Weight loss and health issues

[Jennafox]

Hoping that the info here will help me finally get back into the shape I used to be in (before kids & hormone problems). My husband was researching to help me with stalled/non-existent weight loss when he found this site. He has ordered several of the prod mentioned here to stack as a Christmas gift for me. A little about me. 4 kids, 33, got down to my high school weight & size almost 4 yrs ago but 2 yrs ago had a very stressful transition (we moved, took forever to find & buy a home, in the mean-time I was living with in-laws & family so I had no control over the food in the house, etc). I re-gained 60+ lbs in just 7 mo. Since then my hormones have been messed up & weight loss has been just about impossible. I have tried fat burners, energy boosters, I have done some of the more popular "as seen on TV" workouts (did a full cycle of Chalean Extreme & a full cycle of P90X) - all with no more than about a 5 lb loss & minimal improvement in sizes. I am stronger & have more energy but that's about it. Before this I could lose a good 2-5 lbs a week, gain lean muscle, & drop a size a month or more without even adjusting my diet & no supplementation. I am really hoping that doing a cycle of these supps will kick-start some progress for me.

I was wondering what changes/progress I might expect with 1 cycle if I keep my eating clean & workout consistently? Sorry if I sound foolish - I actually used to be quite fit & had no need for supplements to help, I built muscle & dropped fat without difficulty but lately it just seems like a losing battle.

 

[Jennafox]

Re: The women's Guide to pro homrones, A female's look into legal steroids.

Dr ran blood tests, but as soon as she saw indicators of Rheumatoid she started running pain panels instead of tests that would help figure out stalled weight loss. My thyroid is fine (she said) & she said cortisol levels are normal. Something is going on though because I have never had problems losing weight unless I was pregnant & didn't know it (which is not the case now). 2 yrs ago when I gained the weight back the doc I was seeing ran some tests & came up with very high cortisol levels & some other hormone issues that I needed an endocrinologist for. Now that we can afford to see one the doc here (I have to have a referral) ran tests & found the rheumatoid factors so she wants me to see a rheumatologist. When I told her I came to her for weight loss & not pain issues she seemed confused & said the tests she ran were pain panels. I wouldn't mind if I was in pain but since I'm not I was pretty irritated that she obviously wasn't listening to me at all. Anyway she gave me some speech about how most people are where I am now & that's the new normal. Huh? Like that means I should be pleased about it? Then she said I could consider gastric bypass or a lap band... which I found shocking.

Guess I will just see how things go.

 

[RottenWillow]

Jenna, you may already know that hormone levels are in constant flux. They can certainly be within range at a given point in time, but you could still potentially have abnormally high or low levels at other times. A thorough endo will do multiple salivary or blood draws if he/she feels the symptoms continue to suggest hormonal imbalances.

First thing I'd suggest you look at doing is getting at least a few take down hormonal sample tests. Sample at least a few times at different times of the day to check cortisol and estrogen. High estrogen could certainly account for uncharacteristic difficulty in losing bodyfat. If cortisol is high you will probably also be experiencing insomnia of some sort (difficultly getting to sleep, waking up a lot, waking up too early).

 

[Roxy722]

Welcome to EF!! I'm glad you signed up and hope we can offer you some help.

What supplements did you order??? Sounds like a great Christmas gift.

 

[Jennafox]

I have to ask my husband on the supps he ordered - no idea. LOL

As far as sleeping, I get up @ 5:20 against my will every day to get 4 kids off to school (5, 7, 10, & 11). I am a night owl, but that's always been the case. I will have to look into more in depth testing. We are a 1 income fam so $$ is tight (which is why my supps were a gift instead of just part of a groc budget). The irritating thing is that the doc ran the pain panels without asking me about it - I went to her for weight loss problems & I guess she brain dumped that little detail when she found the rheum. indicators. She also apparently forgot that I already was diagnosed with RA in '07. It was aggressive & I was told to expect severe pain & some disfigurement in the joints within 6 mo. I wasn't cool with that so I (just being honest here) went to the healing team at our church. I haven't had any pain since & no twisting or enlargement of joints either... so I guess the rh factors are still there... still aggressive in #, but no pain & definately NOT why I agreed to having what seemed like a gallon of blood drawn! LOL Goofball doc said my vit D was low & recommended vit D & B-12. So yeah, we totally felt like it was time & $$ wasted to say the least.

3 mo into P90X & the weird weakness in the limbs is gone. It got worse with heat or adrenaline, so bad that I had trouble putting my hair up or fastening my bra! Freaky. So glad that is gone (it was always worse as my cycle got closer so I knew it was hormonal). Now if the lbs will start falling OFF I'd be good to go!

 

[Island_Girl]

Hi Jenna and welcome to EF!

I'd like to dissect your nutrition if we may. Could you write out what you have been eating the last couple of days. How much cardio are you doing every week?

 

[Jennafox]

My nutrition is pretty boring at the moment (low on funds LOL), but the last couple of days I have had just shy of a C of Kashi Go Lean Crunch w/ skim milk. For lunch I had a McDonald's cheeseburger (one of the kid size ones) yesterday because we weren't home (no fries), but I usually have a salad or a turkey sand @ home (I don't use much dressing, maybe a Tbsp & I use lowfat Ranch or one of those Raspberry spritzer things). If I think about it I will have a greek yogurt or a piece of fruit for a snack. Dinner varies but is usually homemade & I am mindful of portions (last night was whole wheat spaghetti, about a C cooked, night before that was a soup I made in the crock pot - chicken, veggies, & chick peas). I aim to get 96 oz water a day, sometimes I don't quite make it but I usually do (I use a 32 oz cup so it's easy to track). I don't keep soda or sweets around generally speaking, I drink tea w/ stevia or water. This time of year I do indulge in egg nog but not too often. I will have an occasional 5 oz glass of red wine too, maybe once every couple of weeks or so (I'm not a big drinker).

There is plenty of room for improvement with my nutrition - I am pretty confident I know what I am doing in the gym (I used to work in the gym, I was pretty athletic most of my life). Nutrition has always been harder for me to figure out though. My doctor only advised me to reduce my calories & then suggested if that didn't work I might look into gastric bypass or a lap band. I was stunned she'd just lead off with those before taking a harder look at other options. I am not gaining either, just staying close to where I am. I lose a few, gain them back, lose them, gain them. For the last 2 yrs I have been between 189 & 199 but before that I had gotten back down to 144 for almost 2 yrs after my 4th kid. My husband is hot, women are always checking him out... I'd just really like to be the hot mom again! LOL

 

[trex74]

My nutrition is pretty boring at the moment (low on funds LOL), but the last couple of days I have had just shy of a C of Kashi Go Lean Crunch w/ skim milk. For lunch I had a McDonald's cheeseburger (one of the kid size ones) yesterday because we weren't home (no fries), but I usually have a salad or a turkey sand @ home (I don't use much dressing, maybe a Tbsp & I use lowfat Ranch or one of those Raspberry spritzer things). If I think about it I will have a greek yogurt or a piece of fruit for a snack. Dinner varies but is usually homemade & I am mindful of portions (last night was whole wheat spaghetti, about a C cooked, night before that was a soup I made in the crock pot - chicken, veggies, & chick peas). I aim to get 96 oz water a day, sometimes I don't quite make it but I usually do (I use a 32 oz cup so it's easy to track). I don't keep soda or sweets around generally speaking, I drink tea w/ stevia or water. This time of year I do indulge in egg nog but not too often. I will have an occasional 5 oz glass of red wine too, maybe once every couple of weeks or so (I'm not a big drinker).

There is plenty of room for improvement with my nutrition - I am pretty confident I know what I am doing in the gym (I used to work in the gym, I was pretty athletic most of my life). Nutrition has always been harder for me to figure out though. My doctor only advised me to reduce my calories & then suggested if that didn't work I might look into gastric bypass or a lap band. I was stunned she'd just lead off with those before taking a harder look at other options. I am not gaining either, just staying close to where I am. I lose a few, gain them back, lose them, gain them. For the last 2 yrs I have been between 189 & 199 but before that I had gotten back down to 144 for almost 2 yrs after my 4th kid. My husband is hot, women are always checking him out... I'd just really like to be the hot mom again! LOL

Hi and welcome,
Cereal for breakfast is kinda setting yourself up for failure right from the start. You're just giving yourself a big blast of carbs and lactose, spiking your insulin. Try eating at least 20 grams of protein for breakfast instead, it makes a big difference. Whether it's eggs or lean meat it really doesn't matter, but you need the protein to start the day. I have oatmeal too (1/2 cup 5 min oats with a few raw almonds)), but even that might be too much if you are really carb intolerant.
It is actually very easy to eat well on low funds if you cook from scratch. Generally, if you use whole foods, it is cheaper, and healthier than packaged garbage.
buy your meat on sale, as lean as you can get it- but chicken legs are cheap when you buy in bulk. Also stewing beef. If canned chickpeas/lentils/beans are too expensive, buy them dried.
I eat pretty cheaply with staples such as eggs, oatmeal, leftover chicken, spinach or broccoli and brown rice for lunch, and chicken legs/stewing beef with sweet potatoes and vegetables for dinner.
Consider actually measuring/weighing your food and using an online food diary such as fitday.com- it's free and easy to use.

McDonalds is expensive for the zero nutrition you get out of it
I think you may want to stop taking fat burners as well, they are just more chemicals your body has to sift through to gain a healthy equilibrium.
Just my two cents.

 

[Jennafox]

I'll look at the protein for breakfast - I was thinking the Kashi wasn't too bad because it's a high protein cereal but I guess not. I am not taking fat burners now (I was just including them in the list of things I have tried over the last 2 yrs to get the weight moving in the right direction to no avail). I cook from scratch most of the time, we use the dried beans, lean meats, brown rice, etc. We buy in bulk as often as we can but today my freezer is not working so the meat in bulk might be a thing of the past for a while at least. Bummer. McDonalds is expensive, but yesterday it was the only thing within walking distance of the auto shop. LOL I have done a food diary before, I should keep one again so thanks for mentioning that. I use my food scale fairly often too. I know eating healthy is possible on limited funds, but everything is getting expensive these days it seems. Our groceries run us an average of $350-$400 every 2 wks now, they used to run closer to $250 every 2 wks... dang kids keep eating! It will be easier once I am able to start working again too. Some great suggestions though, thanks!

 

[trex74]

I'll look at the protein for breakfast - I was thinking the Kashi wasn't too bad because it's a high protein cereal but I guess not. I am not taking fat burners now (I was just including them in the list of things I have tried over the last 2 yrs to get the weight moving in the right direction to no avail). I cook from scratch most of the time, we use the dried beans, lean meats, brown rice, etc. We buy in bulk as often as we can but today my freezer is not working so the meat in bulk might be a thing of the past for a while at least. Bummer. McDonalds is expensive, but yesterday it was the only thing within walking distance of the auto shop. LOL I have done a food diary before, I should keep one again so thanks for mentioning that. I use my food scale fairly often too. I know eating healthy is possible on limited funds, but everything is getting expensive these days it seems. Our groceries run us an average of $350-$400 every 2 wks now, they used to run closer to $250 every 2 wks... dang kids keep eating! It will be easier once I am able to start working again too. Some great suggestions though, thanks!

hang in there, I know it is stressful being short on funds- but it sounds like you are rich in love and happiness with a nice big family, and that's what counts