RE: Diet, excercise, weight loss

[Guest guest]

, when I had the inflammation in my hip, I couldn't go up and down

stairs, much less ride a bike. The pain from that would have been excruciating.

You will have to keep us posted for when you go in for the operation. I

guess Mike is probaby doing the bike exercises by now.He mentioned that he had

to

have blood transfusion. I believe you would have time to save some of your

own blood before the operation. I always think this is good for major things. I

was given the wrong blood for an operation once..and it was a pretty scary

thing. Had a special duty nurse to watch over me for a couple of days. Now a

days, you need to be so careful about the things that can be in other

people's donated blood.

Best regards, Connie

[Guest guest]

wrote " It seems that with Reiters (And my doctors confirm this),

that when

you excercise and physically " stress " your body--it tends to flare up

and aggravate the bad areas. Even if the bad areas aren't directly

affected by the excercise, your systemic disease flares up and your

sed rate goes up. "

Hi

I (politely!) disagree about exercise aggravating Reiter's: Excessively

strenuous types yes, but gentle, low-impact types (like swimming, cycling

etc) no. I've just gone into remission after 20 months, from my worst flare

yet, but I kept cycling for 30-40 minutes every second day through the whole

thing. The exercise meant I've maintained my aerobic fitness, muscle tone

and was good for my mental health and well-being. I am grateful that I kept

it up, as I am going into a hip replacement in good shape. Also, all the

arthritis books/websites etc, recommend exercising.

The irony re. weight loss for me is, I only lost weight 12 years ago, after

first contracting Reiter's! I have have kept it off ever since. Getting ill

was a real wake-up call for me, in terms of starting to eat only nutritious

food and starting to exercise. (I was overweight all my life before I got

arthritis.)

My advice to you is to take up some gentle exercise (start slowly, with 5

minutes of aerobic exercise and slowly increase it) and don't put yourself

on any stringent diets. Just check that you're actually hungry before you

eat and that what you're eating is good quality fuel for your body. And

don't be in a hurry - it may take a year or three to trim down to an 'ideal

weight'.

All the best,

[Guest guest]

Connie wrote " , when I had the inflammation in my hip, I couldn't go up

and down

stairs, much less ride a bike. The pain from that would have been

excruciating. "

Hi Connie

It beats me too, but the cycling doesn't exacerbate my hip: It's walking

that's tricky, even being on my feet too long (too weightbearing, I guess)

and driving the car. Having said that though, it would probably be too

painful to use the stationary bike too, if it weren't for my painkillers:)

Plus, there's no inflammation in my hip now, it's lack of cartilege and a

large cyst in the joint that's causing the problem. (It was inflammation

from Reiter's that started this off though.)

Thanks for your encouragement,

[Guest guest]

Hi

I had my first bout with Reiter's last year. I was sick as a dog and l lost

20lbs in three months. The weight loss made me feel better and seemed to

help my joint movement. I kept dieting and lost another 25 and have been at my

ideal weight for 10 months now. I could not do any low carb thing.... I'd

done that for years and just yo yo'd. The thing that worked for me is pretty

similar to a weight watchers diet except I didn't join. I went on a free

website, _www.fitday.com_ (http://www.fitday.com) that helped me track my

calories and activities. My workouts are much different from they used to be

pre-reiters. I do what I can depending on how I feel. I do sit-ups and

Pilates

daily and bike and hike when I feel great. I haven't resumed running although

I hope to again someday. Swimming sounds ideal but not an option for me at

this time due to time restrictions. Eat lots of fruits and veggies and lean

proteins and whole grains. It sounds like your doing well with 30lbs off. MY

personal opinion is that exercise is very important to maintain tone, but

having a nutritious well balance, calorie appropriate diet is even more

important in the weight loss game.

Since my recent flare, I've been doing little in terms of physical

activities. I'm starting to do more bit by bit and my fatigue seems to be

dissipating. Best of luck to you with your weight loss endeavors.

Margie

[Guest guest]

Lack of exercise has been the major source of frustration for me since my attack

3mths ago. The pain, swelling and everything else was bad, but not being to

exercise made me feel terrible. I generally exercise 5+ days a week: swimming,

weights, running, cycling ... you name it. The fall is Orienteering / Adventure

race season and I had to watch it flow past me.

Once I got out of the hospital, I was aggressive getting back into the pool. I

could barely walk, but I would force myself to swim. Even later, when the

swelling was gone down a fair bit, I would get back into the pool. Two weeks

ago, I made myself go again ... each time it aggrevated the problem so much that

it ruined me for the next four days. I hated to admit it, but in my case,

exercise was making my condition worse. My physio guru suggested that I cut back

the swimming time from 25-35 minutes (1km) down to 10 minutes and little to no

leg work ... still didn't help. My ankles would punish me the next day. So, I

resigned myself to no exercise, but kept up with my physio and lymph drainage

massage.

Then I started to feel better.

Now, I'm wearing proper supporting shoes (my runners) and slowly getting my

ankle strength back. I can walk up and down hills now and park my car in a

remote lot. It was pouring rain the other day and I actually ran back to the car

(a short distance, but a tremendous milestone).

But I still don't feel like it's a great victory, because I know I'm still

loaded up with 20mg of Prednisone every day. I meet with my rhumie this Thurday

and I'm going to start the weaning. By the way, great article here

http://arthritisinsight.com/archives/test3515.htm on pred weaning.

I was going to start weaning this week before the doctor visit, but my physio

guru talked me out of it " You're feeling good now ... enjoy it for a week " . I

guess I feel fake ... feeling good, but loaded up on drugs.

The morale of my story ... don't give up looking for *some* form of exercise

that may work for you ... but it may be *so* amazingly low and seemingly

insignificant that you'll question why you are even doing it. But it does help.

The greater risk is not doing anything at all and getting other complications

from weight gain and muscle loss.

It's a very hard mental switch for me, not to " prep " for a workout. Part of my

ritual is getting my gear on and psyching myself up for a good hour+ sweat. Now,

it's 2-3 minutes here and there throughout the day (mostly stretching and little

leg lifts) ... no sweating. That's really hard to keep motivated for. No more

endorphine rush. Physio did say that a large part of my back pain was coming

from the lack of deep breathing that I would normally get from hard cardio

workouts. I had to replace that with stretching exercises.

Sorry for the long ramble, but I hope it made some sense!

Cheers,

Sandy

[Guest guest]

i like to swim 3-5 km per week. i also cycle when i can, i dont own a car here

in china, so walk more and use a bicycle to get around. also just bought a bench

press and some weights so will do some strength training now in my living room.

as for supplements, i order a few bottles of methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) from

world image every few months. whenever i take MSM i seem to have fewer problems,

less inflammation, less painful days and so on once its in my system. used to

take it in conjunction with glucosamine and grape seed extract but right now

only have the MSM available. its worth trying anything in my opinion.

best wishes. james

isabofauna <animalia@...> wrote:

What have the rest of you done? And what foods/supplements have you

found to work the best for Reiters?

---------------------------------

All-new - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster.

[Guest guest]

Sandy,

Wow, despite all of your struggle it seem like you are definitely moving

forward since the last time we heard from you. Keep up the enthusiasm. You are

an inspiration.

Margie

[Guest guest]

Hi Sandy

Don't worry, you'll get back to enjoying exercise again I'm sure. Your

motivation to exercise, and enjoyment of it, will see you back doing your

favourite activities soon. Interestingly, I tried aquajogging at the

beginning of the year and also found it too hard on my joints. I found I

couldn't tell if I was overdoing at the time, but the next day I could! With

the stationary bike I can tell what the right level of exertion is at the

time i'm doing it, so I have never hurt my joints.

All the best,

[Guest guest]

HI Margie

You have done so well - what you have acheived is no mean feat! I just

wanted to say 'good for you'

Wishing you improved health,

[Guest guest]

Good for you Sandy. No that's not enough.

GOOD FOR YOU SANDY!!!!!!!!!!!!

As many of the older timers on this list know, I went into a deep nose dive into

depression, and a slightly long Major Pity Party for myself.

When I came out of that I decided to go back to school to take Business Admin

and Accounting. Defitnately not my bag at all, so spent most of my time running

the College newspaper and teaching darkroom basics for Visual Communication

Students. Then in my second year I was introduced to a person that became my

life or I should say became so many lives, Jake The Snake. Seems the Student

Association had purchased a costume and really didn't have someone with the time

to do it.

That became my altar ego for the next 12 years until a silent heart attack

sidelined me 11 years ago. The Physical Training Department at the College

developed strength exercises for me and a modified exercise program. I had a

blast. The costumes kept me active well after I should have known better but I

would do it again in a heartbeat. Of course as I mentioned, that was only one

costume, and I had spare time so I took on 3 others full time and a few more

casually those I cannot name due to contract enforced silence. But I can say

that many of you in both the USA and Canada have seen me on Television at sports

shows or in commercials. It was pure unadulterated fun. There were times that

the only thing keeping me upright was a hefty backbrace and Tyleno 3s or

stronger medication.

If any of you can, go to a college fitness centre and see what they can do for

you. Usually they will take your information and your illnesses and build an

exercise program around your abilities, not your disabilities. They sometimes do

not even charge for and assessment.

Of the ones I can mention

Jake The Snake, he became so ingrained into my life that a year after I left

they hung Jake the Snake up and came up with another mascot. Jake is retired.

BJ Birdie, Blue Birds and Baseball is all I should have to say.

Rroarry The Tiger, for the local Major Junior Hockey Team and

Coyote for a local mall.

4 more shall remain unnamed. Mascot anonimity is a big thing with major

corporations.

Find what you can do physically, mentally, spiritually in any job you can find,

even if it is volunteer for bit.

Fr. Dave