I need advice...

[joshthrill]

My girlfriend has been having some trouble losing weight and I need some advice.

A little background on her first. From ages 16 to 25 she battled an eating disorder and alcoholism. She saw a therapist for 5 years and is currently 4 years sober and no longer starves herself. She has overcome a lot!

As with anyone who overcomes an eating disorder, she has gained weight. But over the past year she has gained more weight than normal.

She currently frequents the gym 4-5 days a week and has been for at least 2 years. She's very serious about working out. We as a couple have had our ups and downs with eating habbits but have been eating constantly good the past 6 months.

So why with all her working out, and with us eating mostly balanced meals, does she keep gaining weight??

She's frustrated and her self esteem is low. I hate seeing her like that and dont know what to tell her. Just thought i'd start a discussion on this forum and see if anyone has some advice.

Thanks.

 

[Jeanette401]

Do you have any idea how many calories she's eating? Could she be eating too many, despite them being 'balanced'?

While food quality matters, quantity matters more when it comes to weight. Maybe the first thing she could do is start a food journal with what and how much?

I don't want to suggest something that might start her down a bad track, but it's hard to know what's going on without knowing what she's eating.

Also, what kinds of exercises do you do at the gym? One thing that is unfortunate is that some people have a strong hunger response - and prefer fatty sweet foods - after working out, which can negate a lot of the benefits to working out. Even though it sounds counter intuitive, she might be better off backing down from the workouts and seeing how that effects her eating.