Losing Weight Support Group

[kitkatz]

Okay folks I have to get with it and lose at least twenty pounds.  With the holidays coming up I am going to need some help.  There is a huge amount of stress in my life right now and Lord knows how I am going to do it.
How about if we support each other right here on the board to lose the weight we need to lose?
I have more than twenty to lose, but will start with the first twenty. 
This thread not to berate each other with failure, (we have anough of that!) but to help each other through the rough times.
Besides we have a lot of people who are knowledgeable about diet especially renal diet and we can lean on them for help.

Starting Monday monring I am going to change one thing in my life to become healthier. Each week I will add one new thing to change.

This week:  Add a fruit or wegetable to each meal replacing a bread carbo.

Join me as I wrestle my weight demons into submission one at a time.

[goofynina]

You go girlfriend, you can do this, we will be here supporting you all the way, but remember, you have to be truthful to yourself so no more DelTaco fries ok,   I wish i had your drive and motivation but i feel its a lost cause with me, especially now being on PD and the high caloric dialysate and stuff, oh well, but i will support you any way i can girlfriend,,, you can do this 

[Fox_nc]

I think this is a great idea and I'm right there with you.  I will follow your lead and add a fruit or veggie to each meal.  Monday is a good day to start.  If you are up to it, how about adding walking for say, 5 minutes a day next week?

Oh and Goofynina - you never give up either.  Even on PD, you can make changes and make yourself feel better.  I actually can't even believe you said that.  You seem to be so passionate in everything else, that I know you can do anything you put your mind to.  Just put your mind to it and you WILL do it.  You can do this too, ya know.

[goofynina]

Thanks Foxy, but living the way i've lived for 38 years i really dont see it happening, dont get me wrong, i love life to the fullest and i try to be as happy as i can possibly be but deep down inside i just dont feel good about myself, eh, but funny i can sure support others and cheer them on huh? lol,  guess i am weird in that way 

[TrophyWife]

HI Goofynina!
You can do this girl. Keep a journal of all you eat. Be organized - don't skip a meal - it will lead to bad food choices! Buy a cute outfit, something sporty that you can walk in! It will motivate you. And email me anytime for motivation.

[goofynina]

I am sorry, i had to laugh at your "cute sporty" outfit, lol,  i think the smallest size i ever wore wasnt even cute, lol,  but i know what your saying,  and thank you so much for the support,  (wanna move in with me)     Do you know how to crack a whip?  I think thats what i need.  lol

[mallory]

I'd love to have a thread for weight loss support.  I've gained 40 lbs. since I started taking so much Prednisone, and I've got to do something.  My doctor called last Thursday and said my kidneys are getting worse, so I'll probably be starting PD soon and then I'm really worried that I'll gain more weight. 

Walking 5 minutes a day sounds good to me, and I'll really try this week to eat better. 

Goofynina, you can do this.  If I can do it, you can.  I have no willpower, and the Prednisone makes me want to eat everything in sight. 

We can do it!!

[kitkatz]

I did not add a veggie or fruit to meals today for lunch and I ate no breakfast, so off to a not so good start.  But I did have some romaine lettuce for dinner with the taco salad I made at home.  Goody for me.  Off to try again tomorrow.

[jbeany]

hey, goofynina,
I saw on one of the other posts that you had a match, but the docs said you have to lose weight before they will do the transplant.  My sister has already volunteered, although the only tests we've done are blood typing.   I don't know if the rest will work out or not, but if it does, I may end up in the same boat, being a WWC (woman with curves!) myself.  I was just wondering if you had any idea what the weight limits are for a transplant?  Just how overweight can you be and still get one?

Just wondering if you had any info off the top of your head. . .

Does the donor have to be a certain weight as well?  I can see my sis giving me a kidney, but giving up chocolate, even for a while - now that's a lot to ask! 

[goofynina]

Yep Jbeany, you have to be 200 lbs or under (yesssss, i am over that, waaaay over, lol) *mumbles* frickinsmackinfrackleflickin    That is why i dont see it possible for me.    oh well,   I believe the donor has to be under that weight as well and in good health (naturally)     I remember when i had my meeting with the Kidney Hospital and we discussed it all, i was near that weight BUT when they told me that my insurance wasnt going to pay for my donors portion and we had to raise $50,000.00 in order for it to even be considered i gave up and started eating again, DAMMIT,  so close, so close,  now i am back where i started from when i first got sick 

[jbeany]

That's not as bad as I thought.  I was worried they were going to say you have to a lot closer to the reccomended weight for your height than that.  Down to 200 is pretty manageable for me - I've got less than 15 to go then.  It was more more, but I finally found a diet plan that works - my husband's.  He asked me to stop buying junk food for the house completely.  (I do all the grocery shopping.)  Since we only have one car, if I want anything I'm not supposed to have, I have to walk a block to the local convenience store to get it.  Even if I do go for some junk food, I burn off the calories going to get it.  And most of the time, I just don't bother at all.  (Too lazy to get junk - I guess that's not a bad thing.)

I think my sister has dropped below that already - she's on the divorcee diet plan.  It's a two parter, she says.  Part one is losing your appetite when your husband of 15 years announces that he's leaving you for his college age girlfriend.  Part two kicks in when someone else asks you out and you picture yourself naked in front of a new man.   

I thought Medicare was supposed to cover most of the donors transplant costs?  At least that's what the booklet I have says.  Well, it says "part" - how big of part is that, I wonder?  They pay for the stem and you're left to cover the apple?

[nkviking75]

Yep Jbeany, you have to be 200 lbs or under (yesssss, i am over that, waaaay over, lol) *mumbles* frickinsmackinfrackleflickin    That is why i dont see it possible for me.    oh well,   I believe the donor has to be under that weight as well and in good health (naturally)     I remember when i had my meeting with the Kidney Hospital and we discussed it all, i was near that weight BUT when they told me that my insurance wasnt going to pay for my donors portion and we had to raise $50,000.00 in order for it to even be considered i gave up and started eating again, DAMMIT,  so close, so close,  now i am back where i started from when i first got sick 

When I went to the Mayo Clinic (only about 90 minutes from me) for my evaluation, they seemed to base their criteria on Body Mass Index.  In my case, they told me I need to get down to 240.  Being male might have something to do with the difference as well.  I understand the discouragement because I am in the same boat.  I have a long way to go.

[Panda_9]

I have to lose weight too. At the moment I am aiming for 10kg, then see how I go after that. Small goals make it easier. Don't be too hard on yourself and make a massive goal and expect it to happen quickly. I meet every criteria for transplant except the weight part. You have to have a BMI of 30 or less which makes it pretty hard. At the moment my BMI is around 36. The surgeon said he would do the transplant now if I wanted him too, but it carries 50% risk of this and that, mostly infection. Plus theres the fact that you will put weight on post transplant because of the steroids and because you make up for not being able to eat whatever you wanted while on dialysis.
When I had my first transplant my first meal out was maccas (HUGE MISTAKE!). From what I can remember I had 2 cheeseburgers, another burger, fries, coke, and large chips and god knows what else. Well that night I brought it all back up lol
I think its important to get into the habit of eating well and exercising now before the transplant, so you have a bit more willpower afterwards.
I have started going to the gym and funny enough it is not all that hard! I did a 40 minute workout today, and although I came home and had a snooze, I feel good knowing that I have done something today, and actually enjoyed it. I find walking boring, much prefer all the different equipment at the gym.
Start off slowly with the healthy eating part, if you think you might have trouble with it. I started straight into it, cut out this that and everything and I just couldn't do it. So now like kitkatz said, start with one (or more if you like) thing at a time. I am cutting down on my milk intake, cheese, and margarine for now.
If I find myself sitting at home bored, I just jump on the bus and go walk around the shops, have a coffee and healthy lunch, then go home. It makes me tired, but at least Ive done something.
Perhaps we could share healthy recipes and food ideas?
As I said in another thread, I love low fat creamed cottage cheese on toast with promite or vegemite or thin slices of tomato.

[Epoman]

Would you guys like this to be a "Sticky" in this section? - Epoman

[Sluff]

I have lost a total of 83 lbs in about a year. 39 just since diagnosis in may 06. Not really doing anything  special but just am sick to my stomach and don't feel like eating sometimes.  My goal is to lose at least another 65lbs.

[mallory]

Thanks, Epoman, I think it would be great for this to be a sticky.

My doctor also told me I had to have a BMI of 30 or less to get a transplant.  I didn't know what my BMI was, so I found this link that calculates BMI:

http://www.webmd.com/content/tools/1/calc_bmi.htm

It's in pounds, not kilograms, here's a link to a converter that can convert kilograms to pounds (or pounds to kilograms):

http://www.itinscales.com/weightcalc.htm

I agree with Amber.  It's a good idea to get in the habit of exercising and eating healthy foods before we get transplants.  I have a tendency to set unrealistic goals, like losing 5 pounds a week, then I get discouraged when I don't make it.  I really need to set a goal of just trying to exercise a little, like the five minutes a day walking, and then try to gradually increase it.  

I'd love to share recipes.  I have a good low-calorie vegetable soup recipe, I'll find it and post it.

[mallory]

Here's the recipe for the soup.  It's really good, especially now when the weather's getting colder (at least in Utah!) and it has hardly any calories in it.  When I was on Weight Watchers they told us it was a 0 point food, so you could eat as much of it as you wanted.  I also put fresh sliced mushrooms in mine, and you could add other vegetables that you like. 

This recipe originally came from Weight Watchers, but I don't think it has anything in it that isn't kidney-friendly.  If it isn't, let me know, I'm not very good at this ESRD diet yet!

Vegetable Soup

[/b]

•   2/3 c sliced carrot
•   ½ c diced onion
•   2 garlic cloves, minced
•   3 c low-sodium broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable)
•   1 ½ c diced green cabbage
•   ½ c green beans
•   1 T. tomato paste
•   ½ tsp. dried basil
•   ¼ tsp. dried oregano
•   ½ c diced zucchini
In a large saucepan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, saute carrot, onion and garlic over low heat until softened - about 5 minutes.
Add broth, cabbage, beans, tomato paste, basil, and oregano. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered about 15 min. or until beans are tender.
Stir in zucchini and heat 3-4 minutes. Serve hot.

[jbeany]

Hmmm, thanks for link, mallory - I think!  I used it to calculate what my weight would have to be for my height to reach a BMI under 30.   So much for easily manageable amounts to lose! 

Ah well, I've got a long term goal then - 30 pounds to get to 30 points.  There's no way my sis can give me a kidney anytime soon.  She can't afford to miss work right now, let alone all the medical costs goofynina was talking about, so I've got at least a year or possibly two to work on it.  If I manage it sooner, then I'll just be in cuter jeans quicker!

[goofynina]

Hmmm, thanks for link, mallory - I think!  I used it to calculate what my weight would have to be for my height to reach a BMI under 30.   So much for easily manageable amounts to lose! 

Ah well, I've got a long term goal then - 30 pounds to get to 30 points.  There's no way my sis can give me a kidney anytime soon.  She can't afford to miss work right now, let alone all the medical costs goofynina was talking about, so I've got at least a year or possibly two to work on it.  If I manage it sooner, then I'll just be in cuter jeans quicker!

Jbeany,  my insurance is different from other insurances cuz it is through a union and they wont pay for a "living donor" but they would pay for a cadaveric donor, go figure huh?  Well,  Medicare said they would pay for 80% and i would have to come up with the remaining 20% which is around $50,000.00,   just wanted you to know how and why i got those figures.

[jbeany]

$50,000 is 20%?  Good grief.  Well, that's good to know, I suppose.  One more reason to add to the CON list on deciding if Sis and I want to do this.

More incentive to lose the weight and get on the UNOS list, then, too!

[Epoman]

STICKIED 

[tamara]

For me in Australia to get on the transplant list had to get under a BMI of 30. Which I did but then I had my Parathyroids removed and put on about 10kg.

I am finding these 10 the hardest to lose in my life.

I seriously need to lose this ASAP am in the midst of organising an AB non match Kidney Transplant with my partner in Crime, Allan.

I've been going to the Gym for about the last six weeks and have lost about 4 kilos so 6 to go.

Will keep the Support Group informed.........................

[kitkatz]

I am going to try to walk the dog today.  I added veggies to the diet once today. Bought a sliced up veggies cup at the local seven eleven and took it to work. Forgot about it until after lunch and school, but did munch on it a little

[Panda_9]

Its coming up summer here so Im looking forward to eating more salad. I usually cut up some celery, carrot, cucumber, cherry/grape tomato, couple of stuffed olives, some cubes of reduced fat cheese and spring onions, and when im ready to eat it i pour on some fat free dressing and a can of drained tuna. Its a nice filling light lunch.

[Russ]

I tried to get a gastric bypass about 3 years ago before my kidneys failed but my insurance has an exclusion for WLS.  Now I will have to wait 1.5 years for Medicare to become primary and get the bypass at that time.  Then I think it will take me about a year or so to lose enough weight to qualify for a transplant.  I was told my BMI needs to be around the 30's.  Now insurance will have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars more for a transplant on top of the WLS when they could have just paid for just the WLS or about $25,000.  Oh and I'm sure I'll probably have 1 or 2  hospital stays along the way which average about $20,000 a pop.  I'd like to meet these insurance dumbasses one day and show them how to save some money.