MS & Weight Gain/Loss
 

I got on the scale today for the first time in over a year.:eek: I've gained 20 lbs and am now 65 lbs overweight.....again!!:mad:

I'm not a big eater, but I guess it's what I eat and when and having MS, I am basically inactive.:rolleyes: I've been in deniel about this and I must change some things, as this extra weight is getting harder to carry around.

What to do? More exercise(sitting down), less food (of course), liposuction (no way), Artificial sweeteners (bad for health), cut out all sweets (can't do it-not completely)???

Damn, eating is one of the few pleasures I have left. I'm not a pig, I don't overeat and I eat healthy Dinners from Schwans. Yes I do indulge myself a few times a week with icecream and cookies.:p

HELP!!!! Any suggestions?? Imma gonna do it and I hate Weight watchers!!!:D

Hi sally,
 

I was able to change my life style and I do believe you can too. When my health went south, my weight was at an all time high 192 and I am 5'1". I decided that I could and would shed the weight, as I was having trouble with AATD of the ankles. My ankles broke down litterally. I had to do something or I would be in a wheel chair.
I started by not putting anything into my mouth that wasn't good for me. I made alot of SMALL changes. No coke and pepsi, no artificial sweetners, and ate alot of fruit. I also eat more vegatables. There is a sunsweet product of mango, that satisfied my sweet tooth. I don't use margarine, but real butter if I have any. I also used whole milk, there is something in there that is good for you. I gave up the ice cream. I cannot excersise because of my ankles being shot, so I did it all with just watching what I ate. I didn't count calories, but fruit was at the top of list of eating. I eat oatmeal, especially in the winter, and things like black bean and corn wraps. Lots of mexican foods with little fat. After the first few months, my stomach shrank, and it got easier. I believe anybody can do this if I did. I had been on every kind of diet know to man and it never worked. This was more of a life style change, where I was consious of what went into me. My portion size, I used small plates. I ate slower, and enjoyed the food more. I have a friend with whom I live, and we did this together, so I was not alone in food choices. You need support to be begin with. Ask me anything you have question about. I am now down to the weight I was at in high school. I lived my whole life fat, and now wonder why I didn't do it before this. I will be 60 this next month and weigh about 130. The weight has stayed off. I didn't weigh myself until others saw that I was loosing weight. their support spurred me on. I do gain back really easily if I give in to icecream, cupcakes and any of that stuff. However i do now eat normally, with those occasional treats. This is now my third year at a lower weight. You can do this sally. I really believe that. Any help that I can offer you, please tap back at me. Weight loss can happen, just be mindfull of all that you eat. I wish you all the best. ginnie

Wow Ginnie, thanks for the great and encouraging pep talk. And, without being condesending, too, youngster..:D:hug:

Sally
I live by the 80/20 diet. I can eat ANYTHING I want. I eat until I am 80% full and then wait 20 minutes. If after 20 I am still hungry I eat a bit more. But usually I am satisfied.


good luck to you

Its so difficult to lose weight when 1)you can't be active enough to burn calories and 2)you are bored and eating is a way of enjoying life.

I too am struggling to lose weight. I joined WW because it's a way of tracking how much I eat and making me more mindful of what I put in the old hole...

I do indulge occasionally...once a week I buy lunch out, like creamy soup or a Subway sub...and a cookie:rolleyes:

Otherwise my sweet of choice is a few chocolate covered almonds...and I still have some wine each night...

It is being mindful of portion size and healthy food...I fall off the wagon when I get stressed, but dust myself off and climb back on.

Obviously, your scale is broken.

Mine, too! It's the darndest thing! And there's something going on inside my closet, too, 'cos I hang stuff up and then months later when I go to put it on..........it's smaller! :eek: What on earth is going on? :confused:

Last year with all my medical problems, I ended up gaining more weight. I was unable to do anything, and I mean anything except carefully walk around the house, for 3 months. So I spent those 3 months changing my eating habits and since then have lost 20 pounds. I didn't think I could loose weight without exercising but obviously my bad eating habits was what my biggest problem was.

Writing down everything, every little thing, helped me see what I was eating and where I could make better choices. I now eat more fruits and veggies, eat lower fat foods, and less carbs. I do allow myself to indulge once in a while, especially when I have a craving. But I eat less of those kinds of foods and after doing that for a while I'm now satisfied with less. Okay I had to resort to paying WW to find out where I was going wrong. :o

The hardest part is keeping myself from slipping into those bad habits. When I have a day where I ate too much or something that I shouldn't have, I no longer beat myself up. I just pick up where I left off and continue with my good eating habits.

And yes scales lie and clothes do shrink!!! :p

Moths??:eek::D

I too have gained some weight over the years, but I just figured that was because of the ever-expanding universe.

:D

Wow....those would have to be some pretty big moths!! But that's a good theory! :D

Sal, there's a TV campaign here at the moment to prompt people to lose weight. They say to simply trade a lot for a little. Instead of having a large bowl of pasta, have a little bowl of pasta. Instead of having a large bowl of ice-cream, have a little bowl of ice-cream, etc. Even reducing the size of your dinner plate can help. They say that it's not necessary to give up the foods that you enjoy, just to reduce the size if the portions.

If you want to do some exercises to help lose some weight, there are programs for wheel chair and bed bound people.

The best thing that would help is to go to your Dr and get the OK. Maybe ask for a list of things you can do, and maybe ask for a physical therapist evaluation. They can really help you with exercises that would be good you to do,

Any movement is exercise and whatever you can do helps, such as any cleaning you can do, but use a manual wheel chair instead of a electric if you intend to exercise, and don't forget to put the brakes on.

Try doing a web search. Look for exercises for wheel chair users. Apparently there are dvds for bed bound people, but you would need to look that up.

Here's some on YouTube :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqILr...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CdwO...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7zCD...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAQFi_l2r_o


There are more down the right hand side of the YouTube page.

Good luck Sal. :hug:

You would have to bring up this problem that I'm trying desperately to ignore;) The deck is really stacked against us Sally, sitting all the time, alone and bored, age, MS, too much pain to fix "healthy" food, etc.:eek: I've been looking into SENSA -- the stuff you sprinkle on your food and don't have to change any eating habits. Has anyone heard/tried this?

Gentle :hug:'s for all..............

I don't know Judy, it sounds like a placebo, if you believe it, it must be true type thingy..:rolleyes: And expensive!!!!

Hey, tho, Who knows? If you try it, let me know if it works..:hug:

Dear Sally and good people dieting
 

You are all doing those things that you can to help with your diets. You can do this. I swear that it can be done without excersise. I can't walk well, so I cannot exercise eithor. You are all on the right track and you don't have to spend money on WW or anyother program. It is all inside you. There is a mind set to conquer that is all it takes. We get so defeated when we slip up. I slipped up alot and still lost the weight. my motivation was pain, my ankles, and that set me on the right track. I know with MS all the trouble there is with that too. My cousin dianne has it. After every diet on the face of the earth I tried, it was inside me all along, to be able to loose the weight and keep it off. I guess I wanted this to happen so badly, that my mind set changed. You don't have to make big changes to have the results. Try to not use any packaged food with presertives. I eat yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, oatmeal, and all the other good foods. Once i got the hang of it, I lost the weight very fast. When the initial hunger passes, and your stomach shrinks, you get by with less. Once that first three months passes your new way of eating will take over, especially when you see how fast the weight comes off. That will spur you on. It is OK to slip up too. I still eat dark chocolate and often! Keep up all you are doing and it will work. I may have alot of medical and emotional problems, but this was one I didn't fail at. It was something I could control, where everything else was out of my control.
I care about all of you, as I faced the same as you are. I am here for you if every you need a receipe, or a boost to help you. You are in my thoughts and prayers. ginnie

Sometimes our MS meds can contribute to weight gain too, as I found out the hard way.

For me and my husband, we try to eat less. He's a great cook but hasn't wanted to cook for awhile so we eat quite a bit of fast food. We'll go through a drive thru and order one meal for dinner and split it. You can also order healthier options, such as vegetables in place of french fries or baked fish in place of fried.

A co-worker and I are into salads for lunch instead of the very unhealthy subs and junk we have eaten in the past. If you like salads, try to eat a salad every day. I even found a fat free ranch dressing that actually tastes good too. It has helped me drop five pounds in a couple of weeks, just eating healthier at lunch.

The only weakness I have is drinking beer, which gives me energy at night and enables me to keep up with the housework. I tried to research it years ago and the only ingredient I can find to explain the energy boost is brewer's yeast. LOL Wish someone would hurry up and invent a zero calorie beer. :ROTFLMAO:

Sally, I too have gotten to a point where I can't take no more...aside from the family problems I have right now, I am sick and tired of hauling around the extra weight, so I am working on loosing weight too. First I gave up soda, drinking lots of water and a diet soda at night. Second I gave up my evening snack...just sits on my behind anyhow to aggravate me later.

I have lost about 14 lbs in the last two months, so I started to excercise some...I want the rest of this blub off...so I cheer you on, the best advice I see here is to change one thing at a time...I have been a thin healthy person in the past and the only way I got there was to change a thing at a time. Such as one item/task a week. That way you don't feel so deprived...I am one of those that has to fight my body to be thinner and heathier.

So you go girl!!

Eat a large salad before dinner with lots of veggies and low calorie dressing and it fills your stomach. It did nothing for me but it might help. :rolleyes: Try not to eat a few hours before bed.

Losing weight isn't exactly Rocket Science...now is it? :rolleyes:

This cracks me up every time I watch it (only 2 min. long): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THNPmhBl-8I

Why fight it? I say Embrace your fat!!! :D

Or, as they used to say, "Ewes not fat, ewes fluffy!" :holysheep:

LOL Twink!!!:yahoo::yahoo:

The only problem with lots of salads is I have IBS and if I have too many I get an attack...

That's so true, for some DebD, and the salads I love are not exactly fat free. I like ham, cheese, eggs and chicken in mah salads w/lots of creamy 1000 island dressing.:eek::p

I love my veggies tho, but never have been a lover of fresh fruits. I have, however, cut my staple, choc chip cookies:D, from my diet and cheesits w/onion dip.

I'll do it, it may take me longer because of the lack of exercise, but at least I'll be eating better, in the meantime.

I eat lots of veggies and I poop a lot as a result. Sometimes five times a day. :eek: That might be IBS but I just deal with it. I know the veggies are good for me nonetheless. I go through lots of toilet paper. :o :rolleyes: Now, what were we talking about? :confused: :o

RE: other choices for veggies
 

Too much ruffage can cause IBS. Try cooking some different kinds of squash. They are in season right now. There isn't one I don't like. They are bright colorfull and tasty. I use some brown sugar, a little butter and a little salt. Easy on the tummy too, and you still get what you need for your body to work. Try to eat steel cut oatmeal from a health food store. It is cheap and much tastier that the kind you buy in the store. Just a thought as it works for me. ginnie

Hi sally
 

Even if you are not a lover of fruit, try the honey crisp variety of apples. There is none better and I bet you would love it. It is not the same old same old. I do peel the skin if I want. I also eat dried mango from sunsweet. Fabulous stuff to take the sweet urge away and it tastes great. thinking about you this a.m. ginnie

I don't think i've ever tasted Mango?? I like dried apricots, but a bit bitter I havent tried dries prunes except for raisons.

Thanks Gin:)

:yahoo: I've noticed that, too.:eek:

Re: mango
 

[These mango by sunsweet, are a little tart and a little sweet, just perfect. Nothing like the cardboard in the health food stores. I eat it every day, and it meets some need I have while I maintain my weight. Sweet, tart, yummy and I got hooked on it! (sunsweet brand is the only that is like this) ginnie PS it is worth the money even during a tight economy.

Doc did some changing arounds of meds on me. When she put me on Celexa (depression/anxiety/ocd/phobia) I started losing weight without making any other lifestyle changes.

Otherwise I used to follow a low blood sugar diet {6 meals per day} and I would lose weight really well. Plus I just felt better. Teaches you what a real portion size is too.
I got all the info off the internet and printed everything out. then I kept a log of how many servings from each food group I had for every meal. I was only allowed 1500 cals a day. It goes by exchanges and is easy to keep track of.

Hi Karlaan
 

way to go! love hearing when people find a method that works. Good for you and your weight loss! ginnie

I have to say that emotional stressors are the cause of IBS for me, usually oh what's the word...delayed. If I have 2 salads within 24 hrs, I get the glass through the intestines feeling, usually in tandem with a stressor...since the fact that the inlaws are almost a 24/7 stressor nowadays, it is logical that both in combination are causing severe pain/glass passing feeling/diarrhea. TMI...but so painful and distressing I almost pray for death when it occurs...:(:(

So far I'm feeling good about this. At my tender age, I'm not going to starve myself or deprive myself from some pleasures.

Ill be letting you know how it's going..:rolleyes::D

Agreed, have Chrons...stress and salad bbbaaaaadddd combination....corn on the cob is the worst for me...always ends w a visit to the gastro doc!! So I can't eat alot of healthy foods...

How can some one give the weight to me?
 

Hello, Friends!
I am new to the group. I have never been big. I weigh 118. I want to gain do not like weight so badly!!! I think it would help with my walking also, I cannot wear heels anymore as my legs have no muscle in them. I would like to gain muscle and just feel better. I do not like having MS, but I am thankful I am here!!!! GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!:)

Hello Carlisa, and welcome to NeuroTalk.

So as not to get your post lost within this thread, I am going to copy it over to a thread of it's own. Please click this link to see any relies you might get.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...682#post821682

Just wanted to check in and let you know, that the past week has been a successful one. I don't know if I've lost any weight, but I feel better and stronger.

I don't know if it's the eating about half, per day, of what I was eating, the exercise or the Prayers. I suppose it's the combination.:rolleyes:

I still haven't been on the scale, but I feel a bit lighter and tummy may be shrinking? I'm glad it's so darn hard for me to stand up on a scale, 'cause I'd be weighing myself every time I went potty. Of course I can if I hold on to something and that way I weigh less..:D

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement..:grouphug:

Hi sally
 

Yeh sally! forget the scale, if you feel better it worked this week. I do diet on prayer also. I thought is was funny about weighing after the potty, made me laugh. Have a good week, you are doing great. any time there is effort there is reward. I had a breakfast of coffee and my mango, my one true addiction. I do wish you all the best. ginnie

Hey, I was actually strong enough to stand up on the scale without holding on today and guess what???:D

LOL!!! No one shivs a git that I lost 5 lbs?
Ta heck witcha then..:D:p:D

Sally, that's great! I've gained some weight.......but I've not been able to get on the treadmill for the past several months due to this pelvic organ prolapse I have. Hoping that the surgery will repair it and enable me to start exercising again. I have really missed it.