Triggering (ED): dieting but not loosing weight.

[Nostalgia]

basicly i have been dieting, but it seems that no matter what i do, ii seem to be gaining weight more than loosing it, i'll go threw phases where i'll eat very little and other days eat 3 meals and then other days not eat anything for a few a days. ect. but my weight does not seem to be changing, it did for abit, but now i've gained agian and it wont shift. its like my bodys holding onto the fat and the weight. but i want to get rid of it. i exercise aswell, i do karate, and walk alot and my job is a work out in itself, (i work in a preschool which is a rather active job)but no matter what i do i just cant seem to loose any weight. why is this. im deiting and exercising but nothings changing.

[PutYourHeartsUp]

Part of the problem is the way you're dieting. Not eating makes it harder to lose weight, because your body doesn't know when it'll get food next so it stores it. I can't say I know that much about it, because there are so many conflicting things on the internet/in school, but I'd say you should try eating a STABLE amount each day. Meaning you should stick to certain meals. Like breakfast, lunch, and dinner; or breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner. Something like that. It also depends on WHAT you eat. Eating those "fad" diets, like special K or only eating one type of food that could be considered "empty" (ex. celery, jello, anything without much value) doesn't help. Most "diets" might work for a while, like the Special K cereal diet, but as soon as you stop eating their food...you gain the weight back.

If you're having that much trouble losing weight, you should talk to your doctor. If you're at a healthy weight, you could try toning your muscles instead.

[Frosty]

Starvation mode is completely overblown. It only occurs when you'r eliterally starving and you're eating into your lean mass, not because you skip a few meals (which actually can be very good for you, intermittent fasting has a range of health benefits). You're probably vastly underestimating the calories you're taking in.

[emma01]

"my bodys holding onto the fat and the weight." You know - this is probably completely true! Dieting to your extreme does more harm than good! If you eat very little, your metabolism slows...and when you begin to eat normally...as it is so slow, your body will hold on to the food, relieved that it has got food.

You are better off to always have 6 smaller meals, your metabolism get going and you might lose weight. However, this is only useful if you have been told by a doctor or equal professional that you need to lose weight!

[The Morrigan]

I agree with Emma, your body is storing fat because you go through periods of not eating anything/much so it's assuming food is scarce so when you do eat some it's putting it into storage.

The best way you lose weight is healthy eating and getting enough exercise. It's recommended that you have 30 minutes a day so perhaps think about getting off the bus stop one stop earlier each day and walking the rest of the way.

Also for healthy eating this thread here is a pretty good guide - http://www.teenhelp.org/forums/f16-g...ealthy-eating/

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by emma01

"my bodys holding onto the fat and the weight." You know - this is probably completely true! Dieting to your extreme does more harm than good! If you eat very little, your metabolism slows...and when you begin to eat normally...as it is so slow, your body will hold on to the food, relieved that it has got food.

When your metabolism slows down in response to severe calorie restriction, this is a function of reduced lean mass. Think about it, how absurd would it be for your body to just be wasting energy until all of a sudden it realises it's not getting much food and can get away with burning less?

Now obviously reduced lean mass is a bad thing, however it's clearly not happening to OP, as she hasn't lost any weight, lean or fat.

Originally Posted by emma01

You are better off to always have 6 smaller meals, your metabolism get going and you might lose weight.

Actually, this idea that conventional wisdom has about multiple meals increasing your metabolism is centred around a complete misunderstanding of a study showing a metabolic increase in response to food consumption. What is always missed is that the metabolic effect of food consumption is a direct function of calories consumed (and the macronutrient composition). This means that the metabolic effect from six small meals would be exactly the same as the effect from one big meal. On the note of macronutrient composition, however, there is scope for increasing the metabolic effect of food by eating a high protein diet, as protein takes considerably more energy to process than either carbs or fat.

There are other downsides to high meal frequency too. Often most people have difficulty preparing and consuming three or less healthy meals a day, yet the "six meals a day" concept is pushing these people to double this. Invariably this is going to lead to sub-par food choices being made, as often healthy choices are not available every 2-3 hours and the negatives of not eating for that period of time have been vastly overstated.

Research has also indicated that high meal frequency may actually lead to increased insulin resistance, as the body is recieving a constant inflow of food and hence insulin to deal with it.

[BDF]

You're doing it wrong.

You need consistency if you're going to lose weight. Starving yourself for a day or two, then going on a binge does you probably more harm than good.

Stick to low calorie foods. If you're hungry, snack on some fruit or veg. Those are almost always low on calories. Have a big breakfast, and avoid large meals in the evening. Don't starve yourself... it doesn't work in most cases. You'l drop a bit of weight at first, but then it'l stop or you'l even end up regaining the weight you lost.

Losing weight takes time, just have to be patient and not rush it. Exercise helps of course.