For the most part I have always been overweight. Starting in about the 4th grade I can remember being teased which just fueled the fire to eat. Eat what I like and lots of it. I wish I would have listened to my mom. Not only MY mom but a few of my friends mothers also made comments to me. Already being down on myself and having people point out that I was getting "pudgy" does not make a pre-teen feel good. Confidence takes a down turn and turns into depression. That made me feel like eating MORE. I have tried a lot of diets and other methods to lose weight.
- Portion control
- Starving myself
- Making myself throw up
- Being active
- Atkins, etc.
2001: When I became pregnant (I promise this is relevant) I found out that I had GD (gestational diabetes). Mine did not continue after pregnancy, but in some cases it does. I was able to control it with a strict diet. Of course loving food became a great obstacle that I had to face and TRY to conquer so that I would not have to take insulin. I had to see a dietitian and the whole 9 yards. This new meal plan of their had me sick to my stomach. Where is the pizza, the fries, my mushed tators, and don't forget about my sudden addiction to chocolate? What on earth was I going to do? I was panicking. I followed their diet to the T. When I went in for my checkup they freaked. I had dropped 30 pounds. WTH? They weren't happy!!! I for one was stoked, but frightened at the same time. Talk about sending someone for a loop. I knew that losing the weight was not good for the baby but I was feeling great the baby was kicking and there were no signs that anything was wrong. They asked that I up my calorie intake so that I would not lose any more. OK!! So much for their plan. I am going to play around and devise my own. I started adding things and checking my blood in the moring, and 2 hours after every meal. This is where I learned what my body could and couldn't have. I found that if I ate breads, I was screwed. I could have oatmeal, but only 1 helping. I could eat as much rice as I wanted but potatoes not so much. They weren't as bad as bread but they still managed to do their damage. I could eat 1 piece of fruit and be ok and I could have my chocolate. The only problem with the chocolate was the fact that I couldn't have it alone. It had to be a Snickers, or Baby Ruth, or Nut Roll. It HAD to have peanuts or again, I was screwed. I was lucky and my GD did not turn into normal diabetes after either of my pregnancies. After my first pregnancy I was put on steroids for a sciatic nerve
problem. The first time, a month after my first daughter was born, and
then again one year later. I was completely immobile, at home with a
newborn. Not able to sit, stand, hold the baby, or anything. It was
excruciating pain!! I gained a totol of about 40 pounds from the meds
alone.
2005: I am larger than ever before. I thought I was struggling before with daily tasks. Now it is just unbearable. It was late night, well, ok, you got me, early morning, when I decided to lay down and catch some ZZZ's. It was about 4:30 in the morning and I jolted from sleep. My daughter let out a LOUD cry. Almost similar to her cry that she was hurt. She wasn't, thank goodness, she must've just been dreaming. However, I noticed something isn't right. Something is wrong. I don't feel right and I know I had better check my blood pressure or something. My DH has HB and I had a machine so I checked it. I kept getting an error with the machine. I changed batteries and nothing changed. I could not get a reading. I checked my pulse and had a hard time even feeling it. I peered down to see my chest just bouncing as if I wear riding the washboards of an old dirt road. I knew at that moment I needed some medical attention. It is determined that I am in atrial fibrillation. The medications that they give me to make my heart go back into rhythm do not work and I am transported by ambulance to a heart center 50 miles away. The doctor says I need to be electrically converted back into rhythm. This is at almost noon. I have cried non stop since 8am when my brother came to get my keys so that my mom had a way to get around with my girls. I was scared. I was alone. DH is in another state taking a load to God knows where, and I don't know if he is going to make it back. Everything works out fine. DH made it to my room with only moments to spare. I almost had to go through the procedure without laying my eyes on him, my kids, or my mom. I was freaking out. I was a total mess. I see the cardiologist and they suggest that I have a catheter ablation done. The doctor I saw was almost PUSHING me to have it done. I was put onto different medications. One of those were flecanide, to aid in the correct rhythm of the heart. They told me to take it for a month and see what happens. Awhile later I am back in the ER with another attack. I cannot remember the name of the other one, which is kind of unfortunate, because after being on it for one year I found out that I was allergic to it. It caused severe swelling that came on SUPER slow and cause me to have skip beats. These are things that I have repeatedly complained about. A year later my normal doctor says that this medication can cause these symptoms. Now someone with atrial fibrillation can have theses symptoms without being on the medication so how was I supposed to know. I take my flecanide which helps the skip beats disappear. When I mention this to the cardiologist he literally laughs in my face and says, "That can't happen. This medication has to be taken regularily for it to work." What? Excuse me? So he is telling me that, not only am I fat, and smoking is bad for my health, and I have a problem with my heart, and on top of that I am a freaking lunatic? Apparently he is, because a normal person does not react to this medication the way I am. Good grief!!!! Aren't the cardiologists suppost make changes and make sure that what I am experiencing isn't from the medications that I am on? After my doctor tells me this I took it upon myself to quit taking it. It was a holiday weekend and doctors are all on vacation THROUGH Monday. So that would have meant I wasn't going to speak to anyone until Tuesday. Well, I am glad I took it upon myself because by Tuesday the swelling was gone. The swelling had gotten so bad that it was painful to sit, stand, walk, what ever it was it hurt. After my doctor returns I go back in to see him. I am bound and determined to get off of these meds. They are messing me up!!
I have not taken the medications since but have had 2 more attacks. I had the second to the last back on August 1st, 2007. It was the day the I-35 bridge went down here in MN and DH's semi broke down. During this visit, the doctor I had made mention that every time I have an attack I am low on potassium. DUH!! I have known that since day one. Why are you mentioning it. You are like the 5th cardiologist I have seen. Why didn't the others mention it? Well I take a potassium supplement up until this past November (I made it almost a year and a half) when on one fateful night I forget to take it. I have another attack. This time I am sick of it. I decide to have this done and over with. I meet with a cardiologist in January and we get the ball rolling. I am put on blood thinners so that I can have the procedure which is scheduled for February 6th. (2009) I only have one major problem........FOOD!! Yep! That's right! Food again! While on blood thinners you have to watch the veggies you eat. For the most part, green veggies. Not for me!! I have to stay away from almost all of it. I need to keep my protime levels between 2-3 for 3 weeks and that didn't happen. Even eating veggies that were not on the list of forbidden foods plagued me. My protime levels kept falling back down below 2. This made my procedure have to be rescheduled for March 13th. (Coming up fast here....getting scared) I have struggled. I am not sure why but my body just does not use food like the next guy.
This is my point!!!! Not everyone is the same and that makes diets like medication. What works for one person may not work for the next. You need to relearn how YOUR body processes foods. Just like using a medication. Jane Doe might be able to take ________ for her ear infection, but little Suzy Whatnot may not be able to because this medication just may not work. Her body might need something stronger or all together completely different.
If you have been around the net and through magazines, you will find the feedback on so many diets it will make your head spin. I know, BTDT!! But, you will see just as many bad reviews as good ones. Just for the same reason that so and so cannot use one type of meds but her next door neighbor might be able to. Everyone is different!
The same goes for a certain diet might be bad for one person but exactly what the next person needs. A diabetic may not be able to control their diabetes with a normal, healthy fruits and veggie diet but the next guy with diabetes can. Everyone is just made differently. There is no way around it. You wouldn't feed someone foods that they are allergic to just because they are good for them. Some people cannot have certain foods. The way my body processes some foods I am beginning to think it could be similar to an allergic reaction. I don't get hives I get cellulite.
I say, to those that told me:
You cannot do this diet, it is not healthy........POO on you......neither is being FAT or having high blood pressure and cholesterol
I don't feel sorry for those who are overweight because it's their own fault......POO on you.....there are medical reasons people are overweight.....I know plenty of highly active people that have weight issues that don't neccessarily eat HORRIBLE.
You are to the point that a diet isn't going to work, you need the surgery (bypass).....POO on you.....Maybe you should have TRIED dieting before going under the knife. (I know she didn't)
To the same person who said lines 1 and 3......POO on you (again).....after your surgery you ate less than I can and you're not dead yet. In fact you are doing great but it's not for me! In fact eating this way is healthier than eating JUNK isn't it? I will get my veggies again. Eventually........not for 2-3 months after my surgery, but hey, not much I can do about it at this time.
To the same person who said line 2....POO on you (again)....for saying that kids who get stitches aren't being watched by their parents.......sorry you had to learn the hard way just how untrue that statement was.
Ok so the last one wasn't even diet related but I had to get that one off of my chest. :)
