Interesting turn of events

[Fayelle]

Well I have to say I am a little intrigued lately.....

I started a new exercise regiment, and some soccer training 4 weeks ago....

I honestly thought it would put me into a flare, but nothing so far.....Even with daily strength training and cardio exercises.....

In the morning I am stiff and achey, I end up having to get up because my body hurts....But I push through my routine of getting up between 6:00 and 6:30, eating some oatmeal (my every morning breakfast), putting on my exercise clothes, hitting the ab lounge, bowflex, and soccer training, bike riding or mowing the lawn, and then 20 minutes of yoga......At first I am sleepy, but after my exercise regiment I have lots of energy and manage to get through my day without napping.....I have lost my craving for sweets even right before and during my menstrual cycle.....

My upper back spots where I always have knots have decreased in the amount of pain and stiffness.....my pulse and blood pressure have decreased markedly....I was able to use less pain meds this last month simply because the pain I was in I knew was from my exercise......

I am also starting to see results, I have lost about 4 pounds....But I think I have gained a lot of muscle.....My neck is smaller, my arms have each lost about 1 1/2 inches, I have lost 2 inches on my hips, almost 3 on my waist, 3 on my thighs, and I am seeing muscle definition on my arms and shoulders.....Plus my caliper reading on my fat percentage has declined....

I still have some typical fibro pain but it is less often, and it is less severe....

My asthma got worse at first I was using my inhaler every day sometimes as much as 3 times a day....But that has gotten better too....My endurance has increased.......

I am hoping it will only get better from here :) .....

Fay

[Fayelle]

Funny I decide to post my results after a month and wham I get hit with a big pain night, this was partly why I did not really talk much about it sooner I didn't want to jinx myself LOL..... I Ended up taking a T3 but by morning I was better....

One difference with last night was that yesterday I did not actually do the strength training because I generally skip Saturdays to take a rest.....Oh wait and I ate popcorn at the movies.....

I did get up this morning and do my strength training and am getting ready to go out and do the soccer training.....Hopefully it will be a now and again thing with the pain that requires a pill......

So Ill give it another couple weeks and update again.....

Let me make one thing clear, this is a trial experience for me, only me....I am not saying anyone else should do this or judging anyone elses experiences....This is about me alone and my attempts to make my situation better.....

Fay

[Tootsie]

Fay, I'm really happy that your new exercise routines have been so helpful. I've been saying for years, that the best, current answer, to fibromyalgia is a combination of basic nutritional diet, mild exercise, adequate sleep and avoidance of stress. In your case, I think you also need to give some credit to the milder weather of the spring and summer. That, also seems to make a difference for me.

Even though I live in a mild, and pleasant climate, with the decrease in daylight hours, and with the cooler weather, in the fall, I will usually have some kind of reminder, that my fibromyalgia is still here.

My only recommendation would be that if you do flare, do not totally stop your routines, just modify them a bit so you don't make the flare worse. Cheerio.

[Fayelle]

Thanks Tootsie,

It think I am seeing your point of view on this....

My symptoms have declined markedly in keeping to this routine.....

My upper back symptoms that were an issue daily are becoming much less chronic and more sporadic.....My neck has felt exponentially better with the workouts it is getting along with my upper back.....My upper back is probably what was causing my neck pain.....With the muscle building, and the daily work on it the muscle spasms are staying at the site of my knots and not moving along the muscle towards my neck like it was.....

Plus I have lost the desire to eat the bad foods I had become accustomed to and craved....I think my low energy was contributing to an addiction cycle with the carbohydrates, especially sweets, and caffienne.....As well as the mood issues and chocolate.....Its a totally different experience....I feel better so I eat better, I eat better so I feel better.....I also made the choice today to drop the one cola drink I have been having a day.....So far so good.....We went to the store the other day and I did not even look at the sweets....My daughter begged for some organic cookies, I caved and ate 2 of them but didn't want any more......We went to the store again last night and I walked out without a single piece of junkfood.....We went to Nathans for hotdogs which has a brusters ice cream with it.....I drove off without a single item from that sweet menu and one regular sized hot dog for dinner....

It has been easier than I anticipated it would be......

The day I went to the store with my daughter I lifted 2 crates of waters,28 20 ounce waters per crate, I lifted it easily without hurting myself or straining to put it in my cart.....We also went to her school and there were 2 flights of stairs we had to go down and then back up.....It was nothing to bound up those stairs, I was barely out of breath.....

So it continues and hopefully with more postive results.....

Fay

[Tootsie]

Fay,
One thing that you mentioned, I have noticed also. When you buy and eat organic food, even if it's tortilla chips or cookies, you seem to be satisfied with a normal serving.....not half the box like I sometimes succumb to!

I am in mourning over the closing of a local, family owned grocery store. For the past 20 years, I've been buying meat at a good old fashioned meat counter! I could pick and chose the chops I want, the fish, etc. Going into the standard, large scale grocery chain put me into culture shock. Do we really need fifty different types of bread? All those kiosks with doughnuts, muffins, etc.? I asked at the deli counter for unsalted turkey breast by the brand name...they don't carry it. I may end up driving 10 miles to the remaining branch of the family business. They still have 2 other stores in the area....just not in my part of town. Phooey! Cheerio...but not very.

[Fayelle]

Blah its no fun to get used to something you deem as positive and then have it change on you.....At least the other branch is just 10 miles away....

Right now our closest grocery at all is about 10 miles away and the one I prefer to go to is 15 miles in the other direction.....But I did choose to live in a small town, its not even incorporated yet.....

I wonder if the organics are more filling because the ingredients are natural and give you what you need rather than what you crave....There have been discussions about foods being created to induce overeating so you will buy more....The addiction factor....I know I have been less inclined to indulge in sweets lately.....I am eating more fruits, and healthier foods......Unfortunately my poor husband seems to be wavering on the road we started a little over a month ago he feels he is not seeing results fast enough.....It used to be he could reduce his caloric intake, drop his soda pop and lose 15 pounds.....Right now he is struggling with the fact that he has only lost 12 in a month.....I feel for him I remember when that happened to me, we started atkins together a few years ago and he dropped so fast I couldn't believe it.....Here I was exercising for 2 hours a day, getting up at 5:30 am and working my butt off.....Here he was not exercising at all, eating more than I was and losing like crazy.....I got so discouraged.....

Now here I am losing slowly but losing, he is losing slower and ready to throw in the towel......Unfortunately he is backsliding......But I am not going that way I am going to stick it out.....

I think I needed to add strength training all of these times I failed at dieting...In fact I am eating more than usual of good foods, seeing slow weight loss, but seeing some good body changes.....Plus I am feeling better overall....In fact last night hubby went to rub my spots on my back, the knots are still there but on the left side the pain that I usually love having rubbed was no longer there (yeah I am a bit of a masochist).....It was not tender there at all.....I am shocked because in my theory of my body was if I irritated the area by working it at all it compressed the area and went into spasms.....But here I am working the area with strength training and suddenly it is getting better.....I guess my new working theory is that building the muscle has better enabled it to do what I ask it to during the day......

I am waking up sore and stiff which makes it hard for me to stay in bed.....After getting up and around the sore stiff muscles warm up and I feel up to my daily challenges.....I do not dread my workouts yet except the ab lounge bleh.....

So here I go off to my morning routine....

:)

Fay

[Tootsie]

Keep up the good work! Just keep in mind that it is so very easy to get overconfident, overdo, and then crash. Moderation in all things is the best motto. Oh, how I wish I could apply that to chocolate! Cheerio.