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Posted by MN~Sue on 3/3/2005, 3:23 pm Hope you will jump in with any dieting and exercising tips you may have. Here a couple to start off: 1) Be sure to warm your muscles before doing aerobics or any exercise, and yes even BEFORE stretching! Injury can result from doing warm-up stretching if you don't have your blood circulation flowing to the muscles FIRST! If you have really ornry muscles like I do (fibromyalgia, myofascial pain syndrome, etc), you need to take extra care not to set yourself back by causing yourself injury. Same for endometriosis and adhesions - don't OVER stretch and set off worse pain. When my FMS was at its worst, I had to shower to warm my muscles first, then start with a very slow walk on the treadmill, THEN stretch my muscles carefully before getting to an aerobic work-out pace on the treadmill. I finished by doing a very slow walk on the treadmill for a cool-down phase and then I did more stretching (on a very nice THICK foam mattress topper - it was given to my mom by Hospice to prevent bed sores - it has been very useful for both Terry and I for exercising on). It is important to stretch at the end of your work-out to try to prevent lactic acid forming in your muscles, which is what makes them stiff and sore. If you know Yoga, it is great to do for a cool down phase, to relax yourself and for a feeling of well being. 2) START OUT SLOWLY with your exercise regimen!!! ESPECIALLY if you have been inactive. Starting too aggressively will only set you back and may even force you to stop, losing ground 3) Be sure you are HYDRATED!! Drink additional water and especially when you complete your workout. It helps to flush out the toxins released by exercising. Plus, drinking more water helps you to feel fuller and can aid in the effort to eat smaller portions. 4) Especially for those with FMS (fibromyalgia), it is best to exercise every other day to allow your muscles to recover, since they have such a tough time with this. I was instructed this way when in physical therapy and have read the same advice in Fibromyalgia newsletters. With FMS, one also has delayed reactions a lot of the time to exercise or injury, so this is another reason to proceed carefully and allow recovery time. [If you are starting out really slowly, as I am, every day may be fine for you - I have to be careful with that hip that was giving me trouble, so I will probably try to do a very easy slow walk every day (unless even that proves to be too much - FMS has its own ideas, that's for sure!) until I feel I can move into more of a work-out. At that time, I will be sure not to exercise two consecutive days] 5) Chart everything you eat to SEE where the no-no's are and where you have succeeded to eat the way you feel you should. This will help to keep you on track. Track your exercise as well. Make it FUN, make a game of it - look forward to writing down your efforts and see if you can improve upon them over time as you become more fit and the pounds start to come off - it is a motivator to track it!!! 6) Eating smaller, more frequent servings will help to keep your blood sugar levels more stable. I have problems with my blood sugar levels so this is important for me. It's easy to tell when your blood sugar plummets: You get shakey and anxious feeling, you may break out in a sweat. You need to eat quickly to bring it back up. Eating too many carbs and/or carbs alone (not with protein) can cause this, as your blood sugar shoots up and then a few hours after eating, it takes a dive. It is one of the difficult factors of controlling diabetes. Insulin meds lower the already too high glucose (sugar) levels, but then they may drop too low. 7) Don't get down on yourself ~ if you eat something you wish you hadn't, try to do better the next day! If you miss exercising, make a promise to yourself that you will do better, but NEVER GIVE UP!!! 8) Cheer others on - to motivate them and yourself! Love,
Message modified by board administrator 3/3/2005, 3:39 pm
Hi Friends, 
Let's go Fitness Buddies!!!!
Sue
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