Anyone else at this level of frustration?

runfree78
runfree78 Posts: 25 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I went to the doctor to try and find out why I keep gaining weight and inches and yet am eating either below or around maintenance regularly. She said she was not concerned because I'm not overweight, that my weight is overall stable, and that I shouldn't let weight rule my life. I brought up the thyroid, but she said she really did not think that this was the problem; she doesn't see a problem at all.

Every day I've logged food, except for maybe 2 or 3 days, MFP has said I should lose weight in 5 weeks. I logged for 5 weeks, but instead of losing, I gained weight and inches.

Just a few months ago I was 30" around my stomach. Two weeks ago I was 33". Now I'm 35" before eating for the day. and only getting larger. I just keep getting bigger, and exercise and diet are doing nothing for me. Please don't say "oh, starvation mode" because according to calculators I'm almost 30% body fat, so my body isn't worried about storing fat; it's got plenty.

I've been sick for awhile, so I can't exercise; I can't stop coughing, so running or working out is not on my list of things to do. And I can literally feel the fat building.

I am at the end of my rope. I can't stand this weight, but I can't get rid of it. It is affecting my mood daily, and I can't figure out how to break out of this. Anyone else like this? Please tell me I'm not all alone.

Replies

  • donyellemoniquex3
    donyellemoniquex3 Posts: 2,384 Member
    Have you had blood tests yet ?
  • runfree78
    runfree78 Posts: 25 Member
    Have you had blood tests yet ?

    She said she saw no reason to do blood tests unless it continues for a few more weeks, as I don't have any other symptoms of thyroid issues and could be from a mediation I took. By that time, I could be up another 10 pounds.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    If she won't order the tests you want, go to another doctor who will. You are in charge of your health, not her. I had to do that one time (for a different issue) - went to a different doc, was very up front with where I was and what I wanted, and she ordered the tests, no problem - and I got my answers without having to wait on some other doctor's schedule.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    I looked at your diary. Lots of empty days. Days that were in had intake calories all over the map.

    I know it's almost certainly not what you want to hear, but I rather strongly suspect you are simply eating more than you think you are.
  • jvbrooks
    jvbrooks Posts: 82 Member
    It looks like you don't log weekends? Is there a reason why?
  • sola24
    sola24 Posts: 334 Member
    I have a feeling you are not logging properly.. Are you logging each and every morsel thats going in your mouth? Or you are ignoring those small snacks.. like a cookie.. or a few chips thinking they dont count? Remember, every teeny bit counts. We often do not know we are eating more than we think we are.. If you want to know more about what I am talking about try watching secret eaters on youtube.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    If I were you I'd start with my diary. You're not logging consistently. And I saw some room for improvement in there. Maybe trade in the candy for something healthier - things like that. Make sure you're weighing or measuring everything and tracking accurately. THEN after a month or so of a better diary see how things are going and go back to the Dr if needed.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I agree that you are most likely eating more than you think you are, thus you are gaining. Something I noticed in your diary is that you calorie estimations look pretty low for higher calorie foods.

    Your logging is kind of sporadic. You should be logging everything that goes into your mouth. Look on the food packaging for the calories because sometimes MFP is not accurate.

    As for the doctor issue, if you believe your are gaining weight due to a health issue, you need to find a doctor who will help you.
  • runfree78
    runfree78 Posts: 25 Member
    I stopped logging last weekend because I was sick and tired of being so stringent with my diet and seeing no results; recently I stopped logging because I'm sick (physically sick). I have a bad cold and no energy to watch every calorie that I eat, when I'm not eating much anyway. I'm trying to get back into it today.

    Other than that I was logging religiously. But let's just say that I was off by 150 calories a day (possible, though I pretty strictly put on MFP what I was eating when I was consistently logging, but let's just say for arguments sake that I was having a phantom cookie every day). Even then, I should have mostly been losing weight. Except for a VERY few days here and there, I would STILL have been eating under maintenance calories 95% of the time, which means theoretically I would have been losing weight or staying the same. If you eat under your maintenance for 6 days and at maintenance for 1 day, shouldn't you be losing weight?

    I weigh my food, so I know exactly what I'm eating. I weigh EVERYTHING, I count everything. So if I say I ate .6 oz of something, that's because that's what my kitchen scale says. I have also compared labels against MFP to see if I thought something was low, but so far so good.

    One thing is that I don't weigh my meat portion until after I cooked it. Is this incorrect? I weigh pasta BEFORE cooking, should I be doing this with the meat?

    Because of my level of frustration, I don't have the heart to keep going. I am too tired of this. I will probably continue to log to get a general idea of what I'm eating, but I can't do the "every single thing in my mouth" logging that I was doing most of August. It doesn't matter what I eat - I will gain.
  • ruffnstuff
    ruffnstuff Posts: 400 Member
    Sorry, but I'm gonna have to dispute some of what Bob said. I looked through your diary thoroughly and read the notes. You don't need to worry about fruit juice because it doesn't appear that you actually drink it. And, no one needs to give up all sugar of any kind just to lose weight. Health might be a different issue, but we're talking strictly weight loss here. Also, you can easily incoporate snacks if they are smart snacks that help fill you and provide your body with nutrition. You get to decide what these things are.

    First thing I noticed about your food diary (and no, I'm not at all suggesting your have a "problem" here, it's just an observation) - your new inches might be brought to you courtesy of Goose Island. You have more overage days than you probably realize, and many of your calories are from things that aren't nutitionally filling (like beer and candy, but I totally get the sweet cravings!). That coupled with no work outs or weight training could lead to inches on your waist.

    Second, and I say this with love/concern and not snark - your diary makes me sad. Your foods make me sad. The "real" food you do eat seems very boring and dull. Obviously (if I am to believe your notes and what you eat) you can be an emotional eater. Welcome to the club :) Many, many days you note how hungry you are after lunch or breakfast. Your lunches are averaging 225-250 cals. I'd be HANGRY, too. And while I see that you must really like cashews, you don't get much bang for your caloric buck there. Same goes for all the candy. It might fit in your limits, but when it's almost an everyday thing, and 30-50% of cals come just from candy and cashews (and beer), you will continue to be hungry and frustrated and probably not see the scale or tape measure move in the direction you want.

    Third - one of your notes referenced popping a bunch of zanax. Obviously there is more at play here than just frustration over your diet and inches. If you haven't been to your doc in awhile, it's time to make an appointment. Your original post is a cry for help, but I suspect it might be directed toward the wrong people (MFP). I believe you really are fed up and frustrated with your recent weight gain, but maybe there is other work you need to do on you first before you can fully commit to your eating health. Please just consider what I'm mentioning.

    I do wish you the very best of luck!
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    First of all, your ticker says that you only need to lose 5 pounds. Is that correct? What is your height, weight, current weight and goal weight? How many pounds per week did you say you want to lose?

    It is very likely that you should be eating more than 1200-1300 calories a day unless you are very short and petite.
  • runfree78
    runfree78 Posts: 25 Member

    First thing I noticed about your food diary (and no, I'm not at all suggesting your have a "problem" here, it's just an observation) - your new inches might be brought to you courtesy of Goose Island. You have more overage days than you probably realize, and many of your calories are from things that aren't nutitionally filling (like beer and candy, but I totally get the sweet cravings!). That coupled with no work outs or weight training could lead to inches on your waist.

    Second, and I say this with love/concern and not snark - your diary makes me sad. Your foods make me sad. The "real" food you do eat seems very boring and dull. Obviously (if I am to believe your notes and what you eat) you can be an emotional eater. Welcome to the club :) Many, many days you note how hungry you are after lunch or breakfast. Your lunches are averaging 225-250 cals. I'd be HANGRY, too. And while I see that you must really like cashews, you don't get much bang for your caloric buck there. Same goes for all the candy. It might fit in your limits, but when it's almost an everyday thing, and 30-50% of cals come just from candy and cashews (and beer), you will continue to be hungry and frustrated and probably not see the scale or tape measure move in the direction you want.

    Third - one of your notes referenced popping a bunch of zanax. Obviously there is more at play here than just frustration over your diet and inches. If you haven't been to your doc in awhile, it's time to make an appointment. Your original post is a cry for help, but I suspect it might be directed toward the wrong people (MFP). I believe you really are fed up and frustrated with your recent weight gain, but maybe there is other work you need to do on you first before you can fully commit to your eating health. Please just consider what I'm mentioning.

    I do wish you the very best of luck!

    Thanks for actually looking through everything.

    I haven't drank ANY alcohol in over a week at this point due to being sick, and nothing has changed. Still gaining. So no Goose Island inches for me. Also, why does everyone keep saying I don't work out?? I run 4-6 times a week and had been doing the 30 day shred on top of it; are these notes just not coming through?

    I have a very bland diet because when it comes to healthy foods there are a lot of foods I can't eat. If I want to "eat healthy" I have to be bland. It sucks. I have stomach issues and also texture issues; I can't eat most fish, for example, because I immediately have stomach problems stemming from a gallbladder surgery, and I can't eat lettuce/garlic/onions, for example, because I start gagging due to the texture. I am hungry all the time, it never stops. My doctor says I'm eating too little if I feel like that, but if I'm gaining at these calories, I'm going to pile it on if I eat more. I eat cashews because usually they make me feel more full and are one of the few foods that don't cause me problems, they also take a while to eat so I put off feeling like I'm starving for a little while.

    As for the xanax, did you see it was at the dentist? I had a very frightening procedure done, and took xanax to get by. The first xanax didn't work enough, so I had to take more, and ended up "loading up" on it.

    I've seen doctors and therapists and psychiatrists, and they pretty much all say the same thing - "I can't help you." Was just hoping someone could.
  • runfree78
    runfree78 Posts: 25 Member
    First of all, your ticker says that you only need to lose 5 pounds. Is that correct? What is your height, weight, current weight and goal weight? How many pounds per week did you say you want to lose?

    It is very likely that you should be eating more than 1200-1300 calories a day unless you are very short and petite.

    Not anymore. I wanted to be 115, that is now 10 lbs away. I am 125, 5'2". I am supposed to be eating 1200 calories a day but all I do is feel like I'm starving on it, and yes I AM very short and petite.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    In your first post you said that you had been ill and not working out, that is why people keep mentioning that.

    You are in the ideal weight range for your height and age. If you are weighing/measuring/logging everything and still gain weight and inches then see another doctor.
  • socajam
    socajam Posts: 2,530 Member
    Sorry, but I'm gonna have to dispute some of what Bob said. I looked through your diary thoroughly and read the notes. You don't need to worry about fruit juice because it doesn't appear that you actually drink it. And, no one needs to give up all sugar of any kind just to lose weight. Health might be a different issue, but we're talking strictly weight loss here. Also, you can easily incoporate snacks if they are smart snacks that help fill you and provide your body with nutrition. You get to decide what these things are.

    First thing I noticed about your food diary (and no, I'm not at all suggesting your have a "problem" here, it's just an observation) - your new inches might be brought to you courtesy of Goose Island. You have more overage days than you probably realize, and many of your calories are from things that aren't nutitionally filling (like beer and candy, but I totally get the sweet cravings!). That coupled with no work outs or weight training could lead to inches on your waist.

    Second, and I say this with love/concern and not snark - your diary makes me sad. Your foods make me sad. The "real" food you do eat seems very boring and dull. Obviously (if I am to believe your notes and what you eat) you can be an emotional eater. Welcome to the club :) Many, many days you note how hungry you are after lunch or breakfast. Your lunches are averaging 225-250 cals. I'd be HANGRY, too. And while I see that you must really like cashews, you don't get much bang for your caloric buck there. Same goes for all the candy. It might fit in your limits, but when it's almost an everyday thing, and 30-50% of cals come just from candy and cashews (and beer), you will continue to be hungry and frustrated and probably not see the scale or tape measure move in the direction you want.

    Third - one of your notes referenced popping a bunch of zanax. Obviously there is more at play here than just frustration over your diet and inches. If you haven't been to your doc in awhile, it's time to make an appointment. Your original post is a cry for help, but I suspect it might be directed toward the wrong people (MFP). I believe you really are fed up and frustrated with your recent weight gain, but maybe there is other work you need to do on you first before you can fully commit to your eating health. Please just consider what I'm mentioning.

    I do wish you the very best of luck!


    I agree with you. Sodium levels are quite high as well - hence water retention.
  • runfree78
    runfree78 Posts: 25 Member
    In your first post you said that you had been ill and not working out, that is why people keep mentioning that.

    PP said that if I was eating all these things and not working out it would make sense. I haven't logged since I've been sick, so they must have been talking about before I got sick - which is when I was also actively exercising. I've had other people in other posts say the same thing about my logged days, so I was just wondering why.
  • runfree78
    runfree78 Posts: 25 Member

    I agree with you. Sodium levels are quite high as well - hence water retention.

    I am under prescribed guidelines for all but 5 days in the past 30. I'm not sure why you're saying this, but please let me know....

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