I'm overweight and have MS

izzysgamma

Hi everyone. I'm Stephanie and I'm obese. I'm a 40 year old, new grandma of a beautiful little girl and I'm a mom to 2 kids. My son is 20 and my daughter is 21. I've been married to the love of my life for almost 21 years. Yes, I was 19 when I got married. :happy:

I've been overweight since my pregnancy with my daughter. I gained 80 lbs. with her then when she was 6 months old I got pregnant with my son and gained 40 lbs. with him. :sad: Needless to say, I can't keep blaming my weight gain on my pregnancies since that was 2 decades ago. Since then, I've just been packing the pounds on and I'm addicted to food. Sweets are my downfall.

In June of 2008 I was diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. In February 2009 I started taking treatments for it. It's an intermuscular injection that I take once a week. It's supposed to help slow the progression down. I still have my issues, but I live each and everyday and just pray that I live a healthy life for myself. I want to be around to see my grandchild grow and be around for future grandchildren.

Lately, my husband and I have just been eating out of control. :embarassed: We've been buying junk food and eating it like it's going out of style. Like I said earlier, I'm a food addict. I just know I'm a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. :explode: My husband and I have decided that we aren't doing this for each other, but for ourselves. We've made a pact that if either one of us gets off the wagon, the other will keep going no matter what and encourage the other to get back on. We just have to do something about our weight or we're going to die, we just know that's what the outcome will be.

I started this back in September, but only did it for 1 week. I've been on this now for 4 days and have already lost 3 lbs. :bigsmile: Back in 2006 I went to Slim4Life and lost 110 lbs. The bad thing about a program like that is, they don't really show you how to eat healthy or just eat right, they tell you what you can eat and what you can't eat, and it is so expensive. I'm going to keep focused on this and I'll be a brand new me.

I'm just glad I'm starting over and this time I have to do it. One day I could wake up and my legs may not work again and then I'll be wheel chair bound. I don't want my husband to have to put me in a nursing home because he can't lift me. I want to be self sufficient and be able to take care of myself if that day comes.

Thanks for letting me rant about this. I appreciate it.

Take care and God bless you all.

sandmart2009

HI! I really don't know much about MS so I will not have much to say about it. Just that I hope, it won't be too bad for you now that you are on medication.

Congratulations on your 3 lbs lost! This site has really been helpful with the motivation part.

Glad you joined in!

hmb2213

Lots of luck to you! It sounds like you have a great motivation in your grandson. But if your husband is "contributing" by eating all the bad stuff with you, you'll have to ask for his support to keep that junk out of the house! Maybe your commitment to a healthier you will have the side effect of a healthier husband too!

Good luck- and keep a picture of your grandson on the fridge! It can't hurt!
~Holly

CarrieAbbey

Hi there,

I was diagnosed with RRMS in April 2002, two weeks before my 30th birthday. :sad: My grandmother had MS and she passed away two years prior to that. So I knew the progression of the disease and what to expect. I used to weigh 240lbs and I was determined that MS wasn't going to run my life. I lost 90lbs and felt fantastic. I would go to the gym on my lunch 5 days a week (and usually once on the weekend) and would run. I grew to love jogging/running, I would take my stress away and I would have a clear mind and make the rest of the work day more relaxing. Last summer on vacation after my morning jog on the beach a fellow MSer couldn't believe that I could still run. I told her that I was going to run until I couldn't run anymore (she has a walker). Not two weeks after I said that I had a major relapse (optic neuritis in my right eye-usually get it in my left eye so my vision in my left already sucks) and I wasn't able to run. I had a major pain down the left side of my leg and sometimes have trouble lifting my leg. I've been off work now for over a year on disability (considered totally disabled-- ) Since then I've gained back some of my weight due to the lack of mobility and still eating the same as when I was going to the gym.

I'm determined to take my life back. It's a slow process but I have to realize that this is my life and I have to make major changes. I use a cane to help with my stability.

I take Rebif (3x a week) it hasn't slowed down the progression much, last MRI showed more lesions. But not enough to take me off Rebif and try something else.

I'm 36 yrs old and have 2 beautiful daughters (10 and 8) and a wonderful husband. They are my life. :smooched:

I've only been on this site for a few weeks. My doctor recommended it. It's a great site.

I wish you luck in your journey and please feel free to add me as a friend. Keep us posted on your progress.

Take care,

Carrie:bigsmile:

abyt42

My mom's MS moved slowly, and she became a competitive racketball player after she was diagnosed. There's a cookbook and diet guide called the MS Diet that was very useful for her in her weight loss-- she also felt like it helped keep her symptoms in check.