It's not going as well as I hoped

I started Slimming World about two or so months ago and am having major problems with it. I've lost a couple of kilos, but am not having much luck losing any more.

Part of this is because I'm on anti-depressants that made me gain a load of weight - I was 10st or so before I went on Citalopram, and I gained about 3 stone on it. Bear in mind that when I was a student, I drank all the time and ate lots of junk food and was still thinner than I am now. I get cravings for stuff I shouldn't be eating, particularly when I'm on my period.

The other problem is that I have ME and I'm always being told to go running or horseriding or whatever by people who don't know about the illness, but the fact of the matter is that exercise makes me ill. I get the delayed fatigue thing where it hits me after a couple of days and I'm just too exhausted and in pain to do anything. When I went to Brighton with my mum over the summer, I did a lot of walking and I was ill for weeks afterwards. I'm on a GP referral programme and try to go swimming once a week, but the whole Body Magic thing is difficult because I can't hack too much physical exertion.

On the plus side, I don't smoke and I barely drink, so I have a bit of a head start. Plus I went through a very bad patch when my GP put me on Amytriptyline for chronic muscle and joint pain, and I had a drying-out period in between meds and am now going through another one as the Amytriptyline was useless and I'm going back on Citalopram. Once the meds are back in my system and I've adjusted, things should calm down. It's mainly changing my eating habits that's the problem. I don't handle change very well, although the Food Optimising is great because it's actually really helping me rethink the way I look at food.

So yeah, anyone else in the same situation? Apparently if you have ME or fibro or any other condition that makes it difficult to exericse, SW does make allowances. I don't go to group as I'm too embarrassed, I do it online.
 
I have m.e too - have had it on and off for about 10 years now (not so bad at moment but slightliest bit of a cold (like today) and my body just shuts down.
Not sure about SW making allowances though as SW works with or without exercise, its just exercising does help but if you stick to the plan it will work (it might be a tad slower but as long as it comes off in the end eh!)

As for the Citalopram, i was on it for 5 years and came off it a year ago (but its taken most of that year to get out of my system). Are you still on it????
 
I have M.E. and did SW online for about 6 months but didn't lose well. I switched to low GI (combined with a spell of calorie counting) and have done better on that, but everyone is different. My losses are still slower than someone who can exercise and who doesn't have to spend the odd day in bed.

There's a book called From Fatigued to Fantastic which gets mixed reviews on Amazon but which has helped me both feel better and lose a bit faster - there are suggestions in there for natural remedies/supplements as well as for more medical tests/drugs etc, I have gone for the former personally as my GP is not helpful. There is also information on why people with ME tend to put on weight and find it very hard to lose (it's not just the obvious reason of being less active, according to the book).

(and yep, it's annoying when people trot out 'you might feel better if you got some exercise' - err, no, not so much, but thank you for thinking of me!)

Edit: my GP prescribed Citalopram for me but I had such a bad reaction to the first tablet that I just quietly didn't take any more!
 
I would recommend swallowing your pride and going to group, its very motivational and supportive,

admittedly I am in good health so don't have any of that to cope with but body magic is not essential to losing weight with slimming world, I walk the dogs twice a day but have always done that so not technically body magic

why are you embarrassed to go to group? x
 
Hey

Ive got my forst appointment at the hospital next week for fibro. I feel exactly the same as you.

Before i started SW world, my flare up lasted months i was too tired to take my LO out and had constant pain in my lower legs, back, neck and hands.

But after 6 weeks on SW ive changed lifestyle. Im eating amazing well. Ive been having my 5 a day, no processed junk, low sugar foods, lots of water and ive even been doing 15k a day on my new exercise bike (slow and not intense) and that really helps and it feel ao much better.

Ive lost 23lbs so far and even though im still very tired, i still can function. I dont ache half as much either.

So please keep going, and do a little bit of exercise a day, even if its to the shop or round the block.


Xxx
 
I'm not very confident and the thought of having my weight read out in front of a lot of people kind of scares me, particularly if I haven't lost any. Plus I worry I'll get yelled at if I don't lose weight or worse, if I put some on. I tend to gain weight during my periods, always have, which doesn't help.

I'm still on Citalopram and to be honest, I'm probably going to be on anti-depressants for a long time, but I'm not bothered because I've come to terms with it and I'm nowhere near ready to go off them. It's worked the best for me so far, even though I'm not happy about the weight gain. I'm back on it now and I feel so much better than I was when I was on Amytriptyline.

The GI thing is definitely worth looking into. And Plumfoodie, thanks for mentioning the book - I did read one about ME that touted stuff like the Lightning Process, which I'm very cynical about, but I've heard natural remedies being recommended.
 
I'm not very confident and the thought of having my weight read out in front of a lot of people kind of scares me, particularly if I haven't lost any. Plus I worry I'll get yelled at if I don't lose weight or worse, if I put some on. I tend to gain weight during my periods, always have, which doesn't help.

I'm still on Citalopram and to be honest, I'm probably going to be on anti-depressants for a long time, but I'm not bothered because I've come to terms with it and I'm nowhere near ready to go off them. It's worked the best for me so far, even though I'm not happy about the weight gain. I'm back on it now and I feel so much better than I was when I was on Amytriptyline.

The GI thing is definitely worth looking into. And Plumfoodie, thanks for mentioning the book - I did read one about ME that touted stuff like the Lightning Process, which I'm very cynical about, but I've heard natural remedies being recommended.

You've got the total wrong idea about meetings! They NEVER announce your weight, only the amount you lose or gain. And as for getting yelled at; its not school, you don't get told off! Only asked what went wrong in the week and what you can do to improve things. On the whole the consultants are really nice and very supportive.

As for medicine, I'm on prozac, seroquel and i have an underactive thyroid. So weight loss for me isn't exactly easy! The seroquel made me gain over 3 stone in as many months!

You'll get there! :)
 
Please dont worry, our consultant does not announce the gains just the loses, she usually says something like 'do you need any help' it is left to you whether or not you reveal your gain. There is soo much to be gained by going to class, especially on a bad week, you can really come away motivated to do better. As for the time of month, this happens to a lot of women, if you gain one week due to it then it goes by the next weigh in.
 
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