New on here and sick of pain.

coueswhitetail

if you are interested in high-nutrient, low-calorie foods, visit dr. joel fuhrmans website. he has a list of those types of foods. You can read more there too.

here is a link to his nutrient density chart:
https://www.drfuhrman.com/library/andi-food-scores.aspx


here is one link to some best and worst foods:
http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/article13.aspx

kendallvon

Hi! I may not have back problems, but I have a severe pain problem (Complex Regional Pain due to MS) and I can relate how exercise is difficult if not impossible. Luckily for us, some of the latest medical research says that exercise, though important for well-being. takes a back seat to food for the purpose of weight loss. 999tigger beat me to the explanation I wanted, so read what he/she has to say. Spot on! Best of luck to you.

nutty192

Hi here,
last year I had 3 months in bed with severe sciatica due to 2 slipped discs. I could not walk or sit, but was faily comfortable when lying down! Consequently put on weight which made it worse. All
the pain killers made me really ill, and ended up in hospital for a short time due to these.
I am now loads better, mainly due to Pilates exercises, on a one to one basis to avoid further injury.
Now myhead is ready to address the weight problem and MFP is helping= I have lost 19 lbs, only another 23 to go! I am 72 years old.

I have found that as I slowly lose weight, I can walk more esily, and exercise more effectvely. I am sure you can do it, and it really will help the pain I nw only feel pain when I get overtired.

Good luck, and stick with it.

victoriaalice40

I have scoliosis, my spine is S curved, 49% top and 25% bottom. I understand pain. Please add me if you would like.

jgnatca

My sympathy, living with the pain. I won't pretend to know how to answer that.

"I don't really want to wander round the supermarket reading labels all day. I could imagine it will be difficult to learn about." -stevew

Well, you are in the right place. Plug in a food and MFP will tell you how many calories it is, as well as percentage of macros. You are going to have to learn how to read a food label at some point however. I look at four numbers; total number of calories, carbohydrate, protein, and salt. As a type 2 diabetic in remission, I avoid foods high in sugar (carbohydrate), and prefer higher protein content. I also pick foods lower in salt.

When I was first educating myself, I read all labels and yes, shopping took longer. But now I have my go-to foods and I only look at new ones. A big eye-opener if you are buying hot dogs (franks) for instance, is to put a few packages side-by-side in the store and compare the nutrition labels. I have found that the cheapest hot-dogs are better!

I have done the same with breakfast cereals. Again, big eye-opener.

Patttience

Hmm well i would forget about exercise for now and focus on your diet. Since you are going to be pretty sedentary and risk boredom, how about trying a moderately low carb diet for a while. This takes the edge of your appetite. Besides its fun for a change and if you don't make yourself go to the extreme end of low carbing. Try it at about 100 carbs a day.

It means you should cut out all wheat based foods and rice, increase your vegetables significantly, moderate your milk, increase all your fats (that's where the fun comes in), ensure your protein intake is appropriate.

You can also try doing the 5:2 fasting diet for a while. These two diets go hand in hand. YOu can learn a lot about the 5:2 diet from the fast diet website. The best way to learn about low carb is to read an old Atkins diet book. And then read some others. But don't be fooled into going into induction. Its not necessary.

I did low carb for six weeks. I started off at 100 carbs a day. Liked it. Decided to try going as low as i could which because i don't eat meat meant that about 40-50 carbs a day was my minimum limit. But when by the end of two weeks, i couldn't bear it anymore. I needed fruit. And i started to miss bread. It was just too extreme for me and to do it properly, it required only a slow gradual increase in carbs and carb foods. Better to start at the top end and wind your way down in my opinion. Even if you don't go into ketosis, you still benefit from reduced carbs.

stevew_68

This is the sort of thing where I need to learn about food, carbs, etcs. I would need to learn up on it. what foods have what in it.

stevew_68

jgnatca, thanks for that. The image may well help.

stevew_68

nutty192. Thats good to hear. 72 years old. good on you for losing weight.

SuggaD

I have DDD, so I can relate to your pain. But don't let that stop you from getting fit. My therapist and ortho have put me on a few restrictions but I can otherwise do everything else and am working my way back up to running half marathons (just finished a 10k so half way there). One of the things that I learned in therapy that really helps is to strengthen and stabilize the core. It really does prevent flare-ups. Since finishing therapy, I have been able to run faster and lift more than ever. I would strongly recommend working with a good therapist and ortho. It doesn't have to limit you. I swim, bike, run, play tennis, kayak, lift heavy weights, walk several miles each day with my pup, and otherwise workout hard each day without pain. If I feel a twinge (rarely), i pop an anti-inflammatory and am good to go. And for work, get a versadesk (I think that's the name) and get up every hour. Also your diet is very important to keeping the pain away. Well balanced diet of lean protein, whole grains, low fat dairy, fresh fruits and veggies is the way to go.

stevew_68

Thanks SuggaD. At work I have a sit / stand hydraulic desk plus a wireless headset, so can move about a bit at my desk area.
I think I would rather lose some weight then start getting fitter. Obviously try and keep up my walking when I can.
Im very impressed with your running especially with DDD. I think the main problem with me is the prolapsed disk ( sometimes called a herniated Posterior disk ).
I definately need to work on my core. But how to do that without aggrivating my back is another question.