Fed Up - Need To Lose Weight And Keep Failing - please help!

oopsadaisydoddle

Hi all,

As the title says, I'm desparate to lose weight and I don't know what to do anymore.

I have recently lost weight on the Cambridge Plan which was fantastic when I first started but after trying again, it's left me feeling rough. Headaches and ill etc. this normally goes after the first few days but it hasn't this time.

Over the years, I've tried numerous things inc SW, WW, calorie counting, low GI, Atkins and of course just the healthy eating approach. Even when I did myfitnesspal and exercised I lost nothing.

I've been on orlistat via the GP at one point too.

I've tried eating healthy but healthy foods like fruit and veg (which i love) leave me bloated and uncomfortable. This exacerbates my IBS.

I also seem to have an iffy emotional relationship with food - I eat when I'm happy, sad, bored etc etc! And I binge eat - not to a huge extent but instead of stopping when im full, I carry on til I'm finished.

I sometime wish I could be hypnotised or something to make me normal when it comes to food. I also have PCOS and insulin resistance which makes it harder to lose weight (apparently).

Please help, I'm so fed up!

Sorry for rambling and thanks in advance.

tesuhoha

Go on to You Tube and key in Eat Fast and Live Longer. The programme is in 4 parts.

I have been on the 5:2 diet for about 6 weeks. During that time my IBS symptoms have got less and I have lost weight and fat round my waist. If you have health issues maybe ask for advice first about this diet.

oopsadaisydoddle

Thanks for the replies. I've been on the 5:2 thread before which I believe is similar to the live fast and eat but I really struggle with the fasting days. Again i seem to get headaches. I might try and do it again but focusing on low carb eating.

I'm just fed up of feeling rubbish all the time...if I eat healthy I end up bloated and with wind and if I try and do Cambridge, I get so i feel ill!

Fire_Fox

Stop fad dieting and start targeted healthy eating - concentrate on what you can and should be eating not what you cannot and should not. Also look at your triggers, both in terms of emotional events but also times and places and the availability of foods you are wanting to avoid or cut down on. When are you buying or how are you accessing these foods? Have you keep a detailed food and mood diary to identify your triggers for binging or IBS?

Will your doctor refer you to a state registered dietician at the local hospital or for talking therapies? If not research foods and supplements scientifically proven (studies not commercial nutrition sites) to help with IBS, weight management and PCOS. Along with the specific conditions you have you might also research stress and systemic inflammation, they are likely to be playing a role in your health complaints. Please run any research you do past an appropriately qualified healthcare professional before trying a new diet or supplement or exercise regime. Be sure you are meeting or exceeding all our government's recommendations for healthy eating and lifestyle - many commercial or fad diets do not do this and are deficient in key nutrients.

Low glycaemic index/ reduced glycaemic load is usually the medically recommended eating plan for diabetes, insulin resistance and PCOS, this should not be distinct from healthy eating so I am confused why you listed them separately? Many of the plant foods that are low GI are rich in soluble fibre which is much gentler on the gut than insoluble fibre - generally soluble rather than insoluble is also beneficial in IBS. Mineral-rich foods are important, especially those containing chromium and magnesium, also B group vitamins.

Things that can help with Irritable Bowel Syndrome include long chain omega-3s from oily fish (powerful anti-inflammatories), freeze dried probiotic capsules (friendly bacteria), foods rich in magnesium (muscle relaxant), soluble fibre, avoiding certain fruits, veggies and spices that tend to ferment or irritate the gut, stress management. You may well need to introduce fibre-rich foods slowly to allow you gut to acclimatise.

For weight management again long chain omega-3s, calcium and whey from reduced fat dairy products, possibly short chain saturates in creamed coconut, protein little and often starting with breakfast, low GI meals rich in soluble fibre to keep you feeling fuller for longer, green tea to boost the metabolism, possibly CLA fatty acids.

For systemic inflammation long chain omega-3s yet AGAIN, possibly borage oil for the omega-6 GLA, most fruit and veggies, low GI carbs, eat little and often, small portions only of animal protein, avoid or limit sugar and white/ refined carbs, caffeine, alcohol, animal fats, omega-6s because these are pro inflammatory except GLA.

For stress management those same old long chain omega-3s, mineral rich foods especially those containing magnesium (nuts/ seeds/ beans/ lentils), B group vitamins, low GI again to keep your blood sugar stable, eating little and often .... as you can see there is loads of overlap with different health issues.

On top of what is already mentioned try to eat a wide variety of different whole natural foods and the full rainbow of colours in fruit and veg (red, yellow, orange, green, blue/ purple). I really notice people trying healthy eating think about the vitamins in fruit and vegetables but don't consider the importance of essential minerals or essential fatty acids.

Who designed and taught your fitness programme? Do you know your resting blood pressure and heart rate? Are you taking 10,000 steps every single day as well as your formal exercise? IME (I work in/ am qualified in lifestyle healthcare) most women don't work hard enough to burn enough fat, they do the wrong types of exercise - for example not enough strength training, too many isolation exercises or steady state cardio rather than intervals. Physical activity is also important in stress management.

continualdiamond

Try and stop thinking of the word 'diet' and think of it as a lifestyle change forever.

I can't comment on any other program other than WW. It took me 3 years and 1 month to loose 8st 1lb.

I have PCOS as well, can't say if it took me longer to loose my weight because of this though.

I've been maintaining my weight since Feb this year and I still follow WW. I accepted that when I joined, I was doing it forever.

oopsadaisydoddle

Thanks again for the replies...particularly Fire Fox. I've only briefly read your post but will do so in depth shortly.

When I say Ive tried low GI - I didn't mean that was unhealthy - what I meant by trying it and failing with it is that I buy the books and read but then end up confused as to whether I'm eating the right things!! Maybe the wind and bloating I get after eating veg at the moment is worse because of me being sporadic with my eating. In the sense that I eat healthy for a bit then binge on rubbish - my body is probably fed up!

I haven't done a diary but maybe I'll do my own to see if there are any specific triggers. My GP is a bit useless - he gave me metformin for my PCOS and that just made my tummy worse! He also referred me to a dietician at the surgery and when I saw her all she did was show me the 'eat well' plate on a picture and that was about it. She was also obese herself so wasn't very inspiring.

I know I probably sound like I'm making excuses but I think I may be proof that dieting over the years isn't necessarily good because I have so many different 'diets' going on in my head. That's why I referred to the hypnotherapy.

I have had counselling for low self esteem due to my weight before. Ironically I weighed much less then.

Continualdiamond - I did WW religiously for 2 months last year and lost 1lb! I got fed up and gave up. That may not have been due to PCOS - maybe it's just my awkward body. Well done to you though

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

Fire_Fox

Good grief, are you sure that was a state registered dietician and not a nurse or health trainer running a weight management clinic? A dietician should be having you do a detailed food diary and recommending specific foods or groups of foods to eat or avoid based on your specific health conditions, not just an introduction to the generic healthy eating advice. :mad:

Certain foods may cause chronic (long lasting) irritation the lining of your gut and also cause the balance of microorganisms in your gut to be off, if you feast and famine or chop and change you may find this leads to symptoms when you eat healthy foods. Equally it could be specific healthy foods are always going to be a problem for you. You may not know for sure until you have consistently been eating a nutrient dense, anti inflammatory, gentle on the gut diet for some time unfortunately.

oopsadaisydoddle

It sounds like it was a 'weight management' type person from what you say. I left the appointment feeling worse than when I went in.

My son's child minder suffered from bloating and was referred to a dietician and had to go on an exclusion diet. I first told my GP about my bloating about 18 months ago. He never did anything apart from give me some colpermin and said it was IBS. I was 2 stones heavier than I am now (my heaviest ever) and I kind of thought it was probably because I was fat that made it worse so didn't push it.

The only time recently I've ever not felt bloated was when I was sticking to Cambridge initially. Then I started introducing food again and the bloating was back. I asked again at the GP and he sent me for the blood test for coeliacs disease which came back negative. My sis has just been diagnosed after a biopsy and her blood test was negative too. My GP said if the bloods came back negative I should go back on Cambridge and make a note of what makes me bloated when I introduce foods again. This is from a GP who didn't want me to go on it in the first place! The thing is though, I wouldn't really know where to start with it all. My GP is like Jekyll and Hyde - sometimes he'll be interested and sometimes he can't get rid of you quick enough!

I have private health care so I dare say they may investigate
but not too sure and would need a referral from GP and they're like gold dust and dependant and whether he's Jekyll or Hyde that day.

Fire_Fox

I think you have to consume gluten regularly before coeliac blood work to test positive, was this done after you were on the Cambridge or other grain free/ low carb diet by any chance? If your sister is diagnosed that certainly is a risk factor; if you have a damaged and inflamed gut lining you will react badly to other foods and won't be absorbing nutrients properly which will impact on your other health issues. Sounds like your GP was recommending a sort of DIY exclusion diet! Are there any other GPs in the practice who might refer you for a biopsy on the basis of symptoms and family history? Also maybe ask about a dietician referral given the number of conditions you have?

It's not wise to do a medical type exclusion diet - where you eat one food, then add a second, then add a third and so on - without supervision because they are extremely restrictive and deficient in nutrients, but there is nothing stopping you eating as if you have coeliac disease if you wish. You don't need gluten rich grains in your diet - you can get all the same carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins and fibre from other healthy wholefoods - beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, root vegetables (not white potatoes), brown basmati rice, etc.

The key with any restrictive eating plan - whether that is on moral, religious or health grounds - is to eliminate as few foods as possible, still eat a very wide variety of different foods and research to ensure the missing nutrients are supplied elsewhere in the diet in sufficient quantity. It's no secret I am not a fan of low carb, most diets end up low in certain nutrients and IME clients just can't do the intensity of exercise they are capable of so really don't burn enough fat. But I do have clients who maintain weight AND health grain free/ reduced carb.

oopsadaisydoddle

Thanks Fire Fox. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me.

What is it you do? Do you work privately or through the NHS and do you think it would be worth me seeing someone like yourself if I can organise it? The problem with my surgery is they will only put you in with someone else if you're GP isn't there (e.g on hols) but then he would take over when he got back if that makes sense?

I'd love to get to the bottom of it all and I understand that may take a long long time, it's just knowing where to start properly. What you said about doing a DIY exclusion diet fills me with dread and confusion but I suppose is an example of my GP having an off day.

I wondered if you might tell me what I should be asking my GP for - do you think a referral to a dietician is a start? If I can get a referral my health care might take over. Then at least he can't say I'm wasTing NHS resources for nothing!

Pennylane

I don't mean to be rude but I wonder whether you are trying each of these "diets" you mention for long enough. Your post sounds so like someone I know who always claimed that diets didn't work for her but she expected to lose after 48 hours!

She also had a thing about buying diet books and magazines and I swear she thought she'd lose weight just by buying them! She never read any of them, just bought them.

I think you have got to address the psychological reasons why you want to eat all the time (you say when you're happy and when you're sad). I don't want this to sound bad either but the person I know who sounds the same as you just used to have this mindset that she needed to eat NOW. She didn't even try to wait say half an hour and see if she was still hungry.

You mention hypnotism - have you looked into that because a lot of people have.