Did I waste two weeks?? Learning who to trust.

Ok...I got some good news and bad news today! I will start with the bad news; so I finish this on a good note.

I started dieting the first of the year. I consulted with my doctor before I began this journey. However, I DID NOT sit down with her and go over specifics about calories and other nutritional information. BIG MISTAKE! We were going to leave that up to my trainer. My starting weight was 249. I started eating healthy on my own by cutting out rice, pasta, bread, soda, refined sugar, and eating as close to whole foods as my budget would allow. I was down to 238 on February 6th. I started on a weight loss challenge at my church on the 7th. The church provided anyone who was doing the challenge with a trainer 3 days a week for 90 minutes a day. However, the past 3 times we were supposed to meet she cancelled. She normally charges $25/ hr., but volunteered her services to challenge members free of charge. Her excuse for canceling on us was her job and that "it was free". I started using MFP and exercise the 7th also. I sat down with my trainer and she told me to start using MFP, but to "customize" my goal's numbers to what she told me to use. She had me set my calories to 1200 a day, carbs to 120 (I'm diabetic), protein to 105, and the remaining % of calories to fats. I did what she suggested. I also started walking 2 miles a day and doing another 45 minutes of strength training using 5 pound weights. I was completely sedentary before this. I have been on disability for 7 years and thought I wasn't capable of exercising. I asked about the "exercise calories" and she told me NOT to eat them...to stay at 1200 no matter how much I exercised. Although I followed her guidance, she told me my exercise wasn't enough to even count as exercise. After exercise, I was only consuming a net calorie figure of around 700 calories a day. I was told this is what I needed to eat to lose because I was so heavy.

With that all being said (I tried to keep it as short as I could without leaving out the facts), I have been having horrible muscle cramps that I attributed to getting adjusted to working out. I have been very tired and have had cold chills. I woke up this morning and almost passed out every time I stood up. I called my doctor and made an appointment. I printed out my food and exercise diary for the last 7 days. I also printed out the goals my "trainer" had me set. My doctor examined me and my blood pressure was down to normal, no temp, and NO WEIGHT LOSS since I started following my trainer's recommendations. As a matter of fact I weighed 4 pounds heavier than the Wii Fit had me at 3 days ago. My doctor told me I was starving! She told me I was eating all the right things, just not near enough. I told my trainer about the warning that kept showing up at the bottom of my food diary every night stating that I was eating too few calories. She told me to ignore it. That if I ate those calories I would never lose weight. My potassium was also dangerously low today from exercising/ using my muscles and not eating enough. I feel so stupid putting all my trust in my trainer. I trusted her. I did what I was supposed to by consulting with my doctor first. We both trusted the trainer to be competent. DID I WASTE 2 WEEKS?? I spent 2 weeks IN STARVATION MODE and lost 1 pound. I sat down with my doctor today and went over my numbers and she had me increase my calories to 1500 a day plus my exercise calories. She also increased my carbs and sodium. My advice to everyone on here: CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE LISTENING TO ANYONE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH!! I am diabetic and have a host of other health problems. There is no telling what would have happened to me if I would have continued without seeing my doctor. Thank God I listened to my body today!

THE GOOD NEWS: I have lost enough weight since January that my blood sugar has returned to normal without insulin!! I have been taking 4 shots a day. I was able to come completely off one of my insulins. The other one was changed from 30 units with each meal, to a"sliding scale" (which starts at 2 units if my blood sugar is over 150). That is a huge decrease in insulin (which makes losing weight harder)! I am so excited! I am happy despite this whole mess and I feel that some good has come about. I have learned that change comes from within. When it comes right down to in the only person we can genuinely trust is ourselves. I chose to listen to my body today and I just may have saved my own life.