2 weeks on Lyle Mcdonald's RFLD...advice please?

ndj1979

I made it to page 3, 3 pages to go and I'm already jumping in. Jesus, Lindsey, how the F is this thread about you now? OP has said multiple times she is NOT insulin resistant and not hypothryoid. Yes, yes, we ALL know YOU'VE been tested, blah blah blah, and that's how you lost weight and yay for you.
Are you going to show up on everyone's thread and talk all about yourself and your tests and how you lost weight from those tests and forget completely about the OP?

When she says things that point to such issues, I believe it's relevant. Here are the factors:

(1) She stated over and over again that caloric deficit wasn't producing the anticipated results
(2) She stated over and over again that she was confident in calorie counting and gave examples to support that
(3) She said that she did have certain symptoms of hypothryoid -- hands and feet that were cold all the time, difficulty losing weight, unexplained weight gain
(4) Oh, and most of all a blood test of TSH showing actual hypothyroidism.

I know a lot of people like to jump on others and tell them that they're crazy, can't count calories correctly, are lying, etc., but sometimes there are actual valid reasons for the pieces not adding up. Oh, so terrible of me for sharing my experience in a highly analogous situation.

And the OP asked follow up questions, indicating that she was quite interested in my experience and learning more. I even received an email from someone thanking me for that same post, but chooses to stay off the forums because of all the bad behavior. Yes, that is truly a terrible thing that I'm sharing my experience and knowledge gained along the way -- just like all the other helpful posters do.

You're going to feel really stupid when you bother to read the next 3-4 pages. Try harder.

*Sitting back, waiting til there are three-four more pages*

my money is on cindy..for the win!

deethebee83

Dee,

I just took a quick look at your post history. Based on what I saw, my recommendation is this: get off the RFLD now. With your history, this is not a good plan for you.

Holy ****, I did not realize you were recovering from an eating disorder. I completely agree that this is a HORRIBLE IDEA for you. I have a feeling the author of the diet would completely agree.

THIS.

And again, explains why you aren't able to lose the weight. Excess Cortisol, from PCOS and additionally the extra stress you are adding with the crash diets. And perhaps a suppressed metabolism.

I'm still throwing in for the thyroid since your TSH level puts you in overt hypothyrodism at over 3 (and yours were over 4).

Perhaps that too. But even if it is not thyroid, she probably has enough going on with cortisol to prevent normal weight loss, paired with what damage there may have been to metabolism from past unhealthy eating.

Yep you're probably right about cortisol...I have been having some difficulty with sleep and pounding heart. I am going to get through the rest of this week then next week perhaps slowly increase calories to prevent rebound weight gain and hopefully find a good balance.

I'm hoping the pounding heart is not an arrhythmia issue from low potassium, which can often happen when people go on diets where they don't get the proper nutrition. Especially if the goal is to eat at limits of 1,000 calories or lower. I know you've had days of 2,000 calories or so, but if I take you at your word, and you are eating very low calories ,it's possible you are developing an arrhythmia. My advice would be to see your doctor to have your labs checked, just to be safe.

Oh crap...Lyle says in his book that Potassium can be an issue and to take a supplement but I figured Potassium is in everything so it's not a big deal. I also make a point of eating high potassium foods on my higher cal days. I'm definitely putting my foods in on my low cal days correctly. I'll make an appointment to see my doc tomorrow....

lindsey1979

Do you tend to hold fat along the middle (rather than limbs/hips/thighs)? I know that's a common sign of excess cortisol.

Actually, no...my waist to hip ratio is pretty good. Most of my fat is on my hips, bum and thighs. Waist is 30.5 inches and hips are 40. Does that mean cortisol isn't to blame?

By the way, sorry for not replying to you in detail...this thread has generated a lot more interest than I anticipated and now appears to be becoming an ED therapy group...I'm going to cry!!

I wouldn't say cortisol isn't to blame -- but, you really won't know that without the blood test. But, it's an indication that cortisol isn't the issue (still need blood test as it's not the only indicator or excess cortisol). Though there could still be other adrenal or metabolic issues at play, even if your cortisol isn't elevated.

mccindy72

I'm hoping the pounding heart is not an arrhythmia issue from low potassium, which can often happen when people go on diets where they don't get the proper nutrition. Especially if the goal is to eat at limits of 1,000 calories or lower. I know you've had days of 2,000 calories or so, but if I take you at your word, and you are eating very low calories ,it's possible you are developing an arrhythmia. My advice would be to see your doctor to have your labs checked, just to be safe.

Oh crap...Lyle says in his book that Potassium can be an issue and to take a supplement but I figured Potassium is in everything so it's not a big deal. I also make a point of eating high potassium foods on my higher cal days. I'm definitely putting my foods in on my low cal days correctly. I'll make an appointment to see my doc tomorrow....

I am glad to hear that, I think your doc is probably the best place for you to start with all of this right now. go over everything you've brought up here today and see what comes of that. Then find a new starting point.

lthames0810

In for later.

deethebee83

Truth is I have a LOT of triggers, not just hunger. I figure it's better to be losing some weight and making progress and if I get a trigger at least I don't end up weighing more. I don't know what to do anymore

I haven't looked into body recomposition. I find strength training SUCH hard work...I use weights but they're only 2.5lbs. I don't have money to pay for a gym membership but if it's something I can do at home then perhaps I'll give it a try! Thanks for the link I'll take a look.

Really now, your purse probably weighs more than 2.5lbs. Look into some progressive resistance training programs that use body weight exercises. There are a ton of them, but two I often see thrown around are Convict Conditioning and You Are Your Own Gym.

Well, I do break a good sweat when I use them! haha. I have 4 sets of weights so maybe I can figure a way to tape them together!

kjo9692

My weight has been a big big stressor in my life and I wish I could just relax more and be more accepting of my shape but man it's just impossible .

So what do you think about putting the tremendous amount of energy you're investing into working on your psychological issues instead?

I'm not being flippant. If you magically woke up at your ideal weight, you would still have problems in your life. Learning to cope with adversity is a *much* better investment of your energies in terms of improving quality of life. It also makes it easier to get on with things when something bad happens that's out of your control.

I second this thought, it would be good if you consider counseling at the same time that you aim for a better you. Sometimes we hide behind our physical insecurities but it's actually something deeper than that that's going on in your life. You should try to work towards having a healthy relationship with yourself to work towards other goals.

mccindy72

Truth is I have a LOT of triggers, not just hunger. I figure it's better to be losing some weight and making progress and if I get a trigger at least I don't end up weighing more. I don't know what to do anymore

I haven't looked into body recomposition. I find strength training SUCH hard work...I use weights but they're only 2.5lbs. I don't have money to pay for a gym membership but if it's something I can do at home then perhaps I'll give it a try! Thanks for the link I'll take a look.

Really now, your purse probably weighs more than 2.5lbs. Look into some progressive resistance training programs that use body weight exercises. There are a ton of them, but two I often see thrown around are Convict Conditioning and You Are Your Own Gym.

Well, I do break a good sweat when I use them! haha. I have 4 sets of weights so maybe I can figure a way to tape them together!

for heavy lifting, just get a bigger set, and do fewer reps. When you're using the heavy weights to make the muscles work very hard, you don't do a lot of reps.

deethebee83

Well I'm going to have more tests on my thyroid in a few months, but I went to see an endocrinologist in the past and he told me my thyroid was fine so even if it is sluggish how do I get anyone to do anything if they refuse to accept there's a problem? Very little specialists I can see outside of this without a ton of money to go private.

What you said makes me think about a few years ago when I gained 12lbs over 9 days over Christmas. Now these judegmental people on here will say, "Well you must have been stuffing yourself with an excess of 2,000 cals a day!" but to me that is excessive. I wasn't counting calories so I can't say how much I was eating but eating 3,000 cals in one day makes me so full I want to puke so I can't see it likely that I was consuming over 4,000 a day. I don't have ALL the signs of hypothyroid though...I believe my body temp is normal even though my hands and feet are ALWAYS cold.

Did you have to pay to see a specialist? The problem I see even if I am found to have a slow thryoid is that the treatment is thyroxine which doesn't seem to be hugely effective when it comes to weight. My mom has a friend who's got weight problems, was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, given thyroxine, but still struggles to lose weight :-/. I'm sure it'd be worth a try...my GP said if my thyroid is still borderline in a few months they'd trial me on some but went on about side effects and this is why they're hesitant to prescribe it. How did they treat you if you don't mind me asking? What medications? I do agree that doctors should be looking at what's optimal and not what's ok because it's only JUST outside of range. This is the strange thing...my first test showed borderline (4.3 or something), then months later 2 more tests were both around 2 or so. Then most recent one was 4.22, so I'll have to wait to see what the next one says. I have nothing to lose though so I will try push the issue next time...Lord what a relief it would be to not have to suffer so bad just to lose a couple of pounds! I'm sorry you had bad experiences with people being nasty to you too. I really don't understand why people don't believe it's possible that we're all different and metabolic issues are a REAL thing. Them saying that because they can lose weight on a certain amount of calories you must be able to too is like saying to someone in a wheelchair, "Well I can walk, so you must be able to walk too!" but just because they can't SEE it they can't believe it. They can't SEE what your body is doing inside so they refuse to believe it's not working optimally. It's very very narrow-minded.

I'm pretty sure by the current standards, you're overt hypothyroid now. The "normal" levels for TSH used to be 0.5 - 5.0. As a few years ago, they adjusted that to 0.3 - 3.0, putting your ranges in the clearly hypothyroid area at 4+. Having different readings with no treatment is common with Hashi's as people with Hashi's swing from hypo to normal to hyper depending on how much the immune system is attacking the thyroid at any given time -- so that may be what's happening (that's exactly what happened to me). You really need the antibody tests (read that article I linked to) -- some with Hashi's still won't show antibodies but the vast majority will. You need to find a doctor that can help you with this. Far too many docs and endos are terrible with this -- seriously, go to thyroid websites and you'll see such stories all the time. As I said, I saw 4 docs before I got where I needed to be -- 2 primary care and 2 actual endos. Plus, if you read that article I shared, it explains why if you have the antibodies of Hashi's, how many of the tests are ineffective as they don't know how much of the free T3 and T4 the antibodies are binding up and making ineffective. I too have a normal body temp and my hands and feet were cold ALL the time. You totally sound hypo, in some variation or another.

Unfortunately, I did end up going private and it is costly (first visit was $600, follow up visits $400 -- but I only have to see him once a year now). But, man, did I wish I'd spent the thousand+ (after the first few visits and all the labs) 10+ years ago as my insurance docs weren't getting it done at all. For me, I pay my doc directly and then he orders labs/tests through my insurance. If you go to thyroid sites, people will recommend folks or send you to sites for referrals for docs who specialize in thyroid (some are endos, some are family practitioners with an emphasis there, etc.).

If you can't go private at all, I'd start doing the research yourself about these tests and challenging your doctor on it. www.stopthethyroidmadness.com is good resource and you'll find soooo many people with similar stories to yours. You can also have labs done yourself through places like quest and mymedlab if your doctor refuses to order them. And, if none of that works, find a new doctor and keep looking for one that can answer these issues on thyroid.

As for treatment, I tried both synthetics (Synthroid which is just T4) but ended up preferring Nature-throid (which is a combination T3 and T4 drug -- it's natural dessicated thyroid). And it's cheap -- like less than $10/month -- and has been around many, many years. Some endos prefer the synthetics because the dosing in more precise and consistent, but the natural dessicated thyroid is still pretty good (and many docs like mine says the differential is negligible) -- and for whatever reason, some people like me just do better on it. In the end, I'm more concerned about symptoms than anything else and that works for me. In thyroid forums, you'll see big debates about synthetics (synthroid, cytomel) versus natural dessicated thyroid (Nature-throid, Armour, etc.). Personally, I wonder if the synthetic bias isn't somewhat linked to kickbacks to doctors.

As for the weight issues, thyroid is only part of the problem sometimes. For example, when we were investigating thyroid, he looked at a lot of stuff that can contribute to the overall picture -- adrenal issues, liver issues, blood/glucose issues, vitamin deficiencies, etc. He said if something is off (especially adrenal), you can first feel awful on thyroid treatment because another part of the equation is off (because when thyroid goes off, it can cause a cascade of things). So, before I started on thyroid treatment, he wanted to make sure everything else was where it should be -- and that's when he found the insulin resistance and vitamin D and magnesium deficiencies (which can also contribute to difficulty losing weight). So, it's totally possible that your mother's friend is fine as far as her thyroid goes (or it could be be undermedicated), but have some other issues like adrenal fatigue or insulin resistance which is creating a roadblock to weight loss.

And, thyroid medication doesn't make you lose weight per se. You still have to put in the hard work in diet and exercise (but you seem to have that part well under control). It just evens the playing field and means that people like us will be able to lose weight like a "normal" person. And that's exactly what happened for me once I got it all sorted out. But, man, do I wish I'd known this 10+ years ago. I could have stopped that sysphian struggle a long time ago.

As for the nasty people here (i.e. not the people that are genuinely helpful and kind). I figure it's either a fear thing --- they want things to be simple, so they insist on forcing those round pegs into square holes in order to comfort themselves about such issues -- or, like a lot of internet trolls, they're just sadists looking for vulnerable people to pick on. It's how they get their rocks off. I really wish the moderators actually moderated this because such disrespectful behavior is totally unnecessary and just drives people away. It will hurt them more in the end.

And the funny thing about the whole "special snowflake" thing some people throw around, it turns out I was that special snowflake apparently. Though, I've since learned, there are quite a few of us out there. For example, the American Thyroid Association estimates something like 20 million Americans have a thyroid disorder (60% of which are undiagnosed) and 12% of the population will have one at some point in their lives. Or, insulin resistance numbers are estimated at 80 million Americans or 25% of the population. That's a LOT of special snowflakes. Once you add in other things like adrenal issues, liver issues, diabetes, PCOS, etc. -- the numbers are pretty significant. If people are truly doing the eating and exercising and calculating of such faithfully as you appear to be, they probably are one of those special snowflakes.

I made it to page 3, 3 pages to go and I'm already jumping in. Jesus, Lindsey, how the F is this thread about you now? OP has said multiple times she is NOT insulin resistant and not hypothryoid. Yes, yes, we ALL know YOU'VE been tested, blah blah blah, and that's how you lost weight and yay for you.
Are you going to show up on everyone's thread and talk all about yourself and your tests and how you lost weight from those tests and forget completely about the OP?

I think she has some very good points and things I've wondered about myself. I'm also happy to hear other people's stories who've struggled to lose weight for whatever reason.

OP - Now I am confused, and I am really not trying to be mean ..but when people offered their stories early in the thread you lashed out at them, but now you are saying you are open to them?

I really think you need to sit back and take a deep breath and reexamine where you are and what your goals are.

if you have severely under eaten then you may have metabolic adaptation and/or damage, which means that you would need to eat more to reset your metabolism. I understand given your history of binging that this may be a scary concept ...but you can do it if you really tighten up your logging and focus on just eating saying 1500 calories a day, like was suggested earlier...Or, if that seems to much start with 1200 and slowly increase 100 per week until you hit 1500..

either way, good luck to you ..

Oh come on, I wasn't offered any stories. First came the criticisms and judgements and only THEN did the person tell me a small amount about herself. I didn't even know she was a woman remember so how could I have known anything about her? Lindsey was the only one I can actually recall trying to relate to me. Perhaps if the other girl had started out with her story and told me what SHE then things wouldn't have gotten so heated. Instead I got told I was lying and what I should do.

I get what you're saying about eating more to reset my metabolism. I tried that last year when I was stalled so I ate at maintenance for a few weeks and it didn't help. But like you say, a slow increase may be the way to go. There may be a point where everything "clicks" so to speak. Thanks for the advice.

deethebee83

Ok I've made my diary public, however, on my "free" days I don't always count all calories but I make sure it's no more than 200 calories more than what's in my diary (those days are a Weds and a Sat). I am really not one of those people who just munches on things randomly or estimates consumption. If I snack on something it's after it's accounted for and weighed. The extras I have on my cheat days may be something like 5 almonds, one chocolate and a piece of fruit. You can choose to not believe me if you want but that's the truth. Also, the first week I was very ill so one day shows only 200 calories taken in all day and that's accurate because I was too ill to eat anything else.

I looked back through your diary. There were days you were eating 2000 calories and they didn't look accurate. There were days you had quick add calories, which tells me you are NOT accurate. The moment you stop lying to yourself you will see results. You are eating more than you think you are.

I did the calculations for you and here is my suggestion: For the next month eat 1500 calories every day on the dot while being 100% accurate. If you can't weigh it or account for it perfectly do not eat it. Get at least 110g of protein. Start strength training.

I don't know if you are ignoring my posts or if you're just trying to be arrogant but I already explained that those days with 2000 or so cals are my free days and on those days I have slipped up by around 200 cals which would not make a big dent in my deficit. As I said above, 90% of my cals are accurate. All other days every morsel is accounted for apart from maybe a few lettuce leaves and some cucumber. Nothing that could make much of an impact on the deficit. I don't see any point in lying to myself or anyone else. I'd be wasting everyone's time including my own. Who are you to say that my diary doesn't "look" accurate?? Am I missing something about how an accurate diary should look?? And in general if I haven't logged all my cals for the day I don't click the complete button at the bottom. If you really wanted to be nitpicky you could go over the last 2 weeks and check which days I completed my diary and which I didn't!

I didn't make this post to ask for how anyone else thinks I should be eating to lose weight. There's a very good reason why I've chosen this diet and why I am NOT going to do what you suggest. And the last time I checked there was such a thing as freedom of choice. It's my choice. Why do you feel the need to put me down for that? Does it make you feel important or good about yourself? I actually find this diet to be far more sustainable for me than a moderate calorie deficit that forces me to eat at the exact same cals EVERY day for months on end! Do you not think I've been there, done that? It's not for me. I'm doing what is sustainable for me based on experience because, you know, we're not all the same! When are people going to realise that and drop the judgemental "know it all" attitude? I don't know why I expected more from people on this site, I've seen it so many times before. You've found what works for you obviously, that's great. Does that mean that you know what will work for me or have any right to tell me I'm lying to myself? I don't think so. If you really want to believe that I am underestimating my calories by more than 4,000 a week despite everything I've said then please take your suggestions and give them to someone who wants them. You obviously have trouble believing that someone could be at a large deficit and not losing much weight and that's just ignorant. All I'm trying to do is find out why and fix the problem. If you think a 1500 calorie diet is going to generate more weight loss than my current diet then you must think there are over 6000 calories unaccounted for in my week! What would even be the point in taking the time to fill in a food diary if you were going to be THAT inaccurate?? Wow. I didn't realise I came across as so damn stupid. Stupid enough to trust people to look at my food diary, maybe even read the notes where I am brutally honest, and not start calling me a liar because that's the ONLY possible explanation for my lack of weight loss. Can't possibly have anything to do with water retention or a slow metabolism or some other factor. Ignore all the other ways I said I've tried to lose weight in the past because someone who so blatantly LIES would not put in that much effort and years of their life to fix their health. I assume your suggestion is based on some average calculations yet I don't believe anything I've said should give the impression that I'm an average female with a healthy metabolism. If I really wanted some idea of what an average female needs to lose weight, I wouldn't need you to give it to me.

Oh and by the way, I'm a training Nutritionist. Wasting time trying to lose weight whilst lying about it would not only be pointless in my personal life but also my professional life. But thanks for being a good example of a general faceless internet know it all.

Obviously you have it all figured out. I definitely don't know anything about fat loss since I haven't been successful (I'm a competitive bodybuilder and I wouldn't dare treat my body the way you are treating yours). Good luck with your goals.

From Lyle McDonald: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/you-are-not-different.html
http://youtu.be/KA9AdlhB18o

Obesity runs in my family, I assume it doesn't in yours. DIFFERENT GENES.

No, no, no. Obesity does not run in your family, you have family members that choose to be obese.

Genes are different, but there are no obese genes.

I don't really agree. Maybe not obesity exactly but a tendency to gain weight does have a lot to do with genes. My sisters aren't obese...one is overweight like me but she can't lose weight without closely watching her food intake. The other one is actually the slimmest she's ever been in her life but it's taken her running for over an hour every day to do so. She doesn't have a great appetite like me either.

deksgrl

I get what you're saying about eating more to reset my metabolism. I tried that last year when I was stalled so I ate at maintenance for a few weeks and it didn't help. But like you say, a slow increase may be the way to go. There may be a point where everything "clicks" so to speak. Thanks for the advice.

A reset takes longer than a few weeks. Especially to undo damage that was done over years.

Springfield1970

Dee it's ok to lose weight super super slowly. You've got used to the logging thing so just try the 1500 idea.

I tend to binge and comfort eat, and I've done most of Lyles diets too. I can honestly say that slight deficit of normal enjoyable foods is the way to go. Also having bulked over winter and gained 8lb I am very excited by the results. I'm slowly cutting by about 1/4lb per week sometimes less.

You are amongst friends, we will support you in your sensible choices, because a lot of us have been through hell to get where we are today. Good luck.

Can I just add something about hill sprinting?

It's generally recommended to not do them until you've got two years at least of running under your belt.

Over and out.

deethebee83

I managed to hang in there to the last page. I am not the arguing type at all, but I wanted to know if anyone else had suggested my thoughts. I was also very interested in the all the thyroid talk since I am currently "trying out" treatment for hypothyroid with my level at 4.3 which was an increase from past tests.

My suggestions are this: take a look at your stress level and amount of sleep you get.

I have had a lot of trouble losing weight in the recent past, even though I had a long period of time of being as absolutely accurate as I could. I was weighing my eggs, slices of bread, everything. At the same time I was working out like a mad fool, sometimes 3 hrs a day. I wasn't losing any weight. The truth is, I believe that behavior and the stress I was placing on myself by focusing in so close on my diet and weight loss knocked me way out of balance. There was nothing else except diet, exercise, calories, etc. As soon as I let up on myself and started to enjoy the rest of life a little I felt way less stress and the weight started inching down. I have limited myself to one hour of exercise a day plus a nice walk. I still weigh my food but have let up and realized that I can not be 100% accurate no matter how hard I try, (eggs are off the hook) so I just do my best. I stick to my calorie allowance and figure my exercise is going to help cover the fluctuations in deficit.
I have also found that getting a proper amount of sleep plays a huge role in the number on the scale!!!!! My weight is always up when I haven't had enough rest-probably another form of stress on the body.

One last thing to consider. I have found that having free meals or days absolutely does not work for me. I could be spot on for two weeks, then have a free meal, even if I feel like I am making decent choices, and it will take me two weeks to undo the damage of one day.

I don't know you at all, and I have not read your profile or looked at your diary. I just thought these are a few things you might want to look at while trying to figure out what is going on with your body.
Consistency is the best tool we have to combat weight. If we keep doing the right things eventually our bodies will adapt. I've settled myself to the fact that it may take another year to lose this 10-15 pounds but I won't give up on myself, and each day is an improvement over the last.

Good luck Dee

I hope the thyroid medication works out for you!

Honestly my sleep isn't great since starting this diet so yeah that could be an issue. Stress is through the roof right now...this thread hasn't helped . And I can't workout and relieve the stress on such low cals.

Free days can be an issue for me if they're unplanned or if I plan to eat a certain amount of junk but have more than I'm allowed in the house. The one way they work for me though is that if I go out or my mom is cooking I feel so miserable and deprived trying to guess the calories in what she's cooked. So they have good points and bad points. If I go overboard with junk it does have a negative effect on my weight and then days to get back down again so now I treat myself with healthy sugars.

Thanks for your advice and I hope you reach your goals too.

mrsfyredude

Deethebee -- just let the other stuff go with the other posters. I've literally had similar conversations with many of them, ndj1979 in particular. It's useless. It's not a meaningful exchangs - people like him are not interested in an honest exchange of ideas (unlike someone like Cortelli who is). I don't know what their personal psychological issues are per se, but they're significant. It's just beating your head against the wall. I still can't resist doing it sometimes (though I'm trying), but at least I'm aware that I'm doing it now. Best to ignore them (trying to follow my own advice).

Lindsey, I don't know how to tell you this, but you frequently use "per se" incorrectly.
I know this is nitpicky, but it bothers me and I can't help myself.
I think that what you are trying to say in the sentence above is: "I don't know what their issues are, but they're significant." "Per se" means "intrinsically" and really isn't applicable in this context.
Also, "personal psychological issues" is redundant. What other kinds of psychological issues would a person have? Non-personal?

Please just relax. You're trying too hard, honey.

I wasn't in until this, but THAT was funny! :flowerforyou:

deethebee83

My weight has been a big big stressor in my life and I wish I could just relax more and be more accepting of my shape but man it's just impossible .

So what do you think about putting the tremendous amount of energy you're investing into working on your psychological issues instead?

I'm not being flippant. If you magically woke up at your ideal weight, you would still have problems in your life. Learning to cope with adversity is a *much* better investment of your energies in terms of improving quality of life. It also makes it easier to get on with things when something bad happens that's out of your control.

Easier said than done...I''ve asked my doctor so many times for help. They are useless and forget about me and tell me they're going to do this and that and then do nothing or they say they don't have anything to help me. I was referred to an ED service last year and I couldn't get to the appointment. I spoke to someone from my local mental health team and they said they would refer me again and take me to the appointment. I was thrilled! They never did anything. I'm tired of chasing them and getting angry. Me weight seems to be the only thing I have ANY power to do something about, that's why it's become such a big focus.

DamePiglet

I managed to hang in there to the last page. I am not the arguing type at all, but I wanted to know if anyone else had suggested my thoughts. I was also very interested in the all the thyroid talk since I am currently "trying out" treatment for hypothyroid with my level at 4.3 which was an increase from past tests.

My suggestions are this: take a look at your stress level and amount of sleep you get.

I have had a lot of trouble losing weight in the recent past, even though I had a long period of time of being as absolutely accurate as I could. I was weighing my eggs, slices of bread, everything. At the same time I was working out like a mad fool, sometimes 3 hrs a day. I wasn't losing any weight. The truth is, I believe that behavior and the stress I was placing on myself by focusing in so close on my diet and weight loss knocked me way out of balance. There was nothing else except diet, exercise, calories, etc. As soon as I let up on myself and started to enjoy the rest of life a little I felt way less stress and the weight started inching down. I have limited myself to one hour of exercise a day plus a nice walk. I still weigh my food but have let up and realized that I can not be 100% accurate no matter how hard I try, (eggs are off the hook) so I just do my best. I stick to my calorie allowance and figure my exercise is going to help cover the fluctuations in deficit.
I have also found that getting a proper amount of sleep plays a huge role in the number on the scale!!!!! My weight is always up when I haven't had enough rest-probably another form of stress on the body.

One last thing to consider. I have found that having free meals or days absolutely does not work for me. I could be spot on for two weeks, then have a free meal, even if I feel like I am making decent choices, and it will take me two weeks to undo the damage of one day.

I don't know you at all, and I have not read your profile or looked at your diary. I just thought these are a few things you might want to look at while trying to figure out what is going on with your body.
Consistency is the best tool we have to combat weight. If we keep doing the right things eventually our bodies will adapt. I've settled myself to the fact that it may take another year to lose this 10-15 pounds but I won't give up on myself, and each day is an improvement over the last.

Good luck Dee

I hope the thyroid medication works out for you!

Honestly my sleep isn't great since starting this diet so yeah that could be an issue. Stress is through the roof right now...this thread hasn't helped . And I can't workout and relieve the stress on such low cals.

Free days can be an issue for me if they're unplanned or if I plan to eat a certain amount of junk but have more than I'm allowed in the house. The one way they work for me though is that if I go out or my mom is cooking I feel so miserable and deprived trying to guess the calories in what she's cooked. So they have good points and bad points. If I go overboard with junk it does have a negative effect on my weight and then days to get back down again so now I treat myself with healthy sugars.

Thanks for your advice and I hope you reach your goals too.

OP, it sounds like you got some good advice and I hope it helps. Good luck.

Branstin

If you re-read your post then you will find that you answered your own quesiton. It seems that you have kicked your body into stravation mode and it is holding onto the little bit of food it is getting which could cause weight gain and weight stalling.

Have you spoken to your doctor, nutritionist, and a dietitian?

Wrong answer. Starvation mode will not kick in until you go below a certain body fat % and unless she's starving, as in NO CALORIES, and has lost so much fat she's below that amount then it's most likely the PCOS causing her issues or some other medical issue, and maybe not even counting the calories correctly. But it's def. not starvation mode.

Yes, it could be PCOS or some other medical reason and that's the reason I asked her the question about seeing a "combination" of health experts.

deethebee83

It sounds like you're already back in a super-disordered place in your relationship with food. Do you think this diet will bring you further away from that, or closer to it? I'm not being judgey, but if I were in your shoes, I would be wanting people to tell me not to focus on the wrong part of the story, and right now, the scale moving is the wrong part of the story.

I guess I figured that if I could just get to a more average weight then the disordered eating would go away...I don't know if that's true but I've never had the chance to see. I haven't got much hope of full recovery otherwise...I've had this since I was 15 and it's actually a mix of bulimia and binge eating. I haven't purged in a LONG time and the last time I truly binged was when I had blood sugar issues from eating starch on its own. Even my free days I don't consider a binge because they're only around 2,000 cals and it's fruits, starch and healthy fats mostly. I would never purge nutritious food! That's how I've managed...don't keep ANY junk in the house and choose healthy foods for higher cal days as I know it won't lead to purging.

You're right, of course you are. I would love to have a better relationship with food...it just feels like it's a dream that will never come true.

I don't know your personal business or if you have insurance, but getting some counseling would be a great place to start.

Just an fyi: Your problems won't go away with weight loss. Trust me, I know

I don't have insurance but I did see a counsellor a little while ago through my GP. She was very patronising and basically just told me I wasn't trying hard enough. Didn't understand what I was going through at all and told me my social anxiety was just me being difficult. Also saw a psychologist who basically just listened to me for an hour...no helpful advice. I've been trying but I have just become exhausted with asking and asking and asking because I seem so beyond help.

SpencersHeart

in to read later...

Fullsterkur_woman

I guess I figured that if I could just get to a more average weight then the disordered eating would go away...I don't know if that's true but I've never had the chance to see. I haven't got much hope of full recovery otherwise....

You're right, of course you are. I would love to have a better relationship with food...it just feels like it's a dream that will never come true.

Nope. I've been 135 pounds and I've been almost 200 pounds. Guess what? The sun still manages to rise and set regardless of what I weigh. Right now I'm at 180 pounds. I'm still the same me no matter what size I am. Except that when I got down to a "normal" weight (using low carb to lose the last few over 8 months), I was bringing a pocket scale to restaurants with me, picking apart my meals so I could weigh them ingredient by ingredient, bringing "cheese" and zero cal dressings with me. Eating disorders wear many different faces. I ended up with some nice binge behavior when I snapped from all that micromanaging. And I blew up to the weight I am now. It took several years to call a halt to it, and the biggest benefit is that I had to learn to be ok with whereever I am. I measure my worth as a person differently now, not by my scale, or by what I eat, but by who *I* am. I'm still a really sarcastic bish, but I am genuinely caring even if I seem like a "mean girl".

I'm a little concerned though, that you say that you don't have much hope of full recovery otherwise. You seem to be putting the cart before the horse. If you wait until your weight is where you want it to be before you address the disordered relationship with food, I can virtually guarantee that you'll never reach either one of those things. The disordered thinking will label whatever weight you're at as unacceptable. Getting ok with where you are, whereever that may be, is really the only way out. And when you get there, you may find you're not in a rush to get to a certain weight after all. I personally decided that I wanted to be strong as an ox, and that's become more important to me. You may find that becoming a world-class stained-glass artist matters more to you, or whatever.

But giving food and your weight so much power in your life sucks. Take away its permission to have that much power over you.