I’ve been trying to get back into shape, but exercise seems to be conspiring against me. For the record, I am a 34 year old morbidly obese female. I joined Curves and seemed to be doing well until I developed plantar fasciitis in my right foot. I went to a podiatrist who made some lovely $400 custom orthotics and put two extremely painful shots of cortisone in my foot. This seems to fix the problem… Until I started exercising again.:smack:
Due to the recurring plantar fasciitis problem and other financial concerns I cancelled my Curves membership. Since then I’ve rejoined the Y. For many years I was a member of the Y and I ran, lifted weights, and did water aerobics. So, I decided to try water aerobics again.
Part of my illustrious medical history involves chronic nausea. That problem is mostly gone but still rears its ugly head occasionally. And, of course, it appears that being in the water is making me nauseous more often than not.
So… After that long story, what I’m looking for is some kind of exercise that will not aggravate plantar fasciitis and will not make me nauseous. Eventually, I’d like to get back into running, but I’m not sure that it would work very well right now.
Could the chronic nausea be your gall bladder acting up? I started throwing up, or having the dry heaves a lot when I was 29 or so. After a lot of testing, I found out I had to have my gall bladder removed.
I also have plantar fasciitis in both feet, and these fairly inexpensive Dr. Schollsinserts have done the trick! I think they were $8. They are a half insert, that sort of cups my heel.
BTW, I am having the same issues with excercising. It is hard to get started, when my body want to give out in a couple days. I used to be so active, and now walking a few blocks does me in. I just don’t know what it will take to motivate me.
If you want to be exercise buddies, I am willing to give it a try.
Maybe e-mailing what excercise we did each day, to be accountable would help.
No. The chronic nausea was due to several things. First of all it was partly caused by a medicine that I was on. Second, it was a vestibular issue which I went to physical therapy for. I would imagine that now I am just overly sensitive to motion and that’s why the water is bothering me.
It’s not that I’m unmotivated. I want to exercise. I’m just not sure what would be a suitable activity that won’t aggravate my foot issue and won’t make me want to puke.
For both of you, making a habit of moving everyday is your first step.(ha!)
Treating plantar fasciitis consists of icing your foot 3-4 times a day, roll a golf ball under your arch and stretch your calves.
Good suggestion by treis.
Other alternatives could be a rowing machine or a stationary handcycle/ergometer. Example
Or one of those gazelle thingies. Or the elliptical machine (do they have one of those at the Y?). You need low impact. Can you stand in the water (not swim) to do leg lifts etc? Just a thought.
The podiatrist should have also recommended exercises for you to help your PF in your feet. Did he? If not, call him and ask him what he suggests. Ice and the ball (I was taught to use a tennis ball) do help as well. IANAD etc.
Maybe some upper arm strength training…first, because it will avoid stressing out your lower limbs, and secondly because building muscle revs up your metabolism to make it easier to lose weight.
Overweight female with freshly diagnosed plantar fasciitis/bone spur checking in.
First off, you’re welcome to join us in the SDMB Weight Loss Club thread over in MPSIMS. Lots of support over there. (That goes for you too, CAT!)
Second, you’ve got some good advice already. I’m doing stationary recumbent bike, elliptical, and treadmill (no running, no incline on the advice of my podiatrist, and easy on the impact). Any movement is good, even easy walking. You have to start somewhere.
Also, you should be able to do light strength training. It builds muscle, which increases your metabolism. Start with light weight levels; you should be able to do 10-15 reps before you hit muscle fatigue (can’t do another rep).
Talk to your podiatrist and see if he can recommend some weight-loss exercises that you can do that won’t bug your feet. Also, see if the Y has a personal trainer you can consult. They should be able to set you up with a routine that fits your criteria. I used one when I first joined my gym, and again when I had some plantar warts burned off and had to avoid weight-bearing exercise for a while.
Much as I respect runner pat, the stationary handcycle is the most evil device in the gym.
I’m kidding, but only slightly. I always groan when I realise that it is a handbike day on my program. You can’t watch TV, it is seriously hard work, and it seems to take ages (10 minutes @ ~135watts).
Oh, and I am seriously in awe of the guy from our gym who (with no arms, just upper arm stumps, and no legs either) uses this machine with straps, and completed 42km in 2-ish hours in a marathon challenge.
It will have to be hand weights and walking for me. I don’t own any excercise equipment at the moment. I have had a lot of it in the past and given it away, or sold it.
And we really don’t have money for a gym membership just now. The nearest YMCA and Curves are also about 30 miles away.
I do have a stairs in my house. Maybe a few extra trips up and down that couldn’t hurt. As it is I usually only make one trip up and down it a day to go to bed. I keep reading and hearing what good excercise house cleaning is. I do like to vacuum and keep up with that. But man this house is in nearly as bad of shape as I am. Something else to ponder. Maybe as I work on the house, I could burn a few calories.
As cold weather is setting in, walking is even more daunting. It was 14 degrees out this morning when I walked my son to school. Hey, I do walk him to school a few times a week. Too bad we only live a block from the entrence. At least it is something. I think the school lets people from town walk around inside after classes are out for the day. I will have to look into that too.
Maybe I will even dust off some old Sweating to the oldies and Denise Austin exercise tapes I have. I managed to lose about 45# using them before I got married. That was 11 years ago, and yes I have gained those 45# back and about another 30# UGH!
Hey CAT, if you can make it to the Y they have financial assistance available if you qualify. I did. That’s part of why I rejoined there. Now, instead of paying about $40 per month for Curves I’m paying $19 per month for they Y.
Thanks, everyone for the advice. Years ago when I joined the Y I did some sort of fitness assessment. I think I’ll look into that along with tackling the suggestions given here.
When I first started losing weight I was in terrible shape but I was able to use one of those recumbent bikes. I have a hard time sticking to anything if I get bored but those bikes are quiet enough to be able to watch TV while you do it instead of the older ones that sound like a jet’s taking off. I’ve seen them on craigslist for under $200. I know that isn’t cheap.
Our cable company has an exercise channel with all sorts of routines, many of which are low impact and at no additional cost. I can’t find my old Richard Simmons tapes but I have 3 out of 4 of a set of belly dancing tapes if anyone wants them. They’re mostly low-impact and fun to learn.
CAT=^…^=, look beyond the big name gyms. My gym only costs $20/month. Using the exercise tapes is a great idea! Check if you have any used sporting goods stores in your area. You can get some great bargains on barely used stuff.
si_blakely, I’m in awe of that guy too. I ride a handcycle on the road so I know how hard it can be.
ABP, hand weights and calisthenics are your friends. There are loads of things you can do that don’t necessarily involve being on your feet at all, and would allow your torso to remain mostly stationary.
All sorts of arm exercises
Crunches
Push ups (Do one today. Do two tomorrow. Work your way up.)
Leg lifts (on your hands and knees, lift your leg behind you, flexing your butt.)
These won’t help you too much aerobically, but will build some muscle, which will up your metabolism. You can get hand weights for pretty cheap at a sporting goods store. You want a weight that you can do 4 sets of 8 reps, but not much more. When you can do 4 sets of 12-15, add more weight.
Different things work for different folks. Anything under my arch would give me foot cramps. I did the podiatrist thing, which was of zero help. I went through lots of different footwear, finally settlling on an interim fix of Sperry Topsiders, which have a very thick foam rubber insert. I still wear them as house shoes, and the OP should never go barefoot, as it aggravates the PF. I finally found shoes that I can walk in. Keens, actually, but they’re not for everybody.
But the real key to recovering from this painful ailment was calf stretches. They are ridiculously easy, cost you nothing, and are generally of the most benefit to the problem. But you have to do them twice a day for probably the rest of your life, and it takes time for them to have real effect. Losing weight is the other half of the equation, but even skinny people get PF.
Two years ago I couldn’t walk one block without serious heel pain. Nothing worked, and I was becoming depressed just thinking about retirement with foot problems. Today, I do 30 minutes of hard walking on an inclined treadmill, three days a week. Bottom line is: you can recover from this, but it will take time and dedication. Good luck.
That was 11 years ago, and yes I have gained those 45# back and about another 30# UGH!