Reasons to Feel Proud (Venting)

Joannie30

I weigh myself every Monday morning, before breakfast and after going to the bathroom. I have been losing weight consistently every week. However, for the past two weeks, despite all my efforts I have not lost anything. I'm writing this post as a bit of a therapeutic treatment for how i'm feeling today (exceptionally de-motivated) I hope that putting my positive achievements down in writing will help me to recognize the real changes i've made and make me feel better about myself. So here goes...

As a teen, I was VERY skinny indeed (size 8) and nothing I ate ever seemed to change that. I stupidly took full advantage of this and ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. This, i suppose is where my problems began...

By my mid 20's, after all that time of eating whatever i liked (mostly sugar and refined carb filled foods, microwave meals etc), i began to realise that whenever i went for a long period of time without anything sugary, i got shaky, got headaches etc and my answer to this was, of course, more sugar.... The only things I ever drank were fruit juice (from concentrate) and Orange Lucozade. I went to the bathroom only once a day. I have continued this way, without any thought for the consequences for my health and I am now 30 years old. By this stage in my life my eating habits have been disgusting. My sugar dependency has escalated to such an extent that at my heaviest a few months ago I weighed around 210lbs and I wear size 18 clothes. In recent months, i have really woken up to what I have been doing to my body. I would get horrendous headaches, heartburn and have been frequently losing the feeling in my hands and feet recently. I have also recently been diagnosed with PCOS.

So I have now given myself a good shake and started forcing myself to make positive changes. I now drink 6-8 glasses of water/other healthy fluids per day (i now go to the bathroom several times a day which i think is a good thing?), i have cut out refined carbs as much as i possibly can, i have cut my sugar intake gradually and now rarely exceed 24g per day (where i was previously having MUCH, MUCH more than that!). I eat wholegrains, veggies, lean meats, home cooked meals using healthy ingredients. I think carefully about everything I put in my body and the impact it may have. I take a high-strength multi-vitamin every morning and I MAKE myself eat breakfast. (something I have never done). Since making these changes I have noticed that my headaches have reduced significantly. I now get minor headaches occasionally instead of full on migraines every week. I can't remember the last time I had heartburn/indigestion.

It has taken me a long time to realise just what I was doing to myself but now that the penny has FINALLY dropped, I do not intend on going back to the way I was ever again. I feel ashamed of the way I have been disrespecting my body but i can only hope that the changes i have made and am continuing to make will ensure that my body forgives me in time.

I know this has been quite a long post, but i felt i needed to vent this... Hope that's ok...
Thanks to anyone who has taken the time to read this post.

Jx

Twiinkless

Bump!
Treating your body well is the best lesson I think anyone can learn!

k2charmed4u

Don't be disheartened. Everyone has that time when they level out (i've had that many times). But you should be proud of what you've acheived so far and always keep that in mind. I find when i level out I need to make a slight change to exercise or diet to kick start it again. e.g. I was walking an hour a day and that was enough for me (as well as healthy eating) to lose a consitant 2-3lbs per week then for about 3 weeks nothing happened. So I changed 2 walks a week to 2 bike rides a week instead and BOOM! The weightloss kicked in again.

Try a little trial and error to your exercise routine you'll be surprised how little changes make a huge difference :happy:

vestarocks

Those are some major changes. I'm very impressed. You should be proud.

I don't know if you are looking for suggestions as you really didn't ask for advice. ...but here it comes (stop reading if you don't want it).

I looked at a few days worth of your diary. I would suggest trying to eat closer to your 1200 calories everyday. I would also suggest you start incorporating some more activity (and eating back those calories).

Anyway it's worth a shot if you want to shake up your routine.

Best of luck to you.

chrishgt4

With migraines, for me it is lack of water in the main part coupled with lack of food (which actually comes about through exercising and not eating properly around that).

So nutrition is a big fix for them. I'm sure you already have coping strategies for them, but where I used to jump straight onto the ibuprofen, instead when I get the flashing lights now I immediately drink as much water as I can fit in - like 3 or 4 pints, and grab something carby - a few slices of toast or even a mars bar and a bag of crisps or something.

Half the time now the headache never even materialises.

JadeRabbit08

Joanne ...eat more.... its very hard to meet nutritional requirements on 800-900 day calorie intake. Calculate your BMR and your TDEE, eat more than your BMR and less than your TDEE. Believe it or not while you may be stalling on the very small amount of calories you are taking in now, if you up your calories to the correct amount your body needs and give your body a couple of weeks to adjust you will see your weight start to go down again. (Unless you have a underlying medical condition).

If you don't know what BMR and TDEE is and how to calculate it try any of these three groups. They are all good and the people are friendly.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3105-eating-for-future-you

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/34-women-eating-2-000-calories-per-day

Cheers and wishing you the best of luck

Joannie30

Thanks everyone. I know that was a heck of a lengthy post (i tend to go on a bit lol) so truly, thank you to each and every one of you for taking the time to read it.

I didn't ask for advice in my post but of course any help/advice anyone can give me is greatly appreciated. I need all the help I can get lol. I'm a clever girl but I am a real thicko when it comes to nutrition and looking after myself lol. I am learning though....

One question i suppose i could ask is about exercise. I have quite an active job as i'm a nursery nurse and i look after roughly 70 3-5 year old kids per day, 3 days a week (with help of course lol) As a result of all the running around i often do at work, on my days off i tend to get a bit lazy and think that i don't need to do much exercise (apart from the housework i do when i'm off of course). I'm pretty sure this is my thicko side coming out again though? lol.

Swissmiss

I stayed at the same weight for a few weeks and then had a loss of 7 pounds. Stay with it. You will lose more weight soon. By the way...I didn't do anything different when I was not losing and when I did lose the 7 pounds.

Joannie30

Joanne ...eat more.... its very hard to meet nutritional requirements on 800-900 day calorie intake. Calculate your BMR and your TDEE, eat more than your BMR and less than your TDEE. Believe it or not while you may be stalling on the very small amount of calories you are taking in now, if you up your calories to the correct amount your body needs and give your body a couple of weeks to adjust you will see your weight start to go down again. (Unless you have a underlying medical condition).

If you don't know what BMR and TDEE is and how to calculate it try any of these three groups. They are all good and the people are friendly.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3105-eating-for-future-you

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/34-women-eating-2-000-calories-per-day

Cheers and wishing you the best of luck

Thank you! This is something else I really struggle with. I'm afraid of carbs and sugar now so I tend to stop eating for the day when i see carbs start to go over 100 and i try as hard as i can not to go over my sugar. It often leaves me struggling to even reach 1000 cals a day and I KNOW this is wrong, but i just don't know how to meet my cals without raising carbs and sugar... As a result of insulin resistance from PCOS i have read that i really need to be careful of carbs and sugar...

Sorry, i really must seem like i'm thick huh? lol

bellefille

Joanne ...eat more.... its very hard to meet nutritional requirements on 800-900 day calorie intake. Calculate your BMR and your TDEE, eat more than your BMR and less than your TDEE. Believe it or not while you may be stalling on the very small amount of calories you are taking in now, if you up your calories to the correct amount your body needs and give your body a couple of weeks to adjust you will see your weight start to go down again. (Unless you have a underlying medical condition).

If you don't know what BMR and TDEE is and how to calculate it try any of these three groups. They are all good and the people are friendly.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3105-eating-for-future-you

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/34-women-eating-2-000-calories-per-day

Cheers and wishing you the best of luck

Thank you! This is something else I really struggle with. I'm afraid of carbs and sugar now so I tend to stop eating for the day when i see carbs start to go over 100 and i try as hard as i can not to go over my sugar. It often leaves me struggling to even reach 1000 cals a day and I KNOW this is wrong, but i just don't know how to meet my cals without raising carbs and sugar... As a result of insulin resistance from PCOS i have read that i really need to be careful of carbs and sugar...

Sorry, i really must seem like i'm thick huh? lol

Hi Joanne,

You do need to stop putting yourself down... you are not thick, just learning like the rest of us . If you are on your feet as much as you indicate, you really need to eat a little more. 800 calories is too little. If you would like to up your calories without eating more carbs and sugar, try eating more protein e.g. grilled chicken, grilled fish, egg white omelette etc.

anabell31

Not thick at all! This is a learning experience and that's why you're here . If you've ever been on allrecipes.com, they have a section for special dietary needs and have a TON of tasty recipes that are specifically low-carb/sugar.

Diabetes runs rampant in my family so I was watching my sugar super close. But it's really disheartening to see that big red number every day... So for now I've taken it off my diary and am working on keeping all my other macros under control. Sugar will fall in its place as soon as I wean myself off the sodas and more-than-occasional junk treat

JadeRabbit08

Thank you! This is something else I really struggle with. I'm afraid of carbs and sugar now so I tend to stop eating for the day when i see carbs start to go over 100 and i try as hard as i can not to go over my sugar. It often leaves me struggling to even reach 1000 cals a day and I KNOW this is wrong, but i just don't know how to meet my cals without raising carbs and sugar... As a result of insulin resistance from PCOS i have read that i really need to be careful of carbs and sugar...

Sorry, i really must seem like i'm thick huh? lol

Not thick at all . Joanne ignore the fit look Avatar thats my inspiration pic. There is so much info out there and we are all on a learning curve. Me too. I started off on 1200 (and was very pleased with myself on days I went below that) then went to 1400 after health complications forced me to. My weight stalled until I went right up to 1800 then it started to come off.
Even when losing weight we still need to fuel. I am no experience of PCOS and would be interested to know what other sufferers do to work around this problem.

Joannie30

Thank you! This is something else I really struggle with. I'm afraid of carbs and sugar now so I tend to stop eating for the day when i see carbs start to go over 100 and i try as hard as i can not to go over my sugar. It often leaves me struggling to even reach 1000 cals a day and I KNOW this is wrong, but i just don't know how to meet my cals without raising carbs and sugar... As a result of insulin resistance from PCOS i have read that i really need to be careful of carbs and sugar...

Sorry, i really must seem like i'm thick huh? lol

My avatar is also an inspiration pic. Its how i looked when i was 25. There are more recent pics of me on here but i greatly dislike them

Not thick at all . Joanne ignore the fit look Avatar thats my inspiration pic. There is so much info out there and we are all on a learning curve. Me too. I started off on 1200 (and was very pleased with myself on days I went below that) then went to 1400 after health complications forced me to. My weight stalled until I went right up to 1800 then it started to come off.
Even when losing weight we still need to fuel. I am no experience of PCOS and would be interested to know what other sufferers do to work around this problem.

szahariadis

Your post is alot of how I feel. I'm upset with myself for disrespecting my body for a period of time as well. I too have PCOS - was diagnosed in 2008. I don't know how much research you've done on it, but that will effect how you gain/lose weight. I'll go through weeks of losing and then boom, nothing happens for a few weeks. Its the hormonal imbalance. Its a pain and can be very de-motivating. I turn 32 in a couple of weeks myself. Its funny what we do as we grow up that we dont realize the impact until we hit about 30ish - and then its, OMG, what have I done/ If you ever need to talk, I'm here. I completely understand how you feel.

Joannie30

Your post is alot of how I feel. I'm upset with myself for disrespecting my body for a period of time as well. I too have PCOS - was diagnosed in 2008. I don't know how much research you've done on it, but that will effect how you gain/lose weight. I'll go through weeks of losing and then boom, nothing happens for a few weeks. Its the hormonal imbalance. Its a pain and can be very de-motivating. I turn 32 in a couple of weeks myself. Its funny what we do as we grow up that we dont realize the impact until we hit about 30ish - and then its, OMG, what have I done/ If you ever need to talk, I'm here. I completely understand how you feel.

Omg you are so right! When i was in my late teens/early twenties especially i just thought i was infallible and that sugar was my friend. I never ever put on any weight/inches. Boy am i paying for that dim-witted attitude now... Hindsight is a b**ch, huh? lol