weight loss with health issues

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DoreenMartell
DoreenMartell Posts: 10 Member
Hi everyone, I am 51(female), 5 foot 3, 251 lbs and take several prescriptions. BMI is 45-TDEE is 2479-BMR is 1803, so daily calories are set to 1735.....this is not what the first calculations gave me on several sites but I picked this one to try...I do recumbent bike 6 days a week for between 30 and 60 minutes - lift 8 lb weights 5 days a week - walk between 30 and 60 minutes 2 times a week and do resistant bands 2 times a week. I eat back some of my calories and drink lots of water. I have been trying to lose weight since January and have only lost 10 lbs. I want to lose for my health but also for how I look. I feel like I am wasting my time trying if I still look the same - I do feel better but I want to look better too and it is not happening. I have high blood pressure, under-active thyroid, high cholesterol, diabetes(pills not needles) osteoarthritis and low iron but I take prescriptions for everything so it should not matter...right? Has anyone else lost a significant amount of weight with any of these problems and how long did it take? Am I destined to always be fat? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have tried changing exercises and calorie intake but have stayed the same weight and inches.

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  • kevrit
    kevrit Posts: 3,889 Member
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    Hi everyone, I am 51(female), 5 foot 3, 251 lbs and take several prescriptions. BMI is 45-TDEE is 2479-BMR is 1803, so daily calories are set to 1735.....this is not what the first calculations gave me on several sites but I picked this one to try...I do recumbent bike 6 days a week for between 30 and 60 minutes - lift 8 lb weights 5 days a week - walk between 30 and 60 minutes 2 times a week and do resistant bands 2 times a week. I eat back some of my calories and drink lots of water. I have been trying to lose weight since January and have only lost 10 lbs. I want to lose for my health but also for how I look. I feel like I am wasting my time trying if I still look the same - I do feel better but I want to look better too and it is not happening. I have high blood pressure, under-active thyroid, high cholesterol, diabetes(pills not needles) osteoarthritis and low iron but I take prescriptions for everything so it should not matter...right? Has anyone else lost a significant amount of weight with any of these problems and how long did it take? Am I destined to always be fat? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have tried changing exercises and calorie intake but have stayed the same weight and inches.

    Hi Doreen!
    I have an under-active thyroid, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, allergies of all sorts, GERD, IBS, arthritis, and take medication for most of these. Trouble is, these medications make you gain weight. I have given up trying the low 1200 calorie diet and found that I am losing about 1/2 to 1 pound a week following the 'Fat 2 Fit' program and mixing in some of the hacker diet ideas. These two go for slow and steady weight loss, which is recommended for people with our maladies. You are also doing a lot of muscle building exercises. Remember that muscle weighs more than fat. You feel better and are losing slowly but steadily. DO NOT GIVE UP!! You are on the right track. I know because I felt like you about not losing fast enough. That is why I am holding on to the slow but steady wins the race idea. Maybe, if I follow eating at my goal weight I will eventually get there!.
  • DoreenMartell
    DoreenMartell Posts: 10 Member
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    I will check that out - thanks....also forgot to add that the 1735 calories is for maintenance - said to lower to 1504 to lose which is what I am trying. I lost those 10 lbs in the first 2 1/2 months and nothing in the past 2...I will continue and try your suggestion. Good luck to us both....
  • kdaughertyfp
    kdaughertyfp Posts: 49 Member
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    Hi Doreen!

    I have an under-active thyroid, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, and bad knees. As of this week I am down 34 lbs since January and 54 since last June.

    I use a recumbent cross trainer it is basically a recumbent stepper (I can’t do the bike because of my knees) I use the cross training 6 days a week for 1 hour each. I lift weights 3 days a week for 40 minutes each. I started lifting weights in February and recumbent trainer in April.

    My calorie target is 1650 per day. I try to maintain 1200-1600 calories per day. I do not eat any of my exercise calories back. I also watch my carbohydrate intake. I have learned that carbs are not my friend, but I keep them in my diet for balance. For carbs I keep it at 45 carbs or less per meal, and 15 – 30 carbs per snack. I plan on 3 meals a day and if needed 3 snacks per day (Morning, afternoon and evening).

    If you want to be my MFP friend please feel free to send me a request. I hope this helps.
  • evamcph
    evamcph Posts: 7 Member
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    I too have underactive thyroid (Rx), high cholesterol (no Rx yet), insulin resistance (Rx) and acid reflux (Rx). Needless to say I'd like to get rid of some of these Rx's. Added to that I had Achilles tendon surgery 6 months ago and can walk only limited distances. I need to lose 50 lbs. I am eating 1200-1300 calories per day w/ lots of water & counting carbs, keeping them between 30-50 per meal and under 10 per snack. Have about given up hope of getting these things under control. Would love a word of encouragement and/or some new techniques to help.
  • qofsheba
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    I feel your pain... all of you. I'm 5' 2 and at 188 lbs--which is where I was when I quit the last time. Gained 12 back. Have now lost it on low carb diet. But...have been an 188 for 8 weeks. On advice of doctor, I am not exercising, except for stretching and mild walking. I am under my counts 6 days out of 7... He now recommends lowering the carbs, which I've done for the past two weeks and shown no progress. My health numbers are good except cholesterol went over 200 for the first time and I don't want it there. The diet he recommended is no dairy, no grains, no fruits, limited veggies. The no dairy/limited grains seems to have addressed my aches and pains issues and reduced my acid reflux to manable. I'm happy to feel better and look better but it is a fair amount of work to eat on this plan and i want to see results, even if slow. Any advice? And if not, I will keep hanging in there and take my carbs down more and see what happens.....
  • lindasain
    lindasain Posts: 163 Member
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    I have depression and my medication causes weight gain I did stop one med that was the worst but they tell me it will take months to get out of my body.. i had once lost 70 pounds but gain all but 23 pounds.. if i have any candy in the house then i lose and at work there is always candy and its hard to say no but am doing better. My exercise is the pool its easy on my joints and i do an hour of almost all cardio.
  • 9thkid
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    Hi Everyone! I am so glad that I found this message board. I see that I am not alone. I am soon to be 57 years old, I just had my body fat & measurements done today with a trainer at my gym. I was shocked!!!! My trainer (I just hired her to help me out), said that I was a heart attack waiting to happen!! She was dead serious. My husband knows I don't like with extra 100 + lbs. that I have been carrying around for 20 years, but he didn't think I was this bad. I also have a underactive thyroid and have been on meds for 16 years. My main problem is that I stopped drinking 20 years ago and I just switched additions. This food issue has been so tough for me. Can you tell me how you get the weight tickers? Thanks for being here.
  • almsha
    almsha Posts: 10 Member
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    This is the thread I needed to find. I too take meds for multiple medical conditions. I am at my heaviest ever and not getting any results yet...actually the opposite. Very depressing for sure. I am going to try some of these suggestions.