Up and Down Weight - Unmanagable

Question
Hi Susan,

I have always been a small-framed gal.  I am 5'3, 31 years of age, and had always been about 115 lbs before I had children.  I have never smoked and drink rarely, socially.  At 27 I had my first child and weighed a whopping 163 pounds at her birth, even though I had no cravings and ate really well and was not diabetic.  I retained a heavy amount of water.  My ankles were the same size as my thighs at the end.  I literally dropped 25 pounds the first week because so much of my weight gain was water related.  I never lost all of the weight though, despite hitting the gym and eating right.  The lowest I got back down to was 129 lbs. and when I stopped breastfeeding at her 12 mos mark I gained 6 pounds back right away.  

Two months later, I was pregnant again.  I gained 28 lbs. with that pregnancy and was exactly 163 lbs. pounds again when I delivered her.  I never lost much weight after I had my second baby but I never tried hard either.  I ate well but I did not exercise.  I was so sore for so long from the emergency c-section that I had that it was 5 weeks before I was able to venture out of the house.  Plus, having two kids is far different from one and your schedule is far more demanding.  I never went below weighing 147 lbs.  I didn't recognize myself, I had to buy new clothes, it was awful.  I was embarassed to leave the house.

When baby #2 was a year old I was sick of being overweight.  I went on a diet, I ate Special K with red berries and skim milk for breakfast, I ate tuna steaks and steamed veggies for lunch and dinner and I switched to diet cola when I did have cola.  I ate the 100 calorie pack snack cakes no more than once a day if I got hungry.  I did not work out because it always made me feel awful afterwards and I would frequently faint from the seemingly slightly activity.  But, from the food changes alone I went down to 125 lbs. in about 4-5 months.  I felt great and I looked great.  Still not what I was before babies but I'm not sure that'll ever happen and I was just happy with the 22 lb. drop.  I went back to healthy, but a more varied food palette, and the weight stayed off for almost a year.  

I recently started having a lot of health issues: heart palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, fainting.  I was diagnosed with Orthostatic Intolerance, which explains why I can no longer tolerate exercise and why I would faint if I tried it.  My condition eventually got so bad that I had to leave my employer to stay home.  I am far less active than I was when working but I still eat well.  But now, here comes the weight.  I have gained 7 pounds back since Nov. 26, 2008. and I'm afraid to go back to being overweight.  It's hard for me to diet or take supplements because of my illness and it's out of the question to exercise but I feel like there has to be something that I can do safely.  Is there anything that you can suggest?  Thanks!  April

Answer
Hi April,

Ever occur to you that your idea of what is "eating well" might be way off??????

Special K? Milk? Tuna? You had junk, osteoporosis and mercury poisoning. Diet sodas make you hungry, besides being more suitable for a bathrooom cleaning fluid than to be taken orally.

see www.premiumfuel.com for a start at real food vs. flavored packing material

1. Prev:What to eat on day off
2. Next:Losing these last 28 pounds