Weak legs

[theresaradio]

Over the past three days, my legs have not been very willing to carry me to  deliver packages on my mail route.  They feel weak,   And in the evenings I'm experiencing leg cramps.  I think I did read about this somewhere in the book.  Comments?

[theresaradio]

Just now, theresaradio said:

Over the past three days, my legs have not been very willing to carry me to  deliver packages on my mail route.  They feel weak,   And in the evenings I'm experiencing leg cramps.  I think I did read about this somewhere in the book.  Comments?

 

[kruddock]

I don't remember reading about this in the book, but its been awhile.  I'm sure a moderator will comment. It wouldn't hurt to make sure you are drinking the recommended amount of water and maybe try a magnesium supplement at night time for the cramps, natural calm is what I use when I have sore muscles, make sure its unflavored.

[theresaradio]

Thank you

[laura_juggles]

Couple possibilities:

Are you eating enough? You can post a couple days worth of meals, with portion sizes and water intake and a mod will take a look. 

Are you drinking enough water? At least 1/2 oz per lb of body weight?

Are you salting your food? If you've come from eating even a moderate amount of processed foods, you may be lacking salt. 

The magnesium is also a good recommendation from Kruddock  

[theresaradio]

I guess I need to provide a bit of detail on my intake.  I will do that! 

For now, I'm eating mostly protein and veg, and trying to limit fruit.  I eat until I'm full, but a caveat is called for here---4 years ago I had a vertical sleeve gastrectomy.  Presently, my stomach holds about a cup and a half of food.

I know my water intake needs work.  Drinking only about 32 oz I figure.  

I am salting my food,  however.  

[ShannonM816]

For people who physically cannot eat large meals, it is fine to eat more than three meals a day. Make each of them look like the meal template, but smaller -- so still a combo of protein, fat, and vegetables, in whatever size portions you can handle. If you need to eat four or five or even six meals a day, that's fine. Don't try to live on three tiny meals, you need more nutrients than that.

Fat is important, don't skip it. Some vitamins are fat soluble, so if there's no fat with them, it doesn't matter that you're eating the right vegetables, your body won't be able to use everything it needs to from them.

For water, unless you've been advised otherwise by a doctor, generally you want to aim for a half ounce per pound of body weight, so a 120 lb person should be aiming for 60 oz per day. Again, if due to the surgery you've received other recommendations from your doctor, go with what they said.

Leg cramps can be due to dehydration, or to a shortage of magnesium or potassium. Working on your water intake may be enough to help. If not, you can google which foods are good for magnesium and potassium and work on adding those to your diet, or you can look for supplements to help. I know for magnesium, Natural Calm Unflavored is compliant, but there are also compliant pill forms out there too.

 

[theresaradio]

Oh boy!   I definitely need to increase my water intake. I'm not drinking near enough,   And maybe that will help with leg cramps. I wonder if I'm just not getting enough energy from my three meals as you suggest.   I will try five or six meals throughout the day, and see if that helps.  I've made homemade ghee which I love, and I've been cooking in olive oil so I'm pretty sure I have the fats covered.  

By the way, I have felt tired over the last four days.  Not SUPER tired, but a little.  However, it sure has been nice NOT having those daily sugar crashes where my eye are slamming shut!

Thank you so much for the information!