weight & exercise

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, I think that with the cultural emphasis on appearance & weight, we are so programmed that it's very difficult to accept the weight gain, hair loss, etc. There is a wonderful little book called "When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair: 50 Ways to Feel Thin, Gorgeous, and Happy (When You Feel Anything But)." The author is Geneen Roth. It's small enough to carry around in your purse & has about 50 little stories/chapters about eating & body image. I've probably given away a dozen of them as gifts. It's not only humorous, but so insightful. She is also the author of When Food is Love (I think that's the title), which has been very helpful to me. One thing she said that stuck with me was in reference to our mealtime behavior & the effects of tension, criticism, etc. during meals. She said that we swallow our emotions along with our food & that's one thing that can lead to emotional eating. I thought back to my childhood & it clicked. Mealtime was a stressful event because of my dad's actions, rather than a relaxing way to connect with each other. You can get the Refrigerator book on Amazon for just a few bucks; if you order it, go ahead & get 2 or 3, because you'll want to share with others!

Regarding exercise, I can't walk much due to the neuropathy in my feet & my chronic back/leg pain. I go to the pool, but my favorite exercise is my recumbent trike. I absolutely love riding it! Because my feet are not dependent, they don't hurt. Nothing hurts, and it's just great fun. Also an attention-getter. People stop their cars & ask me about it. The neighborhood kids all like to ride it. Here are a couple of photos of my trike. My dogs love to go triking! I really don't get much exercise when I take the dogs because they pretty much pull me, at least the first mile. So I usually take them for a run, then bring them home & ride up to the high school & around the neighborhood. I can go 4-5 miles without getting too tired. When I bought my trike, I think 4-5 years ago, I paid over $1200, but the price has really come down as they've become more popular. Mine has one wheel in the back & two in the front. You can also get them with the one wheel in the front; those sit a bit higher & are easier to get up from. Sometimes I do have a little trouble getting up, but it hasn't been a real issue. You might check it out; I'll bet if you rode one at a bike shop you would be hooked! I even ride in the winter, unless the streets are too icy. I don't ride it on busy streets for fear drivers won't see me, even with my tall flags, but there are plenty of places nearby. I've also taken it to parks; I have a bike carrier that's easy to attach to my trunk.

Ramblin' RoseModerator "I child-proofed my home and they STILL get in!" (Bumper sticker)

> To: Neurosarcoidosis > Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2011 09:31:23 +1100> Subject: Re: Re: Hair> > Here's to feeling sassy!! Unfortunately my hair was thin and fine to start with, so this extra 'hit' from the meds isn't helping matters ... my hairdresser recommended some 'leave in' conditioners, which I'm starting using today. Plus I got some fancy pants colouring conditioner (Revlon Professional Nutri Colour Creme) - if nothing else, it's a nice treat, LOL.> > And I've been agreeing with every recent comment about weight gain UGH. I've put on about 12 kg (roughly 26 lb) since Oct last year, and I *wasn't* slender to start with. I feel so horrible, I hate the way my face and neck look now, especially. I just don't seem to be able to get over the mental hurdle involved ... yes, I'm thrilled that the Pred gave me back my vision (well, almost all of it), but I just can't handle the side effects, and how I look now. > > I've struggled to be happy with my body / appearance since I was a kid, got a fair bit of criticism from my parents about my weight, snide comments etc, and I've always been a curvy girl.> But now I wish I could get back to my 'curvy' size, and I'd be happy with that - I guess it's all relative isn't it! I keep telling myself that my friends and family don't care what I look like, and it's my personality that counts, but my emotional reaction to the way I look is still stronger ... I'm starting to think I should see a counsellor or something :/ Really quite depressed by it all.> > I eat a pretty good diet, homecooked meals most nights, plenty of fruit and veg, fairly low fat, etc etc. And my husband and I have started going for a swim once a week - I can't walk for exercise any more because my feet hurt too much.> > xo > > > > > > > > > > ,> > > > I have very thick hair and it did dry out and break off. When I did iv> > cytoxan it really broke off. It was very long and I went to the hair> > dresser and had it cut off into a pixie. I decided I wanted to be sassy> > instead of watching it break off. I recently decided to do it again -> > not because of meds but because I needed a lift and wanted to feel sassy> > again!> > > > HTH - Terri G.> > > > > > >> > > Has anyone else got really dry hair when on immune suppressants? My> > hair is just horrible at the moment, and thinning ... I hope I don't go> > bald!! Eeeeeek! (I've been on Methotrexate, and have now swapped over to> > Imuran).> > >> > > xo > > >> > > > > > > > ------------------------------------> > ~~~~ *** ~~~ *** ~~~ *** ~~~~> The Neurosarcoidosis Community> > > > Message Archives:-> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Neurosarcoidosis/messages> > Members Database:-> Listings of locations, phone numbers, and instant messengers.> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Neurosarcoidosis/database > >