FiddleFit
Cathlete
Hi everyone,
I used to be a very regular poster on these forums, but I've receded into the background in recent years due to the rest of life getting so busy. If you remember me - great! Please say hi!
I started this check in for anyone who, like myself, is recovering from an ailment or injury, and needs to approach exercise differently for a while. I have developed a serious case of iron-deficiency anemia, that is not improving at all. This has been coming on very slowly for about 8 years, primarily due to heavy periods (due to fibroids). I was finally diagnosed in July, 2013 when the symptoms began to get extreme. I've been on iron supplements since then, but until the underlying problem gets fixed, I'm not going to get any better.
In the meantime, I've recently come to the conclusion that high intensity exercise of any kind is just not doing me any favours. My approach needs to be to keep moving, gently, without getting my heart rate up or breaking a sweat. To give you an idea of how I'm feeling these days, walking up a flight of stairs is like doing an interval of IMAX3 for me, I get dizzy and breathless getting up out of chairs, I can sleep 9 hours solid every night and still need a nap in the daytime, and when I plan my day, I can only choose one thing to focus on for the day (I have no mental energy to do more than one thing).
I've begun to have the fibroid/heavy bleeding situation resolved, so now I have to be patient while my body creates all these new red blood cells that I need. My goal is to be well enough to commute to work on my bike in the spring (20 miles a day). I also don't want to gain weight from lack of movement, or lose much muscle.
My workout plan is to do lots of walking and continue to do isolation lifting for my weight workouts. I won't be attempting to build muscle, just maintain. I'm thinking the Pyramid routines, Slow & Heavy, XTrain routines, and Push/Pull & SuperSets might fit the bill. Gym Styles might work, too, if I don't do the drop-set push ups (heart rate!). I will also do yoga 2 to 3 times a week. If you have any other suggestions, I would love to hear them.
I'm also working to enhance the iron absorption from my food and iron supplement by eating lots of vitamin c rich foods and B12. Because I don't want to gain weight (I've gained 9 pounds since Sept 2013), I'm going to keep a close watch on my calorie intake, and portion control.
What about you? What's your health challenge, and how are you approaching it?
Thanks for joining me in this check in. I plan to get on here 4 or 5 times a week, depending on how busy life gets during the week. For the record, my hemoglobin count in December was 100, and my ferritin was 3. The hemoglobin needs to go up by 20, and the ferritin needs to be at 12. Both of these are a slight improvement of my numbers in July, but I have a ways to go.... (and I'm so tired of being tired).
Cheers
I used to be a very regular poster on these forums, but I've receded into the background in recent years due to the rest of life getting so busy. If you remember me - great! Please say hi!
I started this check in for anyone who, like myself, is recovering from an ailment or injury, and needs to approach exercise differently for a while. I have developed a serious case of iron-deficiency anemia, that is not improving at all. This has been coming on very slowly for about 8 years, primarily due to heavy periods (due to fibroids). I was finally diagnosed in July, 2013 when the symptoms began to get extreme. I've been on iron supplements since then, but until the underlying problem gets fixed, I'm not going to get any better.
In the meantime, I've recently come to the conclusion that high intensity exercise of any kind is just not doing me any favours. My approach needs to be to keep moving, gently, without getting my heart rate up or breaking a sweat. To give you an idea of how I'm feeling these days, walking up a flight of stairs is like doing an interval of IMAX3 for me, I get dizzy and breathless getting up out of chairs, I can sleep 9 hours solid every night and still need a nap in the daytime, and when I plan my day, I can only choose one thing to focus on for the day (I have no mental energy to do more than one thing).
I've begun to have the fibroid/heavy bleeding situation resolved, so now I have to be patient while my body creates all these new red blood cells that I need. My goal is to be well enough to commute to work on my bike in the spring (20 miles a day). I also don't want to gain weight from lack of movement, or lose much muscle.
My workout plan is to do lots of walking and continue to do isolation lifting for my weight workouts. I won't be attempting to build muscle, just maintain. I'm thinking the Pyramid routines, Slow & Heavy, XTrain routines, and Push/Pull & SuperSets might fit the bill. Gym Styles might work, too, if I don't do the drop-set push ups (heart rate!). I will also do yoga 2 to 3 times a week. If you have any other suggestions, I would love to hear them.
I'm also working to enhance the iron absorption from my food and iron supplement by eating lots of vitamin c rich foods and B12. Because I don't want to gain weight (I've gained 9 pounds since Sept 2013), I'm going to keep a close watch on my calorie intake, and portion control.
What about you? What's your health challenge, and how are you approaching it?
Thanks for joining me in this check in. I plan to get on here 4 or 5 times a week, depending on how busy life gets during the week. For the record, my hemoglobin count in December was 100, and my ferritin was 3. The hemoglobin needs to go up by 20, and the ferritin needs to be at 12. Both of these are a slight improvement of my numbers in July, but I have a ways to go.... (and I'm so tired of being tired).
Cheers
