[doxrn]

I need to lose 50-70 pounds. Have bought the Sonoma Diet book and am thinking of giving it a try. I've not had great luck losing weight as I am a carboholic. Problem is I have severe arthritis and exercise is extremely painful. I'm 51, married, mother, grandmother, dog owner and work full-time. Not so sure how long I can stay employed in my present job if the arthritis derails me. I'm like a car with no brake pads squealing down the highway- just bone on bone. Thinking of going back to school to get another degree so I can get a desk job. Anyone else with this same or similar problem who wants to be a buddy?

[lilybelle]

Welcome and Good Luck. I am on Atkins program, so probably wouldn't make a very good partner for you. I do have a lot of health problems , but not really arthritis. I do know that losing weight will help with your joint pain and I am wishing you the best.

[Misti in Seattle]

Hello and welcome! Yeh I am sure that losing weight will help with the pain. Perhaps you should discuss with your doctor to find things you can do and get some input there.

[doxrn]

I have an appointment in May to see the doctor. The weight issue and arthritis will be the topic of the day!

[Misti in Seattle]

Good for you! Also want to share... I have been really athletic all my life but the past couple years I have had lots of health problems and ended up gaining sooooooooooooo much weight! So when I started walking again it was so painful and I could go only a very short distance without sitting on the rocks, leaning on the poles, etc. LOL now I take victory laps around them! My point is... if you can only go just a very short distance, do it! Even to the end of your driveway and back. Don't worry about what you can't do... but focus on what you CAN! And as you are able, add just a bit to it each day! You will gain strength!

[lynnerosa]

I too have arthritis (although I'm lucky not to have it as severely as you do), am a grandmother, and love my dog. I work full time at the City of New York - in downtown Manhattan. I went back to school in my late 30's when I found I couldn't stand on my feet all day. So - I really recommend it. It is alwo fun and some lots of folks are intimidated at first - I found many student friends. I am working on the 50 pounds I need to lose. The problem for me and diets like Sonoma is that I get the book, get excited about it, don't get to the store one day and blow it. What works for me is to cook stuff on Sunday afternoons. I make a huge salad and bag it up for the week, roast a chicken or two - just make everything easy and simple. Fortunately it's just my husband and I, now, so we don't have kids wanting to order in pizza, etc. I walk walk walk, but don't do anything else. I have good shoes to keep my joints from rebelling and I take it as slowly as I need to.

Happy to be your buddy. I've been working on my weight since January 9th. 215 at that time and I'm down to 196. I also use FitDay to track what I eat. It really helped me get my head around what I was eating.

Anyway - good luck. I think the only thing is to keep on keeping on - It's a struggle and I never really believe anyone who says they have the answer. Sometimes I can move more and sometimes I can eat less and sometimes both and somethimes neither Laughing is good, though, even if it's just at my fat fanny.

I've never volunteered to be a buddy before, so I don't know how it works, but I'm out here.

[doxrn]

I am sending you a private message. Looking forward to working together to lose weight and keep mobility. Losing weight is hard enough without any extra pressure from health issues. I have not yet tried the Sonoma Diet. Am still reading the book.

[Sea]

Can this be a trio?
This grandmother allowed herself to be derailed. I'd lost 44 lbs the hard way; then 32 found me. I don't know, but I suspect it is the rapid regaining of the weight that has made my arthritis go crazy. Most days I could barely walk. All my joints hurt. I couldn't make a fist. The pain has been ruining even my sleep. Maybe I just hadn't noticed how bad it really was and getting off the weight helped me know how I want to feel. I now know exactly why I am trying to get it off.

But I am back on track. The exercise is just much harder than it was a year ago because of the arthritis. I have recently added glucosamine and MSM to my daily supplements and it seems to help some.

I don't know how to do the private msgs.

[doxrn]

Of course it can. Just go to your private message box after logging in. Or you can click on my name and send me a private message.