Living, eating, exercising to no avail

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stetson

New member
Living, eating, exercising properly - no results

My girlfriend (27 years old) has just returned from visiting her doctor, where she was hoping for her blood tests to highlight a reason as to why she is not loosing weight. They did not.
About 12 months ago she started gaining weight around the hips, thighs, glutes and abdomin for no apparant reason.
She has not, and still does not live anything that resembles a sedentary lifestyle. She studies for 3 day a week - diploma of sports - and works the other 3/4 days.
She does the gym 4 times a week and can easily sustain cardio for 40 minutes, followd by various stretching and weight based exercises.
For the last 8 months she has restricted her dietary intake. A typical days eating includes muesli/fruit for breakfast, fruit/muesli bar for lunch and a piece of lean meat with veg for dinner. Protein/meal replacement shakes are consumed once a day also.
She had a new contraceptive pill over a year ago, due to the one she was on not being available anymore, she researched it on the net and saw a lot of reviews saying weight gain was a common problem, so she had this changed again about 4 weeks ago to a different type.
She is now very down and cannot see a way forward. She is not very tall and all the weight around the middle has drastically altered her image and self confidence. Water retention is a possibility, she has had a couple of lymphatic drainage massages, but surely cannot be held totaly responsible for the weight gain?
All the obvious rules and guidelines have been adhered to for a long duration now, without real results.
All ideas as to where she can go now gratefully received.
 
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The blood work shows nothing medically that would cause her to maintain/gain weight correct?

Hate to tell you, then it comes down to the fact she is eating more than she is burning. Hate to say it but based on the information you have given, that's what it is.

Chances are, you are vastly underestimating the calories taken in and burned during the day. Start with a food diary, recording EVERYTHING eaten. People tend to forget that little thing here and there. I also suggest ditching the meal replacement stuff and try to eat real food. There is nothing wrong with chicken, veggies, grains, etc.

Tell her keep her head up, we all have been there.
 
Thats correct - the bloods showed nothing strange. She/ we were thinking along the lines of an underactive thyroid may be present - hypothyroidism.
We have always known the equation: calories consumed must be less than calories expended for weight loss to occur, but genuinely from where i'm standing she is not in danger of exceeding what her body requires. Some days she is on the go for 14- 16 hours and still won'y eat more than what I stated earlier. Getting her to keep a diet log does seem like a good obvious idea, just have to approach it tactfully I guess or she will feel like I don't trust her.
 
Explain to her that it isn't about trust, it's about awareness. Most of us underestimate what we eat all the time. You might not eat 14-16 hours but when you do, the calorie about could be much more than you realize. By recording what you eat for a couple of weeks, you can really see what is going on instead of going by memory. It helps many of us here.

Above all, be supportive. The mental attitude is needed even more than knowledge cause if the will isn't there, nothing will help.
 
I don't know what her blood tests did/did not cover but has she been tested for PCOS (cysts on the ovaries) because that can cause rapid and unexplained weight gain.
 
Could your girlfriend be pregnant?

Also, try counting calories exactly, weighing and writing down every little bit of food. It could come down to eating more than she thinks she is.
 
Well today was easy as far as keeping a record of what she ate: 1 bowl of no fat yogurt, 1 banana and 1 bowl of sultanna bran ( with no fat milk) A typical day for her, consumed more calories than burnt with that intake?

Counting calories is new to us, can give that a go to be sure.

Deffinately no pregnancy, have heard PCOS mentioned before, are specifc tests required for that or would it show up on a standard blood test? Need to talk with her, but there is some history with her on that side of things.
 
That is it? That sounds like way too little calories to me. Even a rough estimation has me thinking 600 calories. That's not good at all.
 
stetson said:
Well today was easy as far as keeping a record of what she ate: 1 bowl of no fat yogurt, 1 banana and 1 bowl of sultanna bran ( with no fat milk) A typical day for her, consumed more calories than burnt with that intake?

Counting calories is new to us, can give that a go to be sure.

Deffinately no pregnancy, have heard PCOS mentioned before, are specifc tests required for that or would it show up on a standard blood test? Need to talk with her, but there is some history with her on that side of things.
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I don't have PCOS but I know people who do. I am told it tends to run in the family. And PCOS symptoms vary by individual and they rank them according to severity of symptoms - in extreme cases it can be the real cause of obesity. I'm not sure it is detectable through a 'regular' blood test so she may need to ask her GP to forward her to a specialist.

If she eats as little as you say then she really should go back to her GP and request further investigation because something isn't right.
 
PCOS doesn't show on blood tests. The blood test can show hormone imbalances, but those can have a multitude of reasons.

To properly diagnose PCOS your girlfriend needs to see a gynaecologist, where they should do an ultra-sound and check for ovarian cysts. They should also do a blood test to check for any hormone imbalances and so on. Ultrasound is the main thing though.
 
Are you sure she is only eating what she tells you she is?
Many of us here are no strangers to eating in private, eating on the go (vending machines should be banned) and empty calories.
She is lucky to have support that some of us long for but just be sure that your 'interest' is not smothering her truth.
If you can be sure that she is 100% honest with you and with herself, then she needs to get some medical help soon. I wish you both all the very best of luck.
Out of interest, does her Diploma of Sports teacher have any ideas? They are usually clued up about nutrition and exercise. That would be my 1st port of call. Other than that, encourage her to eat healthy calories (she seems to have a lot of bland, and dairy foods) and more of them. I was always my heaviest when I was eating the least. Now I have learnt what my body needs, I fuel it well and it rewards me with weight loss.
 
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stetson said:
Well today was easy as far as keeping a record of what she ate: 1 bowl of no fat yogurt, 1 banana and 1 bowl of sultanna bran ( with no fat milk) A typical day for her, consumed more calories than burnt with that intake?

Counting calories is new to us, can give that a go to be sure.

Deffinately no pregnancy, have heard PCOS mentioned before, are specifc tests required for that or would it show up on a standard blood test? Need to talk with her, but there is some history with her on that side of things.
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Out of curiosity, why are you the one posting about this rather than your girlfriend? Why are you watching what she's eating?

It just sounds weird to me. If that's all your girlfriend eats in one day, she needs to eat more because that wouldn't give her the nutrients for her health.
 
If your girlfriend has PCOS, she has to be tested for the following:

Testosterone levels
- Free testosterone & DHEAS
- If these are elevated, then she may have PCOS

Cholesterol Levels
- If her triglycerides are elevated it may be an indication of insulin resistance, which is a symptom of PCOS

FSH/LH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone/Lutenizing Hormone)
- If her FSH is normal or low and her LH is high (ratio being 2:1 or higher) then it's another sign of PCOS

Ovarian Ultrasound
- If there are cysts around her ovaries in a ring of pearls, then she may have PCOS

With this, you also have to find out if she has missed periods, abnormal growth of hair on her body, darkening patches of skin, and cravings for carbohydrates -- all of that will indicate possibly having PCOS or a metabolic syndrome.

If she just received a check up, chances are, she wasn't tested for PCOS, because it's a range of symptoms, not a "disease" that can be found by one blood test.

A lot of women have PCOS but don't get diagnosed the first time they gain a lot of weight. Doctors usually fall back on the normal assumptions about why someone isn't losing weight -- they aren't exercising enough or eating too much.

If you (and she) feel that food and exercise are acceptable and it doesn't explain why she's gaining weight, then you will need to push to find out if she has PCOS.
 
No one has made a point of mentioning this:

WEIGH EVERYTHING YOU/SHE EATS!!

Its really very important. One persons bowl of museli will be half a bowl for another person. Cereal and museli and other carbs are very easy to over eat as its very common to think your eating less then you are. And don't forget the milk, it could be 125mls of milk but in most cases its closer to 250mls. Measure it in a measuring cup first.

Before you waste any more time and or money, get some kitchen scales, weigh everything before eating it for a whole week. Work out how many calories are really going on.

And fruit too- a banana can be 90kcals or can be as much as 180kcals and I have witnessed both. Apples, can be 60kcals can be 120kcals, it really needs to be weighed.

And finally liquids. Are you 100% its the no sugar stuff she is drinking? and are all and any juices put into a measuring cut first?

You/she wont need to weigh and measure everything so fastidiously for the rest of your/her life but get used to what a recommended portion looks like, then you get used to the pattern and will only need to check in with yourself every week or so.

But incase I didn't make myself clear, you NEED to WEIGH everything that will be eaten before finding out how many calories it has in it. If she wants to lose weight badly enough, she will do this.

And PCOS normally comes along with other side effects such as pain when on period or other abdominal pain, facial hair and fatigue. There are also other additional symptoms I have not mentioned.
 
Firstly thanks for all the info and comments. I am am trying to be supportive without pushy but want to know more facts rather than just suggesting endless lists of possibilities that I don't know much about.
The latest is she has obtained her blood results and is going to see a naturopath tomorrow.
Water retention deffinately does seem to be high on the list but may not be the only factor at play here.
She did have pre-cancerous cells removed from her cervix 8 years ago, so there is some not-so-good history there. PCOS is firmly in her mind.
We are both also aware of the need to fuel the body in the correct manner, and not to simply stop eating or eating such a minimal amount it has an adverse affect on her metablism. She does vary the types of food groups eaten - not just fruit and dairy - she does eat lean white meat and fresh vegetables randomly also.
She has been to her doctors twice now, the second time in the hope that the doctor may take more serious note of her concerns - He brushed them aside.
She is in daily contact with people who are involved in health and wellbeing activities such as her tutors, other students, the physio she works for and therefore does have a good grasp on living healthy, she is deff no secret eater!
We shall see what the next few days hold.
 
stetson said:
Firstly thanks for all the info and comments. I am am trying to be supportive without pushy but want to know more facts rather than just suggesting endless lists of possibilities that I don't know much about.
The latest is she has obtained her blood results and is going to see a naturopath tomorrow.
Water retention deffinately does seem to be high on the list but may not be the only factor at play here.
She did have pre-cancerous cells removed from her cervix 8 years ago, so there is some not-so-good history there. PCOS is firmly in her mind.
We are both also aware of the need to fuel the body in the correct manner, and not to simply stop eating or eating such a minimal amount it has an adverse affect on her metablism. She does vary the types of food groups eaten - not just fruit and dairy - she does eat lean white meat and fresh vegetables randomly also.
She has been to her doctors twice now, the second time in the hope that the doctor may take more serious note of her concerns - He brushed them aside.
She is in daily contact with people who are involved in health and wellbeing activities such as her tutors, other students, the physio she works for and therefore does have a good grasp on living healthy, she is deff no secret eater!
We shall see what the next few days hold.
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It just that something seems very off with her diet/weight gain. Unless she is eating a gigantic bowl of yogurt/bran, I just don't see where she'd get the calories to keep her weight much less gain more.

You can slow down your metabolism by eating too little, but that won't make you gain weight, it will just make your body run on less energy, make you tired, make you nutrient deprived and otherwise unhealthy. But it won't make you fatter.


Have you expressed unhappiness with her weight? Does she think you're not as attracted to her? Do you tell her what to eat? Maybe she's eating more on the side and not telling you about it.
 
summer123 said:
And PCOS normally comes along with other side effects such as pain when on period or other abdominal pain, facial hair and fatigue. There are also other additional symptoms I have not mentioned.
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As someone who has been living with PCOS for 15 years, I can tell you that not all patients with PCOS have abdominal pain. I've never had abdominal pain because of PCOS.

Where is the abdominal pain coming from?
 
Augghhhh!!! I want to scream at the top of my lungs to make people understand the weight loss/gain is NOT just about calories. If I've heard "just eat less calories than you burn you will lose weight" once I've heard it 1,000 times and it SIMPLY IS NOT TRUE!
Example: Some people can eat 600 calories a day and actually gain weight. No Kidding???!!!
Look guy's, here is the deal. If you eat too little, your body becomes afraid to release any fat. It wants to hold on to what it has because it is afraid it isn't going to get enough to sustain itself. If you force the issue, yes, you can lose some weight, but NOT FAT. You will lose fluid, muscle mass, even some normal fat (the "good" fat) and finally you will lose structural fat, which is what protects your heart and other vital organs.
The key is releasing the fat from the fat cells, and there are ways to do that, but all of the "dieting" in the world isn't one of those ways!
Also, the fact that she is gaining in the places she is gaining suggests it isn't PCOS. She just needs something to cause her body to release the fat from the fat cells and the weight will fall off...very fast, especially considering her obvious will power & the fact she seems to really want to lose the weight. Good luck!
 
Might take you slightly more seriously if HCG wasn't in your name.
 
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