What did you do to get started/take charge?

judgejess

I'm not losing anything--I have good days and bad days. I'm also under undue amounts of stress at the moment (which, unfortunately, cannot be avoided). I'm curious, though: While many of us are "batting 1,000" when beginning this process, what was the catalyst for you? What did you do that started your internal furnace to start burning off the calories/fat?

Thanks for your tips!!

Hugs,
Jess

paladinmfp

Hi Jess,

I'm not sure that this helps you or anyone reading this. But, here goes.

Granted for this topic, I barely qualified at 307. My rock bottom point was a period where I got one of my all too frequent respiratory infections. In the past, I've had pneumonia 3 times, with a hospital stay for the last two times. During the last ER visit, my blood glucose was well over 300. So, I started using insulin. I had been "trying to manage my diabetes by diet & exercise", meaning I wasn't really doing either.

When I started insulin, I spoke with my primary care physician, and he suggested measuring blood sugars 3 times daily, and adjusting the insulin accordingly. I took two types, long acting and short acting. He warned me my weight would go up. It did, from about 275 to 307.

So, I started to walk, got a treadmill, and used it almost daily for a month. That's about when I hit rock bottom. I hated the weight I was at (still over 300), and the fact that exercise was not the total solution. I went to an endocrinologist after about 2 months of just being depressed and not doing much except taking insulin.

The endocrinologist and I connected right away. His words, ideas, and method of treatment showed promise

Taking his suggestions, I added Victoza to the two insulins, restarted exercise, and, most importantly started really counting calories. I found MFP, and started to keep track. It has allowed me to figure out many things about my food habits, including too many calories, too much fat and carbohydrates. I relearned the meaning of "all things in moderation".

I've lost 25 lbs, so far. I am not on a "diet". I have begun to eat a more balanced array of foods. I'm also off of one of the insulins; if my A1c improves, I may be able to reduce or get off the other meds.

All of us have stress, some more than others perhaps. I have job stress, and a daughter who wants me to pay for her college. If you haven't hit bottom, or, have too much stress (no job, homeless, divorce, etc), then maybe this isn't the right moment. Do what you can, and when the stress is less, add a few more things into your routine, food or exercise, or just some downtime.

Good luck to all!