Really, really struggling to lose weight. Seeing my GP.

[eirrah]

Hi. I have struggled with my weight most of my life. The lowest I’ve weighed being 9 stone and the highest being 17 stone.

Sorry - pressed send too soon!!

I have gradually gone from 9 to 12.7 stone over a few years and I am finding it impossible to shift it, being weight stable for almost 18 months. I go to the gym 4/5 times a week and I eat healthily. I might have the occasional “cheat meal” on a weekend but I’m good as gold Monday-Friday. Someone at work asked me if I’ve seen a doctor as I don’t eat much at work and she didn’t understand why I don’t lose weight with my diet and exercise regime.

It’s getting me REALLY down. I cry most days about it as no matter what, it just will not shift. I’m not massively overweight - I wear a size 12 but I just don’t feel “me” and I want to get down to around 10 stone.

I’ve googled underactive thyroid and do tick quite a lot of the boxes. I’ve booked an appointment to see my GP but he’s not the nicest of Doctors and I’m petrified he will make me feel silly. I don’t even know what to say to him. My boyfriend is coming with me as he knows how upset I am and it’s taking control of my life. I really need to sort it.

Just looking for advice if anyone’s been in similar situation? Thank you.

That's a good first step. Dr will probably ask you about exercise, to keep a food diary, possibly refer you to a dietician or slimming world.

What are you hoping for?

Ah just seen your update.

So in that case I would ask to be tested for thyroid function, perhaps pcos and other things that might cause you to struggle to lose weight.

If your GP isn't great can you change to another one?

Sounds like you are taking posative steps op

Agree with a food dairy, "healthy" is all very subjective.

Have you ever tried a juice fast?

I track my food via my fitness pal and my Fitbit, so I can show that to the GP. We went vegetarian 6 months ago in a health kick and my boyfriend (who eats way more than me) has lost two stone and me - nothing :(

I’ve been tested for PCOS in the past and that was fine.

Have you ever tried a juice fast?

Please don't try this.

Juice is just the isolated sugar in fruit (fructose) with none of the fibre. Fructose is metabolised by the liver into visceral fat. That's the last thing you need if you are trying to lose weight.

(I'm not opposed to fasting in principle, but juice is not the way to do it).

Go to a different GP in the same practice.

Fructose is metabolised by the liver into visceral fat

dont give the pseudoscience. Anyway juice fasts are low sugar mostly veggies.

Love how people try to demonise fruit as it's so bad, yes that's why so many people are obese from too much fresh fruit juice

Did you even read what I wrote?

Fruit isn't bad. It's the FRUCTOSE which is the problem. And juicing isolates the fructose and discards the fibre.

How tall are you, OP? Size 10 sounds pretty small - I weigh around what you do and at 5'8'' I am a size 14 to 16.

I’m 5ft 4 and wear size 12 in most things

If you're a size 12 weight loss is likely to be very slow anyway, as you don't have much to lose in the first place. You probably shouldn't expect to lose more than a pound a week or so, and that's following a proper structured (calorie controlled) diet plan, if you're just trying to eat a bit healthier it will be even slower.

OP are you eating enough for your activity levels? You say you don't eat much at work. Either you aren't getting enough calories, or something else is going on.

Are you then making up for your low calorie intake during the day by eating lots in the evenings? I've lost over 6 stone now (taken a few years!) and I try to eat most of my calories during the day. I rarely eat after 6pm in the evening. If you are starving yourself all day you may be overeating later on. Just a thought, obviously I have no idea what or how much you eat.

I used to be "good" all week and go crazy for the whole weekend from Friday night to Monday morning and wonder why I couldn't lose weight. Are you really just having one cheat meal at the weekends or are you a bit more relaxed than that?

Wow, I’m only an inch shorter than you, also a size 12 (14 in most trousers) and I weigh over 2.5 stone less.

You’re doing the right thing going to ask the doctor about your thyroid. Do you eat a lot of carbs? They make me put on weight like nothing else.

Though if you are fit and eat healthily, maybe it’s a case of accepting your body shape. Crying every day over something you can’t change is a terrible way to spend your evenings.

I think I eat enough yes - I log everything in my fitness pal and Fitbit and I eat on average 1300 a day. I don’t starve myself and I eat tea around 6pm on a night when I’m home from work and the Gym. I am even struggling to lose just a lb most weeks and it’s so so hard to see it on the scales when I’m working my arse off.

I went from 17-9 stone so I have done it before but it’s just not working now. I haven’t got the perfect body and I am a bit wobbly so I think a few lb of my weight is due to that and a saggy tummy! I just want to shift 2 stone and be comfortable at 10-10.7. It’s just so upsetting as I don’t see what else I can try really.

Thanks for everyone’s kind words.

I don’t go OTT on a weekend. For example - yesterday we had Home made pizza (hairy dieters) and that was my treat and I spent 90 minutes at the gym too. Today I had a bit of cheese but nothing excessive - what I’d call normal for a healthy diet really.

My boyfriend is losing weight with our eating plan now but mine isn’t budging :( i know everybody is different but surely a few lb would seem to go?

Agree with pp who say have blood tests for thyroid and pcos which would include hormones and discuss the results with a different GP.

There is only one GP at the surgery unless a locum is available. I’m most worried that he will just think I’m a greedy cow trying to find excuses!!

I’m really really nervous but I want to see what he says, suggests or what bloods show.

Maybe much of your weight is actually muscle and you should focus less on what you weigh and more on just toning up a bit.

Could you hire a PT at the gym to give you a free weights/resistance routine to assist in toning. I’ve read loads of people on here swear by weights work rather than cardio for changing their physique. It doesn’t bulk you up apparently. Apologies if you already know/do this.

Check out Rebel Fit on FB. Amazing. Changes attitudes towards food, exercise, self and reboots you. It's very good and they are refreshingly simple but effective ideas.

I think 1300 calories is very low if you are active. 90 minutes at the gym is a lot (obviously depending on what you are doing while you are there). I hope you get some answers from the GP, maybe show him/her your MFP logs and Fitbit logs so they can see for themselves what you're doing?

How much carbohydrate are you eating. Only time I managed to lose weight was on a low carb diet. It means not too much fruit as it has sugar in it. But I still gave myself treats of nutty bars, small bits chocolate.

OP the first thing to bear in mind is that exercise rarely shifts weight. The only way it does is by building muscles so they use more energy even when you are sitting still. It's very easy to over estimate calories used through exercise.

The other thing is- are you being really honest with your Fitness Pal and what you enter? Unless you are weighing all your food, it's hard to be accurate.

Rebel Fit is great- _ I know the guy behind it and can confirm he knows his stuff.

Have you tried the obvious like ditching most carbs and eating only protein and veg for a while? (With a bit of brown rice, oats etc now and then?)

Thank you everyone

I am being totally honest in MFP yeah - like I said, could totally understand if I was just in denial and stuffing my face and not logging etc and wondering why the weight wasn’t shifting but I’m absolutely not.

I don’t tend to eat much carbs and whenever I do eat rice or pasta then it’s brown anyway.

It’s getting me so down. We get married in 2 years and I can’t seem to find happiness in anything as this is playing such a big part of my life and it’s upsetting me.

I just don’t even know how to approach the GP but my boyfriend is coming with me

Thanks for all advice x

Unless you have a medical condition, which is why you should see your GP to rule this out, the most likely reason is you are still eating too much. I am an inch shorter than you and weight under 8st. I've always weighed that from my 20s now to my 60s. I am petite- tiny hands and wrists, but I am not skinny by any means. I've got small boobs, flat bum, slim legs.

I eat far less than the 'advice ' of Xcals a day. I have to go well under 1000cals a day to lose a few pounds. Although MFP and other things like that are good, they don't take frame size into account. For example, for someone my height, the 'ok weight' goes up to something like 10 stone. That would be laughable for me- I'd be hugely overweight for my frame.

If you have a deficit for 500 cals a day that equates to a pound of weight loss a week. Slow and steady....