[GoSarah]

Wow, you have my sympathy.

It doesn’t completely support what Nathan said, but formerly fat people have a much harder time staying at a normal weight than normal weight people. Not only do their metabolisms plummet, but they are literally driven insane by their bodies. http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/08/healthscience/snfat.php?page=1

Unfortunately, the only way nonsurgical, reliable way to get thin is to not to get fat.

Sorry if that was depressing, but at least you know you’re not a freak...

[Nathan Zachary]

As I said, I learned the hard way. It WAS driving me nuts. The less I ate, the fatter I got. I was counting calories instead of carbs. Once I learned how to control my carbs, the wieght fell off just from normal activty. When you count carbs, you still will find that you will eat a balanced diet. (unless you want to eat 4 spoons of sugar for lunch- which would give you 60g of carbs.

Normally you'd eat say, a ham sandwich 30g carbs, a bowl of vegetable soup-15 carbs, a salad- 0 carbs (except for what's in the dressing), a piece of fruit- 15 g carbs.

That's 60 g total carbs, a little lean but enough if you sit at a desk.

[wintertime]

Yes, I read that article before. It is very discouraging.

By the way, I was normally thin ( BMI 21 to 23) until I was in thirties, and then gradually gained weight. It wasn't until I was forty that I was diagnosed as having hypothyroidism ( very common in middle aged women). Of course the thyroid is under control but ever since then hunger and fat has been a daily fight.

Unfortunately, you are correct. The best defense against obesity is never to become fat. I don't know why doctors don't do thyroid testing routinely on all patients. It's not an expensive test.