Hello everyone,

My name is Amanda. I am a married at home mom of two children. One thing you will learn about me is that I tend to be long winded

Like so many others here, I have struggled with my weight all my life. I managed to drop to a lower weight (about 148) in high school but only for about a year. I know it's time to make a permanent change and start feeling better. I have several health conditions that are exacerbated by my weight. My conditions include: type two diabetes; asthma since childhood; high blood pressure and cholesterol requiring medication and a very painful back due toa bone fusion, two herniated disks causing pinched sciatic nerves, disk deterioration and arthritis. The resulting back hip and leg pain have made it very hard for me to exercise. This has caused a lot of depression. When I am depressed, I have a lack of energy and sometimes eat without being hungry. Its a never ending cycle. I am unable to work outside my home. One of my goals is to lose weight so there is less stress on my back and perhaps I can return to work. My surgeon gave me a 50% chance of improving my pain to a more tolerable level if I reach a healthy weight.

My weight loss journey started around November 15th. I have managed to lose 16 pounds since that date. During this time, I have been exercising using Leslie Sansone videos and my elliptical trainer. Even though the exercise is painful, I know it will be worth it in the long run. I have been calorie counting using fitday and I am trying to stay in a range of 1200 - 1400 cals a day but I fear I am eating too little because I am burning calories exercising frequently as well. I also quit smoking two and a half weeks ago while maintaining my weight. I have been at a plateau of exactly 205.2 since I quit and I need some help to start losing again..

I decided to turn to this forum for support and ideas to get off this plateau. I have never been honest to anyone about my weight accept my very supportive husband and an obesity forum I am a member of. My husband is a thin healthy man and he loves me the way I am but I am sure he would like to see a change as well.

I hope to make some friends and share my weight loss journey with everyone.

Thanks for reading
Amanda

Hi, Amanda, welcome! I am so glad you are here!

You are really brave for deciding to be the healthiest you in spite of pain and other obstacles, and I applaud you for that!

I can sense your determination and I know you will be a healthier, lighter and happier you by the end of this year!

Good for you for exercising in spite of it being hard and painful to do.

I know you will meet your goals and find victory in 2010!

Congratulations on the weight you have already lost, and especially congrats on stopping smoking! You are doing GREAT!

I struggle with some chronic pain problems too and I also want to just feel better than I have felt.

Hi Amanda and welcome.

Now, I can only speak for myself here (and I can also be quite long-winded at times)...but I personally hate exercising. I love walking...but that's it. I did the whole working out/gym thing years ago....but to be honest, I hated it and had to force myself to go...and realized that for me, it was not a good long-term plan for life....insofar as being a cornerstone of weight loss and management.

Just to warn you....I am a huge Atkins diet advocate but I also know that many here have had amazing success with a whole variety of diets, including low-calorie. But for me, low-carbing works fantastically. I also realize that there are many here who love exercising and have great success with it.

However....I would never want to see anyone exercise to the point of pain...especially if that pain is due to underlying orthopedic and neurologic problems, like you have. I've seen documentaries about weight loss facilities that treat hugely obese patients and they always start very minimal when it comes to exercising. It just seems to be the safe way to go.

I love to walk and even for me, I started out small. Only took short walks and didn't even attempt hills until I'd developed tolerance. With walking, you definitely build up tolerance and can build up to significant distances with no difficulty or pain. But I would definitely not encourage exercising to the point of pain.

Also...you do not necessarily need to aggressively exercise to lose weight. Like another poster blogged about....dieting is for weight loss and exercise is more to maintain health (cardiac, neuromuscular, respiratory, etc.)

For you, I would recommend things like walking, swimming...low impact exercising....to protect your joints and spine. And I would start out small and build up tolerance. And never to the point of serious pain.

deena

Hi Amanda!
Congrats on your success so far -sounds like you have a good plan and the right attitude to succeed - the support you need is here to achieve a healthier you.

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. Try the weight loss support forums, they're active and very helpful - also the Success stories are a definite must for motivation. Perhaps the dieting with obstacles forum might be of interest as well, meeting others that are facing challenges, but like you, are pushing through the pain to success.

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

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the warm welcome I am feeling motivated today, sore but motivated. I increased my exercise for two days to help my body start losing again and it paid off. I am finally down to 204.4 after being at 205.2 for over two weeks. Happy dance

I actually do enjoy some exercise and when I am in the moment it is not overly painful. Most of the pain I experience comes after my workout is complete and all that wonderful adrenalin wears off. I take Tylenol 3 daily to help manage pain. It helps a bit but it's not perfect. I refuse to take anything stronger than that though. I already get a little foggy when I take the T3's

Sometimes I do get a little confused about the whole exercise thing though. I know you need to eat around 1200 cals before your body goes into starvation mode. I usually eat around 1400 a day but when I exercise I burn around 400 so I guess I have to replace at least 200 of those cals so I dont go too low. It kind of feels like I am defeating the purpose of exercise, if I have to eat more. Maybe someone can clear that up for me.

Thanks again for the welcome. I think I will enjoy this forum. There is so much to read and learn

P.S. I would love to add a weight loss ticker. When will I get to do so?

Amanda....here is an interesting article about exercise:

http://www.time.com/time/health/arti...914857,00.html

Now mind you, it does not say exercise is bad....it's actually very good for you. BUT, what it IS saying is that exercise should not be the cornerstone of a weight loss program....dieting and food choices should be. And exercise should be the cornerstone of a health plan (cardiac, musculoskeletal, etc. health) rather than of a dietary plan.

deena

Also...and this is not to imply you should stop the T3's but just to give you information.....you do not need to be an addict to become physically dependent to an opiate. Although codeine is lower on the opiate scale and controlling use will help to slow down tolerance, an opiate is an opiate and if taken daily/consistently....even just as prescribed...will cause physical dependency. It's how opiates physiologically work....and applies to everyone...and will-power has nothing to do with it.
If you ever skip a dose/doses and notice you're not feeling so good, that would be the beginning of opiate withdrawal.
If you EVER want to stop the opiate (or any opiate)....make sure you taper down very gradually and carefully and you can really mitigate the discomfort.

OH...and apparently you can get a ticker after 20 days (since you registered).