CFS/ME and weight loss

Kezcos
Kezcos Posts: 7
in Introduce Yourself
I suffer with CFS, albeit moderately, so any exercise is exhausting and puts me in relapse....just working takes all my energy and I am exhausted by the end of my working day.......................................

Is there any other suffers on here trying to lose weight and is it possible to lose weight without exercise?................................ previous to this diagnosis I used to gym and swim three times a week and have found I have piled on the pounds since ill health struck over the last 18 months.

I would love to go back to gym but know it is impossible at the moment but I can make dietary changes to assist me to feel better about myself.

Any advice is warmly appreciated :-)

Replies

  • deviantcupcake
    deviantcupcake Posts: 136 Member
    Hi.

    I also have that wonderful, wonderful condition. Eight years in and I'm lucky that it's now at a level where I can do some things and I can work (though I managed to burn myself out with full-time work this year, lost my job and am now unemployed and trying to recover enough to get a new one).
    A couple of years ago I was at a stage where I was working part-time and going to the gym. Incredible to think that, now!

    It is definitely possible to lose without exercise. If you calculate your BMR to find out how many calories your body burns at rest (I tend to use this site http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/). From that you can calculate how many calories you need to maintain your current weight (there's a link on the BMR calculator page) and figure out how much of a deficit you need to create to lose weight.

    It does work. If you feel well enough to do some strength/toning exercises (I know that's so much easier to say than to do), that will help with maintaining muscles, but if you're not up to it then please don't push yourself!
  • Kezcos
    Kezcos Posts: 7
    thanks for the link - have looked and set me calorie control level - will be interesting to see if it works :-)

    I am trying to walk each day for exercise but my job also involves walks several times a day between buildings !!

    In the last 18 months all the CFS suffers I have met are high achievers, were busy people and suffer with the crash and burn result of this illness !!!

    I am trying to learn a balalnce and not feel guilty not being busy and watching the world go by in a hurry.tis very hard tho !!!

    I had a major burn out last October after working too many hours and having several stress factors to deal with.............am now trying to pace and take life in a chillax mode ..How on earth have you coped for eight years? I take my hat off to you...... RESPECT....fellow sufferer.
  • emmaonamission
    emmaonamission Posts: 117
    I suffer too, mildly, but still. I get really down about not being able to exercise that much. I try and walk to make up for it but it doesn't take much to burn out! I also try and do some light exercise on my exercise bike but I haven't managed that for a while...

    But it's definitely possible to lose weight without exercise. It'll just take a bit longer than it would if you were exercising a lot. It has helped me to experiment with food, read a lot about nutrition and never think of it as a diet - more a lifestyle change. Just try and cut the crap out from your diet, and focus on eating healthy (that is if you're not already!) and like a previous poster said, go work out your BMR. :)
  • 7201955
    7201955 Posts: 27 Member
    I agree with other posts that this illness often attacks high achievers and "used to be" athletes. I was one of them. Today I could finally rise at 2pm, eat, do a load of laundry and I just started to empty the dishwasher. I must rest in between the smallest exertions.
    An evening walk does feel good, but this is a stroll, not a power walk.

    Don't get down. We can still experience a life in abundance. We can still be healthy within our own parameters. We will lose weight at our own pace for the purpose of being healthier.
  • AnneC77
    AnneC77 Posts: 284
    I have this condition too and I basically just do what I can and when I can. I try and exercise, walk and jog on the treadmill. Some days this kills me and I need a couple of days bedrest to get over it, but I bounce back until I exhaust myself again. My advice is just to listen to your body, push when you can push, but rest when you need it. Good Luck xx
  • casperuk
    casperuk Posts: 195 Member
    First 40lbs I lost without doing a single exercise.

    In fact its only since I have started exercising that my weight is less inclined to go down. And if I stop doing stuff for a few days I lose a ton of weight.

    I exercise to get fit. I watch what I eat to lose weight.
  • Kezcos
    Kezcos Posts: 7
    wow 57 pounds lost - that is amazing !!! I am only in my second week and have put on 1pound of the three i lost the first week- have no idea what is going wrong but i will keep going and tweaking diet :-)
  • deviantcupcake
    deviantcupcake Posts: 136 Member
    I am trying to learn a balalnce and not feel guilty not being busy and watching the world go by in a hurry.tis very hard tho !!!

    I had a major burn out last October after working too many hours and having several stress factors to deal with.............am now trying to pace and take life in a chillax mode ..How on earth have you coped for eight years? I take my hat off to you...... RESPECT....fellow sufferer.

    I haven't a clue how I've managed for eight years. It was so hard at the start, gradually got easier to manage until I had a total lifestyle change. I moved out of my parents' house and in with my boyfriend, so even a year later I'm still learning my new limits.

    It is very hard to watch things going on around you and not feel guilty. My boyfriend has to do the majority of the cleaning, since things like mopping, scrubbing floors, carrying the vacuum cleaner upstairs and then having the energy to push it around afterwards all leave me wiped out. I feel awful about it, and that I don't help in the garden, but I know it's best for me not to try to do those things.
    It gets easier to do, though. I try to make up for it in other less strenuous ways so I don't feel too guilty. I prefer things like laundry - I can throw it in the machine, then leave it and do something else. I do find hanging the washing out to dry is quite an effort, but once it's done I can walk away and have a sit/lie down for a long time before it needs to come back in. I also tend to wash and dry the dishes about half an hour apart, so I can sit down in between.

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