Juice fasting/very low calorie diet - 18lb loss

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  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
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    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Just out of curiosity, OP, if you are consuming 1200 calories per day, why would you choose juice 2x daily + 1 healthy meal over 3 healthy meals for the same 1200 calories?

    I'm not trying to be obtuse. I'm just curious. I would much rather have ample amounts of protein, fats & carbs for my daily calorie allowance than liquid, but that's just me. What would juice x2 daily do for you that food won't?

    Let you drink on the go so OP can stay active.

    :grinning: Makes sense...

    It can also be just lazy. I get lazy post workout so I also juice that meal and relax.

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    OP this is the definition of weight loss insanity ..you did juice fasts/cleanses, lost weight, put it back on, and now you are doing the same thing, and asking how it will turn out. To answer your question you have lost lean muscle, water weight, and probably some fat. When you go off the juice fast you will probably gain about five pounds in water weight/glycogen replenishment...

    A more sustainable solution would be to figure out a 500 per day calorie deficit and start a heavy lifting program to retain the muscle that you have not already lost...
  • trinatrina1984
    trinatrina1984 Posts: 1,018 Member
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    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Just out of curiosity, OP, if you are consuming 1200 calories per day, why would you choose juice 2x daily + 1 healthy meal over 3 healthy meals for the same 1200 calories?

    I'm not trying to be obtuse. I'm just curious. I would much rather have ample amounts of protein, fats & carbs for my daily calorie allowance than liquid, but that's just me. What would juice x2 daily do for you that food won't?

    Let you drink on the go so OP can stay active.

    :grinning: Makes sense...

    It can also be just lazy. I get lazy post workout so I also juice that meal and relax.


    I was gonna make a meat shake joke but I can't think of one.
  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
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    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Just out of curiosity, OP, if you are consuming 1200 calories per day, why would you choose juice 2x daily + 1 healthy meal over 3 healthy meals for the same 1200 calories?

    I'm not trying to be obtuse. I'm just curious. I would much rather have ample amounts of protein, fats & carbs for my daily calorie allowance than liquid, but that's just me. What would juice x2 daily do for you that food won't?

    Let you drink on the go so OP can stay active.

    Personally, I find it a lot easier to stick to my diet when I know I can just open the fridge and juice some fruit and veg as opposed to calorie counting every meal. I just find it easier, if I was at home opposed to university I would probably not juice as I would have more time to plan my shopping etc.


    But you still need to weigh and log the fruit/veggies in your juice. SO it's the same thing.
    Unless you're buying prepared juice which I think is stupid. I don't like juicing in general but if you're going to do it, you might as well make it yourself. It's cheaper that way and you have better control on what's in it (not saying sugar content here but in terms of flavors). Plus if there's any leftover fruit/veggie stuck in your juicer/blender/whatever, you can compost it for your garden and grow more fruits/veggies.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    edited October 2014
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    A large amount of what you've lost is likely water weight, along with some fat and lean body mass. To have lost 18lbs of fat in a couple of weeks, you would have had to burn/cut around 63,000 calories more than you've eaten. If you use the generic 2000 calories a day average that people burn per day, that's 28,000 calories. So if you ate NOTHING for two weeks, you'd (again, just using 2000 as an example) burn around 28,000 calories.

    Juice fasting is lame and just leads to re-gaining weight. Just do it the correct way. Eat food at a reasonable deficit for your height, weight and activity level.


    EDIT: I just realize you said you've been doing this for 7 days, not two weeks. (don't know where I came up with that) So yeah.....sorry, but most of that is not fat.
  • juliemouse83
    juliemouse83 Posts: 6,663 Member
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    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Just out of curiosity, OP, if you are consuming 1200 calories per day, why would you choose juice 2x daily + 1 healthy meal over 3 healthy meals for the same 1200 calories?

    I'm not trying to be obtuse. I'm just curious. I would much rather have ample amounts of protein, fats & carbs for my daily calorie allowance than liquid, but that's just me. What would juice x2 daily do for you that food won't?

    Let you drink on the go so OP can stay active.

    :grinning: Makes sense...

    It can also be just lazy. I get lazy post workout so I also juice that meal and relax.


    I was gonna make a meat shake joke but I can't think of one.

    So it isn't just me, then? Because I was half tempted to add "Gonna throw my chicken in a blender to take it with me..." but decided against it. :smiley:

  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    OP this is the definition of weight loss insanity ..you did juice fasts/cleanses, lost weight, put it back on, and now you are doing the same thing, and asking how it will turn out. To answer your question you have lost lean muscle, water weight, and probably some fat. When you go off the juice fast you will probably gain about five pounds in water weight/glycogen replenishment...

    A more sustainable solution would be to figure out a 500 per day calorie deficit and start a heavy lifting program to retain the muscle that you have not already lost...

    Wat? That is too much work for us busy folks.

  • mildammm
    mildammm Posts: 67 Member
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    OP, you say you hit carbs hard when you put the weight back on. You have to understand that it wasn't the carbs - juice is actually predominantly simple carbohydrates (try entering a juice of any kind on MFP and look at the info) - but you went back to eating too much, of everything.

    I know it is hard, but you need to start logging foods. If you want to drink juice, fine, just enter it on MFP along with the solid foods you are eating. Then transition to more of the solid foods, the ones that you see yourself eating 20 years from now. If you keep it at a deficit (-15-20%) you won't gain the weight back and continue losing (although you know you'll "gain" some water weight in the first week). Learn portion control. You'll have an easier time maintaining your ideal weight if you know how much to eat of the foods you love.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    You lost 18 lbs in 3 weeks. Of that 18, I am guessing you lost:

    6-12 lbs water weight. Of this, you will all or most of this back when you go back to eating the way you did before
    3-6 lbs muscle, organ tissue, etc. Of this, you will gain very little back when you start eating normally. However, you will gain more fat because your body won't be able to burn as much as it could before you went on a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD). You will also look worse than you did before because muscle is more dense. 1 lb of muscle takes up way less space than 1 lb of fat.
    2-6 lbs of fat. Again, you will gain this back when you go back to your old eating. You will gain it more rapidly because you will have lost muscle density.

    I provided a range because, without your before-and-after stats (body fat %, height, weight, goal weight) it's hard to get very accurate.

    I do not know how much you burn during your exercises 2-3 times a week. Whatever you are burning is subtracted from the 1,200 calories you are eating. Unless you are exceptionally short and already in the normal weight range, most women should not net below 1,200 calories a day. Below that and you're going to be losing muscle, bone density, hair, fingernails. If you're even burning 100 calories in your 2-3X workouts, you're netting 900-1000 calories a day.

    You cannot maintain your muscles at that big a deficit.

    I've lost 51 lbs by netting 1400-1550 per day, average. Most days I work out a little bit so that I can eat around 1600-1700 calories. In the first 3 months or so I was 30 lbs down.
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    OP I don't fast or participate in juicing but I must say kudos to you for staying positive and kind during this thread and its responses. I wish you much success during your weight loss journey.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    OP this is the definition of weight loss insanity ..you did juice fasts/cleanses, lost weight, put it back on, and now you are doing the same thing, and asking how it will turn out. To answer your question you have lost lean muscle, water weight, and probably some fat. When you go off the juice fast you will probably gain about five pounds in water weight/glycogen replenishment...

    A more sustainable solution would be to figure out a 500 per day calorie deficit and start a heavy lifting program to retain the muscle that you have not already lost...

    Wat? That is too much work for us busy folks.

    oh how stupid of me ..I forget the reasonable calorie deficit and exercise is too much hard work, as opposed to daily juicing and cleanses, which are simple and magical...LOL
  • annabellemayh
    annabellemayh Posts: 69 Member
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    603reader wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Just out of curiosity, OP, if you are consuming 1200 calories per day, why would you choose juice 2x daily + 1 healthy meal over 3 healthy meals for the same 1200 calories?

    I'm not trying to be obtuse. I'm just curious. I would much rather have ample amounts of protein, fats & carbs for my daily calorie allowance than liquid, but that's just me. What would juice x2 daily do for you that food won't?

    Let you drink on the go so OP can stay active.

    Personally, I find it a lot easier to stick to my diet when I know I can just open the fridge and juice some fruit and veg as opposed to calorie counting every meal. I just find it easier, if I was at home opposed to university I would probably not juice as I would have more time to plan my shopping etc.


    But you still need to weigh and log the fruit/veggies in your juice. SO it's the same thing.
    Unless you're buying prepared juice which I think is stupid. I don't like juicing in general but if you're going to do it, you might as well make it yourself. It's cheaper that way and you have better control on what's in it (not saying sugar content here but in terms of flavors). Plus if there's any leftover fruit/veggie stuck in your juicer/blender/whatever, you can compost it for your garden and grow more fruits/veggies.

    I am juicing it myself :) I just find it easier to buy the vegetables and fruits I need for the week and know that they are there ready whereas with meals I find more things end up going to waste or don't get used etc I just find it's working for me :)
  • annabellemayh
    annabellemayh Posts: 69 Member
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    OP I don't fast or participate in juicing but I must say kudos to you for staying positive and kind during this thread and its responses. I wish you much success during your weight loss journey.

    Thank you very much, it's really kind of you to say so!

  • annabellemayh
    annabellemayh Posts: 69 Member
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    You lost 18 lbs in 3 weeks. Of that 18, I am guessing you lost:

    6-12 lbs water weight. Of this, you will all or most of this back when you go back to eating the way you did before
    3-6 lbs muscle, organ tissue, etc. Of this, you will gain very little back when you start eating normally. However, you will gain more fat because your body won't be able to burn as much as it could before you went on a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD). You will also look worse than you did before because muscle is more dense. 1 lb of muscle takes up way less space than 1 lb of fat.
    2-6 lbs of fat. Again, you will gain this back when you go back to your old eating. You will gain it more rapidly because you will have lost muscle density.

    I provided a range because, without your before-and-after stats (body fat %, height, weight, goal weight) it's hard to get very accurate.

    I do not know how much you burn during your exercises 2-3 times a week. Whatever you are burning is subtracted from the 1,200 calories you are eating. Unless you are exceptionally short and already in the normal weight range, most women should not net below 1,200 calories a day. Below that and you're going to be losing muscle, bone density, hair, fingernails. If you're even burning 100 calories in your 2-3X workouts, you're netting 900-1000 calories a day.

    You cannot maintain your muscles at that big a deficit.

    I've lost 51 lbs by netting 1400-1550 per day, average. Most days I work out a little bit so that I can eat around 1600-1700 calories. In the first 3 months or so I was 30 lbs down.

    Hi thank you for your advice :) I'm 5'6, 19 years old and currently 154lbs so I am within my healthy weight range however I personally feel unhappy with my weight. I have lost 18lbs since returning to university and have been here 6 weeks, the 1st October was when I started actively dieting and exercising I may well have lost more before this date simply through eating less than usual.

    I intend to follow a low carb high protein diet after coming off the fast with plenty of exercise I hope to maintain/rebuild any muscle lost.

    Thank you :)
  • annabellemayh
    annabellemayh Posts: 69 Member
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    A large amount of what you've lost is likely water weight, along with some fat and lean body mass. To have lost 18lbs of fat in a couple of weeks, you would have had to burn/cut around 63,000 calories more than you've eaten. If you use the generic 2000 calories a day average that people burn per day, that's 28,000 calories. So if you ate NOTHING for two weeks, you'd (again, just using 2000 as an example) burn around 28,000 calories.

    Juice fasting is lame and just leads to re-gaining weight. Just do it the correct way. Eat food at a reasonable deficit for your height, weight and activity level.


    EDIT: I just realize you said you've been doing this for 7 days, not two weeks. (don't know where I came up with that) So yeah.....sorry, but most of that is not fat.

    I have lost 18lbs since returning to university which is 6 weeks ago now, 1st October was when I actively started dieting but I do think most of the weight has come off the past two weeks. My body is slimmer and that is giving me the motivation to pursue a healthy eating plan once I come off of the juice fast where hopefully I can keep the weight off and maintain muscle through high protein and exercise :) Thanks for your estimates that's really helpful!

  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    You lost 18 lbs in 3 weeks. Of that 18, I am guessing you lost:

    6-12 lbs water weight. Of this, you will all or most of this back when you go back to eating the way you did before
    3-6 lbs muscle, organ tissue, etc. Of this, you will gain very little back when you start eating normally. However, you will gain more fat because your body won't be able to burn as much as it could before you went on a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD). You will also look worse than you did before because muscle is more dense. 1 lb of muscle takes up way less space than 1 lb of fat.
    2-6 lbs of fat. Again, you will gain this back when you go back to your old eating. You will gain it more rapidly because you will have lost muscle density.

    I provided a range because, without your before-and-after stats (body fat %, height, weight, goal weight) it's hard to get very accurate.

    I do not know how much you burn during your exercises 2-3 times a week. Whatever you are burning is subtracted from the 1,200 calories you are eating. Unless you are exceptionally short and already in the normal weight range, most women should not net below 1,200 calories a day. Below that and you're going to be losing muscle, bone density, hair, fingernails. If you're even burning 100 calories in your 2-3X workouts, you're netting 900-1000 calories a day.

    You cannot maintain your muscles at that big a deficit.

    I've lost 51 lbs by netting 1400-1550 per day, average. Most days I work out a little bit so that I can eat around 1600-1700 calories. In the first 3 months or so I was 30 lbs down.

    Hi thank you for your advice :) I'm 5'6, 19 years old and currently 154lbs so I am within my healthy weight range however I personally feel unhappy with my weight. I have lost 18lbs since returning to university and have been here 6 weeks, the 1st October was when I started actively dieting and exercising I may well have lost more before this date simply through eating less than usual.

    I intend to follow a low carb high protein diet after coming off the fast with plenty of exercise I hope to maintain/rebuild any muscle lost.

    Thank you :)

    Okay... this was what I was looking for right here. You are within range of a healthy BMI. You do not need to do rapid weight loss or VLCD's to get results. It is a dangerous game to play for individuals who are not morbidly obese.

    It doesn't really matter if you want to fast or juice so long as you are getting a sufficient amount of calories to sustain your body's needs. Based on this TDEE calculator (http://thefastdiet.co.uk/how-many-calories-on-a-non-fast-day/) that is designed for the 5:2 fast, you should be eating at least 1490 calories on non-fast days just to meet your body's caloric needs. Honestly, I would suggest eating around 1600 calories a day. You should still be well enough below your TDEE to successfully lose weight without causing damage to your body's organs.

    * I used the "lightly active" activity level to make this determination.

  • Maryam2014mfp
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    I was doing a similar type fast for religious reasons and did lose a lot of weight but when I stopped (at my husbands request, because I was not thinking well), most of it was gained back. My REAL success has been sticking with the amount MFP set for me. Sometimes I have gone over from having a big meal or take out; but the weight is coming off and staying off. I think your real success will be when you eat consistently and are not restricting yourself. You also look too young to have your daily allowance set for 1200. You're setting yourself up for failure. I know for me the only thing that would have kept that weight off (that I lost when doing intermittent fasting) would be to keep doing the same, which is not practical for a healthy well being. I wish you success and great health. Take care.
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
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    You lost 18 lbs in 3 weeks. Of that 18, I am guessing you lost:

    6-12 lbs water weight. Of this, you will all or most of this back when you go back to eating the way you did before
    3-6 lbs muscle, organ tissue, etc. Of this, you will gain very little back when you start eating normally. However, you will gain more fat because your body won't be able to burn as much as it could before you went on a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD). You will also look worse than you did before because muscle is more dense. 1 lb of muscle takes up way less space than 1 lb of fat.
    2-6 lbs of fat. Again, you will gain this back when you go back to your old eating. You will gain it more rapidly because you will have lost muscle density.

    I provided a range because, without your before-and-after stats (body fat %, height, weight, goal weight) it's hard to get very accurate.

    I do not know how much you burn during your exercises 2-3 times a week. Whatever you are burning is subtracted from the 1,200 calories you are eating. Unless you are exceptionally short and already in the normal weight range, most women should not net below 1,200 calories a day. Below that and you're going to be losing muscle, bone density, hair, fingernails. If you're even burning 100 calories in your 2-3X workouts, you're netting 900-1000 calories a day.

    You cannot maintain your muscles at that big a deficit.

    I've lost 51 lbs by netting 1400-1550 per day, average. Most days I work out a little bit so that I can eat around 1600-1700 calories. In the first 3 months or so I was 30 lbs down.

    Hi thank you for your advice :) I'm 5'6, 19 years old and currently 154lbs so I am within my healthy weight range however I personally feel unhappy with my weight. I have lost 18lbs since returning to university and have been here 6 weeks, the 1st October was when I started actively dieting and exercising I may well have lost more before this date simply through eating less than usual.

    I intend to follow a low carb high protein diet after coming off the fast with plenty of exercise I hope to maintain/rebuild any muscle lost.

    Thank you :)

    My emphasis. Given the portion I highlighted, you might consider speaking to a counselor about body image and body dysmorphia; many universities have folks on staff who are well-versed in helping people with body-image issues.
  • annabellemayh
    annabellemayh Posts: 69 Member
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    You lost 18 lbs in 3 weeks. Of that 18, I am guessing you lost:

    6-12 lbs water weight. Of this, you will all or most of this back when you go back to eating the way you did before
    3-6 lbs muscle, organ tissue, etc. Of this, you will gain very little back when you start eating normally. However, you will gain more fat because your body won't be able to burn as much as it could before you went on a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD). You will also look worse than you did before because muscle is more dense. 1 lb of muscle takes up way less space than 1 lb of fat.
    2-6 lbs of fat. Again, you will gain this back when you go back to your old eating. You will gain it more rapidly because you will have lost muscle density.

    I provided a range because, without your before-and-after stats (body fat %, height, weight, goal weight) it's hard to get very accurate.

    I do not know how much you burn during your exercises 2-3 times a week. Whatever you are burning is subtracted from the 1,200 calories you are eating. Unless you are exceptionally short and already in the normal weight range, most women should not net below 1,200 calories a day. Below that and you're going to be losing muscle, bone density, hair, fingernails. If you're even burning 100 calories in your 2-3X workouts, you're netting 900-1000 calories a day.

    You cannot maintain your muscles at that big a deficit.

    I've lost 51 lbs by netting 1400-1550 per day, average. Most days I work out a little bit so that I can eat around 1600-1700 calories. In the first 3 months or so I was 30 lbs down.

    Hi thank you for your advice :) I'm 5'6, 19 years old and currently 154lbs so I am within my healthy weight range however I personally feel unhappy with my weight. I have lost 18lbs since returning to university and have been here 6 weeks, the 1st October was when I started actively dieting and exercising I may well have lost more before this date simply through eating less than usual.

    I intend to follow a low carb high protein diet after coming off the fast with plenty of exercise I hope to maintain/rebuild any muscle lost.

    Thank you :)

    Okay... this was what I was looking for right here. You are within range of a healthy BMI. You do not need to do rapid weight loss or VLCD's to get results. It is a dangerous game to play for individuals who are not morbidly obese.

    It doesn't really matter if you want to fast or juice so long as you are getting a sufficient amount of calories to sustain your body's needs. Based on this TDEE calculator (http://thefastdiet.co.uk/how-many-calories-on-a-non-fast-day/) that is designed for the 5:2 fast, you should be eating at least 1490 calories on non-fast days just to meet your body's caloric needs. Honestly, I would suggest eating around 1600 calories a day. You should still be well enough below your TDEE to successfully lose weight without causing damage to your body's organs.

    * I used the "lightly active" activity level to make this determination.

    Thank you very much for your help, I will certainly follow my TDEE once I am off the fast. So you are aware however, I was not in the healthy weight range for my height before I lost the 18lbs, I was classed as 'overweight'. That is why I am keen to keep this weight off once I come off the fast, so I can continue my weight loss more slowly and healthily. The 18lbs may well have come off because I was overweight and had been eating a very high carb diet so was probably retaining a lot of water!
  • annabellemayh
    annabellemayh Posts: 69 Member
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    You lost 18 lbs in 3 weeks. Of that 18, I am guessing you lost:

    6-12 lbs water weight. Of this, you will all or most of this back when you go back to eating the way you did before
    3-6 lbs muscle, organ tissue, etc. Of this, you will gain very little back when you start eating normally. However, you will gain more fat because your body won't be able to burn as much as it could before you went on a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD). You will also look worse than you did before because muscle is more dense. 1 lb of muscle takes up way less space than 1 lb of fat.
    2-6 lbs of fat. Again, you will gain this back when you go back to your old eating. You will gain it more rapidly because you will have lost muscle density.

    I provided a range because, without your before-and-after stats (body fat %, height, weight, goal weight) it's hard to get very accurate.

    I do not know how much you burn during your exercises 2-3 times a week. Whatever you are burning is subtracted from the 1,200 calories you are eating. Unless you are exceptionally short and already in the normal weight range, most women should not net below 1,200 calories a day. Below that and you're going to be losing muscle, bone density, hair, fingernails. If you're even burning 100 calories in your 2-3X workouts, you're netting 900-1000 calories a day.

    You cannot maintain your muscles at that big a deficit.

    I've lost 51 lbs by netting 1400-1550 per day, average. Most days I work out a little bit so that I can eat around 1600-1700 calories. In the first 3 months or so I was 30 lbs down.

    Hi thank you for your advice :) I'm 5'6, 19 years old and currently 154lbs so I am within my healthy weight range however I personally feel unhappy with my weight. I have lost 18lbs since returning to university and have been here 6 weeks, the 1st October was when I started actively dieting and exercising I may well have lost more before this date simply through eating less than usual.

    I intend to follow a low carb high protein diet after coming off the fast with plenty of exercise I hope to maintain/rebuild any muscle lost.

    Thank you :)

    My emphasis. Given the portion I highlighted, you might consider speaking to a counselor about body image and body dysmorphia; many universities have folks on staff who are well-versed in helping people with body-image issues.

    Thank you for your advice. For the most part I am happy with my image however with the weight I have gained over the past three years I have become increasingly introverted, lacking confidence and not the girl I used to be at 10st. I feel uncomfortable in clothes. I am not a skinny girl by any means despite being in my healthy weight range.

    Thank you for your help however