Overweight mother

[samuelNZ]

• Ok, well shes not really overweight, but shes not happy. Am putting this up hoping to find a solution to her weight problems. Written mostly from my mothers perspective.
  Outline
  
• Early 40's, weight has always fluctuated around 65-68 kilos. At the moment, sitting on 66kg. Height 163cm. Ideally would like to be around 60-62, have attended weightwatchers in the past after children when weight was 80kg. Been able to successfully loose weight but at the moment am currently struggling to loose anything and have to always be very conscious of what I eat as I gain weight incredibly easy.
  Surgery and Medication
  
• 3 Years ago had a double spinal fusion, which pretty much holds my lower back completely rigid and is sometimes very painful, which limits my ability to walk (I used to do 90mins a day comfortably, now I'd struggle to do 30mins). I spend all day walking up and down a store on concrete floor and at the end of the day my back is quite sore. I take 2x 200mg Gabapentin (neurontin) 3 times a day (1800mg daily), one side effect of this is weight gain and another side effect is tiredness. This is for chronic daily headache condition which also effects my ability to go and workout. Because of my surgery the recommend against exercise that is overly strenuous. Lifting heavy weights is out of the picture.
  Exercise
  
• I attend Aqua fit swimming classes twice a week for 45mins each. Sometimes 3 times a week. And usually 2x30min walks on a treadmill a week.
  Diet
  
• The diet I currently follow now, is what I used to use while attending weightwatchers and it worked for me then.
  Example daily diet.
  7:00 - small/medium bowl cereal (special K/cornflakes), trim milk, half teaspoon sugar, 1 cup of tea
  10:30 - 2xthin flavoured rice wafers, 1 cup tea
  1:00 - Either a (yoghurt and banana in bread) or (salad with small can tuna and small piece of feta cheese) and cup of tea
  3:30 - 2xthin flavoured rice wafers, 1 cup tea
  6:00 - Usually a tortilla wrap with half chicken breast, 10g hummus, chili sauce, salad and cheese. 1 cup of tea
  8:00 - 1 cup of tea
  *If dinner is not a chicken wrap, its usually a healthy chicken pasta dish.
  Have been told by professionals that I should be eating more, but if I do, I gain weight very quickly. I don't drink alcohol. I must admit my water intake per day is very low. On the days I do swimming, I would drink around 1L a day. I find I simply forget to drink water. I hate water.
  Overall goals
  
• A couple of years ago, I could wear my bikini and feel confident with my weight, I was around 61kg.
  Ultimately, I want know what changes should I make to get my old body back and boost my metabolism up? I don't want to live the rest of my life being afraid of letting myself treats, and having to under-eat just to keep my weight down. Basicily, I feel sometimes I have to starve myself to keep it under control.

Any questions, just ask.

[teamfatboy]

Hey SamuelNZ,

Great idea - hopefully there'll be some advice forthcoming.

I have no ideas about the effects of the medicines, but others will.

My thoughts centre on doing the basics like working out maintenance cals and setting a modest deficit. Plus, checking the macros - it is possible that within the overall calorie load, she'd respond to a diet higher in protein and healthy fats. my thinking behind that is the two remarks about the side-effect of the meds and her proneness to put on weight easily.

I can't help but winder whetherva hi-pro, lo-carb diet with decent fats might not help, but that's only my purely amateur view, based on how I've responded to changes in my own diet.

Good luck

[Grover]

exercycle whilst watching TV etc

no need to go hard out , just adds a bit more burn to the day

Hard with the limitations, but if swimming works maybe more of it?

[Andre01]

I know that weight gain is one of the worst of the side effects of medications. I know what most of the people here will say, however with the medication its time to see a doc for help on this one. I know that the medication that she is one will gain weight and there is a lot that will. The only thing that I will say is that to follow the weight watchers points and the weight will come off. Otherwise she may need to see a diet expert for advice and if her doc refers her it might cost nothing. Other than that, she just needs to remember that it will be a long journey for her.

[Pseudonym]

First of all, good on her for tackling the problem, rather than accepting that "the medicine makes me fat".

I don't want to live the rest of my life being afraid of letting myself treats, and having to under-eat just to keep my weight down. Basicily, I feel sometimes I have to starve myself to keep it under control.

Hmm. Looking at that diet, it really does look like your mum is under-eating. But then, she's not doing intense weight training, and I don't know how the medication might change the rules of "normal" dieting. As a complete amateur, I think TFB's suggestion may have merit - perhaps leave the total calories as they are now, but switch to low (or no) carbs, and higher protein/fat? It's a tricky situation with the medicine complicating things, so it may be best to consult an expert here.

[kalahariman]

Hi mate, i would recommend your mother stops eating all wheet & grains, there is plenty of other alternatives. Also she needs to eat more to speeds up her metabolism, but the right kind of food, incorporate coconut fat/oil for energy and cooking also to add to diet( research coconut oil). If you keep your insuline responce to a minumim (she is not active) and therefor less fat will get stored, insuline transport energy/sugars to storage cells which turns to fat in short. if she does walk let it be early in the mornings after a cup of coffee. Awesom website to have a look at especifically for her: (the primal blueprint) goodluck

[Phedder]

How long has she been following that diet and has she been losing weight on it? If she's been following it a while without her weight decreasing it could be worthwhile for her to get her thyroid checked, as it's possible she may have hypothyroidism. The symptoms could also entirely be attributable to her medication. In either case, it's probably worth checking just to be sure there's not something else that needs dealing with.

I'd agree with adding a bit more protein, and definitely more fat while reducing carbs. Adding a bit of Olive oil to one salad and coconut cream/oil to another would be a good place to start. The water shouldn't be an issue as she drinks a lot of tea (green/herbal or english with milk and sugar?) but if she wants to she could make up a 1L bottle of herbal iced tea in the mornings (unsweetened) and sip on that throughout the day as well to up fluid intake a bit.

[ajmitchell]

Good on you for giving a toss and trying to help your mother !!!

Simply put , it looks that she is eating too little and wrong mix. Should look at the daily maintenance calories and reduce by 10% for 3 days . On 4th day lift to maintenance to keep metabolism moving.

I would also have a look at the protein vs.carbs vs fat %.. Higher protein, less carbs and proportion of "good" fats.

Swimming is a really good exercise but weights 2-3 days per week would work wonders. Doesnt have to be too strenous but enough to stimulate...

Good luck and keep us all posted....

[tomsammce]

go see a doctor/specialist and get referred to a qualified dietician... a body building forum is no place to ask questions relating to medical recovery such as your mothers, no one here knows anything about her and you giving the medication she is on and the dose doesnt really count for alot when no one has test results or any info the doctors at the hospital would have from your old lady and cant really determine anything... all your getting is wild guesses, and its not on... people needa shut their f..kn mouths when they dont know what they are talking about with serious matters. you not gonna be getting any medical professionals on here giving you answers and even if there such people on here, they wont talk about things like this on a forum. its just unethical and unprofessional.

go to the doctor.