Any Ideas of what is wrong? - General Health Message Board

zabou69 · 10-03-2002, 05:51 PM

Iam not sure where to post this so i will start here. I am a 33yr old female,mother of 3 children. I work full-time.This is my problem. I get up very early every morning(5-6am). I get 3 kids ready for school. then off to work myself from 9-5. My problem is.. I am about 60lbs overweight. I watch what I eat and don't really eat alot as I am working all day and only take my lunch break. I bring a yougurt and fruit for lunch. When I get home I have good dinner of meat, pasta,vegies .ect. I canot eat very much as I had my stomache stapled 10 yrs ago. But have gained some weight back on and the biggest thing is that even though I get up very early I work all day (not a sitting job) I work in a hardware store. I can not sleep at night. Iam thinking there has to be something wrong. My doctor has told me there is nothing. But why can't I lose weight and at the very least have a good nights sleep. I have read somewhere that if you don't sleep very well then this slows down your metabolism. Could this be true?

jenNbil · 10-03-2002, 09:25 PM

Yes that is true that if you dont get at keast 6-8 hours of good sleep at night the food that you ate earlier will store itself in your body to use for energy. You are so active during the day constantly go go go and your depriving your body of the precious sleep it needs.
I am a bad insomniac and I found that if you turn everything off (lights, tv, put your kids in bed early)and give yourself at least 30 minutes quiet time before bed to let yourself wind down from the day you will fall asleep and sleep well. if that doesnt work turn on a boring tv show or start reading a boring book.
Also my doc told me do not eat past 6pm or your body will store all the calories from dinner too.
Good luck :-)

mlgable · 10-04-2002, 07:47 AM

You didn't state your age but another possibility is perimenopause. This can cause some weight fluctuation as well as insomnia problems. Also remember to limit your carbohydrates as those turn directly into glucose which is sugar. Try limiting the pasta, breads and potatoes at night to see if this doesn't help with your weight. As for the insomnia there are many all natural products you can try for insomnia or you might consider asking the doc about something like Nortriptyline which is not a sleeping pill but is rather one of the oldest antidepressants around. It is often used for many other things such as migraine prevention as well as helping with insomnia. You do not have to take it every day once you start sleeping better. Also do you have a lot of thoughts running through your head when you lay down to try to sleep. You many need to work on a way to clear your head so you can relax and get to sleep.

Tangle · 10-04-2002, 07:50 AM

Weight gain or inability to loos weight is simply the body not converting food-to-energy quickly enough, so it (food) is stored as fat (triglycerides). To help your body convert food >>>>>>> to energy, consider suplementing w/ B vitamins.

There are several effective calming herbs to assist in relaxing and sleeping. Here are a few: Valerian, Hops, Kava Kava, Passion Flower. The hormone Melatonin, taken before retiring will greatly insure your probobility of a good, long night sleep.

Hope this helps; good luck, and do educate before medicate.

auntjudyg · 10-04-2002, 08:07 AM

I don't see any mention breakfast. I am also wondering about protein intake (which I find it key for me). I get at least 15 grams at every meal, 3 meals a day.