Under 1200 for weight-loss
Emmapatterson1729
Posts: 1,296 Member
I see new faces here daily, see new posts about eating low calories daily. If you've read my story, just ignore post. If very short and sedentary ignore my post.
I had congestive heart failure at 25 years old.
I was 5'8" around 135 lbs,
US size 9.
Ate around the 1000 calorie mark (usually coming in around 1100). Some days as low as 800 (just wasn't hungry), once every couple of weeks would binge a little and hit around 1200 calories.
I walked 3-9 miles and did an ab workout daily. After a binge, I would feel guilty and do aerobics. I also played tennis.
I wasn't Karen Carpenter thin.
I gained just over 100 lbs of water weight when my heart failed. Eating too low of calories to replenish the energy spent, caused an unbalance in electrolytes, one chamber of heart swelled, slowed, and I retained 100 lbs of water in a two months time.
Because gain was so fast, I ended up with deformities for life. I had a breast reduction, because they swelled from a perky D cup, to hanging in my lap H cup. Insurance wouldn't cover a tummy tuck or thigh lift, so stuck for life with deformed stomach and thighs (originally stomach hung so low, it would get calloused from hitting the ground when I sat).
It caused other problems as well, had to have gallbladder removed immediately, hormones went crazy, and ended up mal-absorbent.
Just before my heart failed, I felt healthy and strong. I was just trying to lose weight I had gained from a pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage. Almost at goal weight and size when heart failed.
Shocked when I was diagnosed as eating anorexic calorie levels. I couldn't believe I was obese from eating what I thought was healthy eating.
I struggled with depression going from thin and fit to obese, going from active and athletic to immobile, couldn't breathe just walking from bed to toilet. I had never considered myself anorexic, because I was curvy and not rail thin.
Eating too low of calories isn't worth the risks of these consequences. Eating too low of calories, literally destroyed my health and severely worsened my quality of life!
I had congestive heart failure at 25 years old.
I was 5'8" around 135 lbs,
US size 9.
Ate around the 1000 calorie mark (usually coming in around 1100). Some days as low as 800 (just wasn't hungry), once every couple of weeks would binge a little and hit around 1200 calories.
I walked 3-9 miles and did an ab workout daily. After a binge, I would feel guilty and do aerobics. I also played tennis.
I wasn't Karen Carpenter thin.
I gained just over 100 lbs of water weight when my heart failed. Eating too low of calories to replenish the energy spent, caused an unbalance in electrolytes, one chamber of heart swelled, slowed, and I retained 100 lbs of water in a two months time.
Because gain was so fast, I ended up with deformities for life. I had a breast reduction, because they swelled from a perky D cup, to hanging in my lap H cup. Insurance wouldn't cover a tummy tuck or thigh lift, so stuck for life with deformed stomach and thighs (originally stomach hung so low, it would get calloused from hitting the ground when I sat).
It caused other problems as well, had to have gallbladder removed immediately, hormones went crazy, and ended up mal-absorbent.
Just before my heart failed, I felt healthy and strong. I was just trying to lose weight I had gained from a pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage. Almost at goal weight and size when heart failed.
Shocked when I was diagnosed as eating anorexic calorie levels. I couldn't believe I was obese from eating what I thought was healthy eating.
I struggled with depression going from thin and fit to obese, going from active and athletic to immobile, couldn't breathe just walking from bed to toilet. I had never considered myself anorexic, because I was curvy and not rail thin.
Eating too low of calories isn't worth the risks of these consequences. Eating too low of calories, literally destroyed my health and severely worsened my quality of life!
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Replies
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Goodness, I’m very sorry you had to go through that and are still living with the consequences. May I ask a question? Like you, I’m 5’8” and 135 is very near ideal healthy weight for me (actually most calculators say 137). How were you maintaining at that weight while eating 1000 calories and being active? Adding in the exercise you describe, I would be losing about a pound a week if not more. Were you losing weight when you were eating that little, or is there some medical reason you weren’t?
Thank you for sharing your story and warning about the dangers of very low calorie diets. When I first started my weight loss journey I was inadvertently losing too fast, and didn’t realize there would be any problem with it until about six months later when my hair started thinning out. Since I had waist length hair, it will be years before it looks like it did! Right now it’s been two years and it’s just now starting to be full to shoulder length. Not as tragic as heart failure but certainly something most women don’t want to happen!16 -
rheddmobile wrote: »Goodness, I’m very sorry you had to go through that and are still living with the consequences. May I ask a question? Like you, I’m 5’8” and 135 is very near ideal healthy weight for me (actually most calculators say 137). How were you maintaining at that weight while eating 1000 calories and being active? Adding in the exercise you describe, I would be losing about a pound a week if not more. Were you losing weight when you were eating that little, or is there some medical reason you weren’t?
Thank you for sharing your story and warning about the dangers of very low calorie diets. When I first started my weight loss journey I was inadvertently losing too fast, and didn’t realize there would be any problem with it until about six months later when my hair started thinning out. Since I had waist length hair, it will be years before it looks like it did! Right now it’s been two years and it’s just now starting to be full to shoulder length. Not as tragic as heart failure but certainly something most women don’t want to happen!
@rheddmobile
I was losing weight. I had gained weight with a pregnancy, was up somewhere between 145-150ish when I started trying to lose after miscarriage.
Now, I am happy, feel fit, and love the way I look around 165 lbs. (Now, I go by the US military weight charts).
I put my story out, mainly because I see so many (mostly) females, and surprising increase in males... Burning a lot calories in a day and eating very extremely low calories.
I wish someone had warned me this could happen. I never thought I would have heart failure like Karen Carpenter!!
I've been told by several cardiologists, I'm lucky to be alive!36 -
rheddmobile wrote: »Goodness, I’m very sorry you had to go through that and are still living with the consequences. May I ask a question? Like you, I’m 5’8” and 135 is very near ideal healthy weight for me (actually most calculators say 137). How were you maintaining at that weight while eating 1000 calories and being active? Adding in the exercise you describe, I would be losing about a pound a week if not more. Were you losing weight when you were eating that little, or is there some medical reason you weren’t?
I was wondering about this as well. When I graduated from high school, I was 5'9" and 130 lbs and was very active. I was a very enthusiastic eater and still struggled to keep my weight up. OP, over what time period were you eating & exercising at those levels? How much weight did you lose in that time?2 -
rheddmobile wrote: »Goodness, I’m very sorry you had to go through that and are still living with the consequences. May I ask a question? Like you, I’m 5’8” and 135 is very near ideal healthy weight for me (actually most calculators say 137). How were you maintaining at that weight while eating 1000 calories and being active? Adding in the exercise you describe, I would be losing about a pound a week if not more. Were you losing weight when you were eating that little, or is there some medical reason you weren’t?
I was wondering about this as well. When I graduated from high school, I was 5'9" and 130 lbs and was very active. I was a very enthusiastic eater and still struggled to keep my weight up. OP, over what time period were you eating & exercising at those levels? How much weight did you lose in that time?
@try2again
I had been thin my entire life without effort, had been athletic: tennis, volleyball, and swim team. I had been active duty Air Force.
I gained a little weight with a pregnancy (miscarried). Maybe six months, a little less. Had lost 10-15 lbs. Sorry, this was over 20 years ago and an extremely stressful time of life, and my memory before heart failure doesn't stand out as much. Due to the traumatic events, the details around the actual heart failure stand out the most.
Heart failure wasn't caused by how much I weighed at my height/age or what size I wore. These factors had nothing to do with my heart failure... It was caused due to the low calories combined with exercise.19 -
The reason I put my size and weight is to show, dropping too low of calories and exercising is dangerous even if you're not sickly thin.
People have a preconceived notion that someone who dies from an anorexic calorie intake are so thin they are skeletal. I thought this before it happened to me.
You could weigh 175 lbs at 5'8" and heart could fail if calories are dropped too low combined with exercise... All it takes for heart to fail is a little muscle mass loss, electrolytes get too low, or electrolytes to get unbalanced. Any one of these three factors can cause heart failure from eating too low of calories, increased risks with exercise added into the equation.
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Emmapatterson1729 wrote: »The reason I put my size and weight is to show, dropping too low of calories and exercising is dangerous even if you're not sickly thin.
People have a preconceived notion that someone who dies from an anorexic calorie intake are so thin they are skeletal. I thought this before it happened to me.
You could weigh 175 lbs at 5'8" and heart could fail if calories are dropped too low combined with exercise... All it takes for heart to fail is a little muscle mass loss, electrolytes get too low, or electrolytes to get unbalanced. Any one of these three factors can cause heart failure from eating too low of calories, increased risks with exercise added into the equation.
Yep, absolutely! That’s how Terri Shiavo ended up in a coma as I understand it - messed up her electrolytes. It can happen very quickly!
Thank you for the warning post and cautionary tale, hopefully it will reach some of the people contemplating doing something similar.14 -
rheddmobile wrote: »Emmapatterson1729 wrote: »The reason I put my size and weight is to show, dropping too low of calories and exercising is dangerous even if you're not sickly thin.
People have a preconceived notion that someone who dies from an anorexic calorie intake are so thin they are skeletal. I thought this before it happened to me.
You could weigh 175 lbs at 5'8" and heart could fail if calories are dropped too low combined with exercise... All it takes for heart to fail is a little muscle mass loss, electrolytes get too low, or electrolytes to get unbalanced. Any one of these three factors can cause heart failure from eating too low of calories, increased risks with exercise added into the equation.
Yep, absolutely! That’s how Terri Shiavo ended up in a coma as I understand it - messed up her electrolytes. It can happen very quickly!
Thank you for the warning post and cautionary tale, hopefully it will reach some of the people contemplating doing something similar.
I hope so!!! Like I said, I see so many, including friends list diaries, eating around 1020 calories a day. Then I'll see same friends here in general forums talking about their workouts and that they don't log them or eat back the calories...
I literally want to scream "NOOOO don't do it!! Not worth it." All that work, effort, and sacrifice will be down the toilet if heart fails.... Plus the mental distress of being an avid athlete overnight being labeled obese, and all the stereotypes that come with it.14 -
Thank you for sharing your story, I really hope lots of people read this post.
Good you hear you are in a good place now.
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That's an incredible story, what hell you must have gone through...
It's great that you're in a much better place now, I'm sure it took a lot of inner strength and determination to get there, especially while you were feeling so low.
Well done you
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Thank you so much for sharing your story! You probably saved some lives. Best of luck in your continuing journey.9
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Emmapatterson1729 wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Goodness, I’m very sorry you had to go through that and are still living with the consequences. May I ask a question? Like you, I’m 5’8” and 135 is very near ideal healthy weight for me (actually most calculators say 137). How were you maintaining at that weight while eating 1000 calories and being active? Adding in the exercise you describe, I would be losing about a pound a week if not more. Were you losing weight when you were eating that little, or is there some medical reason you weren’t?
I was wondering about this as well. When I graduated from high school, I was 5'9" and 130 lbs and was very active. I was a very enthusiastic eater and still struggled to keep my weight up. OP, over what time period were you eating & exercising at those levels? How much weight did you lose in that time?
@try2again
I had been thin my entire life without effort, had been athletic: tennis, volleyball, and swim team. I had been active duty Air Force.
I gained a little weight with a pregnancy (miscarried). Maybe six months, a little less. Had lost 10-15 lbs. Sorry, this was over 20 years ago and an extremely stressful time of life, and my memory before heart failure doesn't stand out as much. Due to the traumatic events, the details around the actual heart failure stand out the most.
Heart failure wasn't caused by how much I weighed at my height/age or what size I wore. These factors had nothing to do with my heart failure... It was caused due to the low calories combined with exercise.
I understand that. I am just surprised that at such a low calorie level, over a significant amount of time, that your weight did not drop to concerning levels, as @rheddmobile pointed out.
At any rate, I am very sorry you had to experience this, and it's a warning that many on MFP should heed. It's frustrating to hear people say something to the effect of, "I can't be hurting my body- I feel great"... right up until they don't.
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Emmapatterson1729 wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Goodness, I’m very sorry you had to go through that and are still living with the consequences. May I ask a question? Like you, I’m 5’8” and 135 is very near ideal healthy weight for me (actually most calculators say 137). How were you maintaining at that weight while eating 1000 calories and being active? Adding in the exercise you describe, I would be losing about a pound a week if not more. Were you losing weight when you were eating that little, or is there some medical reason you weren’t?
I was wondering about this as well. When I graduated from high school, I was 5'9" and 130 lbs and was very active. I was a very enthusiastic eater and still struggled to keep my weight up. OP, over what time period were you eating & exercising at those levels? How much weight did you lose in that time?
@try2again
I had been thin my entire life without effort, had been athletic: tennis, volleyball, and swim team. I had been active duty Air Force.
I gained a little weight with a pregnancy (miscarried). Maybe six months, a little less. Had lost 10-15 lbs. Sorry, this was over 20 years ago and an extremely stressful time of life, and my memory before heart failure doesn't stand out as much. Due to the traumatic events, the details around the actual heart failure stand out the most.
Heart failure wasn't caused by how much I weighed at my height/age or what size I wore. These factors had nothing to do with my heart failure... It was caused due to the low calories combined with exercise.
I understand that. I am just surprised that at such a low calorie level, over a significant amount of time, that your weight did not drop to concerning levels, as @rheddmobile pointed out.
At any rate, I am very sorry you had to experience this, and it's a warning that many on MFP should heed. It's frustrating to hear people say something to the effect of, "I can't be hurting my body- I feel great"... right up until they don't.
She does say that she periodically binged. I bet that unless she logged those binges, weighed and tracked, blah blah blah, that she was averaging more calories than she thought.
Water weight can also have an impact, but I agree with you that the low calories don't appear to actually be as low as the OP thought they were...
But yes. Very sorry you experienced this, Emma.5 -
collectingblues wrote: »Emmapatterson1729 wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Goodness, I’m very sorry you had to go through that and are still living with the consequences. May I ask a question? Like you, I’m 5’8” and 135 is very near ideal healthy weight for me (actually most calculators say 137). How were you maintaining at that weight while eating 1000 calories and being active? Adding in the exercise you describe, I would be losing about a pound a week if not more. Were you losing weight when you were eating that little, or is there some medical reason you weren’t?
I was wondering about this as well. When I graduated from high school, I was 5'9" and 130 lbs and was very active. I was a very enthusiastic eater and still struggled to keep my weight up. OP, over what time period were you eating & exercising at those levels? How much weight did you lose in that time?
@try2again
I had been thin my entire life without effort, had been athletic: tennis, volleyball, and swim team. I had been active duty Air Force.
I gained a little weight with a pregnancy (miscarried). Maybe six months, a little less. Had lost 10-15 lbs. Sorry, this was over 20 years ago and an extremely stressful time of life, and my memory before heart failure doesn't stand out as much. Due to the traumatic events, the details around the actual heart failure stand out the most.
Heart failure wasn't caused by how much I weighed at my height/age or what size I wore. These factors had nothing to do with my heart failure... It was caused due to the low calories combined with exercise.
I understand that. I am just surprised that at such a low calorie level, over a significant amount of time, that your weight did not drop to concerning levels, as @rheddmobile pointed out.
At any rate, I am very sorry you had to experience this, and it's a warning that many on MFP should heed. It's frustrating to hear people say something to the effect of, "I can't be hurting my body- I feel great"... right up until they don't.
She does say that she periodically binged. I bet that unless she logged those binges, weighed and tracked, blah blah blah, that she was averaging more calories than she thought.
Water weight can also have an impact, but I agree with you that the low calories don't appear to actually be as low as the OP thought they were...
But yes. Very sorry you experienced this, Emma.
Your comment also made me think of refeeding syndrome, another situation people should be aware of:
https://www.healthline.com/health/refeeding-syndrome7 -
That woo button can't be gone fast enough.11
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collectingblues wrote: »Emmapatterson1729 wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Goodness, I’m very sorry you had to go through that and are still living with the consequences. May I ask a question? Like you, I’m 5’8” and 135 is very near ideal healthy weight for me (actually most calculators say 137). How were you maintaining at that weight while eating 1000 calories and being active? Adding in the exercise you describe, I would be losing about a pound a week if not more. Were you losing weight when you were eating that little, or is there some medical reason you weren’t?
I was wondering about this as well. When I graduated from high school, I was 5'9" and 130 lbs and was very active. I was a very enthusiastic eater and still struggled to keep my weight up. OP, over what time period were you eating & exercising at those levels? How much weight did you lose in that time?
@try2again
I had been thin my entire life without effort, had been athletic: tennis, volleyball, and swim team. I had been active duty Air Force.
I gained a little weight with a pregnancy (miscarried). Maybe six months, a little less. Had lost 10-15 lbs. Sorry, this was over 20 years ago and an extremely stressful time of life, and my memory before heart failure doesn't stand out as much. Due to the traumatic events, the details around the actual heart failure stand out the most.
Heart failure wasn't caused by how much I weighed at my height/age or what size I wore. These factors had nothing to do with my heart failure... It was caused due to the low calories combined with exercise.
I understand that. I am just surprised that at such a low calorie level, over a significant amount of time, that your weight did not drop to concerning levels, as @rheddmobile pointed out.
At any rate, I am very sorry you had to experience this, and it's a warning that many on MFP should heed. It's frustrating to hear people say something to the effect of, "I can't be hurting my body- I feel great"... right up until they don't.
She does say that she periodically binged. I bet that unless she logged those binges, weighed and tracked, blah blah blah, that she was averaging more calories than she thought.
Water weight can also have an impact, but I agree with you that the low calories don't appear to actually be as low as the OP thought they were...
But yes. Very sorry you experienced this, Emma.
But if that's true, part of the implication may be that ultra-low calories most of the time, plus high exercise, can be a major health risk even if periodic binges take calories to a moderate average calorie level and to overall slower weight loss.
More sobering, even.
Thank you for sharing your story, Emma. I'm sorry you had to go through this.26 -
collectingblues wrote: »Emmapatterson1729 wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Goodness, I’m very sorry you had to go through that and are still living with the consequences. May I ask a question? Like you, I’m 5’8” and 135 is very near ideal healthy weight for me (actually most calculators say 137). How were you maintaining at that weight while eating 1000 calories and being active? Adding in the exercise you describe, I would be losing about a pound a week if not more. Were you losing weight when you were eating that little, or is there some medical reason you weren’t?
I was wondering about this as well. When I graduated from high school, I was 5'9" and 130 lbs and was very active. I was a very enthusiastic eater and still struggled to keep my weight up. OP, over what time period were you eating & exercising at those levels? How much weight did you lose in that time?
@try2again
I had been thin my entire life without effort, had been athletic: tennis, volleyball, and swim team. I had been active duty Air Force.
I gained a little weight with a pregnancy (miscarried). Maybe six months, a little less. Had lost 10-15 lbs. Sorry, this was over 20 years ago and an extremely stressful time of life, and my memory before heart failure doesn't stand out as much. Due to the traumatic events, the details around the actual heart failure stand out the most.
Heart failure wasn't caused by how much I weighed at my height/age or what size I wore. These factors had nothing to do with my heart failure... It was caused due to the low calories combined with exercise.
I understand that. I am just surprised that at such a low calorie level, over a significant amount of time, that your weight did not drop to concerning levels, as @rheddmobile pointed out.
At any rate, I am very sorry you had to experience this, and it's a warning that many on MFP should heed. It's frustrating to hear people say something to the effect of, "I can't be hurting my body- I feel great"... right up until they don't.
She does say that she periodically binged. I bet that unless she logged those binges, weighed and tracked, blah blah blah, that she was averaging more calories than she thought.
Water weight can also have an impact, but I agree with you that the low calories don't appear to actually be as low as the OP thought they were...
But yes. Very sorry you experienced this, Emma.
But if that's true, part of the implication may be that utra-low calories most of the time, plus high exercise, can be a major health risk even if periodic binges take calories to a moderate average calorie level and to overall slower weight loss.
More sobering, even.
Thank you for sharing your story, Emma. I'm sorry you had to go through this.
Absolutely. It's a terrible idea, no matter how you look at it. 6 -
collectingblues wrote: »Emmapatterson1729 wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Goodness, I’m very sorry you had to go through that and are still living with the consequences. May I ask a question? Like you, I’m 5’8” and 135 is very near ideal healthy weight for me (actually most calculators say 137). How were you maintaining at that weight while eating 1000 calories and being active? Adding in the exercise you describe, I would be losing about a pound a week if not more. Were you losing weight when you were eating that little, or is there some medical reason you weren’t?
I was wondering about this as well. When I graduated from high school, I was 5'9" and 130 lbs and was very active. I was a very enthusiastic eater and still struggled to keep my weight up. OP, over what time period were you eating & exercising at those levels? How much weight did you lose in that time?
@try2again
I had been thin my entire life without effort, had been athletic: tennis, volleyball, and swim team. I had been active duty Air Force.
I gained a little weight with a pregnancy (miscarried). Maybe six months, a little less. Had lost 10-15 lbs. Sorry, this was over 20 years ago and an extremely stressful time of life, and my memory before heart failure doesn't stand out as much. Due to the traumatic events, the details around the actual heart failure stand out the most.
Heart failure wasn't caused by how much I weighed at my height/age or what size I wore. These factors had nothing to do with my heart failure... It was caused due to the low calories combined with exercise.
I understand that. I am just surprised that at such a low calorie level, over a significant amount of time, that your weight did not drop to concerning levels, as @rheddmobile pointed out.
At any rate, I am very sorry you had to experience this, and it's a warning that many on MFP should heed. It's frustrating to hear people say something to the effect of, "I can't be hurting my body- I feel great"... right up until they don't.
She does say that she periodically binged. I bet that unless she logged those binges, weighed and tracked, blah blah blah, that she was averaging more calories than she thought.
Water weight can also have an impact, but I agree with you that the low calories don't appear to actually be as low as the OP thought they were...
But yes. Very sorry you experienced this, Emma.
But if that's true, part of the implication may be that utra-low calories most of the time, plus high exercise, can be a major health risk even if periodic binges take calories to a moderate average calorie level and to overall slower weight loss.
More sobering, even.
Thank you for sharing your story, Emma. I'm sorry you had to go through this.
Absolutely. It's a terrible idea, no matter how you look at it.
Agreed. Even if the root cause was the electrolyte shifts from what essentially was bingeing, and using exercise to purge, it's still horrible.0 -
I was very adamant about counting calories. My binge may have been an extra 100 calories at most, that I would feel guilty for. Like once every two weeks would think I was doing good, and reward myself with few extra peaches and a couple of extra bananas one day, then feel guilty about the extra 100 (or less) calories and exercise. I was obsessed with trying to drop the 20 lbs of weight I'd gained from a pregnancy/miscarriage.
My binges were not going hog wild and eating everything in fridge (like a lifetime movie). Anorexia is a psychological disorder, lots of components to it. It can be an addiction to hearing "You're looking great, you've lost weight." I was extremely obsessed with being thin (after gaining the 20 lbs). Anorexia is an obsessive mental disorder not distinguishing healthy realistic diet habits from dangerous obsessive dieting. I didn't see it at the time, now I look back and know I was mentally ill.
I still struggled for a couple of years after heart failure (after my heart healed) with wanting to exercise excessively. But because of the deformities, it seemed pointless. Which led to depression and compulsive over-eating (another long story of having to overcome what turned into food addiction).
Prior to heart failure after starting diet, most days I counted to around 1100 calories. I was losing weight. I only had 5 more to go until at my pre-pregnant weight. It wasn't a long diet period...I can't remember exactly the length of the diet. It seems like another lifetime ago.
Point of posting my story:
I see girls on here daily upset that they're not losing, only have 10-20 to lose, they're no where even near chubby (in reality), but post that they're eating around 1100 calories and working out daily. These are the girls I post my story to, trying to reach out to.
If you're already thin, and a healthy weight, it's extremely hard to drop 15-20 lbs. And these girls (few males) who get into this mindset want to drop the weight fast. It is dangerous and not worth the risks. I now think back and wish I'd been content with my body (which I can now see wasn't close to fat even when I started the diet) and I wish I'd loved myself enough to have confidence and self esteem, instead of basing every ounce of happiness and self worth on a number on a scale!
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Just one more note on the water weight.... This was not normal water retention like one gets from exercising.
I had gained a few pounds, went to my doctor, who blew me off. I started having shortness of breath, gained a few more pounds, went back to doctor, was diagnosed as having panic attacks due to the stress of putting on a few pounds... Blown off again!
This is not an exaggeration!!! I woke up one day, stepped out of bed, and my toes would not touch the ground when I stood (feet were huge). I looked down and my legs were huge. My body was unrecognizable to me, stomach and breast huge. My husband who worked at a hospital in the medical field, pushed in on my leg with his thumb and went way deep into my skin and his thumb print just stayed indented. He said, "You've got really bad edema, you're pitting bad." He took me to my doctor (who was still trying to blow me off, saying I must've over done it on another workout, metabolism slowering, consumed too much sodium, blah blah blah). A different doctor was in the hallway eavesdropping. She comes bolting into the exam room, screaming at my doctor, "she's having heart failure," screamed at the nurse to call the cardiologists and pulmonologist to meet us in the ER, she called for a rolling bed, had me rolled to ER. Was admitted into ICU for for about a month, by the time I was released from ICU, I was 236lbs. I felt like I was being suffocated by my own body, but echocardiograms were showing slight improvements.
Was given two choices: meds and see if heart heals (chances not good) or to be put on heart transplant list, (chances not good). I chose meds and low sodium diet, and give my heart a chance to heal.
Three months later echocardiogram was close to normal. And I was marked in medical chart as healed enough to have surgeries. A few months later was cleared to up sodium a little and cleared to resume normal (not excessive) activity levels.
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That's crazy. I screwed up my stomach and intestines because of anorexia and especially laxative abuse but thankly my heart is strong. My roommate in inpatient ed treatment ended up in the ICU after her heart stopped for 5 minutes. Scary stuff. All the posts about VLCD people anger me especially the ones who say it's ok because they feel fine. I felt fine until I didn't. Now I have at least 2 chronic gastrointestinal diseases which may or may not be associated with former habits. I have had to have major surgery and now have a permanent ileostomy and a jejunostomy feeding tube. I hope people read your story and decide it's not worth it.40
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singingflutelady wrote: »That's crazy. I screwed up my stomach and intestines because of anorexia and especially laxative abuse but thankly my heart is strong. My roommate in inpatient ed treatment ended up in the ICU after her heart stopped for 5 minutes. Scary stuff. All the posts about VLCD people anger me especially the ones who say it's ok because they feel fine. I felt fine until I didn't. Now I have at least 2 chronic gastrointestinal diseases which may or may not be associated with former habits. I have had to have major surgery and now have a permanent ileostomy and a jejunostomy feeding tube. I hope people read your story and decide it's not worth it.
@singingflutelady
Thanks for sharing!!!
I ended up with life long medical issues too. Gastro problems, hormonal issues. An adrenal disorder. Sucks...
It's literally so hard for some to grasp being young and thinking you're eating healthy and athletic (mindset of youthful invincibility shield) to literally almost dying, being obese, and not being able to move without suffocating.
Luckily my heart healed, I developed a healthy relationship with food and exercise. Still struggle with body image, but can love myself not dependent on what what I weigh!
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cheryldumais wrote: »Thank you so much for sharing your story! You probably saved some lives. Best of luck in your continuing journey.
@cheryldumais
Thanks,
And yes, I have already received messages from girls saying they are upping their calories after reading my story! That they were eating near 1000 or under, first time trying to diet and had no idea this was possible.
So, a positive update!!!35 -
Emmapatterson1729 wrote: »singingflutelady wrote: »That's crazy. I screwed up my stomach and intestines because of anorexia and especially laxative abuse but thankly my heart is strong. My roommate in inpatient ed treatment ended up in the ICU after her heart stopped for 5 minutes. Scary stuff. All the posts about VLCD people anger me especially the ones who say it's ok because they feel fine. I felt fine until I didn't. Now I have at least 2 chronic gastrointestinal diseases which may or may not be associated with former habits. I have had to have major surgery and now have a permanent ileostomy and a jejunostomy feeding tube. I hope people read your story and decide it's not worth it.
It's literally so hard for some to grasp being young and thinking you're eating healthy and athletic (mindset of youthful invincibility shield) to literally almost dying, being obese, and not being able to move without suffocating.
You keep using the term "obese", and it may be technically true, but I think most people would associate that word with an excess of body fat as opposed to water weight from a medical issue. Of course, that doesn't diminish the effects or your experience in any way.4 -
Emmapatterson1729 wrote: »singingflutelady wrote: »That's crazy. I screwed up my stomach and intestines because of anorexia and especially laxative abuse but thankly my heart is strong. My roommate in inpatient ed treatment ended up in the ICU after her heart stopped for 5 minutes. Scary stuff. All the posts about VLCD people anger me especially the ones who say it's ok because they feel fine. I felt fine until I didn't. Now I have at least 2 chronic gastrointestinal diseases which may or may not be associated with former habits. I have had to have major surgery and now have a permanent ileostomy and a jejunostomy feeding tube. I hope people read your story and decide it's not worth it.
It's literally so hard for some to grasp being young and thinking you're eating healthy and athletic (mindset of youthful invincibility shield) to literally almost dying, being obese, and not being able to move without suffocating.
You keep using the term "obese", and it may be technically true, but I think most people would associate that word with an excess of body fat as opposed to water weight from a medical issue. Of course, that doesn't diminish the effects or your experience in any way.
@try2again
What I'm talking about is weight, not fat. It didn't matter that it was water and a lot of loose skin. My cardiologist called me obese and my weight as an obese weight in my medical chart, after released from ICU. My reply was (while crying), I'm not obese, I've always been thin. His reply was, "You're obese now."
And society doesn't distinguish between water weight, loose skin, or fat. In a shallow, superficial society, pulling up in the handicap parking spot, and having people comment "Obese people getting handicapped spots for being lazy." Or "Being fat and lazy isn't a handicap." Yes, I heard these all of the time!
They're are plenty of stereotypes that go with any over weight issues, because people assume you're lazy and eat too much.
25 -
While scary, I think your post has been really good for me to read. I'm struggling, just trying to lose "the last couple lbs." I have a healthy BMI (19.9), but I still feel I need to lose more weight. I work out 5 or 6 days a week. I don't eat enough to be considered healthy. So many people have told me they are concerned about me, I have people asking if I am anorexic. I tell myself and others I am healthy and just trying to better myself, but when I think about it I truly don't have a healthy relationship with food right now. I've been waiting to see a counselor and have an appointment made, it is a 3 month wait. Losing weight can definitely be a slippery slope... I see my primary care next week and am going to try and get the courage to talk with her about some of these issues I'm facing. Thank you for posting, it has scared me enough to make me fight for help.53
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Thank you for sharing your story. I'd seen your posts earlier but didn't know all you'd been through before. So glad you survived!1
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I'm bookmarking this to share in all the "VLCD but I feel fine" threads - thanks for sharing!
9
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