[HealthierLori]

Newbie here, hoping to lose some weight slowly and increase my exercise and just generally be more healthy. (Hence my nickname, HealthierLori)

I'm really glad to find this on-line forum and am grateful for everyone here, and I'm really inspired by the success stories here. I am hoping I will be a success story some day too.

I figure it will take about a year for me to reach my goal weight and to get to a level of fitness that I feel I should be at. I have to take it kind of easy because I'm pushing 50 and not so young anymore, and I don't want to injure myself or lose weight in an unsafe way.

[Firecracker777]

welcome!! this is a great place to come ive found everyone is very nice and helpful. Good luck with everything!

[MotoMichelle]

[LotusMama]

Hello and welcome! I am glad you are joining us!

I wish you the best on your weight loss journey.

Cheers,

J

[HealthierLori]

Thank you all so much for the warm welcome. You all are wonderful here and your stories really inspire me and give me courage to make my journey!

[trcard]

Hello HealthierLori, I just joined the forum this week too. I think you are wise to not try to lose your weight too quickly. It is tempting to do, but in the long run I think we are more successful taking it one day at a time.

You said you were pushing 50, so I guess you are still in your 40's have you checked out the 40 something page. The ladies are all really nice and fun, I would recommend joining in!

[HealthierLori]

Thank you, trcard! I will check that out! And welcome to you, too! Here's wishing all of us here a healthier and happier new year!

[leeway]

Hi Lori!
How smart to make helath your priority health and not just a diet or a number - and slow and steady is the way to go for a lasting lifestyle change - the support you need is here - we'll all be here to cheer you on.

Glad to have you join us! There are lots & lots of different groups and forums - I'm sure you'll find some that will keep you motivated and inspired - you will be a great addition to any of them. Try the 40 somethings and the weight loss support forums, they're active and very helpful - also the Success stories are a definite must for motivation.

There are bunches of people here with more to lose and some with less - the bottom line is that we all have to do it a day at a time. The good thing is that we'll have lots of company along the way.

I've only been here since last fall, having NEVER been part of an online forum. What has been so eye-opening is how much it has helped me. Whenever I feel overwhelmed or defeated, I just log on and read some of the success stories, complete with their before & after photos - or read about others still dealing day to day with their challenges - and before I know it, the time has flown by and so have all the thoughts of going off track or giving up. It has made all the difference in my success so far.

So welcome - you've found the right place - join in by inspiring us and being inspired!

All the best - good luck with your goals,
Lee

[HealthierLori]

Thank you so much, Leeway!

This is my first time trying to join a forum for weight loss. And I feel kind of unsure of what to post and everything. I'm worried about whining too much or just irritating people or something.

I know there are people who have lost so many pounds already, and people who have so many pounds they would like to lose, and my goals must seem like easy ones for a lot of people. But to me, it feels like being at the bottom of a mountain and wondering how on earth I am going to climb up.

I've never been skinny, but for many years I was more or less comfortable with my weight. I exercised, and I felt reasonably healthy. I mostly ate what I wanted, within reason, and my weight stayed within a certain range.

But a few years ago, my thyroid decided to go belly up on me. I am on thyroid medicine now, and I am just fine, but all of a sudden my body just isn't acting the way it used to when it comes to weight. I don't know if it's the thyroid disease or just getting older or the antidepressants I'm taking, but my body gains weight very easily now. I mean it actually shocks me how easily the weight goes on. So it feels like I'm in this body that is very different from the body I used to have. And I no longer can rely on just eating until I'm full, and exercising. I'm going to have to rethink things and figure out how to be healthy with this "new" and certainly NOT better body of mine.

Right now I'm experimenting with eating a lot more veggies and fruits, whole grains, etc. and trying to really limit the "empty calorie" type foods. I'm hoping that just by doing that, I won't have to go hungry very much. Because I hate going hungry, I'll be honest. And I'm exercising, but probably I need to build up to more exercise each day.

So here I am, wondering if I will be able to take off the forty pounds I have gained over the last few years, and wondering if I will be able to figure out a way to keep it off.

I'm so uncomfortable in my body right now. My feet hurt (plantar fasciitis) because I'm too heavy, my knees hurt because I'm too heavy, and my back goes out now and then because I'm too heavy.

I just want to be comfortable again and more or less healthy and to be honest I'm really scared and wondering if I will be able to do it. I've been reading the success stories and trying to tell myself I can do it too. I haven't asked a doctor about diet advice etc. because honestly I'm too ashamed, even though I know weight shouldn't be a moral issue. I still feel like a failure even though I know that's the wrong way to think.

So here I am, standing at the bottom of my mountain and wondering if I can get to the top of it and then stay at the top of it, because I want more than anything to just have a body that doesn't hurt all the time.

[leeway]

Lori,
Any obstacle that we have to face is not easy - it's all relative, I think - there's always going to be someone better off than us and those worse off - but with that said, each challenge can be daunting when they are yours. But something being difficult does not mean impossible. When it starts feeling like it is, I look at those who have met their challenge and overcome it and then try to realize that it can be done.
The other thing that I struggle with is treating myself with kindness, compassion and patience. I have it for others but somehow it's in short supply for me. I'm sure if I told you my story, losing and gaining it back and more, over and over again - I'm positive that you wouldn't call me a failure or think I was weak - you would tell me that I was deserving and worthy of support and understanding and to just pick myself up and try again, making each day a little better that the day before. So if you would be that kind to someone you don't know yet, why not offer some of that same understanding to yourself - if only in the form of not beating yourself up for what is over and done. The only thing we have control of is what we do today - and hopefully it will be something that gets us closer to our goal of being a healthier and happier person.
The answer to your wonderings is yes, you can take off the 40 pounds you gained and yes, you can figure out how to do it. Maybe it might take trying different things to see what will work best for you but yes, you will get to the top of your mountain, even it it takes a couple of different paths to get there. I'll meet you up there!

[HealthierLori]

Thank you so much, Leeway, your kind words mean the world to me!

And I am more certain today that you and I will reach the top of our mountain, and we will be healthy and happy this year!

I'm just going to be determined for today. Like you wrote, we have only this one day at a time so just for today, I will eat healthy food and I will exercise some, and then I will see how it goes over time. I will try to be patient and kind to myself!

It helps so much to be here because I see that I'm not alone in my struggles.

Thank you again so much!

P.S. I think it's so cool you live in New Orleans! I've never been there but always wanted to go, and my DH and I plan to go there for a holiday on our 20th wedding anniversary (in two years).

[Deena52]

Hi Lori and welcome.

Did you notice that the beginning of the relatively uncontrolled weight gain correlated with starting the anti-depressants? Are you able to track a close correlation there?

Back in 2005, my youngest son died in an auto accident. At the time, I'd been a normal weight and then lost 10 lbs. very quickly due to being unable to eat. Soon, doctors put me and also my middle son, who were, of course, really distraught, on medications...two different medications (one for me and a different one for him...both psych-type meds). My skinny-minny son got fat from it and I, barely eating, gained 60 lbs. (20 lbs. more than I was at 9 months pregnant 3 times).

My son quickly stopped the medication and the weight literally fell off him in about a month or two and he was back to his skinny self. I had a bit of difficulty with my prescribing doctor, who was convinced it was due to me over-eating from depression (due to the accident...totally untrue) and long story short, I got fed up and took myself off the medication.

However, no longer in my 20's, like my son...I was much older and it took quite a bit of work and research to get my metabolism moving again and get my beloved Atkins diet to work again.

My point here is....there are multiple medications that can make us gain a great deal of weight and with some of them, dieting can be an exercise in futility. There are quite a few psych-type meds that can do this, in addition to some other meds.
There is a gal on the Atkins forum here named 299/Annie, who is on 2 psych-type meds, one of which is an anti-depressant (effexor) and she really seems to be having serious difficulty getting positive results from dieting and exercise.

Hypothyroidism, of course, can cause weight gain. But once one is correctly medicated for this with thyroid supplementation and has normal thyroid studies (T3, T4 and TSH), one should not be gaining uncontrolled weight any longer.

I'm not trying to diagnose you here or anything....just trying to make some suggestions.

Also....some of the newer anti-depressants can cause withdrawal symptoms and you need to carefully taper them before stopping. However....not sure how many you've tried, but many of the old tried and true AD's like prozac, zoloft, etc. not only do not cause withdrawal symptoms but also tend to cause less problems with weight gain. Would it be possible for you to maybe switch to a different anti-depressant?
If you are actually on 2 different AD's, I'm guessing you've probably tried quite a few of them already? More detail on this would help.

These dilemmas can be resolved. It took me several years to get off the medication and figure out what tweaks I needed to get my diet to work and lose the weight. You just need some patience and persistence but if you want it badly enough, you CAN do it.

deena

ADDED: Not 2 seconds after i posted this, I read another Introduction post here, by "IL Mom 67"....who, after being put on anti-depressants for PPD, quickly gained 60 lbs.
I just point these things out because it is SO unfortunate when this happens to people. They blame themselves, their doctors don't believe them sometimes, they try and try to lose weight with head-banging futility. People need to realize how some of these medications can affect the metabolism in certain individuals.
I'd hate to see anyone else go for years, frustratingly getting nowhere due to a medication, like I did.