Chronic pain condition limits exercise

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goddess260660
goddess260660 Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi All, im new to the forum but not to the app. I was doing quite well using it a few years ago but then got sick. My condition means that even short walks exhaust me but have to lose weight to make my condition more manageable. Anyone know if I'll still lose weight effectively without being able to exercise very much? Last time I did exercise at least three times a week. I've lost 5lb but is so slow and pretty soul destroying.

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  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
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    You can lose weight, but you need to be watchful of calorie intake. Enter your information as sedentary in MFP and let the program figure out what you need to eat to be at a deficit. Also, how long did it take you to lose 5 lbs.? A 1-2 lb per week loss is very reasonable.
  • wonko221
    wonko221 Posts: 292 Member
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    Good news! "90% of weight loss is in the kitchen."
    1. Look at the number of calories you are estimated (at whatever your current body weight) to run for one mile. It will be distressingly small.
    3. Look at how many calories there are in a fast food hamburger - it will equal running a couple miles or more, most likely.

    If you develop good eating habits, you can find really good success at weight loss, even without increased exercise. If you exercise a lot but don't eat appropriately, you might feel better, but you won't reliably lose weight.

    Focus on eating well for now, and logging thoroughly so you KNOW what you're eating. Keep in mind that you need to be HONEST when you log, too - your body records every calorie in and out, so fooling yourself does NOT help you improve your life.

    As you start to lose weight and you are able to exercise, take it in slow, manageable chunks, appropriate to your condition. Develop practices that can become routines, and routines that can become habits. eventually, it becomes lifestyle.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    edited May 2015
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    I have chronic migraines and they started acting up really badly this past winter. They pretty much kept me from exercising for 2 months.

    I still lost weight.

    All you need to lose weight is to stick to the calorie deficit that MFP has set up for you when you entered your stats. If you're not losing weight as expected, there are a couple of things you could consider:
    • Are you weighing all solid foods on a food scale and measuring all caloric liquids?
    • Are you choosing correct data base entries an verifying them with either the USDA website or nutritiondata.self.com?
    • Are you logging every bite?

    Another thing you might want to play with is your macro balance. This may or may not work for you. In addition to my migraines, I also have fibromyalgia/CFS, psoriatic arthritis, and Hashimoto's disease. All of these conditions bring fatigue in their wake.

    I have personally found the moderating my carbs -- not totally going low carb, but more eating a high protein diet -- leaves me feeling more energized.

    Lastly, I know it's hard. Exercise used to fatigue me too, but now I find it helps me feel better. Have you looked into graded exercise therapy?
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    Yes, you can absolutely lose weight without exercising! Would you be comfortable sharing some of your stats, including current weight and height? Without those, here is some kind of generic advice: start slowly. Without exercise, it could be more difficult, although not at all impossible, to create a large enough deficit to result in a 2 pound per week loss. (The amount you can expect to lose per week is highly dependent on your current weight anyway, so you might not be able to lose 2 pounds per week anyway, regardless of exercise.)

    What you don't want to do is to start off with a crazy low deficit right from the very beginning. People tend to take their calories down to the floor when they first start, burn out very quickly, and give up. Since you have a chronic pain issue anyway, I'd guess that an extremely low calorie target will make you feel like garbage, too. Don't do that to yourself. Start off with an easier, more manageable goal, like 0.5 or 1 pound per week, and ease into it. Weight loss is all about how long you can stick to it, not how fast you start out of the gate.
  • Sarasmaintaining
    Sarasmaintaining Posts: 1,027 Member
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    goddess260660 wrote: »
    Hi All, im new to the forum but not to the app. I was doing quite well using it a few years ago but then got sick. My condition means that even short walks exhaust me but have to lose weight to make my condition more manageable. Anyone know if I'll still lose weight effectively without being able to exercise very much? Last time I did exercise at least three times a week. I've lost 5lb but is so slow and pretty soul destroying.

    I lost almost 60lbs and didn't exercise at all during my active weight loss phase (I started walking when I began transitioning into maintenance). You can definitely lose weight without exercise-just make sure you're sticking with the correct amount of calories for your weight loss goals, pay attention to portion sizes and then be patient :)
  • goddess260660
    goddess260660 Posts: 8 Member
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    Ok, thanks for your advice :) - I've left the settings all the same as before currently, so I'll look into that. It's been 3 weeks but I know from previous experience that I quickly hit a no loss but maintenance stage but exercised to bump the weight loss back up. I'm not sure what I'll do when it reaches this stage.
  • goddess260660
    goddess260660 Posts: 8 Member
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    Wonko - thanks for the advice. I don't eat fast food or anything fried so that's not a concern. It's my mega slow metabolism that's more the issue. I'm certainly watching what I'm eating and have upped fruit & veg etc.
  • Sarasmaintaining
    Sarasmaintaining Posts: 1,027 Member
    edited May 2015
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    goddess260660 wrote: »
    Ok, thanks for your advice :) - I've left the settings all the same as before currently, so I'll look into that. It's been 3 weeks but I know from previous experience that I quickly hit a no loss but maintenance stage but exercised to bump the weight loss back up. I'm not sure what I'll do when it reaches this stage.

    5lbs in three weeks is solid progress and is a good pace! Also, I re-ran my numbers with every 5lbs lost, to make sure I was eating the correct amount of calories. As you lose weight the amount of calories you get will lower-not a lot, but enough that I made sure to adjust periodically :)
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
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    Sarasmaintaining wrote: »
    goddess260660 wrote: »
    Ok, thanks for your advice :) - I've left the settings all the same as before currently, so I'll look into that. It's been 3 weeks but I know from previous experience that I quickly hit a no loss but maintenance stage but exercised to bump the weight loss back up. I'm not sure what I'll do when it reaches this stage.

    5lbs in three weeks is solid progress and is a good pace! Also, I re-ran my numbers with every 5lbs loss, to make sure I was eating the correct amount of calories. As you lose weight the amount of calories you get will lower-not a lot, but enough that I made sure to adjust periodically :)

    ^What she said!

  • 85kurtz
    85kurtz Posts: 276 Member
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    I have a chronic pain condition which means that many exercise regimens are out for me. I guess the thing that I have learned over the past couple of months is that there is always an exercise that I can do. Sometimes it is walking very slowly for 10 minutes a few times a day. Other times it will just be weight lifting without any cardio. The biggest lesson I have learned though is to stop using my illness(which is I admit is utterly debilitating) as an excuse to be unhealthy, I do not want to be "skinny fat".
    I am not saying that you are using your illness as an excuse, far from it, but have you tried other forms of exercise? Yoga for instance? Or Tai Chi?
  • goddess260660
    goddess260660 Posts: 8 Member
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    Mama peach - I'm sorry to hear that you suffer so much but encouraged to hear that you've still managed to exercise. Like you I have fibro and also pernicious anaemia, osteoarthritis and an undiagnosed back condition. I've just started an exercise programme that will be little more than warm ups for the first few weeks; so hoping that'll help. I'm also seeing a pain therapist but have decided against drugs because of the side effects. I'm hoping that I can contact you again with queries along the way as you've been on the same journey. Hope the head improved soon and thanks for the advice
  • rdfaye
    rdfaye Posts: 39 Member
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    All good advice, and it can be done. I've had RA for 18 years, and I get the hurts too much to exercise. MFP helps me because when I enter something in and I see a massive calorie count pop up, I think twice before eating that again. And I don't mindless nibble as much, because then I have to go to the trouble of entering it. I set my goal at .5 lb loss. I did not want to make myself miserable doing this.

    Follow the above advice and you will get there.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Sure, feel free to contact me any time. What you've described does sound like graded exercise. It's sort of how I started. 10 minutes at a time walking with a cane, but it got better. It hurts to work through it, but I promise you, it is worth it. It helps back pain (I also have degenerative disc disease) and just pain in general.
  • goddess260660
    goddess260660 Posts: 8 Member
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    85kurtz wrote: »
    I have a chronic pain condition which means that many exercise regimens are out for me. I guess the thing that I have learned over the past couple of months is that there is always an exercise that I can do. Sometimes it is walking very slowly for 10 minutes a few times a day. Other times it will just be weight lifting without any cardio. The biggest lesson I have learned though is to stop using my illness(which is I admit is utterly debilitating) as an excuse to be unhealthy, I do not want to be "skinny fat".
    I am not saying that you are using your illness as an excuse, far from it, but have you tried other forms of exercise? Yoga for instance? Or Tai Chi?
    I was only diagnosed in September and so until recently was grieving for my old self. I think the fact that I'm now standing up and deciding to do something about it shows that I'm not using my illness as an excuse. I'm being proactive about finding a way. Like you I've been walking most days - albeit only for short bursts. The last 3 I've been poorly and so unable to do much and it's these periods that are an issue. I've not investigated yoga etc as I've only just started the current exercise programme and don't want to take on too many things at once as this will cause issues, but will bear your recommendations in mind for the future when I've got used to exercise again. Thanks for your help and wish you well with your condition
  • goddess260660
    goddess260660 Posts: 8 Member
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    Thanks everyone for all your help and good advice - I'm finding it really positive to see that so many of you are coping with serious health issues too ..... So there's hope for the old girl yet ;)
  • mch2829
    mch2829 Posts: 70 Member
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    Exercising doesn't really burn that many calories compared to what you burn by just living. You don't need to exercise to lose weight.

    With that said, if you're interested in doing some exercise, ask your doctor for a referral to a physical therapist. It's covered by most health insurance plans. They'll work with you and modify little exercises so that it's within your ability.
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
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    goddess260660 wrote: »
    Thanks everyone for all your help and good advice - I'm finding it really positive to see that so many of you are coping with serious health issues too ..... So there's hope for the old girl yet ;)

    Yes, there is hope :smiley:

  • goddess260660
    goddess260660 Posts: 8 Member
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    mch2829 wrote: »
    Exercising doesn't really burn that many calories compared to what you burn by just living. You don't need to exercise to lose weight.

    With that said, if you're interested in doing some exercise, ask your doctor for a referral to a physical therapist. It's covered by most health insurance plans. They'll work with you and modify little exercises so that it's within your ability.

    Thanks for your feedback mch - I live in the UK and not the States, so you don't really get any choice about routes you are directed. My GP offers meds but very little else., now they know what it is, it's a case of go away and get on with it. I'm doing lots of stuff to help myself, diet, gym, walking. Just a bit of a struggle.
  • goddess260660
    goddess260660 Posts: 8 Member
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    maxit wrote: »
    goddess260660 wrote: »
    Thanks everyone for all your help and good advice - I'm finding it really positive to see that so many of you are coping with serious health issues too ..... So there's hope for the old girl yet ;)

    Yes, there is hope :smiley:

    Thanks Maxit - I really hope so!
  • JillianRN527
    JillianRN527 Posts: 109 Member
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    I can't imagine but I'm with you as I threw my back out and I am stuck laying here in agony (because I refuse pain medication) and I don't know what to do without being active! But everyone is right abs are made in the kitchen! 80% diet and 20% exercise

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