Friday, July 22, 2011

Something a little crazy...

So I've started something that some of you may think is a little crazy. Before I dive into exactly what it is, let me give you my reasons. I'm tired of feeling bloated all of the time. My shirts seem to get more snug with each passing day (and believe me, it's not muscle). I looked down at the scale last week and saw myself about 5 pounds away from an all-time high. Note about that, that all-tim high came after a hospital stay in which I was hopped up on prednisone. I managed to pop a button off my shorts during a golf swing two weeks ago. And finally, I needed another physical challenge.

I'm sure you guys have probably guessed it by now - I'm counting calories. Before I mislead you though, let me refine that statement - I'm becoming more aware of how many calories are in the stuff I eat and adjusting accordingly. I can already see many of you gasping and saying "No CFer should be trying to lose weight!". In most cases, I agree, but I don't think I fall under most cases. My BMI puts me up there with the contestants from biggest loser. I've spent most of my adult life between 185 - 190 and last week I was 205. If this was an issue of me bulking up because of muscle mass, I wouldn't be worried. It's not however and I have the fatty tissue to prove it.

I'm not getting crazy (yet) and can hopefully avoid falling over the OCD with my food cliff. I'm pretty OCD about many things, but my food intake is not something that I want it to bleed over into. So what am I doing to cut the weight?

Using smaller plates for my meals
Not returning for seconds
Eating more servings of vegetables and fruit
Taking more time to eat my meals

That's not too crazy right? So far it's working and the adjustment hasn't really been that big. I'm still eating the same types off foods, just less of it. Mandi and I will be able to continue to cook foods that we like, but I will try to enjoy them in a different way. Easy peezy right?

Last Thursday I weighed in at 205, this Thursday, 197. Game on.

Pontificated by Unknown
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Ruth's avatar

Ruth · 715 weeks ago

I'm with you there! Not so much now as my BMI puts me right at the perfect weight but a couple of years ago I was on the overweight side, and no matter how many times people told me I shouldn't be losing weight, I was really unhappy. You get used to being thin!

Just be careful, it's hard to stop once the weight starts to come off.

Good luck! :)
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Megan · 715 weeks ago

So glad to read this post! Aidan was born tiny at only 5 pounds full term and the CF team stressed extra fat/calories..the whole CF diet. So I became a bit obsessed. Everything I gave him was high calorie/high fat for the first 3 years or so. We were all thrilled with the result. He was huge despite having no pancreatic function at all. I don't know how or why he doesn't have trouble with the weight but at age 6, he weighs 78 pounds! But now I am trying to make him lose a little, I don't want him becoming too big! He is almost always on antibiotics, oral and IV, yet never loses weight on them. He is the youngest boy in his entire grade but one of the biggest. I am not complaining as we worked so hard at this but other CF moms freak on me when I say I am trying to watch what he eats now...But introducing fruits/veggies now isn't working out so well for me, he finally tried watermelon yesterday! People totally don't believe me when they learn he has CF because of his build.
3 replies · active 715 weeks ago
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Kristin · 715 weeks ago

You guys seem to usually eat pretty healthy. I think summer time is the hardest time to stay healthy because we never seem to be on a consistent schedule. Try eating small, healthy snacks between meals to keep your energy and metabolism up. I like to snack on either fruit or veggies halfway between each meal, about every three hours.
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Julie's avatar

Julie · 715 weeks ago

Don't drink your calories. I only drink water, I am eating a LOT of veggies, making sure I still get protein and a small amount of fat, and watching my portions. That along with walking/running every day lost me 15 lbs after we got back from Norway. I've still managed to keep it off. Good luck! Losing weight SUCKS, I hate it, because I loooove to eat, but sometimes it's necessary. That roll of fat around the middle increases the risk of heart disease, especially in men, and goodness knows you don't need anything else to deal with. <3
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Cindy's avatar

Cindy · 715 weeks ago

I think you're doing things pretty well, and there is always that possibility of the sympathy weight gain.... My husband did it a little and complained all the time about how much he was gaining. Of course, I'm sure he's lost it all and it is at a low now that he's in Afghanistan and probably sweating off any extra weight he had. But I am struggling to lose the weight I gained during pregnancy, and don't really know how to handle it. It's also hard to concentrate on those types of things when you're taking care of a baby all by yourself, but I will just lose vicariously through you! :o) Good Luck!!!!
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misslawrun 4p · 715 weeks ago

I think I'm gonna have to follow your lead Ronnie! I've gained a lot of weight since I've got settled in a relationship, which I think has helped boost my PFTs. But I'm almost on the overweight side of the BMI scale, so I think it's time to try and keep my weight steady and not gain much more..!
1 reply · active 715 weeks ago
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Debbi's avatar

Debbi · 715 weeks ago

Ronnie, I'm a CFer who needs to lose weight. I've lost about 12lbs but need to lose about 35-40 more. I used to be so skinny and underweight but I hit some magic age and between hormones changing and meds and who-knows-what I now have to lose. Glad I'm not alone! I see all of the CFers who freak if they lose 3 lbs and it seems bizarre.

Love the picture!
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Andee's avatar

Andee · 715 weeks ago

Good for you, Ronnie! I am a "plump" cfer who could stand to lose at least 8 lbs (It doesn't sound like a lot, but I'm 5'1", small boned and at the top of my ideal bmi- one more point, and I'm going over, lol). I did do it once by improving my diet (especially switching to flavored water and fruits and veggies for snacks), but CFRD has thrown me off right now (there's not enough sugar in a carrot to quickly pull a person up from a crashing low blood sugar :P), but I'm going to get the pump and then I'm on it! Hitting 30 will certainly do it to you if your lungs are still doing relatively okay, we won't talk about what 40 does to your waistline, ;) ....
1 reply · active 715 weeks ago
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Sherry · 715 weeks ago

I think you're doing the right thing. While you don't want to be underweight, I don't think it's healthy to get "too overweight". It seems it's needs to be a happy medium.....that I know is hard for so many people - whether they need the pounds on or off.

Luckily, it's always been easy for Rachel to gain weight. She's in the 96th percentile. At this point her doctor told I could cut back on the calories a little bit and her dietitian suggested I start giving her 2% milk instead of whole milk. So, I still feed her basically the same diet. I have just stopped adding the butter/olive oil to her veggies, noodles, and bread - and no longer add cream to her milk.

By the way, did you REALLY have to use that picture! lol

Good luck to you Ronnie.
1 reply · active 715 weeks ago
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Melissa Jones-Weston · 715 weeks ago

Are you doing the 50/50 program on top of using a smaller plate? 50/50 = 50% of your plate is vegetables and the other 50% is a combination of starch/protein. For CFers I recommend a different diet... the campbells soup diet. You get your low calories.. AND your much needed salt.
1 reply · active 715 weeks ago
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Julie's avatar

Julie · 714 weeks ago

Woo Hoo. Go Ronny. Go Ronny.
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tiffa's avatar

tiffa · 714 weeks ago

Now you've irritated me!! I've been trying to lose weight for a month, and I've gained some. Err!!! Glad you're seeing success though :-)
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Lisa's avatar

Lisa · 714 weeks ago

I'm definetely in the minority also about being overweight with CF. I'm at least 10 pounds overweight according to my BMI. I can also see it in pictures. I have put on a ton of weight. My doctor said that with CF it means your healthy if you can put on weight. She said it also means I could fight infection more easily. But by looking at me in pictures I hate how I look. I always try to eat less but the problem is that I am "constantly" hungry. It's kind of a battle for me. Some days I eat less and other days it's hard to eat less. I just love to eat but hate how I look. I think I need more willpower.
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Lisa's avatar

Lisa · 714 weeks ago

Is that a real picture of the guy's stomach?
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