The only thing that works for me is no meat or gluten. And being consistent with my fitness pal. I eat 1200 calories per day and if I go over that I gain. Also eating at the right times. Not late. Small meals every 2 hours. My body is so broken when it comes to food. Oh and sugar makes me sick even if I stay within 1200 calories. There is some part of ih that messes with your whole digestive system.

Oh, how frustrating. I'm sorry.

I didn't catch which product you are referring to? Though to be honest, I'd steer clear of practically every product out there. They scare me.

I wonder if there is a different nutritionist or functional medicine doctor who could help you. The best ones know that weight loss in not a simple matter of calorie restriction. You could have abnormal hormone levels that need to be addressed - such as cortisol, insulin, or leptin. They could hopefully help you address that and find some foods you can eat. Some things to try would be an elimination diet to reveal any food sensitivities - if you have undiagnosed sensitivities, which have become surprisingly common, that can lead to inflammation which may make weight loss harder and also contribute to IIH. I would ditch the slim fast. Personally, I think it's garbage. Your food aversions right now make it tricky, but can you tolerate eggs and quinoa? Are there other veggies you can try? It's important to eat good quality proteins and healthy fats (full fat plain greek yogurt is a good one, avocado, nuts, olive oil, coconut oil). The low fat diet is a bad one, unfortunately it is taking the big medical organizations a really long time to figure that out but since those recommendations were implemented obesity rates have skyrocketed. The current diet you are eating, while restrictive, probably all those foods are just turning to sugar in your body which may be why you had the weight gain.

I hope this didn't sound preachy, nutrition is an area of interest for me. :) Good luck to you, it can be SO frustrating when you are trying so hard and nothing is helping.

Sorry I had added the link but apparently it disappeared. http://www.myitworks.com/shop/product/302/
RN4408 You didn't sound preachy at all. I have tried every combination imaginable, (low carb/high protein/low fat/counting calories/ etc) what I was saying was I really have followed what they (doctors/nutritionists) recommended, they really don't care to help any more other than to say it must be what I am eating. The one reason I stuck with slim fast isn't so much for weight loss as it is something I can measure easily so I know exactly how many calories I am eating in the morning. It also has vitamins that I know I am probably deficient in.
The one thing I truly believe affects my weight is my allergies and I don't mean allergies are making me gain/lose weight but that they are causing inflammation which is throwing my whole body out of whack. So allergies cause chronic sinus infections which causes my metabolism to go all crazy. That is my theory anyway. I know breads/grains are really bad so I try to avoid them-they don't give me headaches but leave me feeling bloated and sluggish, I don't really eat a lot if any sugar on a regular basis, unless it comes in the slim fast or yogurt. I can't eat fish because everytime I do I break out in wicked hives and I am not really a fan of chicken or pork, I will eat it in very very small portions, so when I say I really do limit what I eat I mean it!
I have wondered about a dairy sensitivity but if I take that out there isn't much left for me to eat! I don't have a problem with eggs, don't really like them but I don't have any health issues with them.
I do have issues with my thyroid but not the way you'd expect. I swing from being low normal to hyperthyroid. Last 2 times I was checked though it was normal. They ran all the other hormone tests but they always come back "in the normal range." I've been tested for diabetes a hundred times because I'm overweight and so that is where they always go to but actually my sugar levels are always really good. My cholesterol is amazing they tell me and that baffles them even more because they assume because I am fat I must sit and eat chips all day. Its not genetic because my family are all extremely thin and can't gain weight to save their lives...no I'm not adopted...I thought about that many times!
I'm lost, part of me wants to just give up but the bigger part of me is desperate for answers.

it is actually sugar that drives the production of cholesterol more than anything, so your diet would dictate that you would not be making a lot of it. something, however is driving lipogenesis in you, and inhibiting lipolysis. make sure you never ingest MSG or anything that masquerades as it, or aspartame/artificial sweeteners. these neuroexcitotoxins damage the brain and specifically the hormonal system that governs your weight.

Allergies? That can throw your whole body out of whack. This is really, really hard to do but if you are allergic to foods a rotation diet may help. There are free charts available on the web. The idea is to eat from any one family on just one day of the week. For example, the lilly family (onions, garlic, asparagus, etc).

I was on this diet when I was a kid. My doctor was really strict about it - nothing from a family more often than once every 7 days. Some diets are more slack, like one I linked to below.

Technically your first step would be a panel of food allergy tests. If there's no insurance you can skip it and observe your reaction to different foods instead. It takes a lot longer but it works. I'd get rid of the gluten right from the get-go. Also think about eliminating dairy and corn.


http://www.food-allergy.org/rotation.html

http://www.ehcd.com/pdf/rotationaldietinfo.PDF

http://www.thesuperallergycookbook.com/PDF/FoodFamilyChartbyFamily.pdf

http://www.metametrix.com/files/test-menu/interpretive-guides/allergix-ig.pdf


If you have an iphone there is a free "rotation diet assistant" app.
http://www.rotationdietassistant.com/


You must eat some carbs and oils in order to lose weight. Counterintuitive, I know. But there it is. I used to work with a ballerina (yes, she had a day job) and she always had some carbs and fat in every meal and she was skinny skinny. What that ideal amount of carbs and fats are I don't know.

http://weightloss.about.com/od/StartDiet/a/Should-I-Count-Carbs-To-Lose-Weight.htm

I know it sounds crazy attributing allergies to my weight but when my allergies were under control I was able to lose a lot of weight. When I say I have allergies I don't mean I have a sniffle or puffy eyes. Mine are very bad. Because of where we live (I can't move my husband is military and they have denied the compassionate reassignment requests because everyone has allergies) I have to stay on 4 different allergy medication just to stay out of the hospital. And I still find the need to occasionally supplement with Benadryl. I am considered dangerously allergic to all grasses, all east coast trees and some west coast trees, mold and then have less serious allergies to things like peanut butter, tomatoes, cat/dog, cockroaches, weeds. I also have multiple drug allergies. I'm pretty screwed up in the allergy world. These were all confirmed on two seperate allergy tests.

in all truth i would if i was you write down everything you eat take photos of every plate of food and every hand full of anything you put in your mouth and show your doctor and nutritionist. if your truely eating like you say your eating there shouldn't be a way that you should be gaining weight.

it's not abnormal for people to be wrong with how much they think a serving is ( to much or to little) with out weighting it out. ( i have a food scale in the kitchen)

also food allergies can play a roll on some of this. but that's something you would have to talk to a doctor about. but for real knowing every single thing you put in your mouth and being able to show it to others is a good step in getting them to believe you on the amounts your eating and what your eating.

i lost 78 pounds over the last few years , i've cut out pretty much all fast food, soda's and things with egg's i can't have nuts or peanuts and pretty much eating anything premade bloats me up.

I don't think it sounds at all crazy to think your allergies contribute to difficulty losing weight. With environmental, food, and drug allergies, your immune system is in overdrive and you are sure to have loads of inflammation. Which makes weight loss difficult.

Have you ever read anything by Dr. Mark Hyman? http://drhyman.com/blog/2014/02/13/overweight-feel-like-crap/

He has tons of good articles on-line about his approach to improved health and resistant weight loss, if you are interested check some of them out or order one of his books! Just a thought, maybe it will help. :)

I saw a story on TV about an iron man athlete that in spite of training 3-5 hours a day to prepare for the iron man and eating low calorie, he gained 20 lbs. He solved the problem by changing his metabolism. The doctor talked about metabolism and the role it plays in weight loss.

Here's her book:

The Metabolic Storm: The science of your metabolism and why it's making you fat

http://www.amazon.com/Metabolic-Storm-science-metabolism-making-ebook/dp/B00ENN17MU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392999791&sr=1-1&keywords=the+metabolic+storm

"Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2014



This is not a diet book. Its a book about the pure science behind why diets dont work long-term for the majority of people. Forget everything you have ever heard about dieting and being overweight! The Metabolic Storm addresses the science that obliterates those myths about diets and weight gain.

As a physician board certified in Obesity Medicine, Family Medicine, and Sports Medicine, Dr. Cooper sees hundreds of patients who attempt every conceivable diet and spend a huge amount of time and effort exercising, yet find that their excess weight doesnt stay off and their overall health doesnt improve long-term. The Metabolic Storm is the result of Dr. Coopers 25 years of working with those patients and researching the existing science about metabolism. Cooper wants readers to understand that while everyones metabolism is slightly different, if you face weight issues, you might simply have been dealt a bad hand metabolically. Its not your fault that you cant lose weight or keep it off.

The Metabolic Storm explains why weight and metabolic issues are not the result of laziness, lack of commitment, or absence of willpower. It introduces the breakthroughs and answers discovered, but never properly disseminated, through more than 100 years of scientific research. Once you understand the intricate systems of metabolism and hormones, you will never want to diet again. And from there begins the journey of letting go of the guilt and shame too often associated with weight issues and actually solving these metabolic problems medically."

It's in Kindle version, but that can be ready on any tablet, smartphone, or PC with the download of the right app or software.

Its also in paperback. There's a little teeny tiny link in the box next to the pic of the book.

Thank you guys I appreciate your honest answers and I will check out both of the books you guys mentioned!

Hey Army!

Lots of good suggestions on here!
Similar to Sea's reference to a book, I found The Plan to be a fantastic book.
It looks at a scientific elimination of foods that your body has to amount an immune response towards (reactive foods) because of it's intolerance towards them. Personally, I am almost through the book and will start using it soon. I know 4 people in my close friends circle who are using the plan, 2 of them have lost over 80lbs in 8months, and then the other 2 were already slim chickens but are following it for health problems with profound outcomes. So, I know anecdotal evidence isn't always best but check it out:
http://www.amazon.ca/Plan-Eliminate-Surprising-Healthy-Fat--/dp/1455515485/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393264607&sr=8-1&keywords=the+plan

There are also lots of articles on the approach that you can look up.

Good luck!!

I can hear your fustration and for sure most of us have been where you are. Seems like you know what your sensitive too. Thats a good start. I had to make a decision to change to hot tea to relax me and cut out soda altogether. We are all loosing freedoms we had when we were young just admit it. My friends at church smoke and have a highend coffee shop in our church social area but I rarely drink coffee and never eat wheat soo Its water for me...fact of life..write yourself a new foodplan and quit kickining yourself. Maybe smoothie for breakfast and chicken salad for lu ch.. nuts for snack water water and hot tea.. their is 500 kinds. I have one that tastse like fruit punch and can be hot or cold be teavana.com less chemicals no salt i can relaxor checkout grocery srore. . Welp good luck.