everything seems to be going wrong, need a fresh start and advice

I dont know what to do anymore. Actually I do know, but I dont know how to bring myself to do it. I cant bring myself to excercise properly, its been over half a year since i did anything regularly. My binging problem contiues, usually every 7-10 days I have another binge, although the intensity of the binges have actually decreased (went from 5000 cals in one sitting to maybe 2000, maybe 1000). The only reason I'm not overweight is because after binging I can't bring myself to eat much, not because I want to restrict but because I feel so sick it doesnt seem worth it to feel more pain in my stomach.

My irregular/missing periods were due to seriously low hormone levels. My doctor put me on yasmin birth control, which is making me feel sluggish and lazier than ever. I'm either bloated, nauseas, somewhat uncomfortable, or eating crap and then just feeling bad again. Apparently my ovaries are swollen, my hormone levels are so low i should be in menapause (actually i think my LH hormone was even lower than menapause levels). I *might* have mild PCOS and insulin resistance (mild because I'm not overweight and dont have much excess hair....although I am slowly gaining weight, and I am hairier than most girls).

SO, its time to make a change, and I need advice. I need to motivate myself. I need to stop gaining weight. I need to stop feeling so depressed all the time, get off my lazy ass, do some excercise, and eat properly. No more snacking out of the fridge, no more skipping breakfast due to nausea, no more being pressured into eating things I dont want by my super-traditional family who find it rude if I dont. But to achieve all this, I need someone telling me how to eat properly and what/how much i should eat. I know thats a stupid question to ask now, but it will make me feel better and more confident about what i should to.

As an 18 year old girl who needs to restore a messed up metabolism from binge eating, 5'3 and 115 lbs, with a risk of osteosperosis and insulin resistance, how much and what should I be eating if I should start to excercise again twice a week for an hour?

I started taking a multivitamin and a 200mg calcium supplement, to atleast help prevent any further damage. I have to continue taking birth control for atleast 5 more months to regulate my hormones. Besides that I need a healthy diet and regular excercise. I know twice a week for an hour doesnt seem much, but I have to start somewhere. I barely have any muscle left in my body, its so little that i've been told i look atleast 15 pounds more than i weigh. Although I know that right now, due to all other health concerns, my looks arent something I am in a place to worry about.

Anyway, sorry for the huge rant. I guess I just desperately need some advice and words of wisdom...

EDIT: just wanted to add that the doctor who told me all this also told me that I should try to not gain any more weight, since my bones are so small it might cause more complications. :(

It sounds as though you'd be a good candidate for the type of structured dietary advice and moral support that you'd get through a diet club.  Although, ironically, at 115lbs and 5'3" (BMI 20.4) you may not be admitted.  Failing that, you could consult a dietician... is that a service you're offered via your doctor or could you find one privately?   Or I'd really recommend you have a look at the suggested menu on this website which is specifically aimed at teenagers wanting to eat more healthily ....  http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/agesandstages/teens /weeklymenu/ And, contrary to what your doctor said, I thought people who were slightly heavier developed slightly stronger skeletons as a result.

http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.html

According to this site, if you're just lightly/normally active (just moving around or doing some exercise occasionally) you need 1950 cals a day.  If you were to increase your activity to an hour a day that rises to 2250.

thanks gi-jane, you always have some advice for everyone! I will try to aim for a calorie range of 1900-2000. Am i right in assuming that gaining some weight at first would be normal (considering that ive been eating either way too much or way too little)?

I'm considering following that mealplan for a few days, and changing a few things to my preference and convinience. Since i'll be moving to the UK soon, that website seems a good choice to look around too. I don't know if I will be able to include that much variety in my diet, but I am definetely going to try...

And no..my doctor didnt tell me about consulting a dietician. I guess it could be a good idea, but right now I'm about to move and I have no idea where to find one here. I might see if my university has one once I get there.

"to what your doctor said, I thought people who were slightly heavier developed slightly stronger skeletons as a result."

so would you say that if I were to get heavier, my bones would be able get bigger? or just stronger? I'll ask my physiotherapist (would a physiotherapist know?), just in case the doctor is mistaken.

What kind of diet clubs would you generally recommend, gi-jane? :)

ok so I consulted my doctor again. She told me my bones wont be getting any stronger so I would hav to focus on not gaining weight (and getting some muscle, I assume). Physiotherapist said something of the sort too, but said it wasnt a proffesional opinion...

Either way, I dont want to aim at gaining or losing weight or anything. Just not binging and being HEALHY again.

The doc also said that if I'm insulin resistant, its new and mild, and so it's not worth getting checked yet, and I should just assume I am and watch out....which means I have to look up what exactly I need to "watch out" for. Any ideas? I just know I shouldnt eat alot of sugar or simple carbs by themselves...am I right?

Original Post by ninafish:

What kind of diet clubs would you generally recommend, gi-jane? :)

They've all got strengths and weaknesses.  I quite like the Rosemary Conley club because it combines exercise with a healthy diet... although her diet plan is way too low-fat and has a few other niggles.  Weightwatchers is fine if you can ignore the selling-on that happens and if you stick with healthy eating.  I quite like a site called www.ediets.com which offers people chance to create their own calorie-counted menu-plans from a database....  and the online ones are good if you don't want to be weighed-in and have to sit in a room with other people.

Original Post by sk33ny:

which means I have to look up what exactly I need to "watch out" for. Any ideas? I just know I shouldnt eat alot of sugar or simple carbs by themselves...am I right?

 If you get regular meals, plenty to eat and base your meals mostly around vegetables and wholegrains, with reasonable amounts of other foods (meat, fish, oils, dairy, fruit) thrown in to balance (as per that suggested menu) then you should be able to keep your blood-sugars stable.  Yes, try to avoid foods with more than 20g sugar per 100g and, where possible, choose the whole/unprocessed version of a food.  There's a good book called 'The Low GI Guide to Managing PCOS' by Jennie Brand-Miller which can explain how it helps.

If you don't do so already I'd strongly recommend you learn how to cook.  There's nothing quite like getting your sleeves rolled up and being more engaged with ingredients at a practical 'hands on' level to ultimately help you restore a happy relationship with food.

Sounds tough... I just popped in to say good luck with it all. I was also told I might have a change of being insulin resistant, which is one of the reasons I decided to join this site. But yeah, all the advice before is what I heard too.

Original Post by gi-jane:

Original Post by ninafish:

What kind of diet clubs would you generally recommend, gi-jane? :)

They've all got strengths and weaknesses.  I quite like the Rosemary Conley club because it combines exercise with a healthy diet... although her diet plan is way too low-fat and has a few other niggles.  Weightwatchers is fine if you can ignore the selling-on that happens and if you stick with healthy eating.  I quite like a site called www.ediets.com which offers people chance to create their own calorie-counted menu-plans from a database....  and the online ones are good if you don't want to be weighed-in and have to sit in a room with other people.

Thanks Jane :) x

cooking is fun for me, but somehow i end up eating half the food before i'm done serving... happened today :/

but i understand what you mean about restoring a happy relationship, i'm going to try hard.

Have a light snack before you start or during cooking... a piece of fruit or chop up some raw vegetables to nibble on.  That's what I do.

But originally you said you can't eat much because it makes you feel sick.  Now if you're so tempted by what you're cooking that half of it disappears before it makes it onto the plate I'd say that was a massive improvement.  Clearly, the activity of cooking is stimulating your jaded appetite. 

Good luck

Yeah eating like that is usually what ends up making me feel sick. It starts off with "i need to see how this is turning out...and trying this....maybe adding and trying this too..." to eating half the thing and regreting it. its a self control thing i need to learn.

next time, i'll do your thing with the vegetables (and hope it doesnt fill me up enough to not want to eat afterwards!).