The Metabolically Challenged

If you’ve been reading this blog from the beginning, you know I’ve had my difficulties losing weight (like most other Americans!)

About eighteen months ago, I started a program through my insurance company and had good success to begin with. The first five months showed successful weight loss, but then in October of last year, I hit a wall.

It began when I got tired of being on a diet. It didn’t matter that I kept telling myself it wasn’t a diet, but a new way of eating. I was bored and tired of watching and recording everything I put in my mouth and having to exercise. I am apparently somewhat lazy by nature, but there were other problems too. I had little motivation to do anything I didn’t “have” to do. And if motivated to exercise, I soon lost interest.

All this was reflected in my weekly weigh-ins. I’d lose a couple of pounds then gain them back. I knew that I wasn’t working the plan as I had been, so I accepted that the fault was mine. But, even though I wanted to lose the weight, it was getting harder and harder to motivate myself to work the plan as I needed to work it to achieve the weight loss I really wanted.

In January I started a walking program and got back into “working the program”. I was lucky that I was in an office that had a microwave, so I took my breakfast and lunch to work, microwaved as necessary, ate at my desk and then walked during my break times. My supervisors knew I was on this program (in fact, one was on the same program) and didn’t say anything thing about eating at my desk. I began to see some changes in my body, and some in my weight. My weight didn’t really change much because I was building (and rebuilding) muscle. So, while I may have lost actual weight, I also gained because I was gaining muscle weight. My counselor was aware and wasn’t too concerned because she realized why the weight loss wasn’t showing much success.

The doctor decided that I might be diabetic or insulin resistant, and if not diabetic, then pre-diabetic and sent me for an A1C blood test. I wasn’t sure about being insulin resistant, but I knew I wasn’t diabetic and I was proved right on that score. I also wasn’t insulin resistant. No one could explain why I wasn’t showing more weight loss.

In March, I was still walking and my body was showing results. My legs were looking good, starting to show a nice shape and toned muscle. Then disaster struck.

I have had plantar's fasciitis for several years, but no problems for about three years. Well, all the walking I was doing caused the plantar's fascii to revolt. My heel began to hurt while walking. I was coming up on some vacation time, so I decided to stop my daily walking and during my vacation I would rest the foot as much as possible.

While the pain lessened somewhat, I still had trouble walking. I could do the “normal” walking, but trying to maintain any walking for exercise was out of the question. There were times when my heel hurt so bad, especially on standing, that I had to just stop whatever I was doing until the pain lessened. That’s not really feasible in my work. Without saying much about what I do (my company has put out an order stating that we not say where we work or what we do. It’s not so much that what I do is classified – it’s not, although we do have to maintain certain security levels- but more about company image), I have to be able to move about freely and quickly – lives could possibly be endangered if I can’t move fast.

Anyway. In April, I finally went to the podiatrist and had my foot strapped. I knew that would do the trick. Except this time it didn’t work as well as it had in the past. After being re-strapped a couple more times, the doctor decided to put me in orthodics to give my foot the support it needed. That’s helped, but even today, I still have some daily pain. Aleeve helps. I usually take one in the morning and another in the afternoon if I need it.

Now, from March on, I haven’t been able to do my walking program. My weight fluctuated, on average, three or four pounds, gain or loss, from one week to the next. The doctor in charge of the weight program understood that my lack of walking (my chosen form of exercise) wasn’t my fault, it was due to a physical condition. Apparently, because of my foot problem, and the fact that I was following all the requirements, and went for the blood tests when they wanted, I was allowed to continue the program.

I completed the program in April, the only one in my work group who did so, by the way, but didn’t achieve the weight loss expected. So, there was joy and sadness in my “graduation”. I learned the lessons, lost nearly 50 pounds, and learned that I could do it. I was sad because I hadn't reached the goal set by the program or my personal goals.

Since I’ve been off the program, and unable to walk I’ve regained some of the weight. I knew it would happen, so it wasn’t unexpected. I knew in my heart that there was something else going on. I know as you age, losing weight is harder. I also know that my lack of motivation was a part of the problem. I stayed on the program very well for about five months. I didn’t deprive myself of anything. I learned early on that I could eat whatever I wanted; I just had to learn moderation and portion control. I knew that exercise had to be part of any weight loss program; diet alone doesn’t do it any more than exercise alone. And especially at my age and my weight.

I saw something the other day that got me wondering. Now, I know, everyone who wants to lose weight wants either an excuse why they can’t lose weight, or a magic bullet that will allow them to continue to eat and exercise (or not) as they want and still lose weight. If we’re all honest, we know that you can’t eat in excess, not exercise, and still lose weight, and that the excuses are just that: excuses to not even try.

What I saw was something called Metabolism B. This is apparently a metabolic disorder I had never heard of. I mentioned it to a friend who is also “weight challenged” and she told me it was all over the Internet. Well, that might be true, but it wasn’t where I had seen it, so I decided to do some looking around. I still haven’t done enough reading, but I seem to fit the pattern for this particular disorder.

Now, I’m not saying this is an excuse or a magic bullet, but from what I’ve seen so far, it might be something worth looking into if you have difficulty (and you’ve honestly worked “diet” and exercise programs) and struggling to lose that fat you’ve been carrying around for years.

Diane Kress, RD, CDE is the author of the best-selling book on this subject, The Metabolism Miracle. The blurb below is from the webpage for the book.

Do you keep gaining weight, despite your efforts to diet?

Do the pounds accumulate around your tummy?

Do you feel tired, irritable, and unable to focus?

Unlock the Secret of Metabolism B:

The Key to a Leaner and Healthier You

For over twenty years, weight loss and diabetes specialist Diane Kress, RD CDE, has worked with thousands of people in their quest to lose weight, get healthy, and feel their best. Over the years she became aware that a group of people (what turned out to be over 45% of people who struggled to lose weight and keep it off!) had a very similar story to tell. They dieted like anyone else, but didn’t get the results they deserved for their efforts. Even increases in exercise didn’t make a real difference in their weight loss efforts and a stubborn roll of fat around the middle became source of frustration. Not only did their weight yo yo, they began to feel less energetic, less healthy, and felt a lesser quality of life.

I read those three questions and said:

1. I lose weight, but after a while, it gets harder to lose. I get bored and lose motivation, true, but even when I’m really working a diet, it gets harder.

2. Not just yes, but HELL yes! I lost 50 pounds, but lost only two sizes and most of the weight is in my torso – including the belly.

3. I am tired all the time, no matter how sleep I get (or don’t get). I can sleep four hours or ten (or more) and I don’t feel much different. I’m generally upbeat, but little things can certainly irritate me that really shouldn’t. Unable to focus? Well, maybe, but not nearly so much a problem as the tiredness and irritability.

I found another page on the site that had more questions, and while some of them weren’t true of me, others were, and some in spades! About 45% of people who struggle to take off weight fall into this group of the metabolically challenged.

Now, I’m not saying this is the answer to my weight problems. I don’t know, I haven’t tried the program yet, but I think I will. I’m going to do more research, get the book and see what this is all about. If it works for me, I’ll let you know. I’ll also let you know if it doesn’t.

You have to be honest with yourself when on a diet/exercise plan. Are you really working the program or goofing off? If you’re really working it and not losing, there might be a reason why it’s not working for you. It could be the program isn’t right for you. Try something else. Maybe you need to mix up your exercise. If you really think about it, you’ll know the truth: you’re not working the program, or that there might be another reason for your lack of success.