Hello All,
I thought I post today instead of just gaining inspiration from y'all by lurking. Even a lurker has to de-cloak once in a while!
It's a wonderful RAINY day in Tucson! I feel really up because the weather is so nice and cool. Of course, it will be back to scorching by the weekend. AZCYN What part of AZ do you hail from? I am a native who has lived here most of her life which may or may not be kinda sad I would love to live somewhere lush and green for a year but I would miss the desert too.
Does anyone follow the plan where you eat smallish meals every 2-3 hours to keep your metabolism at full speed? That is what I am doing now and I think that it works pretty well for losing the lbs. I do suffer occasionally from an emotional need to stress-eat to the point where I feel overly full but that is a challenge on every diet that I try.
I got realistic with myself and bought some clothes that are larger than what is in my closet. Just a few things for vacation this June. I am losing now but I had a 40 pound gain over the last year. My goal for this year is to get back under 300 and this time don't mess it up For some strange reason I became depressed when I went below 300. How crazy is that? I was out of my comfort zone and scared. I worked through some issues on why and now I can't wait to be there again.
Well, that's way too much about me
I hope everyone is having a wonderful day and, if not, I send you hugs
I called my dr's office and told them what you guys said, even gave the link to the calculator. The nurse told me I should go up to 1000 calories but less than 1500. I told her that the calc said differently, so she's going to have the dr call me tomorrow to discuss this.
I'll update when I can after talking to her.
Annette
I called my dr's office and told them what you guys said, even gave the link to the calculator. The nurse told me I should go up to 1000 calories but less than 1500. I told her that the calc said differently, so she's going to have the dr call me tomorrow to discuss this.
I'll update when I can after talking to her.
Annette
I can't imagine that they want you to eat 1000 cals per day. Amazing. I honestly would be worried about my metabolism.
I am hypothyroid and I have been on meds for it since diagnosed in 2007. When my levels are off...things are not good. I used to call my Dr and tell her I was tired...gaining weight (with no change in diet or activity level) and she used to brush me off. Well, that is until over Christmas when I nearly passed out waiting in line at Macy's on Christmas Eve. She saw me a few days later and my levels were WAAAAY off and since then she takes my word when things are not right. If I had not pushed, I would have been walking around in a fog for who knows how long.
The Dr. knows that I am using the Atkins plan to lose the excess weight and keep it off and I can get the calories in daily very easily and still lose. I do know that many diabetics use low carb (Atkins, South Beach, Protein Power...whatever works for them) to help with their diabetes. Might be worth investigating for the long haul. It is the first woe that I have been able to maintain without any hunger or constant thinking about food and having binging issues.
Just be your best advocate you can be when talking with your Doc. If you have to have a list of questions written in front of you to keep you on topic then do so.
Today I took a break during the work day and went on a walk. The office is in a beautiful location with a walking path but I rarely get the chance (or create the opportunity) to take advantage of it; plus it is sometimes risky for me to exercise later in the day. The walk enabled me to meet my walking goal for the week. Anything after this will be a bonus. It feels great to be back on program.
I am not usually a fan of breakfast/snack bars, but tried the Kashi TLC Honey Almond Flax and it is fantastic. Very filling with a glass of water and no funny stuff in the ingredients. It's not overly sweet and doesn't make me crave sugar as some of those granola-type bars do, as they are candy dressed up as healthy snacks.
I'm trying really hard to mix it up this time, as last time I burned out on the foods I was eating. Last night in the supermarket some portabello mushroom ravioli caught my eye, and instead of rejecting them out of hand, I bought them and had them for dinner. I was able to control myself and not eat a second serving or go looking for carbs and fat to stuff myself with. I know I have to be careful about how and when to eat simple carbs or I will fall into the abyss.
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Smiles: I love it! You all kicked butt.
Misti: Congrats on the loss!
Carol: With regard to the whoosh-actually when I started posting I was in the midst of one. It's still going on. My body loooooooves to hold on to the weight for weeks until it is absolutely sure I am not giving up. You know all those stories about tremendous first week weight loss? Ha! It is more like week 3-4 for me! I have lost approximately 7 lbs in the last week. I lost very little in the first 1-3 weeks total (not 100% sure because I only started facing the scale recently, but I could tell there was little to no loss).
Catherine and Julia - it is true,the old sewing machines were mechanically superior and built to last.
Bulging: Welcome. We hail from the same area but I am a Left Coaster now. My mother lives in the next town from you, and I lived in Hamilton Twp back in the early 90s.
Val: Congratulations on the huge loss!
Annette: I am really glad you are doing research on the calorie level. I don't understand it, but many doctors are not well informed on weight issues and some of them still tell everyone to eat the same amount of calories regardless of weight. Think of Weight Watchers. Their program is designed with a person's weight in mind. The heavier you are, the more points you are supposed to eat in a day. I hope the information you provide to your doctor will help the two of you come up with a good plan for your specific needs.
Pennie: I live in Peoria. I grew up in Phoenix, lived here all my life. I would LOVE to live somewhere lush and green as well..but I would miss my family too much!
Well..I went to the Dr. He didnt say I had STAPH again..but didn't say I didnt. He did say they could be bug bites BUT we are going to give you an antibiotic just in case. At the pharmacy he said to eat then take 30 min after cause it will cause nausia! GREAT~! When I went to the pharmacy, I said I hope these dont make me sick like the last ones, he asked what they were for,,he said oh they are treating you for MRSA/ I said they were before, He said oh I was going to say this is not for that. Last night I was up til 12:30 freaking out. I told the Dr and he said that if the Ativan isnt working then I can go back and see him for something else. I know that he means anti depressents. I have never believed in them. I always felt I could deal with LIFE on my own. That is fastly not coming true. My hubby takes pills to help him sleep. He does not take them everyday, only when he needs to. I think that I might need that as well. Today at work I cried all day. I ahve great friends there that would let me babble all day. I am exhausted right now and want to try and sleep. BUT scared.
HAS ANYONE HERE HAD ANXIETY ATTACKS? you can PM me if you want. I seriously think that is one thing that I am having. When I decribe to everyone what is going on, they don't understand cause they ahve not ahd them I guess. I don't know.
Cyn, JUST A QUICKIE, I was wondering if you were down. I know from experience that panicking, worrying & getting all kinds of illnesses (spots, tummy probs, rashes etc) can be symptoms of depression. See your Dr about it, there are SO MANY meds that you could try, you are NOT WEAK seeking help, better get help than suffer, get more ill & feel downright terrible. xxxxxxxxHUGSxxxxxxxx
Well been doing ok, but felt horrid yesterday, today TOM started (only visits occasionally now & very randomly too). I hope you are all well & I'll stop by later for a 'proper' post.
xxxxxxsharon
Annette -- Just to reiterate what letstryitgagain said, a lot of doctors don't have training in nutrition! Maybe you could get a referral to a dietician (asking in such a way as to not piss him or her off). Dieticians specialize in nutritional issues and may be able to really help you design a plan.
Well I sent a private email but will also respond here. Yes, as Sharon says, it CAN be depression. But it can also be caused by physical symptoms. In my case so many people kept trying to tell me I must be depressed and I KNEW I was not as I have been there, done that, been to the bottom of the barrel and bought the T-shirt. I even went to a counselor to try to figure out if there was something I was missing... she was very good and told me there was nothing wrong with me emotionally and was wondering if there was some physical problem. I was going CRAZY emotionally... a total wreck.
Well... turns out I had a huge thyroid tumor and was hypothyroid. The instant I woke up from surgery I felt it... the "insanity" was GONE. That was several years ago and I have never had the problems since.
I do agree that you need to seek professional help. Check with your doctor. You might want to ask them to test your thyroid as I know other people besides myself for whom that has been the problem!
Oh and Heather posted same time I did so I will also add in here YES to that! I was referred to a medical nutritonist and she is super! I am amazed at how much she is helping me!!! Also, you might check with your insurance... if there is a way you can justify it and get a physician referral sometimes they will pay. Mine is paying -- I had to get it authorized in advance -- because a surgeon recommended I lose weight because of degenerative arthritis in hip and I need hip replacement surgery. But even if they did not pay, I would do it now anyway!!!
Heather... I agree... many doctors are not trained in this. My doctor is totally supportive of my seeing the nutritionist.
Well... turns out I had a huge thyroid tumor and was hypothyroid. The instant I woke up from surgery I felt it... the "insanity" was GONE. That was several years ago and I have never had the problems since.
I do agree that you need to seek professional help. Check with your doctor. You might want to ask them to test your thyroid as I know other people besides myself for whom that has been the problem!
Oh man...do I know what you mean!!! Before being tested for thyroid issues, I could sleep 4 hours or 14, I felt tired and down. Once I got diagnosed and they had my levels correct for my meds for it...it was like the "old me" was back. When my levels went CRAZY in December, I literally would be asleep on the couch no later than 7:00 PM and sleep until 6:30 AM *every* night. I am someone who never needs more than 6 or 7 hours sleep at night.
You described it perfectly! Insanity! That is it exactly.
Annette, I think getting a nutritionist (if your insurance covers it or you can swing it) is an excellent idea!
I love this board...the people give you all sorts of ideas I would not have thought of.
I have hyperthyroidism..and i take medication for that. I was told by another Dr maybe I should be on a synthetic one because the one I am on comes from pigs and if they are going through something..I get to go through that was well. As you all know I had a STAPH and now have those other bumps on my stomach. Dr gave me antibiotics and I took a pill last night and within 40 minutes I was vomiting. I called him this morning he said he will give me bactrim again. I was on that before with keflex and it was horrible. He said he wasnts to make sure whatever the bumps are dont turn into staph.
All I have done yesterday adn today is cry. My oldest son graduates today at 130pm and I can't even enjoy it because I am sick and crying.
I'm happy to report that I had a 5 pound loss this week! WhooHooo!!!
I met with both a nutritionist and a fitness person and set a goal of 1 pound a week because I said that thinking about all the weight I had to lose was too daunting and I'd lose motivation so my fitness person actually suggested to me that I map out a schedule for each week for a certain amount of time that I though would be reasonable and attainable so it worked out to be 1 pound a week until the end of 2013 (so 4.5 years) would work out nearly exactly what I want to lose. So if I lose more than a pound, like this week, I'm already closer but I'm not going to think about that 5 pounds and now concentrate on my next 1 pound loss for next week. So this was my first week after making the plan and I tried to make small adjustments to my diet: less soda, eating more often etc and it seems to have paid off.
Yahoo for me!
Annette: I agree with the others - having too few of calories as day is just as bad as eating too many. For the past 20 years, I never ate breakfast or lunch and just ate dinner. And all I did was gain weight because I wasn't eating enough so my body was in starvation mode so on the days I ate poorly (fried foods), my body stored it. It took me a long time to realize that I need to eat many small good-for-me meals a day to keep up my metabolism and not have my body attack itself. Then as you lose the weight, the number of calories you need decreases. Good luck.
Like many of you I have thyroid problems and have been taking the pill daily now for about 10 years but I was still suffering from exhaustion. I had severe sleep apnea and found out that my B12 was non-existent (so I now have to give myself shots) and was nearly anemic so as much as I hate going to the doctor, I try to get bloodwork done every 3-6 months to keep up on my health stats. But despite correcting all this stuff, I'm still tired a lot - I could sleep 12 hours and still wake up tired so we're still trying to figure out why. So it's been suggested to me that I might suffer from a mild case of depression but I'm not sure. I'm hoping as I lose weight that I'll find some energy - right now even the smallest task is a struggle.
Anyway, welcome to the new posters. I'm new too and still feeling my way around. I don't want to miss commenting to someone but find it can be hard to keep up so I'll apologize now if it seems I'm ignoring some posters.
I have a busy morning but plan to cut out early this afternoon and clean my apartment. I'll be able to enjoy the full long weekend with my friend and have a nice clean home to relax in.
Like many of you I have thyroid problems and have been taking the pill daily now for about 10 years but I was still suffering from exhaustion. I had severe sleep apnea and found out that my B12 was non-existent (so I now have to give myself shots) and was nearly anemic so as much as I hate going to the doctor, I try to get bloodwork done every 3-6 months to keep up on my health stats. But despite correcting all this stuff, I'm still tired a lot - I could sleep 12 hours and still wake up tired so we're still trying to figure out why. So it's been suggested to me that I might suffer from a mild case of depression but I'm not sure. I'm hoping as I lose weight that I'll find some energy - right now even the smallest task is a struggle.
Dani
Ooooo Dani, you described me to a tee. My thyroid meds are ok, I have severe sleep apnea and fight with the mask constantly. I have spent $1000s on new masks and even a new machine (not covered by my ins.). I also have B12 deficiency and have to give myself shots. I take meds for depression, but that doesn't really address the exhaustion problem. I've been this way all my life and not sure what the ultimate solution will be!
I do know that exercise can help, it's just doing it that is such a task.. even the stuff I really like to do.
!
For some strange reason I became depressed when I went below 300. How crazy is that? I was out of my comfort zone and scared. I worked through some issues on why and now I can't wait to be there again. 
