Any Suggestions? Belly weight (fat)

[Wobbly]

hi everryone, I'm looking for suggestion.... I really would love to lose some weight in my middle... Ive put weight on right there..since I started gabapentin.. it's horrilble..no clothes fit me.  I can't walk enough to get any cardio to help.  I try to watch what I eat and that is not easy at times.

I'm getting down and frustrated at myself and that's not good.  I'm looking for any suggestions?  I'm having a PT come to my home to show me some excercises I might be able to do to strenghtn my legs... but I'm feeling pretty down about it.  and they told me they will only come to my home twice to help?

ANY IDEAS ...

take care
wobbly
dx

[Mand125]

Hi Debs
Sorry to be the voice of doom and gloom but Slendertone is not meant to be used by anyone with MS. I only know this because I was going to purchase a Slendertone belt once and there was a leaflet with it that stated this.

I'm not sure why this is so, however if you google "Slendertone and multiple sclerosis" there are lots of sites that say this.

Mand

[LATW]

I've decided to be a "soft" grandma.  :-)  Every medication I am on has a side effect of weight gain.  I am on Gabapentin too.  Four a day.  My grandma's were soft. :-}

LA

[PastorDan]

Yvette's comments reminded me of something.  I bought a bag of "reduced fat" potato chips last night.  No, they really don't count as "low" fat.

Didn't take long to finish 'em off, either, & I didn't need the salt any more than the fat.

Ooh, I've had unsalted chips.  I'd be happier eating celery & carrots.

[Wobbly]

Wow... thanks for all this advise and encouragement... I feel like I can start something now that might get me into it... I will read this and start watching what I'm eating more... (I know I eat in the evenings... which I shouldn't do)....just a habit I must stop.  

and I will try the leg excercises on the bed... sounds easy enough to start out.

thanks my friends for all this info and for being here.

I'll let you know how it goes

take care
wobbly

[PastorDan]

Lie down on your bed on one side.  You can use the floor, but you will be less likely to keep up the routine.  Stretch the lower arm (the one against the bed) out forward to keep yourself from falling onto your back or stomach.  Place the other hand (the one toward the ceiling) on your waist.  Raise the upper leg sideways, in the direction of the ceiling, as far as you can, hold it there for a second, then slowly lower it back down.  Repeat the leg lift as many as ten times, if you can.  Turn over onto your other side and go through the same process, up to ten leg lifts.  Then get up, congratulate yourself, and go about your routine.  Tomorrow, do 12 lifts on each side.  The next day, jump to 15, then 20, then 30.  Once you're really comfortable with 30, bump it up to 50 per side per day.  Keep it up for about six weeks, then measure your middle.  DON'T try more than 10 the first day, and DON'T make big jumps in quantity.  Remember going onto Gabapentin; the same principle applies to exercise.  Start slowly and increase slowly.  Let us know how it goes.

[shermay]

Hi there:)

I tried all sorts of regimes to get my belly fat off - UNTIL my eldest Son came over and I showed him, and he just said one word Slendertone.  It's a belt you wear around your waist that contracts your stomach muscles.  I use mine every day for 2 sessions of 40 mins.

I was very dubious at first, but I did buy one in August, and I nearly have a six pack!!!!

I was old having Etienne (38 - yes that's what the hospital called me!) and I had a 'C' section as advised by my Neuro.  I could not shift the flab.  I then went on to having an eating disorder and so the weight just fell of me (long story) but I still had that flabby stomach until now!!

Everything has tightened up, I can see and feel the difference.  One bit of advice get yourself some recharge batteries.  It's brilliant.

Take care,

Debs.

[vizslagal]

Fat around the middle can be linked to stress and insulence resistance.  

Try reducing stress by exercising (which you are trying to do) and some meditation/relaxation.  

Some medications can affect the body's ability to regulate blood sugar, which is why you can gain weight.  For the insulance resistance, try eating low glycemic index foods and avoid the simple carbs, white flour, sugar, etc...  Even if you aren't insulin resistant this way of eating is just plain healthy.

Eat a small balanced meal about every four hours with a complex carb, protein, good fat, and dairy.  Complex carb is whole grains, vegetables.  Use fruit sparingly with berries being lower on the glycemic index.  Good fat is canola oil, olive oil.  Dairy is fat free cheese, skim milk, fat free yogurt.  

Avoid already processed foods because they have way too much salt and will cause fluid retension and that bloated feeling.

Drink plenty of water to flush your system.

Keep an eye on portion control.  Buy a food scale and keep a diary.  

Calories in versus calories out is the best way to lose weight.

Good luck

Yvette

[Heather3418]

You already know, that you must take in less calories than you burn, to lose weight.  The belly area, especially for women (and most particularly women that have carried babies) is a very hard area to "firm up," after ANY amount of direct "belly exercise."

When I lost 125 pounds over a 2 year period, (no surgery, no special diet) I was left with what I call a "mud flap," that looks like it's hanging off an 18 wheeler.  There is no amount of exercise that will get it off.  At least not for me.  I have also had a hip to hip incision to have my hysterectomy and those muscles down there, don't firm up like they could have before surgery.  Sure it's possible to get a firmer belly, but to see it totally go away, without surgical intervention (tummy tuck) is rare.  In my case, my body had been so stretched out from carrying around 300 pounds that I was left with flaps of excess skin that can only be helped with plastic surgery.

In women that have carried babies, the muscles that would usually make up our "six-pack," actually separate to accommodate the growing uterus.  Once these muscles have separated, it's extremely difficult or nearly impossible to ever have a firm belly again.  Even in women that have never carried a child will notice a "mud flap" starting, as they age.  I actually can only remember one or two women in their late 60's, 70's and 80's that have had a FLAT belly area.

I don't believe in diets.  I believe in lifestyle changes.  I do not snack on fattening foods, I do not eat fried foods, I rarely eat red meat, no chicken skin and rarely eat bread.  My gravy days are truly behind me.  If I want ice-cream, there are low-fat kinds, but even then, you can't consume sweets like you used to. I'll try foods marked low-fat when possible.  (But I am a "label" checker.  Low-fat does NOT always mean low-fat.)  It's a lifestyle change, it's not a diet.  It's something I have learned to live with quite easily.

I wish you good luck sweetheart.  I know you can get off those extra pounds more easily than you realize.  Cutting certain things out of your food intake, is much easier than you think.  Exercise when you can and at your own pace, if you can.  Every little bit helps.

Sorry this post is so long.  I can really get started, when it comes to a post about "dieting," and losing weight.  You don't have to deprive yourself to lose weight, just make lifestyle changes.

Big Hugs and sending you support via the Internet....

Heather

[jensequitur]

I've had a hard time of it - it seems like the only way to lose weight for me is to go on a really strict diet.  Any more than 1200 calories a day, and I can't lose weight.  I have the same problem - I've been gaining a lot of weight around the middle.

I went and had my thyroid checked, and supposedly there's nothing wrong there.