Genuinely stuck and need solid advice, please.

I have not taken the time to read al 4 pages of replies, but I did look at your diary.

You are taking time to log foods but not all the time?

You are doing so well, in asking for advice and beginning to get into the habit of logging your food, my advice try to keep it up, until you get into it all 100% then you will struggle.

Maybe try to plan your day the night before and then go with it?

OP quote

"And it's highly possible that I've been eating more than 1000 calories over my TDEE everyday. I actually tracked what I ate one day and it totalled at 6000+ calories."


Anyone going to gain weight like that unless doing a heck of a lot of exercise. Give yourself another week (or two) before worrying about it. Look forward to an update.

Lozzieemay, I don't know STrooper but I expect he is trying to be helpful in the best way he can.

I was interested to read you have been on antidepressants. When I went on them a number of years ago I gained 70 lbs. I don't know the chemistry of it, but I do know they made me hungry, and they made my body cling to weight like it was a barnacle on the bottom of a ship. This might be part of what is happening for you. Hormonal changes caused by pregnancy (and menopause) can also change the way our bodies metabolize food. Neither of these things would necessarily show up on a blood test.

I hope you get it sorted out. I know how bad it feels to face that kind of weight gain, and to have the secret feeling that it will never, ever stop.

I was on anti-deps for 2yrs and I gained 32kg (70lbs) in less than 12 months by doing NOTHING different in my diet/routine other than the fact that I was now taking meds. Once I stopped, I lost the weight.... it didn't matter how much exercise/diet I did during that 2yrs, nothing else would work. I think medication is important to take if you need it for your mental health, but I won't lie - it's likely to be a major contributor to weight gain (along with a high cal diet if that is another issue that you face) and it can sometimes be a battle that you have to cope with until you're in a position to no longer need the meds. Talk to your Doctor about the weight gain and see if you can find an alternative brand to maybe lessen the gain side effects?

I'm a professional, just someone who has "been there" and it took me a long time to understand and therefore stop beating myself up for gaining weight.

Good luck!

Sorry! That was meant to say I'm NOT a professional.

I am going to answer you (in part) in reverse order of how you posted.

You, are very judgemental.

Unless, of course, I'm not. I am amused by your opinion.

I am not surprised by your opion, however.It does not surprise me that you would think this of me, given some of you other responses to me and to others. It is just your way of justifying yourself and making me "wrong" so you can feel "right" as if by calling me judgemental you could somehow offend me and "hurt my feelings." Has that worked for you before particularly when you were gaining weight and others beside yourself noticed? How did that work out for you?

And as I will point out down below, you were the one whom chose to call herself "a pig." So, which one of us is the judemntal one and using judgemental language?

And if you cannot be constructive with your 'advice', then I question why you bother?

A fair question. I bother because I've been down a tangential path before and because I have produced a result consistent with the weight loss range that you are looking for. I bother because langauge gives us everything about our experience in and of the world and by challenging your view of being stuck, etc. it reveals to me (and to others) what you may be up to and may be capable of. Look at how long it has taken you to be honest about being treated for depression and social anxiety. Do you see the responses of some that say it plays/played a role in weight gain. I bother because what I might recommend may not work for you when my sense of things says that something does not quite add up.

Want constructive advice: eat less, exercise more.

Want more specifics:

Limit your calorie intake to no more than 2200 calories per day (no matter what).
Eat two cups of fruit and three cups of vegetables everyday, no matter what.
Eat in the following calorie proportions: protein (15%), fat (30%), and carbohydrates (55%) and maintain that proportion each day.
Give up sugary drinks and all carbonated drinks.
Reduce sugar in tea and coffee to no more than 2 teaspons per 12 ources

On exercise, walk 100 minutes per day at a pace of 115-120 steps per minute. Measure it with a pedometer than is capable of discerning this time at this pace. Do that every single day (it can be broken into three or four chunks thourghout the day), no matter what unless you are confined to a bed or in the hospital. Commit to doing that and recording it over the next 60 days and we'll see where you stand on weight loss after 60 continuous days of doing that.

And before you give me and everyone reading this 10 reasons why you can't give me one reason why you can, because that is the only one that counts. Time to give up the excuses.

Want to know why I bother? If you are serious and honest about it, I bother because I know you have to be bankrupt of all your excuses. You know that too, whether you admit it or not.

I come to this site for advice regarding diet and exercise, not for some stranger to try and 'diagnose' me with some jargon and be patronising at the same time. I have lost weight previously and am more than aware of the knowledge concerning calories, macronutrients and exercise.

Really? You know this? What I just wrote up above is totally useless to you then. So, there reason you are here asking for constructive advice on getting "unstuck" and losing 80 pounds is what, exactly?....

Do you not see the absuridty of your words and the internal issues they project for everyone to read?

Excuse me, but 1. I did state originally that I'd gained 80lbs through basically being a pig and eating all the wrong food in large quantities. I did not once suggest that I was unaware how I'd gained weight?

2. I haven't denied that I've been overeating the past 10 months in order for me to gain this weight, so please do not patronise me.

If you read the very first post in this thread, you will barely find any mention of that and its your opening post. Read it carefully. Your words barely even hint at it. And your words were certainly were judgemental in calling yourself a pig in this response. Furthermore, when I calculated the number of calories that were required for that much weight gain you used the following wording that it was "possible." The word "possible" in the face of physical evidence of time and mass means that it is something very different from "possible." If you need it "sugar coated" then say you need it sugar coated and that is the only type of advice you'll accept. Serving it up that way would be "patronizing."

3. Don't comment on my parenting! I am a loving mother who has never had any signs of post partum depression, and I also work full time in a very well paid job so do not have money issues, so do not judge where you are not knowledgeable!

Speaking of being judgemental....did you happen to notice where you went with parenting, being a loving mother and post-partum depression? Post partum depression does not automatically mean anything with repect to being a "loving mother" or your parenting capacity. There are lots of other ways it can and often does manifest itself. Let me be clear that I am referring to and largely limiting this to the imbalance in hormones that help create the whole post-partum depression scenario.

It is pretty evident that I hit a "hot button" for you. That is reinforced by your well-paid job comment.

Care to comment on your feelings about having a full-time well paid job and not being able to be a full-time mother instead? You don't think I've ever had that conversation before nor had my own conflicts between job and being a parent? Interesting.

And if you were in the fog of post-partum depression (e.g., the conversation on job/career versus full-time parent), how would you know? I have had far more experience dealing with a person going through post-partum depression than you are capable of imagining. Know how I know that? Because if you had been able to imagine mye expereince you would not have written what you wrote. She was a great parent, too and she would have been the first to tell you that. But it manifested itslef in interesting ways and it wasn't until she was pregnant the second time that she (or I) knew that;s what we had dealt with before AND the ability to diagnose and treat it had become much, much better.

4. I have had depression and social anxiety disorder for years, and for many years have been on sertraline antidepressants to combat this. I have blood tests done REGULARLY for my anaemia, the last blood tests done only 3 weeks ago, and I have NO OTHER blood issues - do not make me repeat myself, again.

You know, if I had relied on your type of explanation about blood tests and having no other blood issues, I would be dead today. That's because the blood test would not have shown the malignant tumor until I was nearly dead. A blood test is far different from a medical evaluation, and what I am getting at is what else is going on medically that could figure into whats going on with you.

Part of me does not buy what you are selling here. For example, you are saying that your cholesteral levels, including HDL and LDL, and triglycerides are exactly in the optimum range even though you are 80 pounds overweight? You have no issues with blood sugar? How about your before and after T4 values (for your thyroid)? The list goes on.

The whole treatment for depression is another matter. While sertraline, by itself, does not appear to cause weight gain, the fact is that you are using large quantities of food calories for something. And that is part of what anyone with a degree of conscientious intent should be getting at. mayber rather than coming here for advice, you should be seeking true medical advice to examine what you are doing in a holistic way.

Finally, you can reject everything I say, state that publicly in this forum AND request (also publically so everyone can see that you are actually making that request) that I provide no more comment or input to you on this or any other subject and I will honor that request.

The choice is yours.

Keep at it.

Reaching a weight loss goal can be like a financial saving goal ... the body is all one account though, the total sum showing on the scales.

The scales ! Ah yes, those things. Often out - even digital ones as they still use mechanical weighing principals.

Secondly, at 22 and female, your body is a very busy machine. Cycles every month (even if you aren't having the TOM's, etc., the hormones still cycle).

Fluid retention, food needs, responses, etc. change every day according to your bodily needs which cycle daily, monthly, and seasonally.

Back to the financial analogy - you may need to check on the bank balance over a lengthier period of time. Consider that pay day may be once per fortnight, the bills monthly, groceries weekly, fuel and ad-hoc may be any time.

So the thing is to go to work every day, pay what you need when you need, be diligent.

Even financial treats can eat into savings.

No doubt you are quite smart (quite pretty too !) ... just give yourself a weigh-in once per month (that is hard, but worth it when starting out).

All the best !

The first few weeks to month, your body is getting used to the change. Not only have you made a substantial change to diet but you have also started working it out more. So, your body bloats from the diet and you probably are losing fat, but you are gaining muscle that is taking it's place on the scale. No worries, that muscle will start burning fat in no time. Just keep focused and you will see the changes soon.

Are those current pictures? If they are you don't need to lose weight, you need to reevaluate what's really going on. If it's not recent pics and you really need to lose weightI suggest you up your calories and add cardio.

it takes more than 5 days to see results.
take measurements.
eat more fruits/veggies and drink plenty of water.
patience.