Ok, I'm not really sure where is the best place to post this, but I thought I would start here. I've talked about this a little bit in the past, but I don't think I've ever divulged my full story. However, it continues to be a problem for me and is in fact, getting worse. This is really hard and embarrassing for me to talk about, but I would like everyone to be honest and blunt with me - please!<br><br>
My problem is that I can't lose weight (& continue to gain), even though I am supposedly doing all the "right" things. Any help or advice would be VERY much appreciated.<br><br>
Growing up, I was always a bigger girl, but I really didn't let it get to me until my sophomore year of high school. I'm 5'8" and was probably 170 lbs or so and a size 14. I started working out by riding a stationary bike, running around my neighborhood (might have been a mile or so), and watching what I was eating (no 2nds, etc). Because I was a young thing, the weight came off easily. Within a few months, I was down to 140 lbs and a size 8-10.<br><br>
Over the next few years, my weight fluctuated probably between 135 - 150. At the time, I didn't realize how good I looked and continued to think that I was a fat slob. No matter how hard I tried to look better, I stayed the same. I realize now that my body was probably at its happy weight and I shouldn't have beaten my self up so much.<br><br>
About 5 years I took a VERY stressful job that sucked up all my time. I would work from 7 am - 9 or 10 pm on most days. I didn't have time for lunch or dinner and got caught up on eating fast food for most meals. I would be so stressed that I wouldn't even try to order healthy meals. The more grease it had, the more it eased my nerves. And because I was working so much, I didn't have time to exercise. And when I would finally get a little free time, the only thing I wanted to do was sleep. Over the course of 2.5 years, I ballooned up to 165 and was completely disgusted with myself.<br><br>
2 years ago, I left that horrible job and decided to do a complete 180. I started eating healthy and I started training for a marathon. (Yes, I'm stupid - I went from not exercising for 3 years to training for a marathon. It's no wonder why I got injured all the time. But the cause was (and is) important to me!)<br><br>
In the past 2 years, I have managed to lose NOTHING and in fact, I have gained over 15 lbs. I'm now 180 lbs and a size 14. *insert crying here* I went from having fast food for almost EVERY SINGLE meal to making healthy, fresh meals and have gained weight. I went from sitting on my ass and doing nothing to having a fairly active lifestyle and have gained weight! WHY????<br><br>
Last year, I worked with my running coach on my diet. I logged everything I ate and did a diary of why I was eating and when. He was stumped as to why I wasn't losing weight. I went to my doctor to see if I had a medical problem (thyroid - I have several symptoms or something else) that was keeping me from losing weight. She had lab work-ups for 30 or so different categories and no red flags came back. She was stumped as to why I couldn't lose weight.<br><br>
So today, I come to my kickster friends, to see if you can figure out why I can't lose weight or what I am missing or what I should do. I want to cry every time I get on the scale and the number hasn't budged or worse it has gone up yet again, even though I have been working my ass off.<br><br>
Here's what I am currently doing:<br><br>
Diet - I subscribe to a healthy meal plan recipe thing that sends me a week's worth of recipes each week. The meals are made mainly with fresh produce and little (if any) processed items.<br><br>
For breakfast, I have either egg beaters and a couple slices of bacon or oatmeal with a banana or sometimes Special K cereal, if I am feeling lazy. Lunch is leftovers from dinner the night before. Dinner is one of the recipes from the subscription plan - all the recipes include healthy side dishes, such as steamed broccoli and I make the side dish also. For snacks, I have fresh fruit (apples, cantaloupe, grapes, peaches, bananas, etc) and veggies (carrots and celery are my raw favs). Occasionally, to satisfy my sweet tooth, I'll have one of those 100 calorie packs that are so popular right now. I only drink water all day long and will rarely have a glass of iced tea with my dinner. Once a week, I allow my self a cheat meal with a soda - but even then I try to order healthy items - grilled chicken or fish, etc.<br><br>
My daily nutritional counts are : 1400-1600 calories, 80-100 g protein, 25-45 g fat, less than 200 g carbs. At one point, my running coach thought I was eating too few calories, so we upped it to 1800-2000 calories and that made things worse.<br><br>
Exercise - I work out in the mornings for 20-30 minutes with either a cardio (Turbo Jam) workout or weight training session and then I work out in the evenings for 45-60 minutes with another cardio workout - either Turbo Jam or walking/running on the dreadmill. (Once the weather gets better, I will switch back to running outside. Running too much on the dreadmill causes me to have bad shin issues) I workout 6 days a week and occasionally on Saturdays, I will do both a Turbo Jam and running workout. I really do not have much more time to dedicate to working out than I do now. I work 8-5 and have to make all the meals and do all the household cleaning/chores, so I really don't have anywhere to add in more time.<br><br>
So that's where I am at. I'm sorry this is so long and if no one responds or makes it to this point, I understand. I'm just frustrated because it seems that with the way I am eating and working out, I should be at least losing something. Since I went to my doctor for the blood test last summer, I have worked even harder at losing the weight and have managed to gain almost 10 lbs since last July. I'm ready to give up!<br><br>
This has become a somewhat desperate situation for me because we plan to start trying to get pregnant in May and I would like to lose some weight before then. I REALLY REALLY do not want to get over 200 lbs. I know it's just a number, but when you have a mother who is a twig (5'4" and maybe 115 lbs)...it's hard to face yourself in a mirror!<br><br>
Please help me! <img alt="sad.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/sad.gif"><br><br>
Oh and if this thread is in the wrong spot, please move it!
My problem is that I can't lose weight (& continue to gain), even though I am supposedly doing all the "right" things. Any help or advice would be VERY much appreciated.<br><br>
Growing up, I was always a bigger girl, but I really didn't let it get to me until my sophomore year of high school. I'm 5'8" and was probably 170 lbs or so and a size 14. I started working out by riding a stationary bike, running around my neighborhood (might have been a mile or so), and watching what I was eating (no 2nds, etc). Because I was a young thing, the weight came off easily. Within a few months, I was down to 140 lbs and a size 8-10.<br><br>
Over the next few years, my weight fluctuated probably between 135 - 150. At the time, I didn't realize how good I looked and continued to think that I was a fat slob. No matter how hard I tried to look better, I stayed the same. I realize now that my body was probably at its happy weight and I shouldn't have beaten my self up so much.<br><br>
About 5 years I took a VERY stressful job that sucked up all my time. I would work from 7 am - 9 or 10 pm on most days. I didn't have time for lunch or dinner and got caught up on eating fast food for most meals. I would be so stressed that I wouldn't even try to order healthy meals. The more grease it had, the more it eased my nerves. And because I was working so much, I didn't have time to exercise. And when I would finally get a little free time, the only thing I wanted to do was sleep. Over the course of 2.5 years, I ballooned up to 165 and was completely disgusted with myself.<br><br>
2 years ago, I left that horrible job and decided to do a complete 180. I started eating healthy and I started training for a marathon. (Yes, I'm stupid - I went from not exercising for 3 years to training for a marathon. It's no wonder why I got injured all the time. But the cause was (and is) important to me!)<br><br>
In the past 2 years, I have managed to lose NOTHING and in fact, I have gained over 15 lbs. I'm now 180 lbs and a size 14. *insert crying here* I went from having fast food for almost EVERY SINGLE meal to making healthy, fresh meals and have gained weight. I went from sitting on my ass and doing nothing to having a fairly active lifestyle and have gained weight! WHY????<br><br>
Last year, I worked with my running coach on my diet. I logged everything I ate and did a diary of why I was eating and when. He was stumped as to why I wasn't losing weight. I went to my doctor to see if I had a medical problem (thyroid - I have several symptoms or something else) that was keeping me from losing weight. She had lab work-ups for 30 or so different categories and no red flags came back. She was stumped as to why I couldn't lose weight.<br><br>
So today, I come to my kickster friends, to see if you can figure out why I can't lose weight or what I am missing or what I should do. I want to cry every time I get on the scale and the number hasn't budged or worse it has gone up yet again, even though I have been working my ass off.<br><br>
Here's what I am currently doing:<br><br>
Diet - I subscribe to a healthy meal plan recipe thing that sends me a week's worth of recipes each week. The meals are made mainly with fresh produce and little (if any) processed items.<br><br>
For breakfast, I have either egg beaters and a couple slices of bacon or oatmeal with a banana or sometimes Special K cereal, if I am feeling lazy. Lunch is leftovers from dinner the night before. Dinner is one of the recipes from the subscription plan - all the recipes include healthy side dishes, such as steamed broccoli and I make the side dish also. For snacks, I have fresh fruit (apples, cantaloupe, grapes, peaches, bananas, etc) and veggies (carrots and celery are my raw favs). Occasionally, to satisfy my sweet tooth, I'll have one of those 100 calorie packs that are so popular right now. I only drink water all day long and will rarely have a glass of iced tea with my dinner. Once a week, I allow my self a cheat meal with a soda - but even then I try to order healthy items - grilled chicken or fish, etc.<br><br>
My daily nutritional counts are : 1400-1600 calories, 80-100 g protein, 25-45 g fat, less than 200 g carbs. At one point, my running coach thought I was eating too few calories, so we upped it to 1800-2000 calories and that made things worse.<br><br>
Exercise - I work out in the mornings for 20-30 minutes with either a cardio (Turbo Jam) workout or weight training session and then I work out in the evenings for 45-60 minutes with another cardio workout - either Turbo Jam or walking/running on the dreadmill. (Once the weather gets better, I will switch back to running outside. Running too much on the dreadmill causes me to have bad shin issues) I workout 6 days a week and occasionally on Saturdays, I will do both a Turbo Jam and running workout. I really do not have much more time to dedicate to working out than I do now. I work 8-5 and have to make all the meals and do all the household cleaning/chores, so I really don't have anywhere to add in more time.<br><br>
So that's where I am at. I'm sorry this is so long and if no one responds or makes it to this point, I understand. I'm just frustrated because it seems that with the way I am eating and working out, I should be at least losing something. Since I went to my doctor for the blood test last summer, I have worked even harder at losing the weight and have managed to gain almost 10 lbs since last July. I'm ready to give up!<br><br>
This has become a somewhat desperate situation for me because we plan to start trying to get pregnant in May and I would like to lose some weight before then. I REALLY REALLY do not want to get over 200 lbs. I know it's just a number, but when you have a mother who is a twig (5'4" and maybe 115 lbs)...it's hard to face yourself in a mirror!<br><br>
Please help me! <img alt="sad.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/sad.gif"><br><br>
Oh and if this thread is in the wrong spot, please move it!
