[wordwarrior]

Hi all,

I'm a 64 year old female. I'm 5'1" and am my most comfortable at 135lbs. But I weigh 155 currently. It seems I've gained a good deal of weight over the last two years as I was down to a good weight. I was lifting weights and doing cardio. But I got unmotivated and got off the weights awhile. And now I have a bum shoulder from the computer or perhaps the weights === not sure. So I can't lift with my right arm.

I've started to track my food and exercise again. I'm using the CalorieKing software. I'm not sure it's the best but I've used it the longest and have all of my foods in it.

I've had a physical and there's no medical reason that I'm gaining weight. At least there doesn't seem to be. I have used Anucort (Cortisone) suppositories for bad hemorrhoids for quite a while and wondered if that could contribute to the weight issue.

I also take a beta blocker and I "know" that contributes to weight gain. So losing weight is very hard for me.

So that's the story. Do any of you have any advice or do you see anything in what I've said that could explain my weight gain?

I do think I've done some emotional eating because of stress. And I may very well have eaten more than I thought I ate.

Thanks.

[Korrie]

Hi
Theres really no way those suppositories would have caused you 20 pds of weigh gain. If I were you, I would keep track of how many calories you tend to take in on a regular basis. A few too many here or there do add up. Writing food down is the best way to prevent you from forgetting anything you may have consumed.

[wordwarrior]

Thank you for your response. I tend to agree with you regarding keeping a journal. I did that before when I had a lot of weight to lose and it was the thing that allowed me to lose the weight. It is harder to lose it as you age, however. But I think I've taken in more calories than I thought. It's easy to do. And I'm fairly inactive as far as my daily life goes. But I do think the suppositories can cause some weight gain too. Whether or not that's the case with me, I don't know.

[jbode]

I suggest doing mild exercise such as walking seeing that you are taking a beta blocker, I'm assuming that doing to hard of a workout could raise the risk of you having a heart attack. So that should be avoided.

As to what equipment you should use, should depend on what you feel comfortable with. I would suggest doing mild weight lifting if you can such as doing something that you can do 15 reps without pain.

As for diet you should follow a few simple rules

-eat small meals throughout the day about 6 (less food will be stored)

-drink water throughout the day (less water will be stored)

-eat complex carbs and protein (supplies long term energy)

Hope this helps!

[wordwarrior]

The beta blocker is for a very mild issue (mitro valve prolapse) so it's unlikely I'd have a heart attack any quicker than anyone else. In fact, I'm very fit according to my doctors. More fit than most younger people, let alone those my age. Of course, the beta blockers keep the heartbeat from going into the target zone. So that's not good for keeping records or knowing how many calories I'm burning.

I've lifted weights all my life and lift pretty heavy. Right now, I have a shoulder injury so have to limit that and I agree that yoga is good. Power Yoga is dynamic and a real workout. It's both aerobic and muscle-building. So that's a good point you bring up. Of course, there are some poses that require pressure on the shoulder and I'd have to avoid those.