Having to increase sodium and weight creeping up
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I totally get the fear of creeping out of maintenance range. I also let that happen before and am super strict to ensure I’m not gaining again. However with that said, I would track your cycle if you don’t and make sure your range includes your cycle/TOM or make sure you are tracking your weight at the same time of the month so you don’t let that scare you when it’s temporary water weight/bloat. Same goes for the salt increase you are needing right now which will cause bloating and puffiness. Eating in a deficit right this moment probably won’t hurt your blood pressure but we don’t know your stats and what that 250 cal deficit means to you. It may worsen your blood pressure if you are inadvertently avoiding foods that could help your blood pressure because you are trying to lose more. Low body weight can be a factor in low blood pressure.
Bottom line, if you know you are for sure not overeating calories, then you aren’t gaining fat or mass weight, it’s only water. If you think your truly overeating then carry on because it’s better to catch it in the first few creep pounds than the first 20 creep pounds. I definitely understand that. I also hate bloat and every time it happens I freak out about the scale going up until it dips a few days layer. But if you are overly concerned about the current number than you may be sabotaging yourself by depleting yourself and lowering your blood pressure further. If it’s only been a week or so, it’s incredibly unlikely you’ve gained weight. It can only be water in that short amount of time.
Take care, I hope your visit with Doc goes well!2 -
collectingblues wrote: »Thank you for all the responses. I am going back to a small deficit of 250cal a day. I feel puffy and my face looks rounder. I know that will go away once my body stabilized but, if my weight stays up slightly because my body needs the extra sodium causing water retention I need to make sure I’m not going outside my range.
I’ve decreased water intake, added more salt to my diet, and incorporated a more diverse training schedule which has more rest all per doctors orders
Is anyone from your insurance company doing a premium evaluation during the next few weeks, though? If they're not, what's the angst over the range for?
No, not any time soon. Honestly though as someone who lost over 80lb only to gain almost half back I’m not willing for to get too far out of my maintenance range. I guess maybe that’s a big part for me.
I maintained for 3 years last time and then it started to creep back on. The first 5-10lb I noticed but ignored. I still felt good, my clothes fit, and it was just a couple of pounds right? The next thing I knew a year had passed and I was up just over 30lb. It took me longer to lose 35lb this time than it did to lose 86lb my first go round. I don’t ever want to do that again.
But you know this is different. You're not just going to gain 5-10 pounds and let it spiral into 80.
I know you've got a history of eating-related issues. Can you talk to a therapist or your GP about how this is triggering you? Because you're blaming the insurance company when it's not the insurance company dictating your range.
In terms of real-life experience: Yes. Six weeks was my reality. But that meant staying *constant* with food, and not trying to cut or restrict things just to get it back. You need to be patient, and accept that you're going to see some numbers you might not like. It's hard, but that's what you've got to do.3 -
With any dietary change, you should give it at least 4 weeks, preferably 8 weeks to see how it works for you, and yes, this includes increasing sodium intake, water intake, etc. I would wait the minimum of 4 weeks and then decide if you are okay where you are and if not, then adjust for a small deficit like you said to get back in to your comfort area.1
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I think all your reasoning makes sense, and I don't see an issue with going back on a small deficit immediately.
And they should totally round UP. I've been measured at both 5'8.75" (10 years ago) and 5'8.5" (more recently) and still claim 5'9" (but my insurance doesn't rely on BMI).2 -
You might need to adjust your maintenance range by a few lbs to accommodate your medical requirements. You know it’s not fat, so it’s not that big of a big deal.1
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For people who have been in my situation how long did it take for your weight to stabilize?
I know we are all different but I still want to know others experience
mine usually will take a few weeks up to a couple of months to sort itself out. when I start new meds for hypotension it can take a couple of weeks or a couple of months. typically my weight range will stay higher and I'll just over time start to feel less puffy.1 -
collectingblues wrote: »collectingblues wrote: »Thank you for all the responses. I am going back to a small deficit of 250cal a day. I feel puffy and my face looks rounder. I know that will go away once my body stabilized but, if my weight stays up slightly because my body needs the extra sodium causing water retention I need to make sure I’m not going outside my range.
I’ve decreased water intake, added more salt to my diet, and incorporated a more diverse training schedule which has more rest all per doctors orders
Is anyone from your insurance company doing a premium evaluation during the next few weeks, though? If they're not, what's the angst over the range for?
No, not any time soon. Honestly though as someone who lost over 80lb only to gain almost half back I’m not willing for to get too far out of my maintenance range. I guess maybe that’s a big part for me.
I maintained for 3 years last time and then it started to creep back on. The first 5-10lb I noticed but ignored. I still felt good, my clothes fit, and it was just a couple of pounds right? The next thing I knew a year had passed and I was up just over 30lb. It took me longer to lose 35lb this time than it did to lose 86lb my first go round. I don’t ever want to do that again.
But you know this is different. You're not just going to gain 5-10 pounds and let it spiral into 80.
I know you've got a history of eating-related issues. Can you talk to a therapist or your GP about how this is triggering you? Because you're blaming the insurance company when it's not the insurance company dictating your range.
In terms of real-life experience: Yes. Six weeks was my reality. But that meant staying *constant* with food, and not trying to cut or restrict things just to get it back. You need to be patient, and accept that you're going to see some numbers you might not like. It's hard, but that's what you've got to do.
I've gone back to connecting with my old EDA support group this week. Yes, it's triggering me big time. The fear of the weight coming back after losing it the healthy way combined with anxiety about money around insurance if I can't control it.
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For people who have been in my situation how long did it take for your weight to stabilize?
I know we are all different but I still want to know others experience
mine usually will take a few weeks up to a couple of months to sort itself out. when I start new meds for hypotension it can take a couple of weeks or a couple of months. typically my weight range will stay higher and I'll just over time start to feel less puffy.
Thank you for sharing your experience with this. While the timeframe seems daunting now it's nice to have as a reference point and reassuring.1 -
colorfulcoquette wrote: »Many do not realize having a low bp can be similarly dangerous to being overly high.
How do you know if it is dangerously low? I have been taking mine around 5am using the machine at the YMCA before I work out once or twice a week and it's pretty low. Usually around 75/50 or so, which I know is below
the standard 90/60 threshold but haven't seen anything that indicates when it becomes too low.
Well, I used to frequently get dizzy and even pass out when I stood up too quickly - that could be considered dangerously low.
Now that I eat a lot more salt that doesn't happen anymore.
Probably better to discuss with your doctor though.0 -
Thank you for the replies to my question.
I've discussed it with my doctor in the past as it's been in the 85/60 range when I've gone for check-ups. I've never passed out but I have had dizziness/seeing stars when first getting out of bed. They didn't seem all that concerned by that but said I could try increasing my salt to see if that helps. It did help, it's now an occasional thing to have happen rather than an every day occurrence.
Seeing the low read-outs on the machine put it back on my radar again and the comment about dangerously low caught my attention. I go for my regular check-up soon so I'll talk to them about it again then
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colorfulcoquette wrote: »Thank you for the replies to my question.
I've discussed it with my doctor in the past as it's been in the 85/60 range when I've gone for check-ups. I've never passed out but I have had dizziness/seeing stars when first getting out of bed. They didn't seem all that concerned by that but said I could try increasing my salt to see if that helps. It did help, it's now an occasional thing to have happen rather than an every day occurrence.
Seeing the low read-outs on the machine put it back on my radar again and the comment about dangerously low caught my attention. I go for my regular check-up soon so I'll talk to them about it again then
For me I was having horrible headaches and dizzy spells for a few weeks. Sometimes I would get dizzy while walking or driving in addition to when changing position. Then I also started having muscle spasms. This all brought me to my doctor. I used to be prehypertensive a few years agoand the day I initially went in my bp was 82/50. For me this was a substantial drop. They ran blood work and found my sodium was very low and potassium was also a little low that day.
I was treated for an electrolyte imbalance at the hospital for a day and told to come in for a follow up in 2 weeks. I recorded everything I did and ate for those two weeks. I consumed over the daily recommended sodium and decreased water intake. At my follow up I had developed strange raises bruising covering my right leg, sodium was still below range, and bp was up to 90/51. My potassium looks good now though and all other blood work was fine.
I don’t know what is medically “too low” but I suspect symptoms are part of how doctors decide for each patient. My mom has low bp but hers causes no problems and requires no treatment.
Edited to add - as my bp got lower my pulse increased which is also part of the equation they are looking at for me. I suspect that my body is just adapting to being in better shape and that I was drinking too much water for quite awhile. Given my moms bp this may be hereditary in my family when healthy but the doc wants to be sure since it’s a big change for me2 -
@SCoil123 - That sounds like it was really scary, I'm glad they were able to figure out what was going on and that your treatment is going well. I do hope that the weight resolves itself in the not too distant future (((hugs)))
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Follow up- my appointment was this morning rather than tomorrow. The high sodium diet has helped. My blood pressure is considered stabilized at 100/60. We are waiting for the labs back to see if blood sodium levels are up but everything looks good. Other than the bloating I’m feeling great now.
I am still retaining about 5lbs but the doctor stated this can take up to 6months to stabilize. As long as I remain in a healthy weight range she doesn’t want me to worry about it and I’m trying not to3
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