just came back from the doc

Went to get a few prescriptions renewed. Talked to him about diet. I've
gained 12 pounds in the past year and that is with trying various diets and
having an exercise routine (from no diet and no exercise routine). My
thyroid is fine, cortisol level fine, no reason for the weight gain and no
losses. I started to talk to him about my seeing a Dietician and maybe they
could help me. He said "let's try this first"... he gave me a prescription
for Phentermine 37.5mg but said to take 1/2 pill a day. I told him if its
an appetite suppressant it won't work because I don't overeat. He said to
give it a try and come back in two months. So, I guess I'm going to try it
alone with my usual diet and exercise.

ChristyLynn wrote:
> I told him if its an appetite suppressant it won't work because I don't overeat.

> I've gained 12 pounds in the past year..."

"Phentermine works by stimulating the hypothalamus gland and affecting
certain neurotransmitters to decrease appetite."

While certain foods are heart-healthy and make you feel less hungry,
it's hard to gain 12lbs without eating more than you burn. What diets
have you tried? How many calories are you eating?

> give it a try and come back in two months. So, I guess I'm going to try it
> alone with my usual diet and exercise.

Well, you can come here for support. You don't have to go it alone.
:-)

335/330/215

Instead of typing it all over, I'll just paste what I answered to someone on
another diet forum:

I have really tried just about every approach. Watching fat intake,
watching carbs, watching calories, exercise, drinking lots of water. I like
how I feel best when doing low carb, and I'm doing it the lean protein way,
avoiding red meat, bacon, sausage, etc. and following Atkins of 20 carbs a
day and did that for 3-4 weeks and upped it slowly as the book said. Lost 7
pounds in the initial two weeks and completely stopped. I did the calorie
approach, tried different amounts for 1-2 week spans anywhere from 1600 cals
to as little as 1000 cals a day.

I typically do this routine 5 days a week. Walk 2 miles a day at a fairly
good stride, and ride the stationary bike 20 minutes (my butt cant handle
sitting on it much longer). I alternate that routine with a 30 minute
exercise tape, and 20 minutes of using the fitness ball and matt. This is
all I can handle as I'm 125 pounds overweight and I'm a little limited on
what type of exercise I can do because of a bad back and knees.

I've had my thyroid tested, even though I gained most of this weight because
I was hypothyroid, it is now controlled with meds. I had my cortisol tested
and it is normal. All that is left is hormones but I'm only going to be 41
next month. I always spread my meals out into about 5 smaller ones and I
drink 80 to 96 ounces of water a day.

I'm at wits end so that is why I talked to him about it. I am "this close"
to gastric because I have two family members and two co-workers who praise
it and wish they had only done it sooner. I'm really reaching for something
that will work.

Nice to meet you. Sounds like you've had quite a struggle. I hope you can
enjoy some support here.

One thing I don't see you've tried -- did I miss it? -- is
resistance-training. Are you doing anything to build muscle? Pilates?
Weight-lifting? Building muscle will raise your basal metabolic rate.

ep


"ChristyLynn" <calicokitty@newnorth.net> wrote in message
news:Aib4h.5048$ya1.1616@news02.roc.ny...
> Instead of typing it all over, I'll just paste what I answered to someone
> on another diet forum:
>
> I have really tried just about every approach. Watching fat intake,
> watching carbs, watching calories, exercise, drinking lots of water. I
> like how I feel best when doing low carb, and I'm doing it the lean
> protein way, avoiding red meat, bacon, sausage, etc. and following Atkins
> of 20 carbs a day and did that for 3-4 weeks and upped it slowly as the
> book said. Lost 7
> pounds in the initial two weeks and completely stopped. I did the calorie
> approach, tried different amounts for 1-2 week spans anywhere from 1600
> cals to as little as 1000 cals a day.
>
> I typically do this routine 5 days a week. Walk 2 miles a day at a fairly
> good stride, and ride the stationary bike 20 minutes (my butt cant handle
> sitting on it much longer). I alternate that routine with a 30 minute
> exercise tape, and 20 minutes of using the fitness ball and matt. This is
> all I can handle as I'm 125 pounds overweight and I'm a little limited on
> what type of exercise I can do because of a bad back and knees.
>
> I've had my thyroid tested, even though I gained most of this weight
> because I was hypothyroid, it is now controlled with meds. I had my
> cortisol tested and it is normal. All that is left is hormones but I'm
> only going to be 41 next month. I always spread my meals out into about 5
> smaller ones and I drink 80 to 96 ounces of water a day.
>
> I'm at wits end so that is why I talked to him about it. I am "this
> close" to gastric because I have two family members and two co-workers who
> praise it and wish they had only done it sooner. I'm really reaching for
> something that will work.

"Edna Pearl" <edna_pearl@BiteMeSpammeryahoo.com> wrote
> One thing I don't see you've tried -- did I miss it? -- is
> resistance-training. Are you doing anything to build muscle? Pilates?
> Weight-lifting? Building muscle will raise your basal metabolic rate.


Aren't they kind of limited if I can't work out my back or knees much?

On Wed, 08 Nov 2006 03:23:10 GMT, "ChristyLynn"
<calicokitty@newnorth.net> wrote:

>"Edna Pearl" <edna_pearl@BiteMeSpammeryahoo.com> wrote
>> One thing I don't see you've tried -- did I miss it? -- is
>> resistance-training. Are you doing anything to build muscle? Pilates?
>> Weight-lifting? Building muscle will raise your basal metabolic rate.
>
>
>Aren't they kind of limited if I can't work out my back or knees much?
>

Hi ChristyLynn,

Regarding this specific question: Could you tell us more about what
problem you have with your back and knees? It may be something that
would be helped by weight training.

Your situation in many ways reminds me of myself 6 years ago (except I
was older -- 52 at the time). I then weighed around 275, and had knee
issues -- partly due to my weight, partly due to an injury -- that
made it hard for me to walk more than a couple of hundred yards. I
also had thryoid disease (Hashimoto's), controlled with drugs. On top
of that, I was menopausal. I started going to a gym so that I could
do water aerobics, since I couldn't get any exercise otherwise, and
after a while got interested in weight training. At the time I wasn't
making any effort to lose weight, and didn't lose much, but I plainly
lost fat and gained muscle -- and also pretty much rehabbed my knees.
I eventually got interested in overall fitness and decided to try to
lose some weight. I began counting calories (targeting around 1600),
added cardio to my workouts, and kept up my weight training. I wasn't
too sure I could lose weight, but it turned out I could :-). Over two
years I lost half my bodyweight -- and also turned into someone who
could run :-).

I'm not saying my problems were the same as yours -- it does sound
like you've tried a lot of things to lose weight -- but I want to at
least offer some encouragement from someone who's been there.

If you do want to try weight training, let me recommend you check out
this website: http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/index.php. You should be
able to find some things there that you can do.




Chris
262/130s/130s
started dieting July 2002, maintaining since June 2004

Chris has given you all the advice I would have given about this,
ChristyLynn, so I'll just chime in to encourage you to take a good look at
weight-training, starting with the website Chris linked you too.

And I'll add my own personal experience to Chris's: I have an atrophied
right rhomboid (back muscle) from an old injury, so my spine is crooked and
my back is out of balance. I am lame in my left foot -- my arch is too high
and too weak, so I have to wear ugly shoes and I walk with a limp. The limp
throws my whole body out of whack, so I tend to have knee and hip problems,
especially when I gain weight, and especially when I don't work out. If I
lift weights regularly, my back and my joints give me less trouble.

ep
size 23/16-18/10-12
"Chris Braun" <braun@mill-creek-systems.com> wrote in message
news:nhj2l2dhshqvs1lvrsl7cknv7o0if7c58f@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 08 Nov 2006 03:23:10 GMT, "ChristyLynn"
> <calicokitty@newnorth.net> wrote:
>
>>"Edna Pearl" <edna_pearl@BiteMeSpammeryahoo.com> wrote
>>> One thing I don't see you've tried -- did I miss it? -- is
>>> resistance-training. Are you doing anything to build muscle? Pilates?
>>> Weight-lifting? Building muscle will raise your basal metabolic rate.
>>
>>
>>Aren't they kind of limited if I can't work out my back or knees much?
>>
>
> Hi ChristyLynn,
>
> Regarding this specific question: Could you tell us more about what
> problem you have with your back and knees? It may be something that
> would be helped by weight training.
>
> Your situation in many ways reminds me of myself 6 years ago (except I
> was older -- 52 at the time). I then weighed around 275, and had knee
> issues -- partly due to my weight, partly due to an injury -- that
> made it hard for me to walk more than a couple of hundred yards. I
> also had thryoid disease (Hashimoto's), controlled with drugs. On top
> of that, I was menopausal. I started going to a gym so that I could
> do water aerobics, since I couldn't get any exercise otherwise, and
> after a while got interested in weight training. At the time I wasn't
> making any effort to lose weight, and didn't lose much, but I plainly
> lost fat and gained muscle -- and also pretty much rehabbed my knees.
> I eventually got interested in overall fitness and decided to try to
> lose some weight. I began counting calories (targeting around 1600),
> added cardio to my workouts, and kept up my weight training. I wasn't
> too sure I could lose weight, but it turned out I could :-). Over two
> years I lost half my bodyweight -- and also turned into someone who
> could run :-).
>
> I'm not saying my problems were the same as yours -- it does sound
> like you've tried a lot of things to lose weight -- but I want to at
> least offer some encouragement from someone who's been there.
>
> If you do want to try weight training, let me recommend you check out
> this website: http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/index.php. You should be
> able to find some things there that you can do.
>
>
>
>
> Chris
> 262/130s/130s
> started dieting July 2002, maintaining since June 2004

ChristyLynn wrote:
> Instead of typing it all over, I'll just paste what I answered to someone on
> another diet forum:
>
> I have really tried just about every approach. Watching fat intake,
> watching carbs, watching calories, exercise, drinking lots of water. I like
> how I feel best when doing low carb, and I'm doing it the lean protein way,
> avoiding red meat, bacon, sausage, etc. and following Atkins of 20 carbs a
> day and did that for 3-4 weeks and upped it slowly as the book said. Lost 7
> pounds in the initial two weeks and completely stopped. I did the calorie
> approach, tried different amounts for 1-2 week spans anywhere from 1600 cals
> to as little as 1000 cals a day.
>
Plenty of people here will support you and others like myself will
occasionally call, "BS". That said, there's no way you can eat 1000 -
1600 calories and remain 125 lbs over weight for any length of time.
Sooner or later, if the count is accurate, you will lose weight at that
calorie intake. Only you can decide if it's something you want bad
enough to stick to for the rest of your life.

Exercise, although very healthy, is not *required* for weight loss.

> I typically do this routine 5 days a week. Walk 2 miles a day at a fairly
> good stride, and ride the stationary bike 20 minutes (my butt cant handle
> sitting on it much longer). I alternate that routine with a 30 minute
> exercise tape, and 20 minutes of using the fitness ball and matt. This is
> all I can handle as I'm 125 pounds overweight and I'm a little limited on
> what type of exercise I can do because of a bad back and knees.
>
> I've had my thyroid tested, even though I gained most of this weight because
> I was hypothyroid, it is now controlled with meds. I had my cortisol tested
> and it is normal. All that is left is hormones but I'm only going to be 41
> next month. I always spread my meals out into about 5 smaller ones and I
> drink 80 to 96 ounces of water a day.
>
> I'm at wits end so that is why I talked to him about it. I am "this close"
> to gastric because I have two family members and two co-workers who praise
> it and wish they had only done it sooner. I'm really reaching for something
> that will work.
>



--

Cheese

http://cheesensweets.com/contacts/cheese.php

"ChristyLynn" <calicokitty@newnorth.net> wrote in message
news:9ea4h.4940$Ka1.4866@news01.roc.ny...
> Went to get a few prescriptions renewed. Talked to him about diet. I've
> gained 12 pounds in the past year and that is with trying various diets
> and having an exercise routine (from no diet and no exercise routine). My
> thyroid is fine, cortisol level fine, no reason for the weight gain and no
> losses. I started to talk to him about my seeing a Dietician and maybe
> they could help me. He said "let's try this first"... he gave me a
> prescription for Phentermine 37.5mg but said to take 1/2 pill a day. I
> told him if its an appetite suppressant it won't work because I don't
> overeat. He said to give it a try and come back in two months. So, I
> guess I'm going to try it alone with my usual diet and exercise.
>
>
>

He's wrong. You have a doctor who would rather make you spend money on
pills than really get to the bottom of what is going on. If you can change
doctors, do it and tell this guy why. Tell him this is poor patient care
and you've lost your trust in him. That's what I did when my doctor tried
to shove pills at me without even trying diet and exercise to cut my bp and
cholesterol. I have saved $1500 a year ever since.

On Nov 8, 7:35 am, Cheese <nos...@cheesensweets.com> wrote:
> ChristyLynn wrote:
> > I have really tried just about every approach. Watching fat intake,
> > watching carbs, watching calories, exercise, drinking lots of water. I like
> > how I feel best when doing low carb, and I'm doing it the lean protein way,
> > avoiding red meat, bacon, sausage, etc. and following Atkins of 20 carbs a
> > day and did that for 3-4 weeks and upped it slowly as the book said. Lost 7
> > pounds in the initial two weeks and completely stopped. I did the calorie
> > approach, tried different amounts for 1-2 week spans anywhere from 1600 cals
> > to as little as 1000 cals a day.
> That said, there's no way you can eat 1000 -
> 1600 calories and remain 125 lbs over weight for any length of time.
> Sooner or later, if the count is accurate, you will lose weight at that
> calorie intake.


Thats just it, you have to pick something and STICK TO IT for more than
say just a few weeks or even a month.
Eat say a reasonable 1500 calories a day, exercise every day, and six
months to a year later if you havent lost a pound well then you have
something to post about. You have to stick to it to see the changes
evolve.



joanne