Minimizing fatigue

[Garry]

I find that being well rested makes a huge difference. Also taking breaks or a pauses to catch your breath helps too. Find a pace that works for you and paying attention to your body will come a long way on how you perform throughout the day. Also, make sure you have a nice meal before you start your day because I find myself feeling weak and tired if I’m running on an empty stomach.  One more thing for me I find that staying warm and doing some light stretches will allow me to maximize the performance of my muscles which will lead to less fatigue. More movement in any way will encourage blood flow to the muscles means more energy right? =]

[Danielle "Dani" Liptak]

Garry, I appreciate your response! I agree about getting adequate rest and taking breaks. Breathing is very important as well, getting as much oxygen into our body and muscles! Do you take naps? Sometimes I can sleep too much and still feel tired. Has that ever happened to you?

One thing I noticed is that I am more alert if I don’t eat too much early on in the day, personally for me I have to watch my glucose. I try to eat healthy, with low carb, high protein, and very low sugar but of course I am not always eating healthy! If I eat too many carbs or sugar then I find I need a nap during the day. I also think drinking a lot of water can make us feel more alert, kind of like an internal shower for our bodies! Haha

[Garry]

Awe thanks Dani that means a lot. I don’t really enjoy taking naps because it may mess up my sleeping schedule. If I really need to nap its because I didn’t sleep well. Most of the time I just need to lay down and let my back rest since I sit a lot. It really helps me reset my back so when I do need to stand for a bit, it makes a difference.

To start my day I enjoy a cup of coffee. Any source of energy will help but I’m pretty fortunate that I don’t rely on it to last me all day. I would love to cut down carbs but its hard for me since I tend to feel hungry if I do and that doesn’t end well for me lol. Plus its good source of energy for me at least haha. For protein, I always try to go for chicken but white though since it has glutamine which helps with muscle recovery.

[Leah Leilani]

Garry, these are some great tips that you mentioned. With my form of Muscular Dystrophy I am easily exhausted so pacing myself and resting is a constant thing for me. If I feel weaker than usual, eating and drinking can greatly help. I drink Gatorade daily because of the electrolytes. When I get dehydrated I can literally feel my cells absorbing the electrolytes.

[Danielle "Dani" Liptak]

Leah, I agree with you about the feeling of the electrolytes replenishing your system, it is a rush sometimes, haha! They should have a commercial for muscular dystrophy and Gatorade, how much we love it! I enjoy the orange Gatorade myself!