Looking for some advice
08-05-2013, 03:01 AM
#1
FitDay Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 2
Looking for some advice
Sorry in advance for the long post!
I'm not really where to start with this so I'm just going to jump right in there. I'm 21 years old and I weigh roughly 95kgs, which is about 210lbs or 15 stone. I have a BMI of roughly 34-35.
I've been struggling with my weight for many years and just watching in go up and up and up in the last 5 years and no matter what I did, nothing would stop it increasing or push it back down. I was a really thin child though, before puberty. Although, my whole family is overweight, even the majority of my extended family is quite overweight.
Recently I have been doing research about weight loss and what could be hindering it, and I found a lot of information about how sleep and being overweight are related. Around the time my weight started to increase a lot, my sleep was also getting dramatically worse, I was having lots of trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep. I complained to my parents and doctors but no one really took me seriously, so I just learned to live with it. But in the last few years it has just become too much and I find myself so exhausted all the time I don't want to do anything, I try to exercise as much as I can, usually about 40 minutes 5 days a week, but it just doesn't seem to be enough to make the weight come off and stay off. The lack of sleep also gives me insane cravings for sugary foods or carbs around 4-5 o'clock in the afternoon because my body needs the energy and I just feel hungry all the time because my hormones are all out of whack and nothing I do makes the hunger go away.
I've been to see a sleep doctor who told me to have a sleep study done. It came back negative for sleep apnoea, which is awesome, but it said that I have a really high arousal index, which I found out through my own research can be caused through high blood sugar and a lower threshold for excitement in certain neurons in the brain, which can be caused from being overweight. So it's as if the two issues are just feeding each other. And to make things worse it's also causing unbearable headaches and irritability and general weakness which just make everyday life so hard. The doctor did give me medication to take to fix my sleep but it doesn't work. He also didn't have many other options to try that I haven't already tried before.
I guess I'm just at a point where I have tried so hard to fix this for so many years but the weight just kept piling on, I don't know what else to do, I just want to break the cycle!! So I have been considering having something surgically done to make weight loss easier for me. I know that surgery isn't a quick fix, and isn't going to make the weight just fall off without effort. I've done a lot of research about the potential risks and complications with the different surgeries and how much work it will take to re-educate my brain about portion size and what to eat, and I am prepared to put in the work. I just want it to be a tool to help break this vicious cycle that is making my life impossible!
I'm sort of scared to ask my doctor about the surgery though in case he says that I haven't tried hard enough to lose the weight by myself or that I'm not fat enough!
Has any one else had any issues with doctors and telling them surgery isn't a good option? Or had issues with sleep and weight before? Please help
I'm not really where to start with this so I'm just going to jump right in there. I'm 21 years old and I weigh roughly 95kgs, which is about 210lbs or 15 stone. I have a BMI of roughly 34-35.
I've been struggling with my weight for many years and just watching in go up and up and up in the last 5 years and no matter what I did, nothing would stop it increasing or push it back down. I was a really thin child though, before puberty. Although, my whole family is overweight, even the majority of my extended family is quite overweight.
Recently I have been doing research about weight loss and what could be hindering it, and I found a lot of information about how sleep and being overweight are related. Around the time my weight started to increase a lot, my sleep was also getting dramatically worse, I was having lots of trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep. I complained to my parents and doctors but no one really took me seriously, so I just learned to live with it. But in the last few years it has just become too much and I find myself so exhausted all the time I don't want to do anything, I try to exercise as much as I can, usually about 40 minutes 5 days a week, but it just doesn't seem to be enough to make the weight come off and stay off. The lack of sleep also gives me insane cravings for sugary foods or carbs around 4-5 o'clock in the afternoon because my body needs the energy and I just feel hungry all the time because my hormones are all out of whack and nothing I do makes the hunger go away.
I've been to see a sleep doctor who told me to have a sleep study done. It came back negative for sleep apnoea, which is awesome, but it said that I have a really high arousal index, which I found out through my own research can be caused through high blood sugar and a lower threshold for excitement in certain neurons in the brain, which can be caused from being overweight. So it's as if the two issues are just feeding each other. And to make things worse it's also causing unbearable headaches and irritability and general weakness which just make everyday life so hard. The doctor did give me medication to take to fix my sleep but it doesn't work. He also didn't have many other options to try that I haven't already tried before.
I guess I'm just at a point where I have tried so hard to fix this for so many years but the weight just kept piling on, I don't know what else to do, I just want to break the cycle!! So I have been considering having something surgically done to make weight loss easier for me. I know that surgery isn't a quick fix, and isn't going to make the weight just fall off without effort. I've done a lot of research about the potential risks and complications with the different surgeries and how much work it will take to re-educate my brain about portion size and what to eat, and I am prepared to put in the work. I just want it to be a tool to help break this vicious cycle that is making my life impossible!
I'm sort of scared to ask my doctor about the surgery though in case he says that I haven't tried hard enough to lose the weight by myself or that I'm not fat enough!
Has any one else had any issues with doctors and telling them surgery isn't a good option? Or had issues with sleep and weight before? Please help
Last edited by cappelloikd; 08-06-2013 at 02:11 AM.
08-06-2013, 06:29 AM
#2
FitDay Premium Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 27
Advice
You are on a good start by researching all the pros and cons. If you feel that surgery is the way to go and are willing to put in the work, then good. You have to do what is best for you and to be honest, mental attitude is a huge part of that. So if you believe it will work and you are willing to work hard, i.e. it will work.
On a side note, have you tried meditation in the morning and evening to help ease your mental stimulation to help with stress? I went through a time where I couldn't sleep and the quiet time right before bed helped. I also took a soak in the evening to help prepare for bedtime and quit drinking things with caffiene after 5:00 pm.
On a side note, have you tried meditation in the morning and evening to help ease your mental stimulation to help with stress? I went through a time where I couldn't sleep and the quiet time right before bed helped. I also took a soak in the evening to help prepare for bedtime and quit drinking things with caffiene after 5:00 pm.
08-06-2013, 02:59 PM
#3
FitDay Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 496
For me sugar is an addiction. I have to do complete abstinence from sugary treats and junk food. It took several days of feeling deprived to get the sugar out of my system but I can now turn down/walk by cakes, cookies, candies etc. I am not the only one on the forums who has done this. Maybe it sounds awful but it is actually wonderful to break that addiction because now "normal" food has flavour to it (including raw fruit and veggies).
08-07-2013, 04:51 AM
#4
FitDay Premium Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 27
Sugar
I have heard and experience the cravings for sugar and fat too, especially when I have been in the habit of eating them regularly. Now that I have not had really sweet or fatty food for about 3 weeks, the cravings are manageable. For example, I love fried mozzarella sticks ( I know fat logs of goodness 
) and before I started I would eat the 5 that came in the fast food pack without even blinking an eye.
The other day my hubby brought home some and I had only a couple of bits. I actually savored the taste, but did not crave it after just the few bites. I still have to be careful so I don't fall back into the pattern, but now I feel more confident that I can bypass those not so healthy foods most of the time.
I like the way you put that normal, healthy foods have more flavor. I find myself enjoying my food more (savoring the flavors) now that I am eating better. I guess it might be that I have slowed down and am really thinking about what I eat.
) and before I started I would eat the 5 that came in the fast food pack without even blinking an eye. The other day my hubby brought home some and I had only a couple of bits. I actually savored the taste, but did not crave it after just the few bites. I still have to be careful so I don't fall back into the pattern, but now I feel more confident that I can bypass those not so healthy foods most of the time.
I like the way you put that normal, healthy foods have more flavor. I find myself enjoying my food more (savoring the flavors) now that I am eating better. I guess it might be that I have slowed down and am really thinking about what I eat.
08-13-2013, 12:01 PM
#5
FitDay Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 25
Have you had your thyroid checked? Sometimes if the levels are off you can end up with a lot of weight gain. Also, how are you eating? When I was a teen I was way over weight and didn't understand why. I only ate once a day, which I've learned slows your metabolism. When I moved to the UK I lost a lot of weight because I was always walking and eating less processed foods.
08-16-2013, 02:00 PM
#6
FitDay Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Western United States of America
Posts: 57
I agree with Corte. Ask your doctor to run all the usual tests on you and the thyroid check. Many things can hamper your thyroid from working correctly and your doctor is the only resource for finding out if that is the issue. It is incredibly common to have thyroid issues. Make sure your doctor knows everything you are doing. Write down absolutely everything you eat, everything including water and no calorie things you eat. Take that to your doctor and who her/him and ask to be referred to a nutritionist. I don't know about health insurance there, so check if that is covered first. Nutritionists can look at your blood work and design a program for you for complete weight loss and health. FitDay helps you with the food log, resources and support, but the doctor is the first step in my opinion. My regular doctor did all of the tests and then gave me a low calorie diet photocopied from a magazine...basically "stop eating so much", not helpful...so that is what led me to the nutritionist who used the doctor's tests to get me some help. Good luck we are here for you.
