Lifestyle tips

Makeme300:
I haven’t read all the replies yet. I was stuck for years and couldn’t gain much but I recently joined a gym and have been exercising a lot more. This has enabled me to gain more weight and I’m so happy I pushed myself. A little bit of exercise is so good for appetite. Wish you a lot of success with your future gains.

Bigwideland:
The past 8 months have been very different to the first timevi gained over 550. I am 15 years older and have unstable thyroid post radiation treatment for graves desiese. My weight increase in the past 4 months has been rapid. And I have lost the ability to walk more than 50 metres with out needing to rest. My lower legs are retaining fluid tonight my ankles calf and feet are tight like a drum.So yes many issues, I am waiting to see if my higher dose of thyroxine reduces my fluids and improves my cardiovascular proforance. If not I may have so degree of heart failure. So will go back to my GP and find a fat friendly cardiologist to see what can be done.

Bigwideland:
The past 8 months have been very different to the first timevi gained over 550. I am 15 years older and have unstable thyroid post radiation treatment for graves desiese. My weight increase in the past 4 months has been rapid. And I have lost the ability to walk more than 50 metres with out needing to rest. My lower legs are retaining fluid tonight my ankles calf and feet are tight like a drum.So yes many issues, I am waiting to see if my higher dose of thyroxine reduces my fluids and improves my cardiovascular proforance. If not I may have so degree of heart failure. So will go back to my GP and find a fat friendly cardiologist to see what can be done.

Munchies:
I wish you well.

Bigwideland:
The past 8 months have been very different to the first timevi gained over 550. I am 15 years older and have unstable thyroid post radiation treatment for graves desiese. My weight increase in the past 4 months has been rapid. And I have lost the ability to walk more than 50 metres with out needing to rest. My lower legs are retaining fluid tonight my ankles calf and feet are tight like a drum.So yes many issues, I am waiting to see if my higher dose of thyroxine reduces my fluids and improves my cardiovascular proforance. If not I may have so degree of heart failure. So will go back to my GP and find a fat friendly cardiologist to see what can be done.

Munchies:
I wish you well.

Bigwideland:
Thanks, my GP indicates it's my thyroid. And it most likely is. But no harm seeing a heart guy to see how it going, I am.going to a lung capacity test soon. I had some episodes of mild pneumonia since I turned 50. The joy of getting old and very fat. Non the less I am not one to panic will do and see the right people for the best management of my lifestyle.

Hectoplasm:
Even though I'm actually still technically normal weight/skinny I get chest pains regularly when I try to gain weight. I've seen a doctor about it and he reckons its just "stress" or reflux. Well it never co-incides with the rare times I get reflux. Also I have no stress really.

Basically it isn't a squeezing pain but sort of twinging in the left side of chest going into my shoulder/left arm. I said it feels like angina but the doctor just said "your not having a heart attack". Yeah no shit.

But it doesn't seem reflux related to me either. And it only happens when I try to gain weight (I told the doctor that). He said its probably reflux therefore. My blood pressure is pretty normal if that matters. But it does bother me.

Also he didn't seem to be bothered about me gaining weight because I look like a twig anyway.

Soi wonder if I actually have heart failure starting or coronary artery disease or something. Except that this doesn't seem to be triggered by exersion. I worry about everything though. I am a real hypochondriac anyway.

As someone who's always been skinny before then I would like some input on this. It it normal to get chest pains if you eat a lot of fatty stuff? Am I just over-thinking?

BiggerestBelly:
I may be deluding myself, but I honestly think, if I had made and maintained dramatic lifestyle changes around 400lb., I could have avoided some of my issues while still gaining, albeit at a much slower pace. Things I might have done differently:

- Walk and move my body much more, maybe even lifted some weights
- Made my most massive stuffings (20K to 30K calories) a special event every couple of months instead of a weekly occurrence. God knows my fiance and I would have more money on our honeymoon fund.
- Eaten a surplus of healthy calories every day instead of existing off pizza, fried food, pasta, pies, etc

I truly believe if I had taken the steps above, the impact my gain had on my health might have been lessened. These might be options for you.