Getting Healthy, losing weight, and getting back in shape

LessaRamoth

Hi! Once upon a time my weight and activity wasn't a problem, other than my doctors thought I was actually too skinny! I was extremely active, I played sports, ran, biked, etc. I was this way into college, in fact the biggest I was at 5 ft 9 was about 117 lbs. Then I got married and had my first child and then got put on the depo-provera shot. The latter turned out to be a massive mistake because evidently I have PCOS and I went from being a thin cyster to flipping the complete opposite direction. So I started having weight problems, even though I was still fairly active (admittedly not as active as I was) and eating well. In 2014 I became a CVT (Certified Veterinary Technician) and started having a very active career, life was going very well, my PCOS and weight was getting under control, etc.
Then in 2018, 2 days after returning from the largest veterinary profession conference in the US, I had a ischemic cerebellar stroke, which knocked me on my butt to say the least. I count my blessings every day that it wasn't worse but it did cause some problems. I now have problems with chronic fatigue, some left side weakness, screwed up sense of balance, and dizziness if I change my head's position too quickly. I have always had the heartrate of a gerbil along with low blood pressure (which is why I had the stroke they think, as everything else was fine, including my cholesterol) but my doctors also discovered I have diastolic dysfunction (my heart doesn't relax properly). Due to all this I became extremely sedentary (its hard to exercise when you want to sleep all the time) but a few months ago I got a major wake-up call, I was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
So now I am starting from what feels like rock-bottom. I am now 43 years old and 240 lbs. My husband and I signed up for our local community college's fitness center as besides the normal exercise equipment they have two pools, one for laps and a much smaller one that can be used for PT etc. I also just started using the fiton app and finding what exercises I can do at home. I also have met with a registered dietician who ironically enough said my diet wasn't really the problem, I actually still eat well, its mainly the lack of exercise that is causing me problems. So here's hoping I can stay on this and get back in shape. I am tired of looking in the mirror and getting so depressed by what I see or seeing my old pictures....

AnnPT77

Hello, and welcome. You're doing a fabulous job of grabbing the steering wheel and driving in a better direction: Fitness center, registered dietitian, sense of commitment.

This is a thing you can do. I get that you have challenges - health conditions and such. You can work around, over, under, or otherwise past a lot of limitations - people here do that quite often.

The one element I think you'll need, that you didn't mention: Patient persistence. Losing a meaningful amount of weight and (re-)gaining fitness is a relatively long term objective, not a quick fix. Managing weight and maintaining fitness long term is a lifelong thing. IMO, that puts a premium on choosing strategies that are manageable, and sticking with them, or modifying as/when needed, but staying with some reasonable, manageable, positive plan.

All of us have off days, or sometimes more than a day. The important thing is to get back on a positive routine absolutely as quickly as possible, and not give in to "I've blown it, so I might as well give up". Adjust the plan, keep going. You'll get there.

I don't have all the physical challenges you do now, but I have some. I started being active at a bit older than your current age after cancer treatment, 8+ months of surgery, chemo, radiation (I was 45). I stayed active for quite a few years, which was helpful, but I also stayed overweight/obese for more than another decade, then lost from class 1 obese to healthy weight at age 59-60. I'm now 66, still at a healthy weight, still active, still with some physical/health issues in the picture, but many relieved or reduced from those behavior changes. The results are worth quite a bit of effort, IMO.

Wishing you success!

lookoutlouise

You can add me as a friend trying to lose weight I have had two babies
High cholesterol so need to lose weight slowly