"They" said I'd gain it all back.... are "they" right?

Thanks.

I do know in my heart that the foundation cause of my weight gain (even if there is some underlying medical reason, there still has to be more than that... people cannot gain mass without first adding it in some way)... I know that my 8 weeks of recuperation from my ****yx surgery eliminated some muscle mass, and losing the muscle mass meant i was less efficient at using my calories. Then with the overcrowding of my classes, I wasn't able to regain that muscle mass in my typical way (by frenetic busy-ness when the school year began). So a combination of less muscle mass, and less ongoing use of calories resulted in a weight gain. It had nothing to do with the food, but with the muscles and how I used them.

I know, therefore, that the only solution is to improve my muscle mass through "doing". I still have issues about "exercise" but not about life..... and if life includes being on my feet 4.5 hours a day, and moving as exuberantly as possible, that's not exercise. Nor is climbing a mountain, or rowing across a lake (or trying to swim back with a kayak in tow). So I just need t get back the muscle tone I had that won't win me any awards for exercise or tonality, but that made my body happy.

So I am aware of the underlying issues that will be there even if it comes out that I have something hormonal defeating my efforts. And hey, I got up and DID some walking today. I might even go out and do some water aerobics this evening. Tomorrow I'm also going to do some "butt movement" too. Friday we're back at work, so I'll be burning up "stress calories" (it seems that stress takes so much out of a body, it ought to use calories too). The next three weeks will be fraught with "time dilation" where hubby and I will come home from work exhausted, likely staying at wor****il late every evening.

Thanks again for all of your perkiness. I have always admired you and others who get out there and do the exercise thing. Hubby and I have been talking about climbing Mt. Kilamanjaro (sp?). To me this isn't exercise, it's fun and living life.

I am a bit ahead of you in post op time but am currently facing something perplexing as well.

I was never a big exercise nut.  I tried to love it.  I keep at it with some effort but it is mostly the 'least I can get away with' in my head and heart.

I got to my bottom weight at about 24 months.  I sat there, within a five pound gain and loss, for the next four plus years.  So now, over six and a half  years out, the scale is solidly up about ten pounds.  I haven't changed my eating and I surely haven't changed my exercise routine.  LOL

I just got to 'that age' and it sucks.  I have a belly again, high muffin top tire around my center.  Pants don't fit, shirts are snug, etc.  I did buy a few things in a different design so I can accommodate the changes in my mid section.

But I am scared.  I was a 'lightweight' to begin with about one hundred pounds to lose.  I did that in two years.  I am up ten now and it isn't the end of he world but will it stop?  Can I lose it?

*IF* I dedicated my life to exercise could I tone up this over fifty body that has been obese since grade school?  But goodness, really?

It is NOT calories in, calories out ONLY.  The RH is a big factor.  I had an episode that required a medical intervention to revive me and that scared the holy hell out of me.  I am eating every three hours now and if I get fat again at least I won't be in a diabetic coma.  (Paramedics got a reading after two rounds of juice of 21.  I was totally incoherent).

It is always about choosing the battle that is most important at the time.

Lady Lithia, you are a success and great inspiration.  You will choose what path you need to follow to be well for you.  I am with you in prayer that it is NOT the path of a gym rat.  .

Vicky

Vicky thank you so much. The RH is the big deal. I worked for about 8 months to stabilize my blood sugar. I was not stable for so long. Interestingly enough, I had a snack bar that was more carb grams than protein or fat, and I used it, but I'd be on a cycle of NEEDING to snack every few hours. The manufacturer took my snack bar off the shelves, so I turned to a nut-bar that had more fat and less carbs, and I started to stabilize better, and then summer vacation begain. I found that the fattier snacks were less convenient, but I enjoyed them, and kept with them, and did well.

After my blood sugar getting to 28 once, and 32 another time, it's crystal clear (as you know) that the RH supercedes the desire to be in a size 10 pants. If eating enough to maintain a size 12 or even a size 14 body keeps the RH at bay, it's likely a worthwhile sacrifice. I have a glucagon shot at home and at work... just in case.

Time, gravity, hormones, and the sheer perverseness of lady-luck seem to have a bigger say into our future weight. We do our best, and that is all we can do. If it's not enough, we can work to improve. I know this, if I told myself that "only 90 minutes in the gym daily will do the job".... I'd say "Okay, so I doubt I'd get THAT fat." 90 minutes of exercise is "impossible" .... So I won't tell myself that "only XYZ will get me there" and instead, I'm going to focus on "I CAN do ABC effort to move my butt more." And as I work on that, I'm sure I'll get to the point where I'll be able to do more.

Thanks again Vicky, I really appreciate the understanding. It helps!

Get checked out.  If you have a fibroid it messes up your hormones.  My best friend has a huge fibroid and she has gained so much weight recently.  She has gained all over her body too!  Not just the stomach area.  She eats very little, has 3 kids with busy schedules and runs.  She was thin her whole life and is putting on weight like crazy.  A simple ultrasound can tell you if you have one. 

I'm hoping that my doc can order one if she suspects it. Ultimately I'd have to see a gynecologist, but I want to get my doc's PA to order the ultrasound. That way I can make an appointment for the ultrasound, then go see the gynecologist with the results in hand. Otherwise I pay $35 for the visit to the gyn, copay for the ultrasound (unless that new women's ACA thing that is in effect as of today pays for it), then $35 copay to see doc to tell me what he saw. I figure if I get the ultrasound and bring it to teh gyn doc, then I might short circuit a bunch of expensive hand shakes and here's the plan. (I hate paying $35 to have a doc say, "You seem fine, it's nice to see you.")

From what I've heard a hysterectomy seems best for women who have fibroids but don't wish to procreate. That would be me. I'd like to learn that it wasn't me, that it was something that was beyond my control.

Whatever the case, I'm glad I'm seeing teh doc in the morning.