advice wanted. Overweight, trying to loose weight ,lack of metabolism and period

[owens_mom]

I'm 24. I have a 4 year old little boy. Prior to having my son I was also rather small, about 140 lbs, which for me is quite small. I'm larger chested, and I was about 5"7.

After having my son, I've been having alot of weight issues. At one point, I went from 220 to 160, but NOT healthy. I was smoking. For some reason, when I start smoking, I lost weight. I haven't smoked now in over a year. I had a tummy tuck at 160lbs becuase I thought I was going to stay small. Here I am back at 225 and I'm only 5'5"ish now ( yah somehow I shrank). I'm not HUGE because I'm still really large chested ( KK cup), so I know theres like 10 lbs of it at least.

But no matter what I do, I can't seem to lose weight. I don't pig out on nasty food. I eat a lot of fruits and veggies. I eat healthy. I wasn't drinking enough water, I started to drink alot of Ensure recently though. Now, for the past 6 months, I've also stopped ovulating , for me that is horrifying. I don't get a period anymore and I'm worried I can't have kids. I've talked to doctors who offer up no advice and one of them put me on a progesterone medicine which caused my weight to climb even more. I need some advice on where to start. I have a treadmill, but after 10 mins of walking on it, I feel like vommiting and often do. And my knees kill me. I have a exercise bike also. Everyone else in my life and family is skinny and fit, and just say thinks like... well eat less, or eat better. LOL not realizing that I DO. It seems like my metabolism is taking a nap and I'm not sure how to wake it up. I'm not nieve. I know I need to exercise and eat right. The eating right part, for the most part, I have downpat. I don't consume ANY caffee products, or weight loss pill, and I cannot due to kidney disease, so please dont offer that as a solution. I run a daycare so I chase around 6 kids a day....I'm not a couch potato...I'm just not sure what to do to get outta this slum. Right now, I'm going to try to drink 110 oz of water a day, and use the treadmill or bike for at least 30 mins a day ( if I dont die). The problem is, and I dont know if anyone else has this issue or not, as soon as i start to exercise ... i feel soo sick, and then end up with diahrea on top of it all. I need some ideas. As far as I know, Im eating healthy.

Example of last nights supper : Small skinless salmon portion ( size of the palm of my hand, maybe a bit smaller), Green beans, kernal corn, and 2 tbs of cooked squash. no salt and no butter on anything and no seasoning on the salmon. Maybe I'm misunderstanding what is healthy and what is not.. that is a possibility. I eat alot of veg but small portions of each. I could eat plain, cooked spinish until it came out of my ears. So please. any advice.. meal ideas... or exercise ideas.. would be helpful. Also, a time line to lose approx 50 lbs. Anyone else have issues where there metabolism is napping, and lose of menstrul cycle? I will also mention, in case it plays a part, unfortunatly I have a rather stressful life.... and normally I'd say get rid of what stresses me but these are things I must learn to deal with ( ie, cant afford mortage, have to keep moving to different rental properties due to lack of living facilities in my area, behavioral issues with my 4 year old son, relationship issues, financial issues, etc....)

 

[Lizabell1]

WOW...you've got a lot going on girl.

That said, here's what I'm thinking...

Talk to your doc AGAIN and have him/her test your thyroid. If the doc won't, get another doc. If the thyroid test comes back clear, you can rest assured that the cause and effect of your actions lay in your hands. (Of course, the doc will take other measures with you if it turns out your thyroid is not functioning properly and in that case, he/she will be your best guide on how to proceed further with medication, food, etc).

We all have things in our lives that make life challenging. Some have more than others, but what is important is that you make having a healthy lifestyle as important to you as taking care of your son is, etc. You have to take good care of yourself if you want to take even better care of your child. In not saying you're not already, what I'm saying is that by being healthy, you'll be able to do more with and for your child in both a physical and emotional sense, as well as set the proper health example you want for him to grow up.

You say you eat well. Your food choices you mentioned are nutritous, but what else do you eat? Do you keep a food diary? I've often toted that I eat from all four food groups and balance my meals, but always seem to forget that extra handful of nuts or larger portion of potatoes. It IS absolutely possible to get fat from eating nothing but healthy foods if you overeat them. 2500 calories a day is still 2500 calories a day whether I ate all of that in strawberries or chocolate chip cookies. People get under the misconception that food is either a positive or negative thing just by its existence, kind of like, "eating apples are good, but eating bread is bad". No, it is actually more like this: "eating 1 apple is good, eating 20 is bad". If you're eating small portions of veggies at a time (like you stated), what else rounds out your meals? I ask because there is no way eating a small portion (say two tablespoons of squash) is going to satisfy or even meet your serving requirements for your meal. You cannot give just pieces of a puzzle to someone and ask them to put the whole thing together for you. I know I eat pretty healthily, too, but that doesn't mean that on somedays I don't eat 400 calories of cookies. Those isolated 400 calories mean nothing unless I can compare them against the total calories I ate for the whole day. Their only value aside from comparing to my total calorie count for the day is what nutrition I got from them (obviously not much if not nothing at all). Did I already eat to or pass my calorie quota for the day? Did I miss out on important nutrients by eating those 400 calories of cookies instead of 400 calories of fruits and whole grains? Chances are, I missed out on some nutrients that would have done by body good, but instead I made the cookie choice which gave me nothing but a bulk of sugar and fat (with little to no actual nutrition other than its calories). But the 400 calories, again, are only part of the equation- how much did I eat for the day in its entirety? Did I eat 1200 calories or 2500 calories? Those cookies are only really making more of a problem for me if they fit in the 2500 calorie column. See? It's more about your overall caloric intake than the actual foods you eat. It's fantastic that you're eating and enjoy eating your veggies, but what is in the big picture here? What else are you eating? BTW, I'm advocating eating healthy, not to eat whatever you want, just saying!


Second, how fast are you going when you say you're walking on a treadmill for 10 minutes and find it exhausting? Are you trying to kill yourself with intensity? Or are you walking at a modest pace with no incline and still having trouble making it through your workout? If you're able to keep up after 6 kids at a daycare all day, I can't imagine you having that hard of a time on a treadmill for 10 minutes (if you're going at a modest pace and no incline). Details please.

You have to start somewhere. So, if walking or biking for 10 minutes is all you can do before you throw up, then analyze how hard you're pushing yourself and see if just focusing on doing 10 minutes of whatever intensity you can handle now is better for you. You'll be less likely to feel like you're failing at it and more like to continue. Then, once your body is able to handle 10 minutes with no difficulty, move up to 12-15 minutes, and so on. There is no reason at your weight and height and age that walking/biking at a starting, modest pace should be impossible. I understand you mentioned your knees and such, but like I mentioned, you have to start somewhere, and many people are able to push through some level of discomfort to get them on the right track. YOU MUST START SOMEWHERE, so figure out a good starting point and just go from there.

Third, wrap your head around the fact that in the end, the only one who can hold you back from getting healthy and losing weight is yourself. IF you think that your excuses are something you can turn around into healthy challenges for yourself, you might be able to have a better mindset and approach to changing your lifestyle. Turn those negatives into positives and don't let them hold you back. So you're puking right now...maybe your first goal will be to continue trying the 10 minutes of walking / biking until you no longer puke. Then, you can set a new goal for yourself, like 12-15 minutes.

I'm not disregarding the fact that you may have some health issues that will make things more difficult for you compared to the next person, but they are not end-all, be-all's for anyone, not even you. Don't write yourself off with any of these issue you presented here because in the end, you have only yourself to answer to. I have a young girlfriend who was diagnosed with MS 2 years ago. She was in so much pain, but she started running and realized that running actually HELPED her manage her pain. She is currently training for a marathon (26.2 miles) and is feeling the best she ever has. Some people just accept their fate for what it is, others are proactive at changing theirs.


Hope I wasn't too harsh, but I'm just trying to help you. I totally understand your frustration and how confusing it all is, but I don't accept that there's no way to fix it. I can't sit here and type that "you're doing everything right" because you're obviously not if you're in need of dropping 50 lbs and you're struggling to figure out why the way you're currently eating/exercising isn't working.

Use the calculators on this site to determine based on your height, age and weight what the appropriate amount of calories you need for a day are. Also determine you Basal Metabolic Rate with the same information. That will give you a calorie window for you to focus staying within each day. Knock off anywhere between 500-1000 calories a day with that and you'll start seeing weight loss. Weight lifting (full body workouts of resistance training) would do your body wonders while losing weight.

Good luck!

Lizabell

 

[Katikaaa]

I think you should visit your doctor again. I know many people think medical issues are rarely the cause but I knew something was wrong and for 2 years doctors told me I am just fine and I should ''eat less and exercise more'' and that ''your period will reappear after a few months off the pill'' (it never did) .. And it's not always the thyroid too - I wish it was in my case.. but it's worse actually
Before you do that make sure you are not cheating on your diet without realizing or doing whatever might stop you from losing weight.. Use common sense.. I'm not going to tell you you should eat more protein or lift weights or whatever. I hope you find what works for you so you can keep this as a way of life and not as a diet.
Listen to your body but don't be a hypochondriac.. Sometimes diarrhea is just diarrhea..