Hi.

I'm not sure exactly how to start this out or how to introduce myself. Bear with me while I ramble.

I'm a 25 year old female. I have a severe weight problem. I am 5'4" and I probably weigh about 335 lbs. I try to diet. I try to at least keep from gaining. I'm fairly active (as much as my body/weight allows). I walk 2 miles 4 days per week. 3 days per week I am at work. I have a fairly strenuous job. I spend all day walking, lifting hundreds of bags of mulch, potting soil, fertilizer. It's crazy sometimes.

I try my best to eat healthy. My average meal consists of a baked/grilled chicken breast, a small baked potato with fat free ranch, and about 1/2 cup of some vegetable. Usually broccoli or green beans. That is usually my only meal.

I don't know what excercises I should be doing or what I could be eating. I can't afford to buy a lot of the food I see you talking about on here.

I feel like I'm stuck. I want to wear cute clothes. I want to go do things and not feel big and akward. I want to rollerblade (a passion) without panicking about my knee giving out. I just need help. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I'm not one to just sit around and stuff myself with fast food. I eat decent food and I excercise. I just keep gaining weight though. I'm so depressed. I'm so lost.

Ok, I have thrown myself on your mercy. I have opened up my inner demons for you to see. At least here my size is not a lie. Please give me some tips/support/advice. :d_frown:

Hi Eirlys,

Welcome to the forum.

I'm pretty knew around here as well and not as versed in the ways of nutrition as many members, but I'm pretty sure most will say that you aren't eating enough. Am I correct in understanding that you are only eating that one meal a day? I'd be afraid you are putting your body into starvation mode and it's not going to want to burn any fat.

As far as not having money for a lot of food, I totally feel your pain. My wife and I live pretty much paycheck to paycheck and I'm always trying to find deals on food. Coupons are your friend, and always check the sales flyers. I NEVER buy chicken breasts that aren't on sale...have you seen those prices?? OUCH! Store brand canned tuna/salmon/chicken is also a staple for us. I'd say a typical dinner for us runs me about $7-$10, lunch and mid-day meals probably average out to a couple bucks each. Now, I don't have enough knowlege to feel comfortable in suggesting what to eat, but I do know that there are some low cost alternatives to many of the suggestions you might get.

So just keep visiting the boards and asking questions and I'm sure we'll all help out.

Welcome eirlys, we can help you a lot to gain control of your weight. You should Read the stickies to get started.

Like Pendleton said it doesn't seem like your eating enough.

Also have you spoken to a doctor? You could have a hormome problem which i really have no knowledge about but it does happen amongst women.

Good Luck

All is not lost. Let's see if you can tell us a few things, and we'll move forward from there.

-Do you know how many calories a day you're eating?
-How often are you eating?
-Do you keep a food log/journal?

Those are some biggies you can try to begin to compile some vital information about your body, your dietary habits, etc. When you write down everything you eat, there's no escaping it. You've got a permanent record. Whether you succeed and eat healthy, or fail and eat poorly, write it down. You'll need that data later. It helps you to recognize patterns in your eating habits that require modification to facilitate more efficient weight loss.

I highly suggest you visit the beginner's forum and read the stickies we have posted there. They contain invaluable information to start you on your way. We're here to help, answer questions and offer encouragement - the true initiative - the sweat equity, the work, the dieting - we leave that up to you to figure out with a little guidance from us here. You've got to learn to take these matters into your own hands. You are not a victim of genetics or your own weight/body; you've just got to learn how to work with your body, whereas at the moment, it sounds like you just don't understand enough about your body to achieve that goal.

Baby steps.

First, read up. Then try. Create a diet plan. Understand the calories involved. Understand why it's so important to eat small, frequent meals. Formulate a plan and write it down. Post it for our evaluation - we'll help you get it right. Promise... but you've got to try on your own. What we hand to you won't help you - but you learning how to create something yourself will benefit you infinitely. Educating oneself always does. You can make it work, if you want it bad enough. And we'll be here to help every step of the way.

-R

Hi Eirlys,

Welcome! First of all, I want to congratulate you for taking the big step and realizing that you want to do something about your weight. Second, if you're only eating that ONE meal a day AND doing all that strenuous labour-intensive work, your body's going to be confused out of its mind and it won't know what to do but go into starvation mode. I know it's weird hearing that you need to EAT MORE to LOSE MORE, but it's true. Try to eat at least 5-6 clean (i.e. healthy foods) and small meals a day and with the amount of exercise you're already getting, you should start to see your weight drop! :gl:

Without looking to concern you, I would say the first thing you should do is visit a doctor to find out if you do have any other condition that you are unaware of. This may affect your ideal diet. For example, several members of my family have cœliac disease, which is an intolerance to wheat products. When they were unaware of this they were unnecessarily overweight due to their body reacting to the gluten in wheat. They solved the problem by eating a gluten-free diet. This is just ONE POSSIBILITY that is in my family, and luckily I don't have it myself (it passes through families) - I am NOT suggesting that you have cœliac disease. Just that you should check with your doctor first to rule that and other conditions out.

Well,

Thanks for the awesome replies! I was really afraid that you would be rude or demeaning. Quite the opposite!

I don't really have a bunch of time to reply so I'll try to answer a few questions.

This is my ONLY meal. I just don't have a lot of motivation to eat when I should. You know.. food = fat, etc. So I just don't eat. I don't like to eat in the morning because it makes me sick. I literally have huge stomach issues if I eat anything in the first 2 or so hours that I'm awake.

I haven't been to the doctor for my weight. They tell me that I need to lose weight if I go in on the rare occasion that I'm sick. They aren't too insistent on it though. They say it will eventually be bad for my heart. Then they just tell me that my blood pressure and cholesterol are normal. I suppose that is rare for someone of my size.. I treasure it and try to not screw that up at least.

Sorry I couldn't go into more detail. I have to work the next two days and it really takes a lot out of me. I'll read up on the beginners forum and do some shopping around to see what I can buy for food that is affordable. I'll also work on having at least 3 clean meals a day.

Thanks everyone :)