Egad!
 

Hey All!

So I stopped losing weight around november of last year - egad! I had lost about 40 pounds (wow - 40 B, that is impressive) - but somehow I just lost the "do it" attitude of being on a diet.

Thanksgiving came, then Christmas, then a trip to mexico, then a boyfriend, then a breakup then a trip to europe, which included lots of good eating (walking and biking - a GREAT TRIP) but drinking too. Then coming back and being single, and for a moment jobless, then too much work, now it's today.

Every day it's like a struggle to stay on track. I know I shouldn't eat things, but my hands put it in my mouth - and sometimes then I feel guilty, Every night before I go to bed, it's a vow to do better tomorrow. And then I "cheat", or rather, eat what I want. Because I do love food - even too much food :)

I try the "be good for 2 weeks, get a massage". etc. but then something comes up, wedding, trip, 24 hour work day, etc - and I use that as an excuse to be bad. I guess I don't have the conviction to stick to it. Which sucks, since being overweight is constantly on my mind (as is eating food.) (I wonder how much more productive I would be if my brain wasn't focused on these two things - and I feel it is so silly and inconsequential as well...in the long run).
(sorry just venting here).

Now I still work out minimum 5 days a week (which is good) but I feel like there has been little improvement. (I have a trainer 3 of those days, but will be cut down to 2 soon, because of financial things).

Now, this is a concern of mine as well: I have been on the Nuvaring for the past four months. It was a new birth control to try, because ortho made my sex drive non-existent. It is very possible that the nuvaring has something to do with my mood and weight issues. I am not sure. I feel like the added hormones have not been good to me now (as I think i was fine when I took them in my 20s.) When I lost weight, I was for the most part not on birth control except the one month I went onto Ortho and HATED it. I am usually a pretty happy person, but have been kinda bummed, tired and bored for the past 4 months. But I wouldn't have noticed any effects initially because when I came back from Europe, I got laid off 3 weeks later, and was still feeling ick from being single. I had also just started the nuvaring when I got back. I found a job pretty quickly (about one week after the lay off (and a better one) - but still felt blah. And now 3 months later, life has been going pretty good, and I still seem to be unchipper. I had been blaming this on my "I'm 31 now and still single (and fat)" but now I'm not so sure.

But then I started reading symptoms of the nuvaring - and hormone imbalance - (when I googled fatigue) - and found that people had symptoms of fatigue, breathing issues (which I had complained to my trainer to a month back, but blamed it on my bra), constant hunger and depression - things seemed to click in place. I've noticed because of my fatigue, I have not been able to recoup as fast as I usually do from physical exercise - I've been complaining more and trying to rest more during my training sessions. Last year I was super strong. This year I'm eh-strong.

So anyway - writing this all out - kind of as a public statement to myself. I wonder if a lot of you women changed in your early 30s? moodwise/physically wise. Difference with your birth control methods. (not that i'm having sex right now :) )

Anyway - yesterday was my day for removal - so I think I'm going to go off of it for good (maybe get a copper IUD if I want some form of Birth Control in a few months).

And I hope that the nuvaring isn't just an excuse for myself, that I can get back on track. Because last year some things in losing weight were just so easy - and now it just seems like an insurmountable obstacle. I wanna be a sexy something for halloween!!!

ok that's enough rambling and ahhh for now. Back to the 170s, I hope!

Send me your thoughts, any, and comments!!!

I could have written this myself! (Aside from the BC issue). Congrats on your previous weight loss, if you did it once you can do it again!

I have a very similar tale...I lost my first 40lbs or so over 2 years ago, I maintained the loss, but was never happy because I didn't feel like I was done. Then when nothing would come off, I started creeping back to old habits. Used all the same excuses to eat whatever I wanted, summer vacation, holidays, dinners out with now ex bf, etc.... I was always exercising, but saw no change, it just allowed me to maintain through my period of eating like a maniac.

I'm back on track now and very determined. Perhaps it's shallow of me, but I want to be thin so that I'll be confident, so that I will want to date and can attract the kind of guy that I want. When you're 30 and single the dating pool is small and shallow, it's hard, I know.

I also have a very strong focus on specific goals. I want to run a 5km in 24 minutes, I want to run a half marathon in under 2 hours, and I want to run a Boston qualifying time in a full marathon. Perhaps your exercise regime needs a focus other than losing weight? I find it really helpful to actually be working towards improving my fitness level to meet these goals rather than only focusing on the number on the scale as I tend to do too often. I always have to remind myself that the scale is only one measurement of me and I'm working towards making that a less important measurement of who I am. I am not a number on a scale.

I too think about weight and food all the time. I was actually telling someone that same thing the other day, wondering it I would more productive at work and school and in life in general if my mind was not constantly preoccupied with my weight and what I'm going or not going to eat. My weight is my first thought every morning, just before I ask myself what's for breakfast? LOL I haven't had much luck changing my focus to thinking about other things, let me know if you figure that one out!

Hi Bida,

Weighing in on Nuvaring: I was on oral BC for years but stopped it because of several reasons (side effects and dislike of excreting high amounts of hormones into the environment). Soon afterward I started Nuvaring because it was better than pills and patches in all aspects, though still not totally side effect- or risk-free. Since then (over 4 years ago) I haven't had nearly the problems that I had on the pill. I've been running marathons and I feel more energetic than I did before.

This is not to say that you may not react to the Nuvaring totally differently than I did - just that if you truly feel that something is off with you, it may be worth looking into more thoroughly (thyroid levels etc). Especially if you feel that your breathing is impaired. Maybe try going off of NR and if your breathing does not improve, definitely have a doctor check it out. A friend had a similar problem and was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma.