Weight loss/management - sorry for the long one

[hope23]

I know this has been discussed but the threads are quite old. So December 21/January 22 i started on amitriptiline which felt like a miracle in a bottle i had my first pain free days in i couldnt even remember how long and this medication was effective till flare up that started with a throat full of ulcers july 22.
With the amitriptiline i have gained a significant amount of weight, i am not outrageously overweight or anything. Since i was around 16y through to jan/feb 22(27y) i had hovered around 60kgs 1 kg either way fluctuations. When i started the amitriptiline i got up to 79/80kgs quite quickly, i am 165cm tall so 80kgs for my build and what i know to be my natural weight a gain of 20kgs is a lot. I eat healthily and ensure i have healthy meals in my freezer for the times when i am not able to stand at the stove to cook a meal. I also have been more particular in making sure my meals are higher in protein to keep myself feeling fuller for longer to avoid too much snacking between meals. What the amitriptiline does is increase your appetite so whilst still eating healthy i was eating a lot more, which in itself is strange for me i have never been a huge eater. A year on from starting that medication i have got my appetite back to what is normal for me. I cant seem to shift this weight though which is very frustrating, ive lost 4kgs of the 20kgs i gained which i think is really good but would like to lose more or it, mainly due to the extra stress on my body but also i have quite significant sensation issues even when not in flare up so my clothes being too tight due to weight gain is very unpleasant and financially replacing my entire wardrobe is unnatainable. Majority of the 20kgs i have gained have predominantly gone onto my boobs(i went from a 10dd/e(brand dependent) to a 10g/h(brand dependent)), my butt and thighs. My lower back/si's/hips are my worst areas pain wise and even when not in flare up the pain in those locations is always there so the weight in those areas and the extra back strain due to the boobs is not great. I have been doing Barre/yoga/pilates type exercise which doesnt aggravate my fibro.

Does anyone have any other tips or suggestions?

 

[cookiebaker]

can you tolerate walking for any length of time?
just walking at a steady pace can burn off extra calories - in addition to your regular exercise.
you may need to slightly reduce your intake for a bit, until you can get the excess down more.

 

[hope23]

can you tolerate walking for any length of time?
just walking at a steady pace can burn off extra calories - in addition to your regular exercise.
you may need to slightly reduce your intake for a bit, until you can get the excess down more.

Walking(most days) is tolerable and i do try to do atleast a little most days, but i will try to make that a bit more in the picture, i am guilty of struggling with exercise i find 'boring' which is a product of being a gymnast, netballer and runner prior to getting sick, all very high intensity. Im lucky i have two dogs who adore there walks so they are definitely a great motivator to do a bit more of that, and knowing the dogs are loving it takes away most of the boredom factor for me.

 

[JayCS]

What the amitriptiline does is increase your appetite so whilst still eating healthy i was eating a lot more, which in itself is strange for me i have never been a huge eater. A year on from starting that medication i have got my appetite back to what is normal for me. I cant seem to shift this weight though which is very frustrating,

Amitriptyline didn't increase my appetite, I put on 6kg in 4 months and it took 2 years to get it down. The exercise types you do could be added to with endurance like said, but a combination might also be an improvement: Short, but very regular stints, and in between lots of stretches, so you essentially do something to your body all the time, or a lot of it. After I stopped expert acupressure I had the feeling I needed to compensate and did something like 5 hours a day for a month or 3, altho 1h of that may have been yoga nidra which wouldn't count , I made a list of 20 types of exercise and noted the minutes I did each, gave myself "trophies" on my blog (subjective social control, altho I don't even know if anyone really reads it, and if so, why) for reaching certain goals .

 

[hope23]

Amitriptyline didn't increase my appetite, I put on 6kg in 4 months and it took 2 years to get it down. The exercise types you do could be added to with endurance like said, but a combination might also be an improvement: Short, but very regular stints, and in between lots of stretches, so you essentially do something to your body all the time, or a lot of it. After I stopped expert acupressure I had the feeling I needed to compensate and did something like 5 hours a day for a month or 3, altho 1h of that may have been yoga nidra which wouldn't count , I made a list of 20 types of exercise and noted the minutes I did each, gave myself "trophies" on my blog (subjective social control, altho I don't even know if anyone really reads it, and if so, why) for reaching certain goals .

Bonus it didnt increase your appetite, it definitely did for me. I do a lot of stretching mainly for pain relief but am fully aware of the other benefits.
In an ideal world i can see how that approach could be very beneficial for many. For me though this is completely unfeasible, i work a minimum of forty hours a week, i leave the house at 730am and get home after 5pm most days as i live 45mins out of town. I focus on fully body workouts as i find this more beneficial overall for me and i dont get the downsides of a particular set of muscles being grim(more grim) for a few days. I enjoy the Barre as its a mixture of moving exercises and plyometric holds to build muscles endurance and my stamina through fatiguing the muscles and building strength using body weight training.
Its good to hear whats out there and what others have found effective

 

[JayCS]

i work a minimum of forty hours a week, i leave the house at 730am and get home after 5pm most days as i live 45mins out of town

Almost all the stuff I did/do was while working or doing other things online, while eating, while waiting for people, it's using / adjusting / adding to the way I stand, sit etc. At home and at work I use(d) a swiveable, adjustable bar stool so that I can twist-stretch from side to side all the time while I'm working etc. I'm much too hyperactive to do only exercises.
During a "7" hour webinar today, I could confirm my idea that it's better for my body when I wasn't typing etc. to keep in gentle movements all the time. I just have to make sure I don't stress/worry about multi-tasking, if I'm too perfectionist it doesn't work.
(I managed about 4h of it, cos of other things, and'll be going thru a recording of it later.)

 

[hope23]

Almost all the stuff I did/do was while working or doing other things online, while eating, while waiting for people, it's using / adjusting / adding to the way I stand, sit etc. At home and at work I use(d) a swiveable, adjustable bar stool so that I can twist-stretch from side to side all the time while I'm working etc. I'm much too hyperactive to do only exercises.
During a "7" hour webinar today, I could confirm my idea that it's better for my body when I wasn't typing etc. to keep in gentle movements all the time. I just have to make sure I don't stress/worry about multi-tasking, if I'm too perfectionist it doesn't work.
(I managed about 4h of it, cos of other things, and'll be going thru a recording of it later.)

Perhaps im misunderstanding the kind of things you are meaning, like i said i do a lot of stretching throughout the day from a pain relief point of view anyway. What are the things/exercises you are talking about?

 

[JayCS]

i do a lot of stretching throughout the day from a pain relief point of view anyway.
What are the things/exercises you are talking about?

Not sure how to answer further, cos it depends on the type of work... Also what you do outside of work. With "a lot" I do mean many hours, in stints of several to many minutes, whilst you are working - you too? Also all limbs/back parts, whether paining or not, alternating as well as twist-stretching everything at the same time, standing or using the bar stool, additionally standing on a balance roll or balance roller board at my work desk, using an adjustable work desk or switching between ones in different heights, breathing exercises (for oxygen and rib cage etc.) and esp. 30 second workouts like horse stance, or other things that can be integrated into the work day easily. Some sort of leg trainer while sitting... Example for the bar stool which I can "exercise" with for hours: Whilst keeping my eyes/face in one direction (reading, talking, etc.) I twist my whole body as far as it'll go in one direction, then in the other, then when that becomes too much of a strain gently swing from side to side as a break. Or when I need to pick something up off the floor I do it in various ways, with bent legs to stretch calves or straight legs for thighs. And try not to use any aids, use it to not lose it.

 

[hope23]

Thank you for explaining further, whilst some of that is possible at my morning job and in my own way i do some of that already my other two jobs arent as flexible nor do i have appropriate space at those two either.
I can now see what you mean better which is always helpful