Another Change in Direction

I wrote last about my change in direction.  I was giving myself permission to maintain.  Permission to just be for a while.  There is victory in maintaining and I was beginning to look to experiencing it.

And that is going to have to wait a bit longer...

The tides have changed again.  My cholesterol numbers have come back and they've come back high.  I recently changed doctors and this one believes the numbers will come down when I shed more weight.  She's given me 6 months to lose more before she wants to discuss medical weight loss options.  Not surgery, but drug assisted weight loss.  Thankfully I'm ineligible for surgery due to my weight loss this year and I'm happy for doctors to stop asking me about it.

However, I'm not much happier about the drug assisted options.  I don't like medicine and I think I've had solid weight loss success without it this year.  But I still have my hereditarily high cholesterol numbers to consider.  If the doc things rapid weight loss will get me in a better range, then I feel it is irresponsible to ignore her medical advice.

The plan provided by the doctor was 1200 calories with 45 minutes of cardio 6 days a week, no carbs after 6pm and ramp up on lean protein in all other meals.  Not to be whiny but this also didn't work for me.  I discussed that I'd been seeing results at 1600+ calories and didn't think I could do 1200.  My point was not accepted.

I've considered that this new doctor isn't right for me.  She's talking drug therapy versus crash dieting (in my completely non-medical opinion), neither option I find particularly appealing.  Instead of going through the trouble of switching again, I am going to see through the next 6 months and find out what my numbers look like in April.

Last week I tried 1200 calories.  After 5 days, I was unpleasant.  My husband can vouch for that.  Also I started to itch.  I have yet to find a doctor who's seen it or person who's experienced it, but when I lose weight I tend to develop itchy hot red spots anywhere part of my body presses into something else.  Sometimes these spots even turn into hives.  It's really not comfortable, physically or mentally as I have no idea why it is happening.

Also, that was without exercise added in!  I can see using a 1200 calories day every once in a while to reset my eating patterns, but long term I just don't think it is for me.

So I'm back to 1600 calories and I'm going to workout 6 days a week (go to the gym, do DVDs at home or walk around my neighborhood).  I've interviewed a number of nutritionists and will be scheduling with one as soon as finances permit.  I'm back on the weight loss bandwagon with reinvented motivation.

Wish me luck!