How to approach weight loss when dealing with chronic pain/fatigue?

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PearlSheep
PearlSheep Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Is there anyone else who has dealt with chronic pain and issues during their weight loss journey? I'm not sure where to start. Current issues include chronic migraines and neuro pain/weakness in my legs and hands (not diabetic), as well as chronic fatigue that may or may not be thyroid/autoimmune related. I've had aquatic aerobics suggested to me, but I'm worried that even that would be too much. Has anyone had to deal with chronic health issues during their weight loss journey, and if so what did you do to get past those hurdles?

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  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
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    What has your health care professional told you about physical activity given your condition?
  • kristingjertsen
    kristingjertsen Posts: 239 Member
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    I live with chronic pain from spinal stenosis and a spinal cord injury. It does impact your weight loss and you have to find the right pathway to achieve your goals without aggravating pain. I have learned that a low carb diet and too much exercise aggravates my pain level. So now I eat smaller portions of healthy foods that are part of an anti-inflammatory diet (fruit, veggies, olive oil, fish, chicken, beans, nuts, whole grains) and do moderate exercise (Walking, training with light weights, swimming, stretching, and body weight exercise). I do get frustrated sometimes that I am not as fit as I was before I had surgery, but I know that I am reaping benefits in health, strength, mobility, and independence even with my moderate program. Good luck! Listen to your body, and do what works best for you. If you don't know where to start, why don't you ask a referral for physical therapy? My physical therapist really helped me figure out how to keep exercising safely and effectively.
  • CBD92
    CBD92 Posts: 72 Member
    edited April 2018
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    @MrsVoid

    Hey there! If you are able to manage what you eat, then you'll be just fine and be able to lose weight without being overly active. I am a Muay Thai kickboxer and I love doing strength and conditioning at the gym. For years I trained 1-2 times per day. I was very active, but lost no weight! In fact it was only about 10 lb in the entire year that I lost. So lately I've been feeling very sore. My shoulders completely jacked up from boxing and not recovering, my hips are tight and I haven't been taking care of my flat feet so my body has been in constant pain. Some days I could barely walk. I decided to lay off on the training and just focus on my phyiso and stretching. I will go for a short walk every day with my kid, but other than that I mainly just track all my food and make sure I eat a minimum of my BMR and not much more, and since feb 1st I've been consistently losing 1 - 1.3 lb per week.

    So if you suffer from chronic fatigue (which is a very real thing, so don't let people push you!) just focus for now on trying to manage your food to the best of your ability and try to go for a walk every day. Start with a 10 minute walk around the block every day and really focus on adhering to that. When dealing with chronic fatigue, that may even be too much and that is ok. Just start with something that you know you can stick to (5 minutes if you have to) and gradually increase your time a few minutes every week. Good luck to you in your endeavours!

    Cheers
    Emm
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    I would read and experiment on yourself. If you find foods that help with your pain or health, I find it becomes easier to lose weight - due to lower inflammation and not eating for energy. But do experiment. I'm one who finds that carbs negatively affects my health and pain - especially refined carbs. I never would have discovered that unless I kept reading and trying new things.

    Good luck.
  • pinkykimmy
    pinkykimmy Posts: 2 Member
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    Hi , I have fibromyalgia and also had my gallbladder removed , and over the last few years after being quite active I found my pain was unbearable and my weight was going higher and higher and even Though i was cycling a lot it wasn’t budging , I also found the impact of cycling was hurting my joints.
    That’s when I decided to give the water ago , I have been going into the pool everyday for the last 2 weeks , and do a few swim lengths but not many as I find it too much on my over arm strokes , so instead I walk , jog, and bop around in the water and make it up as I go along moving my arms and legs as much as I can , I manage a hour everyday. I find this great and the water supports you , I then relax in the jazzuzi for 20/30 mins. I can honestly say my pain levels have eased a bit and the weight is coming of at 2lbs a week so far , which I’m happy with. Unfortunately the cravings for sugar is still there but slowly I will hopefully change that too. I’m on my early days for fitness and healthy lifestyle but I feel the water is a great relief as it takes the impact of the joints I’m so glad I finally found something to help me , Good luck on your journery.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    I have chronic migraine, fibromyalgia, thyroid disease, and psoriatic arthritis.

    I used to be very fatigued by them, but found that adopting an active lifestyle helped fight the fatigue. Being sedentary was something that seemed to enable the fatigue settle in.

    Being active also helps my pain levels.

    I should add that my migraines are nicely managed with a good protocol of medications, though I do have to avoid excessive exertion, as it triggers them.

    I walk a lot throughout the day and lift light weights every other day.

    I took a verrrrrrrrrrry gradual approach to building up my activity levels, which enabled me to find activity to be helpful rather than harmful.
  • 2aycocks
    2aycocks Posts: 415 Member
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    I deal with chronic pain due to several autoimmune diseases. It's easy to use food to medicate when you have a lot of pain. First thing is work with your doctors to get your pain under control. Then do your research as to what foods help or aggravate your particular condition.
    Then do what others are suggesting as far as setting your a good daily calorie goal. Do light exercise that you can build on. Don't over do it at first. And if there are some exercises that just cause you way too much pain, especially for several days after, find other ones that you can do. Be easy on yourself. It's a long term process, not a quick race.
  • Wendyanneroberts
    Wendyanneroberts Posts: 270 Member
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    I deal with chronic pain daily, often in a wheelchair, plus I have angina and also an auto immune disease, dealing with chronic tiredness and yet often unable to sleep because of pain.

    But I have finally managed to lose weight, slowly but surely, through diet alone. Finding and using mfp as a tool, has changed my life, by finally taking control of my eating patterns. I plan my meals around a healthy macro split, for me. Eating healthier and yet working in treats. With accurate data to look back on I've found a way of eating that suits me and fits my lifestyle. Plus by keeping a small calorie deficit, I have managed to stay on plan and lose weight in a slow but sustainable manner. 3.5 years since first finding and using mfp. But now have a 2 year streak of daily accurate logging, no matter what. I have managed to lose 50.2lbs and now have a healthy bmi.
  • Pastaprincess1978
    Pastaprincess1978 Posts: 371 Member
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    Wendyanneroberts wrote: »
    I deal with chronic pain daily, often in a wheelchair, plus I have angina and also an auto immune disease, dealing with chronic tiredness and yet often unable to sleep because of pain.

    But I have finally managed to lose weight, slowly but surely, through diet alone. Finding and using mfp as a tool, has changed my life, by finally taking control of my eating patterns. I plan my meals around a healthy macro split, for me. Eating healthier and yet working in treats. With accurate data to look back on I've found a way of eating that suits me and fits my lifestyle. Plus by keeping a small calorie deficit, I have managed to stay on plan and lose weight in a slow but sustainable manner. 3.5 years since first finding and using mfp. But now have a 2 year streak of daily accurate logging, no matter what. I have managed to lose 50.2lbs and now have a healthy bmi.

    Just wanted to say how much this gives me hope :)
  • kristingjertsen
    kristingjertsen Posts: 239 Member
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    Definitely look into dietary and lifestyle changes that can help reduce your pain level. They are not a miracle cure (the only thing that truly eases my pain is heavy duty prescription pain meds, but I don't want to deal with the side effects ( anti-inflammatories like naproxen raise your heart disease risk and can cause stomach bleeding and we all know the dangers of abusing narcotic medication). Careful diet and moderate exercise offer a safer way to reduce pain and make you feel more in control of your life and health.
  • amgreenwell
    amgreenwell Posts: 1,268 Member
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    standenvernet wrote: »
    Unless your condition(s) cause you to over-consume calories, you should be fine... The majority of the weight I've lost has been from managing my eating (without exercise).

    The "sedentary" activity setting in your profile is a good place to begin, then measure log and eat as described...

    This! And you should probably get checked out by a dr. if these issues are hampering your life.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    yes, myalgia, neuropathy, migraines, ideopathic hypersomnia, gerd, etc

    so i walk, run, and do aerial yoga. the yoga i have to do because i teach it. i just remind myself the pain is real but it's an exaggeration. so i'm there because i also teach classes other teachers don't want to. so if i'm not there, my students don't get a class.
    i walk on bad days, run on good days. because i feel worse if i don't. sometimes we do a quarter mile at a turtle pace and sometimes we do a ten mile run still slow.
    i try to tell myself i can feel awful and be unhealthy or feel awful and be healthy.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    standenvernet wrote: »
    Unless your condition(s) cause you to over-consume calories, you should be fine... The majority of the weight I've lost has been from managing my eating (without exercise).

    The "sedentary" activity setting in your profile is a good place to begin, then measure log and eat as described...

    This. Weight loss comes from caloric restriction not exercise. Even if you are bedridden you can lose weight. Exercise serves two purposes in my opinion, it increases your calorie deficit, and increases your fitness. Both are good things, but not required for weight loss.

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