HELP! (Plateau, BC, Thyroid, PCOS, IBS, Marathon!)

sparrow747

Hi everyone,

I am struggling with my weight after having had much success with MFP. I know we aren't doctors (bonus points and congratulations if you are!), but I'm hoping you can give me some advice/ideas/input on what I might be overlooking and what is holding me back to reaching my goal. I will be visiting my doctor soon for a check up and am also hoping she can point me in the right direction.

My background: I joined MFP in January 2011 at 240 pounds. I lost 50 pounds the first year and another 15 in 2012. I've more or less maintained since then. I am 5'8" and have always weighed around 180lbs. since high school. I have a large build and am a muscular woman. Ideally, I'd like to weigh in the 160s. I carry extra weight around my belly mostly. I am fluxuating around 185-190 right now. Earlier this year right after the holidays I got down to 177 without much effort.

Exercise: I do power vinyasa 2x a week and hit the gym or run 2-3 other days during the week. A year and a half ago I ran my first 5k and this past May I ran my first half marathon. I'm in great physical shape, although parts of my exterior do not necessarily reflect this. Outside of set exercise days, I walk 3-5 miles a day at least (I live in a city) and spend a lot of time outdoors (hiking, skiing, swimming, etc.) Admittedly, I'd like to lift heavier, but I go to Planet Fitness which isn't great for this and don't have space for this type of equipment in my small apartment.

Diet: Relatively balanced although I don't log as much as I used to. Most days I have Shakeology blended with almond milk and a banana, a salad for lunch (with protein, goat cheese, dried cranberries, nuts and homemade dressing) and dinner at home tends to be protein (chicken, chicken sausage, eggs, shrimp, on occasion ground beef) and veggies and sometimes pasta or rice on the side. Snacks include fruit, yogurt or granola bars usually. I spend 100-200 cals per day on chocolate or some sort of treat. I don't worry too much about what I eat when I do go out to dinner or lunch which is once or twice a week and use those as my "cheat meals". I don't digest bread very well, so I eat sandwiches infrequently. I AM CONCERNED THAT I HAVE A GLUTEN SENSITIVITY (but then I think this is some sort of crazy 2014 illness and have yet to fully eliminate it from my diet, but I am considering doing this soon as a trial) I retain water very easily when eating salty foods and don't bounce back quickly from too much sodium/alcohol in my diet. I mostly drink water, unsweetened teas, 1 coffee a day with a little milk or creamer. I almost never have soda and only drink alcohol (wine, beer, margaritas) on the weekend and try to limit myself to no more than 4 drinks if I am drinking (does this sound like a lot to you?) I definitely love sugar and think there still might be too much of it (in forms other than junk food) in my diet.

Other Health Issues: I stopped taking birth control this March. Since then I have noticed that I haven't been able to lose weight, and am slowly gaining. This also coincided with my half marathon training which at the time I thought was just additional hunger due to the long runs and perhaps muscle build. I am also concerned about perhaps having IBS-C (Shakeology helps! I do not take another probiotic) or thyroid issues. I've had my thyroid checked every year at my physical but nothing abnormal comes up. I'm still not convinced and now even more so worried that this is a hormonal issue now due to life post-BC. I started taking BC about 4 years ago when I was symptomatic to PCOS, but I was not diagnosed with it and came off it recently hoping my healthier weight is now managing these symptoms.

I'm just can't figure out why my weight is such a challenge and in particular, why I'm not getting to the weight I want to be at/my stomach is holding on to a LOT of weight (I have definitely been mistaken for a pregnant lady more than once.) I have a good job, great significant other and relationships, generally excellent work/life balance. Is it diet? Is it exercise? Is it something that I need to seek professional help for?

Please give me ideas, encouragement, anecdotes! I feel like I'm not seeing something that is right under my nose.

lindsey1979

Thyroid Do you have any other symptoms of hypothyroidism? Cold all the time, especially in the hands/feet, constipation, fatigue, dry skin/hiar, brittle nails? If so, you may have a thyroid issue. Do you know if you've had the following tests: TSH, Free T3 Free T4, both antibodies (TPO and Tg). Many doctors only test TSH and it's completely possible to have a normal TSH reading and still have a thyroid problem (common with Hashimoto's -- the most common thyroid disorder -- also, many suspect gluten triggers Hashi's).

Cardio Queen Why all the running? All this high intensity cardio may simply not agree with you -- for some, it triggers inflammation and makes it very difficult to lose weight after a certain point, especially in the mid section (which seems to be your issue). Running is not for everyone.

Lift Heavy I'd strongly suggest you making this a priority. I'd consider changing gyms or looking into a program like Convict Work Out. Or consider investing in a home gym -- you can often get a good set of free weights and barbell on Craigslist. I put together a good set at my house for a few hundred bucks, which eventually paid for themselves after less than a year since I no longer had a recurring gym membership fee

HIIT/Sprints Rather than all the running, you may want to look into HIIT workouts -- hill sprints are some of the best. They're great at burning fat and increasing muscle building human growth factors.

Less Carbs? Some find that they do better when they restrict carbs. You may want to try lowering your total carb number and staying away from one that spike your insulin (like white bread or pasta).

Protein How much protein are you getting? You should be getting at least 0.7 g per lb bodyweight, so we're talking at least 133 g per day. Given your description of what you eat, I'm guess you're probably much lower than this, more in the 80 g area. But, you need to track this for a few days to give yourself a true idea of what you're eating -- both in calories and in macros

Intermittent Fasting This is totally anecdotal, but I had a similar problem a few months back. I just kept floating in between 180-185 (I'm 5'9") and couldn't break it despite my calorie deficits showing that I should be losing. Then I tried the 5:2 plan of IFing. And I was shocked by how much easier it was for me to create my weekly calorie deficit that way. And my plateau broke. That's what worked for me -- perhaps just coincidental timing, but it worked for me and I've found an easier way to create my deficits while also improving my insulin sensitivity (a benefit of IF -- and one I need since I'm insulin resistant).

These are my ideas -- good luck!

sparrow747

Lindsey -- thank you!!

Great suggestions!! I have a nagging feeling that something is up with my thyroid and possibly Hashimoto's and am seeking medical attention on this soon. The gluten trigger aspect of it is also very interesting to me and I hope I can attempt to eliminate it from my diet to see if I can find improvement.

I fully agree with you on less cardio and more HIIT and heavy lifting!

Looking into upping protein (and better assessing how much I am getting) and especially intermittent fasting NOW.

Thanks so much again, excellent advice.

Fuzzipeg

Please may I second lindsey 1979 thoughts. Like she says the common test is TSH, (thyroid stimulating hormone) Others only test for T4, the probably available form of thyroxine which changes hopefully into T3 the most active form, then just because you have it available they just say all is well. It may sound complicated, it can be. There are so many symptoms which can come down to this gland but when you consider how many systems it is involved in regulating it is hardly surprising. The major symptom for many, weight gain or failure to loose it. The thyroid regulates sugar absorption by the way. And it can be involved in PCOS.............

May I suggest you read from the "Stop the thyroid Madness", site, have a pen and pencil with you so you can note things down. There is such a long list of possible symptoms. You say you have been told your thyroid is fine, "normal range" is often the term used. I hope you are aware you can be told what your test result numbers are. STTM will show you how to understand the numbers and from there you can decide to go for a second opinion or what ever. You could also look to your national thyroid support site there you will also discover more local information.

If left untreated this problem can disrupt your system in major ways. Me I am starting on medication but I have had symptoms for over 40 years much of the time I was never tested and fobbed of with other ineffective treatments. Now I have problems with salicylate this presents itself with issues from foods I used to eat and smells from perfumes, cleaning products and so much more. I find it hard to do everything I used to do, meeting family, being sociable because of other peoples perfumes etc putting me to sleep or making me feel sick. I just hope no one ever goes through what I have.

edited to add. my "possible" wheat issue had proved to be yeast by the salicylate root.

lindsey1979

No problem. And as Fuzzipeg said, check out STTM site. I suspected thyroid issues for over 10 years and was told I was "fine" or "within range" by 4 doctors until I finally pushed back, did more research myself and opted to pay out of pocket for a specialist. My specialist found more than just the thyroid issue -- insulin resistance (which he says is common for a long untreated thyroid disorder) and two major vitamin deficiencies (magnesium and D -- and D deficiency makes it difficult to lose weight too).

It wasn't until I trained for and ran a half marathon and didn't lose a single freakin' pound while consistently having a 700-900 daily deficit, that my husband pushed me to dig deeper and fork out the dough for the specialist as something was obviously "not right" despite my doctor saying otherwise.

A lot of doctors are not well-versed in thyroid conditions and some endos are very old-school, relying solely on TSH. Make sure you get the tests I mentioned and don't be afraid to pay out of pocket for a true specialist. The cost hurt (near $2K after tests and visits), but it was the best money I ever spent and I wish I'd done so 10+ years ago and avoided all the non-sense in between.

Once things worked out, I finally started to lose weight like a "normal" person and it has felt incredibly easy to me compared the all the crazy head banging and crazymaking I was doing before. My hard work was finally paying off.