# losing weight



## katjam (Jun 5, 2003)

Anyone here have trouble losing weight? I read somewhere that fms can cause you to crave carbs, which makes sense to me. I've had a terrible time trying to lose weight and stay on a diet. I feel like the cravings are doing me in!


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## Stillnaked (Jan 19, 2003)

The only thing that has worked for me is the Atkins Diet. It helpd with my IBS-C, and it also did away with the bloat. I feel a little spacey if I go under 25 carbs, so I try to keep it there. So far I've lost 35 lbs, and I feel great.Laurie


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## HipJan (Apr 9, 1999)

good luck. is there a food you could find that you would like as well as the carbs? or, could you change unhealthy carbs to healthy carbs and see if that would work?


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## KLG (Jul 8, 2002)

This may help explain why these cravings are present. Notice he says to stick with foods low on the glycemic index as they are released into the body slowly and do not cause a spike in blood sugar levels. This is just a thought. I find this Nutritionalists Articles interesting....Banishing those nasty cravings http://www.fatwars.com/US/article_06.php Glycemic Index: http://www.fatwars.com/US/lifestyle_glycemicindex.php


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## Guest (Jul 26, 2003)

I think you're right about the carb cravings. The only way that I know how to counteract it is to move.Before I started exercising moderately on a regular basis, I weighed 167 pounds. I am now 130 because I stay active. (I am 5'6")Also... and this is a real perk... use of natural progesterone boosts metabolism so we burn off more naturally. When I first started using it, I lost 14 pounds the first 3 weeks.For me, the weight reduction helps with the pain.... and counteracts heel spurs.Evie


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## earthgarden (Jun 3, 2003)

When i first went to my doc regarding my bowel probs, she said to avoid carbs and get more exercise. She was very dismissive really, but I took her advice and it has worked.I am putting out this posting in the hope it might help some peopleIrritable Bowel Syndrome? or Not? I am sure our bowels are irritatable. Mine sure was but I also noticed that I had started to gain a few pounds so I stopped snacking/grazing and stuck to three meals a day. I noticed an improvement immediately!For a start I started to have normal BM's again! And I stopped experiencing so much gas! Can it simply be down to over eating? or possibly eating the wrong things at the wrong time? Anyway, on my twice weekly trips to the local public swimming pool, I notice that more people than ever are over weight. Kids today are getting way bigger. Some of the tummies of a 9 year old are bigger than my own! I am almost 37. The trend in obesity is growing along with a more sedentary lifestyle. We tend to sit more, in our cars, in front of t.v. or computer and no longer walk/cycle to school, work etc. We are eating foods that are higher in fat and sugar than ever yet we are unable to burn off this higher fat/sugar food because we are motionless for long periods. Basically, we eat more than we need. We eat the wrong foods and we have entered a culture where food is always available.Everywhere we look we are bombarded with images of food and these high fat/sugar foods are endorsed by major celebrities! Think crisps in the UK. Now, these same celebs are following low cal/low fat/low sugar diets to keep themselves slim - they don't actually eat them, do they?In addition to this, we also see these major slim celebs as being successful and beautiful. Doesn't make us feel too hot, does it? And we like to eat! It's a basic necessity. It is also a social pastime. Check out your fridge. What's in it? Cream, full fat milk, simply too much?What about your kids cereal packets? Have you checked out the sugar content? Crisps/Chips are very high in fat as is most convenience food.quote:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------19 FEBRUARY 2002 - MORE THAN HALF OF ALL AMERICAN ADULTS ARE OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE For public health officials, the trend could not be more startling: there are now more adult Americans who are overweight than those who are not and the indications are that it will only get worse in the short term. This has many implications for the American hospital and public health infrastructure.Being overweight or obese is thought to be a risk factor for many of the leading causes of death in America. Obesity increases the likelihood of developing heart disease, cancer, and diabetes,in addition to significantly reducing the quality of life and range of activities that a person may enjoy. Should the trend continue, say experts, these diseases will strike at an earlier age, increase in their incidence and prevalence and tax healthcare resources like never before.Weight gain and obesity definedThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines being overweight as a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or greater, and being obese as a BMI of 30 or above. BMI is defined by body weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Obesity has many potential causes including decreased activity and exercise, increased food consumption, particularly foods with ï¿½badï¿½ calories such as foods high in sugar or saturated fat content, metabolic disorders, and pathology of the endocrine system (such as thyroid disease).Root causes of obesityMost public health initiatives to reduce obesity are aimed at increasing exercise and altering poor dietary habits. The CDC estimates that currently up to 61 per cent of the US population is either overweight or obese. In 1980 the prevalence of obese persons in the United States was approximately 7 per cent. Twenty years later this had doubled to 15 per cent of the population.Public health officials argue that for the last decade or more there have been concomitant problems of sedentary lifestyles, increased portion sizes, and the return of high fat and sugar content foods following a brief period in the late 1980s and early 1990s when there was a greater focus on low-fat, high-fibre foods.The American work force is also less involved in physical, manual labour than ever before. Many work in offices where the extent of exercise during the day is walking down the hall to a meeting or typing at a desk. Couple this with working long hours and there is increased use of fast food drive-through restaurants that appeal to those with limited time but more often than not deliver ï¿½super sizeï¿½ portions of high calories and low nutrition. The sedentary trend and obesity is particularly troubling in children and adolescents who may face early onset of life-long debilitating conditions like diabetes.The good news is that in order to reverse the trend of obesity even modest exercise may help significantly. Recent studies indicate that as few as three weekly sessions of a 20 minute exercise workout that increases the heart rate, like brisk walking, may be adequate to increase metabolism and control weight.quote:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------from www.hospitalmanagement.netImproving your diet and that of your family's and especially your children's diet, cannot be a terrible thing can it?By fattening up your children, you are exposing them to a lifetime of problems.


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## hollie9 (Aug 26, 2003)

EarthGarden: cream (heavy whipping cream) has no carbs. It is recommended by Suzanne Somers' high protein, very low carb diet and even Atkins suggests taking a slug of it if you have cravings.I've been on Atkins induction/Suzanne Somers hybrid diet since June and I haven't lost a pound. I used to lose lots of weight fast on Atkins. I quit all meds that might be interfering, like Doxepin. I can only think that this illness (CFS) is somehow sabotaging Atkins.Or is it IBS that is the problem? I just realized I have this. The low carb or no carb diet is great for CFS for me, it has gotten rid of a lot of bloating.I do hope I lose weight eventually from this diet, without being able to exercise regularly is a big problem.Hollie


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## Susan Purry (Nov 6, 2001)

I found my cravings for starch virtually disappeared when I stopped eating sugar and other refined carbohydrates (such as white wheat flour products). I found loosing weight impossible whilst taking Remeron/mirtazapine - even on a low fat diet I was putting on weight (6 stone in total). As soon as I stopped the Remeron and continued on the low-fat diet, I started to loose weight - 4 stone so far - and that's without being able to exercise at all.So Stillnaked, are you taking any medications that may be affecting your appetite and/or weight? Also, drops in blood sugar may find you craving carbohydrates, so be sure to eat regular meals and snacks of complex carbohydrate and protein, and avoid or reduce the amount of sugar you may be eating.I don't get all these different types of diets I must admit - to me, eating a low-fat diet just must be the easiest, less risky, most healthy way to loose weight. But you know, whatever works for you.


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## hollie9 (Aug 26, 2003)

Low carb diets are taking over the world. They are ranging from low carb/high protein/low fat to Atkins' no carb/high protein/high fat. Theory is the culprit is sugar in its many forms, fructose, aspartame, corn syrup, various additives.Low carb diets have proven their ability to drop weight faster and lower chloresteral, and after a few days, no cravings for carbs. They claim the low fat diet approach is the reason obesity has increased throughout the world.In my case I have been yo-yo dieting so much I think my system is off kilter. It'll probably take awhile before the low carb kicks in.Sure wish I could exercise more. I hate CFS for this.Laurie, Congrats on your weight loss.Hollie


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## Susan Purry (Nov 6, 2001)

> quote:They claim the low fat diet approach is the reason obesity has increased throughout the world.


I do not understand this! Hollie, not being able to exercise much because of the CFS is a compelete and utter b&%ï¿½$*r isn't it! How I'd love to go for a swim, a cycle or a long walk!


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