Been sticking to my diet, but it's making me feel awful

[goodeats]

Goodeats, it seems to me that you are saying that, no matter what the situation is with one's body, there is some diet out there that will let you lose weight. It may vary depending on one's physiology, but for everyone, there is at least one diet (and exercise) plan that would work. Do I understand what you mean? But, why would it necessarily be that way? There are plenty of conditions -- high cholesterol, for example -- where diet and exercise helps some people, but does pretty much nothing to solve the problem for other people.

No, I don't think that no matter the situation that diet helps everybody. You can't cure cancer with eating healthy (although sometimes I'm sure it helps). I do think diet plays a big part in our health and how we live. Especially people with diabetes. And you're right there will always be "big" people and "small" people. No matter how much certain people "diet" they will be larger than average. But the way you're eating doesn't seem to be working.

Have you considered eating meat again? Honestly, that might be a big part of your problem. I truly believe some people need it. I would at least research how vegetable protein gets processed (for example with beans you need rice or corn to make it a complete protein). I love eating vegetarian things, but I could never eat that way because it would just be too complicated.

And I've never been diagnosed with blood sugar problems, although I'm sure I'm leaning towards hypoglycemia. I just don't eat the things that make me feel like that. Granted I'm young (29 and a healthy weight), but my cholesterol, blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, etc are all stellar.

ETA - I would much rather monitor my health with diet than with prescriptions. At this point in my life I'm able to. In the future I may have to go on some type of meds, but right now I don't feel it's an option.

 

[Dr Pepsi]

A few questions: Have you ever had your thyroid checked?

Do you have polycystic ovarian syndrome? I ask because you are quite overweight and diabetic. It's not unusual at all for a woman in your condition to have PCOS, and women with PCOS usually find weight loss very difficult.

Do you exercise? You don't mention it. Exercise can help you loose weight, give you energy and help regulate your blood sugar.

How do you feel when you aren't dieting? Good? If so, what kinds of foods do you eat?

Are you sure that your symptoms are related to dieting or could they be related to something else? If you are getting enough calories in your diet and keeping your blood sugar controlled then there is NO reason you should be feeling nauseous and faint all the time. Have you asked your doctor to check into these symptoms?

Good luck. I know how hard it is to lose weight!

 

[wahoostampingirl]

I have PCOS and High Blood Pressure and I struggle to lose every pound. I've been on every version of Weight Watchers since 1992 and I've never gotten to my goal weight. Right now, I'm about 120 lbs over goal and I've just started doing Core for the first time. I have no idea if it will work for me, but my attitude is that I have to keep trying. It's extremely frustrating at times, especially when other people at meetings seem to lose so easily and you know you've been eating according to the plan and exercising. I just wanted to let you know that I don't think you're doing anything "wrong". Weight loss is hard for everyone, and I've always been a proponent of "one size does NOT fit everyone". I'm still searching for a way to lose at least some of my weight. I hope you keep searching too.

Have you ever read The Schwarzbein Principle? I haven't read it in awhile, but I seem to remember that she is an advocate of a higher fat (good fats, of course) diet and she also has a Vegetarian cookbook. She works with diabetic and insulin resistant patients and I really enjoyed her book. At the time, I wasn't ready to put her program into practice, but it is sort of like Core, only lower carb and higher fat. In fact, I think I'll go back and reread it soon and see if I'm ready to try it.

Good Luck!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I read this thread with interest. I know how hard it is to lose weight. I personally am not supportive of drugs or surgery but that is just how I feel. Now back on topic. I couldn't help but notice that your sample menu had alot of empty foods if you will. I know when I start a new diet it takes me a little bit to realize how to make foods that are not only low fat but satisfying as well. I don't mean satisfying as in feeling full- but rather a meal that you really enjoy. I know you are diabetic so you have to limit fruits but I used to snack on strawberries. Full of fiber and I enjoyed eating them You need to find that something that will cure that craving for you. For meals I would search for foods that were low points but didn't seem diety- like shrimp. I have felt like you do once when I tried the core program. I just couldn't adjust to it and I switched to points at the time and it was better for me. WW does work but you have to find foods that you enjoy not just foods that fulfill the points. The first few weeks are the hardest because you do feel hungry. It is a big adjustment. Also, being on insulin makes it a little harder to drop the weight. Hang in there. You can do it! I know it is slow moving but the weight didn't come on in a day so it won't come off in one either.

 

[JudyS]

Here is my update on how I am doing.

About a week ago, I used a mild dose of stimulants for two days, which really seemed to help a lot. I was finally able to diet without feeling so horrible physically. What I used was some Phenylpropanolamine (PPA) that I bought years ago. PPA was taken off the market a few years back because of a single study suggesting that it could raise the risk of hemorrhagic strokes, but I've read that study and feel it was very poorly done. I actually think PPA has the best trade-off between safety and efficacy of any stimulant used for for weight loss, and feel it's really a shame that I'll have to use something else when my supply runs out.

Then last Friday night, a cherished family member (OK, she's a cat!) suddenly became critically ill. I felt very anxious, not only because my pet might die, but because I had to make some very difficult questions about whether she'd be better off being euthanized, how we would pay for treatment, etc. Being stressed can have many of the same effects as taking stimulants -- basically, they both cause the release of adrenalin and stimulation of the SNS (sympathetic nervous system.) I definitely didn't need anything causing me to release more adrenalin, so I stopped the PPA for the time being. Because I was so anxious, however, I felt much less hungry and was able to keep dieting, and lost quite a bit of weight.

My kitty seems to be improving (although she's not out of the woods yet). But now that I'm feeling much less stressed, my feelings of hunger have returned, and I had some problems with feeling light-headed and disoriented again today. If I continue to have these problems, I'll go back on the PPA.

Thanks for the responses that have been posted here -- I'll go and try to reply to them now.

 

[JudyS]

A few questions: Have you ever had your thyroid checked?

Yes, I get my thyroid checked regularly, and it is currently normal. (This was in my first post on this thread, but there was a lot of information in that post. so it's easy to overlook.)

I actually have a history of over-active thyroid (Graves' Disease) but I haven't been having any flare-ups of the Graves' Disease lately. None of my thryoid tests in the past have shown low thyorid levels.

Do you have polycystic ovarian syndrome? I ask because you are quite overweight and diabetic. It's not unusual at all for a woman in your condition to have PCOS, and women with PCOS usually find weight loss very difficult.

It's hard to say whether I have PCOS or not. I do not generally ovulate; however, my ovaries generally look inactive on ultrasound, rather than polycystic. Also, my testosterone levels are usually abnormally low, instead of being high like in PCOS. At any rate, I have tried metformin in case the problem was PCOS, and it seemed to make my problems worse, with my blood sugar really dropping too low. (My blood sugar is much more stable now that I've switched to Byetta.)

Do you exercise? You don't mention it. Exercise can help you loose weight, give you energy and help regulate your blood sugar..

Yes, I exercise. I mentioned this twice. In my first post, I said, "I am exercising almost every day." Later I said, "As for exercise, I did eight hours of exercise last week, spread out over 6 days. As I said previously, I'm exercising almost every day."

How do you feel when you aren't dieting? Good? If so, what kinds of foods do you eat? Are you sure that your symptoms are related to dieting or could they be related to something else?

I'm sure the symptoms are related to dieting. I feel better if I eat more -- but if I eat enough so that I don't have these symptoms at all, then I don't lose weight.

Before I started this diet, I was eating a reduced-carb diet of vegetables, soy, nuts, seeds, dairy, and eggs. I felt a lot better than I have while dieting -- but my weight and cholesterol were going up, so I felt I had to change what I was eating.

If you are getting enough calories in your diet and keeping your blood sugar controlled then there is NO reason you should be feeling nauseous and faint all the time. Have you asked your doctor to check into these symptoms?

Good luck. I know how hard it is to lose weight!

I'm not sure what you mean by "getting enough calories in your diet." I'm sure that if I ate as many calories as my body used each day, these symptoms would go away -- but I also wouldn't lose weight. If you are saying that there must be some level of calories that would allow me to both feel OK and to lose weight, I don't see why that would necessarily be true. (I'm eating about 1700 calories a day, if that's what you are asking.)

I saw my Endocrinologist and my Primary Care Physician right before I started this diet. Since that was only 6 weeks ago, I haven't seen them again since. I have told various doctors in the past, though, that I haven't been able to lose weight because I get so hungry while dieting, but they really haven't been able to suggest anything.

 

[JudyS]

.... I couldn't help but notice that your sample menu had alot of empty foods if you will. I know when I start a new diet it takes me a little bit to realize how to make foods that are not only low fat but satisfying as well. I don't mean satisfying as in feeling full- but rather a meal that you really enjoy. .... Hang in there. You can do it! I know it is slow moving but the weight didn't come on in a day so it won't come off in one either.

Hi, Mouse House Mama. Let me make sure I understand what you mean when you say "empty foods." Rather than empty calories (junk food), you mean food that doesn't taste good or isn't enjoyable to eat -- is that right?

I'm actually pretty happy with the types of foods I get to eat on Weight Watchers. I had been keeping my carbs low for four years, which was very restrictive, especially since I'm a vegetarian. So now that I'm doing WW instead of low carb, I'm getting to eat things like popcorn, (whole wheat) pasta, and (whole wheat) bread, which I rarely got to eat before. Even if I wasn't happy with the types of foods I was eating, I think that would cause cravings for things I enjoy, rather than headaches or dizzyness.

As for hanging in there and just doing what I've been doing, I don't really think I can, or even should, if I continue to feel awful from it.

 

[JudyS]

... It's extremely frustrating at times, especially when other people at meetings seem to lose so easily and you know you've been eating according to the plan and exercising. I just wanted to let you know that I don't think you're doing anything "wrong"....

Thanks, Wahoostampingirl! It really helps to know that other people are going through similar things.

Yeah, I hadn't realized that by doing WW, I'd be seeing all these people who lose more easily than I do. Right around the time I posted, there was this guy who had been doing Core for three weeks and had lost 16 pounds! And he said he wasn't hungry at all. (And, he didn't look like he needed to lose nearly as much as me, either -- maybe 40 pounds total.) Meanwhile, I'm famished and I lost less than half as much in 5 weeks as he did in 3. Luckily, he wasn't at my meeting this week -- I'm better off not hearing how easy it is for him.

...Have you ever read The Schwarzbein Principle? I haven't read it in awhile, but I seem to remember that she is an advocate of a higher fat (good fats, of course) diet and she also has a Vegetarian cookbook. She works with diabetic and insulin resistant patients and I really enjoyed her book. At the time, I wasn't ready to put her program into practice, but it is sort of like Core, only lower carb and higher fat. In fact, I think I'll go back and reread it soon and see if I'm ready to try it.
Good Luck!

Thanks -- I haven't read it, but I went and looked it up now that you mentioned it. I'm not sure it's really geared towards weight loss, though. In fact, a number of the Amazon reviews said that it can make people feel better, but can cause weight gain. It may not be that different from the vegetarian low-carb program I was doing before WW, which was helping control my blood sugar, but not my weight. Still, I may look into it some more.

 

[JudyS]

I had another bad day yesterday -- I felt famished, dizzy, and got a bad headache even though I ate all my Weight Watchers' Points (i.e., I ate the calories I'm supposed to on this diet) and took the low dose of stimulants that I've been using. (I also exercised and made a point of getting protein -- I had two protein bars, beans, cheese, and soy milk.) To top it all off, my weight is up 3 pounds this month, although I have been on my diet the whole time.

I can't keep falling behind in my work due to headaches and dizzyness. I guess I will try upping my dose of stimulants. I feel like my only other option is just to give up on dieting and stay 100 pounds overweight. I wish I knew which was better for my health, taking the stimulants or staying fat.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I'm sorry you had a bad day. Maybe not take the stimulants? They can make you feel dizzy and give you a headache. Hope you feel better.

 

[JudyS]

Thanks, Mouse House Mama!

I agree that stimulants can cause dizzyness and headaches, but that's usually with high doses. I've been taking a really low dose of stimulants (15 mg PPA daily -- the usual over-the-counter dose is 75 mg daily), because I didn't want to do anything risky. In fact, I was wearing a heart rate monitor on the day that I posted about, and my heart rate was normal; I didn't take enough stimulants to even raise my heart rate a measurable amount, let alone cause dizzyness.

Plus, I was getting headaches and dizzyness while dieting even when I wasn't taking stimulants. That's why I started taking the stimulants in the first place. It really seems to be dieting that's making me feel so awful. My weight loss seems very slow, too. I am feeling really discouraged.

 

[JudyS]

PS -- Mouse House Mama, I wasn't sure what you meant by "empty foods" in your earlier post. It sounded like maybe you meant foods that weren't enjoyable, but I wasn't sure. Could you tell me more about this?

I do actually like the taste of most of the foods I'm eating now. I've found a few "treats" that aren't many calories (Points) and that I find really taste good, such as Jello "Duce de Leche" Sugar-free Pudding Snacks (in the refrigerator case.) They're yummy, and only 1 Point! I also really like 94% fat-free Kettle Corn popcorn (1 point per 100 calorie bag) and Sugar-free Fudgsicles (I calculate these as one point for 2 small fudgsicles.)

By the way, I mentioned earlier that I was have trouble finding a time to talk to my Weight Watcher Team Leader; the meetings are very short and run back-to-back at my location. Well, one day there were no new members, so I was able to talk to her during the time set aside for teaching new members the system. She was sympathetic about my problem, which was nice. Her only suggestion, though, was to eat a lot of bulky foods, like Morningstar Farms veggie burgers with whole wheat pita. (She didn't know I was a vegetarian; this is just something she sees as a good diet food.) I've been eating that all along, though, plus lots of other bulky foods, and it hasn't solved the problem.

 

[wahoostampingirl]

I'm sorry to hear that you're still not feeling well. Even though it goes against conventional wisdom, maybe it would be better for you to stop dieting and eat what makes you feel healthy. I know it's very frustrating for you to feel horrible all the time and not see any weight loss on top of that. I think if you're eating a healthful diet that provides you with the proper number of calories and nutrients and your still gaining weight then you have to find a doctor and/or nutritionist that believes you and will try to help. I know it's expensive to "test drive" doctors and/or nutritionists, but in the long run, having someone who supports you and is willing to try different avenues would be worth it.

I hope you find some answers soon. Keep us updated.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Well if it makes you feel any better I have only lost 1lb. I stopped soda, drink enough water for Shamu to swim in, eat super healthy and bust my butt exercising everyday. But- 1 is better than none so I will keep on going. It is hard to stay motivated though. I agree with the previous poster though. It's sometimes hard to find the right plan that works.

 

[JudyS]

I'm sorry to hear that you're still not feeling well. Even though it goes against conventional wisdom, maybe it would be better for you to stop dieting and eat what makes you feel healthy. I know it's very frustrating for you to feel horrible all the time and not see any weight loss on top of that. I think if you're eating a healthful diet that provides you with the proper number of calories and nutrients and your still gaining weight then you have to find a doctor and/or nutritionist that believes you and will try to help. I know it's expensive to "test drive" doctors and/or nutritionists, but in the long run, having someone who supports you and is willing to try different avenues would be worth it.

I hope you find some answers soon. Keep us updated.

Thanks, Wahoostampingirl. I should clarify that I have lost some weight overall -- at least 10 pounds in the 8 weeks since I started the diet. My weight seems to fluctuate a lot, which is confusing, but it's down overall. It's not that I'm gaining weight, my problem is all the symptoms I'm having while dieting. The main problem with my slow rate of weight loss is that it means that if I cut back on dieting (so that I'll feel better), I'd probably not lose weight at all.

I pledged on the November Weight Loss challenge to stay on my diet for all of November, so I'm hoping to stick it out at least until then. (I have not had any lapses or cheating since I started my diet in late September.) Also, I'm paid up at Weight Watchers until mid-January. But, I'm really not sure if dieting is helping me, or hurting me, so it's hard to know what to do. I guess I'll re-evaluate at the end of November.

I'm still experimenting with stimulants for weight loss. I want to be cautious about adding in more phenylpropanolamine. So, for now I'm staying at a very low dose, 15 mg a day. However, I'm go to try adding in three 8 oz servings of green tea a day. I generally can't tolerate much caffeine (it gives me very bad stomachaches), so I didn't think I'd be able to handle green tea. However, I've read that green tea actually is low in caffeine and has high levels of another type of substance, cathechins, that may aid weight loss. So, I'm giving green tea a try.

As for finding a nutritionist or endocrinologist that believes me and will try to help me, I would love that. But, I have really tried and tried, with no luck. I've been to three or four nutritionists, and feel that it's always been a complete waste of money; they never tell me anything I don't already know. I have now enrolled in a diabetes management program and the program may eventually pay for the cost of one nutrition counseling session, in which case I will go. There seems to be a lot of hoops to jump through to qualify, though.

As for endocrinologists, I've been to about a dozen different ones and none of them have had any useful advice about my weight. In terms of trying out more endocrinologists, it's not only the expense (although that's been substantial), it's how mean they are to me. They often really criticize me for being fat, and I just end up in tears. Like I said earlier, I had one endocrinologist look at me and the first thing he said was, "I'm not even going to do any tests until you lose 40 pounds." (He didn't even introduce himself or say hello first; those were the first words out of his mouth.) Even one of the technicians criticized me -- after I was in the endocrine testing lab several times for blood tests (ordered by a different endocrinologist, obviously), the technician drawing my blood pointed at my fat stomach and said "This lab is for people who are really sick, not for people like you." I feel like I've spent thousands of dollars just to be insulted.

There is a Yahoo Group for my town, and I've asked there if anyone knows of doctors or nutritionists who are helpful at treating obesity. If I can't get a recommendation there, though, I may just stick with my current endocrinologist, who seems very intelligent. I like that he doesn't insult me for being fat, and he also was willing to write me a prescription for Byetta (which is helping stabilize my blood sugar) when I asked for one.

 

[JudyS]

Well if it makes you feel any better I have only lost 1lb. I stopped soda, drink enough water for Shamu to swim in, eat super healthy and bust my butt exercising everyday. But- 1 is better than none so I will keep on going. It is hard to stay motivated though. I agree with the previous poster though. It's sometimes hard to find the right plan that works.

Thanks for sharing your experience, Mouse House Mama -- it's helpful to hear from someone else who is struggling to get their weight down.

I think one of the things I'm finding so upsetting is that weight loss seems is so much easier for other people -- there are so many people here who've lost lots of weight, and there is a woman at my Weight Watchers meeting who has lost 100 pounds and another who has lost 73 pounds, while I'm struggling and struggling to lose just 5% of my starting weight.

Sometimes, I read the board here or go to WW and feel like everyone else's diet is working so much better than mine. But maybe there's a lot of people who are having problems dieting, and they just don't say anything (or they give up entirely and then don't return to the W.I.S.H. board or to WW meetings.)

 

[wahoostampingirl]

Sometimes, I read the board here or go to WW and feel like everyone else's diet is working so much better than mine. But maybe there's a lot of people who are having problems dieting, and they just don't say anything (or they give up entirely and then don't return to the W.I.S.H. board or to WW meetings.)

I think you hit the nail on the head. I know when I'm not doing as well as I would like, I tend to disappear from the message boards. If I'm yo-yo ing up and down with my weight, it's hard to keep going to WW meetings. I think it's a very positive thing your doing by being persistent in trying to find out why dieting makes you feel bad. I just read an article in the Washington Post and it made me think of you. The subject of the article had an excruciating headache for 6 years. He went to dozens of Drs., took numerous drugs and was falling into a depression. He and his wife finally unearthed a 40 old medical journal article that described a few other people who had his condition and how they had been treated. He took the article to a new Dr. and she was finally able to help him. But, the key thing that struck me is that he had to find the solution on his own.

I'm glad you have an endrocrinologist who at least listens to you now. I've been lucky where my Drs. have never criticized me for my weight problem. I can't imagine being insulted for something that your trying so hard to rectify.

Good job on sticking to your diet even though it's been so hard on you. Let us know how the green tea works.

 

[JudyS]

I think you hit the nail on the head. I know when I'm not doing as well as I would like, I tend to disappear from the message boards. If I'm yo-yo ing up and down with my weight, it's hard to keep going to WW meetings. I think it's a very positive thing your doing by being persistent in trying to find out why dieting makes you feel bad.....

Thanks very much, Wahoostampingirl! I think the green tea is making it easier to stick to my diet -- some of the symptoms of hunger, lightheadedness, etc. are maybe not so bad. I think I will need to raise the dose of other stimulants (Like PPA or ephedrine), but I am being very cautious with those and adding them in very slowly.

What I'm finding surprising is that so few other people here (or at Weight Watchers) talk about hunger giving them problems. I thought hunger was the main reason people give up on diets -- I've certainly had lots of people tell me they gave up dieting because of hunger. But, I guess people who run into that problem usually give up quickly and don't post here.

 

[JudyS]

Just figured I'd post an update!

I'm hanging in there, and still dieting. I've written down everything I eat and had no lapses on my diet since I started in late September. (Although I have changed the type of diet a couple of times.)

For the past month, I've been drinking green tea (for the catechins) and taking a low-to-modest dose of either PPA or ephedrine most days. (The highest I go is 25 mg ephedrine.) This seems to be helping with my symptoms of hunger, headaches, etc. I am still feeling quite cold from dieting -- my temperature is often below 97, but goes up if I eat a big meal. So, I maybe need to raise the stimulant dose to get to a more normal body temperature, but I want to do this gradually. (There is a theory that dieting until your body temperature drops extends lifespan, which suggests that my keeping my body temperature low would be a good thing. However, the goal for life extension is 97.5 to 97.8 or so, and my body temperature is lower than that now, which is very uncomfortable.)

I have also starting taking a new diet supplement, Slimthru. It is made of encapsulated fats that are designed to not get absorbed until they reach the end of the small intestines. The idea is that when your body detects fats still present at the end of the small intestines, it will think you've eaten too much, and make you lose your appetite. I just started two days ago, and I think it does work, at least a little. However, I have to mail-order it from England and it's very expensive -- almost $5 for a one-day supply. Similar products may be available in the US within a year or so; Slim-fast is working on adding something similar to their diet shakes.

Anyway, I am now finally losing weight again! I went five weeks with no weight loss, but now I'm down maybe 5 pounds in two weeks. I switched from the standard Weight Watchers' diet to a low-carb diet, and that really seems to help. Trying to lose weight on Weight Watchers was about as fun and effective as driving nails into wood using my head as the hammer!

 

[wahoostampingirl]

Yay! I'm glad you're losing some weight again. I'm really impressed by how committed you've stayed to losing weight even when nothing was happening. I'm in the midst of a mini-stall myself. I have been so "good" on Weight Watchers since the beginning of November, but last week I gained .8 and this week I'm holding even according to my scale (official weigh-in is on Wed. morning). It gives me encouragement to hear that you started losing again. I once had a Weight Watcher leader who told us a story about when she was close to goal. She had 6 lbs left to lose and for 6 weeks, she followed the plan and lost nothing. Then on the 7th week, she stepped on the scale and was down the 6 lbs. Our bodies really have a mind of their own sometimes!

Keep up the good work.