Question of the Month – Mar 2013

[Barb135]

We’ve all come here looking for help with weight loss.  Some of us have more to lose, some only have a few pounds to lose.

Everyone has that one “instant” during which we realize we have to make changes.  It may be because you want to look better, for health reasons or a multitude of others.

This month’s question is:  what was your “wake up” call; that one thing that really got your attention and made you decide that you “have” to lose weight?  Or was there more than one thing?

[Barb135]

Well you might want to think about your own challenges ahead and try to prevent them.

Belly fat is a prime symptom of insulin resistance and can be prevented, but only with proper diet and exercise.  Insulin is often called a "fat storage" hormone, so if your body doesn't use it properly, sugar (or simple carbs) won't be processed adequately and will end up stored as fat.

I think you have had your wake up call....... I'm going this coming week for a metabolic work up and will be working on a diet that will keep my blood sugar levels steady over the day/night, so insulin levels will also stay lower.  I think this is a problem that a lot of people have, but don't realize it, or even think/know about it.  We can work on it together, if you like.

[Tanyaluv]

Sorry to hear about the bad news. You definitely have challenges ahead of you. For me, when I saw many of my female relatives at the same time, its like I saw my future. I wasn't crazy about it. Unfortunately for me, we all have skinny bodies up until 30's but when we gain weight which looks to be around 35-40 for most then our bellies get big to reveal the dreaded apple shape. This caught my attention and sort of gave me my wake up call.

[Barb135]

I’m 63 yrs old and I’d never had a weight problem before, or if I gained a few pounds, a bit of exercise and cutting back on calories was all it took; so when my thyroid quit working a few years ago and I gained about 30 pounds in < 2 months, I didn’t really worry about it, because I was just sure that once I got on medication and got my thyroid levels regulated, the weight would just “fall off”……. Oh wow!!  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  If anything it seemed like the weight just kept piling on faster.

The knowledge that I have to make a plan and stick with it, has been hanging like a noose around my neck, for a while now.  I know it has to be done; just can’t bring myself to make a plan and “really” get started, though I do exercise every day and “try” to eat well, even while my husband’s favorite place to go is McDonald’s or Five Guys Burgers and Fries……(eye roll). Those are the last places I need to be eating.

Well, I had a doctor’s appointment this week and talk about an eye opener!!  I’ve thought, for a while now, that my inability to lose might have as much or more to do with insulin than thyroid, even though my blood sugar levels have always been “normal”, except this time and then they were barely elevated.  I was right; my doctor diagnosed me with “impaired fasting glucose”/insulin resistance, which is also known as pre-diabetes and combined with high triglycerides, overweight and high blood pressure constitutes a condition called metabolic syndrome.

There’s my wake up call.  If my weight isn’t brought down and all of these issues gotten under control, I not only run the risk of full blown diabetes, I also run a higher risk of heart related issues and/or stroke. I consider myself still somewhat “young” and these are not very pleasant thoughts.