It’s difficult to be fit when you’re chronically ill. Either you’re too tired, or you are in too much pain, or you physically can’t do certain exercises, or you’re allergic to outdoors or indoors or both. You might not be able to afford a gym membership or a pool membership or the cost of exercise equipment.
And then there’s diet. Again with the allergies. And lack of energy, or lack of motivation. Or confusion: “Let’s see, I should try the low histamine diet for this condition, but I also am allergic to these foods, and I can’t eat these other foods because they interact negatively with my medications…” Pretty soon you’re either on the ice cubes and air diet or the “Screw it, I’m just going to eat ALL the Oreos” diet.
I’ve been overweight for a while now, but my weight has fluctuated a bit the past few years. I lost 40 pounds while on an allergy elimination diet, which brought me to the normal weight range for my height. But I was having allergic-type reactions to nearly every food I tried to reintroduce, and was winding up with very few foods I could tolerate. Later, I found out from other chronically ill folks that not being able to successfully reintroduce foods can be a common reaction to an elimination diet *therefore you should weigh the pros and cons carefully and have a thorough discussion with your doctor before attempting an elimination diet.*
“Luckily” for me, I trialled a new medication which caused me to crave junk food and never feel full. I regained a great deal of the weight before I successfully reduced the medication dose to a manageable level at which I did not feel compelled to eat junk all the time. But it broke the reaction cycle.
So I had lost 40 pounds, but I have since regained 30 -35 pounds, placing me back in the overweight range for my height.
I know that losing weight would help with several of my health conditions (such as my arthritic knees). And now that we’re past some of the stress of moving, I am publicly committing to losing weight again.
I currently need to lose a minimum of 30 pounds to be back in my healthy weight range. I have been able to do some walking again in the new location, as long as I respond to what my knees are telling me. Some days I need to slow down, and some days I need to cut the distance short, but some exercise is better than none.
I have also been kayaking a few times. Due to my health conditions, I need to go on days that are not too windy or choppy. But when the conditions are right, I can do it. I also intend to start riding my bicycle – there is a bike path nearby, and the terrain is very flat.
I am currently 30 pounds overweight. In order to lose this weight, I intend to make sure I am drinking enough water, do daily physical therapy exercises to strengthen my muscles (especially my core), stop eating sweets (other than dark chocolate), greatly reduce fried foods, increase my fruit and vegetable intake, and work my way up to at least 30 minutes of (low-impact) aerobic exercise at least 5 days per week.
Everyone is different, and you have to figure out what works for your body. While I am not celiac or gluten-intolerant, I appear to have fewer allergic-type reactions when I follow a grain-free diet such as Paleo or South Beach, so I will also be eliminating grains from my diet (except rice, which I seem to tolerate). And I’ll be reviewing the information we gained from the BBC series, “What’s the right diet for you?” Like Dave, I’ll be looking to transition to a high protein, low glycemic index diet.
Also, I have known for many years that all-or-nothing works better for me than trying to simply reduce quantities. In other words, I’m an abstainer, not a moderator. This is why I’ll be very specifically avoiding all sweets except dark chocolate. “All sweets” is very concrete and doesn’t allow cheating or making willpower an issue. But allowing dark chocolate will keep me from going insane or falling off the wagon.
Additionally, I know that I tend to stress eat, so I will be watching for that and attempting to deal with my stress by exercising or meditating, rather than eating.
Furthermore, I tend to not pay attention to my hunger signals until I’m hangry, and then I tend to choose high-energy, high-calorie foods like potato chips or candy bars to quell the hunger quickly. So it will be important for me to plan meals in advance and know what healthy snack options I have available, and to eat before I get hangry. IOW, eat at regular intervals rather than waiting until I’m ravenous. Drinking plenty of water will also help manage this.
Of course, it will also be important to continue to take my medications and to pursue diagnoses and treatment for my health conditions so that my baseline health is stable enough to allow me to have the physical energy and mental capacity to carry out this plan.
Does anyone want to be my wingman/battle buddy this year while I lose weight and get healthier? We all know that accountability helps us stay on track.
