Ended my Christmas in tears

[sassafras]

I can empathize like crazy. Right after Thanksgiving I realized I was heavier than I had ever been and I ever thought I'd be, and feeling pretty awful physically. I knew my weight had been creeping up over the course of the summer and fall and I'd made an effort to exercise more, but didn't make any progress.

When I was younger, I didn't really have to change much about the way I ate to lose weight, I'd just increase my activity. As I've gotten older obviously my metabolism has changed and I needed to be sort of re-taught how to eat, I guess.

I ended up joining Weight Watchers Online (no meetings) and I've been really happy with it and really have nothing bad to say about it. It's not that expensive (~$20/month), it's super easy, and there's no reason you can't make the other changes to your diet you're considering because you're not limited to specific foods. Even if you only do it for a month or two, I've found that it has really helped me "reset" my perspective on stuff like portion size and making better food choices. I've lost about 12# so far. FWIW, YMMV, etc.

[AdrianneIsabel]

The biggest VFF complaints from doctors (I researched before diving in) is abuse, people put them on and do no allow proper time to adjust. Your feet and body have been trained to remain out if line for so long that it pretty much feels right. VFFs encourage natural movement and thus adjustment. They're best used as a slow but steady immersion. Meaning I felt my best (with high arches, shin splints, a pinching hip, and aching back from compensating my stride to accommodate) after adjusting and then proceeding to wear them instead of other shoes as often as possible.

That said, a doctors visit for all of this sounds best and there are tons of research options online about barefoot running and it's pros and cons for bodies grown up wearing shoes.

[PWCorgi]

Are you on MFP? Seriously that site is awesome and I can't wait to get started again on it when I am home. If not, join and friend me. It makes dieting so much less work!

Also you should get a nice bike and do stuff with the dogs, making working out FUN by combining it with stuff you love. I bet Bamm would love running next to a bike! If you can find lesser used trails and buy a springer attachment I bet he would have a ball!

You can do this!!

[Barbara!]

You should go try to get diagnosed. It sounds like a hormonal imbalance rather than PCOS, but it could be either. All I know is with most of the time with PCOS, you will have massive amounts of pain in between periods from the cysts. I know I did.

[Laurelin]

I didn't have any pain between periods at all. You don't even need to have cysts to have PCOS as odd as that sounds. It's more of if you have enough symptoms of the disorder. They still don't exactly have a full knowledge of if the weight gain causes the imbalances or if the insulin resistance is the cause or if the cysts are a cause of a byproduct. It all goes hand in hand and there is unfortunately a lack of understanding of the disorder. And a lot of doctors will not treat it with much severity.

They've done studies of ladies with PCOS versus women without of all weights. A woman with PCOS of a comparable weight to a woman without PCOS will take in much fewer calories.

To me it sounds classic PCOS but I'm not a doctor. Very similar to my symptoms. For me they took a pelvic ultrasound and there were cysts.

I've been kind of disappointed because once going on the metformin, I've actually gained 10 lbs. I was really hoping it would help aid in weight loss. When I did lose weight with PCOS I was eating very very little, walking 2 hours a day, and going to the gym 5x a week for 30 minutes running, and 3x a week for weights. I wish I had that kind of time nowadays.

I ordered 5 paleo cookbooks and am going to start working on the food aspect and then going to the gym for cardo 5x a week again. I'm hoping to try to add in more, but it sucks.

[Jules]

I also think it sounds like classic PCOS. I have PCOS and no pain between periods (when I have them). But you should definitely find a doctor you feel comfortable with to do some tests and talk to you about it!

I also found that eating low carb helps tremendously, I am trying to eat as paleo as possible, but haven't done it "fulltime".

[Beanie]

Paleo is definitely what I was going to suggest. Rather than just going gluten free, remove ALL carbs or at least cut back on them as much as you possibly can. Rice, corn, oats, quinoa, all out (or down.) Paleo is not necessarily low carb but based on what you remove and what you DO eat, it usually ends up being pretty low carb.
I eat more primal (still eat dairy) but I think you should try cutting dairy out too. Many people believe there is a link with dairy and reproductive issues. I have endometriosis and before I got to depo to get rid of my vomit-inducing periods people recommended I cut out dairy. I believe some women with PCOS also have success with removing dairy. If it's too much all at once, remove the grain first. I don't subscribe to the WHEAT IS KILLING EVERYBODY newsletter like some do, but I don't think wheat is really doing anything good for anybody (except being kinda delicious) and that removing it will DO good. So no grains, not even "whole" grains. Then you can try removing dairy later once you've adjusted.
Set yourself up for success based on what you can do... if you know cutting too many things at once will make you feel deprived, DON'T DO IT all at once! Just pick one thing. Live with it for a few weeks, then pick something else.

Basically shift yourself to a lifestyle of eating lots of meat, nuts, veggies, and fruit. Experiment once you're there to see what will make you feel better. Maybe you need to drop the fruit down. Some people don't do well on nuts. But once you cut the crap out, it starts to get easier to listen to your body and figure stuff out. I used to be sick so often, I mean I was literally just used to living my life feeling sick, planning my life around meals ("I can't eat now because it might make me sick and I need to do X later.") - and that has all GONE AWAY since I removed wheat and cut way way WAY down on other grains. And suddenly it's so much easier to listen to my body because it's not sick all the time.

This means the eating out has to change. No more grabbing a sandwich. Grill a bunch of chicken up at the beginning of the week and put it in a baggy. Then grab a chicken breast (or thigh or tenderloin or whatever it is) and some veggies, a small/medium apple, pear, orange. THAT is your lunch. Brown bag it. Save money and your health.

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/
http://paleomg.com/
http://nomnompaleo.com/

Start there... the Nerd Fitness forums are full of great people. And if you need anything else, just poke me. I'm full of encouraging words and motivational quotes. =>

[JessLough]

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

The biggest VFF complaints from doctors (I researched before diving in) is abuse, people put them on and do no allow proper time to adjust. Your feet and body have been trained to remain out if line for so long that it pretty much feels right. VFFs encourage natural movement and thus adjustment. They're best used as a slow but steady immersion. Meaning I felt my best (with high arches, shin splints, a pinching hip, and aching back from compensating my stride to accommodate) after adjusting and then proceeding to wear them instead of other shoes as often as possible.

That said, a doctors visit for all of this sounds best and there are tons of research options online about barefoot running and it's pros and cons for bodies grown up wearing shoes.

There was another reason from my doctor... don't remember what exactly.

Then again, my feet are REALLY screwed

[Lyzelle]

Pretty much agree with all the Primal/Paleo stuff.

Originally Posted by Beanie

I eat more primal (still eat dairy) but I think you should try cutting dairy out too. Many people believe there is a link with dairy and reproductive issues. I have endometriosis and before I got to depo to get rid of my vomit-inducing periods people recommended I cut out dairy. I believe some women with PCOS also have success with removing dairy.

I'm extremely hormonal (never really been properly diagnosed with anything specific, I just get a lot of could be PCOS, could be this, could be that from the drs). When I have dairy in my diet, I'm as good as dead. Major cramps, major bleeding, nausea, all the worst PMS symptoms. It's a nightmare. Bed-ridden for 2 weeks out of 4. Plus weight gain and bloating. I want to add it back into my diet because it does help me gain weight when I need to, but the hormonal pay off isn't worth it.

Only other thing I have to add is if you drop carbs, be ready to stuff your face with saturated fat. Fat doesn't make you fat, but it WILL aid in getting vitamins/minerals where they need to go, cutting the cravings for sugar, and evening out some minor mood swings.

I know some people have eaten spoonfuls of coconut oil when they are craving and grouchy. And it works.

Good luck!

[Beanie]

I have read a lot of theories on the hormones in milk messing with our adult hormones... I definitely see it as plausible. IMO it's absolutely worth a try to cut it out. I did a few quick google searches and it seems like some women see a positive change and others don't see any change in their PCOS symptoms. If it doesn't change anything for you, you can always add it back in. But make sure you give it a fair shake. One to two months at least!

Originally Posted by Lyzelle

Only other thing I have to add is if you drop carbs, be ready to stuff your face with saturated fat. Fat doesn't make you fat, but it WILL aid in getting vitamins/minerals where they need to go, cutting the cravings for sugar, and evening out some minor mood swings.

Definitely. I would sign up for something like My Fitness Pal or SparkPeople and track all your foods so you can see where your numbers are falling, and adjust as needed. It's VERY easy to eat far too little in calories when you make the switch!! So definitely track your numbers and see where stuff is falling.

I have coconut oil but I have yet to be brave enough to stick a spoon in and eat it... I am seriously considering it though... XD