Wait a minute...No, Weight a minute...
 

I'm just going to whine a little here and welcome anyone who wants to have some whine and cheese with me.

I have always been a thin person. I put on a little weight a couple of years ago but not enough to make me freak out. Since February, I have put on almost 50 pounds!!! Yes, you read that right, 50 pounds! I am beside myself and am having body image issues now. Well, I've always had them but this is way worse. I just dipped over into the obese category. I have had many tests (thyroid since I had a goiter pop up in February) done and all have come back negative, including my biopsy. I swell up all the time now and retain fluid at the drop of a hat. I was advised to not take the diruetic at this point as I am severely allergic to sulfa antibiotics.

So, here's my whine. I have no idea how to diet to lose weight. I know how to diet to keep weight on as that has been an issue for me since I was a kid. If I cut anything more out of my diet I won't be eating anything as there are a lot of things I can't eat. We know that there is some medical reason for this as the weight came on so quick, within 4 to 5 months. The doctors have yet to figure out the cause other than the goiter may be effecting my metabolism but my thyroid function is showing up normal at the time of testing. It may not be normal at other times, is what I was told. There has also been some talk about my kidneys not working properly too. That aside, I still can't figure out how to lose weight. I watch what I eat and recently cut breads and grains (cereal - even oatmeal) from my diet. I eat mostly fruits, veggies, and proteins (chicken, fish, yogurt).

Ok. Whine is over. Anyone want to join in?

I'm right there with you. :(

I'm not sure how old you are but it seems like as soon as I turned 50 my metabolism went on vacation.

I also had a hysterectomy several years ago so that might be part of the problem.

I really try to watch what I eat but I think it's the sedentary lifestyle that I now have that is the problem. I can't exercise like I used to. Can't walk on a treadmill. I used to walk for 1 1/2 hours on the treadmill three times a week and that really helped. I miss it.

I never envisioned myself as a chubby Grandma at 55 but that's what I am! I love being a Grandma.......NOT being chubby!

Welcome to my club, ladies! I was very petite until I had my first child in 1984, it was then that my metabolism went south. I became dysmetabolic or metabolic syndrome X. I really struggle with my weight. All my weight seems to settle in the abdomen, but it is stable. I have a sluggish thyroid, Fibromyalgia, and MS. I was working towards my BS in nutrition sciences when I withdrew from school. I had developed so many issues with my cognitive and memory. I forgot that I am also diabetic, though I have it very well controlled and keep my numbers in the pre-diabetic range. I try to keep my foods in the whole foods and none processed, lots of vegetables, some fruits, and meats...normal portions, whole grains and stay away from processed grains and white foods (sugar, bread, flour,, rice).

Kelly - I never thought I would be a chubby grandma either. I don't know if you experience this but weight hurts! It hurts to sit cross legged on the floor with my grandson. MS plus extra weight makes it harder to get up off the floor. :D I did have a hysterectomy and my ovaries removed and I knew that putting on a few pounds may happen. But this, this is not a few pounds.

Bd - Have you had your hormones checked? I don't know how old you are but it might be worth getting them checked.

I've been trying to work on my leg strength but it is a slow process. I am exercising more than I have in a long time. I walk in my apartment now but will be heading outside for walks when it cools down. I walk anywhere from 1 to 3 miles a day. I added in jogging in place for 30 seconds or so for every 5 minutes I walk. Side note but somewhat related - My girls have gotten huge! It's like I hit puberty at 52. I swear I put on 10 pounds just in that area alone. I have to wear a good support bra when I do jogging in place intervals.

If I find the magic bullet, I will let you all know.

ya know, it sounds like maybe some specialist consultations might be in order.
endocrinologist....cardiac dr....kidney dr (altho they can tell a lot by just doing a urinalysis).

i would definitely persue and answer. somethings seems out of whack.
i don't understand what a diuretic has to do with sufur antibx?
who wanted you to take the diuretic? did they also tell you should balance the diuretic with potassium?

keep us posted. don't give up.

tkrik I turned 50 this past March. Weight has been a struggle since my first pregnancy 32 years ago. I have managed to stabilize my weight, though I want to lose weight. I have actually lost about 10 pounds since my hysterectomy last year and I refused HRT since I was already in menopause. I am planning to get a recumbant bike to try to help with strengthening my legs and getting exercise. I am hoping it will do some good.

I have gained weight over the past 7 years since working in retail. Mine is related to having to sit most of the time due to the fatigue worsening my energy. Also, the odd hours have me snacking more at night.

I was diagnosed with low thyroid and take meds each morning but I don't know how that affects my weight.

I know that part of mine is also my decreasing ability to walk and burn calories. I still have the same appetite of when I was much more active. Also, I love to cook.

It sounds like you are doing the right things with your diet. If you are drinking fruit juices or sugared sodas those can be calorie heavy. I switched to water for my main drink during the day.

I was up 30 pounds at one point but I have lost ten of those. As long as I can stay at that level I'm ok with that.

Judy - Thanks! I have been tracking my eating habits, exercise, and even sleep for a few months now. Something is just not right. Again, I have had lots of tests done and nothing has shown up positive. My PCP is the one who prescribed the diuretic. Apparently, the one she prescribed is a sulfanomide and can cause allergic reactions in people who are allergic to sulfa abx. I had a severe allergic reaction to them so was told to not take them. There is another diuretic that I would be able to take, I can't remember the name of it though. And, yes, I will continue to pursue this as I know this is not normal. I have been to so many doctors the past few months - neurologist, GI, endocrinologist, rheumy, endocrinologist/oncologist surgeon, etc and will be seeing the GYN next month to see if she can shed some light on this (high testosterone, maybe??). They did tell me at the endocrinologists that the goiter that popped up could be effecting my thyroid function but the testing is showing it is fine. I guess it could be swinging from normal to hypo to hyper from the way it was explained to me.

Bd - Wow! I lost a few pounds after my hysterectomy about a year ago but not 10 pounds. I do think the hysterectomy is contributing but certainly not the cause. I was not in menopause when I had the hysterectomy.

Wiz!!!! - We miss you here.:hug: Glad to see you posting. I am sure being less active doesn't help. For me, I am more active than I have been in a few years. Maybe I need to become more sedentary again.:D:D Has it really been 7 years since you went back to work? That's crazy! It doesn't seem that long at all - at least to me.

trik, are you sure about the diuretic your pcp ordered. Sulfanomide is an antibiotic.

I don't remember what year it was that I went on 'a life change', not a diet. I lost 60 pounds in about 2 years. Then I gained back all but 15 of those. So now I am down from the 218 to 207. I think a lot of it was fluid but I have been off a diuretic since the first of the month so I don't know what I am doing right since I'm not doing anything to lose weight. Like last night when we went to Walmart. I am a sucker for raisin bread. I bought a loaf but I eat the whole loaf in one night. But the last week or so it has been very slow. But I know I need to do it. My bursitis in my hips and everything else will be better, I can get off all the heavy medicine I am on. But like the others have said. You are doing the right things. Maybe you are doing to much? Are your calories so low that your body then has to hold on to your fat cells in order to survive? You should have at least 1300 calories unless your doctor is supervising you in a lower calorie.

Doydie - Apparently, the diuretic the doctor prescribed has sulfanomide in it and has caused those with sulfa abx allergies as well as penicillin allergies to have an allergic reaction to it. The pharmacist recommended I contact the doctor and discuss using a different diuretic. I have an appointment with her next month to discuss this as well as review some more blood work that I need to get done.

I have been tracking my diet for a few months now. On average, I take in around 1200 to 1500 calories a day. I brought my food diary with me and showed the doctors (a few of them) and there is nothing in there that would cause such a jump in weight. I do occasionally have some ice cream or something more fattening but not on a regular basis or enough that it would tip the scale. I scoop of ice cream a month is not going to make much of a difference.

The answer will come up but it's the waiting and worrying as being overweight/obese can cause all sorts of problems (diabetes, heart disease, and more mobility issues to name a few).

I sincerely hope it's not the kidney's though problems with kidneys can cause weight gain. But I also strangely packed on a bunch of weight this past year. I'm only in my 30s so it has nothing to do with menopause, I've actually been more active with the GBs around so activity level shouldn't be a factor, my diet isn't any different than what it's been right along though as Doydie pointed out I do NOT get enough calories. Food is just not a high priority thing for me in my daily life and if I'm not careful I can actually go days without eating. I'm not anorexic I just could care less about eating more times than not, if food is available (I mean prepped and ready to just eat) I'll eat it if I'm hungry and if not, I kind of need to convince myself to go through the effort of making something to eat.

But in any event in this past year I've put on 30 lbs and went up 2 dress sizes. I am the widest I have ever been in my life. Generally I don't pay attention to what the scale says as far as weight goes, I've always weighed about 200lbs since I was in my early teens. I wore a size 4 at 5'7, but weighed 205 when I was 14, and even after hurting my back and going to a more seditary lifestyle I didn't gain "weight" just fat, stayed around 200lbs just went from a size 4 to a size 14. And I've held pretty steady there the past 10 or so years a little bit of fat loss a little bit of gaining it back in that time going from 10s-14s-12s and such, but you know staying within 2" or so around the waist in loss and gains. But this past year I went from a size 12 last August to a size 18 by this past May and I'm up around 235lbs :eek:. And that's being more active.

I pretty much give up at this point. I know all the health problems that come from being obese, but I only have so much energy to exercise each day, and only so many things I can do for exercise with my body torn apart, and I honestly know I'm not going eat more. I've tried, so many many times I have tried, pretty much my entire life I have tried to eat more, but food just doesn't hit my brain as a necessity. I mean today I had a glass of milk for breakfast pretty much because I didn't feel like making myself a bowl of cereal, and 1/2 cup of cooked pasta for dinner with a bit of parm. Yesterday I a 1/2 cup of orange juice for breakfast, because we were out of milk and it was all that was left of the OJ, and then my mom brought me some milk that ended up being my dinner because the DH was working overtime.

And we're grandparents... we have chips, cookies, ice cream, candy and all that in the house and nope didn't eat that either. We have fresh fruit and veggies, breads, crackers, cheeses, a full pantry of food, a full fridge, 2 full freezers and I settle for 1/2 a cup of OJ for breakfast and a glass of milk for dinner. And I honestly do try to eat... It just not something that really interests me on a daily basis. And I haven't hit my annual binge yet, where I tend to lose an incredible amount of weight in a week because I just want to eat everything in sight, I will be starving and need to eat the belly won't shut up in requests for food and then as soon as the week or so is over the brain and body go right back to ... "food? what's that?" As has been the pattern the past 30 plus years of my life, since even as toddler I really could have cared less about eating. I could polish off a gallon of milk, but eat??? Like put food in my mouth and chew it??? Nah, too much work, I'll just drink another glass of water that will shut the stomach up.

Starz check out Sparkpeople it's an online free program offering a wealth of advice on wellness and nutrition. I've used it for 10 years and it's been a valuable tool to help me track & manage my exercise, fibre intake along with protein, vitamins and additionally calories! It is 100% free, I love it that much I've loaded it to my iPad and my phone! You just register and create an account and voila help is at hand daily. To avoid spam tick the box that says NO to email notifications.

Thank you Stars! It helps to know that others have experienced this random excessive weight gain. I literally skipped size 12 and went on to size 14. And, I didn't have any size 14 clothes. I mostly have size 8 and 10s. Since my surgeries, I don't like anything that pushes on my stomach. It's very uncomfortable for me. My daughter let me borrow her maternity jeans and pants after my last surgery. They were awesome!!!! But maternity clothes is so expensive. DD25 told me about a resale shop that sells maternity clothes along with kids/baby clothes and toys. We're going to go check it out hopefully this weekend. I hate spending money on clothes that I may only wear for a little bit, until they get things figured out. I did buy a pair of maternity pants at another thrift store but they're a little big and are capris. It's not cold out but I know that I will need pants soon as it will be getting cooler and I won't have anything to wear in public.:eek::D

I have to get my thyroid retested this month (TSH, T3/4, autoimmune thyroid, etc.). I also have a bunch of other blood tests to get done including my A1C, which was slightly above normal (like .1 over the normal range) but my fasting blood sugars have been normal. The endocrinologist said that since my blood sugars have been normal he does not feel that I am pre-diabetic or have diabetes.

Well, tkrik? How goes the battle that (most of) the rest of us know so well? You were a little thing, indeed! Sorry for your weight gain! Hope by now you've got it figured out. :hug:

Twink - Unfortunately, they have not figured it out other than the good sized goiter I have on my thyroid. Labs for thyroid are all normal. They did find that my insulin is high but my blood sugars and such are normal. It's just really odd. I go back to the endocrinologist next week for a follow up. Maybe this new one can shed some light on what is going on. I was much, much thinner when you last saw me. The clothes from that time are packed away in my "hope" box (as in I hope I can wear them again).:D