Topic : 1.Diabetes? FMS? CFS? Chronic PAIN? Your WLC Home

  

  

GOOD MORNING SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE FEELING BETTER. THATS GOOD TO HEAR AND LOST OF 2 POUNDS,SEE WHAT A LITTLE MOVEMENT CAN DO...AND YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE IS MOVING DOWN THATS GREAT KEEP IT UP!!!! 

  

I KNOW YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR NOT DOING ANYTHING BECAUSE YOUR ONLY MOVING A FEW MINS,BUT HEY THATS ALL IT TAKES,I STARTED OUT WITH 5 MINS ON MY BIKE TWICE A WEEK..SO GIVE YOURSLEF A PAT ON THE BACK,CAUSE AT LEAST YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING INSTEAD OF FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF. 

  

EATING HEALTHY IS THE BEST,CONTINUE ON YOUR JOURNEY YOU WILL GET THERE,JUST MIGHT TAKE AWHILE BUT YOUR WORKING ON YOURSELF ONE DAY AT A TIME. 

  

REMEMBER THE TURTLE WON THE RACE!! 

  

HAVE A HEALTHY DAY KAREN! 

  

TRISH(AKA WALKIN WOMEN) NEVER GIVE UP ON SOMETHING YOU THINK ABOUT EVERYDAY!! 

I found this article at www.mydna.com – look there for the full article – Karen

  

 

  

 

Genetic complexities of obesity

  

 

Tue 11 Oct 2005 02:07 pm CST
NORTH CAROLINA (myDNA News)

  

 

The gene encoding an enzyme that hinders muscle from burning fat manufactures three times more enzyme in the muscle of obese people than lean people, researchers from Duke University Medical Center and Louisiana State University have found. This causes the obese muscle tissue to both store more fat and burn less fat, the researchers said.

  

 

"Obesity is a very complex disease, and this metabolic pathway does not fully explain obesity, but it is a likely contributor," said Deborah Muoio, Ph.D. Excess fat storage in muscle tissue is a hallmark of obesity, and may contribute to problems such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The researchers discovered that skeletal muscle tissue and cells from obese people were programmed to store fat even when removed from the body and forced to grow in the laboratory. This finding suggests the gene is more active in obese people not only because of excess calorie intake, but also as a result of heritable changes in its regulation, Muoio said.

  

 

"The cells of obese people remembered their metabolic program, which could help explain, in part, why losing weight and maintaining weight loss is so difficult," Muoio said. "The good news is it's possible to change your energy balance through exercise- can enhance muscle's ability to burn fat.

  

 

Muoio suspects that the gene's behavior is altered in obese people because of an alteration of gene activity states without variations in the DNA code. These changes can be triggered by environmental factors, such as nutrition or chemical exposure, and carried forward even after the stimulus is removed. The gene investigated in the study is present in obese and lean people, but was overexpressed, or more active, in obese muscle tissue and cells, which means the obese tissue produced larger quantities of enzyme.

  

 

…When the muscle satellite cells were encouraged to develop into mature muscle cells, they showed the same fat storage programming as muscle tissue. "This is a very important clue, because it indicates this program of fat storage is perpetuated as these cells divide. It's not driven strictly by over-nutrition," Muoio said…

  

 

"We found that obesity was associated with a threefold increase in SCD1 (a fat storing enzyme found in muscle tissue) expression in obese muscle, as well as a threefold higher level of SCD1 enzyme, compared to lean muscle," Muoio said. The activity of other genes linked to fat metabolism and obesity were comparable between the two groups.

  

 

The researchers also investigated how muscle cells from lean individuals behaved when forced to overproduce the SCD1 enzyme. Using genetic engineering techniques, the team showed that cells from lean people mimicked the metabolism of obese cells, storing more fat droplets and burning less fat, when the amount of SCD1 was increased.

  

 

 This is my first post on any of Dr. Phil's boards.

I am hoping to lose at least 10 pounds by November 14.  Ha!  We'll see.  We are leaving for a cruise then and so that is my goal.  I have lost 25 pounds since the birth of my son 16 months ago and it has been a struggle, with 5-10 pounds coming and going the past few months as I have struggled after undergoing back surgery in July.  I am at a stagnant point in my journey to lose more weight.  I have at least 20 more that I need to lose, probably 30. 

I have had chronic back pain for years and hoped the surgery would help.  I have a rather severe case of degenerative disc disease and it is, I guess, congenital, as the degree of it that I have is not supposed to affect people as young as I am (I am 32).  I have been in more pain since the surgery, but I have heard it can be a variant of normal.  I am undergoing PT right now and am still hopeful, I guess, although sometimes I wonder whether I did the right thing (despite hearing several doctors say otherwise).  When you are in pain, sometimes it is so hard to see the gold at the end of the rainbow, but I try to stay positive, especially for my family. 

I was also diagnosed with CFS when I was around 18, I think (I've slept since then LOL).  A few years ago they even thought I had lymphoma, but after a visit to two renowned oncologists, they really couldn't definitively diagnose me with anything, so figured maybe I had developed a syndrome due to environmental causes/chemicals.  I got rid of all the chemicals in my home and life and my whole family has seen a huge improvement in their help.  I even had more energy and a boost to my immune system after that and even more so since getting on some good vitamins.  Now, if I can just get over this surgery, I think I could really make some headway into my health!

We are really starting to learn more about healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle.  My husband has lost quite a bit of weight.  Why is it so easy for men???  And he doesn't eat near as good as I do!  Doh!

Does anyone have a link that shows Dr. Phil's weight goals?  I saw a post that mentioned something like that.

Well, thanks for letting me butt in!  Hope to be an encouragement and get the encouragement I need, too.

Take care!

196/168-170 (depending on whether I'm bloated LOL)/145?

 Oh, and I wanted to mention that I've gone from a size 16 to a size 10 (and a couple of 12s depending on the brand).  I'm not sure of my exact height right now.  I think I am around 5'9".  I actually grew after my back surgery!  (They had to pull apart my spine and stretch everything out quite a bit due to severe disease that had rather compacted my spine and they had to make the hardware fit).

 Also, my starting weight is listed as my pre-pregnancy weight.  I didn't consider my weight pre-pregnancy in that figure, because I hardly gained any and lost it all at his birth.

You have been through the wringer haven't you? I can't even imagine raising a toddler with a bad back - more power to you!  I'm sure there is a section in his (Dr. P's) weight loss book about finding your ideal weight - and it is not like the traditional "insurance" weight charts that have been used for years - I'll work on finding it tomorrow and post it here. It used to be thought that being slightly underweight was a way to extend your life; however the latest research is showing just the opposite - being slightly overweight is actually healthier than being skinny. I'll try to find the article on that research for you too.  

  

Anyway, for right now I only remember what my ideal weight is; maybe it will give you a general idea about your's - I'm 5'5" and should weigh about 135-150 pounds for my medium large frame and my age (48) When I'm that weight I wear about a size 8 I think (It has been several years and it is hard to remember exactly). When Dr. Phil started his weight loss challenge a couple of years ago I started loosing weight and went from a 1X to a size 12.  Because of my medications and diabetes and other health issues it was a long slow process of about half a pound a week but it was progress none the less and it felt really good. I never felt hungry or deprived and I didn't follow the plan exactly all the time. But I was always forgiving of myself and refused to have the thought that if I slipped up "I'd blown it for good." I realized that was defeatist thinking.  Then last Spring just after I bought my size 12 summer wardrobe I started menopause and ballooned up. I hadn't changed anything and so I couldn't figure out what the weight gain was about.  I've since seen my Dr. several times and found a few more health problems and realized that diabetics typically gain weight with the hormone fluctuations. It has been really hard to accept, but I am still not giving up. And in fact I have finally started to loose a couple of pounds again. I'm a long way away from my size 12's though - sad but not defeating.  

  

It sounds like you are doing really well! especially considering what your body is going through right now. Healing is much more important than loosing weight; and if you are eating right and exercising your body will still be healthy and strong, but will put its energy into healing before it decides to let go of any body weight. That is because our bodies hang one to every nutrient they can while trying to heal because they are not sure if there will be sufficient nutrients coming in for the duration of the healing process. My guess is that once you have healed sufficiently your body will relax its demand for stored nutrients and let go of some of its reserve. Just don't give up before then.  

  

If you are already into a size 10 you may already be at your ideal weight. After having children most women can go up two sizes and still be at their ideal weight (because of the body changes that age and pregnancy create). So if you were a size 6 when younger, a size 10 might be ideal for you as a mature woman. Of course no rule holds true for every body so you need to be able to to take your body shape and bone structure into consideration.  

A Cruise! How fun. Where are you going?    

  

We are going on a cruise next May for our wedding anniversary. I also have a goal of loosing weight(at least back to my size 12's) by then. One word of caution though. try not to make the cruise the 'end goal' or you will be likely to stop your healthy habits after it is over. Instead decide to keep up the new good habits for the rest of your life and the cruise will come and go without being the end of your healthy lifestyle. Actually it sounds like you have already made some fabulous changes. What kinds of things did you do to reduce your exposure to chemicals? I've been doing some of that too because of lung and immune problems. I only use "safe" cleansers and I have replaced most of the carpet in my house with wood or tile. I use shades instead of drapes (dust reduction) and I use industrial grade air filters in the house heating and air vents and intakes. I know there is probably a lot more I could do, so I'm interested in hearing what you have done.

Well, Take Care,  

  

Karen



 

This is the only thing on this site that I found on setting a weight loss goal.  I'll look in the book later on: 

  

"Everyone has this goal in mind, they want to weigh what they weighed when they remember being their skinniest, their tiniest, their smallest...the problem is, you were probably 18!" Dr. Phil tells the Challengers. "It's ridiculous. You can't set those unrealistic goals. You need to figure the weight that you can responsibly, comfortably be at."

The goal, he explains, is to set a "get-real weight" that you can live with mentally, emotionally, physically and medically.

Your "get-real" weight has little to do with numbers on a scale or other device. It means:

 

You like your body and live in it with pride

You are happy and truly at peace with your size.

You accept your God-given uniqueness.

You like what you see in the mirror every day.

You focus your attention on living well, rather than looking good.

So, lovingly accept yourself, your natural body frame, your height, your bone structure, your entire genetic makeup — and set your sights on goals that match these factual realities, goals that you can realistically achieve. There is an optimal you, but it can only come from getting real about yourself and setting realistic expectations for success, so that you can become a "supermodel" or "superstar" in your own life, on your own terms, and according to your own standards of fitness.

Hello, I am 55 yrs. old and have had fibromyalgia for many years.  After years of going from doctor to doctor I finally found a dr. that said it is not in your head, and he called it fibro.  I am also on thyroid meds. and my face is full.  I recently joined Curves.  The meds I am on for fibro slows my metabolism and makes it very hard to lose weight.  Lets all help each other.

Hi there, I'm sorry I haven't responded earlier. I was out of town for a wedding. I too went from Dr. to Dr. for a few years before being diagnosed with fibromyalgia. So when people ask me how long I've had it I don't know how long to tell them - pre or post diagnosis.  Curves is great. And it seems to serve those with fibro well. I'm in the country so I just have a treadmill, stationary bike and an exercise ball - and of course all the outdoor work I could ever want.  

  

Hope to see you back soon. 

  

Karen