Overwhelmed with a slight touch of annoyance...

Pifflesmom

Okay...I've been on here now for a month - yay! 10 lbs down...yay! Now, it seems I'm stuck...scale/tape measure isn't moving and I'm getting annoyed/frustrated/want to eat my body weight in kfc.

I have cut WAY back on everything - the worst perpetrators for me are carbs and sodium - I seem to have that under control. I've been bumping up my exercise. I've tracked EVERYTHING (including chewing gum)...

AND NOW...

I was diagnosed about a year ago with PCOS - or polycystic ovarian syndrome. Which, according to the experts (and non experts) makes it VERY VERY VERY DIFFICULT to lose weight. Sigh. Now I read that I should completely scale back my carbs.

OH, FFS! :sad:

I'm desperately trying to do my very best and convert my lifestyle into something healthier - but making so many changes all at once is proving to be a real challenge for me. In all honesty, I don't WANT to cut out all of my carbs - this is a PERMANENT LIFESTYLE change I want to make and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be pretty sad if I can't eat at least a little bit of pasta or have a baked potato.

Any words of wisdom would be most appreciated and I could use a few friends to kick me in the *kitten* when I get whiny :huh:

MzBug

If you want to make it a permanent lifestyle change do it in baby steps. Change one thing for a couple/few weeks. Then add another thing for a couple/few weeks. By the end of those weeks the first thing is a new habit. Keep adding things one at a time until you get to where you want to be. If you start feeling overwhelmed, back off a couple weeks and maintain. If you are anything like me, jumping in and changing everything at once gets overwhelming. After a few weeks things start slipping...after a few months I would give up. It may take a little longer to get to your goal, but you won't be quite so frustrated getting there. :drinker:

Divacarol

Christine... I really don't understand how you keep saying the scale isn't moving... you've lost 12 lbs in 4 weeks! That's an average of 3 lbs per wk. Any Dr or nutritionalist will tell you average weight loss should be between 1/2 lb - 2 lbs a week... You are FLYING! The scale can't move every day.,.. your body needs to catch up... you lose 5 lbs... then the inches have to adjust a bit... then you lose another 5 lbs... the inches adjust and voila! Your pants are looser... you can't lose weight and inches at the same time... your body needs to adjust every time you lose weight... you have absolutely no patience LOL... If I took you to a weight watcher meeting and you complained that the scale wasn't moving but oh... I've lost 12 lbs in 4 weeks... they would stone you in the parking lot... Every week I listen to women who haven't see nthe scale move in 2 or 3 MONTHS>... that's a plateau... you haven't seen one yet. This is not going to be a nice 3 month program.. ready set Oh the weights all gone... it's a lifestyle change and you are doing awesome! Give yourself a break and stay the hell off the scale... measure your self and you will find that when the numbers aren't moving the inches are..... weigh once a week... seriously.... I can't stress enough how well you are doing. and you certainly haven't seen the scale stop moving... you haven't had a week yet that you haven't lost weight.... Girl... I'm gonna come over there and hide your scale... keep doing what you're doing... it's working... trust in it.

MaximalLife

You are under the care of a doctor for a medical condition.
I would not know where to begin.

Also, your diary is closed.
I suspect you may be stifling your metabolism by not eating enough.
That's usually the case.

Remember, getting healthy and fit is actually very simple but it's just hard work.

Just get started by going into settings to Update diet/fitness profile.
Set your goals for 1 lb weight loss per week.
NO MORE!
And eat lean meats, low fat dairy, nuts, whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies.
Do both cardio and resistance exercise.

AND EAT BACK YOUR EXERCISE CALORIES!
Remember, this is not a race, and you can reach your goals if you stick to a good plan as recommended on this site.

You have many people here ready to lend support, answer qustions and discuss any challenges.
You can do this.

All Is Possible!

danigirl1011

Seems like you only noted changing diet. Are you active physically? I would add in work outs or walks and keep pushing intensity. Still...good job on the 10 pounds don't lose hope!

si_puedo

take it easy on yourself. you are doing awesome. 10lbs in one month is AWESOME!!!! slow and steady wins the race.....

LiveEnjoyEndure

If you want to make it a permanent lifestyle change do it in baby steps. Change one thing for a couple/few weeks. Then add another thing for a couple/few weeks. By the end of those weeks the first thing is a new habit. Keep adding things one at a time until you get to where you want to be. If you start feeling overwhelmed, back off a couple weeks and maintain. If you are anything like me, jumping in and changing everything at once gets overwhelming. After a few weeks things start slipping...after a few months I would give up. It may take a little longer to get to your goal, but you won't be quite so frustrated getting there. :drinker:

^^^^ make one good change stick and then move on to the next. You will lose the weight, you just have to be patient :-)

Dayna154

You are doing well with the weight loss, your body may have decided to make a holding pattern for a little bit. A plateau. They will come and go in this process. Dont give up and keep with the changes you have made and keep making them. You will see progress again. And hit other plateaus.
As far as the no carbs, I was told a few months ago I had extreem adrenal fatigue, a dead metobolism, an enlarged thyroid with a cyst, over the top hormonal innbalances as well as a few other things. this was all just not long after I had quit smoking. I was basically told to make the changes or die, I love carbs.. I get no grains, no rice, no beans, little fruit but dairy. I have done realy well with it and have managed to lose 26.5 # so far. I was at a plateu recently and it sucks but I dont give up and keep eating better and exercizing.. and a little more will come off.
I am faced with the life change as well. Do what you can but dont be afraid to push yourself a little also. If you dont you wont make the changes. I did and I felt SO much better days after I changed..
Use vegatables in place of pasts. I use a lot of zuchinni in place of pasta and I dont notice a difference other than I am eating well and like the food and am still losing weight.. : )

sunkisses

Losing weight is, strangely, the cure for your PCOS. Check my profile. At some point your weight will get down low enough that PCOS isn't triggered to kick those hormones in. Good luck. It's definitely not impossible.

reepobob

You are under the care of a doctor for a medical condition.
I would not know where to begin.

Also, your diary is closed.
I suspect you may be stifling your metabolism by not eating enough.
That's usually the case.

Remember, getting healthy and fit is actually very simple but it's just hard work.

Just get started by going into settings to Update diet/fitness profile.
Set your goals for 1 lb weight loss per week.
NO MORE!
And eat lean meats, low fat dairy, nuts, whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies.
Do both cardio and resistance exercise.

AND EAT BACK YOUR EXERCISE CALORIES!
Remember, this is not a race, and you can reach your goals if you stick to a good plan as recommended on this site.

You have many people here ready to lend support, answer qustions and discuss any challenges.
You can do this.

All Is Possible!

Couldn't have said this better myself!

missikay1970

i have PCOS too and it took a MAJOR overhaul of my diet + exercise to shed these 30 lbs in the last 6 mos. IT CAN BE DONE. you do NOT have to give up carbs entirely - that is a myth. the thing you have to do is have your diet overwhelming loaded with fruits, veggies & healthy meats (if you eat meat) having a potato or a slice of bread won't cause you to have PCOS forever. and like you said, you're making lifestyle changes, you can't do something now (like giving up carbs completely) that you can't stick to for life. you NEED carbs, but find healthy ones. don't eat a piece of apple pie. eat an apple. don't eat doritos, choose cheese & healthy rice crackers instead. i have found that my cycles are 100% regular now that i am eating right and exercising. i have turned PCOS around, WITHOUT meds. good luck

adriadawn19

you are doing good as having lost 10 pounds. I am in the same boat as you with the PCOS. I found out about 3 years ago that I have it and it does make it difficult to lose weight but you just have to have patience. I have lost 24 pounds in 3 months and i still have a quite a bit left. Just do you best to eat healthy and exercise as often as you can. If you need support you can add me as a friend, I use this site everyday. Good luck reaching your goal

mistersmithsbox

I'm gonna be the bearer of the message no one wants to say: if you are eating healthily and you are as physically active as you canbe, you are getting healthy. Weight-loss is magical and wonderful and no, I'm not saying you can be 300# and be at top form. What I am saying is that you should put health above a number on a scale. Are you finally getting adequate nutrition and exercise? That's better than any weight-loss you may or may not have. You can lose weight all that you'd like but that doesn't mean you're healthy. Doing the right things for your body is.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

If you want to make it a permanent lifestyle change do it in baby steps. Change one thing for a couple/few weeks. Then add another thing for a couple/few weeks. By the end of those weeks the first thing is a new habit. Keep adding things one at a time until you get to where you want to be. If you start feeling overwhelmed, back off a couple weeks and maintain. If you are anything like me, jumping in and changing everything at once gets overwhelming. After a few weeks things start slipping...after a few months I would give up. It may take a little longer to get to your goal, but you won't be quite so frustrated getting there. :drinker:

This. You need to do this gradually so you don't get overwhelmed and give up. If your doctor said to scale back a lot more on carbs then let yourself have a little more of the other things you've been restricting.

Pifflesmom

Thanks for the support, words of wisdom and kicks in the backside :happy:

I know it's a change, but I've never been the most patient person on the planet (ask anyone)...so, I guess I'm being impatient with the whole process...but I am sticking with it (which is more than I've done in the past) and have no intention of giving up...I feel really good with all the healthy food in my system - and I guess that means a lot too! :bigsmile:

Sandytoes71

This :}

Christine... I really don't understand how you keep saying the scale isn't moving... you've lost 12 lbs in 4 weeks! That's an average of 3 lbs per wk. Any Dr or nutritionalist will tell you average weight loss should be between 1/2 lb - 2 lbs a week... You are FLYING! The scale can't move every day.,.. your body needs to catch up... you lose 5 lbs... then the inches have to adjust a bit... then you lose another 5 lbs... the inches adjust and voila! Your pants are looser... you can't lose weight and inches at the same time... your body needs to adjust every time you lose weight... you have absolutely no patience LOL... If I took you to a weight watcher meeting and you complained that the scale wasn't moving but oh... I've lost 12 lbs in 4 weeks... they would stone you in the parking lot... Every week I listen to women who haven't see nthe scale move in 2 or 3 MONTHS>... that's a plateau... you haven't seen one yet. This is not going to be a nice 3 month program.. ready set Oh the weights all gone... it's a lifestyle change and you are doing awesome! Give yourself a break and stay the hell off the scale... measure your self and you will find that when the numbers aren't moving the inches are..... weigh once a week... seriously.... I can't stress enough how well you are doing. and you certainly haven't seen the scale stop moving... you haven't had a week yet that you haven't lost weight.... Girl... I'm gonna come over there and hide your scale... keep doing what you're doing... it's working... trust in it.

mgmlap

First off...you are doing awesome!. I too have PCOS and managed to love the first 30 without going low-carb..the last 10..yea..went to low carb.

The whole reason we are told to go low carb..is cause our bodies do not use carbs as others..it converts it to fat..rather than energy.

I do a Primal diet during the week..and a gluten free during the weekends..I have maintained my weight since Thanksgiving..and its awesome

I am also on metformin, armour thyroid (hypothyroidism) and am taking choline with inositol..

Hope that helps

khinchey

So I'm driving home almost in tears, frustrated as hell 'cause this is the second week the scale hadn't moved. I hop on here just to see if maybe I'm doing something wrong and this blog pops up over to the left and I think...hmmm, that sounds like something I might need to read.... Thank God for this post. I was 5 min. away from grabbing some chips and saying, "the hell with it"! It didn't help that I just read a friend's post of FB about how it took her longer to get ready today 'cause all her clothes kept falling off of her and she's lost 50 lbs and blah, blah, blah! As happy as I am for her, the more depressed I became with myself. I hadn't thought about the whole body adjusting to the inches thing. THANK YOU!!! I needed to see this... you were there today for me when I was ready to "let go of the rope"!! Thanks again.

Fatbuster205

Oh Sweetheart!
I was diagnosed with PCOD at 22! The Doctor basically said you will never have children! I later discovered I had a really "light" form, although I never did have children because I never married!! That said I had everything removed because of my 22 week "pregnancy" with Herbie, my fibroid! He was big enough to cause a total hysterectomy! Yes PCOD can cause facial hair, weight gain because the female hormones do not counter act the natural male hormones that every woman has! You need to talk to your Doctor. But pcod does not mean "I HAVE THIS DISEASE THEREFORE I AM ALLOWED TO EAT EVERYTHING IN FRONT OF ME AND USE MY DISEASE AS AN EXCUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!" I don't know what degree of the disease you have. Just fight it every single inch, pound, whatever! This diagnosis is just making the challenge more interesting! Good luck!

Dauntlessness

I have PCOS too.

One of the biggest helps for me was being on birth control. When I first went on it, I started seeing immediate weight loss results. I got reminded how important it is this last month when my doctor didn't call it in to the pharmacy and I went a week without taking it. I gained like 5 pounds! It was crazy. Thank goodness its coming back off!

I found that's cutting the carbs back makes a big difference in my weight loss. Peanut butter...might as well forget it. If I eat that stuff, even a couple times a week, I will not lose weight at all. You don't have to get rid of carbs all together just eat less of them or switch them up for a green veggie. Squashes are one on my fav replacement.

I am very much against the whole all or nothing mindset with those types of things. Everything in moderation. If you cant live without a potato for the rest of your life, do not cut it out. Learn how to prepare it healthier or eat less of it. What happens is people cut the foods they love out of their diets and deprive themselves. Then...they want to eat their weight in KFC hehe.

I have one meal and one dessert a week that's I eat whatever I want, no matter the calories. The rest of the time...I try to be good. Sometimes I win sometimes I lose but its all about balance.

Hope this helps. GL!

BSU_BroncoMisa

I have PCOS too, so I know your struggle. You've received some great advice here. Don't give up!