im slowly killing myself!

[aybreighsmommy2012]

hi im haley. im 24 and i have a 10 month old daughter. last march i weighed 140 lbs .i got pregnant in april or may and through the course of my pregnancy gained 113 lbs. ive been overweight since i was about 16 years old. the only reason i was 140 lbs last year was because i was anorexic and if forced to eat would just throw it up. i am addicted to food- all food. i eat when im bored, tired, when something sounds good, when im lonely, etc.. i really wanna get back down to 140 lbs (im 283 lbs now) but i wanna do it the healthy way this time. the problem is i am really out of shape ( i can hardly walk up a flight of stairs without sounding like im dying) and my bones ache from all the excess weight on them. also im embarrassed to say this but i am lazy but im a stay at home single mom so i do have time on my hands and i really want to lose weight but its hard for me because i have asthma and get out of breath so easily. what kinds of exercises can i do that arent too hard on my joints and i could do from home.

[Nighthawk61]

Hi Haley, i'm glad you posted. I too have a weight problem, that started in my mid forties. I gained almost a hundred pounds due to degenerative disc disease and depression after losing my job. I found i was diabetic and instead of going on medication (also high blood pressure, high and low cholesterol) i decided to use diet to reverse my disease, and it worked. The first thing i did was to get a blood glucose monitor, and check my blood in the morning and two hours after every meal. I changed my diet using Dr Joel Fuhrman's book, Live to Eat. I used Myfitnesspal.com for support and to monitor my calorie intake. I count all foods easily using the calorie counter. If you plug in 3 oz chicken it will tell you how many calories, how much sugar, salt, and all vitamins are in it. So  you easily set up a report allowing you to track your nutritional daily amounts and make sure that you're not eating too much salt etc. Dr Fuhrman's book showed me that the recommended daily amount of salt was something like 10X what he suggests, and so i choose to follow his advice. He has a campaign going trying to reduce major illnessess causing death, (cancer, heart attack, stoke, etc).

I lost about 30 lbs in 9 weeks and have maintained that loss for a few months. Now it's time to try again and lose another 30. incidentally, i lost my weight without exercise because of my bad back. Break a leg!!

[Vera Ingrid Tarman, MD]

Hi Haley

You sound pretty discouraged about your situation. From what you are saying, you are a single stay-at-home mother who is overweight, tired, short of breath and probably depressed about it.

There are a lot of things going on in your life that would make anyone feel overwhelmed: being a single mother is tremendously stressful, and being at home may be quite isolating. Although a child brings joy, it can also contribute towards you feeling trapped and isolated from the lives of your friends and previous activities. This can contribute towards feeling depressed and discouraged - and can lead to over eating foods that are only going to make your situation worse.

The way you describe your eating sounds as if you are using it to comfort you. You say that you are addicted to all foods, but my hunch is that the foods you are eating are the fattening 'junk foods' that have a lot of sugar and refined carbohydrates. These serve to comfort or numb your emotions for a short duration of time, but they also result in every one of the symptoms that you have described, from being overweight, unable to go up stairs, being short of breath, and getting depressed, and craving foods. Foods high in sugar will make you feel good and then likely feel bad within an hour or two after eating them. Even so, you probably still crave more!

I would not suggest that you focus on exercise yet - not until your weight is lower. It is good to walk or swim but aerobic exercise may hurt more than hinder you at this point. The best approach  is to STOP eating junk foods completely. It is very simple - stop and your moods and weight will very likely stabilize on their own, after only a few weeks.

It is simple, but it is not easy! You say you are bored and lazy.... so food has been an easy solution for you. You are not alone in this dilemma. There are 12 step programs for the many people who need help in saying 'no' to the temptations of the easy solution of eating junk foods, and in finding other ways to cope. I think it is pretty difficult to manage your situation alone.

I am glad that you are reaching out for help. This is a sign to you that you know you cannot do this alone. Please look up your nearest Overeaters Anonymous meeting or Food Addiction meeting. You can find the websites and other information on my website: addictionsunplugged.com. This will give you a community of like minded people who will help you set heathy eating goals and support you through the difficult times trying to maintain a new and healthy lifestyle. There are even on line support groups; they are free and available all over the world. There is hope.