Struggling with Overeating

[Herdswoman]

This is a hard post........I am able to stay on top of so many other areas of this disease, but food has really come to be my Achille's heel.

With the slowdown of physical activity, I find I've been packing on the pounds. It's really hard to not love myself with food. Food is always there, always comforting and I've never met a cookie I didn't like.

For you sisters who struggle to eat and to keep weight on, I really have a hard time understanding your pain. I'm not minimizing it or discrediting it, I just am way, way, way on the other side of the spectrum. I'm wondering if anyone else is in this same boat? Even in mid-crash, I am hopeful that just a "little something to eat" will make me feel better. I've finally come to realize that all it will do in a crash is give me indigestion.

We moved to a single story house this summer and I was up and active enough that I worked myself into bilateral plantar fascitis with heel spurs......so it's not like I just sit on my duff. Yet the weight kept creeping on.

Today I went shopping for a dress for my godchild's wedding. How depressing to see those yards and yards of fabric that are now needed to cover up my chubby self! I've gained about 4 sizes in 3 years. HELP!

[yogini]

I've gained at least 3 sizes in 8 months, so I really hear you. For me it's a combination of inactivity and florinef/high salt, which cause me to retain so much water. My friends and family claim they don't notice, but I think they are just being nice. And in any case, I notice. It's hard to deal with the weight gain on top of the POTS. I have a closet full of clothes which I can't wear. It doesn't make me feel very good about myself at the moment. And my Drs. tell me that I should not worry about the weight gain. (easy for them to say) I have started mild exercise which I am hoping will help. And I am trying to watch what I eat, but it's hard when food is one of the only things that makes you feel good. So hang in there Herdswoman, you're not the only one.

[funnyfrog]

Hi - I can really relate to your problem. Since I have benn diagnosed with POTS in 200, my weight has been such an annoying issue on top of everything else that I wish it would just miraculously go back one day to the way it was before I got sick. Before I was sick, I was always 110-115 lbs. At my sickest point in the hospitals in 2002 before being diagnosed, I was down to 93 lbs and on IV feeding. Once I was diagnosed and on meds, my weight came back on. The thing is, I do not eat more than I used to before I was sick, but somehow from the meds and less activity, my weight went to almost 150. I am 5'6" so I hid it well, but it made me feel fat and bloated and terrible. My doctor said that I was not retaining water even though I thought I was, but he put me on a very low dosage of topamax and that has helped to bring my weight down by about 10 lbs in 4 months. In high dosages, it is an anti seizure med. I am on a very low dose though, like all my other meds since I have sensitivitiies to every drug you can imagine. The Topamax seems to help, I really do not know why, but since I have lost a little weight, I am not asking questions.My dosage is 25mg. I hope you get your weight issue under control again. It stinks having this as part of the POTS problem, if someone else that has seen Dr. Robertson at Vanderbilt had this problem, e-mail me(you can find my email address on the meet others program). I highly respect Dr. Robertson and feel that since he is doing so much research with POTS and dysautonomia, maybe he would know the answer to why this weight issue happens, if this is not a salt retention issue. Beth in NJ.

[funnyfrog]

Oops, I made a typing error in my 1st line - I was diagnosed in 2002, sorry to confuse anyone. BETH!!!!!

[MomtoGiuliana]

Since I've been on an SSRI, my appetite has increased and I have not lost all the weight I wanted to following my pregnancy. Add to that, decreased activity (although I feel exhausted just from keeping up with my toddler). I also suspect I am retaining some more fluid than I used to, just due to keeping up a salt intake I didn't used to have to do, but not sure about that.

[ethansmom]

I never had any trouble until these last few months...when I first got sick I couldn't eat at all and actually lost 15 lbs- I was 130 lbs. at 5'9"...then got pregnant and gained 80 whopping pounds, which came off pretty nicely after Ethan was born.

I stayed about 135 lbs. for a year or so, and then lately I've been gaining a lot- I weigh about 153 lbs. now. It's not that it's that much, but if I keep gaining as fast as I am it will be a problem soon. But the strange thing is...I feel a LOT better at this weight. My goal at this point is to try to stay around 140-145, but try to tone up, and see how that goes- but first I have to give up the "bad" foods which is truly my weakness. And then get regular with my exercising.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to overcome weaknesses and gain willpower?

[blackwolf]

I too can relate, I have had alot of trouble losing the weight I need. It is really hard with the 2 kids as they want all the junk food and not so good stuff. I try very hard not to overeat. I'm currently looking into the LAP-BAND procudure. I'm hoping to have that done sometime around Xmas. I reciently tried a new drug that pushed my weight up about 20 pounds but worked, then I had to stop after I had some really nasty sideeffects.

I'm here for the talking/writing.

Blackwolf

[purplefocus]

I thought I was the only one that had POTS and a weight problem. I have been overweight for about 10 years now but with the last year of inactivity, medication and depression my weight has went even up. I am now scheduled for a doctor appointment about the gastric bypass surgery. I do try to stay in control but it is so very hard.

Paige

[blackwolf]

Purplefocus, Please be careful with the gastric bypass!

It was reconmemded that I try the LAP-BAND instead. If you drink lots of water, your intake will drop big time. I was told the lap-band might be a better option for me as it is easy to reverse if I can't handle it (not so with the bypass). I'm having alot of trouble eating now (as in I can't), but it never lasts very long. I'm going to my cardio in the morning to talk about the trouble I'm having. He (the cardio doc) has to OK me for the surgery before the surgon will even set a date for evaluation. Because I'm on Medcare and medicaid, both my gp and cardio have to ok me for the procedure. They are even reconmending me for a special type of IV line just in case (I can't think of the word, ok nurses what is it? you know the one they leave in for about 4 months, goes to your heart). I have also concidered the one where they bypass most of your small intestine. You can eat pretty much whatever you want, you just don't absorb it.

Please check out all your options before you have it done.

Good luck, Blackwolf

[Sue]

WOW!! I too thought I was the only one with this problem. I gained a lot of weight when Grubb put me on Lexapro and thought it would come off easily when I came off ot it. NOT SO!! I actually am now up 60 pounds!! Yesterday I was trying on some jeans LOL couldn't get them past my hips, and I just wore them last winter!! YIKES. I am trying to east lo-cal stuff imbetween meals but I am always STARVING!!!

Any help appreciated.

Sue

[Guest Julia59]

I was always on the thin side until I hit age 40. But still I did not gain beyond a size 10. I weighed about 145----and after hit with first pots symptoms I lost 25 pound in 4 weeks. I couldn't eat due to the colic type pain I was having at the time.

After I was diagnosed with POTS and given meds to help with my symptoms---Wellbutrin is really the only one that was added. I was already on BBs and synthroid. I gained all my weight back---PLUS 10 more pounds. I eat a lot less then I did before I got sick-----but still can not lose. I am a lot less active, but I still putter around the house and do most chores----but have to rest in between.

The only thing I could think of that would make me lose weight is to become more physically active which is impossible. My upper spine problems have become increasingly worse, and my overall pots symptoms. So now the house puttering is slowing down as well. I think our endocrine system gets wacked out with this stuff also------and thus weight gain for a lot of us. And the fatigue leaves us with out the ability to do vigorous activity. It's just plain NOT FAIR!

I just try to keeps the fat content down in my diet---stay away from trans fats, and now try to cut down on carbs----but I don't cut out the carbs---no way. I WILL NOT GIVE UP CHOCOLATE! That is my only vice..............I don't eat much of it---and I like the dark chocolate too.

Get this----I watch my trans fats like a hawk---I maybe have 5 % in my diet. Thre are just some foods you would never think it's in. It's in just about everything packaged----unless it says organic, natural---ect. But even the items that say natural will have hydrogenated oil/partially hydrogenated oil in 80% of the time. I know the ingredients in just about everything. I only eat "Smart Balance" spread. The point here---(I know i'm rambling again) is that I had my lipid levels checked. Cholesterol went down from 205 to 196----but my tryglicerides went up from 160 to 260! I don't know how! I am careful....

I love my snack food itmes, but will not eat hydrogenated oils. I'll only eat chips with sunflower oil ect...... My doc said it's hereditary---and if it's still high on my next check up---he'll start meds.

Just another thing thats not fair----LOL Dr. Grubb said it's and age thing-----and a lot of people gain weight in their 40s. It's an uphill battle for a lot of us----so you are definately not alone. I'm going to another POTS doctor just so I can get a full Cardiac evaluation. Then i'm going to try to pick up on exercise once i'm cleared to do so. Probably have to be swimming. My body can not handle gravity. I can't climb steps---ect.... We have a lot going against us-----aging, less exercise, depression, and so on. We need a support group just for this part of it. The weight gain is just one more thing to make us look healthy---robust----and LOOK GOOD...............thus more judgement.....

Julie :0)

[opus88]

Have any of you heard of or tried EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)? It is the simplest thing to do and highly successful for exactly what you are talking about.

I know a woman in PA who can do this over the phone (many EFT practitioners can do this, I just happen to have crossed paths a few times with this person). It's so simple that she can explain how to do the very short procedure of tapping specific points on your face, hands and chest. I always feel it's best to have at least one "professional" session just to get the ball rolling, but it's really not necessary. After that initial appointment, in person or via phone, some people enjoy guided sessions periodically while working on their own between times.

Below is just one site that gives some info on EFT. I'm not really familiar with the site, but toward the right are case feedback links, including weight loss, headaches, addictions, eating disorders, depression and more. At the lower left is a link to search for a practitioner in your area (in any country). I hope this will be helpful to some of you.

http://www.emofree.com/

[MightyMouse]

My weight has ballooned in the past 2 years--I'm only 4'11" and each 4 or 5 lbs. is like 10 on the average frame. I'm almost 30 lbs heavier than I was 2 years ago and 20 lbs heavier than last year. I've gone from a size 4 to a size 12. Frustrating.

Nina

[blackwolf]

I was also a "big girl" most of my life. I was always healthy though, until this stuff happened. I have topped out as high as 310, I'm back down to 270ish now (depends on what scale you use ). I try to write down everything I eat, including calories, fats, trans fat (if on it) and I keep a running total all day.

Some of my favorite snacks are sugar free jello with one big scoop of whipped topping, if you have a blending stick, make your own, 8th cont. soy whips good. For the chocoholic in you, try sugar free pudding frozen or out of the fridge, with or without topping. Try swirling vanilla and chocolate. I also like those glucerna shakes, I nearly freeze them and feel much fuller when done. My kids love pudding with sprinkles. I try to eat fresh or frozen fruit as much as I can, I'm not a big fan of raw veges, but I will eat almost anything cooked. I also like slim fast soy, when I can find it, just add water, again I like it nearlly frozen. Try adding small amounts of protein rich foods to your snacks. Like roasted soy nuts, one egg (how ever you like it), a little peanut butter (one TBLspoon), one peice of meat (sliced turkey, ham, beef buffalo, venison, what ever you like) but not prepackaged stuff, real cooked stuff. I cook one large turkey every 3 months and save pieces in the freezer, also ham, buffalo steakes, dried venison, and rabbit all keep well. Yes I don't eat mush beef or pork, but I love fish, chicken, buffallo, deer, and rabbit.

Man I think I had better stop now.

Good snacking, Blackwolf

[michiganjan]

I have licked the weight problem.

Many years ago, I was overweight and would have symptoms of low blood sugar as a reaction to eating a lot of things with sugar in it. My doc told me to not eat anything with sugar or honey in it. He was referring to sugar like sucrose and dextrose and honey, not the sugar that occurs naturally in fruit. However I was not to eat anything sweetened with fructose either.

That was pure ****! I went through severe withdrawal! I wanted something to eat all the time! I felt like I was starving. I would then eat an orange and that wouldn't help so I would eat a banana and that wouldn't help, but I did not eat a cookie which was what I really craved.

The other thing I did not eat was anything that was sweetened artifically. I still don't...they upset my system.

After about 3 weeks of sticking it out, I did not crave sugar foods as much. I lost 28 pounds in the first month! And after sticking it out for about 20 years now, I don't have cravings except that I do want ice cream once in a while. Once in a while I buy myself a half-gallon of ice cream and eat it one spoonful a day until the carton is gone and I can get away with that and not crave more or gain weight.

I have also learned to eat less as I get older because we don't need as much food as we age. A few years ago I gained 45 pounds from taking Paxil, (did not change my diet) but after quitting the Paxil the weight came back off without a change in diet. Now I am holding steady at 156 I am 5'8" This is the normal range and BMI for my height. I will never again gain that much weight from a drug before calling it quits. That is too much weight to have to deal with over a drug. And it is too cruel to gain weight not due to eating!

The sweet stuff I used to eat was an emotional soother for me. When I was upset or feeling down or unloved I did not want a slice of roast beef! On top of the horrible cravings during the withdrawal, I suffered through losing my emotional soother. It was a **** of a double whammy.

I have not had a piece of cake or pie or (regular size) dish of ice cream or a cookie in over 20 years. I don't miss it. It was a long hard road to accomplish this, and I will not fall off the wagon now. It gets easier the longer I do it. Also I don't use food to soothe myself anymore. If I am feeling unloved, or stressed, or whatever, I do something to address the problem that doesn't include food. I use food to get energy and live and leave it alone beyond that point.

The worst thereats to weight control are the food-pushers. ...the ones that give you a cake and say just try it for me....I spent all morning making this. I shrug my shoulders and say, No thank you. it looks beautiful, though. I have a family member who will simply put dessert portions on plates and hand them to everyone or even set them down with a fork on the plate next to everyone while we are all visiting in the living room. She does not ask if you would like some, she just puts it there! I ignore mine. I have noticed that after several times of ignoring it, now I get fresh fruit on my plate, which I do eat. The food pushers can ruin a person's resolve in nothing flat. I do not give them an inch no matter who they are or what the occasion.

Yes, I NEVER eat cake or ice cream at a birthday party, not even my own (not even at my own 50th birthday party), or dessert on Thanksgiving or Christmas. I bake Christmas cookies every year--it is a tradition--shaped sugar cookies that I spend hours decorating--I love doing it and they are beautiful -- and tasty--I've been told. I do not eat even one. There is no occasion special enough to destroy all I have worked so hard to achieve. My mother and other family members are diabetic. If I ever become diabetic, it will NOT be because I was a part of the cause.

I think once through sugar withdrawel is enough for anyone. To eat junk now and make me revisit that **** would be cruel.

The second thing is exercise. I am exercise intolerant from POTS. However my committment has been strong. I used to do more exercise than I do now. I used to push myself to two sessions a day plus weight training 3 tmes a week. Now I do one shorter exercise session a day unless I go shopping and then that counts as the exercise session. I still do the weight training. I think I do better when I do not push it beyond a certain point.

My weight has been stable ever since the Paxil explosion. However, my body has changed proportions from the weight training. I have a good figure for my age. That happened slowly over time. I have been steady on the weight training and exercise for several years now.

I know this message sounds radical so I have to add one more that that has been equally important to me. Whenever my POTS gets bad and I have to knock off the exercise program for several days, I used to feel like I was losing ground and feel anxious. I no longer get down on myself for this. I am satisfied to be where I am and have confidence that I just need down time and that I will get back to it soon and I won't be going backwards just because I had a flair of symptoms. Worrying about it could lead to eating!

Michigan Jan

P.S. I think I am through spouting off, but once I get going on a particular issue that is important to me one never knows. I may have to write more about this one later!

[MomtoGiuliana]

I agree so much about the sugar thing. Thanks for describing your experience, MichiganJan. I am also a sugar-craver--or was until my doctor suggested I try NO sugar (except fruit) in my diet. You're right, at first it was HARD. But it does get easier and after awhile anything with sugar in it is not as tempting anymore (although, like Julia, I will not give up a bit of chocolate once in awhile--or licorice!). It is almost like giving up an addiction, I guess.

Also, I agree about the exercise. As hard as it is, it is so very important for people with our condition to exercise when possible (when you aren't in a downward trend). I started slowly and got to the point where I can now, for example, climb three flights of stairs at work as quickly or ever faster than others in my age group, without feeling horrible afterwards. I use the stairs all day to get from my office to the other offices I need to access for my work. I also walk on my days off now (with my daughter in tow--sometimes this includes a bit of running too ). Yoga is a good way to get started and continue with, too.

Katherine

[Guest Julia59]

Wow Jan,

You are one strong person. Right now i'm so depressed with all this crazy stuff going on with my neck/cranium-------------------Holy cow-----if someone told me I couldn't have a sweet thing now and then i'd probably kill them----LOL.

Right now sweets are like heroine to me---i'm so addicted. But fortunately I only need a small amount----but still it all adds up.

I plan on getting to a better point once I can get all this stuff under control.

I'm pretty good with all the other stuff, watching trans fats, calories, and so on. Like I said I know the ingrediants in most foods, and I can tell which have trans fats, and which don't. I know what foods have MSG just by looking at the containers or packages. But golly---I just have this horrible sweet tooth---but again i'm satisfied with just a small amount. Now if I could just get off that one can a sprite I have a day. Talk about FRUCTOSE----WOW---it's packed.

Julie :0)

[Sue]

WOW MICHIGAN JAN!!

Pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaase send me some of your willpower!!!!!

Sue

[Guest tearose]

I live that statement... " I've never met a cookie I didn't love" I too have food issues but I think it is a combination of having a very poor sense of smell and taste and wanting to experience the thrill of sugar and the extreme of salt since all else seems boring to me. I actually forget to eat sometimes but I blame my lack of appetite on my lack of of sense of smell and taste to my failing ANS. When I do substitute Splenda for sugar I feel like I can save my "sugar" for the real decadent sweets. It is more of an intellectual decision " I shouldn't be eating all this sugar so I'll use a substitute". Which brings me to ask, are we better off with a bit of the real sugar or better off with no sugar rather than a substitute? I can't imagine a day without sugar! Those of you who are sugar free amaze me! Do you really not miss it? tearose

[michiganjan]

Dear tearose, I really do not miss it. And I do not use artificial sweetners either. I do not drink pop.

I said in my earlier post on this thread that I might not be through with this subject. I feel compelled to tell a story. It will be long. Just skip this if you don't want to read a long story. This is about my mother.

When I was in perhaps 7th grade, my mother was quite overweight as she had been ever since I could remember. She also smoked. She became tired and developed a chronic cough. She did not tell my father or me how bad she was feeling. My father was a doctor and a surgeon. He would have gotten on her for her smoking. My dad had quit smoking when the surgeon general came out and said it caused cancer. That was in the early 60s maybe.

My mother was living in her own private ****. She was sure she had lung cancer from her smoking because of the cough and the poor way she felt. She could hide her feelings but my father was very aware of the cough.

One day, he simply told her that he had made an appointment for her with a specialist in the city and he was taking her there for a complete evaluation. She did not want to go but she had no choice. My mother admitted she was scared to death. She said she would do anything if she could just live and have her life back.

Anyway, I stayed that day with a family friend and I was scared to death all day long that I was going to lose my mother. It was one of the longest days of my life. When my mon and dad got home my mother was smiling. They had found out that she did not have lung cancer. She did have the beginnings of emphasema. The doc told her that if she quit smoking, her lungs would clear. She also had type II diabetes, but it was quite mild and if she followed the diet the doc gave her and if she exercised and lost weight and then continued to eat correctly she would not need any diabetes medicine and would not become diabetic. (Several of her 8 sibs were type II diabetics)

My mother was so relieved that she was not dying that she followed the doctors orders. She quit smoking. She walked 2 miles several days a week. She followed the diet. She lost weight. She quit coughing. She had energy. She looked great and she felt good.

This lasted about 4 months. Then she went back to all her bad habits. When I caught her smoking (in secret) and when I realized she had quit walking and was back to eating everything left on our plates while she cleaned up the kitchen, I asked her why.

Her answer was that she was unhappy. She liked being well-fed. She hated being hungry all the time. She liked to eat. She liked to smoke. She hated to exercise. For God's sake, she had a Caddilac car to drive. Why would she want to walk? She ended her explanation by saying something like, "If I can't eat what I want, and can't smoke, and I have to walk, what else is there to live for?"

Well, the next installment came a couple years later when she was sick again. She was scared again--thought she was surely going to die this time. My father dragged her once more to a specialist. This time she was a full-blown diabetic. They put her on diabenese (sp?) They put her back on the diet and exercise program. They did not know she was still smoking. Once again, she lost the weight. She exercised. She actually gave up the cigarettes. She looked and felt great.

You have probably already guessed the next installment. Yes, she went back to her old habits, except that she did stay on the diabetes medication. That did help her for awhile. One night after I had graduated college, my dad called to tell me she had had a massive heart attack. Could I come home to see her?

I went to the hospital in a major city where he had taken her. He had actually saved her life. They had been driving in the car when she said she couldn't read the road signs. He reached over and took her pulse and there was none. He was close to home and dragged her in the house. AFter what seemed to him like an eternity he managed to start her heart.

In the hospital when I saw her, she cried and cried. She said she wanted to live. She said she would do anything if she could just get well. She had learned her lesson. Never again! If God would just grant her another chance. There was not a lot of hope. The attack had been massive. But she survived. She gave up the cigarettes, lost the weight. etc.

Yes, after several months she did go back to smoking in secret. And she preferred using insulin so she could eat what she wanted as opposed to adapting a healthier lifestyle. Amazingly she lived another 10 years after the heart attack to the age of 76. She died suddenly of a heart attack just sitting there in her chair. She actually outlived my father who had died a year earlier of lung cancer! My father who had quit smoking 40 years before.

As a child I felt like my mother was incredibly selfish. I depended on her. I did not know what would happen to me if my parents died. I was an only child and adopted. They never did make arrangements as to who would take me if they died. I had not idea where I came from. I probably worried more than most children about losing my parents for these reasons. However, all children worry about losing their parents. Parents are everything--life itself--to their children.

Anyway, I was very angry at her for not sticking to the program. I felt she had been given another chance again and again and all that came of it was that she was unhappy. I felt very threatened by her behavior. I did not want to lose my mother. (I guess I really needen't have worried. She did live to 76). I couldn't understand why she couldn't be happy without her cigarettes and rich food. But she swore it was so. She had given it several good trys and living healthy was not for her! The price was too high, except of course when she got sick. Then no price was too high.

I have known many people like this. In fact, it is more common to be like my mother than like me. My husband always says "I don't know anyone else who can just do it like you can."

I think I am like I am because of my mother. I absoluted hated what she put me and my dad through worrying about her. Also there is her idea about "what else is there for me if I can't do what makes me happy?"

My mother did what she wanted but she was STILL unhappy. When she was eating and smoking, she was unhappy because she felt sick. When she was eating right and exercising and not smoking she was unhappy because she was deprived.

I am happiest when I am taking good care of myself. It is difficult to put something in my mouth that is not good for me because it makes me unhappy to hurt myself. I just can't do it. Doing myself harm makes me very upset with myself. I have POTS and a bunch of other stuff that makes my life ****. I'll be ****** if I am going to add to it.

My atttitude makes me feel good about myself. Feeling good about myself makes the POTS and other stuff more bearable. I do not need to be doing something that is not good for me in order to feel happy. There is much more in life to live for than feeling satisfied from a good meal.

I always felt very sorry for my mother--that she couldn't find happiness in other things besides food and cigarettes. It would have been far better if I had been able to feel admiration and respect for her, rather than sorry for her. ( I did love her--her behavior just made things very hard for me.) I also always felt like, "But what about me? Doesn't having me as your child give you any happiness?" Of course it did, but it was not enough joy to make up for the other things she needed.

I think many people who do not take care of themselves do not realize the impact it has on their families and those who love them. I want my family and friends to not only love me but to admire and respect me because I admire and respect myself. Rather than feel sorry for me because I just can't get it. I want my life to be an example for them.

I also think that it is a shame that anyone's happiness has to lie in self-destructive behavior. That is false happiness. Real happiness is taking good care of yourself and setting an example.

Michigan Jan

[yogini]

Wow, Jan. Your willpower is amazing and inspirational.

I just wanted to add my story, since I was able to lose weight using a different approach. I was slightly overweight as a teenager and gaining a few pounds every year through my senior year of college. I tried exercise and that just seemed to make me eat more and not lose any weight. In my senior year, something snapped in my mind and I decided to try eating healthy. Instead of the meal plan, I began cooking for myself and eating baked/grilled chicken and fish, boiled and steamed veggies, bread, pasta and rice (back when carbs weren't such a taboo). I allowed myself two squares of chocolate a day. Other than that, I generally avoided things that came pre-prepared or made in packages. My excess weight (about 25 lbs) instantaneously came off.

Once I lost the weight, I kept the grilled/baked items as my staple, but began allowing myself to eat regular foods again in moderation. I avoided buying pre-packaged foods and foods with high fat content (more than 30% calories from fat)at home and I didn't keep any snacks at my desk at work. When I went to restaurants, or at holidays or special occasions, I ate whatever I wanted. I found myself not wanting red meat, fast foods and other things that I had craved when I was heavier. And my stomach must have shrunk because I couldn't eat nearly as much as I used to. Although my weight has naturally fluctuated over the years, I was bascially able to keep the weight off for 10 years, until I came down with POTS earlier this year. My mom has been staying with me over the past few months to help take care of me, and she has lost a ton of weight on this diet. Of course I have gained weight due to florinef and inactivity, but that is the least of my problems right now.

The bottom line is that I think each person has to do what works for them, and for some people it much is harder than others. I am lucky that I have been able to control my weight by portion control and keeping a general eye on what I eat, without having to cut out sugar or carbs. Like most of you, I couldn't live without them!!

[michiganjan]

Okay, I am STILL not finished with this.

Even though I do not have a problem desiring sugar or junk food, the older I get the less food it takes to maintain my weight. This part is very frustrating.

Right now it seems it takes very little food. This happens to all of us in that as we age, we slow down.

One day an older (70s) relative and her husband were her for a short visit. The husband was telling a story. I was interested in his story and was listening quite intently. His wife, on the other hand, who must have heard this story time and time again, suddenly broke in with, "Oh Paul, shut your pie hole!"

Her comment was so abrupt and it shut her husband up so fast. And I had never ever heard one's mouth called a pie hole before. It amused me greatly and I laughed and laughed at their "married" dynamic.

Ever since then, whenever I want to eat more than I need to stay even, I go around saying to myself, "Oh, Jan shut the pie hole!"

Sometimes in the morning after breakfast I tell myself. Jan, the pie hole is now closed until lunch and then it will only open for yougart--unsweetened of course.

The worst is when I am working. There is something about writing on demand. At the first inkling of being stuck, my first thought is a handful of crackers or pretzels. For me my writing is the biggest threat to my weight. So I just remind myself that the pie hole is closed for now.

Silly, isn't it. But it helps tremendously. Now where have I been living all these past 57 years that I missed out on hearing about the pie hole?

Jan, whose pie hole is now closed until lunch!

[Guest Julia59]

Jan I loved your story! I'm about to start on Topamax soon and I was looking in the archives and found this posting.

I am struggling so badly with my weight as I have never weighed this much before. I feel so portly..............

I'm a size 12, but now some 12s don't fit very well----scarey......

I'm only 5ft. 4in.

All my weight is right in front----no back fat----just belly fat. I feel loaded with water all the time....maybe the topamax will help with that a bit.

I crave a little chocolate every day----can't seem to get away from it. I think it's for energy---just a little caffiene---as coke of tea would be too much----so a little dark chocolate. Then I have my sprite----yada---yada.........

Too much sugar in my diet----calorie for calorie---I probably never have more the 1200 to 1500 a day, but i'll bet 50% of it is sugar.

Your story inspired me to try harder on the sugar. I do have very good will power on portion size----so if I kick up the will power another notch---who knows, maybe 20 pds will melt away.

My Mother is still living----I don't know how---but she is. She is type II diabetic, and her glucose levels are always in the 200s and 300s----very unstable. She eats carbs, and quite a lot of sugar. She gets a lot of that sugar free chocolate----and gets the runs all the time from it. She already has a stint for a blocked artery from her heart, has hypo thyroid, and diabetic neuropathy. She sit's in one spot 95% of the day, and only moves if Dad takes her shopping. She can shop, but not move around the house. Her feet do have a loss of feeling, and quite a bit of pain, but it will only get worse the less she moves.

Most of her health problems are brought on by her life style. She will put away 3 pieces of cake on birthdays (but not always)---she also eats praline pecans, and a lot of junk food. They eat out a lot, and not healthy food. My dad has a lot more control, and tries to eat healthy. He never really had a big weight problem, and can usually lose weight fast if he gets his little tire around the waist. My mom is 5ft. 4in, she used to be 5ft. 5in, but lost an inch----and she weighs over 200 pds.

I told her she is like an old classic car that keeps putting in bad gas and still keeps running.

I know what you mean Jan about watching someone who doesn't take care of themselves. My mother and I aren't close----but I do love her, and I wish she took better care of herself.

Julie :0)

[kristinp29]

Jan. your story is so inspiring.

I'm 5'3", weigh 153 lbs, and am in a size 10. I have a very muscular frame, so I don't think I'll ever get below 145 lbs or get below a size 10. I carry a little extra weight all over. It's difficult to target a specific area because of that! I really don't eat that much; I'm not crazy about food. But I do love chocolate and cake. Not that I eat it a lot, but I do crave it!

Diabetes runs in my family, along with a slew of other health problems. Just recently, I decided to make a pact between myself and God. Somewhere in the Bible it says that you need to treat your body as a temple. And, well, I know that eating cake and chocolate isn't exactly temple-like behavior. So, I literally typed up a document with a written pact that I would treat my body like a temple in regards to eating, etc. and I signed it! Now I feel like I'm being held accountable and keep myself in check.

Anyway...thanks for further inspiring me. To everyone else who posted that they, too, struggle with the weight issue--good luck. I believe in you and am behind you 100%!!!!

Love,

Kristin

[Jenn202]

Because of all my sensitivites and being on antibiotics, I have eaten a No Sugar/yeast free diet for years.... Its a little costly, but When I eat this way I can eat almost whatever I want. Just in this last year with all the stress, I went back to my "old ways" and started eating badly... More processed foods, dailry etc... I definetly see how its easier to put on weight with these types of foods.....Although I am still thin, I have out on weight.. My average used to be 100-105 lbs and I was 5'5...but like all of you I noticed that as I increased the salt, and everytime I get the lyme back under control, My weight goes up...I am up to 110 now.

I also notice the water retention thing. I will go through a week of being so bloated with water.. my clothes get tighter, and I feel so miserable..and nothing I avoid eating takes it away... Then I'll have a day where I will pee alot and it all goes away.

Can anyone relate?? I;m wondering if its the endocrine system just all messed up.