My mom

I was wondering if I could have some advice for my mom.

She has RA and Fibermyalgia she also is agoraphobic (fear of leaving the house) My dad just bought her a gazzell (spell?) Since becoming sick she has gained weight. She is 40 years old 5'5 and weighs about 180 lbs. She does not know how many calories she should be eating on days she doesnt do her gazzell and how much to eat when she does do it.

On days she doesnt do the gazzell she pretty much watches tv all day.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I've never used a gazzell, but if your dad bought it for her I would ask her if she's excited about using it. She's the one who has to enjoy the activity. She might also enjoy excercise videos like 10 minute trainer, P90X or Cha-lean - I do the P90X and love it. The motivation needs to come from her.

As far as the food/calories question, show her to this site. The tools here will help her figure out how much to eat and what to eat. If she's doing the gazzell a few times a week for 30 minutes she probably doesn't need to eat more calories on the days that she works out, but if she's doing more than that she may want to if she finds herself hungry.

RA and Fibro are both tough to deal with, and both conditions improve with overall health and fitness. From what I understand about Fibro, having a healthy diet and active lifestyle is critial to managing episodes.

She is the one who wants me to ask....she doesnt have the internet. She is excited about starting She has been eating 1400 but thinks that is too much.

Your mums stats are about the same as mine, she is just slightly younger. (I am 43, 5'5'', currently weighing 177) On days that I don't work out I eat around my bmr, between 1450 and 1490 cals, on days I do work out I eat what I burned extra, I use a heart rate monitor to see what I burned extra, mostly I end up eating about 1700-1800 cals on those days.
This here website is very helpful.
I am sure btw that 1400 is not too much, when I was eating less than that (I used to be eating about 1250-1300) I was not losing weight at all, the moment I upped my cals I lost weight again. Tell your mum a good luck and happy losing from me :-)

I would also suggest that she watches what she eats as much as how many calories. Oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potato/potatoes are good choices for carbs, breads and refined products are not so good. Lots of fresh veg, probably only 1 or 2 servings of fruit/day and lots of lean protiens.

If she doesn't have access to the internet, I'd also suggest that she keeps a written food journal.

Good luck!

If you guys can afford it, get her a heart rate monitor...I bought my polar F3 NIB (new in box) off e-bay for much less.  She can wear it all day and night and it will tell her how many calories she's using...kind of like a do it yourself body bug.

I LOVE my gazelle.  Honestly, what I would tell her is to be less concerned over calories and more concerned over activity.  I know that with those conditions, she can't always exercise, but if she can make the most of her good days, it'll help a lot.  Remind her slow and steady wins the race.  Is there a diet that would help those conditions?  Focusing on certain nutrients can often alleviate some symptoms.  Maybe you could get her a consultation with a nutritionist?  Or even a little online research.  I'm so glad she's excited about this--it's easy to feel trapped when you aren't well.  Good luck to you and to her.