Really frustrated...

I

IntonationLost

New member
Okay. I'm 19. I'm finishing up my 3rd semester of college and I'm struggling with my weight. I'm not overweight at all, and I'm probably just being picky, but I want to be happy with myself, and I work very hard and see no results at all.

I started the semester at 126 (I'm 5'4") and I was very happy. I started a new weight training program (and got into some Mallomars) and somehow in the timespan of three weeks gained almost 10 pounds.

I stepped up my workouts from 3 times a week to 5 times a week. I cut out all junk food. I swapped anything that wasn't water or skim milk for green tea. I don't drink often, maybe once or twice every two or three weeks. I keep track of my calorie intake daily, and I never exceed my energy needs. I don't eat late at night, and if I do get hungry, I have a small bowl of Cheerios with skim milk. I do at least 35 minutes of cardio (elliptical, tredmill, tredclimber, rowing, or some combination of those) and I do an ab work out every other day. I stopped lifting because I just didn't have the time to fit it in the short amount of time I have to work out between my classes.

I walk to all my classes. I always take the stairs. However, when I'm not going to class, or working out, I'm sitting in my room reading, or writing papers, etc, but I don't really think that has any effect because it's always been that way for me.

Anyway, despite all the changes I'm still gaining weight. My friends say I don't look any different, but I can tell I'm not as tight as I was over the summer. I'm more active than I was over the summer, and even more active than I was my entire first year at school, but I'm heavier (the scale now reads 140), and my clothes don't fit anymore. Jeans I bought two months ago barely fit, and I'm getting very frustrated.

I really don't know what else to do. I don't have the time to spend hours at the gym, nor should I have to. I don't know what's wrong, but I was hoping someone could offer a little advice.
 
Have you changed WHAT you are eating? Any change of diet for the worse could cause you to start feeling bad and pack on a few extra pounds rather quickly all while feeling like you are eating the same amount. The good news is that this massive amount of weight in such a short period of time is probably mostly water weight. You'd have to eat over 10,000 extra calories per week to gain 10 pounds of fat in 3 weeks, probably about 1,500 calories per day.
 
Actually, I'm pretty sure on most days I probably take in 1,500 calories. I'm really not sure how I could take in less without feeling extremely hungry.

I use mypyramidtracker.gov to keep track, and based on the exercise I do everyday, it recommends I don't take in more than 2000 (Sometimes more). So I keep it under that. But I'm eating what's available. I'm at college and I can't really be picky because of meal plan and what not. I have nowhere to cook anything. But just looking in the mirror I can't see where ten pounds of fat would be. It doesn't make sense to me.

I'm not eating badly. I eat protein, salads, I sneak a snack every now and again, but mostly I eat every 4 hours. Small meals. It's just...ahhh I don't know! lol
 
IntonationLost said:
Actually, I'm pretty sure on most days I probably take in 1,500 calories. I'm really not sure how I could take in less without feeling extremely hungry.
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I meant EXTRA calories... as in if you needed 1,500 to break even, you'd actually have to consume 3,000 calories. A pound of fat is usually about 3,500 calories.

Have you changed your sleeping habits?
 
Not really. I got to bed between midnight and 2 am, and I get up between 8 and 8:30. I mean, that's changed since the summer when I would go to bed at like...6 am and get up around 2pm (laaaazyyy).

And I don't think I could consume 3,000 calories if I tried. lol I mean...maybe, but yea, that's a lot.
 
have you stepped up weight training at all, or been consuming salty type foods? i'm just guessing - i really have no idea. have your measurements changed?
 
Sounds like you have that all too common disease in which you gain weight for no reason at all! There is no escape! Oh wait, no you don't. It just because you're consuming more calories than your expending.
Take more energetic exercise or eat less.. it's the only way!
 
steve99 said:
Sounds like you have that all too common disease in which you gain weight for no reason at all! There is no escape! Oh wait, no you don't. It just because you're consuming more calories than your expending.
Take more energetic exercise or eat less.. it's the only way!
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Okay, well I can't see how I can expend more calories than I am consuming...
I would have to work out for hours, literally. You can't tell me that for every calorie that goes into me, I have to burn it in order to not gain weight. That would be impossible. And I would die.

I consume, on average, 1700 calories daily. I burn somewhere around 600-700 daily.



I haven't stepped up weight training. I stopped for a while because I wanted to see if that was the reason I was gaining weight. I started again, using the machines at the gym rather than my dumbbells. Once I go home for break in a couple weeks, I'll go back to the dumbbell routine. I just don't have the time for that right now.

I haven't measured in a while. I have no means of doing so at school. I'll check when I go home. But as for salty foods, I know the food at school is just plain deadly, but if I don't eat it, I'll starve to death.
 
You burn 600-700 calories with 35 minutes of exercise? That would probably be around 300... And walking doesn't burn as many calories as you'd think.

Even so, it doesn't seem as if you should be gaining weight on 1700 calories, at your age. You'd maintain, at least... The most I'd suggest is to cut back on a few hundred more calories, to around 1500, for weight loss.

What sort of scale do you use? My old scale broke, and told me that I weighed 145 pounds, when in reality I weighed 127. That caused a lot of stress for me and distracted me from school, etc... So maybe try to weigh yourself on a different scale.

If not, maybe see a doctor? I know how frustrating it is, so I wouldn't take it too lightly. It seems as if you're trying everything.

And to expend more calories than you are consuming, you don't have to work out for hours. The body burns around 1400 calories per day if you were just to lie in bed and not get any exercise at all. So if you factored in 300 calories worth of movement, that would be a total of 1700 calories burned, and if you wanted to lose weight, you'd cut that back by 500 and eat 1200 calories a day. Of course it's more for some people, but that's just an example.
 
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I do at least 35 minutes of cardio, sometimes more depending on how crunched I am for time. And then I factor in abs every other day. And then lifting on the days I don't do abs. Anyway, I enter in all my physical activity for the day online, and it calculates it all for me, and from what it says, on average it's 600 - 700.

And I weigh myself at school, and the scale is all kinds of high tech, and if you touch a button, they pretty much cut your hand off, so I think it's right. Plus, the scale I have at home is a doctor's-type scale with balances and stuff, so it's pretty accurate.

I can't imagine having a medical issue at my age. It just seems ridiculous. My mother has a hypothyroid and is overweight (mostly because she is lazy and refuses to exercise), but I don't think those kinds of things are genetic. My sister is an absolute twig though. It's very odd.

I think I might take advantage of Student Health Services on campus and go see the nutritionist and get her advice.
 
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I would reccomend getting the advice of a professional, so good job ^_^

And I don't know... I'm a year younger than you, and I likely have problems with my thyroid, or am hypoglycemic. It's the opposite for me, though, as I'd be hyperthyroid... Anyways, don't rule that out I suppose, if you think mentioning it to a doctor would be able to help even a little!
 
IntonationLost said:
I can't imagine having a medical issue at my age. It just seems ridiculous. My mother has a hypothyroid and is overweight (mostly because she is lazy and refuses to exercise), but I don't think those kinds of things are genetic. My sister is an absolute twig though. It's very odd.

I think I might take advantage of Student Health Services on campus and go see the nutritionist and get her advice.
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I think you are right to do this- if as you say you are excercising loads, eating healthily etc and still gaining weight, it COULD be an underlying medical problem. Best to rule that out. The nutritionist will then be able to point you in the right direction.
 
Good for you! It's always good to take advantage of the resources available to us. Let us know how it goes and tell us everything they say. :)
 
So I went to talk to the specialist today, and first of all, he was gorgeous. I had a little trouble concentrating on what he was saying, but he wrote stuff down for me. :)

Basically he said I was a challenge because I already eat really well, and I eat at appropriate times, and I portion well. He just suggested I take in less dairy (because I looveee milk and apparently drink a whole lot of it) and to eat more fruits and vegetables, oh! and to add some protein to my breakfast.

He said to do that, and then go back to see him in two weeks, and if I find I'm not losing weight at all, then he'll work out a meal plan for me to try.
 
it sounds like you are adapting to your exercises-cutting out weight training is a big NO-NO.here is a simple equation: more muscle=more calories burned.if you build more muscle,you will gain weight,but you will look a lot better.hope this helps
 
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