Thanks. With your stats, and based on the normal calculators, you should be able to maintain at about 2500, or lose a lb a week at 2000. If you are not, then you need to see a doctor to find out if you might have diabetes and be insulin resistant or have some other pysiological problem like low thyroid or something.
And please don't tell me you can't afford it. If you are a student, you qualify for student insurance...if not, then cough up the money for the doc appt. It's a matter of priorities. If your health is not a priority, then it will always be put on the back burner.
I have some health issues I cannot deal with because of cost...so I understand. But my life choices put other things in front of those health issues. So, it's still my choice to choose something else over health insurance. Most people have choices...they just dont recognize or accept them.
Last edited by recidivist; 02-20-2009 at 02:38 AM.
Actually I am not a student, I graduated last August. I worked until November and was (essentially) laid off. I will be working again soon. My loans are due starting next month, and as someone who has had no income for several months (and is living off of my fiance's family) I actually don't have the money to go to the doctor. I recently stopped taking a certain medication because I can't afford to go and get the prescription refilled. While I am sure your heart is in the right place, saying "...please don't tell me you can't afford it." is not at all helpful and slightly offensive.
I'd love to "cough up" the money to go to the doctor, but at the moment it's just not going to happen. Maybe next month when I am working I will have some left over from paying off my loans and I will be able to go, otherwise I'm on my own. My parents have been sending me $200/month to help me out. I talked to the doctor's office, and a visit is $90. That's not something I can spare.
Also, sadly enough, I do have health insurance through my job. The deductible is just too high for it to really pay for anything besides emergencies.
Thank you for your advice, but if one of these health issues is what's wrong then there is not a lot I can do about it anyway. I'll just have to keep trying.
Also, I don't know if the thyroid thing can develop over time, but I was tested for it when I was around 12 years old and they found nothing wrong. As far as diabetes goes, my stepfather is a veterinarian and has given me some test strips they use in the lab to determine diabetes in animals and every time I have used them they have been negative (though I know that's not the most reliable source.)
Sorry if this comes off as grumpy, it's just that money has been a very, very big issue these past few months and it's hard to have someone tell you to just "come up with the money" when you are living with your fiance's family because you have no money for rent / eating their food because you have no money for groceries / and worst of all, having to send money TO your deadbeat employers because your useless health insurance fees are due and you aren't getting paychecks.
Thanks for your input, I really don't mean to be grouchy, this is just a very touchy subject.
Hey! That's an average of 1547 cals per day for that length of time, skipping the day you didn't record.
I'd suggest you bring up those low cal days. Try to get the average closer to 1700 or 1800 and see how that goes for a month. At your current size, you do need those calories just to walk around your house.
And do consider doing more walking. It's a good way to burn more calories. Make sure you have some good shoes, too.
It's so strange to think I need to be eating more!
My work schedule is picking back up (worked 2 days this week) and I will be back into a pretty full swing next week. The nice thing about this job is that it is fairly active. I work for a church directory company that has a traveling studio, that means that on the first day we get there we have to unload a lot of stuff (a lot of heavy lifting) and set it up. The last day, we tear it down and pack it into one of our vehicles. The days between I get exercise too, from walking back and forth to greet the customers, taking their pictures, and walking them to the monitor where we view their portraits. The job is about 1/2 sitting and talking and 1/2 walking and standing. So that should help on my exercise, which means I definitely need to up my calories. Thanks!
You mentioned that you ran out of your RX and could not afford to refill it. I totally understand about not having the $$ for RX's.. Mine added up to more than 70% of our income (fixed retirement) when I suffered a heart attack. I went to the doctor, explained I had no insurance and had a gargantuan hospital bill that I owed. He charged me only $15 per office visit and he provided me with samples of most of the meds I was on. They get these samples from the pharmaceutical companies for zip, and they can pass them on to you.. Just ask. And if they don't have it in their stash, then ask for a generic prescription... and go to WalMart.. then it only costs $4 per month.
As for stalling.. I am nearly 66 years old and in January I dropped 9.4 pounds. But I forced myself to find the time to walk at least one mile nearly every day. I missed walking 8 days because of inclement weather, but now I have rain ponchos to wear and go every day and now have built myself up to a mile and a half every single day. I have stalled for a week or so at a time, but just am thankful that I don't gain. It seems that the body is rebelling and needs time to adjust and realize that the weight is absolutely going to come off.. and we just have to be patient and out wait those stalls.
So far this month, I have lost 4.6 lbs. and for me that is fine. It is slowing down, but okay.
I take a RX that actually keeps my metabolic rate waaaay down. The reason for that is that I only have 2/3 of my heart function left and so I am not allowed to let my heart rate go over 100 unless I am in the doctors presence. That is so that I don't overtax the remainder of my heart that is still alive. So, it only makes sense that I cannot eat as many calories or carbs and still lose weight. I must keep below 1200 or I will actully gain weight because of my slowed metabolic rate.
You are only 22 and I know that you can increase your activity enough to offset you caloric intake. You are so very young and without a lot of health issues us old folks have.
So, just hang in there and you will drop the weight and see a dramatic change soon.
Thank you for calling me on what I said Beauty, and I ask you to please forgive me. I'm afraid I was projecting my own frustration onto you...I tend not to take care of myself, as if my health is not worth spending money on it, and it's hard for me to cough up the money for a doctors visit, even when I really need to go. I am crippled right now from a knee injury, and while I know I can't afford the necessary surgery to fix it, I might get some advice from the doc on exercises that might help or something, yet I won't spend the money to go see him. I really need to see an orthopedic doc, not my family doc, and that is $165 just for the exam (I don't have insurance). I will eventually go see him, but first have to pay $1000 for oral sugery (which I've been trying to save up for), and they won't take payments and I don't use credit. So I'm in the same boat as you.
Your regular doctor should be willing to see you and bill you later and make payments though. A new doc might not, but if you have a prescription then you've already seen a doc.
If you are afraid of finding out that you need more medication you can't afford, I can understand that too. You can ask your doctor for a form to send to the drug company that makes your medication and request to get the meds cheaper or even free on a low income scholarship. I was going to do that with an asthma med I need, but just haven't gotten around to it. And your doc will try to give you samples if he has them.
But I also understand that you may not want to rack up a $90 bill (and more for tests) just to find out there is nothing wrong with you. I get it...believe me.
So again, I am sorry for projecting my frustration with myself onto you. You weren't being "grumpy". I was the one who was out of line.
Last edited by recidivist; 02-20-2009 at 05:51 PM.
The best way you can avoid medical costs is to just go for a 30 minute walk or something like that. It's free. Go with friends, family, yourself. There's no excuse for a sedentary lifestyle. My mother has a metal hip (got it at age 37 - she is 50+ now), isn't allowed to run according to the doctor, but still makes it to the pool which is $1 per cheap swim.
You cannot afford to be sedentary!
Free: pushups (even against the wall if you can't do full ones), knee pushups, dips on a chair, etc. Whole wheat pasta, beans, apples, eggs, all cheap.
I admit, between my 6 days of work a week (including 12hr shifts) and fulltime course schedule at university, sometimes I hate having to workout.
**But I am NOT going to end up like my parents who never exercised (they "ate for a sedentary lifestyle") and who are experiencing the health problems of inactivity. Humans were made to be active! We need it!
And to everyone else, thank you for your help. I talked to my stepdad about the different problems it could be and he believes too that it is a lack of eating enough coupled with a lack of activity.
The medication I am going off of has a terrible withdrawal symptom of making me dizzy when I move around too much. This makes it difficult to exercise right now but I know it's no excuse. If I have to, I'll lay on the floor and do crunches or leg lifts, or try yoga (though the dizziness may knock me right on my butt with that one!)
