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649848 tn?1534633700

Question of the Month - April 2013

This month’s question is:  What are your favorite weight loss exercises?  Do you exercise on a daily basis?  How many minutes/day?  Do you work out at home or go to a gym? Alone or with a partner?

We see all types of questions on the forum asking for ideas on exercise.  There is such a wide variety and we all know that we have to pick those exercises that we enjoy and will stick with.  We also know that it’s important to combine aerobics with strength training.

There are no right or wrong answers; simply what you find most enjoyable for exercise.
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649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
I'm on a diuretic; actually doubled my dosage a couple months ago, because the original prescribed dosage wouldn't phase the swelling.  Doubling the dose does help some, with the addition of a couple of cups of dandelion tea/day.

I am currently in a program administered by my doctor's office, intended to get weight, blood sugar, metabolism issues under control.  Having been in it for approximately 6 weeks, it hasn't done much to change anything, but I realized very few things happen overnight.
Helpful - 0
875426 tn?1325528416
Has the doctor ever suggested going on a diuretic?  Have you been able to visit/considered visiting a dietician to work with you on addressing this new challenge of pre-diabetes/metabolic syndrome?  It's got to be hard to have both that and thyroid issues!
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649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
Your 2 square inches of muscle will weigh more than the 2 square inches of fat, of course, because the muscle is packed densely, while the fat is "fluffy" as I said at the very beginning.  The fact still remains that an ounce is an ounce and a pound is pound, no matter what it's made of....... go back to my example of the rocks and feathers.  A relatively small rock can easily weigh a pound, but look at the amount of feathers it takes to make a pound.

I suspect that this is an issue we aren't going to agree on, even though we're basically saying the same thing.  I'm looking at it weight,  you're looking at volume.  If you're going to say that muscle weighs more than fat, you have to say that a certain volume of muscle weighs more than an equal volume of fat, otherwise a pound is a pound.

Now, thank you for this........."if he says something again, maybe you can tell him you are doing it for him as well as for yourself?"  I get so frustrated with him, that's one I hadn't thought of.  

I know a lot of women have trouble with menopause and surgical menopause seems to be the toughest.  I guess I was lucky (?) there; I had a complete hysterectomy at the age of 46 and because of complications, I dropped down to 75 pounds (not just "yuck", but double "yuck"....lol).  That was in 1996 and it took me about a year to get back to a normal weight of about 100-110 lbs, which I maintained until 2007 when my thyroid whacked........ things went downhill from there.  I picked up 30 lbs in < 3 months and my doctor simply told me to "stop eating and move more"....... thanks doc!!  It took another whole year before I could convince them to check my thyroid and by then, I was nearly a basket case.

Over the past 5 years, I'm pretty sure I lost and gained the same 5 lbs at least monthly, until the past few  months.  I began to gain again and no amount of starvation or exercise seemed to take it off.  At my doctor appointment in Feb, I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes/metabolic syndrome on top of the thyroid issue........

I retain a lot of fluid, so I never know what my weight "really" is, which makes it that much more frustrating.
Helpful - 0
875426 tn?1325528416
If you were to weigh two square inches of muscle and then two square inches of fat, which do you think would weigh more?  Or do you believe each two square inch chunk would weigh the same?

I'm glad your husband has improved.  He may be concerned about your hurting yourself, but he does need to understand it could hurt you and consequently him (assuming he doesn't want to lose you) if you don't work on the weight, a risk factor and a detriment to your health.  I think it's great you care enough to exercise- if he says something again, maybe you can tell him you are doing it for him as well as for yourself?

My metabolism changed some with surgical menopause, but I believe it is even harder for those of you with a thyroid issue and takes a lot of discipline!
Helpful - 0
649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
We're saying the same thing, to a certain extent.  My whole point was that muscle doesn't "weigh more" than fat, because a pound is a pound; it's simply denser (packed tighter) so takes up less space. You can weigh more with muscle and look trim; whereas with fat, you simply look fat, because it's fluffy and takes up a lot of space....... lol

No, unfortunately, my slender husband does not participate in trying to keep fit, nor does he encourage or make it particularly easy for me; in some ways he actually makes it more difficult by making, what I consider, rude/inappropriate remarks when I'm trying to exercise.  He'll say things like "if you don't be careful, you're going to hurt yourself" or "you're a pretty old woman to be doing things like that" or "watch out, you're going to throw something out of joint"; to  him it's funny, to me, it's ridicule.  There have been times when I've simply stopped exercising, in order to avoid these comments, because discouragement is the last thing someone who is overweight needs to hear. He's better now than he used to be because I've tried to convince him that if a person stays healthy and keeps moving, moving isn't going to hurt them; it's when they stop moving that things go wrong.

I find that people who don't need to lose weight tend to "pooh pooh" those of us who do, simply because they have normal/high metabolism and have no idea what it's like to struggle with weight loss.

This is all relatively new to me, as well, because I never had a weight problem until my thyroid whacked in 2007; it's been a constant struggle every since.  If I weren't going through it, I might not believe how hard it is.
Helpful - 0
875426 tn?1325528416
I'm sorry there is a misunderstanding going on here.

I'm not saying weigh a pound of fat and weigh a pound of muscle and somehow, it will be different.  I'm saying the density, the thickness of inches of muscle built up will add weight all the while, hopefully, the less dense unwanted flab is being burned off.  

So, if a person is building densely packed, weighty muscle tissue with working out, do not be discouraged if the scale is not showing a quick reduction in pounds that may be hoped for, but instead, look for a loss in inches around the waist and hips as a sign of encouragement.  

I hope this clears things up.

I hope though your husband, blessed with slenderness, is not participating in trying to keep fit along with you at home, he is an encouragement to you in your efforts to trim down.  
Helpful - 0
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