Weight loss saga

Marguerite

Active Member
Today's (sort of) the day. Well maybe yesterday was, but I can't try to diet too much in earnest yet, I can't let my metabolism get to slow-down mode. Not yet.

I posted in Watercooler about my problems with health etc that have led my gastroenterologist to tell me I MUST lose weight. But how?

I am unable to exercise aerobically. My body just won't do it, and I have worked with experts in fitness, in physiotherapy etc. I've had my heart rate monitored, my oxygen levels and breathing rates monitored, all while I try to exercise - and just as it's getting to the stage when good things should happen, my body begins to shut down, muscle-wise. I get off the exercise bike and cannot walk. I rest until my muscles begin to work again, but the next time they fatigue even faster. The only exercise I generally get is walking, sometimes swimming. Butt it's never going to be enough. So I just do what I can do, and don't expect too much from it.

Diet - counting calories always ends with weight re-gain and a much more difficult time losing weight next time. I know, because I've been counting calories since I was 20. I was a normal-sized girl, certainly not fat, but because I was heavy the charts said I was fat and so I tried to diet. WRONG! I suspect it was back then that my metabolism learned to go slow.

When I became disabled, my active lifestyle stopped. I was no longer able to work out in the gym, no longer able to hold down my job when I couldn't even climb the stairs without having to crawl. Then I fell pregnant with easy child 2/difficult child 2 and wasn't able to exercise off the weight.

Over the next few years I had enough to deal with, as I had to come to terms with losing my career. I had young kids and I was struggling emotionally and physically. easy child was resentful of the changes and let me know it. I became very depressed, suicidal.

Then I had a brainwave - rather than quietly overdose one night, I would simply not eat. Easy for me - I stop eating when I'm depressed. Death by induced anorexia - much more guilt-free than an overdose.

I'm not sure how much weight I lost, but it was a darn fool thing to do. And again, all it would have done long-term is taught my body to conserve kilojoules.

So I stopped dieting. I chose to eat healthy, but figured I had enough to deal with. I gave up caffeine, I gave up sugar in coffee.

My health was still bad. I had some liver damage, the GP said it was from my pain medications. So I stopped taking my pain medications entirely. The main side effect - pain. The liver - no better. So my pain medications were changed to reduce paracetamol dosage - the doctor put me on Tegretol. My liver suddenly got a lot worse.
So I stopped all alcohol intake (not that I ever drank much anyway). Stopped the Tegretol, of course. Liver improved. At that point I switched to a low-fat diet. No calorie-counting, but definitely low-fat.

I stayed on low-fat diet for over ten years. It became second-nature. In that time my liver improved a lot, but I still slowly gained weight. Only a few kilos a year, much as my sisters have done.

Then I fell pregnant with difficult child 3. It was difficult, I was on medications to try and prevent early labour. It was as if i was in early labour for the last six months. I was anaemic, finally getting an infusion of iron (three grams) overnight, two weeks before difficult child 3 was born. The iron, I believe, damaged my liver. Again.

When difficult child 3 was a few months old my doctor got me seen by a liver specialist who looked at me and said I was obese, that was why my liver function results were so bad. OK, I still had some baby weight, but I was 15 Kg lighter than I am now, and while overweight, I don't think I could have been called obese. Maybe now, but not then.
He just said, "Lose weight. You'll be fine." No follow-up. I increased my scrutiny of the fat content in my diet - made sure I was cutting out as much as possible.

The GP referred me to another liver specialist. He ordered a biopsy of my liver. "Fatty infiltration," he said. My immunologist agreed I needed help because I can't exercise off the weight, and referred me to ANOTHER liver specialist. By now the test results were improving but still not good. The liver specialist made it clearer to me - losing the weight slowly would bring the liver tests back into line. Crash dieting would not help. I finally got through to SOMEONE that I was already doing as much as I could do, as much as would work. He referred me to a dietician, who got me to write down everything I ate for a week. She looked at my diet sheet and said, "You're not eating enough. For a start, you should be eating twice as much bread."

I followed the diet she gave me. I gained weight. I stopped the diet (the bread, especially) and lost weight. One thing she did teach me - to eat less fruit and more vegetables.

Aha. Then a friend went on the Atkins Diet. I thought she was crazy. Then I read the book and remembered a low carb diet my mother had followed, years earlier - she had lost a lot of weight. I gave it a try. After all, I would only need to stay on the strict 30g a day carbs for a few weeks at most.

For the next six months, every time I tried to increase my carbs intake even slightly, let alone to a sensible level, my weight would begin to go up again. So I stayed on 30g a day max, for ten months (I thought it was six months in an earlier post - I just did my sums). I lost 10 Kg in that time.

You can't stay on a limit like that and when I went off it, I gained the weight back, over the next year. And a few kilos more. Not a huge amount, but it slowly piled back on.

I remembered the last liver specialist had said, "weight gain is causing your liver tests to be more abnormal." But as my weight went back on, my liver tests stayed moderately OK. Even when I tae more fat due to the Atkins Diet, my liver tests were fine.

A year ago, my neurologist said, "Don't diet. You'll only gain weight. Instead, eat sensibly. Forget about low fat, forget about low carbs, just eat sensibly."
So I began to eat 'food'. I still kept the quantity down, specially carbs, from habit. But I sometimes had two slices of bread a day without feeling guilty. I stopped drinking skim milk and went back to full-cream milk. I ate a bowl of ice cream in the evenings again.

Then last October I was in hospital for a still undiagnosed neurological 'turn'. Blood tests showed seriously elevated liver function tests. Since then, levels have remained high.

My recent liver biopsy shows a liver now almost saturated with fat. While I stopped my low fat diet, I certainly didn't go back to eating pure lard, or anything like it. I feel sick if I eat anything too greasy, it's been a problem for years. My new liver specialist wants me to lose weight.
I said, "HOW?"

He's prescribed Reductil, but I really don't think he realises how little I eat, and how little bad stuff I eat. He said it would reduce my appetite, so my immediate thought was, "go buy some vitamins and calcium pills".
The one good thing I think can help - Reductil is supposed to stop your metabolism from getting lower just because you're dieting. So on THAT basis, I'm going to give it a go.

He also suggested Xenical, which works by training you to eat a low-fat diet. But I already know how to do that, I can do it happily.

Unfortunately, there is an artificial colour they use in Reductil, which I am allergic to. It's in the capsule coating, which I'm hoping I can remove and replace (or get a compounding chemist to do it). I talked to the drug company today, they said they don't recommend it without the capsule coating (which is their way of saying, 'on your own head be it').

I bought the CSIRO Wellbeing Diet book (recommended by all the doctors). It seems to be a compromise diet, lower in carbs than most, low in fat. They researched it (CSIRO is Australia's government-based scientific research organisation) and found the diet that worked best.

easy child & BF1 were on this diet, lost weight, were singing its praises - and have now gained the weight back. I don't want this to happen.

I've been reading through the book - it reminds me a great deal of that dietician who told me I wasn't eating enough. If I eat everything in the diet sheet, I know I will gain weight. I know my body. This is a good diet plan, but on that doesn't recognise such a sedentary lifestyle as mine. I burn far less kilojoules than most people, so I have to take this into account.

So here I am, about to begin the journey to (hopefully) lost weight and improved health.

All support and help welcomed (assuming you managed to read this far!)

Marg
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
Marg, what a difficult situation.
From the sounds of things, conventional weight-loss advice just won't work for you.

Here's hoping that a compounding chemist can mix up a batch of Reductil for you that won't cause an allergic reaction. Metabolism is such a delicate balancing act, and seems to be the key.

I have been following your posts about this with interest, and trying to see if I can come up with anything that you don't already know or haven't already tried.

My husband has been seeing a bariatric specialist, referred by our GP. After a battery of tests, they provided him with his diet plan just yesterday. This diet has been custom made for him, taking into account his blood chemistry, bone mass, body fat percentage, and countless other factors (during his orientation appointment, he was there for 3 hours).

Your mileage may vary, but here are a few of the key things that they told him:

1. For the first 2 weeks, cut out all starches, dairy and sugar. The only dairy allowed is a tot of cream if you drink coffee.
Apparently, obesity stems from the body's inability to effectively process sugar, resistence to insulin, etc. and the body reacts as though it's addicted to carbohydrate. The goal of the first 2 weeks is to clear your body of sugars, reset your insulin levels, and reset your metabolism.

2. Do not taste while cooking. Eat only your set meals and snacks.
I don't fully understand this one, but apparently it's not because of the amount of food, but rather, the act of tasting triggers chemical and metabolic reactions that prevent you from losing the weight you would otherwise lose.

3. For the first 2 weeks, exclude the following vegetables:Tomatoes (technically a fruit), onions, yellow beans, bell peppers of all colours. Corn, peas, legumes, lentils, etc. are excluded from the diet entirely.
I think the reason for this is to eat only the vegetables with the lowest possible amounts of carbohydrates

4. A meal consists of a portion of meat, one of vegetables and one of salad. The doctor identifies a portion as follows: For meat, about 2 to 4 oz, or the size of your palm. For veg, about the amount that you can grasp in one hand. For salad, the amount that you can hold in 2 cupped hands. For salad dressing, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, one tablespoon of vinegar and spices to taste.

He was given a 20-page book for his diet, the info I have listed above is what I can remember off the top of my head from making a diet-compliant dinner last night.

From the sounds of things, you are already doing many of the steps of this diet, but this seems to take it to a further extreme.

I hope that this is helpful.
Sending hugs and support as you work toward your goal. Welcome to Healthful Living.

Trinity
 
Marg,

Like Trinity, I've also been following your posts on this topic closely. I've been wracking my brain trying to think of ideas that might help you lose weight. Unfortunately, I can't seem to think of anything on my own, but found Trinity's response extremely interesting. Although I have absolutely no medical experience, I honestly think that Trinity's husband's bariatric specialist's method of resetting your metabolism is worth a try.

I think in a previous post, in the Watercooler, Abbey mentioned something about a friend who actually found out how many calories her body needed to maintain itself. A few years back, I know that a simple test for measuring your resting metabolic rate was made available in my area. Forgive me if you've already mentioned anything like this previously (I have a bit of brain fog today!), but has anyone ever measured your resting metabolic rate? If not, this might be something worth looking into.

Also, even though you're unable to exercise aerobically, I still think that any exercise at all, no matter how little, is better than no excercise. I really like the fact that you're going to use your pedometer and try to walk more.

I will continue to wrack my brain trying to find ways to help you. Please keep posting here and let us know how things are going.

I'm really glad you're here!!! WFEN
 

wakeupcall

Well-Known Member
I wish I had some different avenues to suggest you try. It seems to me that you've tried all that there is!! What are you supposed to do? Not eat at all? Your metabolism is obviously different than the normal person's, so that calls for a diet that's not for normal metabolisms. Can't a dietician figure that out for you?? It's sooo discouraging, I know.

Good luck and I wish you lots of stamina!
 
N

Nomad

Guest
Have you been to a Dr. recently and had blood work specifically looking for things that might lead to easy weight gain? Of course, hypothyroidism is something that often comes to mind.

I personally think that if you have not been exercising, any exercise at all should be helpful.

A reduced fat, reduced carb, high fiber diet is going to be a healthy one. I would reduce your calorie intake by 500 calories per day. If at the end of a week, you haven't lost weight, I would reduce it more...perhaps 600 a day to see if that does the trick.

Be sure to eat less sugar, basically elminate alcohol, drink plenty of water and take your vitamins. Also, write down what you eat.

My guess is that all these things should work, it just takes time and patience.
 

Marguerite

Active Member
I'll share with you some of the gems I've found in the book - "the CSIRO total wellbeing diet" book (Penguin Books, 2005). On reading it I was reminded of the dietician whose diet made me gain, but if I go through this book and try to adapt it to me, I think I might have some success.

The pills - I'm getting them. The pharmacist had to order them in, they'll be here hopefully Monday, so I begin them on Tuesday. I am going to either tip them out of the capsule and down the contents, or transfer them to another gelatine capsule and take it that way. By sheer fluke, other medications I take included a SR pain killer in a large gelatine capsule which actually says in the instructions, that it can be emptied out of the capsule and taken just as contents, as long as you don't chew the little bead thingies. So I can do it that way, to get the spare empty capsule.

Other blood tests - they're done fairly regularly. That's how the liver thing was picked up, it was a routine blood check. My thyroid hormones probably could do with another look - I don't think they've been done for a year or so. But I would be the first in the family with an underactive thyroid; in our family, overactive has hit about half the women.

Trinity, I looked through those rules. Some of them I have been doing for a while. Others I have done in the past but recently relaxed a bit (about a year ago, when the neurologist told me to forget about dieting and to just eat sensibly). But when I look at what I was already doing - still eating a diet low in fat compared to most people, definitely lower in sugar and lower in carbs, not drinking ANY alcohol and I've never smoked in my life - I can't understand why my liver is this bad.

So far, I've cut out as much sugar as I could. However, I did have a bowl of corn flakes for breakfast and when I checked the box later, I found they have some sugar in the recipe. Plus, they are far too high in salt. I could taste it. So despite what the diet book says, no more cereal.
I did look through the store this morning when I went down the road. ALL cereals are out, for me. Plain muesli is my cereal of choice, diet-wise and for many other reasons, but I can't eat it because it's based on rolled oats. All other cereals, including the expensive healthy ones and the ones promoted for diets - the one lowest in sugar had 4.4 g of sugar PER SERVE. That's a teaspoonful. Not acceptable. I didn't even bother checking All-Bran - I've had it before (when in hospital a few years ago - by the way, I gained weight in hospital, too, even though my doctor had put me on a light diet to lose weight, plus I was exercising with an Occupational Therapist (OT) supervising). Rather than pay for All-Bran, I may as well try to eat a cardboard box. It has the same sort of fibre and tastes just as good.

On the way home I dropped in on my good friend who also has a weight problem (but no health problem). She said, "Try Cheerios, they're good for you."
No flamin' way! I told her to check the nutrition panel, see how much sugar there is. Cheerios may be great for kids, and young active adults, they are a good energy start to the day but too much sugar! She was surprised.

Then she had a brainwave - "Make your own muesli!" she said.
Now, I used to do this, when I was in hospital after having difficult child 3 I really liked the high-fibre muesli the hospital dieticians made up just for us new mums. I asked for the recipe, and was given a copy, then I made up my own and was eating a lot of it (and losing a fair bit of the baby weight) when I began to get nasty gastric symptoms. At first I thought I had developed a milk intolerance. Then I tested everything I could, and it turned out to be my muesli, so I stopped making it and eventually had to throw away the stuff (nobody else could/would eat it). Then I tried eating husband's muesli (a commercial brand) and found I got the same reaction. At the time I thought the problem could have been wheatgerm, or bran. I'm still not certain. But I've since identified that I DO have a problem with oats, which were also an ingredient common t both.

So my friend and I are going to try to concoct a muesli we both like, which I can eat safely, from purchased raw materials. That won't happen for another two weeks though, probably not until after Easter, because we're both busy for a few weeks. Her daughter gets married next Saturday, then it's Easter and we've got friends visiting from Philadelphia.

I'm continuing to watch all sugar and fat intake. If the sugar is natural and is accompanied by fibre (such as a piece of fruit) then I'll eat two serves maximum a day (from the CSIRO book).

It's a good book. And those numbers you were talking about (someone, anyway) about how much we burn in calories or kilojoules - this book has the info.

You can calculate your daily calorie output as follows:

Women:
655.1 + (9.56 x weight in kilos) + (1.85 x height in cm) - (4.68 x age in years)

Men:
66.47 + (13.75 x weight in kilos) + (5 x height in cm) - (6.76 x age)

To get this in kilojoules do a last calculation by multiplying the number by 4.2.

It then has a chart with activity factors. You multiply these with the number you get, to get an adjustment based on your activity level. And here's where I think it goes wrong for me - there isn't anything describing my activity level. The closest I can get is the figure for someone who works a desk job.
According to the chart you multiply your output figure by a number varying from 1.2 for sedentary, to 1.9 for someone extremely active, such as in training for marathon running. For me, I think I need to leave it as it is. And no, you can't multiply it be a number less than 1, because just living and breathing burns up calories.
Remember, this is from "the CSIRO total wellbeing diet" book, if you want to try and grab a copy for more info.

So for now - cut back all sugar. Be even more scrupulous/go back to cutting out fat (as long as it doesn't mean getting sugar into my diet - fat is preferable to sugar). Cut back on carbs, but eat SOME good carbs (again, as defined by CSIRO). Wholegrain wholemeal bread (no more than 2 small slices a day, preferably only 1). Cornmeal products in moderation (taco shells, a small number of baked corn chips maybe). No rice (except maybe brown rice) and no potatoes. As many vegetables as I want (most are permitted) either raw or steamed. And a fair bit of lean protein.

And I will have to be careful to not start in earnest before Tuesday, but I actually have started a bit already.

One thing I've been hoeing into and enjoying - I cooked osso bucco a few days ago and hardly anyone's been eating it. Inevitably my recipe produces a lot of gravy which is thick with vegetables. I've been having the gravy as a rich soup (tastes like minestrone without the beans & pasta) and it's been enough for me for a meal. Practically no carbs - I did flour the meat, but using gravy beef the sauce thickens itself.

So it has begun. Here we go.

Marg
 
M

ML

Guest
I am so proud of you for embarking on this journey. I fell off the wagon and would like to get back on it with you. I need support. I've been avoiding this forum because i've been so bad and gaining weight instead of losing it.

You know I've been reading a book called "feeling fat, frazzled and fuzzy" and it's about hormone imbalance. They say that taking saliva tests is much more accurate than blood. I believe my thyroid is out of whack and that throws off the other stuff like ovaries and adrenals.

Anyway, I would recomend going slow. Maybe start walking for 5 minutes a day. If that is too much make it 3. Just keep adding minutes as you feel ready.

Hugs,

ML
 

dreamer

New Member
I really do not know of much else, cuz it seems you have tried everything- and gosh,...
BUT many years ago, my therapist was telling me about some kind of chooseing things to eat based on your blood type of all things? I do not remember WHY we were discussing it, in what context etc.....and I remember no details------but I remember her telling me your blood type can guide you in choooseing food?

I can sympathize, I do not lose weight, except when preg, and then I drove ob gyne nuts, cuz I LOST 80 pounds each time! I am NOT small....(5'8" 200 pounds) I do not eat much....iff I ate what charts and diets told me to eat, I would be overfull and gain weight. I often "forget" to eat and usually only eat as a social acivity, if someone else is eating with me. I, too, have a hard time with exercise, altho I very much feared when Ibecame so ill, that I would gain an enormous amount of weight (becuz I was nurse 20 hours a day and lifting and moving very heavy people all day, and running all over the facility chaseing wandering dementia patients) BUT, I did NOT gain. I was VERY surprised. I DID however gain 30 pounds VERY fast when Ibegan prednisone, but the last summer I unknowingly lost it (without trying, without being aware it was slipping off, even tho I continued on prednisone)
Alas, last week MY doctor informed ME I now have medication related liver problems, too, and I am scared.
If I give up the medications, I go back to being quadriplegic.....so--I am not sure whats next here.

I will be following your saga with great interest. I also keep you in my prayers. I pray an answer comes to light for you!!!!!
 

dreamer

New Member
OK I confess! The little dreamer inside me that is the part of me that likes tohelp is just screaming at my brain to come up with some idea here----plus well, you are always SOhelpful for people, and I sure would LOVE to find some way to reutrn that to you.

So- my brain went into hyperdrive.and maybe I am completely illogical...but----here's what popped up so far-
Are you diabetic? If not, could you be? Or even pre diabetic?
I know you know this, but sometimes it helps to remind people- any activity at all can help----wiggling fingers, thumb wrestling, wiggleing toes, makeing faces, even! (raise eyebrows, flare nostrils etc, LOL- stick out your tongue?)
I amnot sure what your specific abilities are, but, can someone else maybe take your limbs one at a time and move them? Support them and move them FOR you----maybe your body would permit that (and maybe not, I do not know)
Only as tolerated by you, tho.

Is there any possibility (I have no idea if this is possible or not) but, could you be getting too little sugar? Maybe that does not even make sense, I am not sure.
 

Marguerite

Active Member
Dreamer, I might be getting too little sugar NOW, although I do confess I had a smear of home-made strawberry jam on my wholegrain toast for breakfast. That was because I just couldn't face Vegemite this morning.

Diabetes - it would have to be Type II. But the doctor said my fasting bloods were low enough, and it looked like that to me. I suspect a glucose tolerance test (GTT) would show a delayed return to normal BSL, which is indicative of pre-diabetes.

Diabetes CAN be 'headed off at the pass'. I'm hoping that happens also; none of my family is diabetic, despite some of my siblings having really bad diets. One sister in particular, who I know eats all the wrong things... I suspect her liver is in bad shape and her alcohol intake wouldn't be helping either. She wasn't at the reunion, so I haven't caught up with her for a while.

Last night I had a frozen fruit juice. It's got some natural sugars in it, I had it right after dinner so it should have been balanced a bit by the prawn salad sandwich I had (one slice of wholegrain bread). So I am getting a little bit of sugar, although I just had lunch early because my hands were a bit shaky.

I tried to get my pills today, but there is mayhem in the village - they're working on the road and for some crazy reason, have blocked off access to the entire street plus half the neighbourhood around. I managed to talk my way through to about a 50 metre walk to the pharmacy, but it's no good if the delivery truck with my pills can't bring supplies in! I just sent a scorching email off to the authorities, asking for a bit of accountability and common sense.

Never get between a menopausal woman and her diet pills!

Anyone wanting to join me, feel free. But a warning - I am not an emotional eater. If you are, you need to get your emotional issues dealt with before you try to diet.

And you know something? Because husband also posts here (as Marg's Man - hi, honey) you can be sure that what I post about my diet progress will be true. I won't be able to say I'm now slim, svelte and wrinkle-free because he will call me on it and dob me in to you lot.

But if he tries to say I look like a wallowing hippo, then he's sleeping on the couch.

Marg
 

dreamer

New Member
could your blood sugar be too low?

LOL about Margs man. Hi Margs Man!
I amnot an emotional eater, I just do not bother to eat if noone is there eating. Not sure why.....I lived alone for years...BUT I worked 20 hours a day in a restaurant and my boss fed us for free....so- there was always someone for me to eat WITH. ALtho even then, I tend to do more talking than eating and everyone else is finished almost before I even start.
Now that makes it sound like I do not like to eat- which is NOT even CLOSE to the truth. I LOVE to eat! But eating to me tends to be a more of a celebratory event.....AND I also REALLY get intense about enjoying what I am eating. (PCs bfs mom hates to eat.......I cannot even imagine.....and I have a cousin who eats like 3 horses, yet stays anorexic thin, is she bulimic? everyone swears no)
So- count me OUT of any "dieting" - I would not do well....I would forget to eat..and then I never seem able to bother with food when it is just me.......would much rather curl up and read than bother to fuss with food for me.
Hmmmmm.unless anyone wants me to move in with them? ROFL, and then? I would even be more than happy to COOK AND clean up all meals for you--------IF........IF you woould eat WITH me.
LOL.

Good luck Marg!
 

Marguerite

Active Member
Dreamer, fasting BSLs were fine, a bit on the high side but still in normal range.

I managed to do one lap around the block this evening, just on sunset. We've measured it at just on 1 km, and I did find I was breathing more heavily coming up the hill heading for home. Nothing wrong with that, I wasn't short of breath at all; but it was a sign that I was getting PRODUCTIVE exercise, a few minutes of it at least, at that end of my walk.

Tomorrow is my teaching session at lunchtime at the school. That always has me sweating and puffing a bit too, dashing from this group to that group while I respond to questions about this chess move or that. I wish I felt confident enough to walk to the school, but it's still outside my range for now.

As I get fitter, I can add to my walk - along the walk, actually close to our house, is a small playground/park area with a circuit track on it. It's level, but there is a hill to go down to get there and to return, so I would get the slightly heavier load before the last level cooldown phase. And going close to sunset gives me more chance to watch the birds - they really are amazing here, especially the lorikeets. The park has a lot of banksia trees with flowers the birds feed on for nectar. The trees are all low and scrubby, they don't provide any shade but give me plenty to look at and listen to.

The pharmacist didn't get the pills in today. He did get his orders delivered eventually, but my pills are on back-order. At least he had my antibiotics!

Marg
 
Marg,

You're off to a great start!!! I think it's wonderful that you're combining your love of nature with exercise. As you get fitter, I know you'll really enjoy your walks!!! I wish I could walk with you - From your descriptions, you live in an absolutely gorgeous area!!!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that your pills are in tomorrow. WFEN
 
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