Hi All . I am new and need to lose 30-40 pounds BUT I'm sick 'physically' (maybe).

I suffer from Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue and OsteoArthritis...I can hardly move (I had to leave my job of 20 years 5 months ago I couldn't handle sitting in front of a Computer all day...Now I ask you? How easy is that? and I just couldn't do it anymore).

I have been tested for hypoglycemia because if I don't eat I get sick and/or pass out or both which is why I now sit on the Couch all day long eating anything and everything.

I have been gaining and losing the same 50 pounds since my early 20's but now that I'm older/sicker I just don't have it in me anymore to exercise...it's all about Ice Cream and Cookies and yes I'm serious and I'm so sick of Ice Cream and Cookies I wouldn't care if I never saw or tasted either again.

Sooo, where do I start? Arthritis is so bad I need a cane or walker and taking a ton of meds doesn't help either.

Where can I get my MOTIVATION? Can someone here help me? My husband loves me fat, I don't, it's bad for whatever good health I have (and he could stand to lose 50 pounds himself but he won't as he's an emotional eater and he won't get help so I have no support from the homefront )

I'm so sorry this is long but there are so many nice and good hearted people here (I read here) plus I was told to come to 3FatChicks as this Board was the only 'Real' Weight Loss Boards on the Internet.

Thank You and I hope everyone has a nice day.

ASoutherner~

Hey Asouthenrner. With arthritis, you have to be careful of what exercises you chose to do. I have arthritis of the sternum and have to do modified exercises to strengthen the muscles there. The best advice i have for you in exercise is to consult either a physician, chiropractor..someone trained properly in your area of specialty. Even google the stuff! There is alot on the net to help get you movin' for your holdbacks. I, myself, have hashimoto's disease (no thyroid) and Lupus (hence the arthritis). Alot of the problems you have (the fibromyalgia) will lessen or even go away as you lose weight. I have the energy problem (the thyroid). the days I can't (as you know) get out of bed, i stay in bed. those days i can get to the kitchen, i do a lil something...the days i'm good...i'm at the gym. Ha..i can go on..cos my family has so many med problems, im sure i can relate somehow with ya! Hope this helps somewhat (jus knowing someone else out there has problems too) even tho i kinda didnt get into as much! I can really wramble!

Start with the little things...cans of soup as weights...using your body weight (or partial) to develop muscles further..motivation enough should be the health factor. getting fit will lessen significantly all your symptoms and possibly (as it did for me) get you off some of the meds! Sista, if thats not motivation enough, then i dont know what kinda fire we need to set! good luck, and im always around if ya need to talk!

my mom has chronic fatigue, so i'm familiar with the stress it can put on your body. and i give you credit for trying to get healthier, with or without "support from the homefront."

i've found that swimming can be great exercise, as it's low impact and puts very little stress on the joints. (and as an added bonus, cool water keeps you from over-heating.) some larger fitness centers or schools have free-swim hours that are open to the public.

I have fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, and an autoimmune disease that is damaging/affecting my respiratory tract and possibly skin (we thought it was in remission, but I've had a recent flare of the skin condition, so we're not sure). I've not been diagnosed with chronic fatigue, because the doctor who diagnosed me considers fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue to be overlap or possibly the same disorder. Because I do have pain, he dubbed it fibromyalgia, but it was really the fatigue that resulted in my disability (I'm on SSDI disability), because I could force myself to work while in pain (and had been doing it for about a decade), but it's pretty hard to work when you can't stay awake. I've been on disability for three years now. It's been horrific. I went from working two jobs in a field I love (psychology) to re-educating for a job I didn't like, but was less physically and emotionally taxing (computer programming) to not being able to work. The year after I had to quit working was the absolute hardest, so don't dismiss the possibility of depression - having to give up employment is a lot harder on you than you'd ever think, especially when people you think would know better tell you how "lucky" you are that you "don't have to work," when you know you'd give away body parts to get back the priveledge.


I do completely understand about feeling completely unable to muster up the motivation for daily, required tasks, let alone anything extra or optional. When getting out of bed is an acheivement, getting on a treadmill seems as far as the moon.

All I can say, is first take care of your basics. With fibromyalgia, good sleep quality is essential. I recently relearned this. I've been having a dreadful time getting active with the cold, damp weather (weather changes are big flare triggers for me). I dismissed my lack of motivation as "just the winter weather," but my doctor recently added a muscle relaxant to my evening medications so that I can sleep better at night, and it's been miraculous for me. I've been more active in the last two weeks, than I have in months. Not only in getting daily stuff done, but in actually getting downstairs and getting on the treadmill.

I know that doesn't help you much, because a new medication for me, doesn't necessarily mean anything to you, but do try to self-evaluate your symptoms. Are you getting decent sleep? Is it pain, or motivation that is stopping you. This was hard for me, because I would have told you three weeks ago that I wasn't moving much, because of pain. But now that I've been on the cyclobenzaprine at bedtime, I see that my pain (at least during the day) really hasn't changed much, so it was really the fatigue not the pain that was stopping me.

I think practically, starting small is the only way to go when you've got a lot working against you (whether it's health and pain conditions, or a busy lifestyle or stressful life that makes it hard to get started). You've got to celebrate small successes and cut yourself a little slack for finding it difficult. Also, finding activities you like or don't mind.

It may sound dorky, but a sticker chart for exercise helps me see an exercise session as an acheivment. My favorite exercise is swimming and water exercises in a warm water therapy pool. Many communities have warm water arthritis exercise classes, but they can be hard to find, so you may have to make a few calls. Aging and disability resources in your area, nursing homes, hospitals, and private and public pools, fitness centers.... are great places to start. Often these programs are at YMCAs, so that's a good place for a first call. It's also worth asking what temperature they keep the pool. I forget what the arthritis foundation recommends (oh, that might be a better first call, to your local arthritis foundation office).

I'd also ask that you think about joining a fibro or chronic fatigue support group, if you haven't already. It really makes a tremendous difference, not only in finding ways to manage your own condition, but just in the support of talking to others who really do know what you're going through. Feeling alone is the biggest demotivator.

I was just going to suggest "walking in water" (pool) It doesn't hurt and it can feel absolutely invigorating being in the water. You can also use wrist weights in the water- you won't even feel them as you move around.

At the end of my time in the pool, I may be tired, but it is a good tired and I am totally relaxed. I wake up feeling wonderful the next day.

Thank all of you for your great responses. There are no Fibro Groups nearby...they meet in an adjoining State but I'll check again just in case a new group has started.

I am a member of a Fibro Board and that helps a little but it seems we're all trying to lose the weight.

I took Lycera and my weight shot up like a rocket ship with me adding more fuel to it with my own bad eating habits (duh)..

I'm on Thyroid Med.(Hypothroidism), VicodanES, Adderall, Wellbutrin, changing to Pristique) Trazodone(which I quite because of nightmares), its one pill after another

I just want to throw up when I think I have to take another pill...after years of pills I'm afraid of what my Liver looks like!

Anyway, I'm going to check around about the Pools, I have light weight barbells and I went on my Treadmill about 3 times last month..its just getting from the couch to the Exercise Equipment ( I used to walk 5-6 miles a day, WAS in great shape) I LOVED the Exercise Ball but I hurt my neck all the time. I'll try that and go easy on it as it was my favorite piece of equipment.

Thanks again all and I hope we all get to where we want to be

Be Well.

ASoutherner~

I know what you mean about medications. I was on 14 medications and 3 vitamins only about a year ago. Now I'm "down" to 8 medications (two of them "as needed"), but on 8 supplements (9 if you count my two forms of calcium).

With fibromyalgia, finding the right "cocktail" that's effective, affordable, and with minimal side effects is daunting at best. Trying to have a life in the process is a monumental task.

There are several books that really helped and continue to help me tremendously, in dealing with the fibro, and in just having as full a life as I can manage.

Fibromyalgia and Chronic Myofascial Pain: A Survival Manual (2nd Edition) by Devin J. Starlanyl and Mary Ellen Copeland

Fibromyalgia Advocate: Getting the Support You Need to Cope With Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain Syndrome by Devin J. Starlanyl and Hal Blatman

Devin Starlanyl is a doctor who also happens to have fibromyalgia. I don't agree with everything she has to say, and in trying to include every possible treatment for fibro, I don't think she does a very good job of clueing the reader in on which therapies may be bogus or have little to no scientific support. Even so, I still think her books are really the best "encyclopedia of fibromyalgia" on the market.

Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability: Getting & Keeping Your Benefits (including CD) by David A. Morton III

MemoryMinder Personal Health Journal (A Wellness Diary & Symptoms Log) by F. E. Wilkins (Spiral-bound - Jan 1, 2006)

The symptom and pain journal was absolutely essential in my finding out what my triggers were, and also helped me determine whether and which treatments were helping or not. It was worth every penny, but you can view the journal pages on amazon.com and decide whether it's something you would find helpful, or whether you'd rather just invent your own. If you decide to pursue SSDI, the journal is also a valuable piece of evidence for you. I also took it to doctor's appointments to be able to show the doctor what I was dealing with, and to help me ask and record the answers in the book.