I need help... PLEASE

rubberducky88

Hi all,
Ok I will begin by saying that I don't religiously count calories and I have mild PCOS.

I weigh 160lbs and I am 5'4 so I have about 20lbs to lose until I am a healthy weight.

For the past 7 months I just cannot seem to shift any weight - I'll lose say 2lbs in a week, then i'll put 3lbs back on even though i'm not changing how i'm eating!!

I know this is very vague and I know the first thing people are going to tell me to do is count every tiny thing but I know for a fact that i'm not over eating..... this is my menu for yesterday...

Breakfast
Bran flakes with semi-skimmed milk and a tbs of brown unrefined sugar

Snack
Banana

Lunch
Salad (home grown lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, raw carrot and mixed beans with tuna - no salad dressing)

Snack
Apple

Dinner
Home made lamb kofta's (say 150g of minced lamb at the most) with 50g of quinoa rice and 2 tbs of peas

Snack
38cal highlights hot choc drink
4 pieces of dark choc (60%)
2 rich tea fingers.


Can someone please tell me where I am going wrong?
I walk 3 miles everyday to and from work at a relatively fast pace and I run once a week and swim once a week if I can.

The only thing that really changes about my diet is I will have 5tbls of probiotic low fat yoghurt for breakfast and a different dinner on different days.

Any suggestions would really help! xx

rubberducky88

Oh and I forgot to say I drink at least 2l of water a day and green tea as well!

Fattack

How can you have mild PCOS? Have you been tested? If you have been diagnosed with PCOS, you are possibly insulin resistant and could adopt a low GI diet for good results. Secondly, it looks like you're not eating enough, track your calories, track your exercise and try to meet your net.

CARNAT22

How many calories do you eat per day?

(put all the food you listed above into your daily calorie food diary and see how many calories that comes out as? Don't forget to put in your 3 miles daily walk into your exercise log)

I suspect you are not eating enough!

To lose 20lbs you should be eating at least 1200 cals per day, plus eating back any exercise calories and you prob burn 100+ with your daily walking (I walk 2 miles per day at a medium pace and burn 100 cals) so you should be on at least 1350 cals per day.

Don't take my word for it though - log all your food and exercise then let MFP do the calculating!

northstar699

I'm guessing you're not eating enough. Hate to say it, but you really do have to count to be sure. I also like how MFP breaks down the amount of fat, protein, carb, sodium, etc. that you're taking in a day. It's an eye-opener, try it!

littlemissgreedy

Have you tried having your thyroid checked? I was much the same as you, dieting to stay the same weight and then gain 3lbs if I took a few days off. Got my blood tested and I have an underactive thyroid, have now started on meds to try and balance out the issue. Might not be the case but I would keep it in mind if this pattern continues.

robin52077

I agree with those who say you may not be eating ENOUGH.
Your body needs fuel to survive. You may be depriving it of needed nutrition. LOG it ALL and see where you are deficient.

rubberducky88

I have mild PCOS because I was tested when I was 17, had ultrasounds etc, but it is only mild as i'm not obese and not overly hairy so i'm lucky.

Ok so i've just put my food in for yesterday (take a look, I think my diary is public) and it says I ate 1429! I think this is enough food?

I don't see the point of eating when i'm not hungry... and in fact, MFP says that i've gone OVER my calories.

:-( I don't get it!!!

morganadk2_deleted

Are you eating to enough?

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficit


This is just a part of it! please read the link above


Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle tone, and reducing fat. This means is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode)


Also this might be helpful http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/00trayn/view/how-to-bust-a-3-month-plateau-87677

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat



Good luck on your journey


By the way my daughter was told she had PCOS, it did not stop her losing over 100lbs!

Also i'm the same hieght as you i aet 1500 a day and my exersie calorie and i'm losing !


please feel free to look at my diary

notevenpretty20

This has happened to me a few times, once i didn't lose a single pound in nearly two months and there was no reason why. I just kept going (didn't have mfp or twitter for advice so literally felt i was stumbling in the dark) but all of a sudden order was restored and i started losing again. I dont understand why i didnt lose, or why i started losing again, it just sort of happened. So don't give up

jasonweinberg

i didn't check your diary but my recommendation (and yes i know many don't share this recommendation) is cut back on the fruits and sweets. i bet you are way over on sugars. consuming sugar inhibits weight-loss (imho). on the other hand, as others mentioned, weight-loss naturally comes in ebbs and flows and the general recommendation is to stay the course, keep watching your calories and exercising and eventually it will come...

rubberducky88

i didn't check your diary but my recommendation (and yes i know many don't share this recommendation) is cut back on the fruits and sweets. i bet you are way over on sugars. consuming sugar inhibits weight-loss (imho). on the other hand, as others mentioned, weight-loss naturally comes in ebbs and flows and the general recommendation is to stay the course, keep watching your calories and exercising and eventually it will come...

I'm actually only ever over on Protein when I bring myself to track usually!

dad106

I'd try tracking your sugar and salt too. Some of it may be water retention. Like others said try eating more.. I saw that for today that you had 400 calories left or something like that.. and thats a lot. Try add a bit more to each meal and see what happens.

melgibson

I don't see enough protein there, I think you need to reset your protein, carb, fat ratio, it must be very carb heavy, I also agree with the guy who said your sugar is high, it is high.

You might find you do better to replace some carbs with protein and cut out the sugar on the cereal. 1 Tbsp of sugar sounds loads to me.

I personally don't think eating more will help you, unless its only extra lean protein.

anu_6986

Maybe your body is used to your routine?

Try calorie zigzagging? (Consume little more calories one day, and reduce it another day, but keep the weekly aggregate same as before).

Try varying your workouts, if you have been walking 3 miles a day for 7 months, your body is probably used to it. Try adding some other exercise on a few days.

Hope this helps.

rubberducky88

Ok so most of the snacks I eat during the day are fruits - then I have a couple of biscuits with my tea/hot choc at night...

So what snacks can you suggest that aren't fruit during the day, that aren't too carlorie heavy?

Thanks for all your help xx

rmstorey

I would agree with what others have said: you should increase your ratio of protein to carbs. It's not an exact science -- some folks do better with more carbs, some do better with more protein. If this is how you usually eat and it isn't working, reduce your carbs and increase your protein until it does work.

In general, carbs are used for energy (and excess is stored as glucose in your fat cells), whereas protein helps build muscle. By decreasing carbs, you force your body to burn glucose for energy instead of using what you've eaten, and by increasing protein you help ensure that the burned fat is replaced with muscle.

jasonweinberg

I'm actually only ever over on Protein when I bring myself to track usually!

i did check your diary after all and it wasn't showing sugar as a category. i believe you can add one or two more categories so you should consider it. mfp sets your sugars very low and i believe they do that for a reason. in addition to the fruits you added refined sugar twice and had a couple of sweet snacks. it doesn't take much to go over on sugar its actually very easy to do it with fruit alone.

jasonweinberg

Ok so most of the snacks I eat during the day are fruits - then I have a couple of biscuits with my tea/hot choc at night...

So what snacks can you suggest that aren't fruit during the day, that aren't too carlorie heavy?

Thanks for all your help xx

i responded to the previous post before i saw this one. good low-sugar snacks: fiber one yoplait yogurt 5 g of fiber 5 g of protein 60 cal, atkins daybreak bars 6 g of fiber, 10 g of protein, 140 cal, and i know it doesn't sound very "snack like" but slices of turkey breast, pieces of chicken breast, half a chicken sausage...these are all low cal, low carb, and high protein. protein fills the stomach longer and ehlps to maintain/ build muscle while dieting. carbs while pleasing and giving temporary energy don't keep you feeling full long at all...

just my two cents...it worked for me.

jasonweinberg

i see you did add sugar to your categories and you can see you are over. just watch it and if nothing else don't add sugar or eat foods with added sugar. and def focus on getting more protein. certain foods are so rich in protein that if you eat them regularly you will have no problem getting your proteins...

Exit_now

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Heatherbelle_87

Track your sodium as well. Amazingly I didnt see that on here.

Yes there is such thing as mild PCOS for those questioning it.

To the OP. Are you being followed up on your PCOS? regularly having blood sugar levels and thyroid checks? If you havent been checked since you were 17 Id say its time to make that appointment

vonigohcr

One other thing to look at is stress & sleep. Folks have mentioned the starvation/famine response which is just a form of body stress response. If you are carrying a lot of environmental stress (job, kids, partner, money etc.) and/or are not getting your full night's sleep (for most it is 8 hrs but can range +/- 1 hr or so) then your body goes into it's stress response, lowers metabolism and packs every excess calorie it can scrounge into storage.

I was working a very stressful contract with little sleep and my BMI climbed to 35... I changed jobs and I dropped to 25 in about 8 months... My job is again stressful & I am down to 5 hrs sleep a night and I have climbed back to 29. Over all of this, my eating and exercise patterns haven't changed much.

There are a bunch of studies linking sleep deprivation to weight gain... google this if you want... there was a good study out of University of Bristol back in '06.

Just a thought.

Andee08

Track your sodium as well. Amazingly I didnt see that on here.

Yes there is such thing as mild PCOS for those questioning it.

To the OP. Are you being followed up on your PCOS? regularly having blood sugar levels and thyroid checks? If you havent been checked since you were 17 Id say its time to make that appointment

I agree with this. The thing with PCOS is that the hormone levels can fluctuate. Mine got increasingly worse in just 1 years time and had to be put onto Metformin. I went from mild to pretty sever (still didn't gain weight and don't have the hair issue) During that year I was watching everything I ate and working out at least 5 times a week and I lost a whopping 3 pounds. You truly need to be checked on an annual basis and more frequently if you are taking medication for it. Just remember with PCOS the symptoms will show differently in different people.

rubberducky88

Track your sodium as well. Amazingly I didnt see that on here.

Yes there is such thing as mild PCOS for those questioning it.

To the OP. Are you being followed up on your PCOS? regularly having blood sugar levels and thyroid checks? If you havent been checked since you were 17 Id say its time to make that appointment

I agree with this. The thing with PCOS is that the hormone levels can fluctuate. Mine got increasingly worse in just 1 years time and had to be put onto Metformin. I went from mild to pretty sever (still didn't gain weight and don't have the hair issue) During that year I was watching everything I ate and working out at least 5 times a week and I lost a whopping 3 pounds. You truly need to be checked on an annual basis and more frequently if you are taking medication for it. Just remember with PCOS the symptoms will show differently in different people.

My doctor wasn't very helpful at all to be honest - it was kinda a 'so you have mild pcos, it will improve if you lose some weight and you may or may not have fertility problems" and that was the end of it... I wasn't told to come back or anything. I was put on the pill, but I came off of that last November (to attempt to not try to conceive but not prevent either, which is part of the reason I'm trying to lose some weight),
Ever since coming off the pill this is when its become nearly impossible for me to lose weight - so I definitely have a huge feeling that my hormones are playing a massive part in this struggle.
As it's only a mild form, I don't think there's anything I can do or the doctors will do for me (NHS doctors in the uk are pretty much reluctant to suggest anything that may cost money in my experience!)

I've upped my calories to lose 0.5lb a week to see if I was eating too little and if this helps.
Time to struggle on!

Thanks all for taking the time to read though xx