[misplaced southerner]

hey slidesdownmountains! i just came across this thread. can i add something here? first of all, i feel your pain. i too have come sooooo close to goal or just stopped losing so many times when i get to a certain point. it is VERY tempting to want to try something new to spark an extra loss and to restart the fat burning process.

i also commend you for talking to your doctor. i am sure that you, like many of us, have had good and bad docs, and those who follow different practices and have different beliefs.

so.....if i may share my experience with you, maybe it will help some. i am 48. for about a year now i have not felt myself and i have done a LOT of reading and research on all the things that make us work (as women.) we are a HIGHLY complex system of hormones, insulin, cortisal and such. interestingly enough, and unfortunately as well, that ALL play on one another. and if ONE is off, it plays heck with the rest. i am not as good at the scientific details as georgianna is but as simply as i can put it is this....when your hormonal levels are off even slighly, it WILL affect cortisal levels, insulin output, metabolism....all which make is MAKE FAT and HOLD ONTO FAT. so ANYTHING we do to throw that balance off has a negative effect on the rest of things.

i recently went to a preventitive medicine specialist who is doing saliva testing (not all docs agree with that but it IS more conclusive than blood tests) to determine which hormones are off (didn't show up much in bloodwork) and also to test cortisal levels, DHEA, and metabolic hormones. i hope to find results there because i deal with WEIGHT GAIN, TROUBLE LOSING WEIGHT, FATIGUE, FOGGY BRAIN (ha!)and sadly, IRRITABILITY. all of this probably caused by something in my body being "off."

my old doc suggested that i am depressed and wanted to give me an antidepressant or anti anxiety drug....guess what i found out when i researched it? THAT DRUG CAUSES THE BODY'S METABOLISM TO SLOW DOWN WHICH CAUSES WEIGHT GAIN. THEN AFTER USE, THE BODY HAS TROUBLE BUILDING ITS METABOLISM AGAIN!

what is the point of me saying this? heck i can't remember anymore! just to say to be VERY careful about what you put in your body. it is a VERY intricate system. VERY much so. and it takes a VERY fine balance for it to work as efficiently as possible. i don't know how old you are but at 48 and with NO SYMPTOMS of menopause, i was surprised that the doctor even suggested doing this work up but after feeling like an alien in my own body, i said ok.

also, may i add too, that when i WAS stuck at a certain weight level, the wise sages here advised me to be patient. weight loss is not linear. (but you know that). what did help for me was...
-eating regularly thruout the day and keeping the blood sugar UP
-EXERCISE...ramp it up, change it out. i'd do cardio one day, weights the next, yoga..
-drown yourself in water
-THINK POSITIVELY. you are building a healthy body on the inside even if you can't see what you want yet on the outside

i commend you also for coming here and seeking info. that's what it's all about. be wise my friend. you have one body. it is YOURS and it is perfect. keep it that way. and it never hurts to seek a second medical opinion. there is a wealth of medical advice out there from providers who study and practive alternatives to the norm.

good luck and let us know how you are doing. i promise you that if you stick with this, and fight thru the plateau, you WILL see results. you will be fit and strong and healthy and HOT (hee hee!). have a great day.