Seattle Mom Blogs

So it is no secret that I’ve been struggling with my weight the past few years.  Well, actually my entire life but you’ve only been around the past couple of years.  I finally sucked it up and went to a nutritionist recommended by Trainer #1.  So, after tweaking my diet so that I eat extremely clean, on the 40% carb, 35% protein and 25% fat breakdown every day and removing alcohol from my diet, I watched my weight go up and down within a 2 pound range for over 2 months.  I hit a breaking point about 6 weeks ago: I AM doing everything in my power to change this.  I workout 7 days a week and I workout HARD.  I eat as clean as humanly possible and as directed by my nutritionist.  Why won’t my body let go of the damn weight?

Well, the first part of it we decided to address with an elimination diet.  I took EVERYTHING out of my diet: soy, wheat, gluten,corn, citrus fruits, dairy, eggs, corn, peanuts, you name it.  All I had left was some proteins, vegetables except corn (which is in everything by the way) and fruit except for citrus fruits.  Yep- and after 2 weeks, I had lost a grand total of 1.25 pounds.   I’m in week 6 now and have found out that I cannot have milk and may have an issue with soy.  This week I am going to try adding egg whites and then yolks to see how that goes.

The second part of this is something that has taken me a long time to come around to believing.  For all my life, despite all the information to the contrary, I have operated on less calories is better.  I have gotten to the point where most days I don’t even eat 1,000 calories.  Every week, the nutrionist would implore me to eat more, choose some lean proteins instead of always choosing the extra lean proteins.  She started on a goal calorie intake of 1,500 calories a day.  (Remember, I burn between 800-4,000 calories a day working out, depending on the workout.)  She modified the goal as it became more and more clear that I just could not break through the mental barrier to eat more than 1,100 calories a day.  Then one week, I finally realized- this is NOT working.  Maybe it’s time to just believe I can eat 1,200 calories and not gain weight.  So, for the next week, I tried.  My daily average was still closer to 1,100 calories but I had more days closer or just over 1,200 than not.  And I lost several pounds.  Same with the next week.  My trainer (Sven the best trainer in the whole world in my unbiased opinion) even mentioned that I looked leaner.  I think I’ve lost just about 10 pounds and I think all of those pounds must be pure fat.  So, progress is finally being made.

During my exasperation with this process, I also called my doctor and went in and talked about my frustrations.  She and I went over my food intake and calorie burn.  Other than being scolded for not eating enough, she agreed that there must be something else going on.  So a referral to an endocrinologist was made.  I had that appointment 2 days ago.  The endocrinologist went over my history and current issues.  She then looked me in the eye and said that she knew something was amiss and that not only would she find it, she would fix it.  I almost broke down.  Really?  Maybe the fact that I’m not thin is not 100% my fault after all. 

And just so it doesn’t come across as if I’m looking for an excuse (and I fear that it does), I am doing everything in my power to make my body thin and strong.  OK- the increased calories have been hard for me but I’m trying and getting there.  But the workouts, clean eating, modifying my entire diet, etc.  I am already doing all of that.  If the solution was purely to take in less calories and burn more calories, then I should be 100 pounds and a size 0.  Damn it.  I HAVE been working the eat less, move more model for years and it hasn’t worked for me.

Whew- clearly I have some resentment around this.  In reality, I’m just feeling a bit of relief in knowing that medical professionals know that something is amiss and are confident it can be fixed.  Please.  I just need a little boost.