Being Active (& Eating Healthy) with Generalized MG
 

Hey all!
Its a new year and like most people I am trying to stick to some healthy new year resolutions.
I've decided to adapt to a grain/gluten free diet to combat some of the weight gain that the prednisone will cause. So far I’m actually feeling more full when I fill up on fresh veggies than when I used to eat a bunch of overly processed foods. I’m using a nifty lil mobile app to keep track of my food /calories and its actually kind of fun.

The real reason I’m posting, however, is the subject of EXERCISE.

Before I got sick I was going to the gym 4 times a week with a trainer and was in pretty good shape (125lbs at 5’2). Slowly, though, I noticed I was not able to so as much without muscle weakness and was tired more often. I attributed it to laziness and stopped working out all together. Shortly after, the random collapsing started. One Year and FORTY pounds later I am uncomfortable in my own body, and now with the prednisone I’m afraid my weight will skyrocket even higher.

I have started to go back to my beloved gym but the reality of my condition is such a downer! I am pacing myself, and remain very aware of the signs my body gives me to be sure not to push too hard, but I cant help but feel a little disheartened. Doing squats or lunges seems an impossible task. Running on a treadmill is completely out of the question (though I can handle the elliptical for cardio just fine), and pretty much any high impact exercise that requires strength and balance is my legs is iffy.

I know that many of you share these types of symptoms and I wondered:
How do you stay active? Do you have any Tips/Tricks? Anything to work on lower body strength without collapsing?

Any feedback will be much appreciated! :)
-Lin

Tips..
 

Afraid I don't have any.. Please let me know if you find some good ones :-) I'm pretty much bed bound awaiting diagnosis. do simple stretching. Every other day. I find light free weights do not aggravate. I use 2 lbs. at least that will help with muscle and flexibility. Cardio and lung I used to swim underwater, but have stopped.
Pleasant day to you. Katherine

I am not comfortable exercising, I get to weak too fast. But in the summer, I go to the pool and do water walking. The pool water keeps me cooler and I am able to do more

kathie

I walk several times a week. Rather than the 2 miles I used to do, I do 1/2 mile. Better than nothing. Oh, and it is not fast walking. It is more like strolling.

Lin, I think how much exercise you can tolerate doing completely depends on how your MG is doing and what treatments you're on/how they're working. It might help you to see a physical therapist within a neurology group for them to give you tips on how to exercise with MG!

Katherine, Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry you are bedridden and not diagnosed yet. You probably should not overdo any activity right now, if you have MG. If you can move well, are very short of breath or can't swallow, you need to dial 911. Please. Will you have any answers soon? How can we help?

Kathie, I love swimming but can't even do that anymore. It's too hard to "fight" against the weight of the water.

A little goes a long way with exercise. I'm hesitant to give any tips because you really should have a discussion with your neuro and/or a PT about it. It does help to have a fan on you to keep you cooler while doing anything, even vacuuming! Exercising when you're stronger, like in the morning, is better but that might make you unable to make dinner. ;)

Sitting while using those stretch bands is useful. I like that resistant training better than weights. Alternating muscle groups is useful. Try not to do too many repetitions, since repetitive activity makes MG worse.

Celeste, My idea of a "stroll" is to walk down the porch steps to feed the birds. :rolleyes: Pathetic.

Annie

My arms are bad or I'd put more ideas out there. Don't sweat the weight, Lin. I know it sucks! Certain foods can really help too. And lots of water. Green tea. Oh, heck, I'll try more later.

There's a new diet strategy recently that involves alternating days of high carb and lower carb. I believe that Dr. Oz has that info on his website. You "load" with carbs one day and then "burn" carbs the next by lowering your intake. It "tricks" the body by alternating days, like how adrenals are tricked by alternating days of Pred. Sort of.

So, if we were to synergistically use that with MG . . . we would do the high carb day when we were doing an activity and then the low carb day when we can't do squat. Or squats. ;)

Obviously, there's no perfect algorithm for how to do anything with MG. But I do like this way of looking at the body because it's logical.

And since "lists" are so hot, here's another one. The "DASH" diet beat out all of the others. It's about high nutrition, lower carbs, etc.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/08/health...ml?hpt=hp_bn12