Trying hard to lose the pounds!!!!!!!!!

DesertStar---

Thank you!!! I take Atenolol also and i have to NOT take it tonite before the test tomorrow and I am also not supposed to take blood pressure med (Lisinopril) because i am not allowed to take any beta blockers right before the test.

This reminds me of another part of my theory that i had forgotten in the earlier post---i am still on the same doses of the beta-blockers that i was when i weighed 60 lbs more and did not exercise. I could possibly have gotten dizzy because my doses are too high now.....

peace,
celia

Celia--

Extra weight can contribute to high blood pressure and you've lost a lot of it. And not needing nearly so much bp meds and continuing on a high or complex amount could cause dizziness. (However, sometimes people are put on a beta blocker to reduce sweating.) Have your bp readings been extra low? Your theory sounds like a good and simple fix--here's hoping that that's it!!

Skinny jeans aren't coming into my wardrobe anything soon either.

I went for my physical yesterday. My goal had been to hit last years weight. For the past three weeks I've been counting every darn morsel I've eaten.

Well, I wore a light skirt, I made the appointment at 11 a.m. and didn't drink anything after 7 a.m. -- and I hit last years number (and even a little better). Made my whole day!

BTW Ginger---Yes, my bp readings have been quite low, in fact, everyone who takes my bp always comments on how low my bp is.


I had the nuclear treadmill stress test yesterday. It was supposed to take 3 hours at the most, however, it took 6 hours. The tech tried to put the IV in and couldn't after 3 tries, because i have the worst veins, so he paged some guy in the OR to come and insert the IV. The guy brought Lidocaine with him and the insertion didn't hurt at all. Pretty cool stuff--first time i had the Lidocaine for that purpose.

The treadmill part was the part that i was most anxious about, but it turned out to be the best and easiest part, since i exercise all the time on a treadmill. They kept it slowed down (slower speed than i walk at), but they raised the incline 12 degrees. I finished the whole treadmill part, and didn't have to make them stop it.

The worst part of the test was the scan after the treadmill part. After scanning and re-scanning me 3 times for 15 minutes each time with no moving around allowed, they were getting weird reads with no pictures showing of my heart at times. They kept asking me if i was having a problem or anxiety because they told me that my bp kept shooting way up high in the test. I told them that i was really totally relaxed. Finally, the 2 techs (that also couldn't do the IV), called another tech to do the test (YAY!!!! a woman!!!) and she took a few minutes to set up the wires differently that were attached to me, and her scan (the 4th) of my heart worked just fine. This is after the first 2 techs had convinced me that the earlier, bad scans were because of something wrong with my heart. The woman tech said it was NOT my heart doing the weird stuff, it was the scan machine doing weird stuff.

Everyone else throughout the test told me that I was absolutely normal in the EKG part of the stress test and in the EKG pre-scan and the post scan. I am waiting to hear from my doctor what the results were of the nuclear part of the test.

Just glad that the whole thing is over. I am still leaning toward the theory that my bp meds doses are too high, now that i have lost 60 lbs.

Thanks for all your help!

peace,
celia

Celia, were you getting low readings in the doc's office? I'm surprised he didn't change your bp meds. But with your history and the chest pressure, the scan was probably the thing to do anyway. I'm sorry there was a problem with the machine and the study took so long. Hoping for a normal study result. Again, wonderful progress on the weight loss. Good for you!!!

I had WW tonight and lost another whole one pound, although my home scale said 2 pounds.
So that would be 5 months with 2 pounds lost. I am on my way and promise to be better!
My friend also told me last night that she heard at her WW meeting, to eat a cough drop when you feel like you should eat when you aren't really hungry. The Halls drops work pretty well for me.

Let's hope it all gets straightened out! I've been having some issues with my shoulder and it's no fun. Given all the coming and going with the military it sounds like a miracle they got you in and the test done at all!

So do you have the all-clear to go back to the treadmill?

Ginger---The new shoulder problem is definitely from having to stretch and hold my arm straight up over my head for this scan. I had never felt pain in it prior to doing the scan over and over again. I have osteoarthritis and i keep tearing cartiledge in my joints all the time.

Haven't heard about the results yet of the scan....still waiting. I will try to talk my doc into figuring out if I need the med dose changed.

Rose---When my doc ordered the nuclear stress treadmill test she wanted me to NOT exercise, but i told her that i still wanted to but i would take it easier. She even prescribed Nitroglycerine Spray for me....yikes, that totally freaked me out!! However, I didn't stop exercising. I have not had another incident of dizzyness, sweating a lot,or tight feeling in my chest, but at first i lightened up on speeds and lengths of time. I have been feeling good so i am back to all my levels.

peace,
celia

The spray's not a bad thing to have, but if you're doing the walking for the treadmill/stress test, the idea is to move you to your max. So maybe that'd be beyond what you'd do on your own.

In our office some people have to quit walking quite early and be moved to an adenosine/cardiolyte because of some heart/breathing symptom. Frankly, most people who show no particular heart symptoms but can't go very long are just deconditioned. With all her working out,Rose would probably be on the thing forever!!! (Do you do the treadmill at the Y, Rose?)

I do take the nitroglycerin spray with me when i go exercise. Even though i feel that my heart is ok, i still think "better safe than sorry."

I also now take a full bottle of water with me and I finish it during my 40 minutes of exercise. Before my two "incidents", i had relied on their water cooler with the upside down water jug and very cold water in little dixie cups. But I didn't drink enough that way--the water was too cold and the cup was too small. Now that i have been bringing my own bottle and can have it with me and also on the treadmill, i have not had any more incidents....good sign, but of course, this is not proof...waiting for test results.

When i exercise on the treadmill at my gym, i have my heart rate go up to 100 to 118, usually about 110. When I took the treadmill test, i could see my heart rate on the screen, and when my rate got up to 129, i turned my head. I didn't want to watch. They planned to have my heart rate go up to 85% of capacity and i just didn't want to know what that was.

When Rose was talking about her son being home for spring break and having chocolate cream pie for him, it made me think of this little snack that i have once in a while on my diet. I get the Kraft Coolwhip Chocolate Whipped Topping, which is two tbsp. per serving = 1.5 grams of fat (saturated fat, unfortunately), no trans fats, 2 carbohydrates, 2 units of sugar, and no sodium. It is best when it is almost thawed out. I put a dollop with a soup spoon, probably 4 tbsp. on a plate and eat it. It reminds me of chocolate mousse, but it is not too diet-breaking for me. I don't eat meat (vegetarian) and i don't eat a lot of cheese, milk, or eggs, so i don't get a lot of saturated fats in my diet. Anyway, it is a treat and it reminds me of chocolate ice cream and chocolate mousse, but without the fats and calories. Also, it does not get me back to craving chocolate again, which is good since it took me 2 months to get off the chocolate habit, so that i could start my diet. But i bet that Rose's son would not find this treat acceptable...lol. but it is a treat for dieters. It has to be hard to have kids in the house and also the food that they like. It would bug me a bit to have a chocolate cream pie in the house, altho my hubby gets his treats too, like oreo cream pie.

Anyone else have any "treats" tips for people trying to lose weight??

peace,
celia

Celia - plenty of water before the gym is important! I
usually try to down 20-32 oz BEFORE I go over there. It's the oil that keeps your cooling system working.

I don't know about little treats. When I think of tablespoons of things I think of ice cream, a heaping tablespoon of B&J can easily push 100 calories, or canned frosting. I have a sweet tooth that is hard to stop.

Bird food or not, I have been munching on those snack things.

They're "All Bran" snack packs. Little crackers, slightly sweet that come in bags of 100 calories each. They're hard and crunchy, like bird pellets. Not that I don't eat them.

I like an apple slice on top of that cracker/peanut butter snack.

Margarine AND sour cream seems like overkill on the potato to me. I can go with sour cream, but it's not "right" without a lot of salt. I've never heard of ketchup, but it seems reasonable.

Sometimes I cut cooked potatoes into smaller parts and put them on a cookie sheet. I spray them with Olive oil Pam and bake them, turning them once. They get a little crispy that way, and I can eat those without anything. I like that with green beans with a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Sometimes when you have a sweet tooth it's better to not even go there.

I threw away most of a pumpkin pie my mom and dad brought over for dinner last week - DH was out of town and I never got around to eating it!!

Kari,

Either great will power or you don't like pumpkin. Dh helped my finish off what my mom sent over. Nice weather here for a change so we took the first of many spring evening walks.

Is that like my "only heat leftovers up once" rule?