To think losing weight is a battle I just can't win

[starshaker]

I am trying so hard and it's not working. If anything I'm putting weight on. I go to the gym 3 times a week and follow a meal plan. On the days I don't go to the gym I do exercise at home and will walk at least 4 miles a day with my dogs.

I have pcos and am on anti depressants. I feel like I can't win against them

The gym isn't solely for weight loss. It helps keep me less anxious. There is something calming about it for me. I couldn't stop the gym anyway as its a years membership.

Low carbing doesn't work for me. It makes me quite sick.

My family that has maintained healthy weight with thyroid problems are all vegetarians. It's worth a try if you think you can give up meat.

Hypothyroid people should NOT eat soy, so that is very bad advice. A low-carb, gluten free diet is the usual recommendation.

PCOS and ADs can affect weight. Birth control doesn't, the pill can increase appetite but that's not the same thing.

unfortunately in this case the human body is very efficient and it takes an enormous amount of exercise to use up enough calories to make a difference. You lose weight by putting fewer calories in your mouth. You get fitter, tone up and look after your heart by taking exercise.

Im not on any birth control.

You lose weight by putting fewer calories in your mouth
If it was that simple I would be losing weight

Can I ask which antidepressant? Are you on metformin or any other treatment for the PCOS?

Ive been on so many. At the moment I'm on venlafaxine but have just changed from sertraline. I think I will ask to go back onto cytalopram because the only side effect i had with that was uncontrollable itching which I seem to have with them all so I'm constantly taking antihistamines too

Venlafaxine isn't too bad for weight gain. If you're genuinely eating that few calories, it may be to do with the way your body deals with the calories due to PCOS. Ask your GP if you can trial metformin. Some will prescribe, some won't. There is some question as to why this helps, and some patients report that weight loss is just secondary to the fact it makes them feel sick as dogs though, just to warn you :)

I have just read the whole thread again. I know people are trying to be helpful, but OP please go back to the GP and 1. tell him how unhelpful and rude the nurse was; and 2. How you are trying to improve your general health and fitness and lose weight. He's already told you he wants to sort out your meds before moving on to helping you lose weight so you need to tell him how much one thing is contributing to the other, i.e. your weight to how you feel about yourself.

Is the PCOS self-diagnosed? You need to speak to the doctor about that too and get tested.

I would be sceptical about the eating plan the dietician at the gym has given you because she doesn't have your medical records and isn't a doctor.

I am not going to suggest anything else to you - I actually think it's potentially dangerous to follow some of the advice you've been given on this thread because there are several contributory factors from what you've posted, none of us knows you or is medically qualified to advise you. The advice is always to consult a doctor before embarking on an exercise plan or trying to lose weight. The advice is there for a reason.

If you don't feel the GP understands where you are coming from, is there another doctor at the surgery you could talk to instead?

You are getting a lot of conflicting advice here and I'm sorry about that.

I'm glad you're exercising for the emotional benefits of it. Even if you're not losing weight, you are getting health benefits from it.

What was your experience with low carb - what did you eat and how did it make you feel sick?

as is fairly usual, only selected bits of what I write get read.

Bye. Ceasing to bother.

*My family that has maintained healthy weight with thyroid problems are all vegetarians. It's worth a try if you think you can give up meat.

Hypothyroid people should NOT eat soy, so that is very bad advice.*

You can definitely be vegetarian and not eat soy!

Yes but I'm guessing it might be difficult? Regardless, it is absolutely the wrong diet for someone who is hypothyroid.

If i eat certain things that are quite fatty i end up on the loo or feeling sick. Was told its a side effect from having no gallbladder and that low carb isn't a good idea (the doctor told me this)

Have you looked at 5:2? It is the most effective way I have found to lose weight. I think it is supposed to be very good for pcos and insulin resistance.

Starshaker

I strongly suggest you have a look at the 5:2 threads and gain some of BigChocs infinite wisdom - even if you don't decide to follow the way of eating.

My BMI was similar to yours when I started in september, so I know how hard it can be. I haven't got PCOS / ADs so less issues there. I've lost just over 2 stone so far so it can be done.

What others have said about how you may be eating too little day to day sounds feasible. I eat about 1800 calories 4 days a week, 500 (fast days) 2 days a week, and don't pay too much attention on 1 day. One thing I've noticed is that I've stopped eating fruit - its full of sugar (admittedly natural ones) and can make you feel hungrier as well.

I hope you find something that works for you and you can get to a place where you start feeling good about yourself again

I think that when you firmly believe you cannot lose weight on a calorie controlled diet that the best thing to do is commit to a very low calorie controlled diet for 2 weeks

My mum did this.
She has extremely limited mobility and had tried everything and was sticking religiously to her diet
She swapped food for protein shakes and vitamins for two weeks and lost 10 lbs
It turned out that her idea of normal wasn't normal and that she wasn't exactly straightforward with the food she was eating.

This showed her that she could lose the weight is she really wanted to.

Turns out that she didn't really want to and it was too long a battle to imagine. Also she felt at the heart of it that her circumstances were really unfair and she liked to treat herself with food.
She is now happily a lovely looking, fat, lady. She spends money on dressing for her size and embraces the life she now leads. She no longer tries diets or gets angsty about how impossible it is to lose weight.

IME many many people put on a considerable amount of weight whilst taking venlafaxine. This usually has to do with lack of motivation to exercise and eat healthily given the severity of their illness. Not within their control often at the beginning of treatment but improving as symptoms lessen

OP- Haven't read all of the replies but

1. You could be putting on muscle which doesn't mean you're not losing weight, just toning so go by the way your clothes fit etc.

2. Stop going to the gym for a month and just do the walking- I have a feeling you may start to lose weight!

I thought a pcos'er ideal diet was protein heavy and low carb

star PCOS sufferers can be very sensitive to lots of different foods - sugar and dairy being prime culprits. If particular things are a problem for you (which it certainly sounds like they may be when you talk about your reactions to certain things) then they will be causing inflammation and weight gain/retention. Had I not seen your post about no gall bladder in respect of low carb, I would second the Whole30 recommended by MsRinky upthread as it will help you identify what might be causing problem. Once you have eliminated the recommended foods for the 30 days (there is no calorie restriction built into this, you can eat as much as you like, but the food available is very 'clean') , you reintroduce each one separately and you will see pretty quickly how your body reacts to each, you can then keep the ones that aren't causing any issues. It isn't intended as a long term thing, once you know how you cope with different things then you get to decide what to exclude or minimise longer term. Trouble is, because of the list of exclusions, it is in effect a low carb diet. In your shoes I would do your own version of it - cut out sugar, dairy and wheat (that still leaves you rice, potatoes and legumes for carbs) for three weeks and see what happens. You can then reintroduce each of these separately over the course of a week, a couple of days apart.

If the op doesn't have a gall bladder, she can't process the fat required by a truly low carb diet. I don't know how much fat she can deal with, but I do know that you can't cut out both carbs and fat. Perhaps there can be a compromised of some carbs and some fat, but it may not be workable for her.

Just wanted to add a hand to hold and some support.

Low carbing doesn't mean you have to eat fatty foods by the way OP. You say low carbing doesn't work for you because fatty foods make you feel ill - sorry if i've got the wrong end of the stick.

You can carry on eating your usual food on low carb, but cut out wheat and flour. And obvious sugars. (I see you already cut out potatoes and rice.) No need to replace these will fatty stuff. (even though low carb systems rave about how much fat you can eat on these diets).

I second the poster who said that it can take awhile to sort out which diet will work for you at which time in your life. I've lost 3 stone in a short space of time low carbing about 10 years ago, but it just wouldn't suit me right now at all.

Right now i'm loosing weight by simple calorie restriction. I have to cut my calorie intake down to ridiculous levels before i loose an ounce. I'm size 14/16, 5' 5'' and i have to cut down to less than 1000 calories per day to shift anything. No idea why. I'm not sedentary, I have 3 older DCs and a 2 year old to chase after! (Not saying you must cut your calories this low by any means - just saying we're all different.)

Don't give up OP. Keep at it.

I really feel for you OP.

Something stood out for me from your post and that was that you had pancreatitis. My mother had this awful disease and as part of the recovery was put on a very specific diet from the hospital. I am so surprised you were not offered this. Her diet was very extreme by everyday standards it was a medically recommended diet. It involved no fat whatsoever as your body has lost the ability to deal with it and certainly very low sugar. It was extremely restrictive but required. It was actually easy for her to stick to it as any time she ate fatty foods even a tiny amount she had yellow poo and tummy ache. It was a meat, fish, veg, tiny amount of fruit diet, some carbs. She had a very specific list on the fridge of what she could have. She lost weight very quickly. Her diet was about improving her health after the illness and a result of this was huge weight loss which she has kept off. She has managed to reintroduce small amounts of fats since her illness and maintains a healthy but not too restrictive diet. I thought I would share that experience in case it is worth discussing with your GP.

I've x posted with posters saying you cant cut out carbs and fat. What's the science behind this? I survived fine on a low carb diet without a particularly high fat content for ages.

JJ yes thats exactly what happens to me. If i have a bit of bacon or a fried egg, sausage and lots of other foods thats what happens.

TMI here but I haven't had a solid poo in 2 years no matter what I eat but if i have fatty food then its yellow and I'm in so much pain.

What I am trying to say is that I don't think you should be looking towards everyday popular diets such as low carb etc in light of your complex medical history. You need to push your GP for very specialised support. It doesn't sound like the local nurse is qualified enough to provide it.