Weight Gain Getting Out Of Control...

[blas]

Today I had blood drawn for my cholestrol test and for a thyroid test. Let's hope I can get some answers.

[tollbaby]

Now this is just my opinion (I'm not a doctor, or a nutritionist, and take this with the caveat that I am overweight)...

You're obsessed. Toss the scale out the window. Cut down on your water intake - you're flushing away necessary salts in your body and replacing them with synthetic ones (gatorade). Gatorade is just as bad for you as juice/pop is. It *is*, in fact, possible to drink too much water, and from what you've described, you definitely are. Never mind how much you weigh, and concentrate on how you physically feel. Your body also requires a certain amount of fat and a lot more protein than you're giving it. Try white meats (chicken, lean pork, fish, seafood) - in other words, rather than having a salad with just fruit and nuts in it, add some shrimp, chicken or turkey and an ounce of cheese. (you don't have much calcium intake either).

One very important point that I realized after I'd finished posting is that NATURAL sources are always best, so if you need more protein, eat meat/seafood. If you need more calcium, eat cheese or yogurt. Don't go taking protein shakes, supplements, etc. Our bodies best absorb what they would naturally absorb anyway. Any time you add something synthetic or chemical, you're throwing an extra roadblock in your body's way.

The panic I'm sensing in your posts is approaching eating disorder levels. I don't want to see you go down that road any more than you want to travel it yourself. Please take a good look at yourself (not your body, but your entire being) and don't concentrate on the numbers, just concentrate on how you look and feel. Measurement numbers are just as bad as weight numbers - toss them out the window and listen to your body instead.

I really hope you don't take this the wrong way - I've spent DECADES obsessing over every little thing I put in my mouth (whether good or bad) and it's not a healthy way to live. *hug* Good luck!

[blas]

Test results are back, I also had a bone density test because I have been on Depo Provera for over 5 years.

My thyroid is normal, my cholesterol is normal, I passed the bone density test with flying colors.

Maybe I should have been more clear, but I do not drink that much Gatorade. I have none at home. I only drink it at work because it is the only thing (other than water) available to drink that isn't soda pop or overly sugary juices or coffees or energy drinks. I know it's not that great for you, but the electrolytes help keep me hydrated and I feel less guilty and less bloated than when I drink soda pop.

I also do not drink protein shakes religously anymore. I have not had one in quite a while. My doctor recommended I start eating tuna instead. It has just as much protein, but won't leave me feeling overly full.

My doctor also recommended that I go back to doing as much weight training as I was doing when I first went to the gym. She gave me some reading info before my bone density test, and it said that light weight training and working out helps keep your bones very healthy. My doctor said that I also need to go back to drinking as much Silk as I was drinking before and eating as much dairy as I was before.

I did have a slight change of heart. While I was almost certain I'd pass all of those tests, I always seem to freak over any kind of medical test (I have nearly had a panic attack over a pregnancy test before a colposcopy, and I even knew there was no way I was pregnant), but hearing those results made me feel a little more at ease with myself.

There is nothing wrong with me, as far as we medically know. I should be happy that I am a healthy young adult. I should be proud of myself for joining a gym and keeping it a habbit to go there often. I should be proud of myself that I learned to quit drinking soda pop like it was water and treat as only a treat every now and then. The same goes for sweets and other unhealthy foods. I should be proud that I have learned to like several foods that even months ago, I would have gagged at the thought of. I should be proud that I can sit at the computer and eat a bag of carrots versus a bag of cookies, or the fact that I don't even care about cookies anymore. I have come a long way, even if I have made some mistakes and worried some people and became a little too obsessed.

I feel like I should just be happy I am healthy. I am not overweight, even if I am one number away from it on the stupid BMI chart. BMI is a load of bullshit anyway. I should not let my life and my own worth be determined by a stupid scale. A few extra pounds and a little struggling with the jeans should not be the end of it all. I am still me and what I have accomplished, destroying horrible eating and drinking habbits and couch potato tendencies, becoming very active and ambitious, is more important than having a few new dimples on my lower half.

[trailerparkmedic]

the electrolytes help keep me hydrated

No they don't. Water hydrates you. Electolytes are sodium, potassium, things like that--stuff you should be getting enough of if you have a balanced diet. Gatorade is good if you exercise 60+ minutes at once and you're sweating the whole time. Otherwise, it's not necessary. That's not to say you shouldn't drink it--if you like it and it fits in your diet, cool. Do check out the calories on it, though. I was shocked when I saw how many calories were in a bottle.

I wish I had some wise words about self-image, but that's something I've struggled with since I was young. One thing I've heard often and have seen work for other people is thinking of all the things your body can do. One of my favorite bloggers hates her legs, but feels better about them when she thinks of things she can do with them, like ride her bike on a 30 mile tour of New York.

[Magpie]

I think you've got it down. Good that you went to the doctor, because you didn't know what was wrong. But since you've got a clean bill of health, then screw it. Like you say, BMI is a number. The only reason weight matters on its own is for joint problems. Aside from that your activity level and diet (i.e. what generally causes being overweight) matters more than your actual weight.

ETA: I'm assuming that you're on a hot shop floor, if you feel that you need to drink Gatorade instead of water. Adding a little bit of salt to your water will have the same effect. And as long as your water isn't distilled you should be ok. LD 50 of distilled water is in the neighbourhood of 5-6L (can't remember, too lazy to look it up), but tap water has a lot of ions in it already.

[Primer]

PowerAde vs GatorAde: Read the labels! GatorAde no longer has the electrolytes it did when it was first developed. PowerAde does. PowerAde is also available in a sugar-free version. Rather than buy GatorAde at work, can you keep some PowerAde in your car and take one or two in with you each night?

We do a lot of reenacting out in the heat, and make sure we have lots of water and lots of PowerAde available at every event we attend.

[Evil Queen]

It looks like it's sweetened with Sucralose (Basically it's Splenda) so I shouldn't have a problem with Powerade Zero. I'll try that.