault, you just don't have enough willpower, you're a morally bankrupt person and if you don't agree with me that just proves my point".

Everyone is (of course), entitled to their own opinion, entitled to base that opinion on that which "works" for them but, in the end, what "worked" for someone else, may or may not "work" for YOU - we are all individuals, each of us unique, but at the same time, all members of the same species.

Differences notwithstanding (and medical irregularities excluded), our bodies are all composed of the same "systems" that function in essentially the same way (if not to the same degree) - this is why it's the "science" that matters, not what one "wants" to believe.

As someone much smarter than I once said, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but NOT their own facts".

Opinions based not on solid science might be valid for the particular individual holding them but they fall into the category of "opinions are like xxxxxx - everybody has one".

Most of those you see here are just that.

There is NO science upon which the whole USDA / low cal, low fat, exercise more, eat less, was based when it was originally mandated.

No science that "proves" that exercise is a "necessary" component of any weight reduction plan.

No science that demonstrates that one "must" engage the services of a dietitian, personal trainer, or any other "expert" to achieve their goals.

No science that shows that "the only reason you're not succeeding is because you don't have the willpower."

NONE!

In fact, there is a vast body of knowledge (studies, research, documented results, etc) that shows exactly the opposite - not the least of which is the alarming increase in obesity, diabetes, heart disease and others that so closely mirrors the time period (the last 40 years) during which we've been admonished to "eat less, exercise more, don't eat meat, don't eat butter, etc, etc".

Does this mean that exercise is a bad thing?
Of course not, it IS a vital component of overall "fitness" most should include as an important part of overall good health, but, it can be that, and at the same time NOT be a "required" component of weight loss (or gain).

As to your original question, yes, individuals ARE predisposed (by their genetic makeup) to certain "ranges" of things like body type - just like they are predetermined to things like eye color and height.

A "small frame/small boned" person at any given weight might have a "healthy weight range" of 125 - 145. Another person of the exact same height, sex, age, etc but "big boned" might have a range of 140 - 160 (for example).

You can't "will" yourself to be 6'3" if you are 5'6" no matter how hard you try and it's NOT because you are lacking in willpower.

Does this mean that "some" people don't use it as an "excuse" for that extra cupcake or that "some" others actually don't have a physiological "urge" (addiction, whatever one wants to call it)?

Nope, both can be (and are) true for "some" people - just like "some" people can tolerate dairy and others can't, or some people can have "just one" scoop of ice cream and others can't stop without eating the whole half gallon.

But does it mean that you (or anyone else) has a "set point", over which you have no control?

Nope - there IS a "range" beyond which you likely can't exceed (either above or below) AND remain healthy.
I haven't followed your details specifically, but if your current goal is a weight which you previously maintained as an adult it IS one which should be achievable again (assuming no significant medical "issues" that might prevent your doing so).

Reaching that goal does NOT "require" ANY (let alone all) of the "myths" so righteously bandied about by the "my way is the ONLY way" crowd.

You have received some good advice regarding specific approaches to diet choices (and macro composition) with which I agree and that I would encourage you to investigate and consider if they might be for you, BUT,
in the end, the decisions have to be YOURS.

How many gallons of water you drink, those 2 glasses of wine, and whether you exercise 15 minutes, 4 hours, or not at all, WILL NOT determine if you succeed in achieving your goal - finding the "right" combination of macros WILL.

It has nothing to do with "willpower" and everything to do with Science. (including the effects of any medical "condition" you may or may not have).

jkal1979

I log what I eat. I don't guess. Food is not a weakness for me. I can control that pretty well. I don't use it as a coping mechanism if that is how this came off. I went to different types of doctors because I was and still am baffled as to how I could be this big when I am so disciplined. I even had food allergy testing done. Saw a GI doctor. A kinesiologist, a hormone specialist, an endocrinologist and on and on...I was looking for something that could medically be in the way. I would bring in my food diary and show these doctors and it's just a mystery still. I have had tons of labs. Some say maybe its PCOS. Some say I must have a bad thyroid. These things check out find. Estrogen dominance is the only thing i clearly had an issue with.

You keep saying that you log what you eat, but you have never mentioned using a food scale, even after being asked if you use one by several posters.

Do you use a food scale to weigh your portions? If not your food log is probably not as accurate as you think it is.

farmers_daughter

.....

I don't think you understand... Myself and others have told you. You're eating too much. Yet you keep on ignoring it. Is your goal to eat at a specific calorie limit or to get results?

It's very possible your metabolic rate has slowed down, this is very common for people who constantly try to do low calorie diets, and yoyo diet.

But it doesn't matter, that just means they have a slowed down metabolic rate. An example is their TDEE went down from 2000 to 1,500. So now they have to eat under 1,500 calories to lose weight, same issue as before, "they're eating to much"

I'll say it 5x hopefully you'll understand.

You're eating to much.
You're eating to much.
You're eating to much
You're eating to much.
You're eating to much.

(Honest tone here, not smart @ss) How do you know that someone is eating too much. My tdee per IIFYM calculator is 2432. If Iuse the calculator more it says to lose weight 1860 is my calories. how is 500 deficit the magic number, when so many people on here say they've had much success with 1400-1500 calories. It makes me think that my 1860 is ridiculously high, and therefore the reason I've lost no weight.

lemurcat12

I feel like my body is just different from everyone else's and wants to be this way.

I think a lot of people who gain weight or are heavier than they'd like to be feel that way. I used to. But everyone can lose weight. It's just a matter of calories, plus getting to the bottom of any medical condition you may have (sounds like you've checked that out, but if you log carefully and aren't having success you can always bring that in to your doctor for more work).

There are tricks to logging on MFP, if you want people to look at what might be some pitfalls.

wizzybeth

6. When recording exercise you need to be careful. My fitness pal is not very accurate in my opinion. If I lift weights, I generally cut the calories by at least 30%. My fitness pal gives you an estimate and it's impossible to know the actual number, but I feel cutting the estimate by 30 to 50% helps. If you over-estimate the calories burnt while exercising and under-estimate the calories consumed in food you are in for a world of trouble.

I've noticed this too. It's completely wrong with most cardio calories. I use an elliptical machine mostly and MFP says I'll burn 300+ calories in 20 mins or some ridiculous amounts. The machine tells me 120 or so. It's best to research instead of relying completely on MFP for these.

Even the machine can be wrong - I only log about 60% of the calories the machine says I burned even though it has heart rate monitors in the handles and asks for my weight when I get on it.

I'm going to suggest that if you're not losing and you ARE accurately weighing/measuring your food - (great point above about weighing peanut butter! OMG, I can measure out what I think is a tbsp and find out it's 10 or 12 grams heavier than the serving size says it should weigh! Weight weigh weigh!!!) ANYWAY if you are 100% certain you are accurately measuring EVERYTHING - then perhaps you are consuming too many calories. One website told me I should consume 1700 a day to lose...but when I did, I didn't lose a thing. I now hover between 1350 and 1500 NET after I take credit for SOME of my exercise calories. I do lose between 1 and 2 lbs a week.

mike_ny

Changing your body takes time. Eat healthy, count everything, and get active, and you will see change over time.

Weight loss is not linear where every 3000 or so calories in deficit will drop exactly one pound. It just doesn't work like that. Some weeks I counted huge deficits and didn't drop any or very little weight. Last week my counts said I ran over on my calories for the week and still lost a half a pound. Everything in the short term is noise. It's over the longer term that matters. Stick with it with the most accurate counting you can and it will happen.

Unknown

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lemurcat12

.....

I don't think you understand... Myself and others have told you. You're eating too much. Yet you keep on ignoring it. Is your goal to eat at a specific calorie limit or to get results?

It's very possible your metabolic rate has slowed down, this is very common for people who constantly try to do low calorie diets, and yoyo diet.

But it doesn't matter, that just means they have a slowed down metabolic rate. An example is their TDEE went down from 2000 to 1,500. So now they have to eat under 1,500 calories to lose weight, same issue as before, "they're eating to much"

I'll say it 5x hopefully you'll understand.

You're eating to much.
You're eating to much.
You're eating to much
You're eating to much.
You're eating to much.

(Honest tone here, not smart @ss) How do you know that someone is eating too much. My tdee per IIFYM calculator is 2432. If Iuse the calculator more it says to lose weight 1860 is my calories. how is 500 deficit the magic number, when so many people on here say they've had much success with 1400-1500 calories. It makes me think that my 1860 is ridiculously high, and therefore the reason I've lost no weight.

There is no magic number, and TDEE is just an estimate, and different formulas give different results (it's worth seeing how close they are and how they change if you reduce the activity assumed a little, since who knows whether someone's work out 5 days per week burns a lot more calories than someone else's). Also, 500 deficit, if logged right and if the TDEE numbers are basically right is about 1 lb per week. That doesn't mean a 750 deficit or 1000 one (1400) wouldn't work too--you'd probably lose more, although it might end up being too much of a deficit to sustain comfortably given your level of activity. If you try a 500 deficit and it doesn't work, the numbers are off somewhere (perhaps as to your personal TDEE), and so you lower it a little and see if you get better results.

paperpudding

My guess outside of some medical issue you might have is that you are gaining weight because you are not actually eating at a calorie deficit. Nobody is a special snowflake when it comes to weight loss, it's as simple as calories in and calories out.

[/quote]

OP says she has seen 9 different doctors about this.
I think it is safe to say she does not have a medical issue or at least 1 of the doctors would have said so.

OP you mention maybe having a thyroid problem - this is easily detectable by a simple blood test and is one of the first things that would of been checked.
I think it is safe to say your thyroid is ok.

mimieon

One more time then; Are you using a digital scale to weight everything you eat/drink?

Patttience

Scooter i haven't read all the things others have said but i read all or most of your posts on this thread.

I don't know understand the oestrogen thing but have you had a test for blood glucose. I would guess you have if you have had all the tests. Does it not show if you have metabolic sydnrome/insulin resistant/pre-diabetic?

Anyway my suggestion is you try low carb and read one of Dr Atkins low carb books. I've read the 2006 one The New Atkins Diet REvolution. This diet is well explained there and it goes into aspects of losing weight for people who find it difficult to lose weight in a way you describe. After that consider reading The ARt and Science of Low carb. Its quite technical but it may help too.

I've just done a little bit of low carbing and i think while its not ideal for me, i think it may be the diet of choice for people who are diabetic, insulin resistant and so on. Presumably your oestrogen dominant body may be related to all this. He uses a term weightloss resistant. I don't know if that's a genuinely meaningful term that is different from the others or just a cover all terms since diabetics etc usually find it hard to lose weight on a high carb diet.

Anyway i'm pretty convinced now that low carb won't hurt you unless you have kidney disease but check it out with your doctor because there are some people who shouldn't do it - i.e. people with kidney disease. Try to read the book before starting the diet as he talks about tests you should get done first so that you can compare what differences the diet makes when you do them later one down the track. Get all the tests done before you start.


As to following the diet itself, its rather fun. I started off at 100 carbs a day, then wanting to experience ketosis, i went down to 40carbs a day. But Atkins recommends people start on 20 carbs a day which i can't do because i don't eat meat usually. Since you seem to like fatty foods - nuts, cheese, avocados, i think you'd like this diet. I'd suggest doing the induction, then come up to maximum 50 carbs gradually and according to the atkins protocol.

That said, there are other things to do that atkins doesn't recommend. He suggests only counting carbs. If you've got time, i'd suggest you continue to count calories, and monitor your protein and fat intake as well by using the nutrition calculator on this site phlaunt.com which is tailored for low carb. On it she tells you for your weight height etc, for a given number of carbs, how much protein and fat to eat and calories.

doctorregenerated

For a LONG time, i thought my body was different than everyone else's. I thought I could eat more than others because I'm just hungrier or it won't affect me like other people. Then I got fat.
The flipside is true. If you want to lose weight, eat less. Hit your macros. Weigh your food to make sure you are getting the portions right. Log everything including milk in coffee, bits and nibbles while you are cooking, vegetables and fruits.
Good luck. You can do this

rml_16

Is this even possible??? Can your body just like where it is and that is why you don't lose? I am so sad that nothing changes despite my effort. I feel defeated. Depressed. Disgusting.

If you're honestly tracking and not seeing results, see a doctor. There are metabolic disorders that can affect one's ability to lose weight.

Ninkyou

Weigh all of your food on a digital food scale. Until you do this, you're not being nearly as accurate as you think you are, and you're probably eating more calories than you think.

Also, a defeatist attitude is a sure way to failure.

opus649

In fact, there is a vast body of knowledge (studies, research, documented results, etc) that shows exactly the opposite - not the least of which is the alarming increase in obesity, diabetes, heart disease and others that so closely mirrors the time period (the last 40 years) during which we've been admonished to "eat less, exercise more, don't eat meat, don't eat butter, etc, etc".

rml_16

In fact, there is a vast body of knowledge (studies, research, documented results, etc) that shows exactly the opposite - not the least of which is the alarming increase in obesity, diabetes, heart disease and others that so closely mirrors the time period (the last 40 years) during which we've been admonished to "eat less, exercise more, don't eat meat, don't eat butter, etc, etc".

You know what else has gone on in the last 40 years?

Video games, the Internet, more desk jobs, people being scared to death to let their kids go outside and play.

When I was a kid in the '80s and a teenager in the '90s, an overweight child was a very, very, very rare sight. They existed, but they were the extreme exception. We played outside -- climbed trees. rode bikes. swam, rollerskated ... If it wasn't a school day, we got up, ate breakfast, got dressed and went outside and started knocking on neighbors' doors if the kids weren't already outside themselves and we didn't go back into the house until the street lights came on. And we had gym class and recess at school.

My daughter was born in 1994 and do you have any idea how many people by then would not let their children outside, even in large groups. without adult supervision -- even at 10 years old??? Kids' days are so structured that they get no real, free activity. They have their faces buried in technology. Their avatars climb virtual trees while the kids sit on the couch pushing buttons. And now you see far more overweight children than normal-sized children.

But I guess it's far more fun to blame high fructose corn syrup and wheat for the obesity problem we have in this world.

thepandapost

I have briefly skimmed the responses here and agree with the overall response.

My main piece is just keep going. Consistency adds up. I have been obese/overweight since I was 13 years old (26 now) - which means for HALF of my life I have been very aware of my size. It wasn't until age 15 I decided to do something about it and have been on this journey (to goal weight and weight gains and back again) since then.

During that time I have learned A LOT about myself. Very discouraged that this is just my body and there is nothing I can do because even with weighing the peanut butter, heart rate tracking my workout, that my body is just not meant to be thin. It is a very overwhelming feeling.

However, I still wake up every morning and bust out the food scale and slap on the heart rate monitor. Why? Because I am so much healthier than I was a young teen even if the scale says otherwise. I keep fighting the fight. I know what it is like to see someone give up the fight, my Dad, who lost his life last year due to obesity related issues. He was 59 years old and passed from something he could have had control of. My journey means even more now because I NEVER want to put my friends/family through what my Dad did to me.

waxon81

I believe my body is happier with a higher body fat, bit of a tummy and love handles. I'm not however.lol. Unless I'm extremely strict with diet and excercise it's not long before I reset back to my skinny fat base

Scooter_99

YES I weigh my food. I have a food scale.

RHachicho

You are right your body is fine with it. Everybody's body is fine with it. It's how we are built. You are not special in this regard.

However I disagree with some of the stuff being said here.

1. It doesn't matter what you eat just how much you eat.

Frankly this is technically correct and actually DEAD WRONG. If you eat nothing but microwave meals and sweets and calorie count you can indeed lose weight. But you will be constantly hungry for all the stuff that your body still needs. You will be miserable and unhealthy. When you are at a deficit you really should be making most of your calories count. I'm not saying you can't spend a bit on treats and stuff. But really most people will have a much easier time and be happier with their health and their body if they try to eat healthy food most of the time.

2. You can lose weight only in the kitchen. Exercise is unnecessary.

Once again technically correct and in practice outright dangerous. It tempts people into depriving diets that malnourish their bodies in all sorts of ways. And if you work hard in the gym you absolutely can afford to eat quite a bit more and still lose weight. Not only that but you will probably retain much more lean mass and suffer far less from micro nutrient deficiencies. You will be fitter healthier and just plain better looking and feeling when you finish. Plus exercise is a great way to distract yourself from boredom or depression based food cravings.

Personally I think it's wrong for a health and fitness site to condone the idea that exercise is optional and that nutritional quality doesn't matter. Weight loss is a wonderful thing. But it shouldn't be elevated above other less obvious aspects of bodily healthy.

jennifernoseworthy

Don't give up. Maybe you should have an appointment with your Doctor to check your hormone levels? A hypoactive thyroid will make losing weight really hard.