Fibromyalgia and weight gain

[mhetrick0968]

I have always been small and in the last 5 years I have gained 40 lbs in addition to being diagnosed with fibro...I want to work out but it's hard. I have no one to work out with and sometimes I hurt to the point I don't want to move. I mostly am just fighting the dreaded "belly fat" which I cannot seem to loose. I do not have money to waste on programs that don't work and basically am trying to figure out what does...I walk and I ride my bike but still nothing..I don't eat much and don't wish to try fad diets such as "Allie" I love "Taebo" but it seems to be a little hard for us "beginners" with muscle pain.....Any suggestions?

[Butterfly09]

I have always been small and in the last 5 years I have gained 40 lbs in addition to being diagnosed with fibro...I want to work out but it's hard. I have no one to work out with and sometimes I hurt to the point I don't want to move. I mostly am just fighting the dreaded "belly fat" which I cannot seem to loose. I do not have money to waste on programs that don't work and basically am trying to figure out what does...I walk and I ride my bike but still nothing..I don't eat much and don't wish to try fad diets such as "Allie" I love "Taebo" but it seems to be a little hard for us "beginners" with muscle pain.....Any suggestions?

I was diagnosed in 2005 at the Mayo Clinic. I don't like any of the bouncy cardio such as Turbo Jam etc. Check out the Walk Away the Pounds videos by Leslie Sansone and Callanetics. This is what I started with to get myself going again and build some flexibility and strength. Currently I am doing Chalean Extreme and find myself loving the lifting. I never felt this good doing any other type of exercise. Not eating much is not the way to go-you will slow your metabolism down. And yes somedays do suck and you have to push yourself thru the pain.

[LyingSac]

I have always been small and in the last 5 years I have gained 40 lbs in addition to being diagnosed with fibro...I want to work out but it's hard. I have no one to work out with and sometimes I hurt to the point I don't want to move. I mostly am just fighting the dreaded "belly fat" which I cannot seem to loose. I do not have money to waste on programs that don't work and basically am trying to figure out what does...I walk and I ride my bike but still nothing..I don't eat much and don't wish to try fad diets such as "Allie" I love "Taebo" but it seems to be a little hard for us "beginners" with muscle pain.....Any suggestions?

yep your shutdown,i drink 2 large cups of coffee in the am.This lifts the pain enough to where i can get to the gym.I put in my hour and a half,then i'm back home.I'm personally trying to stay off the pain pills during the day,I take them at night before sleep.I'm really quite sedendary after the gym.I'm eating 5 smaller meals a day to reengage my metabolism.I still hurt when going to the gym but i hurt better....

[Butterfly09]

I like that-"I still hurt, but I hurt better." lol I might add that to my sig.

[LyingSac]

I like that-"I still hurt, but I hurt better." lol I might add that to my sig.

feel free

[DaddyR]

I had a brief fight with Fibro while I was dealing with systemic lupus. Guess it was just an added "bonus" to keep me feeling extra yucky. They say the best treatment for it is mild cardio, though obviously you have to ease into it and it needs to be as low impact as possible. I believe swimming is an excellent option for people with active Fibro.

IMO with dieting the temptation is always to restrict your intake too much which slows your metabolism even more. So you're going to have to count calories and it may be a good idea to see a nutritionist.

[mhetrick0968]

Thanks for all the advice....

[Fisty_McGhee]

For about 10 years I've taken 10mg of amitriptyline at night for fibromyalgia. It's cheap, and it's always kept the pain in check for me. Sometimes for an experiment I've gone off of it to see if I no longer need it, and then BAM, in about 3 days I'm back to feeling the pain again. I'm trying a new experiment right now of replacing the amitriptyline with melatonin since the problem seems to be related to a lack of deep REM sleep where healing takes place. So far I've been impressed with the sleeping aspect of the melatonin, now I'm just waiting to see if the pain starts returning. If the pain returns the next experiment is 5 or 10mg of amitriptyline combined with 3mg of melatonin.

If you were to go the amitriptyline route potential pitfalls are a dry mouth, dizziness when rising too fast, and unfortunately weight gain. You would want to use as low a dose as possible to get the job done, and no more.

And as DaddyR said, swimming is a good option.

[jmac66]

Of course, make sure your rheumatologist approves any workout program. Once they do that (and they should), you should focus on full range of motion activities with light to medium resistance, very strict form. Your best defense with this condition will be your state of fitness and weight control. By controlling your weight there will be less stress on the musculoskeletal system.

Daddy R suggested swimming, and I couldn't agree more. I have had patients with this condition that did very well using that as their primary exercise.

Again, check with your provider first, and good luck!

[jdtemple]

Occasionally, I read through this forum and a thread pops up that is started by someone with some pretty severe condition that would make most people just roll over and quit. I have to hand it to all of you folks that "keep on keepin' on". You are truly an inspiration to the rest of us. I can only hope that if I hit some bumps in the road, I have the guts to keep going like you!

[bodyfitbrian]

I am one of the few men that suffers from fibro (more prodominent in women) and I lift very regularly along with cardio. I come from a long line of fibro suffers in my family and I refuse to by like my mother and restrict myself to bed everytime a feel a bout with it. But I find that the more active I am, the better I feel throughout the day. If I go too long with out exercise I can really feel the lagging kick in. Also (as with many fibro sufferers) I find that if I work out regularly, I dont have as many panic attacks and such. I still get the stomach irretablity (IBS), the finger like crawling feeling across the back and the pressure along with the burning skin feeling in a different part of my body almost weekly. But the muscle burn that most sufferers feel with over use of those muscles is no longer an issue with me. I research fibro topics constantly and there are many mixed opinions with doctors about limiting use of certain muscles or going full out with exercise. I choose to to go full out!!! And I am able to manage it fairly well. I relize I will never be 100% symptom free, but with my approach I can go months at a time with no symptoms.

Above I seen someone has posted they have 2 cups of coffee in the morning. Now I am super caffiene sensitive because of my fibro. That is not an issue with you?

[Butterfly09]

Occasionally, I read through this forum and a thread pops up that is started by someone with some pretty severe condition that would make most people just roll over and quit. I have to hand it to all of you folks that "keep on keepin' on". You are truly an inspiration to the rest of us. I can only hope that if I hit some bumps in the road, I have the guts to keep going like you!

Thank you for this! I feel like such a fatty newbie here (and have been negative repped by a couple of idiots) and your post was quite refreshing!

[Butterfly09]

I am one of the few men that suffers from fibro (more prodominent in women) and I lift very regularly along with cardio. I come from a long line of fibro suffers in my family and I refuse to by like my mother and restrict myself to bed everytime a feel a bout with it. But I find that the more active I am, the better I feel throughout the day. If I go too long with out exercise I can really feel the lagging kick in. Also (as with many fibro sufferers) I find that if I work out regularly, I dont have as many panic attacks and such. I still get the stomach irretablity (IBS), the finger like crawling feeling across the back and the pressure along with the burning skin feeling in a different part of my body almost weekly. But the muscle burn that most sufferers feel with over use of those muscles is no longer an issue with me. I research fibro topics constantly and there are many mixed opinions with doctors about limiting use of certain muscles or going full out with exercise. I choose to to go full out!!! And I am able to manage it fairly well. I relize I will never be 100% symptom free, but with my approach I can go months at a time with no symptoms.

Above I seen someone has posted they have 2 cups of coffee in the morning. Now I am super caffiene sensitive because of my fibro. That is not an issue with you?

Caffeine is not a problem for me. I megadose my omegas with cod liver oil and eat a clean diet (no white processed foods) and my IBS is under control and am off all meds for the Fibro and IBS.