I'm still on my diet, and I've now lost 86 pounds. That means I have 47 more pounds to lose. The last few weeks have been a bit more difficult for me, because my body threw me a curve. I went to the doctor for a check-up in early October. A routine blood test showed that my potassium level was critically low. At that point, the doctor put me on massive doses of potassium supplements, but other than that my life was pretty much the same routine of 1000 calories a day and exercise.
Three weeks later, when I had a follow-up blood test to recheck my potassium level, it was still critically low. This time the doctor advised me to stop doing ANYTHING strenuous, including my 9 exercise tapes per week. She said that low potassium affects the heart, and I could have a heart attack at any time if I wasn't careful.
You can't imagine how discouraged this made me. Here I thought that my health would be improving with all the weight loss, but, instead, my condition had deteriorated, and now my activities were restricted. An additional result of low potassium is fatigue, and every time I do anything, I still get extremely tired. That fact is absolutely wreaking havoc with my weight loss. The first week I didn't do any exercises I actually gained a pound, even though I wasn't eating any more than I'd been eating.
I can't stress to you how important it is to do your dieting while under the care of a doctor. I haven't had the care I should, because I no longer have medical insurance and am part of a state program which means I have to go 200 miles to see a doctor. Needless to say, that keeps me from going very often. I never realized what dieting could do to my body, and I never realized how important maintaining nutrient levels can be in overall health.
I do try to eat whole foods as much as possible, and I take a multi-vitamin every day. However, when you limit calories, you also limit the amount of nutrients you're putting into your body. Therefore, you need to discuss nutrition and possible vitamin supplements with your doctor and keep close tabs on the levels of the various nutrients you have inside you. I didn't do that, and the outcome could have been much worse than it was.
I'll be going back to the local doctor (yes, I have to pay for these visits) later this week to have another blood test and see if all the pills I'm taking has raised my potassium level back into the normal range. I'm hoping it has, because I'm anxious to begin exercising again. I find I actually miss my exercise hour each morning. That's unbelievable, because historically I never exercised if I could avoid it. Apparently some new, good habits are becoming a part of my life.
The good news is that even though my exercise has been curtailed, my metabolism is now working well enough that I've continued to lose some weight, albeit slowly, just by watching calories. Before I started my diet I don't think I had any metabolism at all. Everything I ate, no matter how little it was, turned into excess pounds, even though I was teaching Kindergarten at the time and that kept me very active.
I'm determined that even though I've run into a roadblock, it's not going to stop my journey towards a healthy weight and lifestyle. I encourage you to think of my example when you run into the inevitable plateaus and problems that are all a part of losing weight. I also hope you'll diet more safely than I did by keeping in touch with your doctor every step of the way. You don't need to pay a Weight Watchers or a Jenny Craig in order to lose weight, but maintaining your overall health is important.
One diet tip I can give you that has always worked well for me over the years, and that's to diet along with a friend. The two of you will be able to keep your morale up and stay on track much better than if you try going it alone. I value all of the support my son has given me and know I'd never have done so well without his encouragement. There was one very successful diet I went on years ago with several of the other girls at the place I was working. Once every week we went as a group to weigh ourselves on the huge industrial scale in the shipping department. We each put in a dollar, and the top loser for the week got all the money. If you have a competitive streak in you, this method will help you a lot.
Dieting is hard work, but so is carrying around all of those extra pounds. After you lose a few pounds, go to the grocery store and lift an equivalent amount of sugar. You'll be amazed at that awesome proof of how much you've accomplished. It's those little perks along the way that can keep you motivated and make your next diet the last one you'll ever have to go on.
