So I’m a 32 year old woman with PCOS. I’m overweight at 5’1 and 11 stone and a bit. I started doing Couch to 5K but I got a headache on one of my run days (these can be very intense and render me useless) and I haven’t run since. I had managed all of Wk 1 and half of Wk 2.
I have a stressful job in education and find myself seeking solace in junk food, especially chocolate. My sweet cravings are very hard to resist and nothing else seems to satisfy them like chocolate does. I also have awful facial acne due to the PCOS (probably not helped by the chocolate).
I am feeling very low and fed up and want to get back into running but all finding it hard.
Just wondered if anyone had any tips for finding the mojo again...
Thanks x
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Beebop18
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If you prepare well for each run, by hydrating adequately, you keep to a pace at which you can clearly speak full sentences as you go and follow the advice on minimising impact and stretching fully after every run, as recommended in the guide to the plan, healthunlocked.com/couchto5... you stand the best chance of succeeding.
Headache might mean you're getting dehydrated. More details in the guide linked to in the reply above.
I had been on Roaccutane (isotretinoin) for acne during my initial attempts at C25K this time last year. I didn't realise until I checked the leaflet that you shouldn't do exercise whilst on it. I waited until I had finished with it before retrying.
Perhaps you should check the leaflets of your medication for any similar warnings?
Thanks. The only other meds I take are fluoxetine for depression.
Hi! Well I can relate to a lot of what you say and it is all connected! Don’t try to do too much all at once and don’t panic. First things first, you are the priority not the job. Yes you need to do your thing to do your job but don’t invest all of you in it. Body, mind and soul, it can swallow you whole. Mentally step back a little and create space in your head. I recommend closing your eyes between phone calls or meetings for literally 5 minutes. Place your hand on your heart, play some nice music or instead keep your eyes open and when you do that look at something lovely like flowers, the garden, animals or photos of people that you love. And breathe very deeply 3 times. That is it. The more often you can repeat this in the day the better. Why are you doing this? Because you’re worth it and you’re trying to get back to your heart and out of your head. Once you feel more like your true self and not the one ruled by your job, your condition and food cravings then you’ll feel stronger. If the C25K seems too much right now start with walks instead. Don’t push it. Enjoy it. I have to say that it is a super programme and once you’re ready the cardio will brighten your mood, help you eat better and sleep better. Good luck!
If you can walk briskly for 20 minutes you can start. If you find 60 seconds x 8 too much, do less - eg 8 x 30 seconds or alternately 1 minute running and walk the next run, so you do 4 x 60 seconds or something in between. You may surprise yourself. But most important - jog slowly - barely a moderately quick walk is fine, as long as i is comfortable. This running lark does wonders for your mental health.
First off you have been given great advice from the folk above.
I can relate to the sweet tooth, headaches and mental health . I’ve just had a month of headaches (turns out they were tension related - I was struggling with juggling homeschooling and a 2yo and not sleeping well which sucked!) I am over weight but gradually losing it at a sensible rate. I struggle with anxiety and depression and take medication too.
This lockdown has been hard and if you are finding your job stressful, maybe your headaches could be tension related too?
My advice is this.
I think focus on one thing at a time, as that will help you feel less overwhelmed.
Like nowster said you could be dehydrated. When I was trying to juggle everything recently I kept noticing I was never finishing my glasses of water, often left half a glass. Hydration is so important , especially for running.
When I started running I focused on just flat areas to do my first couple of weeks of C25K. Kept it slow and simple.
The running helps my mental health massively and I’m sure that will help yours too.
A month or so after I graduated from C25K and the more I ran, the more I wanted to be healthier physically too. So I started cutting down on sugar and focused getting my sweet fix from fruit (still in moderation). I still have treats occasionally as it’s important to be realistic and that way I will gradually reach my weight loss goals.
I hope that helps. You have got this 👌🏻Wishing you all the best! 😀
It's an unfortunate fact that being overweight makes us feel like crap - we get stuck in a place that's hard to dig out of. Obesity, PCOS, stress and dysthymia can all feed into each other in a self-destructive loop.
The corollary there is that once you do get yourself slimmer (and you will) it's quite easy to maintain. So, you can look forward to things getting easier!
However it only gets easier if you do it right. A lot of people seem determined to punish themselves for being fat (eg., by giving themselves gerbil-sized portions of food instead of eating proper, nourishing meals) and end up with a lifetime of stress. Don't do that to yourself. Eating less does not work (and there's no scientific reason for believing that it should). All it does is make you feel miserable.
I would echo Rennur 's advice about the running: just do something to stay active, but don't force yourself to run if you're not in the mood or not ready for it. At 11 stone, the most likely outcome is that you'll injure yourself. There's a reason your body is telling you not to run.
However you should be focusing mostly on getting your diet right. You're craving sugar because your metabolism is failing - you're well on the way to becoming diabetic. Fortunately it's incredibly simple to sort this out. Have a look at the following:
phcuk.org/ (the 'real food booklets' under 'resources' is a good starting point)
dietdoctor.com/ (these guys have a paid program, but all of the important stuff is free).
Give your body good, nutritious meals full of things that it really needs and it'll stop asking for things that it doesn't need. Give it a month or so and you'll start feeling much better, and the flab will just drop away without much effort on your part. Your skin will look better too.
Keep focused on what you're going to look like six months from now, and visualise how much better your life is going to be.
Also in education. Completely depressed at the minute. I have lost over 6 stone but at the minute I am eating so much junk food it is unreal. I am on the verge of phoning in sick. Nearly did last night.
Running is what is keeping my afloat. I have so much planning to do, I’m a single mum and I’m juggling life. I need an extra day on the week to be able to get everything done. But I always run. No matter what, I run. If I didn’t, God knows where is be now. Running is my medicine.
You aren’t alone. If you haven’t already done so, read everything you can about PCOS. The dummies guide to it is a good place to start, sometimes it can feel quite overwhelming with so much info.
I know what is said about weight and running but YOU are the best judge of what you can and can’t do.
Not wanting to do it is very different from being unable to do it.
I’m 5ft6 and at my heaviest a few years ago I weighed in at 17stone 11lbs. Everything hurt, nothing in my body was doing what it was supposed to do. I felt awful, I was eating all the wrong stuff I was destroying my own chance at life.
One day I just had enough, I read the books I got it right in my head I embarked on making myself feel better.
I knew I couldn’t run at that size, nor did I want to run - so I walked. I walked as fast as I could for 2 miles every day, regardless of the weather and I cut down drastically on the carbs. I still ate chocolate (not in the same quantities as before) and I vowed never to buy Jaffa cakes ever again..... because I would just eat the whole flippin box.
The weight came off, it came off quickly. I was spurred on my my progress so I kept going. I still drank at weekends, I still ate what I liked, I just ate less and avoided bread and spuds as much as I could. I did eat a lot of eggs to keep me full.
I lost 6 stone in 18 months - it changed my life.
My weight will still fluctuate up and down, it’s a constant battle, but it’s a way of life for me.
I’m still classed as obese now. But I started the programme in January and I’m in week 8 so go figure. I’m not the fastest out there but that’s not a problem because I’m not in a race.
You HAVE to get this right in your head before you can succeed. Once you’ve cracked that you’ll be where you need to be.
I wish you the very best of luck. Be strong. Do it for yourself and see the butterfly emerge afterwards. You are beautiful 🦋
It looks as if you BMI is just less than 30 and hence NOT "obese". You could try to jog and see how you go. It might be the thing that encourages you to eat better. You may not get injured if you take things easy and slowly. Everything in moderation. If you are concerned, talk to your doctor. S/he may advise you about jogging.
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will be looking into all the links. I’ll let you know how I get on!
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