Christmas – the hidden danger
The scales depress me. I’m 6lbs up since Christmas, and let me be frank. I am not happy about it. The excesses of Christmas have caught up, and although it’s not immediately noticeable even I can feel the extra weight.
Weight gain at Christmas
I love Christmas, but for someone like me, it’s dangerous. You wouldn’t think so, and don’t get me wrong, it is lovely. From the fairy lights twinkling amongst the silver lametta that is draped across the dark green pine branches, to the smell of mulled wine on the hob and mince pies fresh and warm from the oven. I am a huge fan of all the associated delights of this time of year. Family back from abroad, my father busy in the kitchen, and wet walks on windswept beaches are all so central to what makes a family Christmas for me. But one thing haunts this candlelit, carol filled time of year.
The number on my scales.
What is my concern
Weight. For some it means nothing. For me, it means everything. When you are so little in control of your health, what your body may be doing inside you far from view, the aesthetics, what you look like, become huge.
Steroids have been in my life since I was 17. The dose of 60mg is now reduced to 5mg a day, but these drugs which are so vital to my immune suppressant state come with a list of nasty symptoms amongst which is increased appetite.
Imagine being a Labrador, and as science now suggests, always hungry. Well, that’s what they think the life of a Labrador is like. And that to a point is how someone like me, who takes steroids, feels.
I have a Labrador puppy, and that’s where this analogy emanates from. She is gorgeous, in a black fur coat with a soft moist nose, and eyes which have white around the edges at times so she looks almost human. Bella is always hungry. Always has an appetite. Would eat herself to death if she could, and once as a puppy almost did when she somehow managed to knock her food sack over and scattered the contents into her bed. When we eventually found her, her stomach was already beginning to bulge and what followed was a frantic call to the vet and then much encouraged water consumption.
Why does it affect me?
For some of us on steroids, we are almost always perpetually hungry. We are never sated and often overeat. Temptation also tips us over the edge. Once we start on something, a bowl of popcorn a packet of sweets, a bowl of pasta… sometimes we struggle to stop.
I will speak candidly and admit my relationship with food is a complicated one. attempts at eating disorders at school were thwarted by my father’s exceptional cooking. And it’s only when I have been alone in the world, travelling or away from that my obsessive control of food as coming to the surface of my awareness as I intermittently fast then calories count relentlessly. At other times colon cleansing tablets have become an addiction.
I’m the sort of the person who will eat a whole chocolate orange in the hope of making myself feel sick so I am put off them, and then fail to achieve that aim but eat the whole damn thing.
Boxes of Lindor truffles are decimated in minutes. A mince pie which it turns out takes 20 minutes on a treadmill to lose the calories isn’t just one, it’s at least two. And cheese straws which I love, well…
So what is to be done?
Fatigue haunts me, and the girl who in the first year post-transplant took part in the Transplant Games now struggles to walk down the road. There are good days. The days when I get out and can walk Bella are a bit are heaven. But until we are settled and boxes unpacked from the recent relocation, my recumbent bike is in pieces in the shed and my exercise regime is not consistent.
Hope is not something I take for granted, but it’s also something I rely on when fears over food start to overwhelm me.
How do I deal with the issue?
I am fortunate in that two years ago I found TeamRH, which is a ‘Life Style Plan’ that provided me with an education about food and health that completely changed the way I looked at food and exercise forever.
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TeamRH Fitness is a concept of diet and exercise management combined with an incredibly supportive group made up by its members run predominantly on Facebook.
The company was set up by a couple based in the North of England and they have managed to cultivate a compulsive online presence through videos and Facebook posts. If you go to their page you will see the most incredible transformation pictures and what stands out about their ‘TeamRH Lifestyle Life Style Plan’ is that it is a ‘lifestyle’ or some might call it a ‘formula’ for a healthy life, rather than a diet. They have designed the TeamRH Lifestyle Plan in a way that makes it easy to follow so you fully understand nutrition and how to lose fat and sustainably reach your goals.
They don’t tell you not to eat things. Instead, using your physical data, height, weight and number of steps you can do daily alongside any possible exercise, they compute the number of calories you can eat to lose weight – maintain weight – or for some lucky ones – gain! Protein, fibre and carbohydrates amounts are worked out and what you aim to do is fill your quotas. Sounds easy enough, but wow – the amount of protein one needs to eat! Fibre? You wouldn’t believe how much fibre you probably aren’t eating!
TeamRH provides its members with an app that allow their members to keep on top of their measurements and statistics. It connects into Myfitnesspal and that then updates your app.
The plan is aimed to help absolutely everyone, no matter what their current fitness level, or whether they are injured or have a physical impairment. It’s a flexible approach to dieting which means no foods are off-limits and the plan can be tailored to suit your food preferences, intolerances, food allergies, or general dislikes. This technique works because they don’t give you a rigid meal plan to follow, instead, they equip you with the tools to make the food decisions you need too.
Rich and Rachel and their support network of members are my safety net. I know that I am not alone in my weight loss battle. Every day others fall off the wagon. Who eats all the cake. But what we have in common is TeamRH.
What can others do?
Christmas won’t be easy, but weight is something that can be changed, can be gained and lost. Often I feel helpless when it comes to my health, and the inability of anyone to find rhyme or reason to my symptoms. Food is something I feel blessed to be able to enjoy and savour. I’m lucky to be here and I don’t want to go without.
That’s why having the reassurance of Team RH in the background is reassurance and although it may not work for everyone, it has worked for over 200 thousand subscribers and the evidence you can see online.
Don’t feel alone. You aren’t. There are others out there battling food and weight gain. Remember though, there are some things you can’t change in life but weight is one you can.
It requires a bit of commitment to/diligence/attention and that’s where TeamRH Fitness can help. You can find out more about their plan, on Facebook and their website.
But at the end of the day to take control of your weight, you must start by taking control of your ‘self’. It all begins with ‘self-love’ – something I want you to start practising as it’s vital to your recovery.
If you would like to find out more about TeamRHFitness please click on the links below and if you decide to join I have a discount code onelifeliveit
You can find out more about TeamRHFitness and https://www.facebook.com/teamrhfitness/
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