Does everyone struggle with weight issues?

Cherry Blossom

For the first 30 odd years of my life I was always underweight no matter what I did or how much I ate. Some lovely people in secondary school nick named me 'The Ethiopian'. In my teens and into my 20's instead of breakfast, lunch & dinner I had dinner three times a day in an attempt to bulk up but to no avail. Since I turned 30 my weight suddenly started creeping up and hasn't stopped creeping up the last 6 years at a rate of about half a stone a year. I'm now 4 stone over weight. At some point I must have been an ideal weight but of course I never noticed at the time. Just wondering about other people's experiences.

corkgsxr

Maybe I'm simplifying it but it's worked for me.

Weight can't really be exercised off if your eating badly.

If your gaining weight you need to check what your eating.



(To me for ref. Iv maintained 80ish kg for 6 years)

Cherry Blossom

That's the thing though, I'm not eating badly. For example, before I would have had a full Irish breakfast, now I have a banana, for lunch I have a slimbo instead of the meat and two veg. The only 'proper' meal I have now is my dinner and I am absolutely starving all the time. My exercise levels have gone down significantly as five years ago I was working in a very physical job. Now I sit in a chair all day.

Addle

I find it definitely harder to lose weight the older I get.
Mid thirties now and can literally see no results after weeks of genuine effort.
It's very frustrating.

Dial Hard

To answer the question in your thread title, no, I've never really struggled with my weight. I'm 33, 5' 7" and 9s 12lb. my weight has hovered around the 10 stone mark pretty much since I was 16 or so. I did put on almost a stone in the year after I got married but recognised the creep in the scales and nipped it in the bud.





I'd recommend downloading MyFitnessPal and using it to track EVERYTHING you eat and drink for at least two weeks. People often underestimate the amount they're actually eating. Basically, if you're eating as little as you say above and always starving, yet still putting on weight, there's something wrong and a visit to the doctor might be in order. But a fortnight's accurate calorie tracking is definitely the place to start.

You'll get a lot of people telling you to just move more, etc, but the fact of the matter is diet is far, far more important to weight management than exercise. As a poster above said, you can't outrun a bad diet.

Mars Bar

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

That's the thing though, I'm not eating badly. For example, before I would have had a full Irish breakfast, now I have a banana, for lunch I have a slimbo instead of the meat and two veg. The only 'proper' meal I have now is my dinner and I am absolutely starving all the time. My exercise levels have gone down significantly as five years ago I was working in a very physical job. Now I sit in a chair all day.

If you aren't eating enough then your metabolism will completely slow down and you won't lose weight and you'll feel hungry and horrible too. A banana on its own is not a good start in the morning. There's no protein there to keep you full. Add some scrambled egg.

What was your meat and two veg? I would say you were better off with that than your slimbo.

The nutrition and diet forum is an excellent resource.

intheclouds

I'm a creeper. My weight creeps up by about half a stone a year and every 4 or 5 years I suddenly realise I need to lose 2 stone, do so, and then creep up again.

It's easier for me to lose weight off my pill. Exercise is a constant and has no effect. Losing the weight means weeks of deprivation, not something I could sustain all the time at all, but if I don't properly deprive myself, the weight doesn't budge.

I've a clean diet, don't eat processed food or any junk, balanced and most meals prepared from scratch. But I've a big appetite and I hate feeling hungry.

corkgsxr

If your starving all the time your body will retain fat. There's your problem

runawaybishop

corkgsxr wrote: »

If your starving all the time your body will retain fat. There's your problem

No, this is not true. Its a fairly common myth though, along with the one about metabolism slowing down.

Op, track your intake properly for a week or two. You'd be very surprised at the calories in some stuff.

tomwaterford

intheclouds wrote: »

I've a clean diet, don't eat processed food or any junk, balanced and most meals prepared from scratch. But I've a big appetite and I hate feeling hungry.

Eat slower/smaller mouthfuls....your brain will think you've eaten more and kinda trick you abit into feeling fuller than you are (hard to do when feeling hungry)

I do remember reading something along those lines on boards before

via4

Your body is not getting enough food so when it does it is holding onto the calories and storing them as fat. Eating the good fats ( cheese, avacado) and plenty of protein regularly your body knows it will be getting food more often so it will use the calories for energy instead of fat storage.

intheclouds

tomwaterford wrote: »

Eat slower/smaller mouthfuls....your brain will think you've eaten more and kinda trick you abit into feeling fuller than you are (hard to do when feeling hungry)

I do remember reading something along those lines on boards before

Yep. Another trick I use is to eat a banana about an hour before dinner. Totally cuts the appetite down for me.

tomwaterford

intheclouds wrote: »

Yep. Another trick I use is to eat a banana about an hour before dinner. Totally cuts the appetite down for me.

I started doing this (well an apple) on the way home from work...as I'd eat the press and all when I'm waiting on the dinner to cook

runawaybishop

via4 wrote: »

Your body is not getting enough food so when it does it is holding onto the calories and storing them as fat. Eating the good fats ( cheese, avacado) and plenty of protein regularly your body knows it will be getting food more often so it will use the calories for energy instead of fat storage.

No, this is simply untrue.

Addle

tomwaterford wrote: »

I started doing this (well an apple) on the way home from work...as I'd eat the press and all when I'm waiting on the dinner to cook

I find that having an apple just makes me feel hungrier!

Cherry Blossom

Thanks for all the replies. I will try that diet tracker thing. The meat and two veg would have been a roast dinner (beef or chicken usually) with loads of gravy. Where I used to work they had a staff canteen that did proper dinners. Where I am now they have a microwave and not enough time to go out somewhere else. Unless I make dinners at home and bring them in?

intheclouds

I think you need a more filling lunch, how about a big salad with your slimbo or soup?

tomwaterford

Addle wrote: »

I find that having an apple just makes me feel hungrier!

I use it to kinda suppress the feeling of starving while I making the dinner...if I didn't I'd have the gaff eat while its cooking :pac:

runawaybishop

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. I will try that diet tracker thing. The meat and two veg would have been a roast dinner (beef or chicken usually) with loads of gravy. Where I used to work they had a staff canteen that did proper dinners. Where I am now they have a microwave and not enough time to go out somewhere else. Unless I make dinners at home and bring them in?

Preparation is the key to success. Throw on some extra when you make dinner in the evening, then freeze it or just take it in for lunch the next day.

anewme

Yes is the answer. When I was in my 20's I could eat a load of junk, kebabs etc and was thin as a whippet. Once I hit my 30's, I gound I had to watch what I ate.... And now in my forties.....well

That said I eat a lot healthier now, stay away from processed foods (especially the likes of slimbos etc loaded with sugar, Muller lite yoghurts, same). I fin wine sits on my waist and I'm terrified of getting that muddled aged rounds shape that people get.....so I eat as healthy as I can.

I also find exercise is what actually gives you your shape and keeps you toned.

I'd make my own lunches, soups, salads, rather than buy made up stuff.

Dial Hard

anewme wrote:

That said I eat a lot healthier now, stay away from processed foods (especially the likes of slimbos etc loaded with sugar, Muller lite yoghurts, same). I fin wine sits on my waist and I'm terrified of getting that muddled aged rounds shape that people get.....so I eat as healthy as I can.

Definitely stay away from "low fat" foods. They have to replace the fat with something to keep the food tasty and it's usually sugar. I'm not on the "Sugar is TOXIC!" bandwagon either, mind you, but I'm talking about a spoonful of actual sugar in my tea once a day.

Honestly, the best advice I'd give anyone who genuinely wants to get healthy (not just lose weight) is: learn to cook. Learn to love food and everything about it. I LOVE my food and maintain my weight pretty much exclusively through what I eat rather than through exercise or lucky genes.

There isn't a single part of the food process that I don't enjoy - buying it, preparing it, cooking it and for sure eating it. I don't have a sweet tooth, which definitely helps, but I love my carbs and I'm a FIEND for cheese. But I love well sourced, local, seasonal, lovingly prepared food and to be honest, it's very hard to eat badly when you eat like that.

There's a fantastic Cooking & Recipes forum on here. Have a look at the "Here's what I had for dinner last night" thread to get a feel for what people who genuinely love food eat regularly.

I think you need to completely overhaul your relationship with food, tbh. It's not a means to an end or a stick to beat yourself with. It's an amazing, varied, gorgeous thing that fuels your body and senses.

kettlehead

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

For the first 30 odd years of my life I was always underweight no matter what I did or how much I ate. Some lovely people in secondary school nick named me 'The Ethiopian'.

How active where you then compared to now? Did you play outside/play sports then and do you now play any sports or engage in any physical activities(pipe down at the back)?

I've a load of mates in your situation. Blame the "few pounds", or in their case, the pot belly, on getting old. "I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted, kettlehead."

Sure you did. As you were constantly out kicking a ball and active as fuc as a young person. You give that up, still have the weekend takeout and add alcohol to the mix - then you're going to puff out. I'm only surprised that young Irish people aren't a lot bigger. An awful lot go from extremely active and sporty, to completely sedentary.

You'd be surprised at how easily you would lose that weight too. Swim before work, go for a kick about with a girls team a few times a week or some self defence/Bjj classes. If you had a healthy weight as an active kid growing up, then you should be able to find one as an adult.

Stringent diets and strarving yourself are for the birds. Banana sambos? Nah.

Diamond Doll

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

That's the thing though, I'm not eating badly. For example, before I would have had a full Irish breakfast, now I have a banana, for lunch I have a slimbo instead of the meat and two veg. The only 'proper' meal I have now is my dinner and I am absolutely starving all the time. My exercise levels have gone down significantly as five years ago I was working in a very physical job. Now I sit in a chair all day.

Have you had your thyroid checked? Could definitely be a factor.

And may as well get a full set of bloods done while you're at it!

fits

What's a slimbo?

I gained a stone my first winter in Finland (mostly due to buffet lunches) and never lost it despite bring pretty careful and walking a lot. I think sitting at a computer all the time is really bad for people and not just in terms of weight.

Neyite

Metabolism does slow down as we age. I was one of those thin people who could horse into takeaway's seven days a week and remain a size 6 to 8. It was great. During my thirties, I started to learn to cook properly, and as a result, ate far healthier, so maintained the steady weight and was usually an 8. Towards the end of my thirties I tried to exercise more, drink a hell of a lot less. Now at 40, I'm about 5 kg heavier than I was at 37 and it wont budge, but on the plus side, its not budging the other way yet either.

But I agree that learning to cook or prepare lovely lunches is a great way to go. Like Dial, I dont usually bother with sweet stuff often, but am a divil for savoury food. I also distrust the low-fat options. For a while, I'd make lovely lunches and remember when I was almost at work that it was still in the fridge, so now I pack it up and leave it in the car the night before. Overnight temperature outside, especially in winter is about the same as a fridge anyway!

intheclouds

Dial Hard wrote: »

Honestly, the best advice I'd give anyone who genuinely wants to get healthy (not just lose weight) is: learn to cook. Learn to love food and everything about it. I LOVE my food and maintain my weight pretty much exclusively through what I eat rather than through exercise or lucky genes.

There isn't a single part of the food process that I don't enjoy - buying it, preparing it, cooking it and for sure eating it. I don't have a sweet tooth, which definitely helps, but I love my carbs and I'm a FIEND for cheese. But I love well sourced, local, seasonal, lovingly prepared food and to be honest, it's very hard to eat badly when you eat like that.

I could have written the above, particularly in relation to well sourced, local, seasonal food and I still put on weight.

I am convinced that some people just have bigger appetites than others and it's just not as easy for them to eat less.

runawaybishop

Neyite wrote: »

Metabolism does slow down as we age.

It really doesn't, not appreciably. People just eat more and move a lot less as they age. Your metabolism will be within 5% efficiency of what it was when you were 25 when you hit 65. People just stop walking to the shops, or the pub or kicking a ball about with their mates, get taxis everywhere, eat out a lot more, can afford more food in general etc etc etc. The very small loss in metabolism is because we tend to drop muscle mass as we get older.

Cherry Blossom

A slimbo is a skinny wholegrain bap

Current exercise is 1 hour riding every day, 2-3 hours walking the dogs (at a very slow pace due to hedge sniffing etc. :rolleyes:) 20 mins mucking out, 20 mins grooming horses. Kickboxing twice a week.

Before - riding, grooming, mucking out and yard sweeping is what I did all day every day. Running with instead of walking the dogs before I got my Sheltie.

I down loaded myfitnesspal, I've had an e-mail from them every 5 - 10 minutes since, the same thing every time :mad:. I've unsubscribed from all email options but it's telling me it takes 72 hours to take effect. I did set it up though and I'm under my recommended daily calories but fat and sugar are both double the recommended daily intake. I guess I need to cut out coke and milk for a start.

runawaybishop

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

A slimbo is a skinny wholegrain bap

Current exercise is 1 hour riding every day, 2-3 hours walking the dogs (at a very slow pace due to hedge sniffing etc. :rolleyes:) 20 mins mucking out, 20 mins grooming horses. Kickboxing twice a week.

Before - riding, grooming, mucking out and yard sweeping is what I did all day every day. Running with instead of walking the dogs before I got my Sheltie.

I down loaded myfitnesspal, I've had an e-mail from them every 5 - 10 minutes since, the same thing every time :mad:. I've unsubscribed from all email options but it's telling me it takes 72 hours to take effect. I did set it up though and I'm under my recommended daily calories but fat and sugar are both double the recommended daily intake. I guess I need to cut out coke and milk for a start.

Take that recommended calorie amount with pinch of salt. If you are actually eating less than mantainence and gaining weight then
1 you have a thyroid issue, this is extremely rare and only a gp can assist
2 you have calced your base requirement wrong
3 you are not tracking things properly - overestimating exercise or forgetting things like 5 cups of tea a day with 3 spoons of sugar.

Ignore the recommendations from mfp for now and just track real carefully what you are taking in. Then drop it say 15% and see how you get on. If you want to change your body shape then strongly consider strength and conditioning exercise.

njs030

runawaybishop wrote: »

Take that recommended calorie amount with pinch of salt. If you are actually eating less than mantainence and gaining weight then
1 you have a thyroid issue, this is extremely rare and only a gp can assist
2 you have calced your base requirement wrong
3 you are not tracking things properly - overestimating exercise or forgetting things like 5 cups of tea a day with 3 spoons of sugar.

Ignore the recommendations from mfp for now and just track real carefully what you are taking in. Then drop it say 15% and see how you get on. If you want to change your body shape then strongly consider strength and conditioning exercise.

A thyroid issue isnt really rare, it affects up to 10% of women and usually appears at age 35+. With a thyroid problem exercise and tracking food isn't going to do anything as your metabolism is completely slowed down, it's quite common to put on 4-5 stone before the person realises something is wrong.
It is diagnosed with a simple blood test and treated with daily medication.
I also thought it was rare and went through 2 years of hell trying to lose weight, killing myself with exercise and missing out on treats then being in tears every week when the scales were still moving upwards.....finally I mentioned it to the gp and lo and behold my thyroid was very underactive. It's not worth waiting so long for a simple blood test and each pound on is another to be worked off.

Op if you're having any other symptoms like being very cold, crankiness, feeling down or periods being messed up its no harm to go to your go to get a full set of blood tests.

Otherwise the above post is very informative!

Cherry Blossom

I think a trip to the docs is in order first off then so!

runawaybishop

notjustsweet wrote: »

A thyroid issue isnt really rare, it affects up to 10% of women and usually appears at age 35+. With a thyroid problem exercise and tracking food isn't going to do anything as your metabolism is completely slowed down, it's quite common to put on 4-5 stone before the person realises something is wrong.
It is diagnosed with a simple blood test and treated with daily medication.
I also thought it was rare and went through 2 years of hell trying to lose weight, killing myself with exercise and missing out on treats then being in tears every week when the scales were still moving upwards.....finally I mentioned it to the gp and lo and behold my thyroid was very underactive. It's not worth waiting so long for a simple blood test and each pound on is another to be worked off.

Op if you're having any other symptoms like being very cold, crankiness, feeling down or periods being messed up its no harm to go to your go to get a full set of blood tests.

Otherwise the above post is very informative!

I've seen estimates as high as one in eight people being affected with women and people over 60 being more susceptible. Hypothyroidism is rare though, a lot of the thyroid issues are things like goiters or nodules. Alwyas good to have the doc give you an NCT once a year though.

Diamond Doll

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Current exercise is 1 hour riding every day

Heh :pac:

(Sorry, I've the maturity of a twelve year old boy!

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

I guess I need to cut out coke and milk for a start.

Coke, yes, milk, maybe not. From what I know of nutrition, low-fat substitutes are almost always a bad idea, but milk is the exception - it still has all the goodness, with no sugar substitutes. I drink at least a glass of low-fat super-milk each day.

Lucyfur

MOD

OP, would you like this moved to diet & nutrition?

Cherry Blossom

Lucyfur wrote: »

MOD

OP, would you like this moved to diet & nutrition?

Yeah okay, it has evolved a bit from what I intended it to be

Zillah

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

That's the thing though, I'm not eating badly.

Excuses are the main reason people put on weight and keeping gaining weight imo.

If you're gaining weight you are eating too much - the calories are sneaking in some where. Booze, snacks, soft drinks, crisps - whatever, they're getting in there some how, and the more you delude yourself into believing your diet isn't the problem the more weight you're going to gain.

Your body isn't magic, it isn't conjuring fat from no where - fat costs calories, and calories come from what you eat.

njs030

Zillah wrote: »

Excuses are the main reason people put on weight and keeping gaining weight imo.

If you're gaining weight you are eating too much - the calories are sneaking in some where. Booze, snacks, soft drinks, crisps - whatever, they're getting in there some how, and the more you delude yourself into believing your diet isn't the problem the more weight you're going to gain.

Your body isn't magic, it isn't conjuring fat from no where - fat costs calories, and calories come from what you eat.

If your metabolism isn't working properly you can't possibly burn off food no matter how little you eat. That's not an excuse or an opinion it's pure scientific fact.

Neyite

runawaybishop wrote: »

It really doesn't, not appreciably. People just eat more and move a lot less as they age. Your metabolism will be within 5% efficiency of what it was when you were 25 when you hit 65. People just stop walking to the shops, or the pub or kicking a ball about with their mates, get taxis everywhere, eat out a lot more, can afford more food in general etc etc etc. The very small loss in metabolism is because we tend to drop muscle mass as we get older.

A quick google shows plenty of articles and research that links a dip in estrogen with weight gain and a slowing down of metabolism, particularly in menopausal or peri-menopausal women. Here are a few from the first page of google results alone, but there are heaps more.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070820145348.htm
http://www.healthywomen.org/content/article/speed-your-metabolism-midlife?context=healthcenter/15081
http://www.webmd.com/menopause/guide/menopause-weight-gain-and-exercise-tips

Certainly I agree with you that changes in lifestyle and diet as we get older may contribute to weight gain, but a woman's hormonal changes throughout her life also are a big factor. This is why we see reports of rapid weight gains when some woman go on a hormonal contraceptive, only to find another type doesn't increase their weight gain. If a woman is doing all the right things, and still gaining weight, its worth getting the hormone levels checked or a contraceptive review to see if there is a contributory factor.

Alf Veedersane

People are too quick to put think they're hungry. A lot of the time they need to drink water.

Having a bigger/smaller appetite isn't a thing. Your body needs fuel. It needs as much as it needs. If you move more, you need more fuel. That's pretty much it for the majority of people.

No matter how good the food you eat is, it still contains calories. Eat too much and you'll put on weight.

intheclouds

Zillah wrote: »

Excuses are the main reason people put on weight and keeping gaining weight imo.

If you're gaining weight you are eating too much - the calories are sneaking in some where. Booze, snacks, soft drinks, crisps - whatever, they're getting in there some how, and the more you delude yourself into believing your diet isn't the problem the more weight you're going to gain.

Your body isn't magic, it isn't conjuring fat from no where - fat costs calories, and calories come from what you eat.

This is the kind of thing I'd have said at one point in life too. It's not untrue. It's just not the whole story.

I don't eat snacks, crisps, soft drinks, I drink very little booze but yet I gain weight all the time unless I treat eating like a military precision battle of deprivation. The problem (for me and I suspect many others) is that I simply am not satisfied on the lesser portions. I remain hungry. I can't concentrate because I'm still hungry. I start living from meal to meal, just dying for the next bit of food. Sure, the weight comes off, but it's a horrible torturous way of living.

There is no happy medium for me. It's either constant hunger and weight loss, or eat as my appetite dictates and gain weight (slowly slowly but it still happens).

For the most part, life is just too short for me to be in a misery of hunger ALL the time. So I do it for a few months then gently slide back to eating normally and slowly gain again.

I'd really love to have less of an appetite, but I just don't.

Dtp1979

intheclouds wrote: »

This is the kind of thing I'd have said at one point in life too. It's not untrue. It's just not the whole story.

I don't eat snacks, crisps, soft drinks, I drink very little booze but yet I gain weight all the time unless I treat eating like a military precision battle of deprivation. The problem (for me and I suspect many others) is that I simply am not satisfied on the lesser portions. I remain hungry. I can't concentrate because I'm still hungry. I start living from meal to meal, just dying for the next bit of food. Sure, the weight comes off, but it's a horrible torturous way of living.

There is no happy medium for me. It's either constant hunger and weight loss, or eat as my appetite dictates and gain weight (slowly slowly but it still happens).

For the most part, life is just too short for me to be in a misery of hunger ALL the time. So I do it for a few months then gently slide back to eating normally and slowly gain again.

I'd really love to have less of an appetite, but I just don't.

When you say you eat healthy, what are the foods you're eating. Name out a typical days healthy eating from morning until bed time and be totally honest

Zillah

notjustsweet wrote: »

If your metabolism isn't working properly you can't possibly burn off food no matter how little you eat. That's not an excuse or an opinion it's pure scientific fact.

http://www.thyroid.org/thyroid-and-weight/

"In general, 5-10 pounds of body weight may be attributable to the thyroid, depending on the severity of the hypothyroidism."

People eat too much and seek any rationalisation they can latch on to as to why it's not their fault. Thyroid issues should be treated but I think it's far less of a factor than most people believe.

intheclouds wrote: »

There is no happy medium for me. It's either constant hunger and weight loss, or eat as my appetite dictates and gain weight (slowly slowly but it still happens).

Satiety isn't only dictated by how much you eat but also what. Sugar and other fast processing carbs tend to increase appetite, whereas fibre, protein, and water tend to be the most filling. Sleep and stress can be big factors too. I'm not challenging you to tell us every detail of your diet, but I'd wager it's got a lot less veg and a lot more pasta/potatoes than it should.

It's not impossible that you have a mysteriously large appetite above and beyond your body's needs, but it's more likely that there are other issues.

acon2119

One thing I have noticed with many people who say they need to lose weight is that they only seem to notice the weight gain when they have gained stones rather than pounds.

I am mid forties and still more or less the same size as my twenties or younger, and I am in no way unique, its that I dont allow a large amount of weight to get settled on my body. I eat more or less what I want to eat but I don't eat unhealthy stuff all the time, its all about balance. Eat lots of healthy food and you can afford to eat some junk food too. I rarely ever weigh myself but I know when I have gained 4 or 5 lbs, I never let it get beyond that, then I will cut out the junk food and the weight comes off. I cook a lot of my own food.

I never eat low fat of anything, I think low fat products are generally artificial rubbish that messes with your system. I have two friends who eat everything they can low fat and are constantly battling weight gain.

I exercise regularly and have always done this, but also in moderation, I walk and go to the gym to do weights but keep my sessions short.
In my opinion exercise is not the key to weight loss, its almost all about the food you eat, I would consider it to be 75% diet and 25% gym. But the exercise is necessary for toning you up especially if you need to lose a lot of weight so there will be loose skin.

The secret is don't let too much weight build up
Eat in a balanced way
Cook natural foods as much as you can.
Moderate exercise

intheclouds

Zillah wrote: »

Satiety isn't only dictated by how much you eat but also what. Sugar and other fast processing carbs tend to increase appetite, whereas fibre, protein, and water tend to be the most filling. Sleep and stress can be big factors too. I'm not challenging you to tell us every detail of your diet, but I'd wager it's got a lot less veg and a lot more pasta/potatoes than it should.

I don't disagree with you at all but I'm simply pointing out that if it were as easy as "eat less" there would be no one overweight.

I'm sure I'm not unusual in that with a full time job, long commute etc that I'm exhausted from Monday to Friday. I pre make dinners 3 times a week to facilitate getting to the gym. So 3 evenings are spent cooking and 2 in the gym. I often bemoan how I could eat more fresh food if only I had time to get to an open shop!

Life is often very stressful and the last thing I need on top of that is being hungry all the time. Again, it's possible for me for limited periods but life is just too short for me to calorie count and be miserabley hungry all the time.

I had to come off my pill for a surgery last year and in 6 weeks I dropped 10 lbs without ever feeling hungry. I am convinced hormonal contraception is an issue for me.

njs030

Zillah wrote: »

http://www.thyroid.org/thyroid-and-weight/

"In general, 5-10 pounds of body weight may be attributable to the thyroid, depending on the severity of the hypothyroidism."

People eat too much and seek any rationalisation they can latch on to as to why it's not their fault. Thyroid issues should be treated but I think it's far less of a factor than most people believe.

Well you don't seem to have the faintest idea what hypothyroidism actually is. Not only does it mean sufferers put on weight, but they also have problems like fatigue, exhaustion, depression and a host of other things.

Plus the important part of your quote is "depending on the severity". When diagnosis can take a couple of years it's pretty easy to slide into severe.

But thanks for your comment, I'm glad to know that you "think" after years of depriving myself and feeling like crap I'm just making excuses.

Dtp1979

notjustsweet wrote: »

But thanks for your comment, I'm glad to know that you "think" after years of depriving myself and feeling like crap I'm just making excuses.

Depriving yourself of what?

Cherry Blossom

I once would have been in the 'if you're overweight, you're eating too much' camp. There was always a few girls in equestrian yards carrying a bit of weight and I could never really understand how it was possible. Now I'm in the same boat myself.

I got the implant four years ago so I'm wondering if that could be a factor. I've always eaten loads of pasta and baked potato and that sort of thing. Thought it was good for me :P. Bread, not so much.

Dtp1979

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

I've always eaten loads of pasta and baked potato and that sort of thing. Thought it was good for me :P. Bread, not so much.

Maybe there's your answer

intheclouds

Well the cold hard facts ARE that if you're overweight you are eating too much.

But the solution, to eat less, never seems to explain how to deal with feeling hungry all the time, the inability to concentrate in work from hunger, the emotional downer of always being hungry, the lack of sleep caused by lying there hungry etc...

I'm all for eat less, but how do you cope with what happens as result of eating less!

Zillah

notjustsweet wrote: »

Well you don't seem to have the faintest idea what hypothyroidism actually is. Not only does it mean sufferers put on weight, but they also have problems like fatigue, exhaustion, depression and a host of other things.

Plus the important part of your quote is "depending on the severity". When diagnosis can take a couple of years it's pretty easy to slide into severe.

But thanks for your comment, I'm glad to know that you "think" after years of depriving myself and feeling like crap I'm just making excuses.

So the cycle continues.

Dtp1979

intheclouds wrote: »

Well the cold hard facts ARE that if you're overweight you are eating too much.

But the solution, to eat less, never seems to explain how to deal with feeling hungry all the time, the inability to concentrate in work from hunger, the emotional downer of always being hungry, the lack of sleep caused by lying there hungry etc...

I'm all for eat less, but how do you cope with what happens as result of eating less!

If you'd post what you honestly eat on a healthy days eating then maybe someone could help.