Hi hope you are okay, since ive had fibro ive put on weight, i used to be slim when i first had it now im fat and i dont like it. It makes me feel down and i wish i could be slimmer again amongst other things. Any advice is welcome im sorry for ranting i walk everyday but dont go far, i try and eat good things but i suppose being at home all the time doesnt help and being bored. Thankyou for any help x❤️😊😩
Losing weight with fibromyalgia.. - Fibromyalgia Acti...
Losing weight with fibromyalgia..
Written by
fibrogirl41
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
71 Replies
•
Hi there, I think many may find themselves in the same boat where weight gain is concerned. I know I certainly do.
May I ask why do you keep apologising in all your posts for ranting?
I have never heard any kind of rant in your posts. So don't feel the need to apologise for something you are not doing xx
Momo
same issue. I hope we take one step at a time to exercise and feel better.
I've been trying to loose the same 5 kg for a decade and then weirdly about 3 months ago it finally went. Trouble is I'm not entirely sure why bc I'm aways doing things to try and loose weight and I'm not sure which thing it was.I'm very active so it's not an increase in exercise, if anything a decrease in cardio and an increase in weights.
I also found out I was prediabetic so after trying lots of things that didn't help or made me more ill, I went sort of keto. Sort of because I just tried to avoid carbs as much as possible, pasta, potatoes, bread.
I'm in pain all the time and I don't sleep much so I'm too tired to do anything complicated, like count calories, or go proper keto. I also slowly started to incorporate the supplement inulin into my diet, it really triggers my IBS so I had to do it really really slowly. Inulin targets visceral fat.
That's interesting Cat00. It seems all gluten flour boats me. Stopped pasta years ago. Now I'm trying GF. Spoke to gp as symptoms drive other pains, tests ahead incase it's something else.
hi I had success with Hello Fresh meals. Online fresh meals that you cook so get satisfied at the results you have made using simple instructions. I lost a stone after 3 months Lisa x
Building up muscle mass with resistance training will increase metabolism. Too much cardio could increase cortisol (the stress hormone) and interfere with sleep.
Too much cortisol can mess with insulin (our fat burning hormones) sending us on a blood sugar rollercoaster, our thyroid hormone (which controls our energy) leading to fatigue particularly in the morning, it can also effect oestrogen (hello peri menopause). So if just one of these 4 hormones is off balance it can have a huge impact. But @Cat00 you may have just cracked it!
It's just so hard to break the cycle particularly when pain is added to the mix.
It would be good to know a starting point for resistance training. If I do too much cardio my CNS lights up like a Christmas tree ...
Yes this is exactly my experience! When I was wearing the continuous glucose monitor my highest spike was never from food but from cardio, all be it very intense cardio. I also think cardio makes you savagely hungrier later on which can backfire.
Everytime I tried to alter my diet, without reducing my volume or calories, as such, but by upping my greens and eating carbs that don't trigger a spike, like bulgar wheat in my case, my IBS would go ballistic and I wouldn't be able to eat or stand upright for 3/4 days.
I've got severe spinal fractures from Osteopenia so doing core work is complicated but I find with resistance training I just keep slowly going up until I can't for a bit, plateau for a while and then just keep going. I only really started a year ago more seriously and I can almost leg press 3 times my bodyweight. I'm fitter and stronger now in my late forties than I was in my twenties. I find pain I get from training is easier to bear than fibro pain, mentally, because I know it will go away eventually....
Yes…pain you have caused yourself , by activity, seems to be easier to live with as it under your control! Weird.
Absolutely and it masks fibro pain quite effectively 😄
Have you thought of chair exercises?
If done regularly they can possibly help with some weight loss, but would at least strengthen muscles from the safety of a chair.
You can find them all over the internet & the NHS website.
Thanks, maybe ill find some yoga ones too x
There are definitely some Yoga 🧘♀️ ones for sure.
Hi, I've experienced the same, some doctors tell me it's all the medication, some tell me it's cause im not as mobile . Unfortunately it's added to my depression I was a 10-12 now I'm 16, gets me down so much but where pain seems to be worse in legs, hips & back it's hard to do anything. If you find anything out please let me know I can't walk to local shop 5 mins away without use of aids, I suffer with arthritis, fibro, IBS, chronic fatigue syndrome so any help appreciated xx
Feel you. It might be all of the above. Try anything that takes your mind off eating and uses your hands eg reading. Maybe try order food shops online, extra good stuff, less/No naughty stuff so the food cravings get sorted healthily by default?
I know, i used ti be that size and now the same its depressing i look too big sometimes 😔🤣😭
my condition is the same as yours doesn’t matter what i do to help my self weight doesn’t seem to go down which causes other medical problems like pressures on knees feet and lower back problems
Hello..we are in the same boat.every bite i take feels like a put on a ton.They say to exercise...but how when the pain is.constant??
Same as me I'm just cutting out processed foods and junk to see if that helps me.
hi everyone I’m following this as it really resonates with me - I used to be slim and fit but since my diagnosis I’ve piled on the weight and I know it’s sounds dramatic but I’m grieving for my former self😞what to do 🙈so frustrating- I do as much as I can but if I do too much it sets me back days!
Sending love and hugs to you all 🥰xx
I'm with you. Days/weeks if you overdo it. The changes are dramatic. I'm working on it by pacing and trying to build some form of stamina (even chair/bed exercise) on good days and cutting gluten, sugar and fats. Adding fibre foods. It's a tricky balance. Each unique. Pace, that word means so much.
You are not alone. I am finding swimming is the best exercise as the weightlessness is bliss. And like others have drastically cut down on carbs. I’ve also eliminated wine which has elevated my mood.
I just stopped purchasing sweets and snacks altogether. At first I would find myself going to the cupboard to stare at biscuit free shelves. Now my subconscious has caught up and doesn’t make the wasted journey.
Final tip - eat the veg first and drink lots of water all day and during meals.
You’ll get there - be kinder to yourself x
That is so funny, I have just done the same thing, stopped buying anything in and keep going looking in the cupboards lol hopefully my mind will catch up as well lol
it took a few fruitless trips over a couple of weeks 😂😂
Same here, if it’s not there it can’t be eaten 😋x
Hi, I think what we need is a fibro self help weight watchers group.
There are many weight groups out there. But they don't understand the needs of people with fibro. Lack of mobility for one.
I was so desperate last year I joined weight watchers on line. OMG it was a nightmare.
I know, it is a bit, thankyou for your reply, and with fibro its complex and people dont understand sometimes x
The point system and brain fog aren’t great together 🙈
Oh I understood the point system there just was not enough of them. Anyone could lose weight on their program. Its basic common sense to be honest. But its not the way most people could make it a way of life. That's why most people put the weight back on when they stop going to WW.
I was given 23 points for the day. And as long as I didn't eat bread, rice, pasta and potatoes It was doable.
But if for example I had 2 slices of toast 6points and maybe I fancied a scone and and a cup of tea in the afternoon that would be 9points. So that would be15 of my 23 points used for the day.
I may think about setting up a healthy eating group. Something for me to consider 🤔
Yes but as with everything don’t bite off more than you can chew - moderator duties are “enough” I imagine.
(Apologies for the pun…)
LOL that made me smile. I have had my own private forum for over 10yrs. So plenty of free board space. Unforunately it goes against the rules of FMUK for me to advertise it or add a link here. But people can PM for any links not just mine xx
Hi, I think a lot of us are in the same boat. I feel like I have been on a diet for the last 10 years to be heavier then I was when I started. I can loose weight if I stick to about 1300 calories a day but I think the older you get the harder it seems to get. I also have underactive thyroid but don’t think it’s about that as I can loose weight like anyone else if I stick to a diet, it’s the sticking to it that’s the problem. That together with comfort eating when feeling rubbish. Hard to diet when you can’t get into the right frame of mind. I loose a few pounds over a few weeks and then it goes to pot and back on again. My new strategy is to go swimming, walk a bit more and just try and eat more sensibly. After swimming/ walking I tend not to want to spoil the effort I have put in by eating the wrong stuff. I hope you find something that works for you. If you haven’t tried it before a slimming group might help, gets you out and helps to keep you motivated. I wish you the best and hope you find something that works for you x
Definately feel you, I've naturally always been a 10, now knocking on a 14-16. It's driving me loopy!!Just started going to hydrotherapy (light exercise in the pool). That's been helping with mental health too.
The instructor, interestingly, was saying that with fibromyalgia we have a lot more toxins in our bodies, though lack of movement we causes pain after exercise. He said water helps move the toxins we get (from exercising anywhere) out of our bodies as the water massages us at the same time.
Makes sense I thought, so through the pain I've booked to swim twice a week for 20mins, an started doing 1 set of 5 1kg arm weights
Slowly catchy monkey, hopefully 🤞
Hoping the journey for all of us creeps to the better end with every day 🥹❤️
Yes i know, i had hydrotherapy couldnt afford to keep going because it was expensive but loved it x
Yeh they are expensive, I 💬 no I'm doing one round then will try and do it myself in the local pool xx
hi, interesting reading. May I ask how you managed to get hydrotherapy sessions please? X
I went to the paddock pool, its lovely there, private and quiet. They have a website you can look it up x good luck and i can find the number if u want x
Ah, thank you very much. I don’t know the paddock pool🤔is it a private place or do you have access through a gp? I hope you don’t mind me asking x
Its private, so you have to pay. I dont mind you asking x😊
😊
If you Google hydrotherapy pool near me, then get in touch with them and they will be able to tell you what they offer.Unfortunately you have to pay for them, unless you get referred from the doctors (but I'm not sure if they do that anymore, but definitely worth a go I guess)
Thank you so much for your reply, the way most things are these days probably not, but I shall look into it 👍
There are so many members who have the same problems with weight and fibromyalgia. I too had the same problem as you. In fact my weight increased by 3 stone which was a nightmare after years of living with this extra weight I decided to come off my painkillers which were not working anymore. I took 4 different types of pain killers and over a period of 6 months I took my self off them and brought a low sitdown bike which i use everywhere day I lost 2st 7lbs. I changed my diet and moved around more with my steps watch seeing how many steps I could achieve. Each week . of course sometimes it is not possible to do exercises due to flare ups . I do chair exercises which keep my muscles 💪 strong. Stretching exercises help with pain. I don't feel guilty anymore because my weight issues were linked to more than food and that's what others don't understand.
I brought a small weight plate to eat from it help with Portion sizes. There are loads of things you can do to self help yourself.
Look at the overall well-being. Your drugs and side effects. Your portion sizes, reviews your movements. Look at your energy levels, chair exercises help so much. Stretching exercises. Ask your GP about being put forward to weight brought forward workshops for losing weight with long term illness. They are fantastic and support you so much. Ask your GP about a dietitian support on how to lose weight. These tools can help you so much. Give them all a go don't let being overweight affect you take on a Challenge and get help.
Any weight loss is good when your overweight. Good luck 👍 💓 take care .
Hi I know how you feel I can't walk so its worse for me as I used to walk miles ,I also have arthritritos .I tried diets but get borde with them ,iam not big as I have been told but I feel it ,iam a size 12/14 but I used to be 8/10. What do we do.
its all about the right mindset and adapting to fibro i have some weights and work on my upper body and core while sitting, buy only foods that are healthy and no access to rubbish makes you enjoy what you have in more protein less carb you need to focus and be determind
good luckxx
hi, I think you are a normal’ person with‘ normal’problems that the majority of us face. When suffering daily with all kinds of chronic pain and conditions it’s very hard to focus on anything else. Just getting through a day is not easy. Plus the many years of financial stress and hardship most are struggling with paying bills and food etc, trying to buy healthier options is a stretch to far for so many. Exercising or even a short walk is a tall order for lots of us who are struggling in pain constantly. I work what used to be a 6 minute walk from my home but nowadays it takes me up to 20 minutes as the pain is unbearable, trying to put one foot in front of the other is excruciating and exhausting and I have to have a sit down for a good 10 minutes before I then start a long days work 🥲I’ve been able to manage dropping from 5 days to 4 and wish I could afford to not work at all or at least drop another day but financially it’s impossible. I am only able to do this because thank goodness I was awarded pip🙏sorry I get side tracked, I’m trying to lose a few pounds myself atm but even the only apples I find have any taste are £2.80 a pack! Please don’t beat yourself up as we tend to do, with everything let alone weight loss. I know how it makes you feel though uncomfortable and affects your mood, confidence and self esteem. Try to take things a day at a time and try not to let it get on top of you🤗🤗 not easy I know, easier said than done. Try and remember when you feel low, that you are a great person inside and out. Sending love and positive thoughts 😘🤗🤗🤗🤗xx
Thankyou x what a lovely message ❤️😊
🤗say it as it is😁xx
🤣😊😊😏❤️❤️
❤️🤷♀️👍😘😘🤗🤗we could go on like this all day 🤣🤣it’s my day off and I slept until late afternoon so I have a bit of energy 😁😁❤️take care xxx
With fibro and living alone I have a lot of errands to achieve within the house to keep it going... I'm lucky to be able to afford a cleaner every fortnight who does the big or awkward stuff!
Trying to live in a home where the main preoccupation is sorting out junk+decluttering I find I have no energy to cook later in the day!!! I eat a healthy brunch that sets me off 2do tasks when able to...
I try not to buy/eat processed food so am desperately trying to think what to eat when overwhelmed with fatigue later in the day...
It's such a struggle as I do get hungry but my weight stays lower than it was because I hv no energy to cook! I rely on fruit, tomatoes, nuts, eggs, good seeded bread+now salads. In winter, it was vegetable soups and jacket potatoes.
(My gas hob is immaculate!!!)
Also an increase in water 2stop me drinking tea w sugar.
In fact, anything that doesn't need chopping as my arms are so weak!
As I have one knee problem I'm glad my weight is dropping a little as it's bound 2b beneficial???
It's such a worry 2b worrying about food intake all the time! My head hurts with the guilt... However all medical checks prove 2b fine!
I try+walk 2/3 times a week but only when weather is favourable+not far at all! I'm guided by my pedometer as to how often I can leave the house, so I have frequent rest days and don’t feel guilty abt that anymore...
Pacing is my key!
I'm not advocating my lifestyle as a model but all the news abt processed food is so startling that I feel so guilty when I don't eat something from scratch!
I eat meat/fish when I go out; and I succumbed to chocolate over Easter!
I am certainly no saint but I have no idea how fibro folk manage to cook a meal on their own? I'm just too overwhelmed w fatigue but don't reach 4 treats as I don't buy them anymore...
I'm dropping my weight very gradually 2help my knee/mobility but my waist measurement is still not decreasing much!
Good luck to everyone trying to keep an eye on their fitness+diet with fibro. It's certainly not an easy road???
Wxxx
Does anyone out there identify with the inability 2cook a meal from scratch because of fatigue? I'd love to hear how you cope?
I don't batch cook for the same reason!
PS. If and when I do cook/prepare food I am obsessed with the mess it will make...
I 'see' everything in work units!
Anyone else see tasks, like this? Wx
Hi, same for me, I’m very lucky that my daughter cooks me up batches of casseroles etc that go in the freezer and heated up in the oven or saucepan as I can’t manage cooking. When I think back years ago when I was able to do Christmas dinner etc 🤷♀️again, haven’t been able to do that for years and my daughter and her husband pick me up and I spend Christmas with them and their extended family. They are all very good and know I can’t help with the cleaning up afterwards so I’m extremely thankful for having a family that understands. The aftermath is 😖as we all know like a bomb has gone off so I’m grateful that I don’t have to deal with it anymore. I appreciate some are not so lucky and it’s a real struggle. I like you rely on salads, nuts, fruit and vegetables and soup but with the lack of being able to exercise means it’s not easy to keep the weight off once it’s on. I don’t think about it as I did when I was younger as it is what it is and nowadays I have to try my utmost to get on living day to day otherwise it sets me off with my anxiety and then leads to depression, not a good place to be for anyone. Everyone copes in different ways and yes fatigue is a major problem with being able to do anything at all. I sleep most weekends through sheer exhaustion. Like today, my day off I didn’t wake up until 2pm, I never feel refreshed from it but have accepted that is what my mind and body needs, so I don’t get angry about it anymore, as what’s the point 🤷♀️It’s not going to change. Hope this lets you know that you are quite‘normal’ and not some crazy person 😘🤗🤗sometimes it’s just helpful to know you aren’t alone and the only one feeling the way you do. 🤗take care xx
Thank you for taking the energy to type a reply... even typing is hard, isn't it?
I slept v v badly last night+was awake until 7.00am, Dr called at 9.30am so I was awake for a couple of hours and then slept until 3.00pm ready to cope again... Yes I don't feel any guilt either!
But never admit it to outsiders!!
We are sisters of slumber???
Glad you've got such a supportive daughter+family. She sounds lovely!
Unfortunately, I don't have any family!
Lovely to hear from a fellow lifestyler with fibro... It all helps to make us feel more united, doesn't it?
However, I am fascinated in yr employment! What do you manage to do with fibro limitations?
If I'm being too nosey ignore me!
Sending you a hug Wxx
🙋♀️really lovely to hear back from you. I’m off to bed now as work in the morning 🥱🥴and il never hear my 7 alarms if I don’t 🙂but I shall try to msg you at some point in the evening and answer your question re employment. Hope you get a better nights sleep 😴🤗xx ps your not nosy whatsoever 😁xx
and typing and thinking 🤔 is definitely hard going 😘xx
Hello, just got home so thought I’d best message now before I do my usual and doze off 🙄 in answer to your question about what I am able to manage with employment, the honest answer is I’m actually really struggling with it. I am now 63 and feel 93! I’m a carer in a special care unit at a day centre for people with what is known as pmld, profound and multiple learning disabilities. I’ve worked there for 16 years this June. I started off in the kitchen as had no experience and did extra bank shifts at a residential home where our lovely people lived. I had to give up kitchen work as it caused me many issues with my neck, shoulders, arms and fingers plus I had arthritis in my toes too so I could no longer do the running around and lifting of heavy pots, Bain Marie’s etc. so after 2and a half years I applied for a carers position there. I absolutely loved the people. I had fibromyalgia for many years but as with all of us it was many many years before I was diagnosed. I have other issues too a blood disease called protein ‘c’ which caused blood clots which I was extremely ill with. Sleep apnea, now osteoarthritis in majority of my body along with other things. So for the past few years I’ve had to drop days, at first it was 1 day a fortnight but then I got to a point where I was in so much pain and exhausted I had to drop another day. I have just approached my manager about early ill health retirement as I cannot keep going on the way I am and how it affects me. I’m physically, mentally and emotionally worn out, literally. So as much as I once loved my job, now it is a case of absolutely dreading even the walk to work. I don’t have a life because I’m so utterly overwhelmed with it all that I have no energy to do or want to do anything anymore. So there you have it, basically I’m not doing at all well with it as it has changed my life completely. We have a lot of young people coming through now too and I just can’t cope anymore. I’ve had a few meltdowns at work over the past couple of months because it is all to much for me😔I also cared for my dear mum who passed away last year at 94. I did this for 15 years without any help from my two sisters😡🤦♀️so that has taken its toll on me too. Hope I’ve not depressed you reading this xx😘❤️
I really do empathise and I understand abt the simplest movements causing such distress...
I was a teacher but had to relinquish my role to become a tutor working from home... I loved it all but just turning my head to work with a child was agony! In agony I could get v snappy so I had to reconsider...
Not fair on my pupils!
I'm so sorry you're suffering and coping with this struggle...
I had to bring down my pension early but it was medically enhanced so I was able to survive financially. I do hope your manager supports you to this end...
It will make such a difference to the quality of living... Fibro won't disappear but there's time to rest and doze without the guilt!
Opportunity to look at other activities/hobbies to aid your living but financial survival is so so important to provide your peace of mind...
Let's keep in touch?
Good luck with the dozing and for pursuing early retirement with your manager. I'm hopeful after being such a valuable employee...
I’d like to keep in touch. Id prefer to private message but have forgotten how to do that 🤔not good with manager so have been Googling earlier what to do 😤am totally shattered now. Said to my daughter (yea, she is amazing and I’m so lucky) that I had my bath last night and felt as if I’d run a marathon 🙁if you can let me know how to privately message please let me know. I will re read your message tomorrow and not make it all about me 😊😊😘🤗xx
Yes private messaging would be good!
Will have to research it ...
Wx
👍
Hi,
I was exactly the same, i finally managed to go on a pain management program in liverpool and it was brilliant. It did so much more than you expect.
one of the benefits was that we were adivsed by occupational health there, to ask at the GP for ‘social prescribing’. There has to be one for every area. They can help with social and healthy activities in your area.
I was fortunate that one of my goals was to try to lose weight and to try to find some form of exercise that i could enjoy and pace myself with.
Pur social prescribing lady, told be about a 12 week FREE course with slimming world, to qualify you had to have a gp referral, for chronic illness, or high bmi. i had both! the course was great for getting me out once a week and the diet is really good as i could eat loads and on bad days, they have a range of frozen meals from iceland that just need microwave etc, i have lost 1 & half stone in 12 weeks. Each week the social get together was a morale boost and encouraged me to continue.
Yyou can get referrals to local choirs, art groups, chair pilates ( we even had chair burlesque!) might have to give that one a go!
They helped find me great pilates classes for people with chronic illnesses and an aqua class, that has great music. it was daunting at first and i was anxious of being in groups of people i didn’t know. however after just a few sessions, i am chatting with others and found some other fibro sufferers there. its great to be able to talk with someone who understands.
i would definitely assk your GpP for social prescribing, it will help with lots of things hopefully 🤞?
Good luck and i hope you feel better soon 🤗🦋
I did and last year lost 3 stone. Changed food habits and small frequent exercises.
Hi fibrogirl.......yes, me too, and lately more so. However, since last Saturday I have cut out bread, cheese, butter, chocolate, potatoes and crisps and have lost half a stone.! I am over the moon and feeling so much better and brighter. I've had homemade vegetable soup, salads and even tried bulgar wheat. I haven't cut out a glass of wine tho, need some treats! It's not easy for everyone but small changes have done the trick. I don't exercise, just general pottering about but my clothes were so tight I just had to do something. I felt as though I was just sitting at home getting bigger and bigger and none of that is good for the knees, hips or heart. I also crochet so keeping hands busy helps 😆 Good luck with whatever you try. Big hugs xx
Well done you 👏👏xx
Hi... I'm feeling the same... took a look in the mirror and was mortified!...Rolls of fat , I didn't have and clothes don't fit now. I've put on over a stone. ! I try to keep the housework up to date but struggle with that. Currently trying to tidy the garden, I used to walk for miles... now a 10 minute walk is exhausting... my legs ache so much and my left knee keeps giving way. I'm sure my sacroilliac joint is playing up again, keep getting twinges in my back-.I guess it could be worse.. . It's hard not to have the odd treat... I've always had 2 squares of dark chocolate of an evening... now I feel guilty. I'm in my 70's and compared to what I looked like before fibro came... I was a different person then. I don't have family or friends as such now.- never mind.
You take care. xx
Bless, i dont have many friends either, i get fed up at home with fibro. I need to work, want to go to collefe but expensive, feel like im 80 when im only 43 x
I’ve just started using toning tables. I find them gentle and always feel great after them early days for weight loss as yet but great way to exercise kindly for your body.
Not what you're looking for?
You may also like...
Fibromyalgia
Hi Guys...im new here,was diagnosed in January, believe ive had it for years, I am a careworker but...
losing weight with fibromyalgia
hi I used to be quite a slim person but with fibromyalgia I feel like I am getting too fat I hope I...
Just not losing weight
Ive been so good three meals aday veg and protien..no snacking only two apples no eating after...
Fibromyalgia Diagnosis / Symptoms
Hi everyone! Im new to this forum and not particularly good at sharing things about myself but i...
norfolk fibromyalgia
ok was handed this leaflet by my oc ,ive typed the address into my laptop and there isnt anything...
fibromyalgia link to ibs
How do I go about been diagnosed with fibro???
Fibromyalgia Diagnosis
