Hi Everyone,I have been wanting to do this discussion for some time now but women and weight together we try not to speak about. Touchy subject lol. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and put on meds and gained 15lbs within two weeks. I thought wow I look good, I have always been so skinny 93lbs to 101 lbs and I'm 5'2" so 112 was great. Shortly after I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and more new meds for me. Oh my the weight just kept coming 120,128, 135 and before I knew it I was/am at 150-152 now and hate myself.....I went from a 0/1 to a size 10. My family will say exercize mom , go for a walk, a swim and I did them all but other than swiming I hurt so much worse. No heater on my pool so I can't go in now to cold for me. My hubby will take me to try to get new clothes and I just feel so frumpy in them I won't buy any, then I whine I have nothing that fits.... I have tried diet after diet, no carbs, no sugar and my favorite no ice cream... Maybe I would lose a pound or two, so not worth me dieting. will you share your story and please if you found a way to loose any weight please tell me. Hugs to all, Robin
Oh, Robin, this is a touchy subject and one of the most frustrating things about being ill, especially for those of us who used to be so active and didn’t have to worry much about our weight. The only thing that worked for me is a high protein diet. You can eat any lean meats you want- pork, lean hamburger, chicken, etc. and non fat dairy. I eat Greek yogurt because it is higher in protein than the regular yogurt (I eat chobani brand and it has 22 grams of protein in one cup). And drink tons of water, about a gallon a day, and stay away from sodas and other drinks that have caffeine (you can have some but limit it). This is a good link to a diet that I try to follow when I need to lose (which is all the time). I bought the book and it really does work!
http://www.dukandiet.com/
I don’t mean to sound preachy in any way but you have got to get moving every day, even if it is only to walk for 15 minutes. I have started yoga and I can see already that it will be very beneficial. It hurt like hell the first couple of days but is getting slowly better each day.
Hugs, MBGet a beginners yoga DVD and try it at home. I can not always do the workout part of yoga but I do the stretching and relaxation I part and it helps clear my mind and helps me to relax.
Good luck and hang in there.
Thanks MB, I've already checked out the site and think it will be useful. I was walking, something I love to do and clears my mind, a few months back my legs from the calf down started swelling up, even If I just go to the market for a few thing my leg swells so I stopped walking. I think my biggest problrm is if I don't see some loss in a few weeks I give up.But I think for the New Years I am going to give it a try.Thanks for your help, I really do apprecite it. Hugs, Robin
Good luck. I have been trying to follow it but I made my husband brownies yesterday and guess who ended up eating half of them? Yep, that’s right. Me. LOL
What did your doc say about the swelling? I haven’t had the problem with swelling in my legs but I did get where my lower legs and feet would go numb and feel really heavy. It has improved but I still get it sometimes. It is very bizarre and I am scared to drive because of it. And no doc can explain it. Ya know, we can have men live on a freaking space station and a man is able to parachute from 86 miles up and do other amazing and incredible things and they can’t freaking figure this out! It sucks but I think if I can do everything I can to try to make myself feel better and be more healthy, it is worth a try.
I hope you have a great day. I am watching a crappy lifetime movie and watching the downpour that just started. We needed rain but not like this! Oh, and the Joes of the Day group.
Hugs, MB
I agree re proteins. In the end, the body (the liver, really) turns every thing to carbs anyway! I have lost 30 pounds doing that. Beans and grains and fruits will start flares for me, besides adding weight. Essentially it's a diabetics diet - and not the awful one put out by the American Diabetics Assoc. The worst offender is wheat. When I took wheat off my food list I got shaky and sick for a week. Same with sugars. Yogurt has milk sugars, even the Greek kind, so I limit a serving to a half cup. I add vanilla and a tiny bit of truvia.
Be sure to eat fat. Butter or ghee, coconut oil and olive oil are the only ones I use. And make sure that the Greek yoghurt is full fat, NOT no fat. I use some cheeses, the fatty kind, and whipping cream in my coffee. Yeah really- took off 30 lbs doing that.
About a month ago,someone sent me a doc's recommendation in the newspaper "The Daily Mail" (in the UK). This doctor was forced to give up her practice because of FM. In desperation she decided to treat it as a gout or kidney stone issue. IOW, that maybe oxalate crystals were in her muscle tissue instead of collecting in kidneys. So she went on a low oxalate diet. You can find several food lists for this online.She said you'll know within three weeks if it works...it did for her and she was able to return to her work again.
I figured what did I have to lose but my prison? In addition to following the diet, I started taking chanca piedra, an herbal tincture for kidney stones, three times a day. My pain is much reduced -like 80% - and I can go for walks again. If you google Daily Mail and add the terms doctor low oxalate, you should find the news report easily. When I told my family doc about it, she sputtered that I was going on insufficient information, there was no research done, etc. I just gazed at her in silence. She knows what I've been thru trying to find some relief. Finally she added lamely, "well, you certainly have tried many paths and this one won't hurt you..." Duh, doc. Look at "Wheat Belly" book on Amazon. That guy has a great blog. He's a cardiologist and his interest is in preventive treatment.
I figure that many of the ailments that afflict us today can be traced to Big Meat and Big Grains. The FDA is locked in step with them and ppl are getting sicker and fatter...this isn't paranoid, it is simple observation that there are lots of us sick fatties out there and our numbers are increasing.
Good luck on finding your path. If you can, try to eliminate the bad messages to yourself when doing hard things like clothes shopping -or getting up in the morning. On You Tube there are lots of videos about using EFT to stop that mental process. It takes about 2 minutes to learn it...but you have to become a skilled messenger to your brain -e.g., no "nots" as in "I will not blame myself". Notice that message is in the future tense and it has a "not" and a ":judgment" word. The brain works in the present tense, and it is a genius at picking up judgment words while dropping the "not"...
Dymphna, Thank you for all the information. I have already been on my pc doing as much research as I can. The info that MBP and you gave me should make my trip to the grocery store interesting and time consuming lol. I do think that is the hardest part figuring out what I am able to eat out of the things I like. Thank you again, Hugs Robin
Hockeymom5, I am really sorry, this sure stinks. I have to tell you I was laughing as I was reading your reply and my husband asked what I was laughing at? I told him to tell me who this sounds like and as I read he responded "Thats You".I needed a good laugh so thank you. I was on my thyroid medicine before (about six months) I found out I had Fibro, I gained about15 lbs after about 6 weeks. I think my cymbalta has put the most weight on me. Hope you have a great day. Hugs, Robin
Trips to the grocey store are MUCH simpler. Don't go into any of the aisles, just shop the edges: meat, fish, dairy, vegetables (some), etc.
All the bad stuff is in the aisles. Like an 87 foot long aisle of breads. Or an equal amount in the cookies and crackers,and cereals, etc. I only go into the aisles for light bulbs. My olive oil and coconut oil I get on subscription from Amazon. Also those heavy cases of canned cat food and litter are shipped to our house,too.
I do venture into frozen foods - e.g., the skinny green beans are great: mostly the pod, tiny immature beans. Won't send your pancreas, adrenals or liver into overdrive. But since I'm following a low oxalate diet, no greens or legumes...
I'm now up to 35 lbs. lost and my blood sugar is happy. No more desperation to eat. No shaky feelings either.
With diverticulosus, I've had to build work-arounds in my diet to incorporate fermented foods. For example, kalamata olives are fermented. My New Year's resolution: learn to make my own fermented cabbage: sauerkraut. I only need a few ounces every day to slowly build back my gut flora.
A simple recipe you can snack on anytime: Wash and grate one large cucumber into a non-reactive colander. Sprinkle salt on the cucumber shreds and mix. Let sit while the salt drives the liquid out. Meanwhile, put two cups of plain, full fat drained Greek yorghut into a glass bowl. Add dried onion & dill (and garlic if you like). Onion has some sugar, so I use onion powder. Mix well and leave in fridge. After an hour or three, squeeze cucumber shreds (good exercise for your hands) to remove as much liquid as possible. Add cucumber to the yoghurt. Mix well and cover. I add chopped black olives to increase the umami* flavor and to add more fermentation. If you eat a quarter to a half cup every day your gut will thank you.