How do you diet/work out with a chronic illness?

Smilejenta · February 2016

Hey guys.
So I had a GBP a few years ago and got in really good shape (for me). Lost a bunch of weight, worked out at least 1,5 hours, 6 days a week and LOVED it. I've had arthrosis in my legs that started almost 20 years ago (I'm 28 now), but have allways managed to push through the pain. Also I had mild fibromyalgia that started when I was 16.

Fast forward til January last year. Had emergency surgery, and that probably set of my fibromyalgia to become MUCH, MUCH worse. 14 antibiotics treatments in 1 year. Allways sick. Pain that takes absolutely everything out of me. Pain meds (that doesn't work well enough) that messes with my weight, I've become completely seditary. Even getting dressed, getting the mail, taking a shower, wipes me out for a day. If I try cleaning the house, I'm down for the count for at least 3 days.

Does any of you cope with something similar? How do you manage to work out? Diet? Weight loss?

My pain doctor says: Even walking 3 steps more each month is a win. But honestly, you can't lose weight with 10 minutes of walking and 3 steps more each month.

Hope you guys have any ideas. Thank you

VintageFeline · February 2016

You don't need to exercise at all to lose weight, that comes down to your calorie intake. So I'd start there, set a modest goal on MFP and eat what it tells you. Just get into a routine with that first. Then if losing a bit of weight makes you less exhausted just start doing a few seconds marching in place if you can but again, it's not totally necessary if it's too much for you.

LHWhite903 · February 2016

All I can offer is encouragement. Eat healthfully, take each day as it comes and do your best without tiring yourself completely. Your pain doctor is right, every small bit more you do is a victory.

mbaker566 · February 2016

i started with walking a little and yoga. I have a form of myalgia and an autoimmune.
I suck it up sometimes but acknowledge my body reacts differently to bodily stresses.
so don't be afraid to take rest days when needed

ClosetBayesian · February 2016

You lose weight by consuming fewer calories than you burn. Burning calories is not limited to working out - you burn calories by existing. So consume fewer calories than you burn. People who are more active tend to have a larger margin of calories that they can eat, but you can still lose weight just by eating at a calorie deficit.

ForeverSunshine09 · February 2016

I have lost all my weight walking less than 1000 steps a day. It is all about eating less than you burn. I even lost weight while being in the hospital not moving at all for 3 days. I am trying to exercise more than that now but, that is for my health not weight loss

vczK2t · February 2016

"You don't need to exercise at all to lose weight, that comes down to your calorie intake." not true. you may not need to focus on exercising initially to lose weight, because it is calories in vs calories out. however, there are exercises you can do sitting in a chair, or laying in bed, or just moving your arms. YouTube is TERRIFIC for that. Focus on watching your portions, and do the exercises you can. once you are feeling better, try getting some walking in. 10 minutes at a time, 3 times a day, DOES help you lose weight.

VintageFeline · February 2016

vczk2t15 wrote: »

"You don't need to exercise at all to lose weight, that comes down to your calorie intake." not true. you may not need to focus on exercising initially to lose weight, because it is calories in vs calories out. however, there are exercises you can do sitting in a chair, or laying in bed, or just moving your arms. YouTube is TERRIFIC for that. Focus on watching your portions, and do the exercises you can. once you are feeling better, try getting some walking in. 10 minutes at a time, 3 times a day, DOES help you lose weight.

Nothing you said makes it untrue. Exercise is good for overall health and will offer a few more calories to eat/increase deficit but it is not necessary to lose weight purely from a scientific point of view.

Chieflrg · February 2016

I worked out through a year of cancer treatments as well as RA. It's a balancing act to deal with the pain and tendons flaring or swollen joints. I takes me an hour just to walk every day or hold a cup of coffee, but then I get to gym and figure out how to bench press 300 lbs. You do what you can.

I also disagree with you can't lose weight 10 miutes of walking and three steps. You lose weight by eating in a deficit, not how many steps you take.

AliceDark · February 2016

VintageFeline wrote: »

vczk2t15 wrote: »

"You don't need to exercise at all to lose weight, that comes down to your calorie intake." not true. you may not need to focus on exercising initially to lose weight, because it is calories in vs calories out. however, there are exercises you can do sitting in a chair, or laying in bed, or just moving your arms. YouTube is TERRIFIC for that. Focus on watching your portions, and do the exercises you can. once you are feeling better, try getting some walking in. 10 minutes at a time, 3 times a day, DOES help you lose weight.

Nothing you said makes it untrue. Exercise is good for overall health and will offer a few more calories to eat/increase deficit but it is not necessary to lose weight purely from a scientific point of view.

It's also not necessary to start exercising and changing your eating patterns at once. It's perfectly fine, and very healthy, to tackle one thing at a time. OP, I'd strongly suggest you follow what VintageFeline told you at the top of the thread. Get in the habit of tracking your food and eating at your target calorie goal for awhile, and then see how you feel. Doing anything that causes you more fatigue is going to be detrimental.

Unknown · February 2016

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kshama2001 · February 2016

Smilejenta wrote: »

Hey guys.
So I had a GBP a few years ago and got in really good shape (for me). Lost a bunch of weight, worked out at least 1,5 hours, 6 days a week and LOVED it. I've had arthrosis in my legs that started almost 20 years ago (I'm 28 now), but have allways managed to push through the pain. Also I had mild fibromyalgia that started when I was 16.

Fast forward til January last year. Had emergency surgery, and that probably set of my fibromyalgia to become MUCH, MUCH worse. 14 antibiotics treatments in 1 year. Allways sick. Pain that takes absolutely everything out of me. Pain meds (that doesn't work well enough) that messes with my weight, I've become completely seditary. Even getting dressed, getting the mail, taking a shower, wipes me out for a day. If I try cleaning the house, I'm down for the count for at least 3 days.

Does any of you cope with something similar? How do you manage to work out? Diet? Weight loss?

My pain doctor says: Even walking 3 steps more each month is a win. But honestly, you can't lose weight with 10 minutes of walking and 3 steps more each month.

Hope you guys have any ideas. Thank you

I have difficulty with my knees. The official diagnosis is "pain with activity." I do what I can, and then try to do a little more. Sometimes I overdue it and have to dial back for a week. I think your pain doctor's point is to just do a little more as you can.

Earlier this year, I could only do two sets of eight 60 degree pushups. Now I'm up to 20. This time last year I could only walk a mile without my knees starting to hurt. Now I can do three miles without pain. (I still can't squat to clean my refrigerator without hurting my knees, though

)

I have MCS, which has some overlap with FM. I used to be on a MCS/FM/CFS board. Lots of people with FM said moderate activity (outside flareups) helped them. People mentioned yoga a lot.

That said, you don't need to exercise in order to lose weight. You can create a calorie deficit via your diet. However, there are lots of other reasons to exercise - I sleep better, and am otherwise in a positive cycle.

Smilejenta · February 2016

Thanks everyone, and thanks for your support.
I guess I just miss working out more then I realized. Living normaly.
I also forgot to mention that I'm on a very strickt eating regime because of an eating disorder. So I have a list that I'm supposed to follow, every day for a LONG time. It's so much food! It's very hard to get a calorie deficit with the doctor on board. She has me at almost 1800-2000 calories a day. If I don't follow the plan, then I have to stay in a hospital where they can monitore me. Everything is contradicting one another. It's confusing and frustrating.

What do I choose? Losing weight, listening to my body and the pain or focus on getting better from the eating disorder.

tulips_and_tea · February 2016

Given all the medical conditions I'd say do as your doctor is telling you. But, how much weight do you need to lose?

Smilejenta · February 2016

Problem is, they are all saying different things, and they evidently are unable to actually work together. That's why I'm seeking advice. There are so many different people here with different backgrounds

Ideally I want to lose about 60 lbs.

Chieflrg · February 2016

That us a pretty big piece of imfomation to omit.

So, it sounds to me that your Dr advice is to be followed before random Internet people.

azulvioleta6 · February 2016

Movement is the only thing that seems to help with fibro, at least for me. I have that as well as several other serious illnesses. I was bedridden with a disease that causes muscle wasting when I started working on weight loss. I also have a bad knee--no ACL on one side.

I just kept pushing myself, a tiny bit at a time. When I am in a lot of pain, I swim. If you have access to a warm-water pool, even better.

Five years down the road, I am back to being extremely athletic and fit. The only thing that I can't do at this point is distance running. I only have a couple of flares each year now, and they seem to be linked to extreme heat/cold and stress. I take NO pain medication and use exercise endorphins as my pain relief. I've lost 90+ pounds and maintained for quite some time.

So, I guess my advice is not to give in or to give up. Do the best that you can and keep moving forward.

gentlygently · March 2016

Could it help to talk to your doctor about your plans beyond your eating disorder - ask him/her to take a more holistic view and agree a very gentle weight loss goal (if appropriate) and a very gentle excercise programme aimed at pain relief (and anxiety/depression prevention? !)

I do 'graded excercise' (and energy management) for fatigue reasons. So say I was up to walking 15 mins as a baseline that did not make me feel too drained same day/ next, do this for 2 weeks, then up by just 10% and maintain this for 1 or 2 weeks, before upping again...I started out finding even walking to my pool hard, but nowadays I can swim 1k when I get there.

The excercise makes me feel better, and I cam measure my progress. It helps burn off some calories too.

I also limit the energy I spend in some areas (eg do online shopping not supermarket), rarely drive long distances, plan a rest if I have to etc.

Good luck...

How do you diet/work out with a chronic illness?

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