Aa
why cant i lose weight?
im 19 and a pacific islander.
what i eat are:
-fish
-white meat
-red meat
-rice
-vegetables (almost any except for onions and pickles)
-fruits (all but pomegranate)
-taro (roots)
those are all the food i generally eat. and i eat in moderation because i have a slow metabolism so i dont want to eat too much at one time and not be able to digest it fast enough. i walk for a couple hours straight usually around 3-4, hoping it would make up for me not running. i tried going to the health clinic when i was in high school to ask what to do about my weight and they had told me that one cause could be from me not having a regular menstrual cycle so they prescribed BCPills for me to take to regulate it. after a month or so my period started to regulate and i started feeling better than my usual self. yet i hadnt lost any weight not a single pound. in fact i gained weight. i asked what was wrong and they asked if i was exercising. at the time they asked me that i was on the tennis and volleyball team so i said yes. they didnt know what to say so they told me to exercise more. i thought that exercising from 3-7pm would be enough time but they suggested i work out more, so after volleyball and tennis i would go home do my hw and then go for an hour walk. yet nothing changed.
now im out of high school, and i dont have any health insurance to ask a doctor why i cant lose weight.
i dont know what i do wrong or if there is anything i can do. i dont want to take any diet pills because im afraid that if i stop ill gain the weight back or ill become addicted to the pills and start abusing them. if anyone has any answers whatsoever or even minor suggestions, please tell me i would really like to know.
thank you
what i eat are:
-fish
-white meat
-red meat
-rice
-vegetables (almost any except for onions and pickles)
-fruits (all but pomegranate)
-taro (roots)
those are all the food i generally eat. and i eat in moderation because i have a slow metabolism so i dont want to eat too much at one time and not be able to digest it fast enough. i walk for a couple hours straight usually around 3-4, hoping it would make up for me not running. i tried going to the health clinic when i was in high school to ask what to do about my weight and they had told me that one cause could be from me not having a regular menstrual cycle so they prescribed BCPills for me to take to regulate it. after a month or so my period started to regulate and i started feeling better than my usual self. yet i hadnt lost any weight not a single pound. in fact i gained weight. i asked what was wrong and they asked if i was exercising. at the time they asked me that i was on the tennis and volleyball team so i said yes. they didnt know what to say so they told me to exercise more. i thought that exercising from 3-7pm would be enough time but they suggested i work out more, so after volleyball and tennis i would go home do my hw and then go for an hour walk. yet nothing changed.
now im out of high school, and i dont have any health insurance to ask a doctor why i cant lose weight.
i dont know what i do wrong or if there is anything i can do. i dont want to take any diet pills because im afraid that if i stop ill gain the weight back or ill become addicted to the pills and start abusing them. if anyone has any answers whatsoever or even minor suggestions, please tell me i would really like to know.
thank you
I totally agree with the above posters about getting thyroid checked.
It sounds like you have PCOS. Instead of birth contorl pill, many women are successful treating this with metformin (which is an antidiabetic drug that increases insulin sensitivity).
Women who have PCOS typically have a very hard time losing weight even with diet and exercise. However, a low carbohydrate diet (really cutting down on the carbs like fruit and rice and taro) may be helpful. There is a food tracker on this site that is very useful.
I have always had extreme difficulty losing weight and I have thyroid issues. I am now follwowign a low carb diet of < 60 g of carbohydrate a day and am finally losing weight.
It sounds like you have PCOS. Instead of birth contorl pill, many women are successful treating this with metformin (which is an antidiabetic drug that increases insulin sensitivity).
Women who have PCOS typically have a very hard time losing weight even with diet and exercise. However, a low carbohydrate diet (really cutting down on the carbs like fruit and rice and taro) may be helpful. There is a food tracker on this site that is very useful.
I have always had extreme difficulty losing weight and I have thyroid issues. I am now follwowign a low carb diet of < 60 g of carbohydrate a day and am finally losing weight.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Good luck with your tests. I hope that's not your problem, but if it is, it will take time to get everything leveled out so that losing will be easier.
Of course, we have to remember that what we eat and the amount of exercise we get still makes a huge difference. There's also such a thing as not eating enough calories. If you don't eat enough, your body will think there is not going to be enough food, so will go into "starvation mode" and begin holding onto the body fat you already have.
Are you using a food diary? MedHelp has a great one, where you can enter the foods you eat and it will calculate your daily calories, and you can set it to give you different types of information, such as fat content, nutritional value, etc.
I'll be happy to help you any way I can.
Of course, we have to remember that what we eat and the amount of exercise we get still makes a huge difference. There's also such a thing as not eating enough calories. If you don't eat enough, your body will think there is not going to be enough food, so will go into "starvation mode" and begin holding onto the body fat you already have.
Are you using a food diary? MedHelp has a great one, where you can enter the foods you eat and it will calculate your daily calories, and you can set it to give you different types of information, such as fat content, nutritional value, etc.
I'll be happy to help you any way I can.
thank you both for the comments.
im glad to see that some people dont just say what ive heard all my life
"your not exercising enough" or "its just the food you eat"
ill go get checked and ill look everything up before i go to a certain clinic for everything you guys told me.
thank you so much and i hope to speak with you all soon
im glad to see that some people dont just say what ive heard all my life
"your not exercising enough" or "its just the food you eat"
ill go get checked and ill look everything up before i go to a certain clinic for everything you guys told me.
thank you so much and i hope to speak with you all soon
COMMUNITY LEADER
I agree with hppytrails - get your thyroid checked. Hypothyroidism can cause both the weight gain/inability to lose AND the irregular periods.
The minimum tests you need are TSH, Free T3 and Free T4. Depending on those levels, you might want to get tested for antibodies to confirm or rule out an autoimmune thyroid disease. But don't just accept "normal" or "fine" for sample results, because often, we find ourselves with levels in the "normal" range, but we are still sick. You need to know where you fall within that lab range in order to determine if you have a real issue or not.
I'd strongly suggest that you check out the thyroid forum -- you will find tons of information on testing, interpreting results, etc.
Hppytrails is also correct that most communities have a public health clinic to which you can go and you pay as you can afford; under some circumstances it could be free.
The minimum tests you need are TSH, Free T3 and Free T4. Depending on those levels, you might want to get tested for antibodies to confirm or rule out an autoimmune thyroid disease. But don't just accept "normal" or "fine" for sample results, because often, we find ourselves with levels in the "normal" range, but we are still sick. You need to know where you fall within that lab range in order to determine if you have a real issue or not.
I'd strongly suggest that you check out the thyroid forum -- you will find tons of information on testing, interpreting results, etc.
Hppytrails is also correct that most communities have a public health clinic to which you can go and you pay as you can afford; under some circumstances it could be free.
Have you had your thyroid checked? It could account for the irregular periods as well. Birth contol pills do make some people gain weight at first but that usually levels off after a while.
Most communities have a clinic where those with no insurance can go and they charge you on a sliding fee scale according to your income.
Most communities have a clinic where those with no insurance can go and they charge you on a sliding fee scale according to your income.
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