Want to start a diet but I'm rubbish at them - help!

Ted_Hutchinson

PCOS is linked to low vitamin D status.

Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations are associated with insulin resistance and obesity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

It follows that while you have insulin resistance all diets are likely to fail.
You need to correct your vitamin D status to improve your insulin resistance. As well of course by reducing the demands for insulin by eating a low carbohydrate way of eating.

Correcting Vitamin D status is easy and cheap. ONE of these every week for 8 weeks Then one every 10 days.

The very easiest low carbohydrate way of eating is Dr Dahlqvist's way of eating for good health and weight loss
While I managed to do this diet without any extra exercise, one of the things exercise does do is improve insulin sensitivity so exercise will help your underlying problem.
Unlike Atkins Dr D's plan has no induction period. It may help a lot of you use Coconut Oil particularly in the early stages as it's burn't as brain fuel as easily as carbs and it saves you getting the Carb withdrawal symptoms that make many Atkins people suffer in the early days.

Saverjoy

I have been on diets, been to diet clubs etc for 20 years but if I was the weight where I started I wouldn't be obese now just overweight.... whatever you choose to do about your problem I can recommend a website that has helped me more than I can express in words here.....it's not just one thing but many areas to look at nutrition, fitness, motivation, health, you as a whole person, being honest with yourself and taking resposibility.....little goals towards your ultimate goal...finding others to support isn't easy but it can be done....
"sparkpeople" is where you can find pretty much everything you need, the rest is up to you... how much do you want it?
best of all the website is free and it provides so much more!

hope this helps
Saverjoy

HappySad

Saverjoy wrote: »

I have been on diets, been to diet clubs etc for 20 years but if I was the weight where I started I wouldn't be obese now just overweight.... whatever you choose to do about your problem I can recommend a website that has helped me more than I can express in words here.....it's not just one thing but many areas to look at nutrition, fitness, motivation, health, you as a whole person, being honest with yourself and taking resposibility.....little goals towards your ultimate goal...finding others to support isn't easy but it can be done....
"sparkpeople" is where you can find pretty much everything you need, the rest is up to you... how much do you want it?
best of all the website is free and it provides so much more!

hope this helps
Saverjoy

I am going to have a look at this site. I have so far done a little step @ a time & change how I eat for good. You need to eat like a size 12 person & believe me they feel they eat a lot but they don't eat as much as us bigger people. My weight gain was pregnancy & also side effect from my medication.

elisebutt65

I'm just reading a book called Neris and India's Idiot-proof Diet: From Pig to Twig. It's like a modified Atkins diet and I'm going to give it a go when I get back from holiday.

It reads wonderfully as it's written and devised by 2 women who've been through it - not nutritionists or dietitians who lecture you and they don't go on at you about exercise all the time - they do say to do it but not in that horrible lecturing way some diet books do!

The recipe book that comes with it as well has some lovely sounding stuff in that I can fed to the kids so I don't have to feed them separately which is the main reason I quit Atkins after losing 4 stones - big mistake and I'm going to stick to this for life as I can't go on like this!

I hate exercise but get around it by not having a car so I HAVE to walk everywhere and as work is just over a mile away, means I get in a minimum of 2 miles a day, 5 days a week:D I'm just trying to step up the pace a bit and have got it under 15 mins now.

I'm getting a pedometer as well so I can measure how far I'm going and am going to try to increase my distance walked per week as well, even if it's just an extra couple of spins around the park. In June when college breaks up , I'm going to join the local gym as they do a pay as you go per month membership and have a personal trainer for about 6 sessions to kick start me so hopefully by next college year in September I'm in the habit of going at least 3 times a week to do circuit training - I find anything else really boring and can't cope with aerobics - bouncy flab - Ugh!!! My real hate is the cardio stuff - 30 mins on a stepper :eek::eek::eek: I get bored after 10! I'm also going to have a go at Pilates just to get my tummy toned so it doesn't flop around too much after I've lost a few stone.

My start date is 6th June so I've got the holiday out of the way and I've got back into work routine with only a couple of work weeks left in the year - hardest part I find is eating at work but we have a nice bistro so I can pig out on salad with proteins or make up some lettuce wraps and ham and cheese roll ups on my long days.

One big piece of advice from the book is NOT to tell anyone that your dieting as you can get sabotaged by friends and family - just cook as normal and leave out the carbs from yours and most OH's never notice much about what your eating anyway:rotfl:

indigo25_2

Honestly I think the key to a diet is lots and lots and lots of water. Sounds simple and a bit ridiculous but it works.
I read in a magazine ages ago, think it was Grazia, that Liz Hurley would drink warm water all the time instead of eating! (she actually admitted this) obviously completely unhealthy and I'm not suggesting that. However a lot of hunger is thirst, and I think many of us never drink the amount of water recommeded per day. So next time you're hungry for a snack, have a glass of water. It's not very exciting so maybe try those flavoured waters .... makes it easier.
Most nit picky diets that tell you what to eat or not eat are ridiculous. I was at my thinnest when I lived in Italy, walked a ton, ate pasta all the time.
Another idea- a couple of my friends have been doing bikram yoga twice/3 times a week. They both are noticeably thinner, I was shocked. Neither do any other kind of exercise!
Hope this helps :-)

Bitsy_Beans

Personally I try and stick to Paul McKenna's tips. His tapping technique does stop my craving for sweet things and his way I am not calorie counting, weighing things, avoiding food etc. I can eat what I want am just learning to eat less and for proper reasons (like actual hunger) rather than boredom, comfort, habit etc.

Good luck with what ever you choose to do.

lab-lover

Bronnie wrote: »

I've done that before too . While healthy eating is a great step to make if your diet has previously been junky, you can still overeat on a 'healthy diet' and not lose or even keep gaining weight! You still need to control the amount you eat, whilst making the healthy choices.

Obviously portion control is the key.

marrowgirl

Hi Eyelinerprincess,

I too have PCOS -I've started doing a low carb diet to try to keep my blood sugar/insulin in control and have started to loose weight too. Yippee! (see the low carb thread for support). The Verity website (for PCOS) has some info about this too.
For me its a case of thinking I need to change the way I eat for my health -the weight loss-although needed, is a secondary benefit. I too am rubbish at diets but sticking to a different way of eating has been easier with the support of MSE. I'm not incredibly strict but when I slip and "comfort" eat I don't hang myself up about it but just get back to normal the next day.

snacking -I snack on babybel, fruit, veggie sticks with low carb dip or almonds at work.
not eating breakfast -always try to have something, even just a banana. You probably have blood sugar problems from the PCOS so this is vital for you, otherwise you'll get really tired and crave sugary snacks later.
eating "carp" for lunch -me too. I make loads of food for dinner and take some for lunch the next day.
no exercise- probably lack of energy from PCOS -get your diet sorted and that should improve. You could always take up fidgeting! Skinny people tend to be on the move more and fidget -even things like knitting use up calories! Or try going for a walk -walk someones dog for them?
Dillusional OH- join the club! Tell him you are doing this to improve your health and your mood -no one wants a grumpy wife/girlfriend so this should shut him up!!

All the best. x

eyelinerprincess

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. I've been so down over the past few days over the PCOS, and generally having a crap week (topped off with a lovely bout of thrush) that I've totally abandoned the diet and went back on the ciggies (before I managed a month of stopping, this time it's been three days max and I'm back on them again - only a couple a day, so I'm not a heavy smoker, but enough to make me feel bad).

Looked into W/W and S/S but the meetings are impossible for me to get to (too close to when I finish work, and half the time I finish late as it is), so that idea's out the window. Been eating salads and trying to consciously choose things that are good for me (fruit and low calorie drinks), but come dinnertime it's "one small chocolate bar won't hurt" when I know it probably will impact me more than I'm letting myself think.

Had my day off today (working 6 days a week for the near future, min 6 hours, max 9 hours/day) and I'm totally exhausted. Had a dance rehearsal for the show that I'm doing in a couple of weeks and couldn't muster up the energy to do much. Hopefully by midweek, when I start at 12, I'll muster up the energy to do little things like walk the mile and a half to work instead of taking the bus and after the show, I'll have my day off again and I'll find a sport or hobby to take up.

vik6525

The easiest, and most simple way to start off a diet, is to live by the mantra 'Dont eat beige food'

Trust me!