Chelle 42 yr old Pagan Witch, mom of 4, living in the MidWest
willowraven's Journal
Trudging AlongMay 01 2007 16:49
Well, received a phone call from the endocrinologist's office. All my tests finally came back and all the results came back fine except that it shows I do have a very mild form of diabetes, and they are going to put me on Byetta, and I am to go to a class on May 16th to learn how to use it. (I'm not suppose to start using it until I have gone to the class.) Again he stated he wanted me on a 1200 calories OR LESS diet and I told the nurse that I had been doing that since I saw him and have already *gained* 7 pounds. She seemed quite shocked and said that I must have a body like hers that "just doesn't want to leave a certain weight" and that it will eventually start losing weight, to just keep at it. (I swear to the Goddess these people really think I'm eating non-stop or something.) She said that he wants me to keep a food diary - told her I had been doing that all along - and he wants me to continue even when I'm taking the Byetta. (Silently, I'm wondering to myself why bother, since he tossed the last one aside and didn't seem to think that what I wrote was the truth anyways... what's gonna have him thinking differently the next time?) She also said he wants me to "decrease my caloric intake for breakfast and dinner". Ok, considering he barely glanced at my food log about 2 weeks ago, how does he know or remember how much I averaged during those meals? For example, my breakfast today was 268 calories. How much lower is one suppose to go?? However, the one upside to this is now that I have a diagnosis of diabetes, the insurance company will now pay for me to see the nutritionist. I called the nutritionist's office, explained the new development and they told me what to do. So tomorrow (since it's too late now - will have to do it when the offices are open) I will call my regular doctor, tell him what's going on (and talk to him about my concerns over the 1200 calorie diet) and take it from there. It shouldn't be too difficult - he just has to get the results and diagnosis from the endocrinologist, and then he can get a re-referral for the nutritionist and then I should be able to start seeing her again.
Went to the gym today as well and got 60 minutes in (35 on weight resistance, 25 on the treadmill). Even added a new resistance machine to my routine, and got myself back up to the 25 minutes on the treadmill. (I had fallen to 15 minutes after being sick and stuff, so felt good to be back up to where I was.) Oddly enough, my husband talked to the trainer about my question about the measurements (he said that unless there is a big difference between the right and left sides, that normally you can just use one side's measurements for both) and he also told him about how well I have done so far (the trainer thought I was doing great!) and about what the endocrinologist stated about 1200 calories and even the trainer said straight out "No. That is way too low for her. It's too much of a decrease. She should be around 1800." First, I was glad to hear a trainer NOT advocate a VLCD and second, that even he felt that 1200 was too much of a difference. I have also been printing out articles and such that state the dangers of a VLCD. I mean, I have no problems following doctor's advice - if it is sound or they can show me it is sound. I have not found anything recent to show that 1200 or less is sound. Even the nutritionist said that 1200 is too low and would only be recommended nowadays if the patient was admitted in to the hospital and under observation. So what gives?
OK. No more getting "in to" it. Just gonna do it day by day which is all I can do. I can't really do more than I already am, and if he (the endo. doctor) isn't gonna believe me, then to heck with him. *I* know the truth.
Hope you all have a great day/night.
Went to the gym today as well and got 60 minutes in (35 on weight resistance, 25 on the treadmill). Even added a new resistance machine to my routine, and got myself back up to the 25 minutes on the treadmill. (I had fallen to 15 minutes after being sick and stuff, so felt good to be back up to where I was.) Oddly enough, my husband talked to the trainer about my question about the measurements (he said that unless there is a big difference between the right and left sides, that normally you can just use one side's measurements for both) and he also told him about how well I have done so far (the trainer thought I was doing great!) and about what the endocrinologist stated about 1200 calories and even the trainer said straight out "No. That is way too low for her. It's too much of a decrease. She should be around 1800." First, I was glad to hear a trainer NOT advocate a VLCD and second, that even he felt that 1200 was too much of a difference. I have also been printing out articles and such that state the dangers of a VLCD. I mean, I have no problems following doctor's advice - if it is sound or they can show me it is sound. I have not found anything recent to show that 1200 or less is sound. Even the nutritionist said that 1200 is too low and would only be recommended nowadays if the patient was admitted in to the hospital and under observation. So what gives?
OK. No more getting "in to" it. Just gonna do it day by day which is all I can do. I can't really do more than I already am, and if he (the endo. doctor) isn't gonna believe me, then to heck with him. *I* know the truth.
Hope you all have a great day/night.
I would think if you gained that much weight something is wrong. I am no doctor, but I would never put you on a 1200 calorie diet yet. You should be working down to it maybe someday but certainly not now. Your body has no doubt gone into stravation mode. Sometimes I wonder about Doctors!! I wish you luck with your diabetics. My step son has Type 1. You should be able to get that under control. Great job on the exercise. I am sure the pounds will start to come off soon!! |
I had to increase my protein and limit my carbs. This worked for me some-what. I'm still dealing with the thyroid levels but at least I'm not gaining for now. Good luck! |
Won't they refer you to a nutritionist now with the diabetes? What is the calculation of calories you need to have for maintenance? I would bet the nurtitionists would tell you to drop the calories 600cal. no more the 1200 from you maintenance calories... and see what happened... calculating the calories used during exercise is a tricky business... so I would discuss that with them also... I really think dropping the 600 calories from the maintenace for 2 weeks to a month just to see what happens would be worth the investment.... just a thought! Medical people don't know everything...nutritionists said it was to low... they would know! Gosh why is this so hard??... I wish you luck on this Missy... I know how frustrating it can be! Your in my thoughts! ;-) |
Oh yah! I meant to mention GI Book is really good for people with diabetes... might look it up... The New Glucose Revolution -- The Autoritative Guide to the Glycemic index - The dietary Solution for Permanent Weight Loss...... how to combine foods that go into your system at a slow rate... Simplification = but it does explain how everything breaks down and helps you keep your blood sugar stabilized... it is really interesting... Tomatoes are absorbed really fast... so is watermelon... just an example of things you wouldn't really thing about and people consider good for you... makes you think on how to eat and combine them... Just a thought! I try to bring it into my eating habits...but I am still trying to get ahold of the emotional and binge eating, myself!... but just so you know... high sugar intake = to cut the buzz.... take B 12 with protein/ fat free milk ..will exhaust them from you system allot faster... Good Luck...hope they will give you your nutritionists..think it would really help you allot... you are so willing to learn... just need somebody who knows what their talking about to work with! Good luck, Missy... ;-) |
Won't they refer you to a nutritionist now with the diabetes? What is the calculation of calories you need to have for maintenance? I would bet the nurtitionists would tell you to drop the calories 600cal. Hi Cherrim... yea, they can now refer me back to the nutritionist now that I have a diagnosis of diabetes, so that's a good thing. She had said, in our initial meeting, that she didn't think I should drop to 1200, that it was too extreme and that they don't usually recommend that anymore and when they do, the patient is hospitalized and under careful supervision and only usually then, for extreme medical reasons. However she also said that we would "wait and see what happens with the endocrinologist". This is just nuts. I *know* to my bone that 1200 is not sound advice for someone my size. To maintain my current weight, according to the BMR calculator, I should consume about 2900 calories/day, which means to lose 1 lb/week I should take in about 2400, and for 2 lbs/week, take in about 1900. The nutritionist and I had discussed it and both of us were comfortable with me staying in the 1700-1800 range. To me, for my current weight and size, and based on the information out there, that seems like sound advice. I'm not looking to lose it quickly because I know that getting it off slow but sure means a higher chance of it staying off - and that's what I want. I want to lose it in a healthy manner. So why the medical recommendation for such an extreme measure? And it's not even like he said "ok, for 2 weeks, lets do 1200 to jump start your metabolism and then we'll slowly increase you". No, it was "you will not lose weight unless you are on a diet of 1200 calories or less". Period. The end. |
I know I commented on the 1200 cal thing in your journal recently but I wanted to give you a little extra ammunition as well. This entire site is amazing, if you read through it. It has a strong scientific foundation, but is easy to understand as well. Check it out and use the diet calculator (which is the part I'm sending you to) and just see what they say about 1200 cals for women of our size! Hope it helps! I love it! CLICK |
PS REALLY glad you can start seeing the nutritionist again!!! |
Check it out and use the diet calculator (which is the part I'm sending you to) and just see what they say about 1200 cals for women of our size! That's one of the sites I had checked out before - but I couldn't find anything about women our size and 1200 cals -- just that anything under 1300 calories is not recommended. |
Oh - meant to add - according to the calculator on that site, I should consume 1490 cals/day to lose 1.9 lbs a MONTH. Not a week, but a MONTH. The numbers that calculator gives is WAAAAY different than what all the other calculators have given me. |
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