New girl -- need to share story
Hello.......
I just wanted to introduce myself and share me story. I apologize in advance this may be a bit lengthy.......I joined this forum last week and have been following your threads for a few days now. I first want to THANK everyone for sharing thier personal health stories and information, it has HELPED me out so much this past week. I discovered the first SP about a month ago and read the book in one day -- it just made so much sense and I could really relate to many of the issues she talked about. I've been following Atkins for the past few months, and although things were going well, something was still not right with my body....
Let me give you a history of my health woes:
I seemed pretty healthy and active up until about 3-4 years ago. I was a vegetarian for about 8 years (thinking that I was really healthy) following the typical low-fat/high carb american diet. I had a BIG sweet tooth, but it never seemed to catch up with me because I have always been extremely active and was still fairly young (I'm 26 now.) About 4 years ago I began getting sick alot -- the flu, stomach problems, and strep throat 6x in 1 year. Then I found out that I had MONO which last for over a year.
Prior to my Mono I had maintained a healthy weight of about 135-140lbs for years. during Mono my weight dropped about 10-15lbs -- but I was loosing ALL my muscle. That year was crazy, I was SO TIRED all the time but still managed to graduate college, take care of my Mom (she had leg surgery) and work 25-30 hours a week. When I finally recovered from the Mono (about sept/oct 2001) a very STRESSFUL 2 years was about to begin. On Sept. 10, 2001, I moved out of state for a job leaving my family and my boyfriend of 2 years at home. Then the horror of Sept. 11th happened -- not only was I 2,000 miles away from friends and family, but my boyfriend had a family member in one of the towers. To make a long story short the relationship ended (which was heartbreaking.) I finally came back home In November 2002 and started a NEW stressful job working 70 hours a week. I was a mess, TIRED all the time, still grieving the failed relationship and Sept. 11th. In an attempt to block-out my heartache and dissatisfaction with my present work life, I started going out all the time with friends. After work I'd meet up with friends and we'd party till 3 or 4 in the morning on weekends (every weekend for 4 -5 months.) I sometimes wouldn't eat all day until about 6PM --- and then drink 8-10 beers.... my metabolism was a wreck. That is when i began to put on weight -- FAST. In January 2002 I weighed about 130 lbs -- by February 2002 I was about 147. This is when I began to PANIC -- I immediatley started to DIET and try supplements. I began taking Hydroxycut and went to Weight watchers, at first I lost some weight and maintained it -- but it all went downhill from there. By April 2002 my weight went up to 155 and then I started eating only protein -- no veggies/ no carbs --- this would have been ok except that I was eating like 3-4 protein bars a day -- not much REAL food and I was taking MORE supplements with EPHEDRA in them. This backfired -- I was SO STRESSED out, I had a bad case of Acne on my face -- I was bloated and crampy, I was getting muscle spasms in my stomach and legs, chronic back pain from the stress -- and I stopped getting my period. I thought I had a thyroid problem so I went to the Doctor for tests --- the good news is that I tested Negative for a low Thyroid, but I still couldn't explain my weigt gain, fatigue and general depressed state. By August 2002 my weight went up again to 165.... This was it -- I was so disgusted with myself, my clothes didn't fit, my mental and physical health was going downhill... fast. I was withdrawing from social activities, I quit my stressful job and began waitressing. I decided to STOP dieting for a while. I ate whatever I wanted for a few months and seemed to stablize at about 165ish for a few months. I then began going to the gym to try and build some of my muslce back, I started eating good sources of protein chicken, and then beef (no more artificial protein bars), finally started to menstruate again and through research on the internet and books decided that carbs were BAD for me. I figured out that I was INSULIN RESISTANT -- every time I had a bit of carbs or sugar I just couldn't stop myself from eating anything I could get my hands on. I began doing modified Atkins type plan in December 2002 -- I lost about 8lbs that first month -- but began BINGEING on weekends -- and then ultimately PURGING cause I felt so horrible about eating all the bad carbs and sugar.... I had had a bout of Bulimia in Highschool and early college but thought I had "kicked-it" -- I was obviously headed down the WRONG road...... I would stick to my NO carb plan during the week and loose a good amount of weight, then on the weekends I would binge/purge on high carb/sugary foods and put all the weight back on. In January 2003 I had to go to the Emergency Room on several occasions for strange allergic reactions on my body..... the doctors still can't explain them. After the initial reaction the doctors put me on Steroids for 2 weeks. The weight I had lost immediately came back plus MORE. My highest weight has been 175 -- and I've been loosing and gaining the same 8-9lbs since about March 2003.
The reactions have finally ceased, and I'm at a less stressful job which I like and find fulfilling, I see a counselor to sort out my feelings about the break-up and I practice Yoga and meditation 2x a week. Overall my stress level is WAY DOWN. Since November I have built up quite a bit of muslce and even though my weight on the scale is still pretty high, I know that I have replaced a lot of the fat with nice lean muscle. I know I have a LONG way to go -- but I finally feel like I am on the right path. This leads me back to how I discovered Dianne Shwarzbein. Like I stated earlier I have been following Atkins for the past few months -- on one of the message boards I heard about the Shwarzbein plan and how it could improve mood and depressed symptoms. I immediatley bought and read the book. Things made so much sense, but I was still content with Atkins. After a few more weeks on Atkins I noticed that all the fatigue and blue feelings were coming back (even though I was staying away from carbs.) I then stumbled upon this thread and started reading the posts about Adrenal fatigue and coritsol ect..... I did the self tests for Adrenal fatigue and they were all pretty much positive. I definetly "FEEL" like I'm burned out.....
So here I am -- overweight, insulin resistant, burned-out adrenals and still HOPEFUL! I ordered SPII and expect it any day now -- I can't wait to read it to begin HEALING my poor body. I have been sticking to the food plan outlined in her first book, so hopefully the Healing process has begun.
I am just so thankful to have found this thread with all the useful stories and info... I can finally start to get back to feeling and living in a healthy way!
As it stands today, July 02, 2003 -- my weight is at 169 and I feel very fatigued. I know that my weight will probably RISE as I'm recovering, but I'm not going to let it bother me. My ultimate HEALTH is more important than the number on the scale. I just wish I could have come to that realization last year before I put my body through the torture of Yo-Yo dieting, bingeing and purgeing........
Here's to a NEW start -- finally HEALING and getting HEALTHY......
I look forward to the support from this board -- everyone seems HELPFUL and Understanding....
here's to HEALING....
Thanks for listening - Cris.
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