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Exercise to reduce waistline and belly

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Posted 8/28/2012 3:14 PM (GMT 0)
Hello folks,

After 6 months of Pred course, I gained about 35lbs, 3-4 inches in waistline and pretty good belly that all my shirts literally hug me in belly region. Initially, I thought its just water as a result of Pred but now it seems like I have indeed gained weight. I ate voraciously in early days of Pred and everything looks like just 'settled down'.

I searched for exercise threads and everyone seems to be recommending yoga and light aerobic workout. I am not too sure if that will be enough to shed pounds and fit into my old clothing. I am of course going to join the gym today but will be glad if anyone has any other recommendation..

P.S. - My diet is pretty good quality with very little junk.
Posted 8/28/2012 3:22 PM (GMT 0)
Are you in remission now? I do a good mix of cardio and strength training, which I think is the way to go if you want to lose weight and gain muscle. I take group classes at my gym that I really like.
Posted 8/28/2012 3:28 PM (GMT 0)
Whatever you do, don't beat yourself up about what happened on the prednisone. The drug messes with your mind too, so it's not as simple as saying you just needed more will power to not eat as much. I'm like you--I eat healthy, but on prednisone I ate about 3 times as much healthy food as I needed.

There was a study out recently that the time it takes for your body to adjust to a new weight is about a year. So in the year following the end of your pred course you will lose a lot of that weight even if you don't do anything. That was my experience as well. Then about a year hence I started a pretty strict exercise regimen and made sure not to eat at all after dinner, which took off the rest. But the point about the year readjustment time is that you may find it frustrating if you push yourself really hard right after the pred but are unsatisfied with the speed of your results.
Posted 8/28/2012 4:28 PM (GMT 0)
I don't know how long you were sick or what your current fitness level is...but I believe the current train of thought focuses on cardio intervals for burning belly fat in particular. In addition, weight training is key as pred makes your body eat your muscles.

There are a couple of types of interval training - there's kind of "normal" intervals and high intensity interval training (hiit). Normal people intervals focus on alternating levels of low and high activity and heart rate. High intensity interval training also has low and high levels of activity, however the high levels of activity are supposed to make your heart rate go into the anaerobic zone, at like 85% of your maximum heart rate (I forget the exact percentage). For example, you would sprint for 30 seconds and then light jog or walk for a 1:30. Your workout would not last longer than 20 minutes and you shouldn't do this type of workout on consecutive days. I think normal intervals and hiit intervals have been shown to hit belly fat more than steady state cardio. You can do intervals with any type of cardio (bike, elliptical, swimming, treadmill, outside, etc.)

The problem is, you need to have a certain level of fitness before doing HIIT. It's probably too much after coming off of a flare and after such a long course of Prednisone. Normal intervals might be better. Plus, don't underestimate the power of a incline on the treadmill! Those things can really pump up your heart rate if you put the incline up high enough.

You can find alot more detailed information on the web regarding intervals and hiit. Don't forget your weights!
Posted 8/28/2012 5:28 PM (GMT 0)
It's impossible to "target" weight loss...you can't work on specific areas in regards to weight loss. Cardio is the number one way to lose weight, weight-bearing exercises will also burn calories (for weight loss) and build muscle at the same time (I highly encourage encorporating weight training into your regiment).

Yoga and pilates are great, no doubt about it, but likely a slower way to lose weight in comparison to cardio and weight training...they are excellent sources to add but you will likely get better/quicker results from cardio/weights.

Yoga/pilates are great tools that will tone your muscles and make them long and lean (due to the stretching factor involved in either yoga/pilates) weight-bearing will thicken/bulk up the muscles...females don't let the word "bulk" scare you, we are designed so that our muscles will only get so big (naturally of course) it's men that can really bulk up from excessive weight training compared to us ladies.

All in all, I'm so glad you are considering this...exercise is so beneficial on all levels and for not only physical but mental/emotional health as well. It can be addictive, especially when you start to see results...I'd likely be dead right now without it...it saved me mentally first and foremost.
Posted 8/28/2012 8:03 PM (GMT 0)
yoga, pilates, and cardio- like running. Just start slowly with each. You will see results. Yoga really is a form of weight training.. you are just using your own weight. It can be very challenging.
Posted 8/29/2012 12:51 AM (GMT 0)
fredflats is right, it takes about a year for your body to return to baseline. I was prednisone dependent for a year and put on around the same amount of weight as you, deltaforce. Unfortunately, after gaining it, I could not exercise due to prednisone induced joint damage. With the passage of time alone, I returned to my pre-prednisone weight.

Now that over a year has passed since I discontinued prednisone and my joints have recovered, I am able to workout again, lifting weights and running. The problem is that the way my body carries weight is different now. I have a blob of fat around my belly button area that I just can't seem to lose (I had a flat tummy prior to pred). I've been told that it will take a solid year of moderate working out to get rid of my prednisone pouch. Unfortunately, it seems like beyond weight training, cardio, and a healthy diet, you just have to give it some time.
Posted 8/29/2012 1:17 AM (GMT 0)
Keep in mind, everyone's metabolisim differs, so although for some it can take a year, for others it can take longer or less than a year.
Posted 8/29/2012 2:56 AM (GMT 0)
Its been a year since last round of pred. Was on it for four months total. Just started losing the weight. Gained weight in crazy places ,like arms and chest and stomach. Disgusting is all I can say! Can't wait for it to be gone. Swimming is my new form of exercise . Hope it helps!!!!
Posted 8/29/2012 8:44 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you everyone for commenting.

Few more details,
I was on Pred for about 6 months, now in remission. I gained 35lbs and my muscles have become super tight, especially hamstrings. My joints have weakened. If I am sitting on the floor, I can not get up without supporting myself (which makes me REALLY feel bad). I can not run as I sprained my ankle 3 months ago and still it has not recovered completely. Today, I brutally bruised my little toe. Most likely, I am going to lose that nail. The nail looks like flipped open. So running and that sort of stuff will have to wait but what makes me wonder here is, since the Pred stuff, I have become extremely prone to injuries and it takes ages to heal. I bruised myself in March and I still have that scar on my knee. I feel like I fell down while walking more often. It happened 3 times this year and every time I was walking on a flat surface. I am also suspicious that I have borderline depression. I have no idea if this is all Pred effect but I am keeping notes to see how long this stuff goes and will report to GI as well as my neuro.

If anyone has experienced similar stuff, will be glad to know. Honestly, I AM little scared of the way things are going at the moment.
I will look into every suggestion I got here. I also plan to talk to the instructor at the gym so that I don't aggravate my situation.

Many thanks to everyone.
Posted 8/29/2012 9:00 PM (GMT 0)
I did belly dancing for a few years and you would be surprise at the difficulty of it.
You use many muscles you never knew existed and yes you can sweat as well! It works a lot your belly region and your arms. It helped me to digest as well and as a woman (if i remember correctly you are one) this dance brings you closer to your feminine side.

Its very forgiving and pretty much injuries free. However its not pain free until you get used to it as it works quite a lot your muscles!
Posted 8/29/2012 9:04 PM (GMT 0)
Slow healing is definitely an effect of Prednisone. It also makes you kind of fragile in the first place (your skin gets thinner, you are more prone to bruising and wounds, plus your collagen is not as strong). If I look at my arms I have three scratches I don't know how I got and several bruises. I also fell backward off a weighted exercise ball several months ago (maybe around April) - and I still have a very pink area. It took forever to heal and it's definitely scared. Plus I developed about 8 super long stretchmarks on my stomach (very prominent) in a three day period when I upped my pred recently. I can really do nasty stuff to you. You are definitely not alone!

Prednisone can also mess with your emotions. I've personally only experienced the hyper activity (massive cleaning sprees) and a super anxious freak out session. I wouldn't be surprised if it can contribute to depression to. Plus it sounds like you were a very active person before this flare - so not being able to do the things you used to do is just kind of...demoralizing and sad. It's quite an adjustment.

I can't speak of the balance/coordination issues. I don't think I ever read anything about Prednisone causing problems in that area but I never really paid attention. Just a thought though - if you are used to working out and used to your body behaving in a certain way...then it doesn't get "exercised" it may not respond the way you are used to. Plus, UC just messes with our bodies in general.
Posted 8/29/2012 9:16 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, Delta, it is definitely the pred causing all that. It actively destroys muscles and bones and promotes fat gain as well as slowing healing down to almost a dead stop. I have a lot of experience with that dreadful drug. How long ago was your last dose? It always takes a good few months for all the side-effects to wear off, but the longer you're on it, the longer it takes for things to return to normal. Six months is a pretty long round of it.

Yes, the weight gain on pred is actual fat gain, not just water weight, and you will most likely have to work to get it off. Exercise is definitely helpful and important for burning more calories, getting your muscle tone back, and strengthening your joints - it doesn't really matter what kind; just make sure to include both cardio and strength-training each at least a couple times a week. But if you're worried about dropping the weight, by far the most effective way to do that is through diet. Start paying attention to calorie intake and make sure you keep it as low as you can while still being healthy for your weight, and make sure the foods you DO eat are packed with nutrition in order to give your body the right building blocks it needs to repair itself and build muscle. I have a few blog posts about battling the physical effects of pred if you want to check them out.
Posted 8/29/2012 9:21 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Bootstrap - I'm interested to read your Pred recovery info. I saw one link to the left regarding pred but do you have any others you can direct me to (or tips to search?). Thanks!
Posted 8/30/2012 11:26 AM (GMT 0)
@ tournevice,
Thanks for the comment. Good idea but I am not a lady. Still, if it works, honestly, would not mind doing it for the sake of exercise. My overall body features are pretty much like my mom. My mom gained a lot of weight after her 40's and has a serious muscle issues. DW will be very happy if I could achieve half flexibility of what is expected to achieve after a year of workout.

@ActiveUCer,
Thanks for confirming my suspicion. I have many issues and scientific articles do suggest some of the issues but when I posted here, I did not see so many responses. So I always wonder if I am an 'exceptional' patient. :)

@bootstrap,
I agree with your diet issue but the fact is, I never eat processed food, except crackers sometimes. In our family, we never go to restaurants or get a take away. Every meal is cooked at home. We do make pasta and pizza once a week but I am not too sure if that contributes so much to weight gain. It could, with no exercise. I eat loads of greens (actually, 2 meals of the week are only salads). I honestly don't know how healthy fat-free I could make it. I think my overall calorie intake is lot less than it should be.

Thanks everyone for the comments.
Posted 8/30/2012 6:57 PM (GMT 0)
I began exercising when I had to start Pred and lost weight while on Pred, not gained (although I did have a very moony, moon-face). I didn't have altered eating habits aside from some mammoth salt cravings a couple of times. After stopping pred, I have kept up a robust exercise routine. I have found that the act of exercising makes me feel really well in relation to my UC. However, I was using the Pred energy to my benefit to get started. Once I stopped the pred, I did have to force myself to keep going b/c it became much harder, without the steroids =) Anyway - I definitely believe it's possible for some of us to exercise even with active UC. I get super nervous before a race or before running with a friend, but my body usually just shifts it's focus once I get going. I've only had to leave a workout once to use the restroom. I figure I want to help my body out as much as possible in it's quest to heal. I run, bike, and do yoga.
Posted 8/30/2012 8:31 PM (GMT 0)
Thing about working out regularly is it will increase your overall energy (and well being)...if you find that you aren't noticing any improvements with energy, it may be a sign that you're not getting your heart rate high enough during your workouts.
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