Help, advice, frightened :(

Awww bless you.

My first thought is careful on cerazette. Some people love it but equal numbers hate it. It makes me very anxious and upset.

Secondly, have you tried the My Fitness Pal app. It's fab for tracking food. It really really helps keep an eye on what you are eating and in turn helps weight loss. You can get in a really good routine of what you can eat for minimum calories and once you get going the motivation will kick in when you see results. I can't recommend it enough - it really helps me.

I was just about to say the same thing, I have been using myfitnesspal to lose weight for my wedding and it has really worked for me, I find it really easy and motivating and it is good that it makes you think more about what you are eating ;-)

Good advice so far. Slimming World is great - have you tried that before?

Also, a note about Cerazette - I loved it and was on it for years before I came off to start TTC. So not everyone doesn't get on with it.

Have you tried WeightWatchers? It doesn't work for everyone, but definitely worked for me. My BMI was about 33 when I started and when I finished it was a healthy 24.

Essentially, the main thing with getting your BMI to a healthy range is to eat less and move more. If you don't want to diet as such, then just take up more exercise. Even if it's just doing a 20 minute DVD every day, or going for a long walk.

Firstly, hugs and don't be so hard on yourself. I hope you find that the new pill suits you. Like all of them, some people suit it, some people don't. If you get on with it, then you may find you don't get periods any more, bonus!

Good advice so far, different things work for different people in terms of following Slimming World or using MFP etc.

My BMI puts me in the 'should be dead' category - but I'm far from it and on a day to day basis I'm quite a healthy person. Today for lunch I had homemade roast red pepper soup, a slice of brown bread and a yoghurt. The girls in the kitchen with me at the time were eating chips and a pot noodle. (she only poos once a fortnight ?) I'm fat, they're thin! Making changeds changes towards a healthier eating and exercise are the main things, rather than drastic stuff to try and reduce your BMI immediately (althought that's just my personal opinion)

It's no secret that I am a Slimming World advocate and if you speak to your doctor, I think some GP's refer patients to Slimming World with so many weeks free (my mum got her first 12 weeks free). It's basically healthy eating and encourages you to make the right choices when you are hungry. It's a long term plan with no quick fix and with that in mind, once the weight is off, you will find it easier to keep it off.

I still have my wobbles and the odd week here and there where it all goes to pot, but on the whole, it has become a way of life for me and my husband now.

Agree with Panj. about SW being a way of life. I'm not actively following it at the moment but find myself out of habit cooking in a certain way, to their principles.

This is me! I really don't understand why I find weight loss so hard when I have a relatively healthy diet. How come other people can eat chrisps and chocolate bars on a daily basis and be skinny?

Gracey, I would recommend My Fitness Pal too. I have used it to loose about 5 pounds (which is the biggest success I have ever had on a diet). I have hit a brick weight loss wall at the moment, but My Fitness Pal is helping me maintain my weight, which is better than nothing. I can't really do weight watchers or anything like that because H and I cook and eat together, but My Fitness Pal is a good alternative if you can't do slimming clubs.

Sorry you are feeling a little rubbish at the minute.

There are other options instead of the pill. I've got a coil (copper one, none hormonal) and lasts for 10 years. it's just something to think about if you are worried about side affects from the pill.

Is there any exercise or class that you thought, "oh, I wouldn't mind trying that" and never did, maybe just give it a try, you never know. One of my friends started out going to zumba, she said it was great fun didn't really feel like exercise but she lost loads of weight. Or how about walking a bit more than usual.

As others have siad about the fitness app (cant remember the name) my OH lost about 2/3 stone using that, in conjunction with doing more exercise and watching his portion size.

(Hugs)

I too am using myfitnesspal and like it. But I'm very OCD and quite enjoy counting and tracking things anyway. I know many of these plans don't work for everyone.

Have you thought about alternative methods of contraception? I couldn't take the pill during and after a long bout of leg surgery, so until I had my sterilisation, I had to use condoms. And there are other methods out there too.

You have to bear in mind that the doc has taken you off the pill cos they're concerned about your risk of blood clotting, which is often a valid concern. But with that in mind, do as much research as you can. Try to get into some hard scientific studies about the risks (not just anecdotal evidence) and whether the doc is justified in refusing you this particular pill.

I'm a terrible wuss when it comes to the doc, but if you're bigger than 'average', you do have to advocate for yourself up to a point. Doctors are notorious for blaming everything they can on patients being overweight. Would it be worth seeing a different doctor if this one has made you feel upset or shamed?

And remember, it's highly unlikely that having a slightly high BMI is 'putting your life at risk'. Read up about health at every size (HAES). If you really want to lose weight then you should give it a go, but if you don't, you are entitled to consider the other options. Lots of people have issues with food which means it's better for them mentally to stay at the size they are, rather than drive themselves crazy trying and failing to diet. That's not a popular opinion, but it's true. It just means you might have a harder time proving to doctors that you're entitled to treatment.

Good luck and please be kind to yourself

I'm another (recent) Slimming World convert and I think it's brilliant. It's all about making the right choices and being mindful of what you're eating. Once you get the hang of it it's so easy and I could easily do it for the rest of my life. I have done MFP before but to me it's not really a long term option, I found logging everything I eat very tedious. With SW, fruits, vegetables, lean meat/eggs/fish and pasta/potatoes/rice make up the majority of your diet and you barely have to even think about it. I could eat chocolate etc if I wanted, but I'm not craving it at all anymore.

Out of interest I once logged everything I'd eaten that day on MFP while on SW and I was absolutely amazed that I had eaten so much food, hadn't felt hungry once and I had only eaten about 1300 calories.

I'm another who has always tried to lose weight and struggled, but about 10 years ago I hit the obese category of BMI, and I vowed to lose weight. I managed to get my BMI down to about 26.5 before it plateaued for so long I just stopped trying so hard. All I did was use a website called Sparkpeople to track food and exercise and also use the communities for support. I stopped using the website, but I've never gotten back up to the obese category since, and I think if I hadn't learned a lot about calories and nutrition I probably would have just ballooned. My BMI tends to fluctuate between 27 and 28 and I've never managed to get it lower than 26, I always 'give up' first because I stop seeing results. I did try weight watchers and loved it for a while, but after a couple months I plateaued again and for months saw no change, so stopped paying...

i think places like Sparkpeople, weight watchers, and slimming world are invaluable in that they can give you the tools to help yourself, and hopefully even if you stop using them you will remember what to do to remain healthy.

This is why SW works for me. You get to learn which foods are okay to eat freely and which ones to eat limited amounts of. I know it sounds like common sense but you would be surprised how many people would happily eat cereal bars thinking they are healthy, or add a round of bread to their meal to "fill them up" and not realise how fattening these things can be.

I am at a point now where I don't count syns, I just know what I can and can't have and in what measures.

Also, it's about listening to your body and knowing when you are actually hungry, when you are full and when you are eating for other reasons and how to deal with those situations.

Same here. I've been on it years and have been fine.

Good advise as usual on here from others re, slimming

Thank you all so much ? this post has really helped me get back on track!! I have downloaded the my fitness pal app already, and tracked my weight and written down everything I are yesterday, and it's really helped! It's given me an idea of how many calories I can have in a day (about 1600) and I am really going to stick to it!! Hubby is going to do it with me too - not so much the app but eating healthier, and more movement/exercise. Yesterday we had two sausages and a vegetable ragu for dinner, whereas before we probably would have had chips or a jacket or pasta, and for dessert we had a yogurt, but that is going to stop too most of the time - am a chocoholic I think so though I think I will have some occasionally, it won't be all the time!!

I have PCOS too, and a few years ago I really got into it well, minimal carbs, and 'good' small amount of carbs if I did have them, so I just need to get back into that mindset! So thank you, I suppose the doctors has spurred me on in a way, they weren't nasty about it, they were ok so it wasn't so much that, just me beating myself up about it! This morning I have so far had a yogurt and have logged it into my food diary, which is really helping as it is along me think so much more about food!!

So thank you all for the support ? I really appreciate it

Me three, been on it for years and years, after being on some that really didn't work out for me...everyone is different, you never know might work for you!

I also have pcos and was diagnosed at 13 I am now 32 ! I originaly went on dianette for 9 years and was taken off and put on cerazzete, the cerazzete has been fine with no issues. I take 2 a day due to my bmi, I started low carb last june and have lost 4 stone and have a further 5 stone to lse to get to a bmi of 30 for fertility treatment. I could never lose weight following any other diet as its the carbs that are an issue with pcos. don't worry about the pill and hope you get on well

Hayley x

Glad you are getting on well with my fitness pal. I like it because it's so easy to use, especially the barcode scanner but if you go over one day its not the end of the world. The weekly average bit is really helpful.

another vote for Zumba here too. I lost weight with it.

quite envious of you girls that get on well with cerazette. I didn't have a period for 2 years on it so in that respect I loved it but emotionally it turned me loopy! just goes to show how different everyone is.

Interesting to read everyone's experience with cerazette. I started it 4-5 months ago and love it.

i'd never used a pill before so can't compare with others but I spent a long the with doc talking through options. I get lots of migraines and pretty painful periods so doc recommended trialling cerazette. I wasn't sure and googled the hell out of it,..reading all kinds of horror stories about weight gain, anxiety, pregnancies(!!) & non-stop bleeding! For some reason I decided to give it a go anyway & Im happy to report that it agrees with me.

I've not had a period since starting it, which i couldnt get my head around at all in the beginning. Ha, after 3 months i even forced myself to do a pregnancy test but thankfully all good! No anxiety, no random bleeding, no pregnancy!, and I'm still losing weight with the help of myfitnesspal and 30day shred!

I do take it at exactly the same time every day iwhch I've heard helps?