Determined to get by body back!

Options
jent752012
jent752012 Posts: 9
in Introduce Yourself
I don't have as far to go as some, but the extra 30-35lbs that I've put on has got to go! My "fat" pants have become so tight I can't even get them above my knee. I don't even know what size I am anymore. I was a size 4. Then I started wearing my size 6/7 "fat" pants...now they are way too tiny. I'm 5'6" and I have a small bone structure. I'm hovering around 162-165lbs right now. :(

I saw myself in a video recently and couldn't believe what I saw. I was horrified. I knew I'd put on weight, but didn't realize how big I looked when compared to family members that I *thought* looked really big. I can tell you that it doesn't help when you live with a household of people that are all over 6ft tall and eat waaay more than I do - they also don't care about eating healthy foods. It's torture sitting next to someone who is eating pizza or ice cream! I also visit my mom less now because everytime I do, she always goes to a fast food place, has sodas, etc. She thinks eating healthy means baking a cake at home and not buying it from the store (lol).

The initial weight gain of 20lbs happened so quick (1-2 months) that I thought something might be medically wrong so I went to the Dr. I was thinking maybe hypothyroidism, adrenal-something, pcos....They said I was fine. I've gained another 10lbs + after that. I started eating super-healthy, but haven't seen any results. I have tried eliminating foods, adding vitamins, just about everything. Not eating wheat/bread made me feel alot better so I've permanently eliminated it from my diet. I quit drinking soda and eating sweets, which has helped me have far fewer headaches and sugar highs/crashes. Still no results as far as my weight though. I also have some skin issues now - I assume it is related to my weight gain? I tried paleo...I'm not able to afford enough meat/fat to maintain that diet so I don't know if that would work for me. I switched to coconut oil and that hasn't helped either - I've been using it for some time.

I do know that I'm not drinking enough fluid. After I stopped drinking soda (8-12 a day!), I don't have a thirst for anything. Drinking 3 glasses of water is even hard. I don't know why. Yesterday I decided that I will start drinking tea again. I am hoping that will help. Just tea with a slice of ginger - nothing else.

My hair has thinned out, nails break easily, I have poofy bags under my eyes, I've lost my muscle tone/strength, and my skin always looks dry - this is one of the reasons I went to the Dr thinking I had hypothyroidism or something.

I'm broke so I can't go buy anything right now...I put sand in empty laundry containers...they are too heavy(40lbs) so I'm gonna put it in something smaller. I added a bunch of youtube video clips to a playlist. I went through some of them yesterday. BodyRocktv, Charlie James, & Tracy Anderson ones are way to hard for me - I couldn't do hardly any of them. I have some older CDs that weren't as hard, but did make me sweat. I think I'll do those for a bit until I get a little stronger.

I really cannot believe that my body hasn't responded at ALL to me eating much healthier than I used to. I still think something is broken. :( If anyone has been in a similar situation or has an idea about what has gone wonky with my system I'd love to hear your suggestions!

Replies

  • crash_aly
    crash_aly Posts: 112
    Options
    As hard as drinking water might be, I think that will help you quite a bit. If your body is dehydrated why would it want to let go of any of it's stored resources? You could add lemon/oranges or whatever to the water for flavor if that is the issue. It might take some time for your body to figure out that it's okay for it to let go of some of the extra weight/fat. Be mindful of your stress levels also and do things that make you happy or relieve stress for you.

    Do you track on here often and are you careful about portion sizes?

    I've hit plateaus but they generally last a few weeks or months for me. Weight gain can be easy and for some reason we can be very blind to it until we see a picture/video that shocks us (that was my big realization, seeing as I thought I was gaining but my boyfriend at the time insisted I was not and no one else around me was saying anything on top of not owning a scale).

    Good luck! Feel free to add me!
  • jent752012
    jent752012 Posts: 9
    Options
    Thanks so much for the reply! I've used MFP a few times, but not enough to really track everything and see results. I've decided to use MFP more consistantly. When it asks you how many glasses of water you drink per day...that's when I realized I wasn't drinking much of anything. Yikes!

    Since I changed my eating habits(a few years ago), I've cut my portions way down. I used to go for 2nds and 3rds - I never do that now. I changed my diet because family members started having heart attacks, diabetes, etc and I didn't want that to be me.

    I am under alot of stress, which I am trying to work on. That's probably one of my biggest problems, next to not drinking enough fluids. I cannot get rid of my kids, husband, house, bills, etc (LOL) so the stressors are here to stay. I kinda want to try yoga, but I don't know where to start. I guess I need to just jump in and do it.

    I've never had weight issues or dieted until several years ago when it hit me all at once. It wasn't a gradual thing. I've gained the weight and started having skin issues after I changed my diet for the better.

    Edited to say: No one has said anything to me either. They always tell me I'm beautiful and never say anything about my weight - except my mom used to always gripe about how skinny I was before I gained the weight (I was fit & toned...not skinny).
  • crash_aly
    crash_aly Posts: 112
    Options
    I think the consistency will help. It's easy to go over on things when you aren't fully paying attention or when "one little piece of this or that won't hurt" turns into several little pieces and a couple hundred calories (speaking from definite experience here!).

    When you say you 'changed your eating habits' what exactly does this entail? I know when I was younger I did the low carb diet, was vegetarian for a while even but when I was the smallest/felt the best/looked my best I couldn't tell you what I did. I ate what I wanted and have always been big on drinking water. I was active but not hitting the gym (I rode horse competitively which meant I rode for at least an hour most days of the week and weekends were filled with competitions) as well as played soccer. I have always struggled with my weight so I don't consider age having a big factor here (I was 15-16 years old at this time). Could age be a factor (not necessarily full cause) for you?

    I am a strong believer that one diet does not fit all. Everyone has different body composition and processes things differently (this comes from my own experience with food as well as 5+ years in the drug abuse treatment field). You may need to adjust what you are eating to make your body happier. For example, my body feels full longer and I have more energy when I eat a diet a little higher in protein and slightly lower in carbs. I talked to my chiropractor recently about some nutritional advice and she gave me a few recommendations, one of which was this guy http://nutritionaltyping.mercola.com/PreTest.aspx . He talks about nutritional typing and goes through an exam with you to figure out which you likely fall under, then gives you a list of different foods that fit that and how to eat. I don't follow it exactly (or probably all that close in general) but it was nice to have confirmation that yes, I run between a protein type and mixed type. Knowledge is power!
  • purrypants01
    purrypants01 Posts: 47 Member
    Options
    Try drinking water with a straw
  • jent752012
    jent752012 Posts: 9
    Options
    When I was a size 4, I ate the typical S.A.D. plus alot of junk: fast food, pizza, ice cream, chips, boxed foods, junk lunch meat and sliced cheese, bread, tortillas, coca-cola, fried alot of food, baked alot of sweets. I never dieted. Even after I had our kids, I went right back to a size 3/4 (was even smaller) about a month after I had them - without doing anything other than what I normally did. (Play outside, swim, hiking, etc). All the way up to when I turned 29/30.

    I noticed people in my family starting to have serious health issues and I started changing my diet at that point. Not to loose weight, because I was already slender, but so I won't end up with serious health issues. I got rid of fried foods, no more ice cream or cake...really bad things like that. Then around 2006 (I was in my late 20's), something "broke" and I went to the Dr. My hair started thinning and I got melsama on my face. I hadn't gained weight at that point. Around 2009, I gave up all soda (diet coke), no more sweet tea, also gave up on grains and bread. When I did this - I'm sure it was just a coincidence, I started packing on lbs.

    Around Nov/Dec last year I kinda said screw-it since I wasn't seeing any physical benefits. I didn't drink any soda or sweet tea, but I did eat pizza, pie, cookies, etc. I know I did this to myself. I saw the video of myself a few weeks ago :embarassed: :frown: Didn't realize I was THAT big. Ugh.

    I am trying different things to see what will work work me. I have come across and read of few of Dr. Mercola's articles. They are very informative. I am trying to do what you are doing...going with more protein. I was worried that the protein I am able to buy locally wasn't of good enough quality. I know I have issues when I consume too many carbs, any sugar, etc.
  • jent752012
    jent752012 Posts: 9
    Options
    Thanks for the tip :smile: I used to do that, but stopped because I was getting little wrinkles/lines on my lips and I didn't want to look like a smoker as I get older.
  • crash_aly
    crash_aly Posts: 112
    Options
    Just curious, but what happened when you started incorporating some of the old foods back into your diet?

    Also, did you ever get a second opinion or see a dietician rather than an MD? Especially if they have run all the blood tests and everything looks good, might want to try a different kind of professional.

    My hair and nails have always been more fragile than I would prefer. This does not change much with what I eat. I shed like a cat and keep my nails short so they don't break as easily. I try to remember to take multivitamins but have had several people suggest taking prenatal vitamins instead. I have yet to try this but it's a thought!

    Are you getting enough to eat? What is a typical day like for you?
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    Options
    We have the same stats so I can sympathize. I did look at your diary and you have your daily goal at 500 calories...is that right? If so you aren't eating enough and this severe calorie restriction is dangerous. It is also unsustainable. You should be eating at least 1476 for your BMR while staying below 1771 (TDEE). Log everything. Water will also help, but I think its the calorie restriction that may be a problem.
  • jent752012
    jent752012 Posts: 9
    Options
    I only added the old S.A.D. foods back in for a few months. I gained weight quickly, got headaches, it made me really sleepy, my stomach boats for 3-4 days...

    The Dr said there were more tests they could run, but my insurance wouldn't cover any more tests - and I can't afford to pay for them. My insurance refused to even pay for a basic glucose/diabetes test. How messed up is that?

    I never had skin or nail issues before things went wonky. Everything happened to me/started all at the same time.

    @cathipa - I know it looks bad. A few days ago I put it at those levels and I will up it later on. The reason I did that is I used to fast off and on when I was fit - it worked for me. Instead of 0 cals, I'm shooting for 500-ish so I'll get some vitamins/minerals/etc. DRs actually put some people on 500cal/day diets in some situations. I was also hoping to switch my body from burning sugars to burning fat (ketosis) - I'm eating alot of veggies so I don't think that will happen. I don't agree with the S.A.D., "needing" carbs, "needing" contaminated dairy, or the 1500-2000/day req. I'm shooting for 100% paleo until I hit my goals, then I plan to maintain with 70-80% paleo.
  • befitnow3
    befitnow3 Posts: 62 Member
    Options
    Try a minimum of 1200. 500 is too low. You are starving yourself. And also dehydration. :/
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    Options
    I only added the old S.A.D. foods back in for a few months. I gained weight quickly, got headaches, it made me really sleepy, my stomach boats for 3-4 days...

    The Dr said there were more tests they could run, but my insurance wouldn't cover any more tests - and I can't afford to pay for them. My insurance refused to even pay for a basic glucose/diabetes test. How messed up is that?

    I never had skin or nail issues before things went wonky. Everything happened to me/started all at the same time.

    @cathipa - I know it looks bad. A few days ago I put it at those levels and I will up it later on. The reason I did that is I used to fast off and on when I was fit - it worked for me. Instead of 0 cals, I'm shooting for 500-ish so I'll get some vitamins/minerals/etc. DRs actually put some people on 500cal/day diets in some situations. I was also hoping to switch my body from burning sugars to burning fat (ketosis) - I'm eating alot of veggies so I don't think that will happen. I don't agree with the S.A.D., "needing" carbs, "needing" contaminated dairy, or the 1500-2000/day req. I'm shooting for 100% paleo until I hit my goals, then I plan to maintain with 70-80% paleo.

    And those patients are morbidly obese and being constantly monitored with labs and a nutritionist to make sure they don't have organ failure. This diet is unsustainable and any weight you lose you will probably gain back. Not saying you need 1500 -2000 cal per day but 500 is just dangerous. Good luck though.

Categories