153.6

[Dale Parker]

I went to the doctors today and I gained weight . FINALLY!!!!!! I went from 145.2 pounds on my last visit 7 weeks ago to 153.6 pounds today = 8.4 pounds.   I also got my pneumonia shot, my prescriptions topped up, blood test done and an appointment made for the H1N1 flue shot that won't be available here till the end of the month.  Doc seemed pretty pleased with my progress.
   Then I went out rollerblading with a friend. We were out for almost 3 hours. Had a great time but still trying to figure out how a 51 year old guy with aids, and a cold can out blade a 40 year old who is in pretty good shape?  Since I still have no ass I know he wasn't checking that out. LOL
All in all it was a great day.

[Miss Philicia]

That's good about the weight.  What is your target in the end?  It can be quite hard, speaking from experience, to gain back weight when you've lost it due to HIV but it can be done with a lot of hard work.  That's quite decent to gain 8.4 lbs. in seven weeks.

[Dale Parker]

I don't really have a target weight. I'm 5 foot 5 inches so this seems to be a pretty good weight looks wise. My face is now pretty rounded and healthy looking. I'm not talking pretty, I'm talking fat wise. Prior to this gain my facial features were pretty sunken and I looked like shit in photos. It also looked really red like I was sunburned in the photos.
    I want to start working out at a gym to build up some mussel. I think I've lost a fair bit in the last year (my arms are scrawny). I don't want the Schwarzenegger look. I prefer to have more of a swimmers build with nicely developed chest and arms, slender waist and thinner legs. A slight 4 pack and a bubble butt would be great.

[Miss Philicia]

The sunburn thing is probably HIV-related sebhorric dermatitis.

[J.R.E.]

When I put the weight back on , throughout 2004,  I was pretty happy.  Especially after loosing 30 pounds back in 2003, through wasting  I went from 140 lbs back up to a maximum of about 182.  I then leveled off back to 172 pounds, which I have had no trouble maintaining since late 2004. Still have the gut issue,  But I look a hell of a lot better then I did in 2003.
I am also about 5' 7"

Glad you hear you had a great day !!


Ray

[Dale Parker]

Hey Miss Philicia: Please explain HIV-related sebhorric dermatitis.  I ahve never heard of it before.
    For years prior to my diagnosis people have asked me how my blood pressure is as my face was red. When I was in my mid 20's (about 25 years ago) I joined a gym and did the entry work out. Even though I was only lifting light weights my face went red and was told to stop. I've always blushed easily. Because my face was shrunken for the last 10 or so years, people also used to tell me I needed to gain weight. That sort of confused me as I thought that I was overweight (not by a lot, maybe 5-10lbs). Are these two things related.

Hey Ray: Glad to hear about you weight gain and your ability to hold it. Of course with mine it was after I went out a bought 4 pairs of jeans that actually fit. I may have to diet to keep fitting into them. Just my luck LOL.

[Benc7]

Congratulations on the weight gain! Please tell me, how did you do it? I've always had a hard time keeping the weight on, but over the last few weeks I've managed to gain 8lbs. It's KEEPING it that's a bitch.  Any tips would be appreciated.  Thanks.

[Dale Parker]

Hey Benc7: I tend to eats tons of food. My dinner plate would normally serve 2-3 normal people. I'm a pretty active guy so I do tend to burn off a lot of the sugars I eat. Typically I eat:
Breakfast: A large glass of orange juice with 4 pieces of white toast with margarine, 2 with peanut butter, 2 with honey. When I'm board with toast I do a big bowel of cereal. My fav is 1/2 Shreddies and 1/2 Alphabits with 1/2 bag of milk. No extra sugar in this one.
I don't really do lunch unless I'm out, but I do snack on a few pieces of fruit.
Dinner is usually Spaghetti/pasta or meat (beef, ham or chicken) with fresh veggies and salad. I want to do a fish meal once a week but it never seems to happen.
I usually have a 10:00 feeding every night for a week every 2nd or 3rd week which is usually a chocolate sunday with vanilla ice cream, a banana (strawberries or blue berries when in season) and chocolate syrup. Bed time is usually between 12:30am and 4:00am.
People who know food statistics are freaking out right now at my diet but, it works for me.  Although it's not great it's pretty rounded.
       Like I said I'm pretty active. I usually go for a 5-10 mile bike ride or a 3 hour walk every day. I don't know if it makes a big difference but I'm a slow eater. It useally takes me an hour to eat dinner. I get SOOOOO board but I keep plucking away at it.
I do want to join a gym next week as I feel I'm at a pretty good weight for my height. I want to tone up my mussels. I'll also be cutting back on the amount of food I'm eating so I can maintain my weight without getting fat.
I hope this helps
Dale

[Miss Philicia]

Dale, just curious -- the average male weight for someone your height is 137-148 lbs, so I'm kind of curious why we're worried about our weight?  I, wrongly evidently, assumed that this thread was about wasting.

[Dale Parker]

Hey Miss Philicia: Right now my body is "not bad" shape wise. It needs some toning but it's pretty average. My arms are pencil thin and I have a pigion chest. You can count my ribs between my nipples (I don't have man boobs) from 6 feet away. Most of my weight concerns are because of the sunkenness of my face. At 153 it looks OK fat wise. If my weight is any lower my face looks ugly thin and I get told to gain weight. I hate the thinness of my face so much I bought a $2000.00 camera so I would have a great excuse to cover it up at family parties so people couldn't take pictures of it. I'm no raving beauty but at the right fullness (weight between 150 and 160lbs) I'm pretty happy with the way it looks.

[northernguy]

Hey Miss Philicia: Please explain HIV-related sebhorric dermatitis.  I ahve never heard of it before.
    For years prior to my diagnosis people have asked me how my blood pressure is as my face was red. When I was in my mid 20's (about 25 years ago) I joined a gym and did the entry work out. Even though I was only lifting light weights my face went red and was told to stop. I've always blushed easily. Because my face was shrunken for the last 10 or so years, people also used to tell me I needed to gain weight. That sort of confused me as I thought that I was overweight (not by a lot, maybe 5-10lbs). Are these two things related.

Hey Ray: Glad to hear about you weight gain and your ability to hold it. Of course with mine it was after I went out a bought 4 pairs of jeans that actually fit. I may have to diet to keep fitting into them. Just my luck LOL.

Like you, I've got the red face thing going on (as well as the flaking skin everywhere).  I suspect that if you were prone to blushing pre-HIV, that it is somehow made worse by the virus.  I also blush very easily.

This article may also help:

Seborrheic dermatitis is a common disease that affects 2%-4% of the general population. However, up to 85% of HIV-infected people experience seborrheic dermatitis at some time after they acquire the infection. The cause of seborrheic dermatitis is unknown, but many investigators believe the yeast, Pityrosporum ovale, plays a role in the disease. It is further postulated that the alteration of the immune system in HIV-AIDS changes the way the skin responds to this yeast leading to the higher rate of infection...
http://dermatology.about.com/cs/seborrhea/a/seb_aids.htm

[Benc7]

Thanks for the tips, Dale. I'm really making an effort to put on the pounds and all practical tips are appreciated.  Good luck to both of us!

[Dale Parker]

Hey Ben: The trick is to put on weight without getting fat. My doctor said I should cut out butter and watch my cholesterol. My meds can cause an increase in cholesterol (Kaletra and Truvada). I told my friend that I was supposed to eat healthier and he said "How the f@#ck are you supposed to gain weight by eating healthy".  Although I do eat a fair bit of fats and sugars I do try my best to balance it out with the healthy stuff. I'm also pretty active so I tend to burn off a lot of the fats . I also think my activities tend to get rid of the bad things in the foods I eat.
Ill be sure to look for you at the "All you can eat buffet restaurants. LOL
Dale

[Dale Parker]

Thanks for the link Northernguy. I found it very usefull. I also have a tiny bit of the dry skin it mentions in the article but didn't realize that they were related. It occasionally appears on the side of my nose and ears. I also get a few if the white spots on the tops of my feet. The doc has just perscribed a cream for it to be applied after I moisturise. It's HC 1% cream.
They figure that I contracted HIV 10 to 15 years ago although I only got diagnosed this year. I had a boss about 15 years ago who would regularly ask how my blood pressure was as my face was red. My blood pressure has always been excellent even when I was under a lot of pressure and stress. It may have been due to the sebhorric dermatitis.
Thanks again for the great advise.