Diet/Exercise during Treatment

Hello all, just another question. from all that i reading about diet during lyme treatment its best to stay on protein, vegetable, low glycemic fruit diet, exclude the sugars, carbs, wheat/rye/etc, gluten...similar to a candida diet. only occasional carbs such as brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, sweet potato

I wanted to ask if i am to exercise, ride bike, walk/jog, ski, etc. do people flex their diet a bit more to allow some carbs in?

i want to try to be as active as i can, when i am able to, but not sure where i will get the energy without much of any carbs as fuel.

thanks a lot

I believe your body will get used to lower carb intake. Mine did. It took about 2-3 weeks to adjust for me. My biggest struggles were the effects on the brain. I felt extra tired and depressed the first couple of weeks without my junk food and sweets fix.

I still eat some carbs. I just eat less than I used to. I try to take in as much protein as possible, but I still eat a lot of corn products- corn taco shells, soft corn tortillas, etc. I prob eat too much corn, but oh well gotta eat. Can't afford to eat 2,500 calories of protein and fresh veggies daily.

Exercise is awesome for me to feel better. I do sometimes eat a lot after exercising because I am super hungry when I get home. I do not limit my intake. I just eat healthier choices.

It's hard at first, but you should give it a go.

THanks Missouri, i was pretty active before this all hit me. I am hoping some exercise will help me feel better. was just curious if 'hard limits' were needed here with the exercise.

usually i snack on fruit bars or granola before or during my bike rides, usually provide some fuel. then am usually starving when done. sounds like its OK to do the snacks before, by try to eat healthy after

My LLMD loves dr gundry's Plant Paradox. It's about avoiding lectins, so no grains, cow dairy, nightshades. Plant Paradox takes it even further and says no vegetables that have seeds, at least in the beginning.

I have a friend with a long-term disease (guillan barre) who was recommended to go the ketogenic route. I've been looking into this because there is a chapter on it in Plant Paradox, and my friend said her muscles eased in the first two weeks where before they always felt clenched.

It helps to keep a list of what foods you have a reaction to. Sometimes it's the quantities that bother people.

As for exercise, you need to listen to your body here too. Whenever I do anything too physical, I used to hurt for 3 days. A couple weeks ago I rode the stationary bike, and I only hurt for 1 day. Progress.

I eat (mostly) gluten-free and Paleo - protein, plenty of veggies, healthy fats. My Lyme doctor suggested I start Keto (low-carb, moderate protein and plenty of healthy fats) several months ago and I really like how I feel when I'm doing it. I'm getting back on it now (after getting a little off track indulging in rich foods over the holidays) but want to make it a way of life.

The biggest breakthrough I've had since getting Lyme and co-infections 5 years ago has been intermittent fasting (IF) which my doctors suggested too. I just released a Kindle book about my experiences on Amazon because it's made such a difference in my life.

I do IF at least 5 days a week, usually every day, the 16/8 method (fast 16 hours straight and eat, or "feast", 8 hours) and weekly 24-hour fasts. It cured the reactive hypoglycemia I was dealing with and I lost 20 pounds without any effort.

It helps me think more clearly and this is a God-send because I was dealing with so much dementia and memory issues from the Lyme. I'm sure many of you can probably relate!

Plus, I used to deal with constant, serious all over body pain and since doing IF my pain is much less. I even able to get off 2 medicines that were prescribed for pain and fibromyalgia symptoms, including Cymbalta and Gabapentin.

It's so interesting to read everyone's comments here and see what is working for different people.

I am a firm believer in exercising to maintain health of mind, body and spirit. After consulting with your doctor--especially if you have joint issues, start out slow and listen to your body. You will know if you pushed yourself too hard as it may take days to recover.

Walking and swimming are excellent. Walking inside a mall is great for the winter months and some malls have "walkers groups" that meet daily or weekly to trek through the malls early in the morning for exercise.

Not all of us have access to an indoor pool but if you do you may want to consider gentle swimming or exercising in the pool. The heated pools are the best of course

If you have an exercise bike or treadmill at home take it very slow in the beginning and determine how you feel afterward as well as the next day or two. Do you feel better or worse?

Hope you find a suitable activity that helps with your healing. For me some sort of exercise has always been important as it also helps to chase the blues away.

Before treatment even swimming laps made me sore! That was one of the signs that made me try to find out what was wrong with me. about 8 months and several doctors later, I was diagnosed with lyme.

Once starting treatment, I was able to swim a little a few months after, but about 1/5 as much as I used to. I remember one day I swam two laps and my body was tired. You really have to listen to your body.

I do a lot of walking about 5 days a week. That's the exercise I can rely on the most without hurting. Gentle stretches or yoga can also help with tight muscles.

My doctor also supports intermittant fasting. He suggest skipping dinner a couple days a week, so that you are fasting between lunch and breakfast. I haven't been able to do this while on antibiox, but I will try it soon.

I'm also trying to follow the keto approaching by adding more fats, which for me mainly means adding coconut oil to my coffee or tea. It's hard to do keto imo when you are avoiding dairy, but if you can have other than cow dairy there are some options like goat gouda or sheep cheese.

Thanks, everyone for the great feedback. I plan to take it easy for a bit yet, just started my treatment 2 weeks ago. i have been able to walk here and there, but the cold in the north east has really bothered my symptoms. I plan to walk more as the days go on, hoping i can make it out on the slopes once or twice before the season ends here too. I never thought of swimming, i may try to do that as well in February. If all goes well, I hope to ride my mountain bike in spring again.

Ironically before my major flare-up in December, i was riding bike 3-5 times per week, putting on a lot of miles. i was tired and hungry after riding each time, i slept good at night, however wasnt really beat up the next day.