Weight Loss for the overweight and obese and good medical news thread

In My Humble Opinion
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I’ve been following this thread since it started and just realized that I posted without providing any info/background… :slight_smile:

I’m a 52-year-old female who had bariatric surgery (gastric bypass) in late 2021. I’d been overweight my entire adult life, and tried numerous programs and gyms (and therapy), but in the summer of 2021 I weighed 238 pounds (at just 5’3) and my A1C was 10.8 and I knew it was time for surgery. Afterwards, I only got down to 150 before I started regaining. :frowning:

I’m currently at 176, and I still struggle quite a bit with snacking. I think the gaining has finally slowed (if not stopped), though, and now I just need to figure out how to start losing again. 150 wasn’t my original target weight – I’d wanted to hit 140 just to have a “normal” BMI for the first time in memory – but turns out that 150 looked great on me and I felt awesome and I’d be super happy to get back there (or at least under 160). I joined a gym a year ago, and started working with a personal trainer twice a week: my focus with him is on strength and my core and not so much on burning calories, and I really need to add some cardio between workouts, but I believe that without those 2 hours a week I’d likely weigh closer to 200 these days.

:+1: Quoted for truth!

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232.3lbs today so while the progress has been slow, at least I’m dropping.

I haven’t been getting my steps in with the heatwave. I’ll have to try to use the treadmill more.
Diet was interrupted by July 4th and a very nice anniversary dinner for my wife and I at a new restaurant. But overall, I’ve been good.

Two more days of extreme heat then back to more normal July heat for about a week. This will help.

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My weight loss stalled with travelling late June / early July. I was not overeating, but something about travelling causes me to hang onto any possible drop of water, I think. Typically it’ll go down a week or so after I get home - which has proven to be the case.

My BMI is now down to 27 and a bit. I’m less than 20 pounds above “normal” weight!

If my weight stabilized where it is now, that would be okay - 15-20 pounds overweight is actually not especially unhealthy. My big thing now is to find some way to exercise. Unfortunately, the weight loss (and BP drop) seems to have exaggerated a long-developing case of POTS. Ugh.

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Sorry, I hope its not too bad. I have no idea what POTS is.

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POTS = a form of dysautonomia where your heart beats abnormally fast upon standing up, which can make you lightheaded and fall back down.

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Yep. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.

Ranges from annoying to disabling.

In my case, I’ve shown signs of it my entire life, though bouts were pretty rare. Occasionally when standing in line somewhere, especially if I was too warm. Also, it can get you a seat on a crowded Metro train. I started feeling bad; next thing I knew people were picking me up off the floor, and someone gave me his seat. I do not, however recommend this as a routine thing.

I also tended to show postural hypotension, which may be related but is different (with POTS, your blood pressure does not necessarily drop). I’d jump to my feet, and my vision would gray out, for a second. That stopped happening when I became hypertensive, and I always saw a return as a sign that my BP was under good control. A bout of THAT was what made me fall, and finally got the doctor to take the “this is becoming disabling” seriously.

It was becoming more of an issue even before the weight loss - I remember a few times at Costco, that long wait to check out was pretty unpleasant - and one time, I got my cart to the car, started unloading, and had to sit down (another customer came along and helped finish loading for me).

It’s become far more of a problem in recent months, as my BP hs dropped. Apparently, hypertension can be a good thing, in moderation! The day I fell, doc said to quit all the BP meds. I also checked my pulse that day, sitting then standing, and the rise was consistent with a POTS diagnosis (increase of 20-30 beats just from standing for a few minutes).

I monitored the BP at home for a few weeks, and it remained great. But last week, a BUNCH of readings at doctor’s offices told quite a different story, so I’m back on the beta blocker.

Anyway, the lightheadedness hits hard enough that I have had to cut short several shopping trips (which is a problem, because, yanno, I NEED NEW CLOTHES), and I will not grocery shop solo any more.

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Damn, that’s terrible. Hopefully the Doctor figures out something that resolves this. My Dad went through something similar at one point and it took about 3-4 months of trying different drugs at different amounts to get back to normal.

Weight loss for those of us that are overweight should be nothing but good things for our health, wind and joints.

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I know!

People keep saying “I bet you feel better!” and the honest answer is no, I do not. In many ways I feel worse.

The near-constant queasiness. The low energy level (which would be helped if I could exercise and build up muscle, but I’m terrified to go on a walk). The dizziness which means I can’t do some fairly basic stuff like cooking / dishes / shopping.

I’ve seen a cardiologist - in fact, I need to head out in about a half hour to get a Holter monitor, which I’ll be wearing for a week! If it is “just” POTS, tricks to manage include making sure you get enough fluids, wearing compression socks, and ingesting electrolytes. Beta blockers can lower heart rate which helps (my daughter is on metoprolol for this) but of course they also lower BP, which may not always be good. Other drugs can also help with heart rate, but they have side effects too.

The fluids are tough. I genuinely do not feel thirsty much of the time, so I have to force myself to drink - when I remember. And with the slow stomach emptying, I CAN’T drink a lot at one go.

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I’m down a few more pounds, which isn’t a surprise - have not been eating much this past week. Next month, we travel, a lot - which means lots of long car trips. Even if I don’t overeat (which, these days, I typically do not), that always makes me retain boatloads of fluids - so I may not weigh again until after Labor Day. I’m supposedly within 12 pounds of “normal” weight.

I did do a little clothes shopping the other day. Smaller size than I’ve worn in decades. My husband came along - not for opinions, but as backup in case I felt bad. I wound up having to sit down, while he waited in line to check out and pay for my things.

90

I finally hit the 30 pound mark. This started at Christmas so I guess 7 months is not bad for 30 pounds, but it has been a struggle for sure. Another 12 to go for my first goal. Below 220.

It will be easier in the fall for me to lose weight, but then comes Thanksgiving & Christmas which always have the opposite effect.

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Great progress! 30 pounds is quite an achievement!

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I saw my new primary care doc yesterday. Seems OK.

My weight was down about 14 pounds from when I saw my former doc in early June.

I looked at my weight from when I saw them again a week or so after early June, and they had recorded it quite wrong!! Showed me as down 30 pounds from a week earlier. Yeah… no. Or maybe I WISH (though I’d like to think they’d have asked about my GAINING 16 pounds in 6 weeks…).

My BMI is about 27 now, give or take depending on which height you use (I say 5’11", they say 5’10"). If I lose much more, I’m going to have to have them lower my Ozempic dose.

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A major downside: we went on a long driving trip last weekend - and those butt-bones were yelling at me by the time we got there.

Then the AirBnB we stayed at had very hard kitchen chairs.

Then we had to drive back.

In 10 days, we are driving a similar distance. Any recommendations for seat cushions that won’t raise my seating position too horribly, but will help take the pressure off those no-longer-padded bones, gratefully accepted.

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I actually cut a piece of closed-cell foam to size in a wedge to make my car seat a lot more comfortable for me.

I guess this could have gone in the DIY thread many years ago.

I’ve had a bad week and am hovering at 29 pounds down.

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I’m a big fan of Cushion Lab’s seat cushion; it’s a little pricey ($69), but it doesn’t raise my seating position very much, while being very comfortable (and also taking pressure off my tailbone). And, I have used it in the car, where it works quite well.

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Here’s one idea, gleaned from 41 years of professional nursing experience:

AUVON Ventilation Seat Cushion for Tailbone, Pressure Sore and Ulcer Pain Relief, Premium Memory Foam Enhanced Breathability for Extended Sitting, Waterproof, Non-Slip Base for Chair, Wheelchair, Car

Visit the AUVON Store

Sorry, I couldn’t get the Amazon ‘share’ button to work for me-I’m a daft tech peasant.

Reasonable price ($25), has a carrying handle. The latest ortho/pt/nursing advice is to not use butt cushions with the tailbone cutout/carveout unless a dr. specifically advises/prescribes/recommends it. That negative space can end up exacerbating rectal issues, to put not-too-fine a point on it (that was a tailbone pun). Besides, you’ll feel less silly carrying a square cushion into theatre performance or diner than a hemorrhoid cushion.

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Oooh, good to know - thank you!

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Seconding that!

I bought such a cushion for use at home a few years back, as I had actually broken my tailbone and needed the cutout.

I was looking at the Purple brand seat cushions (same company that makes the Purple mattress) - they are a gel grid, versus foam. 100 bucks though. I may try a cheaper knockoff, if I go that route.

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Here’s a NYT Wirecutters review dated February 2024 that includes a budget choice, as well as ranks cushions according to specific strengths/needs:

Let me know via DM if that’s paywalled for you and I’ll finagle a gift link-still have several left this month.

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Thanks! We actually have an online subscription there, so no paywall issues.

One description " Best for: You’ll like this option if you like the feel of gel seat cushions or mattresses but want something more solid. People with tailbone pain, older people with less muscle mass in the buttock area, and people with bigger bodies might also prefer the Medline cushion."

And - the cushion prices are really kind of wacky. Are they really worth 100+ dollars? The Medline one isn’t available at Amazon, and it’s 165 bucks at WalMart - I suspect because it’s discontinued. But it gives me ideas on features to shop for.