Fibromyalgia is a condition that is characterized by pain, fatigue and depression. There are other symptoms of fibromyalgia, but those are the "main" three. So, do you think having pain, fatigue and depression is a good environment for weight loss or control? Probably not.
That's why so many people who have fibromyalgia also have a hard time managing their weight. In fact, fibromyalgia and it's treatment measures can cause weight gain. This is because some people have severe symptoms that cause them to decrease their activity and also may cause an increase in snacking.
What can you do if your are gaining weight, but cannot participate in any exercise plan to lose weight?
Decrease calories:
When your tired, stressed and depressed, as you can be with fibromyalgia, you may find yourself mindlessly snacking. Much more than you should be. Take a good look at what you are taking in every day and make a commitment to yourself to at least cut it down to a third or cut it out completely.
Stock up on fresh fruits and vegetables and snack on them instead. Try cutting out all junk food. If you don't know if a certain food is junk or not, look it up. There are plenty of sites on the computer that will tell you which foods are healthy and which ones aren't.
Increase activity:
I know, you cannot do anything strenuous, but that doesn't mean you can't do anything at all. There are many exercises, yoga for one, that are not strenuous and may even help your pain decrease in severity over time. Stretching out your muscles is very low impact and can lead to a decrease in pain.
Walking is a great, low impact, non strenuous activity for people in pain. You don't have to walk a marathon either. Just a few minutes every day will put you on your way to weight loss.
Chair exercise:
There are many exercises you can do without leaving your chair. Leg lifts, arm circles and arm lifts are just a few of the exercises that can be done sitting, and there are many more. This at least gets your heart pumping a little bit and strengthens your muscles so that eventually you will be able to increase your activity without an increase in pain.
Floor exercise:
Just as there are exercises for the chair, there are also exercises you can do on the floor. Most of the floor exercise involve stretching and strengthening, but that's what you need for fibromyalgia. To find floor and chair exercises, search the Internet for them. You will find hundreds of easy chair and floor exercises just by searching Google.
Diet and exercise are important for weight loss, just as they are important for fibromyalgia sufferers who are gaining weight. If you just let yourself gain this weight without fighting it, your pain is going to keep increasing and the symptoms of fibromyalgia will get worse.
See your doctor before you do any kind of exercise to make sure your heart is fit enough for activity.
Exercise helps to release the tension from the illness.
ReplyDeleteYes, exercise is probably the very best things you can do for yourself if you have Fibromyalgia. But, I have seen those who have such a severe case of Fibro., that they are wheelchair bound and cannot exercise because of severe pain. Sad, but true. Now, that's not to say that I haven't ever thought that an improvement of some kind couldn't be made for those who a seriously inflicted with Fibro.
ReplyDeleteBeing a nurse, I have seen a lot of things that I think actually decrease a fibromyalgia sufferers chance for improvement, but that's another topic altogether.
Again, I do believe exercise may be the most important treatment a fibromyalgia sufferer can do for themselves. Exercise increases "feel good" chemicals in the brain, that combat pain, depression and anxiety. Exercise increases muscle strength, loosens tight muscles and helps with balance. It also makes you fel better about yourself. The better you feel about yourself, the less likely you will let the symptoms of Fibromyalgia keep you down by too much. This is a disease that we must mentally and physically fight especially when we start to feel hopeless. All the drugs in the world aren't going to help if we don't try to help ourselves.