Another Newbie

[Noni]

Hi!
I am 60 years young and my DH is 70. I actually had the privilge of attending a session at McD's almost 2 years ago. I left there off all my medications.

Unfortunately, my great time in Santa Rosa was followed by a series of family crises and I quickly got off the track. Recently, I have had to be on prednisone and gained weight and got depressed. My DH also has had health issues (heart stents). We decided we needed to do something and that something was McDougalling. We have only been doing it for six days but DH's blood pressure has come down and he has lost weight. He goes in for diabetes testing next Monday and we are hoping it has normalized. As for me, my blood pressure had come down to more reasonable levels but I can't seem to lose even 1/2#. It must be the prednisone. Tomorrow we start exercising - treadmill for him and gazelle for me.

I didn't know where to start posting. This all looks so different from two years ago! I have enjoyed lurking about and will try to contribute where I can.

Noni

[Doris]

Welcome!!! I wish you and your DH the best on your McDougall Journey. By the way, I love your Ticker Train.

[DianeR]

Don't worry -- you will lose. Sometimes one's weight doesn't move for a bit. It seems like men lose quicker than women.

As long as you are getting healthier each day, that's the important thing. The weight will go. Exercising will help -- I can't lose without it.

Welcome, and good luck!

[hope101]

Welcome, Noni, to you and your husband. So wonderful you have both seen early success, but I guess you knew that from before. Don't know why you are taking Prednisone, but you might want to keep on eye out for Burgess. He is a bit of an expert on the subcategory of McDougalling which deals with inflammation of any kind. Perhaps you could get rid of the Prednisone with time and then the weight would definitely go easier.

[Noni]

Doris, Diane, & Hope,

Thanks for the kind words. My biggest problem now is committing to exercising. Every day we are going to do it and there is always some reason why we don't. I know that I have to exercise in order to lose weight. I am concerned about all the weight I need to lose - that my skin will get so loose and floppy and I will look worse than I do now. Isn't that silly. In my mind I am still 135 and I am always shocked when I see myself in the mirror or passing my reflection in a large store front. We are doing pretty good with the basic McDougall program. It is just the exercise that we need to add.

Thanks again,
Noni

[KareninTN]

Exercise will actually help the skin be LESS flappy. That said, having lost 95 pounds and being 55, I have plenty of loose, flappy skin. However, at this point in the game, I am WAY more focused on what's going on inside! I want many years of active health, and what it looks like on the outside (and what anyone else thinks about how it looks) is not really my concern.

Try to get that exercise in early in the day, before bunches of other stuff intervenes. Once it becomes a habit, you will LOVE how it feels!

karenturtle

[hope101]

I'll second Karen about the exercise helping the loose skin, especially weights, which you should be doing if at all possible to help your bones be protected from the Prednisone.

Can you find something you love to do, that is playful and just happens to be exercise? I am the farthest thing possible from graceful, but I take a dance class three times a week. We do some upper body weights, use our own weight for lower body resistance training, and do cardio all as dance. My mind is far too busy trying to remember the steps to even notice I am exercising, but I am drenched when I finish the 1 1/2 hour class. There are weeks I might slack off on my walking between my classes, but I'll never miss the dance because I love it and I might get too far behind in learning the steps. Try to find something that engages your mind, body and spirit and then it won't be a chore.

[Gamer]

Hi Noni, I'm a new newbie

It caught my attention that you suffer from inflammation. My mother, who is your husband's age, suffers from terrible inflammation (she's very overweight, diabetic, arthritic, you name it) and I don't know what to do to help her. If you run on to any books or dvd's that deal specifically with diet and inflammation, give me a holler! I'm terribly worried about her.

I like your ticker train, too!

[happyalyssa]

Welcome Noni & Gamer You should find a wealth of information on this website & discussion board. Also feel free to ask away, people seem quite friendly here and are happy to help as much as possible.

Alyssa