Battling Weight Gain

As mentioned on Tuesday, I have put a good chunk of weight back on and I’m now starting the process of fighting it back off. Here is my plan:

Exercise: I have reached out to the personal trainers at my gym to inquire to see who would be the best fit for me to set up an exercise regime for me to follow. I’m more likely to do so if it’s set out for me. Part of what helped me lose weight last time was running but I hate running.. At least running for running sake.

Comfort Food: I am no longer bringing in food that I consider to be comfort food that is deadly to the waistline. This means no more cookies or pudding or chocolate. It also means no more ordering pizza or other fast food.

Portion control: I have to return to watching exactly how much I eat. So if I make a pizza from scratch I can’t eat the whole damn thing in one sitting. That is no longer allowed.

Weight Gain

Over the last few months, my mental health has not necessarily been the greatest.

Motivation has been down, so getting to do things that aren’t scheduled has been a challenge.

Fatigue has been high, so having the energy to do even the things that are scheduled has been a challenge. I should follow up with my doctor to ensure it’s not just the fibro cuz it’s been more as of late & I am getting my B12 shots done regularly now.

Pain has been escalating. It hasn’t been high enough to warrant a visit to the ER, but it is higher than it was before Christmas. It’s usually been muscular pain in my leggs, sciatica pain in my lower back or just plan old headaches or migraines (a bit of both). Pain doc can’t help with the first or last beyond medications, and I’ve been getting epidurals for the sciatica. Unfortunately my back popped a month or so ago, so the epi hasn’t been as effective (yes, I’m following up with my GP on that when they return my call)

Comfort food has been the go to lately, most of which has not been healthy. Junk food, cookies mostly leftover from Christmas, candy, chips, etc . Not the best choices.

The accumulation of all these factors has resulted in significant weight gain..

Food Choices with Fibro II

MSG & Sodium Nitrate are used as flavor enhancers and preservatives in many handled foods, for instance preserved meats and sauces. They are full of salt as well, which can worsen pain or inflammation in some fibro patients.

Fibromites. To reduce the effect of nitrites and MSG on your fibro, avoid prepackaged foods as much as possible and emphasize on whole foods like brown rice, fish, and lentils.

Food Choices with Fibro – Intro

This is a series approximately 10 weeks long, looking at food choices.

It’s been reported that beyond OA, fibromyalgia is the most common musculoskeletal conditions. Over 12 million Americans have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia that’s about 4%.

Sticking to a personalized fibromyalgia diet is one of the ways you can manage the pain and get more out of life.

Most people with FM know the necessity of taking it easy when pain flares. Many, however do not realize how much your food choices impact your fibro symptoms. Because it not studied extensively there is not much data on have exactly particular food ingredients and items impacts us. In a recent nutritive article published in Rheumatology International, small study of 101 FM patients determined for this group, that 7% had food intolerance or allergies, & 30% had made changes in their diet to help their situation.

While there is no particular diet suggested for FM treatment, some Fibromites have noticed a correlation between poor food selections & fibro symptoms. One nutritionist suggested that Fibromites seem to have excessive level of a dependence on ‘luxury’ foods (foods easy to prepare or buy premade) due to the inability to prepare & eat health choices on a regular basis Unfortunately, for many it leads to weight gain which leads to being overweight which can aggravate many fibro symptoms.

^{“Luxury Foods”are ones you can make fast or just pick up. . The examples above: Tim Hortons Donuts, KD, Chef Boarder, McDonald’s, KFC, Little Cesar’s..}

Living with fibromyalgia, your food selections could be making your pain or other symptoms worse. As each of us deals with fibro differently, there is no one-size-fits-all diet, but making changes can help!

Come back next week for more!