Is this lingering Elavil or me?

[MerryBerryMoose]

I took Elavil for a year and put on about 30lbs. I am 5'4" and went from 150 t0 130 (because of gallbladder problems) to 160/165 (because of IC and Elavil). Because of the severity of my IC, I sat a lot. For like a year I couldn't do much, go anywhere or excersize.

I have been off Elavil for about 7 months and am in PT twice a week for 2 hours each visit but still can't get the weight off. Being home shcooled doesn't help. I eat all the time. If there's food in the house, it's going to be in my mouth.

Does anyone have tips for me? Dieting isn't my thing. I would rather go to the gym or walk or something. Though I know I have to cut out some of the sweets and carbs I eat. How can I get my mom to join a gym or help me with my "quest to drop the weight"? She doesn't want to do anything along the lines of physical fitness (she weighs less than I do, so she doesn't need to think about loosing weight).

Idealy I would like to weigh 135lbs. Does this seem unrealistic?

Thanks for the advice.

PS. Because of my crazy schedule neither my mom or myself have time to cook a "real" meal. I eat out of boxes most of the time (TV dinners...ick, frozen things in a bag, ect).

[ICNDonna]

You could talk to your PT about exercises you can do at home. And when grocery shopping, check out the TV dinners that are a bit more healthy. They are there if you just look.

You can cut back on eating. One good trick is to wait a half hour when you get the urge to snack --- and drink a glass of water while you wait the half hour. I know you can do it.

Warm encouraging hugs,
Donna

[petrie86]

If you want to loose weight, maybe your mom could join the gym just to tone up. Be a "hott mom!" haha I'm trying to get back in shape... I have a mid section problem. I gotta get rid of those stupid love handles and stomach. I'm 5'6" and weigh about 125. I'm not complaining but I do need some work. My bf is a machine when it comes to working out. If you want to loose some serious weight you have to watch what you eat... maybe try portion control. And maybe some sort of cardio work out... and light lifting weights to tone up. I try to run about 3 days a week and I do light lifting. On my bad days I dont work out at all. I wish you lots of luck!!!

Rach

[petrie86]

In gym's they have fun classes to take. My friend just found this dance class that will help you tone. It's one of the dancer's from "dancing with the stars" he started his own gym/dance school I guess. It's like lain dancing that will whip you butt into shape. It's fun and give you a whole work out. It could be lots of fun. Kinda expensie but better to enjoy working out then being miserable on the tredmill lol.

[MerryBerryMoose]

If you want to loose weight, maybe your mom could join the gym just to tone up. Be a "hott mom!" haha I'm trying to get back in shape... I have a mid section problem. I gotta get rid of those stupid love handles and stomach. I'm 5'6" and weigh about 125. I'm not complaining but I do need some work. My bf is a machine when it comes to working out. If you want to loose some serious weight you have to watch what you eat... maybe try portion control. And maybe some sort of cardio work out... and light lifting weights to tone up. I try to run about 3 days a week and I do light lifting. On my bad days I dont work out at all. I wish you lots of luck!!!

Rach

I too carry most of my weight in my midsection. What I'm probably going to try is slight portion control (3 meals and 2 snacks a day) and LOTS of excersize.

[petrie86]

Sounds like a plan!! Just dont hurt yourself... I do that alot. It's like when I'm working out and I know I'm going to be hurting later but I do it anyways b/c I'm striving to have a model body. lol Stupid I know huh? Just be careful, nobody wants to end up in a 2 week flare from working out. Yucky!

Rach

[sami4]

Dr. Phil

If you get a chance you might check out Dr. Phil's book on weight loss? He says the best thing to do is throw all your unhealthy snacks out of the house.
Replace them with healthy snacks such as fruits, or unbuttered popcorn.
Never eat out of a bag, always put what you are eating on a paper plate and confine it to the amount on the bag label, that way you know how many calories you are getting.
You say you eat all day? Sounds like not real hunger but emotional eating. Dr. Phil and Oprah both speak about how we substitute food for a lot of emotions, such as boredom, fear, anger and so on. Next time you get the urge to eat ask yourself,"How am I feeling, am I hungry, bored, what?"
Dr. Phil's book also addresses emotional eating. We all do it. I am a celebration eater. If something really happy occurs. my first impulse is to get an ice cream cone and celebrate.
Also know that for anyone it is hard to lose weight, regardless of their age.
Exercise is one of the components of weight loss, but studies show that the main thing in weight loss is calories. The three groups, one exercised only, one cut calories and didnt exercise, one group did both. The last two groups fared the best, the exericse only group after a year only lost about a pound a month. If you like to dance, maybe get one of those new dance videos like the one from Dancing with the Stars and try that. Its fun, you can stop anytime, and it gets you movin.
Donna gave you a great suggestion; eat healthier frozen dinners, like weight watchers, healthy choice, south beach.
There are lots of little changes you can make and they will make you a healthier person and help with the weight. If you fall off the wagon, just get back on, we all do.
Best wishes,
Sammi

[mystereys]

Please, stop eating so many tv dinners! There really is a lot of sodium and preservatives and other not great stuff in them. Check the labels of what you're eating--there are some scary things in there. It can be pretty easy to have quick, good food. For example, try buying frozen mixed vegetables. It's really easy to heat them up in a pan with a little of your favorite sauce (just don't use too much, or you might eat a lot of sodium) and eat them with rice. Or, get a can of black beans, tortillas, and lettuce and make some burritos. Instead of eating cookies or ice cream, try veggie sticks or fresh, frozen or dried fruit. I really like frozen blueberries (IC-friendly!). I put them in ice-cream cones.

I'm also trying to lose my Elavil weight. So far, the most important thing has been to get rid of the junk food around the house. I'm trying to stick to carrots, fruit & nuts as my snacks. Nuts can be calorie-rich, but I find I don't eat that much of them, as long as I don't get the salt-free kind.

[amartaingirl]

motivation

All I use is Motivation.

Like...I buy myself a new outfit for every 2 pounds I loose.
Or somthing like that.

Then its win win...loose weight & have new clothes.

PS:
The best place to shop is the Goodwill Store.
They have NAME BRAND stuff..slightly used..sometimes..they still have the price tags on them!

[leelee88]

As soon as I got off Elavil.. I started loosing weight, I also quit eating carbs..But as soon as I got back on Elavil I gained all the weight back..

[kadi]

Check out www.sparkpeople.com It's a free online weightloss program. A few years ago I lost 13 pounds on it & have not gained them back. You can make your own menus or use theirs (theirs can be modified pretty easily to make them IC-friendly).

Hang in there, just be consistent with whatever you decide to try.