Working Out On Extremely Limited Diet?

[julandjo]

Working out and being physical is important to me and I've been doing this since high school (I'm 31 now). I've tried to lose weight all my life, and have only been successfully losing since diagnosis and going gluten free. I've lost 40 pounds in the past 12 months, which is a dream come true for me. The problem now, however, is that my diet is extremely limited.

I can safely eat: chicken, beef, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, blueberries, olive oil, and a handful of spices.

I have a very hard time getting more than 1300 or so calories in a day. I feel hunger, but often I just can't make myself eat the same.freaking.food again. And I'm dropping more weight rapidly. (I am having another endoscopy this week to see if anything else is going on to explain why I'm reacting to more foods almost by the month). I am cranky and tired and always hungry.

My question - is it safe to keep working out? I do 30 minutes of fairly intense cardio 3-4 times a week, and weight training 2-3 times a week. I feel like it's important to keep this up; otherwise my body will be burning off muscle mass as my weight drops. But maybe I'm asking too much of my body in its current state? Any advice?

[lynnelise]

I guess it depends on how you feel after you workout. Do you feel overly fatigued or have a lot of muscles aches or joint pain? Do you dread working out? Do you get sick a lot? If yes then I would cut back. I know when I overdo it I get sick a lot easier and more frequently.

[tictax707]

I totally understand the desire to work out... it's really important to me too! It's good for my head and a positive attitude. I get like you described when I have a colitis flare up. I would say that you are probably skating on thin ice, especially if it's hard to get 1300 cals a day. is that 1300 net cals (taking into account the working out) or 1300 total cals? I agree with Lynnelise in that ultimately you have to listen to how you feel & your body is responding to the workouts. I think its also very important to figure out why your food options are so rapidly shrinking. Because I would ber very concerned that you can't keep that up over the long term. I use a meal replacement from canada that is gluten and dairy free, but I am not sure about all the other things... It's designed to be very easy to digest and easy on very inflamed gastointestinal systems. It's called Alpha ENF, from environmed research - it's sort of what they do. Maybe they could get you something that you could work with. I wish you the best of luck!!

[julandjo]

I totally understand the desire to work out... it's really important to me too! It's good for my head and a positive attitude. I get like you described when I have a colitis flare up. I would say that you are probably skating on thin ice, especially if it's hard to get 1300 cals a day. is that 1300 net cals (taking into account the working out) or 1300 total cals? I agree with Lynnelise in that ultimately you have to listen to how you feel & your body is responding to the workouts. I think its also very important to figure out why your food options are so rapidly shrinking. Because I would ber very concerned that you can't keep that up over the long term. I use a meal replacement from canada that is gluten and dairy free, but I am not sure about all the other things... It's designed to be very easy to digest and easy on very inflamed gastointestinal systems. It's called Alpha ENF, from environmed research - it's sort of what they do. Maybe they could get you something that you could work with. I wish you the best of luck!!

Yeah 1300 total calories is about as high as I can get. I'm at a very healthy weight now and the fact that more is dropping off is very worrying to me. I still feel really good during/after my workouts, but the rest of the day I'm tired and cranky. Maybe I'll just tone down the intensity until my diet is healthier. And pray my tests go well this week and I get some answers! Thank you both for your responses!

[BeautifulDay]

julandjo,

I know this response is a bit delayed on the thread, but I just wanted to say that when I stumbled across your post, I felt like I was reading about my own life! Similar to you, I have many food intolerances along with celiac disease, but I love and need to workout. Working out has always been very important to me, as a stress reliever, as well as simply as a hobby! I feel good during and after my workouts as well, but am also tired/cranky/lethargic when I'm not working out or on my days off. It's like my adrenaline gets me through the workout and then I'm toast. I've done my best to go down from my typical 5-6 high-intensity workouts (50 minutes of cardio, some weights and pilate/abdominal workout) a week to just 3-4 more medium intensity workouts (40 minutes of cardio, more weights. I've tried to start doing videos at home instead of hitting a treadmill or elliptical for my workout). My weight hasn't budged (up), and I still feel tired.

I am a bit underweight right now (I'm 23 years old, weigh 103 and am 5'6" = BMI 16/17), and would like to gain a few pounds. I am constantly in fear of losing more weight, but it's hard to eat more. 1300 calories seems to be my limit as well. I eat 3 "meals" a day and 2-3 "snacks" (more like mini-meals). I feel like I'm eating the same thing day in, day out, which I usually don't mind, but every so often gets on my nerves. Even more, after 22 years of food equating pain, I struggle to just EAT, even though I often find myself being hungry.

It's so hard to put these ingrained mental habits aside - beliefs/feelings about eating, about working out, all of it. What do you usually do for your workouts? What does your typical daily diet look like? I'm just curious, as I'm thinking we could possibly be of help, insight, and/or support for one another as we try to figure our bodies out! I hope things are going better for you, and I hope to hear from you soon! Take care

[julandjo]

julandjo,

I know this response is a bit delayed on the thread, but I just wanted to say that when I stumbled across your post, I felt like I was reading about my own life! Similar to you, I have many food intolerances along with celiac disease, but I love and need to workout. Working out has always been very important to me, as a stress reliever, as well as simply as a hobby! I feel good during and after my workouts as well, but am also tired/cranky/lethargic when I'm not working out or on my days off. It's like my adrenaline gets me through the workout and then I'm toast. I've done my best to go down from my typical 5-6 high-intensity workouts (50 minutes of cardio, some weights and pilate/abdominal workout) a week to just 3-4 more medium intensity workouts (40 minutes of cardio, more weights. I've tried to start doing videos at home instead of hitting a treadmill or elliptical for my workout). My weight hasn't budged (up), and I still feel tired.

I am a bit underweight right now (I'm 23 years old, weigh 103 and am 5'6" = BMI 16/17), and would like to gain a few pounds. I am constantly in fear of losing more weight, but it's hard to eat more. 1300 calories seems to be my limit as well. I eat 3 "meals" a day and 2-3 "snacks" (more like mini-meals). I feel like I'm eating the same thing day in, day out, which I usually don't mind, but every so often gets on my nerves. Even more, after 22 years of food equating pain, I struggle to just EAT, even though I often find myself being hungry.

It's so hard to put these ingrained mental habits aside - beliefs/feelings about eating, about working out, all of it. What do you usually do for your workouts? What does your typical daily diet look like? I'm just curious, as I'm thinking we could possibly be of help, insight, and/or support for one another as we try to figure our bodies out! I hope things are going better for you, and I hope to hear from you soon! Take care

Well, since I wrote this post I have successfully added rice into my diet. I NEVER thought I'd get that back, but it's allowed me to bump my daily calories to 1500-1600! And my carb intake, which was previously very low, is now in a healthy range and I feel so much better. My list of safe foods is: chicken, beef, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, blueberries, strawberries, rice, and olives/oil. So my daily diet is just those foods in various combinations, over and over. I know it sucks.

I'm also 5'6" but I weigh 155. I've got good muscle mass. I've had 2 kids which has changed my body, and I do have a little chub yet. I could drop another 10 pounds and be okay and be the "correct" BMI, but any more than that and I'll look unhealthy. I look and feel the right weight for my frame. Just goes to show how differently people carry weight! (I've always given the side-eye to the BMI charts; I get their purpose, but I think SO many healthy people fall outside the "healthy" chart range).

Anyway, for my workouts. I alternate: one day cardio (30-40 minutes with my heartrate in the 65-75% zone), and the next day weights. I have one rest day per week, sometimes two.

One thing that has helped bump up my fat and calorie intake has been using a LOT of olive oil. I put some in a dipping bowl and add sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, maybe some sage or cumin. I dip my carrots in it, pour it over ground beef, etc. It adds SO much flavor and can totally change something that you're sick of eating. As a bonus, all this extra olive oil made a HUGE improvement in my HDL cholesterol. Seriously - for over a decade it was at 35 and I couldn't raise it for anything. Then I got diagnosed, then added all this olive oil, and now it's at 57!!

I worry for you - for the amount of activity you're doing, 1300 calories isn't cutting it. Do you keep track of your protein, fat and carb intake as well? I've been using Sparkpeople for over a year now - it's been invaluable to have that daily feedback - I track all my food and my exercise so I can see my daily calorie differential. Also, have you had a nutrition panel (bloodwork) done yet to see what your deficiencies are?

I understand the reluctance to eat. The pain it can land us in is terrifying! You'll have to change your mindset about food though - it's fuel that your body HAS to have. [it took me a solid 2 weeks of my husband pushing me to trial rice before I even put a grain of it in my mouth - I was scared.to.death., but he was scared for my health and knew I had to get another source of carbs stat.] You can't keep forcing your body to perform without feeding it properly (well, you CAN for a little while, but at the expense of your health). I encourage you to work with a dietician and maybe a trainer too - until you can successfully gain weight, I'd scale back the workouts to just what is necessary to maintain your current muscle mass.

I'm sorry you're going through this too. It's one heck of a trial, but it's giving us a strength and courage we wouldn't have had otherwise! Hang in there girlie!

[BeautifulDay]

HOORAY RICE!!! That