A thank you & a diet warning!

Everyday living
1

Thank you to everyone who responded when I posted that I was very unwell the other day…

And now I’ll tell you what I very STUPIDLY did:

Weekend before last I was so sick of my weight (just under 12 stone)… even though I have a ‘careful’ diet… that I went on a very strict diet. Cut out nearly all carbs (apart from a couple of Ryevita) & fats & was living on salad and lean meat or fish.

The first week went well and I lost 5lb… which motivated me even more… so I cut down even more.

I then started to feel very unwell. My fatigue levels were much MUCH worse than usual… ie I could barely get out of bed.

Also I stopped going to the loo. I’m normally constipated but this is much worse… even laxatives aren’t working.

I just assumed it was normal MS stuff and carried on the strict diet.

This morning, feeling like death… I weighed myself for first time since last weekend, and found I had put ON a pound!

A bit of googling later, I found out that I had put my body into ‘famine mode’. This is when the body believes there is a shortage of food (something left over from our ancient ancestors) and starts grabbing hold of every carb it can and turning it immediatly into FAT.

Also of course I now realise that the reason my bowel has basically stopped working is because I have been eating hardly any fat at all.

SO… at lunchtime I ate a proper meal… new potatoes, chicken and broccoli.

Result? I am already feeling my energy level improving a bit.

I’ve got the bread machine on baking me a nice wholemeal loaf (haven’t had any bread for a fortnight).

What a bloody fool I am!!!

Take it from me… don’t try a strict diet. From now on I’ll stick to sensible eating and will keep OFF the scales!

Have a good weekend everyone,

Pat x

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Aww Pat, glad your feeling better. Don’t kick yourself too hard about strict dieting, I believe we all do this many times in our lives, we keep thinking that you have learned your lesson only to try it again later on when the consequences retreat into the distant past. I think you have enough to worry about without worrying about a little extra weight, best thing is to feel healthy, energised and comfortable and you certainly did not feel that while restricting your diet. Enjoy your bread. Linda x

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Hi Pat So many of us !! I stupidly tried an MS diet that I’d seen on the Internet…no carbs, fat, etc etc…sounds similar to you…and I too felt absolutely dreadful. I’ve always been a proponent of healthy eating…at the risk of being controversial…there really is no medical reason to rule out whole food groups unless you suffer from an allergy to something. Our bodies need every food group for different reasons. And apart from anything, MS is enough to deal with, without obsessing over what goes into your mouth and depriving yourself. Best stay healthy and feed your body with what it needs. Lots of hugs and here’s hoping a couple of days of non deprivation will have you back to your normal, sparkling self. Catherine Xx

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Oh Pat I’m glad you’re feeling better. I’ve put so much weight on since I stopped working, mobility got worse and started all my meds. I know I have to lose a few pounds and have been considering a diet but after what you’ve just said I think I’ll just try to limit my portion sizes and avoid silly snacks.

So glad you’re feeling better and hope you’ll appreciate your nutritious food and fresh bread. I love food and dread living on salad leaves. Take care.

Cath x

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Thank you for kind words.

Isn’t it interesting that on page 1 of EL at moment we have 3 posts relating to weight gain?

It’s a really tough one. Between the med’s and the difficulty with exercise we seem stuck with this bloody problem.

I’m feeling considerably better tonight after a day of normal eating… healthy but not ‘diet’ eating.

Sleep tight all,

Pat x

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Glad you are feeling better, Pat. Alison

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I didn’t know you’d been ill Pat, I’m so glad you are on the mend now :slight_smile:

I have a personal dislike for diets for a few reasons and I’m underweight at the moment - I hate it, it hurts! The steroids I was given for MS helped my quest to gain weight better than the “assisted” diet I was on (special shakes on top of normal food) and I only have another half stone to gain to get back to where I was :slight_smile: I guess steroids is another reason why a lot of us gain weight/

The only person I have ever seen lose weight sensibly and look good on it was a colleague that did the old Rosemary Connelly (sp?) Hip and Thigh diet. This was going back some years now but what I recall about it was that it involved cutting out fat but she would eat oily fish on crispbreads virtually every day for lunch, a big bag of sweets on a Friday but no chocolate and she would eat jacket spuds with beans just no butter. I think that by eating the right kind of fats i.e. fish and nuts - she just lost it gradually.

I remember this as one day I wondered who that woman in our work uniform was… I wasn’t wearing my glasses and it wasn’t until I got up close I realised who it was - her shape had changed so much I didn’t recognise her.

M&S has a new range ofready meals called delicious and nutritious - even my husband likes them!

Sonia x

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Hi pat

when my willpower will allow and its good at the mo, I follow the Slimming World eating plan…notice i didnt use the nasty 4 letter word there?

I`ll pm you about it as I dont want to bore everyone here!

Glad you are feeling better.

luv Pollyxxxx

ps the reason my willpower is good is that I dont want to bury my new spc under any more layers of flab!

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I like the rosemary Connelly plan…my liver consultant recommended it when I was very poorly but he called it the 3% plan…where nothing you eat contains more than 3% fat. It’s easy to follow and good steady, normal weight loss. Catherine Xx

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Hello Pat,

I am on a ‘sort’ of a diet - basically, something similar to what Swank advocated. I keep my daily satured fat intake to a max of 15 grams and don’t drink milk (animal source) or eat red meat. However… I eat a lot of spices and have one or two glasses of wine per night.

At the end of the day, it’s about finding the right balance - one has to consider healthy eating vs quality of life and make the most of it.

Glad to know you’re feeling better :slight_smile:

Ivan xx

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GYM 3 times a week = eat what you want, help keep your mobility and you wont end up with type 2 diabetes.

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My weight has crept up and up since my wedding 2 years ago, iv hated feeling porky and since my diagnosis it’s given me the kick up the bum I needed to do something about it. No drastic diets, less carbs (not no carbs!) and more protein. We have a “proper” tea each night, rather than pasta pasta and pasta each evening we have meat/fish & veg. Before we would say healthy food is more expensive, but we fruit & veg from the market, absolute bargain and much better quality! Iv also fallen in love with the fish counter at the supermarket, where they put whatever sauce you want in it, and it cooks to perfection! Iv also joined a new gym class “cave woman” training. It’s a 30 minute exercise session from hell but afterwards I feel great, I’m building up my leg and arm muscles so that’s gotta be good surely? I really am starting to feel healthy & happy again, thank you ms for giving me that push I needed!