Fighting Genetics

"Eating right" is very subjective. The only way to make progress is to know your body, how much you need calorie wise in a day, set a plan to hit a slight deficit, and stick to the plan. Think long term about your life, goals, and dreams; don't focus too much on today how you look, or the scale each day.

My entire family is obese. I was obese at one point.

It's not genetics. It's consuming too many calories for your activity level/lifestyle.

How do i know if i am fighting my genetics for my weight and size? Is there a way to test for this?

I have a very similar stature to all the women on my mom's side of the family. In the last 2 years i have completed a lifestyle overhall but stil can loose the pounds like it seems like i should. (you can tell a physical difference though).

I wonder if i am fighting my genes. I don't look significantly thinner than my family but i workout and eat right.

It's driving me crazy - my lack of results.

I " ate right " all my life, but over the last ten years ate for various reasons much too much of the " right " food and gained a great deal of weight. I still eat right, but a whole lot less of it and am losing. It's not what you eat when it comes to weightloss, but how much you eat.

You can have your metabolic rate tested. I had it done by a dietician at a grocery store of all places. Some gyms and universities also offer testing.

Be sure you are weighing your foods correctly. It really can make a huge difference.

What do you mean when you say you're not losing like you think you should? Have you been losing both pounds and inches fairly regularly? Have you been tracking your food the whole past two years or have you been inconsistent? Were you also very accurate with your tracking - weighing, measuring food and checking labels to make sure MFP listings were accurate?

It's hard to know for sure without some cold hard facts so if you haven't been tracking consistently for the past two years and can't say for sure that you've been spot on with your calorie intake the whole time, you can't really say that genetics is the problem. You could have been eating more than you think and maybe not being as active (burning as many calories) as you think.

I'm built a lot like my paternal grandmother but that doesn't mean I'm destined to be obese like she was for most of her life. I used to think it did as many of my aunts and cousins are also obese, but it was just a very convenient excuse. Once I got my eating under control and started exercising fairly consistently, the weight came off. Sure I might have to work a bit harder to get to goal due to my genetics but that doesn't means it's impossible.

5, 4 173 pounds
diet 1250 calories M-TH, 2000-3000 calories F-Sa, 1500 Sunday
Activity level 20-30mins cardio/strength training 3-5 times per week.

How would i find out if i have a slower metabolism in general?

Your best test is reading your own info. If you're eating X calores/week and not losing or gaining (for a long period) you're burning X calories per week. You say body changes are visible? Then maybe you're losing fat and retaining water, which doesn't last forever. The only way to tell which is going on is to keep doing what you're doing and keep checking the results in the mirror as well as the scale, or try a lower calorie level and check those results.

Your deficit does seem pretty small. And '2000-3000' sounds like an estimate, which means it could really be 3500, maybe?