Exercise with Myasthenia Gravis?

  • So here's the deal. I'm 21 and overweight, currently about 320 pounds at 5'7". I've got PCOS. I'm on a gluten-free diet, atm, because my mom's on a 'we've all got gluten intolerance' kick plus my stepsister having Celiac disease. I've cut way back on my food intake (I don't know about how many calories I consume a day, but it's definitely under 1300) and this is the farthest I've ever come, weightloss wise. In the past, I've gotten hungry, which makes me uncomfortable, and then due to personal problems/past trauma, I overeat. I believe my stomach -has- shrunk a bit, because I don't need as much food to fill me up as I did before.

    Anyways. I've lost about 20-30 pounds so far, but my goal is to be around 250 pounds total. During the summer of last year, I walked alot. It was working on keeping my weight down.

    However, my health has been deteriorating slowly but surely. I'm undiagnosed at the moment due to insurance reasons but we're 99% sure it's Myasthenia Gravis, which my mother, my grandmother and two aunts have, as well as several undiagnosed-but-probables in our family. I'm weak, tired all the time, and don't have the energy to do much of anything. A good day is taking a shower or sweeping the house. An amazing day is doing both. Climbing the stairs is difficult, as is walking distances (going shopping is ****). Life has become a hassle to live, but I take one day at a time. I'm lightyears away from the ADHD, high-energy child I used to be.

    But I'm so tired of looking at myself in the mirror and seeing the fat I've been collecting since I was 12 and my cycles started.

    What kind of exercise can a low-energy, weak person do? I can't walk long distances, my arms shake if I lift anything over 15 pounds and I have no access to a pool or anything like that.

    I feel helpless right now. I don't really know what else to do or who to turn to.
  • HI COYOTE ~ Firstly, you should see a doctor and be tested to see if you really do have that condition; there is a simple test that can diagnose this disease. If you really suspect you have this, then you should see a doctor right away, who will likely refer you to a neurologist for treatment.

    You may have started out a bit low for your weight and height. There are no hard & fast rules, but the rule of thumb is to take your present weight 320 x 10 (low activity level) = 3200 is what you should need each day to maintain your present weight.

    To lose about 1-2 lbs a week, you would need to cut that by 500-1000 calories a day, ie 2200 cals a day, then as you go down or if you hit a stall, you will have room to lower your daily count by 100 calories a day to get things moving again.

    I started at 2100 calories a day (recommended by a weightloss researcher in NY); now I am at 1600-1800 during the week and 1800-2000 on the weekends. I allow myself one Free Day where I can eat my favorite foods, but I still watch my portions of them. I measure and count everything; and by tracking and journalling what I eat, I find that I keep on plan much better now.

    I keep lots of healthy veggies & fruit & low-cal snacks in my home at all times. We cleaned house and have cut out the junkies and switched to healthier food options like Deli Spit BBQ roasted chicken for a treat. I love lots of roasted veggies with our lean meat and salads too.

    We have also switched to more beans, lentils, and whole grain cereals, breads, brown rice, and whole grain pasta, which we have only once a week now. My day allows lots of veggies & salads; 3 fruit; 3 dairy (yogurt, chz, and milk); lean meat or alternatives for each meal & snack; about 5 grain (1 starch carb) foods; 2 tbl good fats; low salt & sugar.

    I have 3 meals + 3 snacks a day; and I save enuff cals for the evening to have healthy snacks at that time too (ie nuts or fruit or yogurt or salad, or soup, or cereal, tea, diet pudding or jello, or chz, etc).

    This is just a brief synopsis of my plan. Just start one change at at time; one meal; one snack; one day; plus forgive mistakes (becuz we all make them) and just keep going.

    EXERCISE ~ first, focus on your eating plan; then work in some lite movements like Tai Chi or chair aerobics; OR walking 5-minute spirts around your home. Later on, you can up that to 10-minutes as you feel like it. You could do 5 minutes x 3-5 times a day; BUT the MORNING seems to be the best time for persons with this disorder to do any activity ...


    Hope something here is helpful to you in some way ...