Needing some advice and support

Hello everyone, I've been struggling with my weight since I was a preschooler, despite the wonderful nutrition and serving sizes my health conscious mother gave me. At twelve I weighed 170 pounds and was constantly made fun of by my middle school gym coaches. I played soccer, was on the swim team for long distance swimming, played basketball, and played pickle ball throughout school. When I was 14 I went on a very strict diet and got my weight down to 155 pounds. My junior year of high school my weight spiraled out of control again and I've consistently gained weight. I'm in college to become a radiography technician, and I study very hard. I'm 19, soon to turn twenty, and at my highest weight. I weigh 214 pounds, whenever I look in the mirror or see a picture of myself I feel angry, ashamed, and extremely depressed. I become so depressed seeing pictures of myself that I'll cry my whole thirty minute drive home from my parent's house. I have no bigger fears than dying young, and at this pace I know it will happen. I want to travel and see the world, I don't want to get diabetes and die.

I have a firm understanding of portion control and I eat at most 1500 calories a day, most days I'm around the 1300 calorie mark. I also do a pio class on Tuesday evening for sixty minutes, and I walk 5 miles twice a week on my local greenway/hiking trail system. Last summer I had some blood work done for my thyroid, and my doctor put me on hypothyroid medicine, then sent me to an endocrinologist. My endocrinologist is a great man, very entertaining and he explains things thoroughly. After three months I became hyperthyroid and was ordered off of the medicine. He ordered a full hormone scan, during the blood drawing process I fainted and had a syncope (Seizure due to lack of blood and oxygen delivered to the brain), and it came back showing that my prolactin levels were high. Prolactin is a hormone that normally nonpregnant girls my age have in low numbers, around 25 to 30 mcgs, mine was over 200. I had an mri done on my Pituitary Gland, in which during the IV stick I fainted again, and am currently waiting until the 7th of October for the results. Prior to this month I had never fainted before, and blood work had never even caused me to be light headed. I'm beyond stressed about my weight, and am ashamed to say I would be happy to have a pituitary tumor because then I would have some sort explanation of why I can no longer control my weight.

I have a few questions now. Is there anything else I can do with my diet? Other than going on some heavily restrictive diet, I live in a small town and we have a limited selection of groceries and I'm not able to travel two hours to go to the nearest health food store every week, let alone every month. I also have a limited budget, I eating what I believe to be fairly healthy on only 60 dollars a week, mostly vegetables, eggs, fish, and milk. I have a soft spot for sweets, so I try to limit them to a lollipop, a fruit popsicle, or frozen grapes. Is there any other exercises I can do? I would love to go to the gym more, but it's 40 minutes away and my class schedule is hectic, so I chose to take my town's walking and hiking path twice a week. I've measured my walks and each walk I burn around 600 to 700 calories. I would try running, but even my walks give me severe right hip pain. What other things can I discuss with my endocrinologist and doctors that can get me on the right path? I feel miserable as a 19 year old, and I just want to be happy and feel pretty for once.

I'd like to thank you for reading this, and I am willing to accept any advice at all you can give me, as well as your words of support. Thank you again.

Replies

  • LeonCX
    LeonCX Posts: 862 Member
    You seem well informed about good nutrition, I don't understand why you can't lose weight on a 1500 calorie diet. Most people answering these type of posts will suggest that you may be off in the amount of calories you are taking in, and that you should weigh, weigh, weigh your food and log it.
    I know about pituitary problems because I had a brain tumor near that area. If it is a pituitary tumor causing your high prolactin levels, they should check your cortisol levels also. Because this can cause weight gain. (look up Cushings Syndrome)
    Hope you recover soon, and I wish the best for you.
  • Memowe
    Memowe Posts: 137 Member
    Thank you for the advice! I will definitely make sure to check my scale to see if it's readings are still accurate, having had it for four years it might not be. I have been checked for my cortisol levels and they were on the high end of normal, but still in the normal range.
  • LeonCX
    LeonCX Posts: 862 Member
    Hi again. Log in every day, write in every thing you eat. It's the best way to be accurate! I don't think you should be any stricter than what you are doing now. Here is a good calculator someone here created to determine the calories you should be consuming to maintain or lose weight, based on your age, current weight, and height.
    http://www.weightloss-calculator.net

    Some people here swear eating low carb has helped them lose, when a lower calorie diet didn't. Maybe check into that?
  • Memowe
    Memowe Posts: 137 Member
    Thank you so much again! That's a very detailed calculator, and I will try to weed out the carbs in my diet, but I will log my food everyday! I can't express how much I appreciate your advice.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Make sure you are weighing and measuring everything, so you're sure you're at a deficit.
  • runningjen74
    runningjen74 Posts: 312 Member
    Sorry this is long, but hopefully will give you food for thought. Don't worry too much about losing weight for now, but focus on getting better. The weight will follow in time if you track your food and eat at a deficit.

    I'd a really upset hormonal system for many years. In hind sight, when it started it was stress related, then I eat worse when I am stressed, and the cycle continues. I'd a complete lack of menses, very regular headaches, started with hyper thyroid, then went hypo. Was told later that I've PCOS. Didn't have problems with prolactin - though i did suspect it at the time. All came to a head when I got a couple of migraines that put me in hospital they were that bad.

    Roll on 10 years, things had mainly settled down. But still very very irregular menses, 2-3 headaches a week - minor ones, with a couple of serious ones a month. But generally life had gone on and I just thought this was the way I was. This low level of sickness was my new normal baseline.

    I went to see a Personal Trainer about 18 months ago, within 6-8 weeks my cycle normalised itself and the headaches cleared up! It was night and day. What did he tell me to do
    - Lift weights
    - Eat more protein (I had been vegetarian) I now aim to eat 100gm a day, ball park.
    - Eat less carbs, 100 to 150Gm max
    - Eat a lot more fat, in particular avocados, oily fish, etc.. [ he suggested at the time 30% protein, 20% carbs, 50% fat - but I think he's changed his focus to more carbs in recent times.... I guess start with something and see how you feel and then change it]
    - Cut the gluten - Essentially I've found cutting processed foods helps a lot. This essentially cuts most of the gluten. I focus on eating nutrient dense foods. I find when I eat paleo it helps me stay on the straight and narrow and keeps things in check, but I don't always succeed.
    - Cut the sugar.

    When I first started with him, he had referred a couple of times to, we need to get the hormonal effect. To be honest, I'm not sure he realised the impact it had. I did tell him, and wrote to him afterwards so he knew the positive effect it had on me and to thank him.

    I don't think I needed to do all of these, but I can never work out which is the 'one' that fixed me. So I keep doing all of them. If I let things slide, which I have done a couple of times - it takes a few weeks, but the headaches come back, etc.... For me the choice is stay on track, or be sick. Having something 'bad' once or twice a week is no big deal at all for me, but staying on track 90% of the time is what makes me feel good.
  • Memowe
    Memowe Posts: 137 Member
    Thank you both for your suggestions! I'll really look in to a paleo diet and check with my local grocery stores to see if it will work for me. I will also start lifting weights, I have always focused more on cardio and Pilate classes. I also try to stay away from processed foods and make most things myself. Again, thank you both!
  • runningjen74
    runningjen74 Posts: 312 Member
    If you find it too expensive or can't go to the gym try body weight exercises instead of lifting - google is your friend. Another alternative is Trx, I have a trx (or his cheaper brother) set up at home so I can always do strength work. I wouldn't avoid pilates or cardio if you enjoy them, just lift as well.

    If you find food too expensive, consider making it cheaper by buying cheaper cuts of meat/fish, veggies in season. I eat quite a bit of pulses - I don't find they upset me and they are cheap sources of protein - think hummus, added to home made soups, etc...

    hormones/endocrine system are a pain to get sorted - but I promise it's worth continuing. A diary can help you to see patterns - Sleep/how your feeling/other symptoms. Losing weight is about eating less calories than you need, health is about the quality of the calories that you eat. Focus on health for a while, the weight loss will follow naturally.
  • soosun
    soosun Posts: 129 Member
    Walk every day and go a little farther every day to a two mile a day minimum.

    Eat the same breakfast and lunch menu everyday to lower your food stress.

    Keep your sugar grams under 35 grams per day, count all sugars, processed and/or those found in every food you put in your mouth. Give up all juices, diet drinks and drink only water. Difficult but doable, and if you are eating a lot of fruits you will be eating a lot of sugar grams and you will probably have a headache for five days due to sugar withrawal. I am assuming you are posting all your food on the food tracker and you can all day long how much sugar grams you are eating.

    Walk every day

    Weight yourself today and measure your waist. Wait a 7 and then weigh yourself again and measure your waist. Compare and see if you get any results.

    Do this for one week and see if things are different or the same. Keep going for another week.

    Try on all yoru clothes and get rid of those that are not working for you as you are now. Go buy some new clothes, get a hair and makeup make over to cheer yourself up and show you how lovely your are.
  • GoLizB
    GoLizB Posts: 25 Member
    Hi! The good news is, at your age, your metabolism is actually on your side. Losing weight in your twenties is much easier than in your 30s!

    You have gotten a lot of good advice. I will add that I am curious as to how are you figuring out the calories you burn on your walks? The best way to accurately measure your calorie expenditure is by using a heart rate monitor you wear. I have a Polar, it has the chest strap and the watch (those with a chest strap/watch combo are the most accurate) and I got it at Sports Authority for $75. Since I started using it, I have discovered my calorie expenditure is very different from what this site tells me for most of the things I do. Other things, my heart rate monitor and the site are nearly identical.

    It sounds like you are doing great with your eating. If you are not using an electronic food scale (Bed Bath and Beyond carries them, you can use the 20% off coupon to buy it) to measure out your portions, I would start that, too. Also measuring cups/spoons.

    A lot of people - myself included - underestimate the calories they are eating and overestimate the calories they burn. if I didn't measure the food with the food scale/measuring cups and my calorie burn using the Polar, I'd be losing weight a lot more slowly, if at all. Being very diligent about measuring both things has really helped jump start my weight loss.

    Good luck on your journey!
  • As someone already mentioned, it sounds like you're already well educated about nutrition. I would suggest keep talking with your doctor for now, and worry only with your immediate health. If you're eating healthy and exercising, the weight loss will come if your body is doing what it should. Right now, it seems like your fainting spells and blood work needs to be your top concern though.

    I am so sorry for your health concerns. I can't begin to understand how you feel. My problems seem small in comparison. But, please know I'll be praying for you, and if you ever need to vent, I'm a message away....
  • Memowe
    Memowe Posts: 137 Member
    I have multiple things that I use to calculate my exercise burn one of which is a pyle heart rate monitor watch and a few running companion applications including runkeeper. Runkeeper I really like because it gives feedback every five to ten minutes on the average pace and the distance you've gone. It also measures the elevation changes. My town has a really wonderful park system which includes a hiking path, the whole "greenway" is five miles of paved path near my apartment! I Really love it because I have two main paths I can take, one which I take when it's very hot and humid out because it's in thick forest, and the other which is for cooler days because it has more open fields and some farm land you go through. They've begun working on expanding the path even more to accommodate the new Google data center as well as connect it to the historic downtown area.

    And thank you both so much for your kind replies! I'm just trying to handle so much in my life right now it's nice to have some support struggling with similar things.