i need help.. weight/thyroid?
okay.. within the last year i've gained about 30 pounds. i'm a short 5'2 and at the moment am around 115. (yes i have an eating disorder. i was anorexic but now am having problems with stress binge eating)
the thing is i never had a problem losing the weight to begin with. i barely did anything, exercised a little but thats it, and ate around 700 calories to where i had gotten to my lowest of 88.
the problem i'm having now is that the almost 30 pounds i've gained have all gone to one area--my hips, thighs, and lower stomach. and i've been trying so hard to get it off or even just slim it down a LITTLE.
i work in a bakery practically full time (34 hours a week on average) and don't take breaks or lunches so i'm on my feet the whole 8 hours of my shift, carrying heavy boxes, moving heavy racks and really it takes a lot of strength to do that job so i burn a bit of calories there. then i go to the gym and burn atleast 200 on the eliptical. every day i do 20 minutes on my ab lounge, and a half hour of vigorous yoga and sometimes some kickboxing
baically, when i'm not at work or sleeping, i'm exercising. and i only eat about 1400 calories a day.. with an occasional bad binge up to 2000 or more
but my weight won't budge. i'm getting really exhausted exercising so much when it's not doing anything to help me. i know i've gained muscle in all this but my problem is with the fat that is still on top of the muscle that won't seem to go away.
i was reading an email the other day and it said that soy promotes weight gain because it apparently has something to do with blocking how your thyroid works and i looked up hypothyroidism and i had most of the symptoms but i feel like i'm trying to find a reason other than "i have no willpower to stop eating sooo much"
i'm getting really tired of all this and i'm not posting this to get sympathy or get people mad at me because i have an eating disorder and am trying to figure out how to lose weight. its just that i'm eating so unhealthy and bingeing and i'm sure the stress doesn't help with the weight-loss efforts because of cortisol... i just don't know what to do anymore and i don't know if anyone else has had a problem similar and found out different reasons for the problem that i could look into and discuss with my doctor, because he is kind of flabbergasted too
because there is no reason that someone eating around 1400 calories a day and exercising so much SHOULDNT be losing weight..
plus i'm so unhappy with it all, and my boyfriend and i are going away to his cabin the weekend after thanksgiving and i want to feel better in my body by then so i can enjoy our time alone
sorry this is so long, i'm just really out of ideas and need some help... any information would be really greatly appreciated...
That sounds like a great workout, Sariea. I know you're not happy with your body right now but at least you do exercise regularly and do include weight resistance. There's nothing wrong with liking yourself at a certain weight as long as it isn't compromising your health. It's somewhat ironic in a way when I hear you specifically criticize how your lower body looks because most men I know would say, "man, she sounds hot!" Really...I'm being serious. And I'll bet your boyfriend likes the added weight too. (just a guess) Women are so hard on themselves is this media driven society. I especially feel sorry for younger girls like yourself. I'm sure it's very frustrating and demoralizing when you see photos or videos of extremely thin women. But being a man, I'm here to tell you that the overwhelming majority of them find those kind of girls not represenative of what they like. It doesn't sound like you're the kind of person who is too worried about outside perception but it still always saddens me when I see what our society does to young girls.
I think I am classifying ED recovery as torture. Let's go through it together? I know i had this SAME FREAKING PROBLEM.
can I ask one thing? HELP ME TOO!! please? ok, that was a moment of weakness... it's over. today I met with my dietitian, and I'm feeling really down. my weight is so low and serious that she talked to me about inpatient treatment. I'm feeling overwhelmed at this point - I just don't have time to be unhealthy!
recovery IS torture. the way I see food has changed, but I'm unhealthier than ever. and I'm feeling a little isolated in this...
BUT - I know, this thread is about you, not me. and I want to offer some advice, but I don't really have any. it's nice to know I'm not the only one who's experienced these problems...
PLEASE, be healthy. be happy.
Laurabs, i'm trying to be healthy.. the binge eating isn't helping because its what made me develope hypoglycemia---all the carbs turning into sugar and such. and losing a little weight would make me happy. the reason i posted was because i know there are others suffering.. i get uncomfortable seeing the ED thread pop up, wishing i could help.. but i cant even help myself.
DanaJames, my boyfriend definately doesn't mind the added weight. he liked my body when it was 88 pounds but he often tells me i've never looked better and that he wouldn't change a thing, but if i'm unhappy with my body, that is for me to work out and he will not stop me from losing weight unless i get out of control (which i thank him for)
its getting extremely difficult.. it's making me so depressed that it's hard to get through a shift at work because i just want to go home and go to bed, whenever i'm not exercising i'm dreading doing it and procrastinate as much as possible and then cram it all in before bed which probably has somethig to do with why i cant sleep, along with the depression and stress causing me not to sleep.
i am a little worried about outside perception--i wear big baggy clothes when i have to go out, big hoodies at work even though its really freakin hot in that bakery, and then just pajamas at home. i've come to hate wearing regular clothes. Dean actually gets upset sometimes because the only time i wear real clothes is to work, kinda sick of seeing me in pajamas. i dont blame him.
but its kinda like if im not comfortable in my skin, i atleast want to be comfortable in my clothes
Reading all these posts brings back a lot of memories for me. I'm older of course, but when my sister Dee was in her early 20's, she lost A LOT of weight and became fixated on eating only two or three things every day and in small quantities. In those days, eating disorders were more or less in their infancy as far as the public knowing what it was and what medical approach to take. She did go to a therapist but not for very long. Eventually, she started eating normally(for her) again and regained the weight she had lost but it did take a good year to get to that point. She's 45 now and doesn't really talk about those days but for that time, it was scary to see. I think there's sort of a paradoxical problem today in the sense that yes, there is so much information and knowledge to gain in confronting the disorders but in a negative way, it's the bombardment of all this information that can confuse and terrify a person. I guess the key is finding a really good therapist that you feel comfortable with and trusting that person completely. And yes, I know it must be very depressing to be going through this day after day and know that your family, friends, lovers, etc...can't possibly know how you feel. You all sound like intelligent, good hearted people, so all I can say really is try not to give up. You have so much of life ahead of you. I do believe there will be light at the end of this path.
i just dont know what to do anymore... i've gained 3 more pounds in the last week.... :'(
right now i just feel like calling into work and staying in bed for the rest of the day...
Well I think, just like several others suggested, your body could be going into starvation mode- causing you to actually gain weight because your metabolism has slowed so much.
Sariea, it really does sound like you might be experiencing metabolism issues. I'm not a doctor but I'm sure there's a way of establishing exactly what your caloric-burning rate is. Everyone is different. I've always had a very fast metabolism and have never weighed more than 165 pounds. I thought for sure it would have slowed down as I got older but it never did. I actually start to lose weight if I don't eat at least 2,500 calories a day. That's why I always reccomend weight resistance exercise because the muscle on my body keeps me from looking too thin. But I do think you should ask your doctor so that he or she can at least rule out metabolism as a possible problem going on. Of course some of your weight gain could be muscle and there's nothing wrong with that because as I said, that kind of physique looks much different than if it's all just layers of fat. Plus, you are getting a bit older now and your teenage years are behind you. I know you don't want others to just feel sorry for you but I do feel for you. I know it must be so incredibly frustrating and depressing. Just don't give up...try different approaches and if need be, ask other doctors for second or third opinions. Any one doctor doesn't have all the answers.
I feel for you because I am in a similiar situation. So you are not alone! My metabolism is so incredibly slow now that I gain very easily . I had it tested at a nutrition clinic and they were even shocked that it was so bad. Sucks because I had always had a somewhat fast metabolism and only had suffered with my ED for a year. But that year, hell within the first few months I did so much damage to my body.
okay.. within the last year i've gained about 30 pounds. i'm a short 5'2 and at the moment am around 115. (yes i have an eating disorder. i was anorexic but now am having problems with stress binge eating)
the thing is i never had a problem losing the weight to begin with. i barely did anything, exercised a little but thats it, and ate around 700 calories to where i had gotten to my lowest of 88.
the problem i'm having now is that the almost 30 pounds i've gained have all gone to one area--my hips, thighs, and lower stomach. and i've been trying so hard to get it off or even just slim it down a LITTLE.
i work in a bakery practically full time (34 hours a week on average) and don't take breaks or lunches so i'm on my feet the whole 8 hours of my shift, carrying heavy boxes, moving heavy racks and really it takes a lot of strength to do that job so i burn a bit of calories there. then i go to the gym and burn atleast 200 on the eliptical. every day i do 20 minutes on my ab lounge, and a half hour of vigorous yoga and sometimes some kickboxing
baically, when i'm not at work or sleeping, i'm exercising. and i only eat about 1400 calories a day.. with an occasional bad binge up to 2000 or more
but my weight won't budge. i'm getting really exhausted exercising so much when it's not doing anything to help me. i know i've gained muscle in all this but my problem is with the fat that is still on top of the muscle that won't seem to go away.
i was reading an email the other day and it said that soy promotes weight gain because it apparently has something to do with blocking how your thyroid works and i looked up hypothyroidism and i had most of the symptoms but i feel like i'm trying to find a reason other than "i have no willpower to stop eating sooo much"
i'm getting really tired of all this and i'm not posting this to get sympathy or get people mad at me because i have an eating disorder and am trying to figure out how to lose weight. its just that i'm eating so unhealthy and bingeing and i'm sure the stress doesn't help with the weight-loss efforts because of cortisol... i just don't know what to do anymore and i don't know if anyone else has had a problem similar and found out different reasons for the problem that i could look into and discuss with my doctor, because he is kind of flabbergasted too
because there is no reason that someone eating around 1400 calories a day and exercising so much SHOULDNT be losing weight..
plus i'm so unhappy with it all, and my boyfriend and i are going away to his cabin the weekend after thanksgiving and i want to feel better in my body by then so i can enjoy our time alone
sorry this is so long, i'm just really out of ideas and need some help... any information would be really greatly appreciated...
I have had the same experience. Hypothyroidism that got worse over time. Traditional thyoid medications didn't help. Please go to Wilsonssyndrome.org because that's the site that saved my health. Wilson's Syndrome is when the thyroid is out of wack due to stress or trauma. You'll learn about symptoms, throid conditions, AND
... different types of thyroid medications. I was always hungry and tired & it was thyroid. It got worse over 25 years. Exercise didn't help, nor did the usual thyroid medications. You'll have to find a competent, open-minded doctor to help you. I highly recommend the Wilson's Syndrome site.
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