JudyS
Disney Lover, DVC Member, and Timeshare Fan!
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2000
- Messages
- 1,069
Hi, all!
I used to post here a lot, and was very gung-ho on the exercise challenge. I haven't posted here in months, though. Often, folks here on the W.I.S.H. board get discouraged, give up on dieting, and are never heard from again (or at least not until they start dieting again.) That isn't my situation, though, so I wanted to explain what has been going on with me.
I have always been heavy (usually in the obese or morbidly obese range), even though I have what I consider a healthy lifestyle (lots of fruits & veggies, little junk food, generally quite good about exercise, rarely eat unless I'm truly hungry.) In September of 2007, I started a new diet and started posting a lot on W.I.S.H. Initially, I tried out both of the Weight Watchers plans (flex and core), but couldn't lose much on either. Eventually, I came up with my own low-carb, fairly high-protein vegetarian diet. I followed that and did a lot of exercise, and also took a variety of supplements, plus a prescription drug called Byetta for my diabetes. I had lost 40 pounds, which was my goal (although I was still well within the obese range), by April 2008. I kept the 40 pounds off all summer.
In the middle of September, I became quite ill. I had long had an intense desire to do a Disney 5k or 10k race, but I just couldn't seem to get my speed up to the pace requirement, no matter how long and hard I trained. Someone here on W.I.S.H. suggested a running class. I found one which said it was suitable for people at my ability level, but when I showed up for class, most of the people were much, much younger and thinner than I was, and I really pushed myself too hard in a (futile) attempt to keep up with them. (We were told to stay together and I was really embarrassed about being the only one who couldn't keep up. Also, some of the other class members pressured me, saying I should run faster, even though I felt like I was about to keel over!)
Afterwards, I could tell I had really overdone it; my lungs burned that whole night and into the next day. The day after, I woke up with a fever. I've been sick ever since, although the fever gradually went away. My main symptom now is constant eye watering, much of my hair has fallen out, and I am extremely tired. In fact, I am so tired that I had to quit my job, so we are now struggling financially. (My husband is temporarily laid off at the moment.) I've been to many doctors and it's not clear exactly what the problem is, but I was put on prescription anti-viral medicine a few weeks ago, and that seems to be helping.
Because I have had to stay in bed most of the day, and because I feel it is not good to keep myself hungry when I need to build up my strength, I have gained back about 15 pounds of the 40 that I lost. I really, really miss exercising -- I loved how toned I felt, and how energetic I felt afterwards. But now, even mild activity means I can't get out of bed the next day, or even for the next two days. So, I have to save what energy I have for essential things like showering.
I definitely regret pushing myself too hard when I exercised. Of course, it could have been much worse -- some people have heart attacks and die when they do that. Hopefully, I will eventually recover from this, although it seems to be an extremely slow process.
In addition to pushing myself too hard while exercising, I'm also thinking that dieting itself may have been a poor idea. I could tell that my body was really rebelling against being forced to lose weight -- I was so hungry and so cold all the time! (And no, I wasn't on an especially strict diet -- I was eating maybe 1800 to 2000 calories of very healthy food a day.) I think my immune system was starting to shut down because I wasn't giving my body as much food as it wanted, and that left me susceptible to infection.
I really don't know where I am going to go from here. I would hate to gain all the weight back, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life sick in bed, either. I haven't decided whether I am going to try to diet again, or not. Of course, I plan to eat healthy food and exercise (as soon as I am well enough to exercise again). But that didn't stop me from becoming morbidly obese before, so it's presumably not going to stop me from becoming morbidly obese again. I am hopeful, though, that some of the supplements I have been on may keep at least a little of the weight off, even if I decide that dieting is a bad idea.
Although this illness has been very difficult, I do feel that it has helped me to grow in some ways. Having to spend most of the day in bed has made me much more efficient with my time when I am out of bed -- I am hoping to stay efficient even once I am well! Also, and perhaps even more importantly, this illness has made me look at my health problems differently. I have always struggled with diabetes, obesity, infertility, and repeated infections. I always thought that I must be doing something wrong, that I would be healthy if only I would eat better or if only I would exercise more. Well, I now no longer blame myself for my health problems. I was doing everything right -- very careful with diet, an hour of exercise everyday -- and not only did I become sick, I became sicker than I had ever been in my life.
In the future, if anyone tries to blame me for my health problems, I'm just not going to accept it. I gave it my all, and ended up worse off than ever.
I used to post here a lot, and was very gung-ho on the exercise challenge. I haven't posted here in months, though. Often, folks here on the W.I.S.H. board get discouraged, give up on dieting, and are never heard from again (or at least not until they start dieting again.) That isn't my situation, though, so I wanted to explain what has been going on with me.
I have always been heavy (usually in the obese or morbidly obese range), even though I have what I consider a healthy lifestyle (lots of fruits & veggies, little junk food, generally quite good about exercise, rarely eat unless I'm truly hungry.) In September of 2007, I started a new diet and started posting a lot on W.I.S.H. Initially, I tried out both of the Weight Watchers plans (flex and core), but couldn't lose much on either. Eventually, I came up with my own low-carb, fairly high-protein vegetarian diet. I followed that and did a lot of exercise, and also took a variety of supplements, plus a prescription drug called Byetta for my diabetes. I had lost 40 pounds, which was my goal (although I was still well within the obese range), by April 2008. I kept the 40 pounds off all summer.
In the middle of September, I became quite ill. I had long had an intense desire to do a Disney 5k or 10k race, but I just couldn't seem to get my speed up to the pace requirement, no matter how long and hard I trained. Someone here on W.I.S.H. suggested a running class. I found one which said it was suitable for people at my ability level, but when I showed up for class, most of the people were much, much younger and thinner than I was, and I really pushed myself too hard in a (futile) attempt to keep up with them. (We were told to stay together and I was really embarrassed about being the only one who couldn't keep up. Also, some of the other class members pressured me, saying I should run faster, even though I felt like I was about to keel over!)
Afterwards, I could tell I had really overdone it; my lungs burned that whole night and into the next day. The day after, I woke up with a fever. I've been sick ever since, although the fever gradually went away. My main symptom now is constant eye watering, much of my hair has fallen out, and I am extremely tired. In fact, I am so tired that I had to quit my job, so we are now struggling financially. (My husband is temporarily laid off at the moment.) I've been to many doctors and it's not clear exactly what the problem is, but I was put on prescription anti-viral medicine a few weeks ago, and that seems to be helping.
Because I have had to stay in bed most of the day, and because I feel it is not good to keep myself hungry when I need to build up my strength, I have gained back about 15 pounds of the 40 that I lost. I really, really miss exercising -- I loved how toned I felt, and how energetic I felt afterwards. But now, even mild activity means I can't get out of bed the next day, or even for the next two days. So, I have to save what energy I have for essential things like showering.
I definitely regret pushing myself too hard when I exercised. Of course, it could have been much worse -- some people have heart attacks and die when they do that. Hopefully, I will eventually recover from this, although it seems to be an extremely slow process.
In addition to pushing myself too hard while exercising, I'm also thinking that dieting itself may have been a poor idea. I could tell that my body was really rebelling against being forced to lose weight -- I was so hungry and so cold all the time! (And no, I wasn't on an especially strict diet -- I was eating maybe 1800 to 2000 calories of very healthy food a day.) I think my immune system was starting to shut down because I wasn't giving my body as much food as it wanted, and that left me susceptible to infection.
I really don't know where I am going to go from here. I would hate to gain all the weight back, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life sick in bed, either. I haven't decided whether I am going to try to diet again, or not. Of course, I plan to eat healthy food and exercise (as soon as I am well enough to exercise again). But that didn't stop me from becoming morbidly obese before, so it's presumably not going to stop me from becoming morbidly obese again. I am hopeful, though, that some of the supplements I have been on may keep at least a little of the weight off, even if I decide that dieting is a bad idea.
Although this illness has been very difficult, I do feel that it has helped me to grow in some ways. Having to spend most of the day in bed has made me much more efficient with my time when I am out of bed -- I am hoping to stay efficient even once I am well! Also, and perhaps even more importantly, this illness has made me look at my health problems differently. I have always struggled with diabetes, obesity, infertility, and repeated infections. I always thought that I must be doing something wrong, that I would be healthy if only I would eat better or if only I would exercise more. Well, I now no longer blame myself for my health problems. I was doing everything right -- very careful with diet, an hour of exercise everyday -- and not only did I become sick, I became sicker than I had ever been in my life.
In the future, if anyone tries to blame me for my health problems, I'm just not going to accept it. I gave it my all, and ended up worse off than ever.
I wonder if you have ever heard of Dr. Wayne Dyer? I know he has helped me a lot in life, he is a motivational speaker, probably known best for Your Erroneous Zones from way back. I know he gives me some peace anyway. I know you love Disney and some of the motivating factors for me with losing weight is that this vacation I am determined to look good for pictures ( not avoid them at all cost) and be able to physically not hurt too badly when I am there. The last time I went to Disney I had a sprained ankle--that was 10 years ago. Anyways, good luck, Sue.
