by roundcoconut » Wed May 04, 2016 9:39 am
The food you're eating sounds super healthy. As you know people often eat plant-based but eat a version w/ fewer whole natural foods. Your version sounds full of whole natural foods, and I am happy to see that! I just wish you weren't feeling fatigue and discouragement. (Everything you are experiencing sounds unlike pre-menopause to me; I would tend to rule that out.)
I HAVE known people who've had to abstain from, say, soy, corn, gluten and strawberries, and experienced excellent health once they were able to get those foods fully and completely out of their system. If that turns out to be the case with you -- meaning you find that you have some types of food sensitivities -- then that would be worth knowing. If I were you, I would pursue an elimination diet -- it would be very much worth the effort to me! An elimination diet sounds like a total pain in the ass, but you only have to do it once, and then you can enjoy the benefits for many, many years.
Have you had your thyroid checked? Symptoms of low thyroid might have something to do with massive fatigue.
Another thing that might be worth trying, would be brisk exercise. There is a fairly famous guy (Tom Peters) who says that he goes on a 5-mile brisk walk every day, and that is his anti-depressant. Before that level of exercise, he experienced the hopelessness and helplessness symptoms of semi-clinical depression.
I wouldn't necessarily tackle all those things at once -- just try an avenue and see if it is the right one!
You are really doing so many thing well, and I hope you feel proud of yourself for what you've accomplished. You are like a marathon runner who has trained well, but is dealing with a small but temporary injury. All the worrk you have done so far, WILL lead you to the energy and the size you want to have, but you will still need to put in a tiny bit of work to reach your tipping point. From there, things will start to be much easier, and the ball will start to roll downhill for you.
Please see your struggles as temporary and overcome-able! I really believe they are.
I don't want to totally ignore the part about how your weight hasn't dropped -- it's just that I believe you will be able to move the scale number a bit once you have better well-being and better energy levels. I really do believe you will succeed, and hope you can push through the little challenges that are coming at you, by knowing that there IS a way forward, you just need to find it.