to ask for help re weight loss.

[cjt110]

I know all the cliche answers, eat less, exercise more etc.

I am seriously struggling, mental health wise with my weight. I am 2.5stone heavier than beforeI had my son (having only gained 7lbs in pregnancy) and he turns 4 soon.

I feel hideous. If I think about it all too much, I end up upset and fixated on it. To the point I stop eating. Or eat very little.

I exercise as best I can (I work fulltime and have ME) and eat a good varied diet (I also have an underative thyroid). I've been on the weightwatchers plan since January and all I have lost is 5 measly lbs. I get into the routine of "One won't hurt" then after a week I've had more than I intended (chocolate, wine, gin) and think sod it and drop the diet rules. Which in turn makes me eat more unhealthy crap and I feel worse for doing it. It's like a vicious circle.

I thought having a holiday booked for just me and DH would be my inspiration and it's not. I feel like a failure. I don't want to feel uncomfortable in my own skin anymore.

Have you been anywhere about your thyroid - underactive does play havoc with your weight and well being, might be worth going to see your GP about that.

Are you being properly treated for your underactive thyroid? You'll find it hard to get your energy back & lose weight if this is an ongoing issue. When did you last have blood tests done to check it?

On a very practical note, don't have crap to eat in the house. I just don't have chocolate, wine, gin, biscuits etc in the house & then I can't eat / drink them. The DC don't need that crap either, so I just don't buy it anymore.

If I say the word "diet", I want to stuff my face - so I don't ever, ever say to myself I'm going on a diet these days.

I also think that keeping busy in the evenings is important, as that is a time when lots of women have a chance to relax and sit still for a few minutes and so they tend to eat/ drink too. I make sure I have a good book on the go, a TV programme I specifically want to watch, a bit of sewing to do, if I don't have plans to go out. If I feel like I want to eat something, I make a cup of tea or one of those 40 cal hot chocolates & drink all of it first to see whether I'm hungry or just have the nibbles. If the tea/chocolate distracts me then I wasn't hungry!

I think it is cumulative small lifestyle changes that make the difference, rather than drastic diets which never seem to work long-term.

I've been diagnosed for around 3 years. Am on thyroxine.

I sat in the Drs office last week, in tears about my mental health and how my weight is a big thing for me. I was given some new medication to try (for my depression/anxiety) but nothing mentioned about my weight.

I am due a blood test at the end o this month for my thyroid. So the last time it was checked would be October last year

Were you on old medication for your mental health

How much thyroxine are you taking? When was the medication last reviewed?

Make sure you get copies of your blood tests and go to the forums on Thyroid UK or TPAUK to see if your blood tests really do look optimal. The treatment (or lack of it) for thyroid disorders in this country leaves a great deal to be desired, in my opinion.

You could ask the GP to check your Vit D, folate, ferritin and B12 as well, just to make sure those are where they should be too. Do you know if your thyroid is underactive because you have Hashimoto's Disease (autoimmune thyroiditis) or another reason?

Yes Quite I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety in 2009. I have been on Citalopram, Sertraline and latterly Fluoxetine. The GP has changed me onto Trazofdone and has said that it is pretty much the last medication he can prescribe for me.

It is probably your thyroid and i agree with Margo above that the treatment and diagnoses does leave a lot of holes - my mum had one for years, was given meds and more or less left to it.
I hate to be negative, but its a case of pushing to get the right treatment in place and thats hard to do, at least you have a blood test coming up so they can tell you whats what, with any luck.

Un-treated or under-treated thyroid conditions often have depression as a symptom, so make sure you get those blood tests done & that you get copies, so you can see where in the range your thyroid results are falling. Ask the GP to test FT4 & FT3, as well as TSH and also ask for thyroid antibodies to be tested too.

I've got an underactive thyroid too.I put 3 stone on whilst pregnant but lost the weight gradually and kept it off using myfitnesspal,It's a free app.I went from a 14/16 to a 10 and I'm still a 10 now

Appareently as they have already tested my AB's, and they were negative/normal, it doesn't need to be done again. They will test TSH first and only if that is out of kilter will they do FT3/4

QueenOfMyWorld Just by calorie counting? Or did you follow a plan?