NHS Help??

[ThinMindFatBody]

Ok, so I've been diagnosed with Depression and Anxiety, which goes hand on hand with my eating problems.

I'd love some help to control my weight as I also have PCOS and IBS. However I was told by my doctor that seeing a nutritionist would be pretty much impossible because I don't have an eating disorder.

Does anyone know of any way I could see someone who could help me?

I've tried Weightwatchers, Slimming world, eating less and exercising more but these are quite hard for me at the moment with my mental issues. I'd love someone to help me to make the right food choices to suit my body rather than follow a 'diet' that I can't sustain forever and that doesn't suit my body.

Any ideas will be gratefully received

Thanks for reading.

[TiredDoc]

Dear friend, when you have PCOS and IBS the issue is that the complex carbs useful for PCOS ( eg GI diet) irritate IBS if it has gluten. pcosdietsupport.com

Is a very helpful website that is both low gluten and PCOS friendly- will keep blood sugar levels reasonable. Caffeine can cause issues with blood sugar and can excerbate anxiety too, so try to reduce slowly and stop. Given your anxiety and depression, if you can get hold of ' mind over mood' cbt work books and set yourself some small behavioural goals- exercise is a fantastic evidenced treatment for mild anxiety. If you like nature or swimming- a good place to start. Best of luck- baby steps- well

Done for posting

[TiredDoc in reply to TiredDoc]

Correction- exercise behavioural plan- evidenced based treatment for depression.

For anxiety- there are lots of free / cheap mindfulness apps / progressive muscle relaxation - headspace is good- that can help.

Best of luck.

[ThinMindFatBody in reply to TiredDoc]

Thank you. I'm starting CBT this week for the depression/anxiety/eating issues so I'm hoping that'll help me change the way I see food. I shall look into this website.

Many thanks for your time

[ChasingthePerfectMe]

ah buddy I feel your pain. I cant say I have depression, I have felt pretty down at times but nothing I cant manage to snap out of myself. What I can relate to is the very bad eating habits brought on by my many moods, whether it be happiness, sadness, stress etc

I have had it pretty bad this last couple of months (family and marital issues) and that has had a major effect on my eating lifestyle - to the point where I am actually considering going to my GP for an eating disorder. What I have tried to do throughout is maintain some level of exercise each day - it doesn't need to be a lot, it can be a walk around the block or house cleaning - anything to get my muscles moving. Each day I set myself one goal, and then build on it throughout the week, so day 1 I start of by drinking a litre of water, day 2 a litre of water and half an hour of skipping, day 3 skipping, water and eat 1400 kcal...you get the idea

Please let us know how you get on and how you are progressing. Good luck and welcome

[fibronfedup]

I did cbt talking therapies last year for my depression and anxiety and it really helped me get my head straight. Before that i was never able to stick with a diet. Now i calorie count and have full control over what i eat when i eat. I still have bad days, dont we all? But ive learnt to look at things differently and more positively. The 12 week nhs plan was great for me, as it wasnt a set diet, it gave me charts to follow and plenty of advice, and this site is priceless for help and support. Start by making changes to your fave meals that will lower the calories but still taste good like cous cous instead of rice or pasta. I only keep healthier low cal snacks in the flat as it stops me comfort eating on the wrong things. Set yourself small goals to work towards such as walk more, no "junk" for a week ie chocolate or crisps and increase them as you feel better. A year after my cbt i still use my relapse prevention plan and have used it to keep me focused to my new healthier lifestyle. Wish you all the best. Let us know how you get on, always here to support

[Penel]

If you have PCOS you need to reduce the amount of insulin your body is having to cope with, this means you need to reduce the amount of carbohydrate you eat, especially sugar and processed carbs.

If you think you may have a problem with gluten, you need to get tested for coeliac disease, IBS can be triggered by a variety of foods/stress.

Perhaps have a look at Low Carb diets, which should help with weight loss too.

Good luck with it all.

authoritynutrition.com/12-b...

[GoogleMe]

You could also have a look at the Beyond Chocolate organisation which has some interesting and non-faddy approaches to issues with food.

You might also find that your local authority has some good initiatives for weight loss/fitness (I have sometimes found that LAs are far better than health professionals in terms of empowerment and accessibility)

[Sloggingalong]

Hi ThinMindFatBody

I would like to recommend you having a look at the Zoe Harcombe diet. It is low carb and seems to be working very well for a lot of people. I started it this week and I am really enjoying it. You do a detox for the first five days but believe me it is not difficult by any stretch of the imaginiation. You still have three good sized meals a day. The detox rids your body of cravings of sugar, carbs, Wine!!!!

I have been down the road with Slimming World and Weight Watchers as well and my weight just keeps yoyoing all the time.

I have had to totally re-think my idea of "healthy" foods and it really seems to be working - watch this space.

Have a read of some of the diet online and reviews - in my opinion, you can't go wrong!! Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[FatbellyGutbucket]

IMHO (I am NOT a health professional). I have, however, had severe depression so can understand what you are dealing with. Time to be blunt.

If you are genuinely overweight and that is a contributing factor to your depression I'd argue that you do have a problem you need professional help dealing with. Perhaps your mental health practitioner can guide you towards a health and well-being service? Good physical health, I've found, is essential to maintain good mental health.

[ThinMindFatBody in reply to FatbellyGutbucket]

Honestly, that's what I thought. I don't understand how just because I don't suffer from Anorexia or Bulimia, my problems with my weight are any less important than theirs? Who knows how this all works.

I worked my BMI out as about 35, which is not good at all. I think I'm going to push this at my next doc and therapy apps. Thanks