Re: Why Over Fat?

I'm menopausal. If I make it to the end of this month without a period, I will have gone a whole year (finally!) without one. All that said, I have managed to lose some weight lately. This is how it came off:

Twenty years ago, I had my gallbladder removed. Before that, seven years prior, I developed IBS-D. The gallbladder removal just worsened it. Everytime I told the doctor or nurse practitioner about how limited my life had become due to IBS-D, I was blown off with "don't get stressed and eat lots of fiber". Never mind that when I explained that this advice was worthless, all I got was a shrug. Due to the IBS-D, I had to really cut back on my vegetable consumption and exercise. Needless to say, I put on even more weight. Then this past October, I was told I have type 2 diabetes. So, once again I told the doctor all about the IBS-D---and finally!---I got some help! She prescribed a medication, "prevalite" that made a big difference in my life. A few months earlier, I found out that eating 2 tsps. of flaked coconut worked wonders on IBS-D. So...thus I got my life back.

I began reading up on which diets can help with blood Sugar issues and my husband and I decided in December that we would try being strict vegans for the month. During that time, he lost 8 lbs. We also got diligent about getting on the treadmill twice a week. Gradually, we worked up the walking speed until we were doing 1 mile at a time. Next up---3 times a week on the treadmill.

Since then, we've modified the vegan diet to allow 2 non-vegan days a week. We were feeling deprived and missed having fish or chicken sometimes. On the non-vegan days, we still watch the portions and fat content.

I noticed that my pants had become very loose. This month I had to go to the doctor and while there, discovered I had lost 7 lbs. Plus my hemoglobin A1C levels were good and my fasting blood Sugar tends to be in the high 120s to low 130s---a lot better than before but I'm working on bettering it.

Right now what is vexing me is the fatty liver problems. I've never been one to abuse my liver (I rarely have any alcoholic drinks). So no doubt, the added weight and blood Sugar issues contributed to the liver problems.

So...try modifying your diet in a similar fashion. We like to go out to dinner twice a week and have discovered a vegetarian/vegan restaurant near where we live. Also, Chinese and Thai restaurants are very good about having a good selection of vegan entrees.

I dream about moving to a city and ditching the car which would mean even more exercise. However, in this economy, that will have to wait a bit.

So...exercise whenever you can. If you live near a mall, go at least once a week and do some mall walking. Being in a climate-controlled environment is conducive to walking briskly. If your budget can handle it and you have the room, invest in a treadmill. If you have stairs in your home, use any excuse to go walk up stairs. I'm up and down the stairs several times a day. Whenever possible, I walk quickly or run up them.

Remember---don't go on a diet that is too draconian. As a previous poster mentioned, when you go on extreme diets, your body thinks it's starving and will then hold onto the excess weight. So...the key is to switch to a healthier diet.

Lastly, I hope you're reading and taking into account all the great advice you've received in your two recent threads. Tweet