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

I think the safest thing OP is to see a dietician with expert knowledge so maybe via GP/Endocrine/Diabetiologist specialist as diabetes which often goes hand in hand with PCOS hence why metformin is useful

I am not sure if you have already done this as I didn't read the whole thread.

I agree that your health issues are complex and that you almost certainly need specialist help to get your diet right. You sound very determined, but also quite desperate and down about this. Please don't rush to try anything and everything at this point - instead ask your GP to refer you to a specialist who understands your PCOS, ADs and no gall bladder issues and how all these interact to affect your health.

I'm surprised that you haven't lost any weight on 1500 calories a day. People who have quite a bit to lose often find that first stone or two melts away quite easily - the fact that you're struggling to lose anything having cut back and upped your exercise suggests to me that there is something else going on that needs to be addressed. Don't take 'no' for an answer on this. And good luck!

I agree with those who say you should talk to your GP. However, I wouldn't expect your GP to necessarily be more helpful than anyone else. They're likely to say "Eat less, move more." I think it would be better to ask for a referral to a specialist in endocrinology. In the meantime, keep a written log of what you are eating and doing. As we've seen from this thread a lot of people's reactions is "Well, you must be eating more than you say." You want to be fore-armed with all the information and proof so that you can get the help you need most quickly.

We do advise all our members that, although we're awed daily by the astonishing support Mumsnetters give each other through life's trickier twists and turns, that sometimes it's really a good idea to seek professional RL help and support as well.

I think I will make an appointment with my doctor tomorrow and hopefully see the 1 that i feel is more willing to listen and help. If i call to make a specific appointment with the doctor i like then i could be waiting 10 weeks. But if I'm happy to go with whoever is available on the day for morning appointments then sometimes I'm lucky.

Seriously 3000 calories a day to maintain. I am 4 stone overweight and my bmr is 1500. I doubt anyone needs 3000.

Christ. Hadn't noticed someone was peddling the starvation mode bullshit on the thread. It. Is. Not. True.

Good luck star. I have found Gp support non existant too. My Gps are just not interested despite me needing to lose weight for an op. The only suggestion this time was not seevprsctice nurse who is a complete cow who implied that my cholesterol is high because I eat crap. Well for one according to the Gp my cholesterol is perfectly fine and 2 I rarely eat the things she claimed I must eat.
Re the gym I attended for about a year but just maintained my weight. Recently the weight is reducing and I think it is partly down to interval training and calorie counting.
hope you get a referral to a specialised dietician.

To see practice nurse.

Hi star, some people can put on absolutely vast amounts of weight from SSRI/SNRI anti-depressants. I don't know amounts as I didn't weigh myself but I went from a size 10 to about a size 26 taking Sertraline. It was insane. Unlike you I didn't try to diet and I was hungry all the time so was over-eating, but even given that it shouldn't have been physically possible to put on weight as fast as I did. Things went very screwy indeed.
I know the SNRIs are meant to be not as bad for weight gain but everyone is different and you sound like you are really prone to get that as a side effect.
I'd guess the PCOS exacerbates it too.
I honestly don't know what to advise, I don't think I'd be able to control my weight at all if I had to take anti-depressants again. But I did want to say I believe you, I believe you are not losing although you're doing everything right, and I can imagine it's incredibly frustrating.

that particular tablet made me feel like I hadn't eaten for a week. I felt sick if i ate and sick if i didn't. I was only on it for a couple of weeks and couldn't take it anymore so just stopped. Even though I felt starving I was sticking to my meal plan. It was pure hell

star have you had a look on the verity forum? There might be some information there that might help. But I would agree that you need to see your gp, get bloods checked (thyroid etc?) and get referred for pcos if you haven't already seen a gynaecologist/endocrinologist.

Get your insuline levels checked.

If you have surplus insuline or insuline insensitivity, then cutting carbs (and basically everything else that triggers an insuline response, apparently dairy does, too) might work for you.

Not sure how that is connected to PCOS, but I think it is connected, as a drug (metformin, not sure that name is used everywhere) is recommended for diabetes type II and for PCOS.

Seriously 3000 calories a day to maintain. I am 4 stone overweight and my bmr is 1500. I doubt anyone needs 3000.

BMR is how many calories you burn if you stay on the sofa all day. Maintenance weight is linked to Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)

The OP could quite easily need 3000 cals to maintain as she is very overweight and very active (she has mentioned regular gym attendance and dog walking). I am a reasonably active 11 stone woman and my TDEE is 2100 cals/day.

OP, I know it's hard, but good luck with Weight Watchers. Are you planning to do the points diet or the one where you eat unmeasured amounts of basic food like meat/fish/eggs/salad/veg/fruit etc?

The latter is good if cooking for a family as you can just all eat the same thing as it's just normal healthy eating and it's not necessary to weigh and count most things.

How about looking at the WW message boards either here or on the WW site to see if anyone can help with your specific issues relating to the anti depressants or PCOS.

Good luck!

Seriously 3000 calories a day to maintain. I am 4 stone overweight and my bmr is 1500. I doubt anyone needs 3000.

According to my TDEE I need 2777 calories a day to maintain my current weight. And I'm only 30lbs overweight, not 6 stone.

Haven't read the whole thread but just wanted to say: sympathy, I've struggled with my weight my whole life. And you're lovely whatever shape you are

I seem to have (its early days...) finally found something that works for me (which for the record is low carbing alongside calorie counting), but thats not what im posting for. I just wanted to post my understanding at having a complex medical history while people advise 'eat less move more'. In my case it is less the eating that is a problem (although lc for me has fixed digestive issues, so thats a bonus) and more the moving. I have been told by someone on here (i will give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they meant well!) that exercise is not impossible for anyone

ps fitfatty and northernsoul - i imagine the difference is in whether you are three stone overweight at four foot tall or six and a half foot tall. Personally, i am in a wheelchair and often bed bound and losing weight on 1700 a day - i am nearer the six and a half foot end of the scale!!

ps fitfatty and northernsoul - i imagine the difference is in whether you are three stone overweight at four foot tall or six and a half foot tall.

Actually the difference for me is I work out for 14 hours a week. But if I was heavier and working out more mildly, I would still need quite a few calories to maintain that weight.

I'm similar to you though Beyond Thirty, I started low carb/ high fat about 4 weeks ago, not because I was particularly interested in loosing weight (although, as I said, I've got some to lose) but because carbs seemed to be making me feel sick and I wanted to consume more protein to build muscle, and the diet was recommend.
Within 3 days, digestive issues (IBS, extreme painful bloating) had cleared up totally, as has some other issues like tiredness, nausea and dizziness before and after meals and a rash on my upper arm started to go away. I've had these issues for 8 years! Which is also when I started gaining weight and not really being able to lose it without extreme calorie cutting, and then just gaining it back again. I'd honestly given up and believed that somehow I was lying to myself about what I ate and how much I burned through exercise, and that I was greedy and lazy like so many people on here like to say about fat people who can't lose weight. In actuality I was probably gluten intolerant and cutting it out has made a huge difference. I've lost 10lbs already without trying. People should always make sure they check with their doctor before listening to the fat shamers.

I think this thread is a good demonstration of how little is really understood about weight loss.

There's an interesting BBC program you can find on Youtube called "Why Are Some People Skinny" or "Why Are You Skinny" that looks at the opposite end of the scale - naturally thin people - and why they are like that. It's interesting because you can learn a lot about why others are overweight from it.

Will need to look that up than and see what mine would be. Although I am only 5ft too. Thank you

Here is a good TDEE calculator
www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

If in doubt, count your exercise level as lower than you think as people consistently tend to
over estimate how active they are and
under estimate their portion sizes

An interesting food management trick is to work out your TDEE at happy weight in a years time TDEE reduces with age
and try to eat within that amount over the week
as then you will be setting yourself up to stay at happy weight once you get there

I need 1700 to maintain current weight. We all differ.

However most people find if you concentrate on fewer calories and make sure they are mostly from veg, meat, fish, eggs and good fats you tend to lose weight.

I need 1523 : therefore I'm very careful about when I have them so that I get to enjoy life

^^ not 1524? Very accurate talk

Its what the software says : I cross check several
the algorithm does not round