I waste so much energy on pitting my self that I have been finding it hard to do anything else. How do I get out of the slumppy slumps mood? A little back ground I weigh 282 just found out that on top of a heat arrhythmia I may be a diabetic. My morning sugars are between 232-279, and yes thats fasting. I went to the doc and...oh yeah I was GD with both my babies so I know all about BS's and that sustaining a fasting number like that is bad, anyway at the docs my sugar was 184 three hours after having a sandwich and two personal lunch sized bags of chips... I know that they are full of carbs but there was nothing in the house, I went shopping after doc appointment. I need to lose weight or get healthier but find myself gorging when I think of not getting to eat. I am scared that my psychological addiction to food will out weigh my bodies need for a healthier me. I am scared that it will take over and I will eat myself out of seeing my kids grow up.

I was where you are about 16 months ago - almost exactly, just a little bit lighter.

On top of the blood sugars, I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a very low functioning thyroid.

In my case, I think a lot of my problems were my thyroid, but how much of it was, I will never know. All I knew was that I was 40 years old still. I had a 5 year old son and a 14 year old son and if I didn't change things, I wasn't going to live to see them grow up. Add to my fear that my dad died of a heart attack at the age of 42. (and he was thin).

So, I decided that it was now or never. First thing I did was to lower my carb intake as I knew that was horrible for my blood sugars. What I didn't realize was that all those carbs were making me crave more carbs. After getting them out of my diet, I didn't crave them any more. I finally felt like I had some CONTROL.

I also learned that getting enough sleep (and at first that was hard as I had restless leg syndrome and didn't sleep peacefully) makes all the difference in how well I face the day. Good sleep means good decisions. Bad sleep means dipping into high carb foods - still holds true. I seriously think a LOT of us suffer from lack of sleep and we turn to food for pick-me-ups to perk us up to make it through our long days.

And then I started exercising - very little at first. Walking in place. Then walking around the lake. Then strength training classes, then step, then adding power/jumping to step and now I'm starting running. Doing enough to burn calories, but not so much as to injure myself.

When I started I weighed 255. My fasting blood sugars were 236 and my a1c (the blood test they check four glucose on red blood cells) was 6.8. Those are numbers for full blown diabetes. My cholesterol was 240ish and a bad breakdown. I was a mess.

Well, for 9 months now, I've had perfect blood sugars. I eat about 100 net carbs a day (staying away from bread, potatoes, rice, grains and sugars). I eat any fruit or veggies I want and meat, cheeses, nuts, etc.

Now (just got new lab results yesterday), I've lost over 85 pounds, I exercise 5 times a week of heavy duty exercise and my fasting blood sugars are 83 and my a1c is 5.2 - no diabetes. Starting about 4 months ago I allowed a cookie once a day. or a slice of cake at a birthday party - so more net carbs than before, but with everything else much better, my body could handle the slightly higher carb load. However, I find I FEEL better with getting rid of the simple carbs. So, I'm dropping them back down again.

My cholesterol - despite eating more cheese and meat is now 189 and the breakdown of good/bad cholesterol is good.

It was ALLLLLLLL diet and exercise. I don't take any meds for it. The only meds I take are for my thyroid (which is still not quite right yet).

So, you have it in your power to turn this around. If not completely, then by a LOT.

Seriously, try eating lower carb - find the balance you can live with and see how it goes. You don't not need to give up. Exercise, diet and weight loss can turn things around for you. Truly.

Your story is truly an inspiration. It has given me hope that I can do it. I am still scared but feel as though I am not alone.

Mama: I second Berry, you have to "just do it". And if you are finding that the mental block is holding you back, get some counselling. Keep coming for support, none of us is "perfect" on plan, but we are on more than off plan, and we start to do better and better, and the weight is coming off. Slowly but surely, and you can do it too. Hope you are ready, its worth it.

How very helpful! I've grown oh so weary of taking poor care of myself. My blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol are all high, and that's all coupled with fluid retention and low energy. My doctor is kind and highly competent, but I bend and abandon his advice at every turn ... not deliberately, really just because I've unnaturally clung to food for much of my life and I'm afraid to let go. But something absolutely has to change, which is why I'm here today, re-starting this journey on the forum.

I STILL manage to let myself go off plan, more than I wish I did, but other times do so much better than I used to. The key is to get to the point where we do it "right" more, and that we feel better when we do. we are doing it for ourselves, no one else, and we really believe in you too.

Sometimes I go off plan and my weight loss has stalled. However, my blood sugar really doesn't react to the occasional treat and I have learned what kind of carbs my body can handle. These days, I feel some comfort in knowing that I can predict what I will eat and feel more in control.

This really does get easier if you go for progress - not perfection. Hugs.

Rie

I wanted to chime in and give you some encouragement. First of all with numbers like that you have diabetes. I have been struggling with it for the past 10 years. Fortunately your doctor will be able to get you some meds that will get your numbers back under control, unfortunately some of them will make it harder for you to lose weight. If you do nothing this is what you can expect: At first the meds will stabilize your blood sugar, then they will start creeping up again needing more meds until you max out on the prescription pills, then you will have to start taking insulin injections every day and the max dose of the meds. I will give you some more encouragement. I have been on the Ideal Protein diet for 26 days so far and have lost 20#. I just had a blood test on Monday and my hemoglobin A1c went from 6.8 to 6.3 and my fasting blood sugar is in the 80 to 140 range. My doctor says that on my next visit in 3 months he will probably start taking me off some of the meds. This will make it a little easier to lose the weight and loosing the weight will lessen the need for the meds. Get on the program and stay on it for a month. Once you see the positive results of loosing as little as 20#you will go from Confused, scared to Happy, hopeful.