[RNBSNGRADUATE]

Oh my! I wish I'd felt motivated when I read those posts! I NEEEEED SOMETHING!!! I'm extremely disgusted w/my lack of motivation to do ANYthing to change my weight ....I'm big on "what is your motivator?" -- ya know ..what'll keep you going (SHOOT! I need something TO START!!!) -- a couple years back I had decided I was going to go back into the military ..so I HAD to lose the weight....I had MAJOR motivation at that timeframe...lost 30 lbs in 7 months. Have gained back every lb. and then some I have NO idea what it's going to take for me

[apnea]

i'm so glad i'm not the only one...

Right now i wake up, run a couple miles, then go to school, yoga for an hour M-Th (class), go to studio, 30 mins barre warmup and then 1 and a half hours of pointe work.

But i can't stop stuffing my cow face full of food Food alllll the time, yesterday i ate 927 calories, this morning i woke up having gained THREE POUNDS.

i'm not throwing out my scale. It's the only thing that tells me the truth anymore.

[Have4nomore]

Oh Apnea!!! You are going to counteract all the good exercise you are doing if you continue to eat such a minimal amount of calories!!! You should never eat below 1200!! You have to think of your body as a wood stove. You get up and put wood in a stove to warm the house but you have to go back every 4 hours to add more wood or the stove grows cold and stops working. Your bodies metabolism is the same. You need to get up and have a breakfast that is about 60% protein and 40% carbs. I make a smoothie. I use 1 cup skim milk, 1/2 a frozen banana, 1 tablespoon peanut butter, 1/2 scoop protein powder and a few ice cubes. Blend that up. It taste like a milkshake and it is good for you. (400 calories) then lunch have a medium garden salad(no cheese or bacon just veggies), with a bit of fat free or reduced calorie dressing, a peice of whole wheat pita bread toasted and you can put a little Hummus, or low fat cream cheese on it(400 calories) then have a snack 4 hours later keep it around 200 calories and atleats 50% protein, then have dinner keep the portions small(400-500 calories) but if you eat atleast 60/40 protein carbs you will be full and it will maintain your lean muscle mass and encourage your body to lose the fat storage. You can vary this menu but it works. I like to use the AES low carb shakes. They have 17 grams of protein and only 1g impact carbs in place of milk in my smoothies and then I will have that for a snack to. If you put a whole frozen banana and all the rest it will make it an icecream consistancy and it's good. You have the moving part down but if you starve yourself your body will shut down and stop burning the fat no matter how much you work out! Best of luck and for heavens sakes girl EAT!!!!! You have to eat to lose!!!!

[apnea]

i can't eat that much. Can't. Toooo many reasons...but i can't do it. i can't let myself feel "full," i get sluggish and lethargic, i have to drag myself through life feeling like a bloated elephant. i can't dance if i'm full, i can barely get off the floor. i'm the shortest one in the company (i'm almost 5'3), i have to jump a lot higher to stay uniform with the other girls. i'm getting absolutely enormous, this school has such an awful obesity problem that they just don't care about, so the healthiest thing here is full calorie yogurt and a few of the meatball subs come on wheat bread i've got class this summer 6 hours every day, so all i'm doing is sitting around beefing up. i live about 20 minutes from school and i drive a giant black SUV, i can't drive home for real food. i usually take a little with me, but it's all stuff that can either be crammed into my backpack or survive the heat in said giant black SUV.

ugh.

[Have4nomore]

You really need to try to get in a minimum of 1200 calories. If it is easier for you to consume very small portions at a time then actually eating more often ( say every 2 hours) would speed your fat burning without causing you to feel bloated. You can eat healthy without having to carry alot. Just divide the foods up into ziplock bags into the two hour intervals and throw them in your bag. Be careful not to get yourself into a bad cycle. I was anorexic at the age og 19 and I felt a lot like you. I could not stand the feeling of food sitting in my belly. Eat small but eat often. Best of luck to you! Get some rest too!!

[apnea]

You're sweet.

Really don't have to worry about me going anorexic though. i don't have that kind of time or dedication But if i go over 800 calories i wake up even fatter, few more weeks of this and i'll be back in triple digits again Semester is over 2 weeks from today...maybe it'll be better then. Summer semesters are sooo tough, i'm taking 12 hours in 8 weeks, so i'm stuck in classes alllll day, it's normally not this bad.

[azor]

Originally Posted by stpauligirl

I admit I am very strict with my food choices and I totally agree with you that it isn't good for mental well-being. I am totally obsessed with my weight, there is no doubt about it. I am afraid to have a cheat day. if I stray from my usual eating just a little I GAIN!!!!!! Have done so with my son here and there, where i said ok today we'll go to Dairy Queen and mom won't worry about calories . Drives me crazy not to be ablel to cheat every once in awhile! I was "programmed" to be fat and hold on to bodyfat in the winter time. Mother nature has been particularly cruel to me and wants me to look like my German aunt with the chicken farm My ancestors have been farmers, my dad has learned the trade of a blacksmith and is super built and very strong (his sister is the aunt with the chicken farm). He has always worked physically hard as long as I can remember. He build the house that I grew up in almost all by himself and I remember hanging out with him at the construction site when I was wee-little! Even now, after I reached my goal weight I am NOT skinny, no way! I will never be skinny. It will stay a never ending struggle for me to keep my weight down and I have surrendered to that thought. If I need to exercise any more to keep it this way I'll die!!!!!!! I already spend alot of time daily just to maintain!
Just learned that our metabolisms slow down by 50% when we get old.....well, isn't that encouraging News I am 47.....if it slows down any more, just digg a hole and throw me in because no way I will do more cardio than I am already doing
I am cursed and can't win
More power to all of you lucky ones who can splurge here and there

My Dear,being fat or that you are fat doesnt make you a cursed person.You ned and have to embrace that lovely look God gave you ok!! exercising as you are doing is the best thing you are doing.Keep it up and embrace your look no matter what.You are beautiful and not cursed,tell yourself that.

[Have4nomore]

I second that!! LOVE YOURSELF!!!!

[cinqly]

Originally Posted by apnea

i'm so glad i'm not the only one...

Right now i wake up, run a couple miles, then go to school, yoga for an hour M-Th (class), go to studio, 30 mins barre warmup and then 1 and a half hours of pointe work.

But i can't stop stuffing my cow face full of food Food alllll the time, yesterday i ate 927 calories, this morning i woke up having gained THREE POUNDS.

i'm not throwing out my scale. It's the only thing that tells me the truth anymore.

You should NEVER eat below about 1500 calories, 1200 being the bare MINIMUM!!! If you are excercising as much as you say, you are grossly undereating!!! No wonder you gained 3 pounds in one day....your body thinks you are starving itself!!!! What foods are you eating? How much? How often????? I made a post earlier in this thread (page 3 or so) with some basic advice about fitness and eating. Please read it, and start thinking about adding some food back into your life! It is a proven FACT that if you don't eat enough food each day, your body thinks it's starving, and holds onto the little food it does get thinking that it's the 'last supper". I think Have4nomore can second me on that, also being a personal trainer.

My suggestion: start gradually adding food back into your diet (an extra meal here, a salad there, a larger portion of meat, etc). Don't do it all at once...gradually! ALL of my clients that do this end up being healthier, leaner, and happier in the end. I promise it works, because I've done it myself. I used to starve and count calories, and when I started eating 6 meals a day (probably roughly 2500 calories most days) of good, 'clean' food, I actually lost 15 pounds of fat!!!!!! Plus, if you don't feed yourself properly, you'll lose all that hard-earned muscle! If you absolutely have to keep the scale then do it, but remember that the number means nothing if you are hurting your body to get there.

Anyway, I wish you the best in school and your fitness goals!! We nurses need to be healthy examples for our patients!!

[apnea]

For the record, i had to take the same sleeper nutrition class that everyone else had to take. This is not an ignorance issue, this is an "i don't fit the accepted norm" issue.

1 pound fat == ~3500 calories
my BMR == ~2100
exercise output == ~ 750
intake == ~600-800

and i maintain. i stay within the same 5 pound range, typically, and even gradually increasing my caloric intake makes me gain weight. i'll admit to the possibility that maybe i'm undereating in terms of actual mass and volume, but my caloric intake isn't that low. It'll be better during fall semester, my school deep fries twinkies but they've got an amazing salad bar.