weight problems

Question
Hi, My name is Donna. I am 31 and im 5'7 and weigh 162.1 year ago I weighed 110 pds. My problem is i dont eat fat things.I eat rice, salads, potatoes, ect. I am a vegetarian.I am real worried, why I am gaining so fast. I did find out that I have a thyroid problem, but my doctor claims that shouldnt put all this weight on me.I dont understand, can you Please give me some advice on what i should do before i go crazy!
Thanks so much for your time. Donna

Answer
Donna,
First of all if you have a thyroid problem, that needs to be addressed.  You need to have it tested and need to be on medication to help regulate it.  AND YES, a slow thyroid can definitely put that type of weight on you.  You may want to think about either going to a specialist or getting a second opinion about your thyroid if your doctor is not taking care of the problem to your liking.

Secondly, as a vegetarian you need to ensure you are balancing your diet out correctly.  It can be very easy for vegetarians to get too much in the way of carbs and too little in the way of protein.  As a vegetarian you need to LEARN to eat healthy and LEARN HOW to balance your diet correctly.  You can eat healthy but still eat TOO MUCH to maintain a healthy weight.  

Thirdly, exercise is extremely important to help manage weight!  You should be doing some type of regular exercise and stay physicially active to help with weight loss and/or weight maintenance (always check with your doctor first).  

With that being said, my advice would be to see a dietitian in your area that can sit down with you and analyze your diet to see what is going on exactly!  You need to work with someone one-on-one to get the education and personal attention that you need.  You can find a dietitian in your area by going to www.eatright.org and entering your zip code.

Good luck,
Kim Tessmer, RD LD
www.Nutrifocus.net

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