HealthCare Journey for Multiple Sclerosis
  • About Us
  • Home
  • Virtual MS Center
    • Q & A for Virtual MS Center
    • Read About Our Virtual MS Center Staff
  • News & Resources
  • Seminar Registration
  • Health & Wellness
  • Blogs
    • Physician Blog >
      • Healthcare Provider Blog
    • Physical Therapy Blog
    • Patient Blog
    • Caregiver Blog
    • Research Blogs >
      • "Ask Dr. Debbie" Research Blog
      • Multiple Perspectives In Multiple Sclerosis Research Blog
  • About MS
    • What is MS?
    • Diagnosis
    • Treatment
    • MS Tips
  • Symptoms
    • Balance and Walking Issues
    • Breathing/Respiratory
    • Bowel Dysfunction
    • Cognitive Dysfunction
    • Crying/Laughing Uncontrollably (PBA)
    • Depression and Anxiety
    • Dizziness/Vertigo
    • Dysphagia
    • Fatigue
    • Foot Drop
    • Hearing or Smell or Taste Changes
    • Heat Sensitivity
    • Leg Weakness
    • Loss of Hand Dexterity and Coordination
    • Memory and Mutliple Sclerosis
    • Migraines
    • Numbness/Tingling/Altered Sensation
    • Nystagmus and Oscillopsia
    • Pain
    • Sexual Dysfunction
    • Sleep Issues
    • Spasticity/Spasms/Cramps
    • Speech/Swallowing
    • Urination/Bowel Problems
    • Vision
  • MS Clinics
  • MS Topics
    • Pregnancy and Infertility
    • Caregivers and Family Members
    • Employment and MS
    • Medical Costs and Insurance
    • Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis
  • Register With Us
  • Terms of Use/Privacy/HIPAA
  • MS HealthCare Journey

Diet and Exercise

11/25/2014

 
Picture
In a few days it will be Thanksgiving and then just around the corner are the Christmas Holidays. So who is thinking about diet and exercising? Well actually what better time, for we need to eat right and to exercise to relieve the holiday stress we all get caught up in.

Until I was diagnosed with MS I was a very active and busy person and always had been. I fell in love with dancing and swimming as a little girl and walked everywhere or road my bike and was out in the fresh air a lot! Stairs were everywhere, in my home and neighborhood and at my huge high school. I loved stairs and had my dog to walk with me on our adventures.

After school I got married and had two children. Life stayed busy, then add in a divorce and my working years. Eventually I remarried and my kids were grown. Life stayed busy and I continued to work. About six years before my diagnosis of MS I started to slow down and had entered middle age. I had started to put on a few pounds too so I took up jazzercise classes and I loved them. But after about two years of that I started to get unbalanced in class, fell once and my left leg would get all numb. So I quit going to classes and quit the sessions at home too. All I had now was work and walking our dog for any type of exercise.

With my increasing fatigue and other weird symptoms and doctors having no clue what was wrong with me my overall health was getting worse. I had always eaten what I wanted and was paying no attention to my diet. I wasn’t fat so thought all was ok. However my blood work showed some problems. My doctor said to watch my diet and get in some real exercise, which I didn’t since I felt so bad. I just didn’t get the connection and thought my doctor didn’t understand.

Fast forward to about 10 years ago and 13 years into my diagnosis. I was now a real mess and had lost 2 inches in height (I have back problems) and was kidding myself about my weight gain. I wasn’t bad but I wasn’t good and started to not look like myself! Then I got the diagnosis of being pre-diabetic WHOA! My doctor right away wanted me on meds for it and I said NO way!! My biological father had died of diabetes so I knew it could creep in there and now it had.  Finally after an argument with this doctor he said I will give you 3 months to do it your way and then I want you back in here to do it my way.

I went home, looked up diabetes on the internet and started my plan of attack! Three months later I went back to the doctor and was 30 pounds lighter and feeling a lot better .My bloodwork was now OK. This doctor had a hard time believing that I did this with just diet and exercise but I did. Not only that but I kept the weight off and took off almost another 10 pounds.  I might lose another 4 pounds just so I look as good as I can and know I am doing all I can for my health. With MS one does not need to carry around extra weight for it is not helpful or healthy for us.

Diet and exercise are SO important and no matter your age or physical abilities this is one area YOU CAN control!  My exercise plan is heavily modified dance aerobics’ to music...about 20 minutes a day 5 days a week and about 12 minutes of stretching at night. It really helps! It does not cost me anything and I don’t need to leave the house and it can be done all year long anywhere, I just need music. The key to an exercise program is do one you like so you will stay with it or like me make up your own.

The keys to losing weight is first eat only nutritious healthy food. Second watch portion size, third take in less calories than you burn, forth when you have lost the weight, balance your calories so they are the same for what you eat and what you burn. In a while your body gets used to all this and cravings go down. That is not to say you will never have a favorite food again, you will but in moderation and not often.

So if you are planning on having some special holiday meals just don’t overdo it and keep what you eat the rest of the day to a minimum and or go light the next day. Also remember there are dietitians and physical therapists to seek help from.

Happy Thanksgiving, Holly



Comments are closed.
    If you would like to become a blogger, please contact us and let us know!
    CLICK ON THE RSS FEED ICON BELOW TO GET A LIST OF ALL OUR PATIENT BLOGS

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    October 2020
    March 2020
    January 2019
    September 2017
    March 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013

    Categories

    All
    Caregivers
    Cortisol
    Depression
    Diagnosis
    Diet
    Donn's Blogs
    Emily's Blogs
    Exercise
    Fatigue
    Fatique
    Foot Drop
    Heat Sensitivity
    Holly's Blogs
    Insurance
    Lizzie's Blogs
    Mobility
    Pain
    Service Dogs
    Spasticity
    Steroids
    Susan's Blogs
    Terri's Blogs
    Travel
    Treatments
    Tysabri
    Urination
    Work
    Yoga


© 2023 HealthCare Journey, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
HealthCare Journey™ is a trademark of HealthCare Journey, LLC
Picture
  • About Us
  • Home
  • Virtual MS Center
    • Q & A for Virtual MS Center
    • Read About Our Virtual MS Center Staff
  • News & Resources
  • Seminar Registration
  • Health & Wellness
  • Blogs
    • Physician Blog >
      • Healthcare Provider Blog
    • Physical Therapy Blog
    • Patient Blog
    • Caregiver Blog
    • Research Blogs >
      • "Ask Dr. Debbie" Research Blog
      • Multiple Perspectives In Multiple Sclerosis Research Blog
  • About MS
    • What is MS?
    • Diagnosis
    • Treatment
    • MS Tips
  • Symptoms
    • Balance and Walking Issues
    • Breathing/Respiratory
    • Bowel Dysfunction
    • Cognitive Dysfunction
    • Crying/Laughing Uncontrollably (PBA)
    • Depression and Anxiety
    • Dizziness/Vertigo
    • Dysphagia
    • Fatigue
    • Foot Drop
    • Hearing or Smell or Taste Changes
    • Heat Sensitivity
    • Leg Weakness
    • Loss of Hand Dexterity and Coordination
    • Memory and Mutliple Sclerosis
    • Migraines
    • Numbness/Tingling/Altered Sensation
    • Nystagmus and Oscillopsia
    • Pain
    • Sexual Dysfunction
    • Sleep Issues
    • Spasticity/Spasms/Cramps
    • Speech/Swallowing
    • Urination/Bowel Problems
    • Vision
  • MS Clinics
  • MS Topics
    • Pregnancy and Infertility
    • Caregivers and Family Members
    • Employment and MS
    • Medical Costs and Insurance
    • Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis
  • Register With Us
  • Terms of Use/Privacy/HIPAA
  • MS HealthCare Journey