[luciem]

I need help!
Growing up I was always very thin. In the past 2 years I have gained about 25kg. I've been going to the gym for the last year and a half about 5 times a week. I'm very active & fit and have a very strict eating plan I stick to. I pretty much know everything there is to know about nutrition! I don't eat wheat and I don't drink apart from the occasional red wine. I keep a log of everything I eat & do and give it to my personal trainer once a week so I know it's not my diet or fitness. I am very healthy and I feel great however I can't seem to drop any weight! I have seen many doctors and dieticians no one can figure out why I can't lose weight? I have had blood tests and other tests which have come back showing nothing wrong. I got the Implanon rod in about 6 months ago (as an alterative to the pill which I thought was contributing to the weight gain) - however I gained a further 5kg within the first 2 weeks and I'm considering getting it taken out as I can't seem to drop any weight. What could it be? It's so frustrating eating and exercising well and never seeing any results! I get other people like my boyfriend to follow my eating & fitness and he will drop huge amounts of weight by only doing it a bit. Please help I'm losing my mind. It's so unfair!

[icanfixit]

OK, lets see a few factors we would need to know is what is this diet plan your on how old are you what's your current weight and height and blood type... if I am correct and 25kg is roughly 55lbs then I am guessing that your over weight unless your fairly tall or you were originally 100lbs and now 155lbs but 55lbs is pretty substantial weight gain in a two year period and that doesn't just come out of nowhere if I had to guess I would say that your diet is what's in question here there is the small possibility that the rod you had put in could have something to do with it and I would recommend some research and possible seeking others with the same procedure out and seeing if this is a common issue or not. But as for now I would highly recommend that you really take a look at adjusting your diet and maybe intensify the workouts because if your doing all the things your writing you should be having no problems.

[dontknownuthin]

I would recommend that you see another doctor. When women complain to a doctor that they are gaining weight, many doctors brush it off thinking that, heck - all women think we're overweight and most think we shouldn't be based on our habits.

However, there can be medical conditions that cause weight gain. Two issues I can think of are thyroid problems and polycystic ovary syndrome. There are others as well.

Don't get too down on yourself or frustrated. Just keep taking good care of yourself, avoid crash diets, and continue on until you find a doctor who takes you seriously. If you've been seeing a regular internist, perhaps see a gynecologist and ask for a referral to an endocrinologist as well.

Be aware, too, most women gain weight in our twenties, and again at menopause. The first weight gain is typically because your body wants you to have plenty of fat for fertility. In menopause, our metabolism falls off and we gain still more.

If your exercise regime does not include weight training, I recommend that you add weights. Weight training will increase your metabolism so you will burn more calories both when excercising and at rest.

Good luck to you.

Oh - and don't compare your weight results and eating with your boyfriend - boys burn way more calories and don't have the same hormonal fluctuations we face, so it's usually easier for them to loose weight.

[fredg]

This probably sounds ridiculous since you said you know everything about nutrition, but, have you added up all the calories you eat/drink in one day, 24 hrs? If more than 2000, you will gain weight.
www.thecaloriecounter.com; is a good place to count them. Good luck.

[dontknownuthin]

I agree, Fred. One thing I would recommend that you do is write down everything you eat. Measure your portion sizes. There are several free sites that will allow you to to do this online like Biggest Loser and also LiveStrong (still up despite Lance Armstrong's fall from grace - a great site). You can enter everything you eat and the quantities and it calculates calories for each item, meal, snack and day. You can also calculate approximate calorie expenditure based on the activity, level of intensity and duration. And you can calculate how many calories you need to maintain or loose weight.

It's good to do this for several weeks so that when you go to the doctor, you have something to show. If they see that, for example, you require 1,500 calories to maintain your weight, are eating 1,200 and gaining, they may take you more seriously. You could also find out, as many people do, that there are things for which you were underestimating how much you were eating - either portion sizes are out of whack, or perhaps something's more calorie dense than you had realized. You can make adjustments on that basis.

In other words - you'll either find out you're wrong in your assessment that you aren't overeating, or you will be able to demonstrate that it's true so your doctor will believe you and pursue the matter further with you, without blowing you off.

Another reason men can eat more - more muscle. My son and I are about the same height. But he's 18 and I'm 48 - he eats a third more than me and is skinnier, even though I exercise a lot. I can't eat close to what he does because I'm older, a woman and have less muscle mass - totally unfair!