Brief Answer:
Hello and welcome to Health Care Magic

Detailed Answer:

Of course there is a way to lose weight if you are willing to commit to a lifestyle change program to lose weight and keep it off for the rest of your life. Are you willing to commit to that goal?

Being overweight is never "just your age" so your first lesson in life is to stop believing in this, and take ownership of your issues that make you unhappy with your life. Age did not do this to you.

You've mentioned " no matter what, you cannot lose weight". Please tell me what you have tried so far, feel free to share. It is good that your thyroid is fine and I doubt if she is wrong, again I feel you need to take ownership of your problem.

I can't determine the scope of your problem because you did not give me your height, current weight, goal weight, general food habits and activity/exercise patterns, snacking habits, emotional eating issues, things you have tried that haven't worked and things that have helped, so I know very little about you, please let me know these details.

You, on the other hand, can gain a plethora of information on weight loss in general by looking up my pinterest education boards. I have several boards up for fitness with visuals on exercises, nutrition and nutrition plans. I think they would be of great help. We are not encouraged to post links, but you may find mine by searching for Pinterest Kathy Shattler.

Now, I am going to give you some overall starting tips, I would give any desperate person coming to me wanting to lose weight. First, a referral to either a virtual or in-person nutrition counselor/support Dietitian. You may find one by searching for eatright.org. Click on the tab that says "looking for a dietitian"; put in your zip code and look for someone close by you who can personalize an entire routine just for you.

In general, you will want to commit to a combined cardio and strength training routine to take pounds off and tone that flab that appears once the weight comes off. Also, muscle will raise the metabolic rate thus helping you burn that nasty white fat. Plan for a minimum of 150 minutes per week to start building up to 240 minutes or so - always with stretching and cool downs. Examples are on my Fitness Boards on my Pinterest site.

Target Heart Rate, please learn an easy way to take your own. 206-41=165x.65=107 for a lower intensity workout and 124 for a higher intensity workout. All training routines to be cleared by a doctor to be safe. Start slow and build up to 20 minutes continuous workout at target heart rate and alternate muscle groups by days and mix up strength and cardio.

Most women follow a 1200 calorie balanced meal plan emphasis on lean protein, no added sugars, focus on low glycemic foods but eat to training level, gradually increase fiber and water at same time to increase hydration, decrease appetite and avoid constipation.

Drink 6 cups clear green tea to increase your metabolic rate. It will color your teeth green so use a straw or other preventive measure to keep your teeth clean. Drink it before meals. If it keeps you up at night use decaf at night. Also try to remain well hydrated at the same time by drinking a lot of water(~ 2.5-3 ltr per day).

Get 7-8 hours uninterrupted sleep and take up meditation. Learn to visualize your realistic goal weight - standing in a mirror looking at your- self in the outfit you plan on buying when you reach your weight goal. Sometimes it helps to de-stress by listening to some binaural music, a special music designed to relax you

Get two cups of dairy, 3 serving of vegetables, two fresh fruit, limit fat servings, get the equivalents of .8 g/kg protein per day, whole grain limited to low glycemic no more than 4 serving per day, no alcohol, no added sugars, add extra virgin olive oil and fatty fish including tuna, add oats/oatmeal/Cheerios/oatbread -thin. You do not need fruit juice, eat fresh fruit only. The fiber from the well scrubbed skin helps regulate hunger hormones, cholesterol, everything a water-soluble (as opposed to water insoluble) fiber would do.

I hope I have given you plenty of ideas of the possibilities, the commitment required, but I feel you can do it! Please write back if you have any other questions or clarifications.

Regards, XXXXXXX Shattler, MS,RDN

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Brief Answer:
Hi XXXX!

Detailed Answer:
Oh, no it is entirely possible. And, I bet you put that weight on over the years without barely noticing anything. That is what happens. We lose about 10% of our metabolism every decade after 30 as we start to lose muscle mass and increase our body fat, the age related increase you were talking about. The other thing is, most women don't take off the weight gained after pregnancy which enhances the weight drama with age.

I calculated your baseline caloric intake on a sedentary diet. It came to 2000 calories to maintain your current weight and 1500 to lose 1 lb per week. So, 1200 would allow you to lose about 1.5 pounds and exercise about another .5 pounds. The first week on a weight loss program you lose more than 2 pounds but if you are looking for lasting change keep it at 2 pounds for safety.

The smoking is a problem Please decide what you want to do first. When you quit smoking there is a change in lipoprotein lipase and you must essentially restrict your foods and exercise just not to gain the typical twenty pounds that your body puts onto you. It is not all in your head as some people say. I would like to see you quit smoking first and then lose the weight.

Chantix is very similar to the antidepressant Wellbutrin. You would probably be crawling the walls. So, decide what you want to do first is the first step.I mean it. I will not treat a patient for weight loss who is trying to quit cigarettes. I will treat them for weight maintenance and that is it. You should not do both. Focus on cigarettes or weight. I say quit the cigarettes and then focus on the weight. You can do both, just not at the same time. The average weight gain when you quit cigs is 20 pounds because your body's lipoprotein lipase wants to store more fat and doesn't want to break it down. The best I can help you with is to slow the weight gain down with the cigarette cessation. You must make a decision.

And I caught that - hamburger and fries? those were your choices? What about a thin bread sub? no fries? Think about your choices . . .for a lifetime.No diets. Make up your own lifestyle eating plan that is healthy, you enjoy, we have so many healthy options today that we don't have to make unhealthy options.

XXXX, I believe you can do what you want to do but haven't made up your mind or set your goals. Think about it and set your goal tonight. You can lose weight or quit cigarettes but not both at the same time.

Best Regards, XXXXXXX Shattler, MS,RDN

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Brief Answer:
Great, XXXX!

Detailed Answer:
Now you have set your goal, the first step! And, it is ok with me. What I want to hear is that you are committing to doing something that is positive and life changing for you. You can either work on cigarettes later or try to cut down slowly as you seem to be doing now.

You are doing great at finding positive coping skills and I am so proud of you for digging your heels right in and trying some of my suggestions right away. You Tube has huge resources of relaxing music available.

And, you are being sensible about exercise too. If you are that out of shape, start slowly as you are doing and build up. Results will not be seen as quickly and you will have to be more patient but at least you will not injure yourself.

My boards have tons of info on them including recipes, diets, exercise instructions, nutrition information and its all free.

I hope I have answered your questions to your satisfaction. Feel free to visit me anytime. Please close and rate the query and good luck to you! Kathy Shattler, MS,RDN

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