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Am I being irrational?


Naamah D.

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I currently weigh 248.2 pounds (I just weighed) I walk nearly every day and keep a close eye on how many calories I consume, rarely eat fast food and can do 45 reps of squats in a row. I saw the show My 600 Pound Life and am worried that weighing that much is in my future. No matter what I do I stay in the 240 and 250 pounds range. 

My genetics do involve being naturally curvy but nowhere near being 600 pounds. My question is, based on the information in this post, will I eventually weigh that much? Or am I doing a good job at at least maintaining? Is this an irrational and nonexistent fear?

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It certainly sounds like you're successfully maintaining, so I don't see why you'd end up 600lb unless you give in and start main-lining ice cream or something. Have you had any kinds of tests to try and pinpoint why you're overweight despite what you do?

 

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51 minutes ago, jellysundae said:

It certainly sounds like you're successfully maintaining, so I don't see why you'd end up 600lb unless you give in and start main-lining ice cream or something. Have you had any kinds of tests to try and pinpoint why you're overweight despite what you do?

 

They tested me for PCOS but it came out negative. So I don't know why I stay the same. 

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No joke youre doing really well if you are doing all that and being proactive about it. It takes a really long time for people to lose weight. It can take months before you notice progress. Don't let it get in your head that you can't or won't. Because you just proved from this post that you are already mentally strong enough to be doing this. 

  My boyfriend started going to the gym back in 2010ish... he weighed like 285 when he started i think? He was upset that he was almost at 300 thats all I know.  Well to this day he still goes like 3-4x a week but he still isnt skinny per say. ( i dont think that was the goal, just being healthy was and also he needed to gain muscle because hes trying to be a firefighter)  I think he wears L-XL. He just has a lot of muscle now and is much more healthier but he does still struggle with weight a little around the mid section... thats just his genetics. Sometimes life happens and he gains a little, then he loses a little.( he had to have knee surgery and gained a bunch of weight back because he couldnt move but then healed and worked at losing it again).  Seeing his transformation I know that as long as you commit to dedication and hard work you can get to where you want to be. 

And no. I do not think you'll get to 600 lbs. That does not seem realistic for someone who watches what they eat and exercises. 

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How healthily do you eat? Is it whole grains for you, or are you more of a white bread kinda gal? You might be one of the unlucky people who are naturally heavy despite everything that you do, I knew an online friend who had that issue, or you might be able to help things along with some small changes to your diet. Do you know if you're intolerant to anything?

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33 minutes ago, jellysundae said:

How healthily do you eat? Is it whole grains for you, or are you more of a white bread kinda gal? You might be one of the unlucky people who are naturally heavy despite everything that you do, I knew an online friend who had that issue, or you might be able to help things along with some small changes to your diet. Do you know if you're intolerant to anything?

My eating habits are not perfect but for the most part I eat a lot of fruits, organic and grass fed lean meats that aren't fried and limit my gluten and dairy intake because those upset my stomach if I have to much. I eat a lot of salads but prefer vinaigrette to ranch and creamy dressing.

About the white bread and pasta...I'm Italian-American. Pasta and white bread are a huge weakness. 

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I had to post to you because I am 5'10 and 203lbs.  I have been tried many diets, because the prevailing thought is that the number on the scale tells me when I need to lose weight, and 200 is a lot for a woman.  I could never understand why I would get heavy since I have always exercised, and I have a job that requires manual labor.  I burn a LOT of calories during my day, and I am way more active than a lot of "skinny" people I know.  I would lose weight and yo-yo back and forth, but I never really felt healthy when I was really skinny.  I finally had someone explain that, and I quote "two horses, both are 16 hands tall and weigh the same.  Ones a thoroughbred and ones a clydesdale.  Do they wear their weight the same?"  Our society treats that scale like everyone is the same, when they are not.  

Now I just try to be healthy.  If you feel good about yourself and the food you eat the extra weight above your stable point seems to stay away.  More importantly,  you have to feel good AFTER you eat.  Many people have unknown food sensitivities that pack extra bloat that you don't realize.  For me its bread and pasta.  Always felt so bloated after I ate pasta, and noticed that the scale would starting sliding slightly upwards the next day.  I still eat them, but in tiny portions, and I feel better.  The weight doesn't slide anymore.  

If you truly want to find your stable weight point eat a very simplistic diet for a week off of a smaller plate, with no "man made" foods.  Meaning no breads, pasta, gravy etc.  Anything that isn't in its original form.  Man made foods have a tendency to really not be good for you even as they taste great.  The smaller plate limits your portions but still makes you feel like you ate a full plate.  This process kinda cleanses you and gets you back into good digestion. Add the man made foods back to your diet a little at a time in small portions.  Find the trigger foods that make you feel bloated and limit that food to a very small portion of your plate.  When you go for seconds, get the green beans not the mac and cheese.  When you start feeling better you will find that the scale will naturally follow and you will stabilize out at a healthy weight for you.  Good luck!!

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Lokiswolf, I agree with what you wrote.  I am a very similar size and have found since getting to the higher side of my 30s I have a much harder time eating all that unhealthy food I used to eat with no problem.  

whole foods.  Things that grow in the ground are the best.  

Keep at it.  Life is a marathon.  Not a sprint. It's easy to get discouraged when you're not seeing results as quickly as you'd like.

Also, have you thought about having your thyroid checked?

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It sounds like there are some underlying intolerances there, doesn't it. Have you tried any of the pastas made from different grains? Do you actually like wholegrain bread, or do you just prefer white? I have MS which has given me some physical problems, one of which, without getting gross about it, means I need a high-fibre diet. I don't dare eat pizza, for example, and regular pasta's a no-go too. Not had a pizza for about 3 years. ? So I'm always looking into wholegrain options of things. I'm intending to try the red lentil pasta that my supermarket's started selling, something like that might be an option for you if there's maybe some wheat intolerance going on there.

I too agree with what @lokiswolfwrote, some wise words ? and I think you really could find the excess weight culprit if you work at it.

i second the thyroid question too, do you know if yours is behaving itself?

As a kind of aside, I saw a program recently, a documentary set in Italy, and learnt that lentils are grown there in some areas and are a dietary staple, I never knew that!  ?

Are we helping at all with scaring away the spectre of 600lb future self?

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Also like to mention that muscle weighs quite a bit.   Getting a  lot of excersize could in theory end with you weighing more as you body turns fat into muscle.
It doesn't sound like that's the case here, but it is a factor.   Don't worry too much about numbers.  So long as you feel good and can maintain decent activity you should be fine.

I should also mention a regular sleep schedule is pretty important.    I eat okay and excersize, but I work nights and my sleep schedule is awful.   My health shows it.

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Hi there, let me jump in befcause I lost a lot of weight (I am German so we work with kilogram but I once was 150 pounds, about 75 kilograms and I am only 162cm or 5.3 - sorry if my conversion is a little off) and dove into this subjects to an extend that I am now giving advice on eating, and health as part of my job ...

If you are healthy in terms of thyroid, no history of diabetic issues or any other stuff (maybe go for a large blood scan, if possible) then I believe you are doing fine in terms of maintaining your weight.

I do believe that if you wanted to lose weight, it is a long-term process and def starts in the head. Key factor is WHY YOU EAT and WHAT YOU EAT. Are you happy?

Like not 100% happiness and joy everyday but mostly happy and ok with who you are and how you live your life ... is there anything that makes you want to eat, eat more than usual?

Being sad or using food as a source of comfort is ok, but within limitations.  And I was overeating because I went through an awful breakup and began binge-eating and went from 100pounds to 150 super-quickly (hello peanut butter and cookies straight from the jar with a spoon daily) ... in the end I was so unhappy that I went to the gym and got a personal trainer three times a week and that was the turning point.

We talked about my nutrition and he killed me with work-outs.

Going to the gym and working out is about 30% of being healthy, the rest food and sleep. Make sure you sleep enough, we might think 6 hours is fine but it rarely is. And sleeping to little makes you sick, hungry and moody ...

Don't worry about your weight, rather look at other factors of your health and if you want to lose weight you can start any time. Also, I LOOOOOOOOVE FOOD and ever since having my first kid, I burn the calories by running after him :D

All the best ?

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What about body fat percentage? Based on the measurements I took I have 28% body fat which is in the acceptable range. I use my legs a lot when I exercise and my calves feel really firm to the touch. I also have wide hip bones, ribs, shoulders and can't wrap my thumb and index finger around my wrists. My ring size is a 10. I appreciate the support in this thread by the way :)

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13 minutes ago, Naamah said:

What about body fat percentage? Based on the measurements I took I have 28% body fat which is in the acceptable range. I use my legs a lot when I exercise and my calves feel really firm to the touch. I also have wide hip bones, ribs, shoulders and can't wrap my thumb and index finger around my wrists. My ring size is a 10. I appreciate the support in this thread by the way ?

Here's a little question for ya, lol. What's your water intake like? I've read that not being hydrated enough can cause your body to retain water and make you heavier. So just drinking more water could help you move in the right direction, it'd be good for you, no matter what. ?

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On 7/1/2018 at 1:43 PM, Naamah said:

I currently weigh 248.2 pounds (I just weighed) I walk nearly every day and keep a close eye on how many calories I consume, rarely eat fast food and can do 45 reps of squats in a row. I saw the show My 600 Pound Life and am worried that weighing that much is in my future. No matter what I do I stay in the 240 and 250 pounds range. 

My genetics do involve being naturally curvy but nowhere near being 600 pounds. My question is, based on the information in this post, will I eventually weigh that much? Or am I doing a good job at at least maintaining? Is this an irrational and nonexistent fear?

Hi, I was 248 lbs. in 2013. I am 5'4". I exercised, ate well and did everything I thought to lose weight. I couldn't, no matter what I did. I finally got a lap-band surgery in  December of 2013. Insurance paid for it. Being overweight is a health issue and I just couldn't stand looking at myself anymore. I now weigh 150. I feel much better. I still have my lap band maintained but when I go see my Dr he hasn't had to add any fluid for at least the last 6 months since I seem to be holding steady at 150. I'm happy with that. I was a size 22 / 24 and now I am an 8 / 10. There are other forms of weight lose such as gastric bypass, stomach stapling. This may not be an option for you but maybe it is. You could see a Dr that specializes in this area and see what they can do. They work miracles with insurance companies to get the patient approved.  Go over all of the options with the Dr and then decide if this would be an option for you. You can find a Dr that specilizies in this area by calling your local hospital. They will refer you to as many Drs as you wish. See more than one and then make your decision. I chose the lap band because the weight came off gradually. I felt if I lost a lot of weight quickly that I may gain it back. Since it has come off slowly but steadily I have had no weight gain. I still exercise and of course I'm restricted to how much and what I can eat but I am at a happy weight!

I forgot to mention I have been heavy all of my life. (until now). I have been this weight for about a year now.

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15 hours ago, Naamah said:

What about body fat percentage? Based on the measurements I took I have 28% body fat which is in the acceptable range. I use my legs a lot when I exercise and my calves feel really firm to the touch. I also have wide hip bones, ribs, shoulders and can't wrap my thumb and index finger around my wrists. My ring size is a 10. I appreciate the support in this thread by the way ?

Absolutely this makes a difference. As another poster pointed out, muscle actually weighs MORE than fat. A lot of bodybuilders, according to BMI, would seem 'overweight' for this reason.

Bone density and size also would make a difference. I am only an inch or two taller than my mother, but our skeletal structure is so different (average vs super fine-boned) that my healthy weight is quite a lot higher than what hers was at my age. And just as there are people who are very fine-boned, there are people with really thick bones... and honestly, a denser structure is probably better health-wise as you age - my mom is elderly now and her frailness is terrifying.

There are so many weird little factors that go into that number you see on the scale... I recommend, to the extent that it is possible, not to concentrate on the number at all, but only on the 'trending' that number can give you over time. I don't believe it is helpful to weigh oneself every day, just once in a while to make confirm you are maintaining/ losing. I think a person is better off just using how their clothes fit and how they 'feel' physically as a gauge. 

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It's all about health, isn't it, not weight. It's just that as a species we tend to focus completely on the weight because it's what we can see. Plus the social pressure that generates of course. We forget that the amount of fat a person has is basically a side-effect of their lifestyle and more needs to change than just eating habits if they want their fat content to reduce . . . why am I talking about people like they're yogurt . . . ?

Do you feel well, Naamah ? Is your skin good, your hair shiny, your nails a nice pink ? All that kind of stuff ?

I'm interested in your leg exercises. Do you do other exercises too? I guess because you only mentioned the squats I'm sat here thinking that's all you ever do, lol.

EDIT

Out of interest I've just checked out my body fat percentage. I'm 5ft 6in/170cm and weight 127lb, I'd call myself average, or slim-ish I guess, and according to this calculator that I used my fat percentage is 26%, if yours is just 2% higher than mine . . . ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Though I don't understand why the calculator didn't take height into consideration? What is your height, Naamah?

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4 hours ago, jellysundae said:

It's all about health, isn't it, not weight. It's just that as a species we tend to focus completely on the weight because it's what we can see. Plus the social pressure that generates of course. We forget that the amount of fat a person has is basically a side-effect of their lifestyle and more needs to change than just eating habits if they want their fat content to reduce . . . why am I talking about people like they're yogurt . . . ?

Do you feel well, Naamah ? Is your skin good, your hair shiny, your nails a nice pink ? All that kind of stuff ?

I'm interested in your leg exercises. Do you do other exercises too? I guess because you only mentioned the squats I'm sat here thinking that's all you ever do, lol.

EDIT

Out of interest I've just checked out my body fat percentage. I'm 5ft 6in/170cm and weight 127lb, I'd call myself average, or slim-ish I guess, and according to this calculator that I used my fat percentage is 26%, if yours is just 2% higher than mine . . . ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Though I don't understand why the calculator didn't take height into consideration? What is your height, Naamah?

I walk daily (usually outside but I haven't been able to due to the heat wave where I live). For cardio, I have a treadmill. Usually I set the speed to 2.0. I also do yoga. 

I feel good. I rarely get sick. People compliment me on my hair and skin quite a bit and tell me, "I never would've guessed you weigh..." People say I look smaller than my actual size. 

21640906_1545834105472999_59136888477820That is how tall I am and below is my face.

12247753_1058170777572670_90855178067361

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Sounds like you need to keep right on doing what you're already doing. Well that alone should mean you stay the same at the very least, shouldn't it. Hopefully you do figure out if any foods are causing you to remain heavier though, if those can be reduced then the exercise you do already should have more impact, shouldn't it. :D

I can't tell how tall you are from that pic, I not good at gauging things like that, I do like your mirror though ?

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10 minutes ago, jellysundae said:

Sounds like you need to keep right on doing what you're already doing. Well that alone should mean you stay the same at the very least, shouldn't it. Hopefully you do figure out if any foods are causing you to remain heavier though, if those can be reduced then the exercise you do already should have more impact, shouldn't it. :D

I can't tell how tall you are from that pic, I not good at gauging things like that, I do like your mirror though ?

Thanks for your advice. My mirror also doubles as one of my jewelry boxes. Thanks for the compliment on my furniture choices. 

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9 minutes ago, Naamah said:

Thanks for your advice. My mirror also doubles as one of my jewelry boxes. Thanks for the compliment on my furniture choices. 

OH, is it one of those ones that opens up then ? Those are such a great use of space.

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4 hours ago, Naamah said:

I walk daily (usually outside but I haven't been able to due to the heat wave where I live). For cardio, I have a treadmill. Usually I set the speed to 2.0. I also do yoga. 

I feel good. I rarely get sick. People compliment me on my hair and skin quite a bit and tell me, "I never would've guessed you weigh..." People say I look smaller than my actual size. 

21640906_1545834105472999_59136888477820That is how tall I am and below is my face.

12247753_1058170777572670_90855178067361

I think your a beautiful young lady! I hope you feel the same way about yourself.

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21 hours ago, Naamah said:

I feel good. I rarely get sick. People compliment me on my hair and skin quite a bit and tell me, "I never would've guessed you weigh..." People say I look smaller than my actual size. 

 

I have a very close friend in a similar boat. She LOOKS like she should weigh far less than she actually does. We have spoken at length about her issues, bc this has been a struggle for her for years. She is also very muscular and dense - does not appear to have a lot of excess weight. One of the things that came up in our conversations about weight is bathroom habits. Apparently, this friend of mine would very rarely moves her bowels... which, when you think about it... would definitely drive that scale number up. So she has lately been more about finding trigger foods to avoid like another poster mentioned. I only say this bc sometimes there are some weird complex things going on in our bodies that we might not think of straight away.. you are definitely doing all the right things, and frankly, you look terrific. I don't think you need to worry at all about 'weight' (as in the number) and you definitely are NOT on the path to a 600 pound life! You look very healthy ? 

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Muscle weighs more than fat. So, your exercising and watching your diet is awesome. It could be a number of things. If you are stressed or have a lot of anxiety, that can cause weight gain, or weight retention even without changing your diet or exercise routine. Also, medications, medical for either physical or mental can have weight-gain side effects, depending on the med and your susceptibility to side-effects. Hormones in your body can do it too. I've heard about one called Cortisol(sp?) That while I've been told it can be good for the heart, it can definitely cause some fat build-up. I don't know a LOT about that stuff, but they might be good starting points to ask questions to a doc. Definitely don't try any kind of meds, even over the counter ones, without talking with a doctor first. I'm sure someone who's as responsibly monitoring herself like you are know that. It's mostly there for anyone else who might want try a diet pill or something. Sorry I can't be of more help. ? Good luck with busting through where you're maintaining and reducing more! You're doing well so far! :D

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