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Reply With QuoteKeep a food and exercise log and make it a daily habit to eat right and get plenty of exercise.
It is possible to eat right on a budget, it just involves a bit more work.
Bit of an awkward situation
So, ever since I graduated from high school, I've been a bit overweight. "A bit" eventually ended up being "alot" and by three years after, I was 30 pounds overweight and looked little like my previous self. I tried exercising, dieting, eating right...nothing worked.
Recently, due to the suggestion of my doctor, I started taking Adderal again (which I haven't had since senior year of high school) and my body weight just seemed to start FALLING OFF. I've been taking it for a little over two months and I noticed immediately that I had absolutely no appetite. If I don't remind myself to eat, I could go a day and a half without feeling hunger pangs.
While it's nice that I've dropped just under 20 pounds and am 9 pounds away from the "healthy" weight for my height....I find this to be a little alarming. How is medication doing what a good diet and exercise could not do? Is this healthy? I pretty much need these meds to function properly but I'm not sure what I will do when my weight drops BELOW what is healthy for me. I do not have alot of money and neither does my family, and thus we usually only have saltines, ramen, and diet soda around the house. None of which are very nutritious. Dinner usually consists of whatever fast food my dad picks up on the way home though occasionally we will have something good like salmon or spinach salad. So eating healthy food on a budget is very hard, especially when you literally FORGET TO EAT.
Any suggestions as to how to balance medicated weight loss with my own health?
Keep a food and exercise log and make it a daily habit to eat right and get plenty of exercise.
It is possible to eat right on a budget, it just involves a bit more work.
=) Thank you. I think I will start doing that. I'll probably need the cooperation of my housemates though. It's hard to eat healthy when all people bring home for dinner is fast food.
The adderal is NOT doing what food and exercise couldn't do for you... its teaching you poor eating habits -- skipping meals, forgetting to eat, starving yourself leads to quick weightloss... then very rapid weightgain once you remember to start eating more often because your body will cling to anything you give it and not want to burn it.
Presumably you don't want to be on adderal for the rest of your life, so while food isn't a huge priority to you right now, why don't you train yourself some healthy eating habits like 6 small low calorie meals a day , etc. This way you are not gaining weight but you are still giving your body nutrition and developing healthy routine.
Fast food everyday is SO bad for you, not just for gaining weight, but the salt, preservetives, fat , cholesterol etc is hideous for your heart and body. Ramen and saltines are too carby and not enough protien not healthy and balanced at all.
Why not try some cheap cereal that is at least fortified with vitamins and low fat or soy milk... low fat cheese on sale and some generic wheat bread, plain lettuce, tomatos... bananas are also reletively inexpensive as well as other fruits and veggies in season.
making meals with good ingrediants in one big pot like a nice healthy stew and then freezing it in little containers to be able to easily microwave 1 for dinner here and there etc.
Add some veggies to your ramen and bits of tofu or meat if you prefer to add some nutrients to your meal.
Buy some cheapie peanut butter (use very sparingly) to have with your crackers so that the meal is more nutrious.
And talk to your doctor about taking a multivitamin... you need to make sure you are getting adequate nutrition, the lack of it can lead to numerous health conditions some very serious and also impede on your looks (hair loss etc).
Scars remind us of where we've been...they don't have to dictate where we're going.
=) I like the vitamin idea alot. I used to take various vitamins every day and then just...stopped for some reason. Probably because I was a dumb teenager and didn't think I needed them.
I'm not particularly healthy right now, the last visit to the doctor showed that I am slightly anemic and I had to actually ask him what that meant. I basically SHOULD be taking more vitamins and definitely increasing the iron in my diet.
=) Stew actually sounds really good. I'm not a fantastic cook, but anybody could throw a decent stew together given the ingredients. I just need more cooperation with my other unhealthy housemates.
Thank you for the advice! =)
I can see you being anemic with a diet consisting of ramen noodles and crackers!! I have iron deficiancy anemia myself (I'm a vegetarian and meat is the easiest way to absorb iron)...I have to make sure to eat iron rich alternatives to stay healthy... ramen noodels and crackers, neither is a good source of iron so it'd be good to get some foods like beans (they are cheap!!) , leafy green vegetables, grits, black strap molasses, etc incorperated into your diet, taking vitamins that bcomplex also help with anemia issues.
But always ask a doctor before taking iron suppliments because too much iron become toxic . Its a delicate balance. Variety of foods and foods high in nutrients aer the best bet for having a healthy diet.
Scars remind us of where we've been...they don't have to dictate where we're going.
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