Weight gain

This may seem odd to some, however very important to me. I would like to ask if I am the only one experiencing weight gain since getting a pacemaker?

I have gained about 15 pounds. I am taking Ziac, Synthroid and Aspirin. I was on a HRT until I developed a nasty DVT. It appears that I will never be able to take that again.

I try to exercise everyday, I watch what I eat but I can not get rid of more than 2-3 pounds. I am tired often times and I am not feeling all the interested in wearing shorts this summer! I have had to graduate to the dreaded grandma pants as well!!!!!! you know the ones that are baggy and loose. I have never had a weight issue before, but good grief if I keep putting on the pounds, where will it stop? I don't think this is healthy for me to be gaining weight, My Dr. says that I could stand to loose a few pounds because it isn't good for my heart. Ya think? That is what I told him.

So back to my question...... has anyone suffered weight gain and if you did how in the heck did you take it off and have you kept it off?

Thanks,
PG

16 Comments

What you eat?

by heartu - 2010-05-24 02:05:14

Breezy,

A friend of mine eats smaller meals 6 times a day so she does not get headaches and the shakes. I don't quite understand what her doctor told her, but it was to keep her blood sugar levels constant. She also has to eat low glycemic foods or ones that slowly release sugar into her bloodstream. She has a huge list of foods with an associated glycemic index number that she has to follow. All the numbers added up cannot exceed a daily total. Since following this regimen she has been doing very well, no headaches, no shakes and an added benefit that she has lost over 30 pounds.

me too!

by Loopy Lou - 2010-05-24 06:05:53

Yes count me in on that one too! sure why but I gained about half a stone after Gerry was implanted (in 2008)! But at the tender age of 45 is it just wrong type of food - and not exercising enough to burn it off? Is it because I get so out of breath that I have no energy to do stuff!

I am the heaviest I have been since being pregnant... might not sound a lot to you - but it is for me.... but I sort of look of ish!!!! I am 9stone 11 lbs. (well a week ago before my gruelling keep fit session) !!! Is yoga better? and weight training?

So any top tips much appreciated!

Love & Fluffy Hugs, Loopy Lou xxxxxxxxxxx

yes!

by LS - 2010-05-24 07:05:27

I lost about 20 in 2 months prior to the implant.............steady gain since, & my diet is the same. One of the side effects of both my meds is weight gain. :(
I'm adding more cardio now that I feel up to it.
Liz

Not The Grandma Pants!!!

by Bionic Man - 2010-05-24 08:05:05

Hi Pacer Girl,
First off, I don't want to hear anything else about those Grammy Pants. Do yourself a favor and "Throw them out!!!" If you dress like a grandma you're going to feel like a grandma. I'm sure you look fine. My guess is you need to change your workout a bit. It's great to exercise but if you do the same things everyday your body will get used to it. You need to mix it up. Take a walk today and do something different tomorrow. Let your body know who's boss.
Also the next time you use a shovel to kill a snake, take three or four swings instead of one. Every little bit helps.
Good Luck and GET RID OF THE PANTS!!!!!
Bob

My take on it (personal experience)

by heartu - 2010-05-24 09:05:57

I have not gained weight since my pm implant. I have gained weight since menopause 4 years ago, though it's only been about 10 lbs. Like CarolynG, I lost the 10 lbs just before my dad died, but then I gained it back the past 2 years.

I have always been into exercise,healthy living, and eating (but not to extremes). So my take on it is this:

1. A calorie is a unit of food energy
2. The calories that are not used up are stored as fat
3. To reduce your weight you need to reduce your caloric intake and/or step up your exercise.
4. You can reduce your caloric intake by reducing portions, cutting out certain foods (like soda, sweets), replacing certain high caloric foods with lower caloric foods (fruit for cookies)
5. You can burn more calories by making sure you are not sedentary (even fidgeting burns calories).
6. Eat only when you are hungry and always stay hydrated (drink water)
7. Add more fiber rich food to your diet. It makes you feel fuller longer.
8. Eating some protein at each meal keeps you fuller longer as well.

At 53 I am 15 pounds heavier than I was 30 years ago, which I think is pretty good. But after menopause the weight gained is not as easy to lose. Our bodies see a need to hold onto the fat. Since the ovaries are not producing the estrogen after menopause the extra fat we store in our bellies, hips, and thighs produce it now. Exercise is important to reduce the levels of estrogen in the blood (this is the advice I was given by my breast cancer surgeon, after a negative biopsy 5 years ago)

So while I have been eating healthy all the while, fish 3 times a week, red meat rarely, lots of veggies (I also drink V-8, but I do not have high bp so the sodium is not an issue for me), fruit instead of cookies (the cookies I do have are the oatmeal/walnut/apricot that I make with flaxseed meal), no soda at all (not even diet) and I do have the occasional ice cream or slice of cake and I do eat pizza (low fat cheese) with veggies, vegetable lasagna, etc. I eat everything as long as it has a healthy component. So why do I still have the added 10 pounds?

I had to change the way I exercise ( I read too much about this!). For example, when we walk a slow and steady walk getting our heart rate up but not to the point that we are huffing and puffing we are burning fat. Once you walk faster, going up hills breaking out in a sweat and breathing harder you are now burning carbohydrates and getting an aerobic workout which strengthens your heart. This is just in very simplistic terms.

So now I use a heart rate monitor when I workout (my EP said it was ok for me to use one) and I monitor my workouts. I workout 5 days a week and each of those 5 days I workout in my Fatburn Zone and in 3 of those days I incorporate at least 30 minutes of an Aerobic workout. But I have always worked out so getting my heart rate up to the calculated rate was easy. For people just starting out you need to go about it slowly. I also use weights to strengthen my arms (5 pounds now) and do lower body exercises to firm up on alternate days. I do not exercise hard (or may not exercise at all) when I am too tired. (Listen to your body. do not push too hard)

It is almost 13 weeks post pm implant and I have lost 5 pounds without changing my eating habits and just adjusting my exercising. You just have to find what works best for you and make a committment to it.

My disclaimer is: always check with your doctor about exercising (what you can and cannot do) and that medications may also impact your weight or your exercsing.

Perhaps we should start an 8 week fitness program on here where members could post their 2 month fitness goals with weekly progress follow-ups?

8 WEEK FITNESS? Yipee!!!!!!!!!!!

by pacergirl - 2010-05-24 11:05:23

Hi, There are some very good suggestions here tonight! I think that heartu had an idea that might just help me. I love knowing that I have company when I am trying to do something as challenging as losing some weight.

Heartu suggest that "Perhaps we should start an 8 week fitness program on here where members could post their 2 month fitness goals with weekly progress follow-ups?" This might actually help me. If I know that I am in a sort of competition then I will be a lot more focused. We would all lose and we would win!

What do you all think? Please let me know because I need some help.
PG

weight gain too

by breezy - 2010-05-24 12:05:01

Hi to everyone :)
I started gaining the weight when I started taking the Beta Blocker....has anyone else noticed that?
I have to take it with food/milk or my stomach gets upset... so hence if nobody is hungry when I am I eat before cause I take my pill with dinner....so now I am thinking of changing and taking it in the morning..and wonders if that would help?
also I have noticed that when I get hungry I get the PVC'S..then when I eat they go away.... what would do that?? or is it my brain playing tricks on me....?
anyways I have gained about 5 pds and don't want to gain anymore..I drink water all the time...walk,work in the garden etc etc...and I may loose 1-2pds but then I gain it back... UGH.... so yes weight gain...
oh no gradnma shorts for me....I think that would depress me...maybe no grandma shorts huh ??:)
breezy

hi :-)

by pacergirl - 2010-05-24 12:05:05

Hello ellenwong, I got my 1st pacemaker in 2005 and I just this March got my 2nd one. Dr. says I need to lose some but he has no idea how I should do that. He says I would have to survive on about 1000 calories a day to make any change at all! So I don't know what to do! I cannot allow myself to get any fatter. I just will not allow it. So I guess I will be living/existing on lettuce!

Yes, the Gma pants are the worst! It makes me sad to see how my body is changing and I am beginning to think I better not sweeten my lemonade anymore! he he...

Good night all,
Until tomorrow,
PG

Weight Gain? Yes! ~ ~

by Carolyn65 - 2010-05-24 12:05:07

I had lost a lot of weight while my husband was terminally ill in 2003 and kept the weight off with just a slight gain. I weighed 160 lbs. before the illness of my husband and lost down to 130 lbs. (nerves/stress). After my PM implant in 10/09, I started gaining weight. I did not know if it was my meds and/or the PM implant. I now weigh 182 lbs.

I do not work out nor walk/run due to 'arthur' of my knees (bone on bone), weakness in my lower leg muscles, etc. I mentioned my weight gain to the PM techie at my 6 month check, and she said not to blame my PM for anything and everything.

Of course, once you reach a 'magic age', it is just harder to lose weight no matter if you do not eat and exercise even more ~ LOL.

I know what you mean by your clothes needing to be the "G-Ma" pants and not wearing shorts. With my age, I can get by with wearing such. People just add my eccentrics up to "it's just her age" ~ ~ LOL.

IF you come up with a magic 'bullet' to take ~ please share with all of us. I know health wise, weight is not good for anyone, but now I am at least a size larger.

Best o' Luck,
Carolyn G. in TEXAS ~ Swimming Pools, aaaaah ~

weight gain/loss

by ellenwong - 2010-05-24 12:05:09

PG - you may want to go back to the doctor about that - how long have you had your pacer? I actually lost a couple of pounds (that I have gained in recent months from my pure exhaustion).

good luck to you!!!

okay

by jessie - 2010-05-24 12:05:54

i should not recommend anything on this bite but i myself had crepped up a lot in four years since the p.m. i pictured myself having to be removed by a crane from my bed. so my friends hubbie last july had the reducing diet for the shouldice clinic in toronto. i sarted on it last july and i have lost 40 pounds slowly i have 20 more to go and feel great. i live happier because.
if anyone wants it i can discuss it with them personally have fun and party on. jessie

It's me again! lol

by Hot Heart - 2010-05-25 08:05:57

Sorry forgot the original thread being about weight gain. I think perhaps some of us gain weight because we are stressed and scared when we first get the pm and are frightened to push ourselves too far, quite right in the early weeks or until the doc says its OK to do so.

However, our weight is all based on the energy balance equation. It's basically balancing what comes in, protein, carbs and fats, against how we burn it off. We burn calories by TEF this is the thermogenic effect of food (the calories burned whilst the food is being digested). We also burn it off as someone said above by how much we move, yep even a figet burns a bit of a cal. But........the biggest determinent of how much we can eat without gaining fat is the RMR (resting metabolic rate) and this simply comes down to how much muscle we have on our body.

The more muscle, the more we can eat without gaining fat!

Good luck with the weight loss those who are trying, just remember to do a few light exercises with what you are going to cook before you cook it, sooooooo throw that cabbage, skip with the runner beans, and use the baked beans as weights (before using the can opener or there will be a big mess! lol

HH

you guys are great but too late! lol

by Hot Heart - 2010-05-25 08:05:59

I'm a teacher who has been working on a course called nutrition and weight management.

If I'd have waited, instead of slogging writing my lessons, I could have just copied and pasted this! lol

Excellent info and advice, well done!!!

HH

Unfortunately I am on that boat too

by morganbeth44 - 2010-05-25 12:05:58

I have not been able to workout for several months (time before the pacemaker and now during recovery) to the same level I was before. It is very frustrating and I hope that once I get cleared I will be able to maintain a level of fitness that lets me lower my weight again. I haven't so much gained weight actually I have just lost a lot of muscle and gained back in its place fat. I'm soft and miserable having been a division I college swimmer only a few months ago.

I am also on a salt loading regamine and taking a medication (flornicef) to increase my blood volume but as a result I have gained 7-10lbs as a direct result of water retention due to this medication. And a side effect of the medication is increased appetite...which is something I have had a hard time resisting especially while I have been home all day not able to do anything...the fridge is just so close and convenient!

I wish you luck! I think that your 8 week fitness idea is great! I would totally be on board!

Portion Control!

by GMan - 2010-05-26 09:05:00

It may be as simple as cutting your portions way down. At times it seems like I am eating nothing, but it works with keeping the weight down. I occasionally add a meal replacement shake-with 1% milk.

Good luck!

Gary

Weight

by bugwit - 2012-01-26 10:01:43

I am post PM at 9 weeks and have gained 8 pounds!! Not liking this at all, thought it was the holidays, but have really cut back a lot and no junk, and gained 2 more, I go for my second device adjustment and I'm afraid when my resting rate goes down 10 more...... I will get even fatter. Sometimes I have swelling in my right leg, I called my doctor and cant get in till the middle of February, I am not on ANY heart meds, still having A Fib but only take a baby aspirin daily for the heart, I'm 56. I am pacemaker dependent, I had super fast heart rates and a fib, Chose the PM instead of ablation for many reasons but anyway am I doomed to keep buying fatter clothes?? I hope not, I wanted to feel better not worse.

You know you're wired when...

You have a little piece of high-tech in your chest.

Member Quotes

So, my advice is to go about your daily routine and forget that you have a pacemaker implanted in your body.