POTS but wanting to lose some weight

[Kitsakatsa]

I would like to lose some weight. I have tried exercise, but I am so sick afterwards and my BP the next day bottoms out. So, I joined Weight Watchers online to try and get control of my eating. But, because of nausea I can only handle BRAT diet foods (bread, rice, applesauce, toast) etc. I can't really get veggies or meats past my lips!!

Has anyone found a way to handle this, eat what will make you feel okay and still lose weight? I lost 35 pounds initially with POTS, but have since regained my appetite. How does everyone else balance their nutrition when only a few foods even look appetizing?

[Jaime]

Do you know what is causing the nausea? I know this will sound weird, but if you are trying to lose weight, you need to eat more frequently. When you only eat three meals per day or less that causes your metabolism to actually slow down. You should eat six small meals per day. You really need to be getting protein and veggies, but especially protein. Have you tried other sources of protein than just meat? Other sources include nuts, peanut butter, eggs (egg whites are the "perfect protein"), cheese, cottage cheese, tofu, soy, etc. These might be easier to tolerate than meats. Also, I use ginger and peppermint for nausea and it really helps. Have you ever tried that? Make sure to get the ginger in a capsule though because raw ginger has a very powerful taste. Also, make sure that you are getting plenty of water. Another good option is to take a good look at what you are eating. Small changes in diet can make a huge difference. If you drink a lot of pop try either cutting down or eliminating it. If your juice is high in sugar try getting 100% juice or diluting the juice with water. I hope these suggestions are helpful. If you are still having problems, you may want to consider seeing a registered dietician. You can find one in your area at www.eatright.org

Jaime

[MightyMouse]

Jaime's correct, eating more sometimes helps the body to stop trying to hoard calories in fat--eating too little makes your body's systems slow down to conserve energy and pack on pounds in case there's a complete famine.

Also, you probably need to add some kind of protien source--steamed chicken, shrimp, turkey, or a mild fish like flounder, whiting, catfish, sole, etc.... and if that's too much, maybe baby food? Cheeses? Soy replacements for added protien?

For some of my kids who are just learning to eat solid foods, protiens can be a hard one, especially if they've been on a feeding tube. Their body just can deal with it. We used to get baby food meats like chicken and turkey, blend it in a blender with heavy cream, and add gravy too...so it tastes just like the real deal by is easier for them to process. Over time, we would build up the thickness of the "shake" and then add small bits that we'd shredded in a food processor rather than pureed.

If you've stopped eating protein for a long time, it may be tough for your body to digest at first. Soy might be a good place to start to at least get something different going on, such as soy milk. I like "silk" vanilla, but my mom likes the regular unflavored soy milk.

Nina

[yogini]

I am in the same boat as you. I have gained 15-20 lbs, depending on the time of month. I desperately want to lose it (at least 1/2 of it). I agree that protein and veggies are the important to eat. I generally eat very healthy, grilled fish and chicken, boiled veggies and multi-grain or whole wheat breads. For me I think the weight gain is the combination of not being able to exercise hard-core like I used to pre-POTS, combined with the beta blocker slowing down my metabolism.

What kinds of exercise are you doing? Maybe it would help if you start off with something really slow, like walking or Yaz exercises? I did these when I was at my worst. I have slowly increased my exercise routine, moving to pilates. I find it pretty easy to tolerate since most of it is on the ground. After a couple of months of pilates, I am actually able to ride a bike for 15 min. This used to give me headaches and severe nausea a few months ago. The funny thing is that all this exercise hasn't helped my weight much yet. I am hoping that I will start to see some results over the summer, as I try to do harder exercises.

It's not easy adding weightloss as another thing to worry about on top of the POTS. Good luck!