Hi, all,
I am really seriously looking at losing weight. I believe that my weight gain was a direct result of my discouragement from years of fearing being told that my breathlessness and chest pain were the result of being overweight (long before I was overweight) and out of shape (at a time when I jogged daily but also ignored left arm and chest pain daily). Thus, I am sure that HCM contributed to my being overweight. More recently, my chf with its constant fluctuations in weight have further discouraged me. However, I can either wallow in this or I can get to business and work on losing weight! With God's help, I will choose the latter.
I believe that sharing this with others who share similar difficulties could be rewarding and encouraging. But, to be honest, my experiences with talking about weight in nearly any context have made me want to avoid mentioning it to anyone. I find that people often inadvertently discourage me by telling me all their diets that worked for them, even though many diets are irrelevant to me. Most diets that are designed for US residents simply do not work here. There are no plates to measure serving sizes. It is virtually impossible to avoid any single type of food, etc. However, I did find a diet that has some promise for me here, called the "Bite diet." I would like to try it and have some encouragement and accountability from others on this site.
So, I have been dreaming of a weight loss forum for HCMers on this site. I envisioned a positive-encouragement-only site in which the only posts could be either people talking about their struggles with losing weight and having HCM and cheers for those losing weight.
I am never sure whether my blaming HCM for my weight is just an excuse or not, but I am sure that it is not helpful for me to use it as an excuse. I read many similar things and wonder if we could all help each other. What has kept me from suggesting this is realizing how difficult it would be for people to keep from making comments that offended others.
What do you think? Would such a forum be a help or a hindrance? Could we agree to avoid making suggestions and limit ourselves to encouragement? Would such a forum be in keeping with the goals of the HCMA? etc.
Rhoda
I am really seriously looking at losing weight. I believe that my weight gain was a direct result of my discouragement from years of fearing being told that my breathlessness and chest pain were the result of being overweight (long before I was overweight) and out of shape (at a time when I jogged daily but also ignored left arm and chest pain daily). Thus, I am sure that HCM contributed to my being overweight. More recently, my chf with its constant fluctuations in weight have further discouraged me. However, I can either wallow in this or I can get to business and work on losing weight! With God's help, I will choose the latter.
I believe that sharing this with others who share similar difficulties could be rewarding and encouraging. But, to be honest, my experiences with talking about weight in nearly any context have made me want to avoid mentioning it to anyone. I find that people often inadvertently discourage me by telling me all their diets that worked for them, even though many diets are irrelevant to me. Most diets that are designed for US residents simply do not work here. There are no plates to measure serving sizes. It is virtually impossible to avoid any single type of food, etc. However, I did find a diet that has some promise for me here, called the "Bite diet." I would like to try it and have some encouragement and accountability from others on this site.
So, I have been dreaming of a weight loss forum for HCMers on this site. I envisioned a positive-encouragement-only site in which the only posts could be either people talking about their struggles with losing weight and having HCM and cheers for those losing weight.
I am never sure whether my blaming HCM for my weight is just an excuse or not, but I am sure that it is not helpful for me to use it as an excuse. I read many similar things and wonder if we could all help each other. What has kept me from suggesting this is realizing how difficult it would be for people to keep from making comments that offended others.
What do you think? Would such a forum be a help or a hindrance? Could we agree to avoid making suggestions and limit ourselves to encouragement? Would such a forum be in keeping with the goals of the HCMA? etc.
Rhoda
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