Hi,

I'm a 5'8" 26 year old female with a thin frame (or, rather, it used to be).  I had a baby about 8 months ago, and had severe hyperemesis (puking every hour) for the entire pregnancy, so I barely ate anything during that time.  At 9 months, I was about 165 lbs, and after having the baby, I was around 145.  I've had very bad eating habits my entire life, but always stayed at a nice 120-130 lbs. 

I'm sure the constant Dr. Peppers and Turtle Pies (22 grams of fat per slice), and eating nothing but take-out didn't do me any favors, but I ballooned up to 180 lbs.  I don't know if it was the pregnancy (I couldn't breastfeed), or my metabolism suddenly slowing down, or what, but I feel very, very ugly, depressed, fat...

I decided to give alli a try, despite my fear of the "treatment effects."  I started last week.  The recommended plan was 1600 calories and 18g fat/meal.  I never ate more than 15 grams of fat per meal, switched to diet sodas, and tried to stay within 1600 calories.  I may have gone slightly over 1600 calories on a couple of days.  Today was my first check-in.... I've gained 4 lbs.  :(   Needless to say, I'm discouraged. 

My doctor advised me not to exercise just yet because I've been have a very rapid heart beat and palpitations... 115 resting.  I get up to 160 just brushing my teeth, and nearly 200 walking briskly.  I'm undergoing a series of tests to make sure nothing is wrong with my heart.  What else should I be doing?  Should I lower my calories?  How do I deal with the constant hunger?  Is there an appetite suppressing medication that can be taken with alli?

SW: 180, CW: 184  GW: 140

Hi Macarter, I'm sure Betty, our wonderful dietician, will give you a much better answer than I can, but I wanted to make sure you knew somebody heard you right away.  I'm sorry you are frustrated and depressed.  I don't think there's anybody here who didn't start out feeling the same way.  I'm sure Betty will need to know your height, as well as your weight and age, but in my opinion, and it is strictly an opinion, you need to cut a couple of hundred calories out of your daily count.  Try going for 1400 for a few days and see if that makes a difference.  You shouldn't have constant hunger.  You need to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, nothing you didn't already know, but they are very low in calories and you can eat a lot of them during the day.  I eat lots of fruit for breakfast and lots of vegies for dinner.  Eat a big salad every night with only fresh vegies in it, and use the spritz salad dressing, one cal per squirt I think, so you tend to use less that way.  Eat the 100-calories snacks, there are many now, switch to non-fat or low-fat dairy products.  Try the Lean Cuisines for dinner.  Do you work?  If so, pack your lunch, don't buy it at work or from Fast Food.  I really could go on an on, but the main thing is DO NOT GIVE UP.  This will happen for you, read the posts from people who have been on this program for a long time, they all know it isn't a magic pill, but just a tool to help you, you are the main one who has to do this, and it takes a long time, it just does, just like it took a long time to gain the weight.  Make up your mind you are doing this for life, and then this little amount of time you put into losing the weight seems insignificant.  Make sure this is all cleared with your doctor because of the heart palpitations, and I'm sure he would tell you not to take appetite suppressants, and if you consume caffiene, give it up.  I didn't exercise much at all and still lost 50 pounds on this plan.  Remember, the tortoise won the race.  Please stay on the message board, the people here care and will help you on your journey.

Judy

Hi Macarter,  I think it might be the scale you are using.  My sister had a baby seven weeks ago.  Her scale at home said one thing and at her six week check-up the doctors scale said FIVE pounds more.  Boy was she upset.  No matter where I weigh myself there is always a different number.  Now I just stick to my own scale and leave it at that.  Thankfully my husband went out and baught us a digital scale a few months back. It works much better then the old one. Don't give up.  Keep moving forward with Alli.  Work hard and you will see a difference.

Rebecca

P.S. It takes some work, but you will learn how to choose foods that will fill you up and not leave you hungry.  In my first week I at a granola bar and drank half a Dr. Pepper for breakfast because it fell within my calories and fat.  I was starving one hour later.  Little did I know that I could of had eggs, hashbrowns, and toast.  When you are at the store take time to look at the food lables.  Ask questions on the message boards.  We are all learning tricks that help. If you need any help with food choices let me know.

 

I'm 5 feet 8.5 inches tall with a small frame.  120lbs was my college weight, but I was too skinny then, and feel that 140 suits me.  Again, I'm 184 now (was 180 last week), and I put that weight on FAST.  I never had a problem with weight or hunger prior to my pregnancy and methadone. 

I have heard that methadone makes you gain weight, or rather, eat more and gain weight. I'm determined to lose the weight, but have been miserable on this diet because I've been constantly hungry.  The past couple of nights, I have woken up at 3 am or so to have one of those 100 cal snacks.  My doctor even ran some blood work to rule out any kind of thyroid problem. 

 

I would just like to mention that recent studies show how drinking diet soda can make you gain weight. What is believed to be happening is this: When you drink a diet soda, your body thinks it's getting nutrients, but when the nutrients aren't there, the body goes into a sort of starvation mode. In this starvation mode, your body drives you to consume more calories and those extra calories are then stored (usually extra well). Additionally, look at the labels of those diet sodas. Many are LOADED with sodium, which causes water retention, which equals bloating (possibly part of your 4-pound gain). Or it's caffeine in the sodas, caffeine is a wonderful diuretic, that is, it makes you pee A LOT and for a while (half-life is, on average in the normal adult 3 to 4 hours). So, you pee copious amounts, you begin to become dehydrated, and your body sends you searching for water, a sensation that many of us misinterpret as hunger. And you know what happens then. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against caffeine or sodas or anything. In fact, as a nursing student, one of the interventions we were taught for treatment of CERTAIN types of migraine headaches is giving the patient (regular) cola instead of pain meds (keep in mind, this isn't something you want to do just anytime you have a headache or even a migraine; this is just one possible thing nurses can do in the hospital setting to reduce pain of a a migraine caused by certain drugs administered peri-operatively by a physician). And I love my soda :) Anyhow, my advice, not as a medical professional, but as someone who's a caffeine junkie, no caffeine in any shape after 2 pm (or 6 to 8 hours before bedtime). P.S. Methadone doesn't make most people eat more. But then, everyone has a different reaction and toleration of different medications.

Hmmm... I have noticed that I have been peeing A LOT recently, even waking up 2-3 times a night to go. 

I love my sodas, though.  Switching from regular to diet was heartbreaking for me (it's virtually all I've drank since high school).  The diet dr. peppers have no calories, no fat, and 55 grams of sodium (2% daily allowance).  My salt intake is horrendous, though, as I'm a very heavy salter... to the point that people gawk in disgust and disbelief as I salt my food. I suppose I should cut back.  :::sigh:::

My doctor was going to write a script for meridia or phentermine for me today, but decided to hold off because the cardiac holter monitor I wore yesterday showed that I'm having PVC's, and she's sending me to cardiologist tomorrow.   

And the scale I was using was the one at the Dr's office (digital), so I assume that it's fairly accurate.  I lost a pound since yesterday, so I do think the gain might have something to do with water retention.  I also sense that "Aunt Flo" is about to come visit soon. 

 

Hi Macarter1981,

I would not recommend that you even attempt to lose weight without your doctors permission right now. I know that you were advised not to exercise, but did you ask if it was okay to start losing weight? Please get this cleared first.

Let me give you some pointers to help with your hunger. There are two primary causes of hunger when trying to lose weight:

• Protein - this is the only nutrient that increases your satiety. If you don't get enough protein in your meal you will feel hungry soon after eating. High sources of protein are meat, chicken, turkey, seafood, soy, nuts, tofu, eggs, cheese, beans, peanut butter, and dairy. My recommendation is to get at least 14 grams of protein at each meal. Each ounce of meat has 7 grams of protein. A 3 oz serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards and has 21 grams of protein.
• Volume - there is lots of really great research to support the fact that cutting back on the amount of food that you eat can be a problem. You want to get fewer calories, not less food. It takes a little work but it is really going to make a difference for you. One of the top researchers in this area is Dr. Barbara Rolls. She wrote the book Volumetrics Eating Plan and has a site to look at for more information http://thevolumetricseatingplan.com/. This entire concept is based on energy density. Here is an article on this: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/NU00195

Even if you are not allowed to lose weight you can use these to help curb your appetite. 

Let me know what your doctor says,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD