Multiple health problems and losing weight, feeling lost and stuck

sophialoseit

I have pcos, hypothyroidism, a non functioning gallbladder that was taken out of my body this year through surgery, enlarged and fatty liver, lack of skin pigmentation (vitiligo that progressed to whole body albinism )that prevents me to be out there and active under the sunlight, depression, ect, ect
I lost ten pounds then got stuck at 80kgs and it has been difficult to lose more weight. During exercise, i get tired easily, my muscles give out and I have to stop multiple times, what would be the ideal exercise and diet plan for someone with my problems? I have tried intermittent fasting and hiit workout and it's too hard and taxing on me, what else could be a better alternative, im feeling desperate here

yirara

Hey, that's an excellent start! For how long as your weightloss stalled, and did you recalculate your calorie needs? As your body gets smaller the amount of calories you need gets smaller as well, and weightloss will be slower.

A few thoughts:
Hypothyreoidism doesn't prevent you from losing weight. However, it's important that your meds are spot on. If they're too low and you don't feel well then adhering to a diet and exercising will be more difficult. So if you don't feel well talk to your doctor and see whether you can increase your dosage. Annoyingly, many doctors don't know how to work with thyroid labs, but ideally the free T3 and T4 should be in the upper third of the range. My GP tells me I need to increase meds with TSH above 3.2 but I know from other countries and doctors that you have to fight even if it's above 5! And yeah, you feel miserable then. With the right amount of meds there's no reason to feel anything but normal. And that's what you should strive for.

For your gallbladder you need to figure out what works. Personally, I don't have any problems but the amount of fat I eat is probably low compared to the US diet (assuming here). And I eat several small portions of food throughout the day and never load up the empty spot in my abdomen with too much fat to start with.

For exercise: if what you do is too intense then it's no surprise you give up. Consider exercise as something to increase health and not for weightloss even though it might give you some more calories. Maybe start building endurance. If you don't have the right fitness then doing interval exercises might be too much for you. The same with strength training: start slow, get the technique right and then increase weights or difficulty

AnnPT77

Yirara up there is giving good advice up there.

There will be some calorie level at which you can lose weight. With multiple health problems, I'd urge you to lose weight quite slowly, and - if feasible - stay in touch with your doctor to monitor for complications or deficiencies. It might even be good to get a referral to an experienced registered dietitian for help with the eating side of things, since you have multiple health conditions.

There's no need to do some restrictive named diet strategy (intermittent fasting, keto, low fat, whatever). It will work to just eat foods you enjoy that give you well-rounded overall nutrition at reasonable calories, eating on a schedule that keeps you energetic and full most of the time. (It's OK to be a little peckish right before a planned meal/snack.)

On the exercise front, there's no need to do extreme, intense, punitive things. That's not the best route to fitness, even; and it just makes weight management harder to stick with.

As an experienced active person myself, I would encourage anyone to start with something that's just a small, manageable challenge to current capabilities, and progress gradually from there. That's even more recommended in a context where there are multiple health issues complicating things. Overstressing your body is really, really not a good idea.

As you gradually get fitter, you can increase exercise duration, frequency, intensity, or change the exercise type, to keep that mild, manageable challenge always present. That's the path to progress.

Pick something fun, or at least practical/tolerable, so you'll want to do it and continue. Walking, yoga/stretching, or simple pool exercise (not extreme aquarobics) are good places to start, for many people. Start with maybe a couple of times a week or a small amount daily (10 minutes?), building in plenty of recovery time.

Ideally, once you can handle both, do something(s) that get your heart rate up a little, and something(s) that challenge your muscle strength. It doesn't need to be fancy.

I admittedly don't have the whole group of issues that you do. I am severely hypothyroid (properly medicated), have no gallbladder anymore, used to have high blood pressure and high cholesterol/triglycerides), have osteoarthritis in some joints and a torn knee meniscus.

I started becoming active in the later half of my 40s, after decades of an almost entirely sedentary life, and after a year of stage III breast cancer and treatment (surgery, chemo, radiation). I was terribly out of shape, physically depleted. I did just what I said above: Started slowly, increased exercise challenge gradually.

That was a long time ago. Now, at 67, I can work out with people decades younger, and keep up. 45-year-old me would never have dreamed such a thing was possible.

I lost weight at 59-60, finally, also pretty much as I described above. I was seeking an eating routine that was more calorie-appropriate than the way I got fat/obese then stayed that way, but not "a weight loss diet". Instead, I was experimenting to find a set of routine eating habits that I could continue long term - ideally forever - almost on autopilot, once I put the habits in place.

For me, that's worked out pretty well. Starting weight was 183 pounds (so about 83 kg, around where you are now). I've now been at a healthy weight for 7+ years since initial loss, 131-point-something pounds this morning (around 59 kg). That, too, 45 year old obese me would never have believed could happen.

I'm confident that you can make progress. Keep both weight loss rate and exercise additions at a moderate pace, something(s) you can stick with, then patiently persevere. In some months to maybe a year or so, you'll surprise yourself at what you can accomplish, I predict. I'm cheering for you: The results will be worth it!

BTW, this is a good thread here about the hypothyroidism piece of it:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10767046/hypothyroidism-and-weight-management

It was written by a (former?) MFP-er who is a scientist in the hypothyroidism field, himself hypothyroid, who lost weight by calorie counting.

Best wishes for long term success!

kshama2001

sophialoseit wrote: »

I have pcos, hypothyroidism, a non functioning gallbladder that was taken out of my body this year through surgery, enlarged and fatty liver, lack of skin pigmentation (vitiligo that progressed to whole body albinism )that prevents me to be out there and active under the sunlight, depression, ect, ect
I lost ten pounds then got stuck at 80kgs and it has been difficult to lose more weight. During exercise, i get tired easily, my muscles give out and I have to stop multiple times, what would be the ideal exercise and diet plan for someone with my problems? I have tried intermittent fasting and hiit workout and it's too hard and taxing on me, what else could be a better alternative, im feeling desperate here

I'm very active, but have always disliked high intensity, so never tried and failed at HIIT. I used to fail on the elliptical, until I realized if I slowed it way down I could tolerate it. I have a knee issue on one leg and an ankle issue on the other, so am concentrating on low and no impact exercises, which sound like they would be a good place to start for you as well.

At the gym, I alternate between the elliptical, bike, row, and overhead track (which is more interesting for me than a treadmill.) This time of year I swim outdoors. When it gets cold I might swim indoors, but I'm not crazy about chlorine, so we'll see.

I had surgery last fall and the next day I could only walk 10 steps (to the bathroom.) The day after, I walked 500 steps at a time. I kept building up.

So my advice for you is to start where you are, start slow, and build up. Slowly.

Please do work hard to make sure all your meds are spot on. I know this can be challenging when you're depressed, but it will be worth it

Over the years, I must have tried at least a dozen antidepressants. I'm currently taking Buspirone at night. It's actually for anxiety, but helps with my depression. And helps me so much for sleep as well. I also had great success for many years with Wellbutrin. There are so many AD out there - I encourage you to keep at it until you find one that works.

kshama2001

sophialoseit wrote: »

I have pcos, hypothyroidism, a non functioning gallbladder that was taken out of my body this year through surgery, enlarged and fatty liver, lack of skin pigmentation (vitiligo that progressed to whole body albinism )that prevents me to be out there and active under the sunlight, depression, ect, ect
I lost ten pounds then got stuck at 80kgs and it has been difficult to lose more weight. During exercise, i get tired easily, my muscles give out and I have to stop multiple times, what would be the ideal exercise and diet plan for someone with my problems? I have tried intermittent fasting and hiit workout and it's too hard and taxing on me, what else could be a better alternative, im feeling desperate here

How tall are you and what is your goal weight? A common issue we see here is people trying to lose weight too fast. That can lead to this:

https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/



The binges can also happen later the same day, or on weekends.

Here's a good rule of thumb for setting a weekly weight loss goal:

Opalescent_Topaz

kshama2001 wrote: »

sophialoseit wrote: »

I have pcos, hypothyroidism, a non functioning gallbladder that was taken out of my body this year through surgery, enlarged and fatty liver, lack of skin pigmentation (vitiligo that progressed to whole body albinism )that prevents me to be out there and active under the sunlight, depression, ect, ect
I lost ten pounds then got stuck at 80kgs and it has been difficult to lose more weight. During exercise, i get tired easily, my muscles give out and I have to stop multiple times, what would be the ideal exercise and diet plan for someone with my problems? I have tried intermittent fasting and hiit workout and it's too hard and taxing on me, what else could be a better alternative, im feeling desperate here

How tall are you and what is your goal weight? A common issue we see here is people trying to lose weight too fast. That can lead to this:

https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/



The binges can also happen later the same day, or on weekends.

Here's a good rule of thumb for setting a weekly weight loss goal:

That last infographic is very helpful. Thank you.