Weight Loss: Life Lessons Learned From Enduring the Pain of Being Overweight!

I was totally at the end of my ropes. I was 30 pounds overweight and gaining more weight every day. I worked many different jobs with really long hours but it wasn't until I started working in Law Enforcement doing shift work, which changed constantly from day to night and any other hours I needed to work. I ate badly not on a schedule; I picked up whatever was around just to eat something. I started having issues with my knees, extremely stressed, overweight, smoking, and was having acid reflux issues, which I was taking medication for every day just so I would be able to eat. My turning point was several things after losing a few people in foot chases and realizing I was in bad shape, feeling tired all the time, and not being able to perform as I would like, I decided I needed to do something about my weight. I tried multiple fad diets just to gain the weight right back, I tried not eating but that didn't work and just made me more tired. I started doing some research in my off time and released that we all have lost the ability to judge a reasonable amount of food. I realized I needed to change the way I did things or I would just continue to gain weight and my health would steadily decline.

I realized everywhere I went from fine dining establishments to fast food I was faced with large serving sizes. I was always asked if I would like to up-size my meal or add extras. It seems the more food I had in front of me the more I would eat. I realized the more refined sugar I consumed through processed foods the more weight I would gain and the less energy I would have. How much I was eating due to lack of knowledge, I was super-sizing my waist line.

Through researching I discovered that just as little as 20 years ago the average adult consumed approximately 1,000 calories less than we do today. I now realized that we have trained ourselves to eat more and now we have to train ourselves to have control and not let this portion distortion control our lives. This distortion has zapped us of our energy and contributed to us stacking on the weight.

I came up with a multiple ways to avoid high refined sugar and ways to control my portion sizes. I would like to share a couple of those with you here today. First I started taking snacks with me to work instead of eating a bag of chips, cookies, or donuts. I would take one cup of the following and place them into small plastic bags which made it easy to take with me. The first is loosely packed baby carrots, cubed omega-3 enriched cheeses, celery sticks cut up into small pieces, grapes, bit size tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, sliced apples, or cubed cantaloupe.

I found a great way to portion out a sandwich I take Whole-grain pita bread and fill half of each pocket with some raw vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, shredded carrots, etc. I simply add in some protein, such as grilled chicken, roasted turkey, or lean ham. I top it off with some shredded cheese and walla; it becomes a tasty healthy portion controlled sandwich.

Here are some things I came up with when I eat out somewhere. First and foremost I wouldn't go to a restaurant (or a grocery store) when I was starving! If I did this I would over eat at the restaurant and then fill miserable later and when I went to the grocery store I would buy a ton of junk which I would eventually eat and then feel horrible again. Second I shared my meal or entree with my husband, we would order extra salad so we would both get our greens. I realized that not everyone had someone to share with or would want different things then someone else eating with them. I went out with my friends one day and my husband wasn't with us so I decided instead of eating the entire dish by myself I would ask for a to-go-box before I started my meal. I took half of the dish and placed it into the to-go-box and set it aside. I finished half of my meal at the restaurant and took the other half with me which I enjoyed later. It helped me keep that portion control and satisfied my hunger.

Third, I will ask how the food is prepared, such as what kind of oil is used extra. If an entree is not prepared in healthy way, I speak up and ask for it to be prepared differently. I decided there is no reason to be shy I am paying for the food after all and I deserve to have what I ask for. I also ask for some sort of other vegetable as a substitute for a potato. These methods and more have worked wonders in helping me lose weight and keep it off.

I have realized several principles from these life experiences.

First, every choice we make has consequences. I was making the wrong choices on what I was eating while I was at work. I found ways to make better choices that were almost as easy as grabbing a bag of chips and then implemented them.

Second, the more practical control we have in our lives the better we feel and the better our lives become. Once I started to lose the weight and take responsibility for better portion control I started losing weight and getting rid of the other health problems I was developing.

Third, sometimes we just need a few ideas that can give us the extra push we need. Well placed ideas can help people find what they need to make their lives better.

Fourth, our suffering is optional and quite unnecessary if we are willing to take the actions needed to change. It is only after the pain of being where we are gets so overwhelming and hurtful that the discomfort of the change doesn't seem so painful.

For more helpful information and advice - as well as to download a free guide on how to Lose Weight and Keep it Off Forever visit: http://www.makinyouridealbodynow.com/

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How Overweight Pregnant Women Can Limit Weight Gain (LiveScience.com)

Overweight pregnant women who weighed themselves weekly and received text-message reminders about weight early in their pregnancy gained less weight than women who didn't, a new study shows.

Gaining too much weight during pregnancy can bring on diabetes and may pose risks for babies.

"There is not a lot being done in early pregnancy to avoid weight gain and the complications," said study author Catherine Lombard, of the Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in Melbourne, Australia.

The preliminary results from the ongoing study will be presented Sunday (June 12) at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in Boston.

The women in the study were overweight, not obese, but were considered at high risk for gestational diabetes due to their weight, age and ethnic background. Further results from the study will determine whether the healthy lifestyle program in which the women participated also reduced gestational diabetes, a serious condition that can cause complications for both the mother and child during the pregnancy.

Overweight and pregnant

Among pregnant women in the United States, about half are overweight or obese, said Dr. Raul Artal, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Women's Health at Saint Louis University. Artal conducts research on weight gain during pregnancy but was not involved in the study.

“I and many of my colleagues believe excessive weight gain in pregnancy is a major reason for the obesity epidemic in our country,” Artal said.

The Institute of Medicine guidelines on pregnancy weight gain, which were released in 2009, suggest a gain of 25 to 35 pounds for women of normal weight, 15 to 25 pounds for women who are overweight and 11 to 20 pounds for women who are obese.

Artal said the recommendations "have done a disservice to women." "It is allowing too much weight gain" for women who are already obese or overweight, he said.

Complications from being overweight or obese during pregnancy include higher rates of birth defects and higher risk of gestational diabetes. Women with gestational diabetes are at seven times the risk of getting diabetes later in life than women who do not have the condition, Artal said.

Babies born to mothers with gestational diabetes have their own complications. “These babies have a tendency to be very large and therefore have traumatic deliveries, and more complications in delivery and in the first few days of life,” Artal said. These infants are at higher risk for obesity as children and adults.

Text messages and weekly weigh-in

Lombard’s study included 200 pregnant women who were at risk for gestational diabetes. The participants were divided into two groups, one that underwent the educational program and a control group.

At 14 weeks of pregnancy, researchers gave both groups information that emphasized making small, healthy changes to eating and physical activity, such as walking and eating more fruits and vegetables. One group also received information about how much weight they should gain during pregnancy, an instruction to weigh themselves and frequent reminders by text messaging.

At 28 weeks, the women who had received the extra information had gained, on average, about two pounds less than those in the control group.

This difference might seem small, but it is important at that stage of pregnancy, Lombard said.

Further results will measure weight gain during the entire pregnancy, as well as the rates of gestational diabetes in the two groups. The study is following patients through delivery and the first six weeks of each baby’s life.

Pass it on: A healthy lifestyle program conducted early in a pregnancy can help overweight women avoid excessive weight gain.

This story was provided by MyHealthNewsDaily, sister site to LiveScience.

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Sleep Apnea and CPAPs: Not Just for Overweight People (ContributorNetwork)

Studies done on lab mice revealed a link between sleep apnea and the spread of cancer. There's a persistent and dangerous myth circulating that only fat people have Obstructive Sleep Apnea. OSA is a congenital, structural problem in which breathing stops during sleep.

This rumor is a convenient, but illogical fallacy. Wouldn't it be nice to think that sleep apnea would disappear if only sufferers lost a little weight and exercised more? Alas, like all convenient delusions, it's what people tell themselves when they don't want to face facts. It's also dangerous to pooh-pooh OSA. Sleep apnea kills people.

Sleep apnea (from the Greek meaning "without breath") is caused when nasal passages collapse like drinking straws when the air is sucked out of them. When that happens, the body must manually restart breathing. It happens with a loud snort or gasp associated with sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is primarily a hereditary problem. I have sleep apnea. My mother I have always snored heavily. My mother snores heavily as did both of my grandparents. They very likely would test positive for sleep apnea if they had a sleep study done. No one in our family was obese or overweight.

Even as a baby, my family says that I snored and was restless. I have also walked and talked in my sleep and had vivid dreams. I have done this all my life. Up until age 12, I would gently bang my head against my pillow to fall asleep. One of my sons did this as a child too. It was unnerving for anyone who has no experience with it. For Jake and I, it was how we got to sleep. I can't speak definitively, but I believe that we did this in response to sleep apnea.

For people with extreme sleep apnea, the reverse can be true. Having sleep apnea can cause weight gain. How? Sleep apnea is debilitating. During one night, I have several hundred apneas. All those wake-sleep jags are exhausting. A normal person spends 40 percent of their sleep in deep, delta sleep. This is the most restful sleep. My sleep showed that only 1 percent to 2 percent of my sleep was delta sleep.

I suffered from persistent stress-induced depression. I began taking Paxil for to combat anxiety. I fell asleep all the time: talking to people, driving, everywhere. I couldn't go more than about two hours without falling asleep, no matter how long I spent in bed at night. I had no energy. I was in constant muscle and back pain. I got sick very easily.

All my life, I weighed between 110-135 pounds all of my life. A lifetime of not resting and constant pain coupled with the SSRI medication made me put on weight. Dieting was no problem, but exercise left me exhausted. After a walk downtown I would fall asleep as soon as I got home.

Having the sleep study and starting the CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure) breathing machine has revolutionized my life. I've quit the Paxil. I can sleep five or six hours and feel refreshed. I don't need daily naps. I don't fall asleep driving. My energy level is up. I'm losing weight. I'm not depressed anymore. The back pain is more manageable.

I've heard people say that sleep studies will always show that a person has sleep apnea so that they can start people on CPAPs. A CPAP isn't great fun to wear. It's cumbersome. The straps make my eczema flare up. Sometimes it's uncomfortable. Despite having a plastic mask covering my face, air blowing at me and a hose wrapped around my neck, I sleep like a log. If I can sleep that well with all those inconveniences, the CPAP must be doing something right. It's drug-free, low maintenance, and relatively painless. I'm not seeing the problem.

Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes from 22 years parenting four children and 25 years teaching K-8, special needs, adult education and home-school. Marilisa has written extensively about parenting and health for the Yahoo! Contributor Network.

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