Reaching my bodys natural plateau wt? Idk what to do....

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Inked2Love
Inked2Love Posts: 48
in Motivation and Support
Lemme start by recaping my weight loss journey/history. My whole life well since about age 12..I was overweight. Then obese. Til the age of 22. My highest weight was 277lbs in 2005. One day I snapped and realized I was so unhealthy etc etc. I was originally gonna try for gastric bypass but because of my age they didntr ecommend it. My Dr told me t try to lose some wt and then get a breast reduction (I was like a DDD/F which made exercise unbearable). So my insurance approved it and I was able to lose about 40 lbs before teh surgery. I lost the wt by Atkins/Low Carb. I had the surgery that Aug and then I was able to start exercising some. I continued on to lose wt. Mainly still from diet. I eventually started watching cals too.

Okay so in total I went from 277 to about 160 in less than a yr. I then maintained and dropped down to about 145ish by 2007. Through the yrs I have developed an obsession with my weight and self esteem. I also suffer from bulemia. Not like a daily thing...but when I am depressed or not seeing what I want..it comes back to haunt me. Typically I am 138lbs. Im 5'6" and 27 yrs old. I know I have come a long way...but Im still so unhappy because I have extra skina nd cellulite that no matter how hard i diet or workout...it will never go away.

Now lets talk about present day. Right now I am 152 lbs. In Oct I was 138. For some unknown reason... I started gaining wt. Nothing changed in my diet or exersize. I was eating about 1200-1400 cals a day, working out atleast 4 days a week. I also dont eat red meat, white starches, simple sugars or any fast food. Im telling u that I am by the book...a diet healthy lifestyle fanatic. It has been so long since I lost the wt...that it is what my normal lifestyle is like. I typically eat...oatmeal, alil fruit, low carb breads, whole wheat pasta, cottage cheese, protein shakes, almonds, salad, veggies, chicken breast and turkey burgers. If I cheat..I eat fat free yogurt or ice cream. Anyways... since Nov I have gained close to 20 lbs. I went to teh drs..they took blood and tested my thyroid, for diabetes etc. All my horomone levels. The only thing that came up is that my estrogen/progesteronelevels were low. Only reason we figured that out is due to me not having periods after stopping birth control (hubby and i are trying to get prego). But they dont think that has much to do with the wt gain. So basically noone has any answers for me.

I have lost about 5 lbs..but it seems to always come back. I cant get under 150 for the life of me. I am doing 45 mins of cardio and try to do alil strength training dvds when I can. I workout 5 days a week. i use MFP every day to log everything. I jut hav eno idea what the heck to do anymore. But my self esteem is so low..I am severly depressed over this. I cant fit in any of my jeans and most of my shirts. I dont wanna go out anywhere because Im so uncomfortable. Money is tight so I cant afford to get new clothes. I just am so upset because its not like Im one of those ppl who sit here and whine and complain but eat unhealthy and dont workout. I BUST MY BUTT!!

So my ? to everyone is this...when do u accept that you may be at your plateau wt? My hubby says that maybe I am just meant to weigh 150 now and that Ill never get lower. That since Im getting closer to 30..maybe this is what Im destined to weigh. Well why is it that other ppl can still lose wt at my age? Is this really true? And how do I know it is? How do I know whether to accept this failure and give up? How do I step on the scale and not get emotional that I dedicate my life to being healthy and looking good...yet Im not where I want to be?

Thanks for listening and I appreciate any help or maybe similar experience youve had :)

Replies

  • Inked2Love
    Inked2Love Posts: 48
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    Oh I guess the word or reference Im looking for is "Natural Body Weight". Meaning what your homeostasis is..what your body thinks it should maintain. But according to healthy charts..Im overweight. my BMI is about 24 right now..25 is overweight. It says i should ideally weighy 135. And thats what my Dr told me too....:embarassed: :sad:
  • SeasideOasis
    SeasideOasis Posts: 1,057 Member
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    That is one crazy ride. You look amazing.

    As for the shift in hormones...I THINK IT HAS EVERYTHING to do with a womans weight loss gain or loss. I have Endometriosis, pain in the butt disease :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: , and the thing I learned from yoyo hormone treatments and my body being screwed up with hormones, that every single thing you do to your body in reference to hormones will effect your weight. This is because it messed with how your digestive systems works as well as how your body retains water.

    I also saw that you said you came off birth control. I was on three, I know long story, and everytime I would come off a birth control, my weight would show back up.

    I guess all Im really saying is that you look amazing so dont fret and that a womans hormones does effect everything. I took myself off all my hormones and its taking some time for them to get back to normal, but that it is definitely a factor you should consider.
  • racmac
    racmac Posts: 81
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    Well Im 5ft 6 and 147lb - Im trying to get down to 140 lbs but im pretty happy with how i look now - i want to be fit and healthy and you sound like you are.

    Your getting older (sorry) and you are more likely to have that weight.

    It sounds like you have issues if you are making yourself sick and your self esteem is so low - i think you need to sort that out rather than focusing on a couple of lbs.

    You look good - your hubby thinks you look good - now you need to believe it to
  • aristel
    aristel Posts: 110
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    hormones yes, also check your sodium daily intake, no more than 2000 mg... (salt is a killer) I just came out from a plateau of almost 2 months..
  • aristel
    aristel Posts: 110
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    ah... also eat all your exercise calories (or as much as you can) ... very, very important
  • Inked2Love
    Inked2Love Posts: 48
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    Thank you for everyones response. And thank you for the compliments. I have a hard time eating the exercise calories..thats for sure. But Ill try to work on it. Sodium Im usually pretty good at. We dont even have salt in the house. We use Mrs Dash. But I know I consume it in the cereals and stuff. @aims... Its a catch 22 for me...cuz My mom and teacher (Im a medical asst student)..my teacher has been in teh field forever...anywho..they think Im having probs TTC because of my past issues with my diet etc. So they think if I keep on alil wt...itll help me get prego. But then I have that side of me thats like..OMG...if Im already up to 153 and having probs getting it off, whats gonna happen when I gain like 20 lbs from being prego. Will I get stuck at that wt then? But having a child is more important to me then the wt. Just dont want to balloon up. Theres not much I can do about my horomones. I took the pills they gave me to induce my period and they said that could cause wt gain. But this all happened before I started those. I stopped for the past month because my period finally started by itself. So I may not need to go back on them. We'll see in about a wk. Does anyone know if that really is true tho, that your body will just naturally stop at the wt it wants to?? Lol and I dont take offense to my age. As much as I want to pretend its not happening...the 30s are approaching and my body is showing it lol
  • cshine06
    cshine06 Posts: 139 Member
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    I have hormone issues as well. At one point , before I started Birthcontrol Pills, my cycle will come every 2-3 months and last 35 days. ..... Yeahh it was crazy.When I was taking this supplement called Vitex(Chaste Berry), I was able to lose weight and have regular cycles(without the pill). Alot of people rave about how Vitex helped them while TTC. I think you should definitely research Vitex. Your age shouldnt really be playing a factor in your weight loss. I am 23, 5 ft. and 146 lbs. My bmi is overweight, but here I am stuck @ 146. Eating healthy and working out is not helping me either. It may be the hormones.
  • Inked2Love
    Inked2Love Posts: 48
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    Aww thanx hun...At thispoint...im willing to try anything. Im gonna research it 2day! Did u get it at a health food store?
  • shreddingit
    shreddingit Posts: 1,133 Member
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    if your exercising the same way you need to change it up, if you do a lot of cardio minimize it but hit it hard... focus more on weight training if you were not... are you getting enough fat? women need 60gr of healthy fats a day to function properly. Hows your sugar intake it should be around 35gr a day, are you getting enough vitamin d and calcium, are you taking a multi vitamin?
    are you eating enough protein (it should be your goal weight in grams) are you getting fiber?

    plateaus are simply body adjustments... if you keep it up you will see results, the slow results are the better ones to keep off,but if you stop and stress it too much you can do damage...

    good luck...
  • Tiggerrick
    Tiggerrick Posts: 1,078 Member
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    OK, I took a look at your pics, and the one of your back looks like you are awesome lean. You work out more than many people. The question therefore is: Are you too fat? I mean, is the % of fat in your body too high for your your size? Remember, by volume, muscle weighs more than fat. You will always have a certain % of fat, but is the weight change you noticed due to muscle? (Yes, I did notice that you stated your clothes are fitting differently, but my question still stands.) Even if you are not 'ripped,' muscle builds under fat, and can have people thinking they are gaining due to fat changes.

    Some doctors do believe that there is a 'natural body weight;' and honestly, at some point, if you are starving your body for fuel, weight loss will be at the cost of muscle tissue, bone density, or other unhealthy processes.

    As others have suggested, I would change up my work out routine for at least two weeks. Your muscles may be so used to those movements that they are more efficient at them than you think. Are you using a HRM to measure calories out? You may be over-estimating calories burned. I know that if my friend were to do a cycling routine with me (and was able to keep up,) she'd burn over 1k calories more than me.
  • Inked2Love
    Inked2Love Posts: 48
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    The pic of my back is from Oct..before the wt gain :( Lol it def looks more flabby now. Still cut some but not as much. As far as my breakdown of nutrients..i dont eat enough fat idt cuz its hard with watching Cals. I aim for abt 1300-1400 cals, 30grams of sugar, 120 of carbs, 130-140 in protein, 2500 sodium and fiber i maximize usually cuz i eat alot of greens and whole grains. I have to be careful with my sugar cuz I tend to eat alot of cottage cheese and greek yogurt... which still has sugar. I dont eat a ton of fruit. Usually just some strawberries or grapes. i LOVE apples but way too much sugar for me.

    I definitely need to get back into strength training. I feel like its so hard now cuz I dont have alot of energy and its hard to get motivated...but starting 2mrw I will start doing it 3 days a week. Prolly only 20 mins a session until I build my endurance again. As far as my Body Fat.. right now its 26%. We have a scale that measure it and body water weight. So im 1% above normal BF%. EEW. Oh and yes I do use an HRM. Its a cheapy one though. Was $40 but it seems to already act up on me. I hear the more expensive ones are better. Just dont have the money to replace it.
  • cshine06
    cshine06 Posts: 139 Member
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    Aww thanx hun...At thispoint...im willing to try anything. Im gonna research it 2day! Did u get it at a health food store?


    Yes I did buy them at a health food store the first time .. I ordered more online for much less.

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