[Canadian Karen]

Okay, I am fed up......

Ever since I was on steriods earlier this year (which made me balloon up to 200 lbs.), I have been unable to shed the excess, even though I have greatly curtailed my calorie intake.....

I now firmly believe that the steriods somehow "shut down" my metabolism or something. I am now to the point where I am willing to try some kind of weight loss supplement that will kickstart my metabolism again. Does anyone know of any gluten free ones?

I need to start to feel myself again. It's bad enough that I have to deal with SAD from November to February, where every day is a struggle from falling into the abyss, but the fact that I don't feel good about myself physically either just compounds the problem. It is extremely frustrating.

Thanks guys!
Karen

[Rusla]

Karen,

Was it Prednisone you were on. It is by far one of the worst steroids going. Every time I have a severe asthma attack or get stung by a wasp they try to feed me that stuff. I gain 60 lbs in a week on that nasty stuff. Then it takes forever to come off.

[Canadian Karen]

First they tried me on Budesonide, when that didn't work, they had me on Prednisone for six weeks, which didn't work either. But I had six weeks of gaining weight at breakneck speed and now I can't shake it.....

Karen

[jenvan]

Karen-the current issue of natural health has an article on natural metabolism boosters. it was interesting. you can't get the article online, but i have it and could send it to you. its referenced here: http://www.naturalhealthmag.com/

[Rusla]

Karen,

Prednisone is by far one of the worst. You gain weight the fastest on it and lose weight exceedingly slow. Not only that but it can cause other problems with prolonged use. When they give it to me to take if it is only one little pill for 3 days, I will take it, if it is 10 pills a day...now way. My last big episode with it took over a year to lose what it put on.

[debbiewil]

Just to prove everyone's different - I lost weight on prednisone when I was on it last year. The doctor only gave me enough for twelve days, but I lost 4 pounds during those 12 days. Since I am, and always have been overweight, I thought it was great. But I have had completely indiosyncratic reactions to medicines before - stimulants can put me right to sleep, for instance.
Debbie

[Canadian Karen]

Hi Kim!

Actually, I haven't been on it for months now but still have not been able to lose the weight that I gained when I was on it.

I was on prednisone for 6 weeks. It was a regiment of 6 pills a day for a week, next week 5 pills a day, next week 4 pills a day, gradually getting down to 0. It totally threw my system for a loop. I was put on it for treatment for collagenous colitis. I am one of the few that didn't respond to the treatment though.....

Here is a link about collagenous colitis to help you understand (1 in 150,000 people get this.......):

http://www.orpha.net...o/GB/uk-CC.html

Karen

[Jnkmnky]

You can't just cut back on calories. I hope you're lifting some weights. Get little 3-5 lb handweights and little strap on ankle weights. Nothing expensive, nothing heavy... you're not training to be a body builder! But you have to work your muscles in order to lose the weight. Your body will burn extra calories "repairing" the muscles while you sleep. Do it for a mere 15 minutes a day to start. The next week lay on the floor during your favorite show and do it for an entire half hour. You will be helping yourself way more than cutting calories. (I, for one, hate cutting calories. I eat what I want and do a few extra leg lifts!)

[Nantzie]

Oh My Gosh! I never knew that prednisone could make you gain weight!!!

That must have been what happened to me. I had slowly gained some weight in my late 20's. But then about three weeks before my wedding I broke out in really bad hives. They were all over, even on my face. The doctor put me on a course of prednisone. I gained at least 5 pounds that last few weeks, then another 20 the first few months I was married. I wrote it off as stress. And ever since then, trying to lose weight was (to make a long story short) impossible. At one point, I went and had my metabolism checked and they said that I was only burning 1100 calories a day. At that point I had been walking at least 5 miles a day 3-4 times a week for months. My body shape was changing and I'd gone down a size, but the scale wasn't moving. If it had only been a few weeks that I'd been exercising, I would have written that off as muscle gain, but it had been months.

I did have HUGE success on The Six Week Body Makeover (yes, the informercial). www.provida.com has a message board that is open to anybody. They don't allow people to post specifics on what the diet is, but if you go do your free body profile that tells you what body type you are, you can go to the type-specific boards and by reading the past posts you can extrapolate a little bit and get an idea of what your body type needs. The basics are - no sugar, no salt, no wheat, no dairy and no oil. Then it's food combining, eating certain things only at certain times of day, and portion control.

It worked really great for me. I was 185 when I started. I lost 7 pounds the first week, but I looked like I had lost 15. I looked completely different. I hadn't realized how much of how I looked was because I was bloated. The first six weeks I lost 20 pounds. The weight was just falling off. Every couple of days I was down a pound or so. (Gotta love digital scales...) My friends started calling me the incredible shrinking woman . Then I took a break for a few months because of a lot of stress in my family. I didn't gain weight during that time. I fluctuated a few pounds up and down, but it was like my body was at a new "set point". Then I did it again because I wanted to lose another 10 pounds, and did that just as easily and kept it off just as easily. But then we had a death in the family and I pretty much dove headfirst into comfort food.

I'm back up to 180 now, and I'm planning on going back sometime early next year. Once I found out about celiac, I started wondering if that was one of the reasons that diet worked for me. I'm still going to get my biopsy done, so I have to wait until all that is done before I go on it. I'm planning on being bathing-suit ready by summer.

But anyway, PREDNISONE. That makes so much sense. I was always one of those people who never really had a problem with weight. Of course, being a woman in today's society, I always THOUGHT I was fat. Sometimes I just want to go back and shake some sense into myself. All 125 pounds of me.

Nancy

[Canadian Karen]

Nantzie, on Dec 1 2005, 12:20 PM, said:

My body shape was changing and I'd gone down a size, but the scale wasn't moving. If it had only been a few weeks that I'd been exercising, I would have written that off as muscle gain, but it had been months.

Nancy, that's EXACTLY what is happening to me.

When I first went on the prednisone, I exploded up to 200 lbs. in record time. But I looked 200 lbs also. I was puffy, fat, bloated, etc....... After the prednisone was finished, my body shape changed drastically and I thought for sure I was losing the weight, but lo and behold, I step on the scale and it hadn't moved an inch. Even my friend across the street kept on commenting "Karen, you're losing the weight now, aren't you....." and I had to keep on telling her "Nope, nary a pound......" Even she couldn't believe it. So here I am, almost a year later, and if someone asked me how much I weighed and I told them 200 lbs., they would never believe me because I don't look it. Where did the prednisone hide it? (although I have to admit half of it has gone on to my chest!!!!! I went up 2 cup sizes) But I desperately want to get back to me "pre steriod" look.

I looked up on the internet and decided to try Swiss Natural Sources Apple Cider Vinegar with Chromium. Apparently, it is supposed to kickstart your metabolism. Here is a link:

http://www.swissherb...ct_listings.php

I looked in their product manual, and it is gluten free......

I hope this works......

Hugs.
Karen

[mommida]

I was looking into milled flax seed, to add more fiber into our diets. It was about the time when the big buzz about Hilary Swank and the movie Million Dollar Baby was in full swing. The trainer said the big "secret" for her training was flax. That her body built muscle more efficiently and it was hard to keep her from losing weight. Made me too nervous to try it, considering I'm feeding young kids. I would try something that could help your body naturally before trying some type of pill.
Laura

[Nantzie]

Karen - my boobs got bigger too!!! Hmm... Makes you wonder. Bigger boobs was the very LAST thing I wanted though, because mine were always big to begin with. Now people who don't know me assume I've got implants. Not fun.

Nancy

[eugenelowcarb]

All of the Atkins vitamins are free of artificial colors, flavors, hydrogenated oils, corn, wheat, salt, sugar, starch and gluten!

There are 2 options that might be worth looking into...

Dieter's Advantage, a stimulant-free appetite control.
It contains: B6, calcium, phosphorus, kelp (iodine), magenesium, chromium, potassium, garcinia cambogia fruit extract, parsley leaf, spirulina algae, l-carnitine, pantethine, guggul extract, bladderwrack kelp, l-tyrosine, pineapple enzymes, gentian root, orange peel, and black pepper extract.

Accel, a thermogenic formula that enhances fat loss & supports normal thyroid function.
It contains: niacin, chromium, green tea leaf extract, yerba mate leaf extract, brazilian guarana seed extract, theobroma cacau seed extract, guggul extract, bladderwrack kelp & l-tyrosine.

You should be able to find these at any health food store, or order online.

Good luck!

brynn

[tarnalberry]

Canadian Karen, on Dec 1 2005, 05:14 AM, said:

Okay, I am fed up......

Ever since I was on steriods earlier this year (which made me balloon up to 200 lbs.), I have been unable to shed the excess, even though I have greatly curtailed my calorie intake.....

I now firmly believe that the steriods somehow "shut down" my metabolism or something. I am now to the point where I am willing to try some kind of weight loss supplement that will kickstart my metabolism again. Does anyone know of any gluten free ones?

I need to start to feel myself again. It's bad enough that I have to deal with SAD from November to February, where every day is a struggle from falling into the abyss, but the fact that I don't feel good about myself physically either just compounds the problem. It is extremely frustrating.

Thanks guys!
Karen

I would encourage you to get a lightbox to help with the SAD, and consider replacing your regular light bulbs with full spectrum compact flourescents. (Ok, the compact flourescents is an environmental consideration, as you can get incandescent full spectrums.) The science on full spectrums for SAD is... not complete, but I think it helps. The science behind light boxes definitely supports it, however (it's been shown to be important to have sufficient intensity (you'd want to be about a meter away from about 20 60W incandescents for the right 'dose' of light), but the spectrum of light hasn't really been studies).

Exercise is also helpful for SAD, particularly frequent, moderate intensity, moderate duration exercise to stimulate endorphin production. (As a bonus, that's the very type of exercise best for boosting metabolism and loose weight.)