AIBU To wonder why I am so fat and unhealthy?

[PandaEyes25]

I am 25 years old, 5ft 3 and weight 11 stone 3lbs.cMy BMI is 28, so I am overweight.
I work in an office for 10 hours 5 dyas a week but I do have to walk up and down quite a bit so on average I usually cover about 4000 steps during the day.
My heart rate is always high- usually 80 bpm resting.
I go to the gym between 3 and 5 times a week for an hour where my heart rate often goes over 180 bpm. It has been known to reach more than 200.
I just feel constantly knackered, regardless of how much I've slept, and I'm fed up of being so chubby and unhealthy.
I don't feel like I eat massive amounts of food. I'm on weight watchers and always eat less than the allowed points, So I don't know where I'm going wrong!!
Here is this weeks list.
Monday
No Breakfast
One small white bread roll with 2 slices of ham
4 slices of left over roast beef in gravy. No sides/mash/veg or anything.
2 cups of tea with one sugar and 2 litres of water over the course of the day

Tuesday
Breakfast- One crumpet with a little bit of butter
Lunch- One chicken salad sandwich and melon
Dinner- half a nest of noodles, one slice stirfry beef with a splash of oyster sauce, half a pack of stirfry veg.
Snacks- One cuppasoup
One cup of tea with one sugar and 1.5 litres of water.

Today
Breakfast- One weetabix with skimmed milk
Lunch- Salad with beetroot and chicken
Dinner for tonight- Lentil soup
Snack- 1/4 of a melon
Two cups of tea with one sugar and so far 1.5litres of water.

I genuinely don't know where I'm going wrong. Please help!!!

Your diet looks poor
Try adding protein to your breakfast every day. Omelette, or couple rashers bacon. Ensure also some fruit or vegevery day.Cut out bread and cereal
Lunch salad sounds fine. Make it a big one, no bread, no sugary dressings. Add lemon juice if required
Dinner meat and loads of veg. Again easy on the carbs.
Stick to fruit and veg for snacks, avoid fruit juices. Stick to tea coffee and water.
Look at Joe Wicks, low carb, paleo, Hemsley sisters. You don't have to commit to one but they all share a lot . And you don't have to have lots of expensive stuff
Re excercise 10000 steps a day is advised. You want to do something 5 times a week for at least 30 minutes that is vigorous enough to raise your heart rate. So power walking. A run, check out park run, cycle , swim, dance, check out couch to 5k, have fun with it

Like a few above I'd suggest low-carb. Have a read of the resources on the low-carb-bootcamp threads, and see if the suggestions there make sense to you.

When you're ready, give it a try.
And very very reasonable to talk to your GP in the meantime. Good luck finding the right diet changes to work for you!

What is your step count, including time in the gym?
You need to eat a bit more of the right things (protein, veg) as you are not eating enough.
Exercise: aim for 30 mins cardio each time - 5 days a week.

Definitely add in some weight training. At the gym ask one of the trainers to give you an induction on using them safely.

OP, your food choices are not good and I doubt that you are allergic to most fruit. You can eat a lot of veg as long as you don't put anything on them (oil, butter, cheese, dressing etc) for very few calories.
Well done on going to the gym - have you thought of doing some classes? I'd suggest BodyPump and Spinning.

I'm sorry but the OP isn't in starvation mode / under eating etc. That's a load of rubbish.

I think you must be eating more than you think. It's easily done!

Cannot believe the number of people INSISTING OP must be eating more despite her repeatedly stating that she is counting everything. And people telling her that her allergies aren't real. It's essentially troll-hunting.

OP, please keep a food diary for two weeks and then take it to your GP and ask to be referred to a dietician. Your diet isn't healthy and you'd benefit from some advice from a professional, but it is surprising that you're not losing weight.

Please ignore the poster that says thyroid condition is unlikely. Thyroid conditions go undiagnosed very frequently. They can also cause irregular/fast heartbeat.

Based on what you say I would suspect you may have an underlying condition. Go to your GP.

I recommend a book called 'why we get fat' by gary taubes

I'm also 5'3" and a few years ago went from 12.5 to 9 stone 10 without starving myself and doing weights and HIIT in the gym.

It's about eating (and exercising) smarter, there's no reason to starve yourself if you can eat more! A higher % of muscle means you're burning more calories just existing and gives you a better shape (Imo).

For example I'd eat:

Meal 1: 5 egg whites with 1 whole egg omlette, top with spinach or mushrooms or peppers

Snack (choose 1):
Greek yogurt
Tina of tuna
Tin of mackerel
100g smoked salmon
2x ricecake peanutbutter or almond butter
1 hard boiled egg

Meal 2: 2x 150g Turkey burgers with 60g sweet potato, greens (either broccoli, spinach or asparagus - small handful)

Snack (choose 1):
Greek yogurt
Tina of tuna
Tin of mackerel
100g smoked salmon
2x ricecake peanutbutter or almond butter
1 whole hard boiled egg

Meal 3: 250g chicken, 5 egg white scrambled, 60g sweet potato, 75g broccoli

Be in the gym 3 or 4 times per week doing weights e.g. and 3-4 times HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) of 20 mins (I'd usually do this on the treadmill or stepper- run flat out for 20 secs then stop for 40, repeat - this apparently keeps your body from getting used to the activity level)

Quads/Glutes
Leg ext. 3 sets of 20 reps to warm up. 5 sets - 5 normal, 5 hold for 3 seconds, 10 normal.
Goblet squats, 5 sets of 15.
Leg press. 6 sets of 30 reps, wide feet. 3 sets of 30 close foot.
Bulgarian split squats 4 sets of 12
Glute Bridges 4 sets of 15, SQUEEEZE
4 sets of weighted walking lunges to finish w/ 4 sets on prowler

I was a size 8-10 and have never been fitter or looked better imo in my life.

Do you have any symptoms of PCOS? If so, a diet higher in proteins and fats and lower in refined carbs will help.

Your metabolism may just be fucked, which is what happened to me after a lifetime of binge eating and crash dieting.

Google "metabolism type test" and try eating the way it suggests for a couple of weeks. Once I found my path of eating protein, I dropped weight much more quickly and had much more energy. But for other people, they need to eat carbs. We are all individuals!

You're exhausted/tired all the time because you're not eating properly. You can't survive off white bread rolls, ham and cuppa soup everyday.

Start with a healthy breakfast - porridge, scrambled egg with cherry tomatoes or overnight oats/greek yoghurt with fruit is a good choice. You can change the flavour of yoghurt if you want some extra variety.

Lunch - depending on what cooking facilities you have, could be anything - chicken/tuna salad, pasta salad, leftovers, soup (proper soup, not powder), microwaved potatoes + topping.

Dinner - again, you could pretty much eat anything so long as you have small portion sizes and eat plenty of veg. Salmon, new potatoes and veg, salad, grilled chicken and veg, pasta, risotto, stir-fry, baked potatoes - the list is endless.

Snacks - things like chopped veg sticks, oatcakes, nuts or seeds are quick and easy - even plain popcorn isn't bad for you so long as you don't cover it in salt and sugar.

You need to eat loads more veg. It will fill you up, and give your body plenty of vitamins and minerals too. And add protein, eg chicken and fish.

Although you are sticking to your points, you aren't actually eating enough to stop you feeling lethargic, and you aren't using the points wisely. IMHO.

OP, can you list what you ate on Saturday and Sunday too to give people a better idea of the range/variety of food you eat?

You need to eat more vegetables - on WW I thought they were point free. A salad would be far more filling and less calories than a bread roll (shocking number of calories) if you don't have dressing. I used to eat a lot of stir fries doing WW.
I would suggest going to see your GP and getting some blood tests - it could be Thyroid.
I would also suggest a multi-vitamin as your diet doesn't sound very balanced at all. I can see a lack of vitamins, iron and calcium (and probably vitamin D).

Sorry WonderLime- I've got a fitbit which tells me my heart rate and how many calories burned.
MikeUniformMike I'm allergic to a specific sugar found in most fruits. My lips, tongue and throat swell if I eat Cherries, Apples, Pears, Peaches, Plums, Strawberries, Apricots, even bloody Persimmons.

You should see your Gp and show them your food and exercise diary. They may be able to refer you for further support. You'll get a lot of guesses and subjective opinions on here but that isn't really helpful.

I'm 5'2" and doing 1200 calories at the moment - I find it easiest to skip breakfast and have two 500-600 calorie meals a day. Works for me because the meals I do have are big enough to feel substantial, and I'm usually rushing around in the mornings and don't get hungry.

For those saying 1200 calories is miniscule, if you're short you need to eat less! My BMR is 1590 - to lose weight I need to be 1200 or under - and actually, 1200 is the least MFP will assign me, so if I set it to lose 2lbs a week, it says I should eat 1200 calories, and if I set it to lose 1lb it still says 1200 calories.

OP, have you fallen off the diet at any point in the last 2 months?

You will feel tired if youre not eating enough, and your exercise will be less effective as well. You'll get more tired sooner, and want to move less.
Your body is not like a car engine where it gives you maximum output until its suddenly empty and stops, its like a battery - when it starts to run down it will have less and less energy available because it will always attempt to conserve a certain amount if possible for vital functions.

OP
def see your GP

Also wondering - not expecting you to tell us - if you are on any medications, I packed on 2 stone with astonishing speed when I went on antidepressants.

but I'd start with the GP just in case.

I'm 5ft 1 btw so I would have thought I was probably eating 1200 cals to maintain a healthy weight before I took meds and gained weight. I didn't count precisely but being short and built small is a factor.

PS Fitbits are notorious for allocating people more calories via their exercise.

I've had the odd weekend where we've ordered in a takeaway or gone out for a meal and drinks. But this is probably only 2 or 3 times over the last 2 months and even then I've had a lot less than I usually would have!

I changed the type of contraceptive pill I was on about a year and a half ago and have put on nearly 2 stone since... Not blaming that mind you. My sedentary job doesn't help!