"pek264"  wrote in news:

On the pain issue go to the doctor,  I waited a year to go using it as
an excuse to do almost nothing.  True that there was a real diagnosis of
sciatica and now that I have been medicated its all but gone, but I
wasted a YEAR making excuses for myself and why I would get thin if I
could but my hip hurts today.  Suprisingly the pain got a lot better the
more I stretched and excersized anyway when I finally got around to no
more excuses!

As for butt kickin this isnt the place for THAT I dont think though
there are probably several waiting to do just that (close your mouth
then....stop eating then etc.)  Personally it took reading posts here
and downloading HealthKick ( I know many here also use the fitday but
healthkick was free and for now I wasnt sure I would use it if I paid
for something like that) to keep track of everything I eat and do to get
myself back on track from a stall.  I have been at the 178 for about
three weeks now and yesterday when I weighed for my new week weigh in i
was down two pounds FINALLY!

Phyllis,

Welcome back.   I have serious long-term disc problems and know what you're
talking about and also how difficult it makes exercise.  If there's one
thing I've learned it is that disc injuries are a case where you DON'T push
though and pain does not lead to gain. You have to learn what your body can
tolerate and work around it.  Pushing things can end up making the damage
worse.

Also, I'm not sure what shots they are giving you, but if it is a form of
cortisone, be aware that it really messes up blood sugar and makes it
extremely hard to avoid weight gain. It also stays in the body for a long
time. I got some three weeks ago and cut my food and carbs way back to 1200
calories for 2 weeks and still gained a pound.
The stuff they gave me takes 2 weeks to get out of the blood stream .

Pain itself can raise your blood sugar too, which raises insulin and makes
it tougher to lose.

So the smartest thing at this stage is probably to work on maintaining
rather than losing, and give the injury time to calm down. You can't do
everything all at once, and if you manage to avoid gaining 20 lbs while
dealing with the disc issue you are way ahead of most of us who have that
kind of problem.

Beyond that  it helps to keep problem foods out of the house and stay away
from restaurants where you get into trouble. Ask your family to be
supportive and explain how important it is to you. If that means they eat
those foods when you aren't there, well, that's how they help you out.

Also, I got down very low for me, too, but seemed to have slowed down my
thyroid in the process. I'm starting to think that a bit higher than the
"dream" weight, but 15% lower than where you started is a safer weight if
you have thyroid issues. You don't want to teach your body to live at a
starvation level because it may keep slowing if you do that.

When the neck gets better, you can work on the weight with more
concentration. Don't try to be superhuman.  People who don't have disc
injuries and nerve damage cannot imagine just how completely they take over
your life or how difficult they are to heal from. Mine hasn't healed but it
has become very manageable and I am only in pain if I do stupid things when
I try to forget my back is messed up.
-- Jenny  - Low Carbing for 4 years. At goal for weight. Type 2 diabetes,
hba1c 5.2.
Cut the carbs to respond to my  email address!

Low carb facts and figures, my weight-loss photos, tips, recipes,
strategies for dealing with diabetes and more at
http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/

Looking for help controlling your blood sugar?
Visit  http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/Newly%20Diagnosed.htm

Hey there Phyllis,

I can understand where you've been and are. I had a very similar experience
with low back and leg pain, surgery and epidurals, stopping the gym and
using carby foods as a drug.
The way I approached getting back into a healthier frame of mind was the way
I approached going to the gym. Don't think about it, just do it. Step by
step if neccessary . If for example, I didn't want to go to the gym one
morning, I'd tell myself just get into the clothes and see how you feel.
Then just go for the spa. Then just do 10 minutes on the treadmill. I'd
always endup with a full workout and feeling great.
Same with the food. Just have a lo-carb breakfast. Lunch comes around, same
thing. Just eat this sensible lunch and for dinner have what you want.
Dinner same thing. Coaxing myself through each meal until the full effect of
lo-carb eating hit at around 5 days. YMMV of course.
Welcome back and hang in there.

BTW since you can cook, why not buy some jalepenos, gut them, stuff them
with cheese and bake them of fry them yourself without the breading crap.
Have your *cake* and eat it too!

Good luck.

Hi Phyllis, welcome back!  (I didn't start posting until 6/03, so you wouldn't
have seen my posts back when you were a regular.)