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Measure your Moderation

Posted by beachbum @arichards3, Dec 19, 2023

Central to Mayo's Long COVID recovery plan is moderation. Some primary symptoms for me are/were PEM (Post Extertion Malaise) and Exercise Intolerance. Mayo says don't overdo and don't underdo, build yourself back as if you were an injured athlete.

I was 'moderating by feel' and that wasn't working for me. I would have a 'feel good' day and fly around the house working on things, overdo, and crash myself - go backwards and damage my recovery progress.

I'm an Engineer and knew there had to be a way to put a number on it. Enter Apple Watch and the Apple Health app. I am certain this can also be done with Android, Google, etc tech I just happen to use Apple. Wearing your watch and looking in the Health app you will find "Active Energy" and "Resting Energy". There are definitions within the Health app to help you understand some detail. Add these two numbers together and you have a number to moderate with. It's a big help to me and I hope for you. I can look at the number and see why I crashed and use it preemptively to avoid a crash.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Post-COVID Recovery & COVID-19 Support Group.

pat814 | @pat814 | Dec 24, 2023
In reply to @colleenyoung "Welcome, @suss53. I love the last line of your message "I'm just living my best life..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

Welcome, @suss53. I love the last line of your message "I'm just living my best life and enjoying it!"

I see a lot of joy (and health) in the activities you listed. I'm trying to encourage my mom to pace herself more. Like you she's active and her activities bring her joy, socialization and are healthy behaviors. But sometimes (with increasing regularity) they set her back for a day. My observation is that she finds it hard to take breaks, especially when she feels good and people are around.

How do you pace yourself? What tips would you offer?

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With long covid I have learned to listen to my body and schedule in down days. If I’ve had a few busy days in a row, I enjoy staying in my PJ’s and relaxing in my recliner the next day. I’ll do a little around the house but no desire to get out. That helps me to catch up on energy for the next scheduled outing.

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pat814 | @pat814 | Dec 24, 2023
In reply to @janeaddams "Suss53; I have one of those conditions too (old age) and am trying to learn to..." + (show)
@janeaddams

Suss53; I have one of those conditions too (old age) and am trying to learn to slow things down. Like you, I'm tired of trying to convince my GP that I probably have LC (although I have about 7 or 8 of the cardinal symptoms). I know I've read/learned a lot more than she has, since it's been my research project for months. Also, I've been accepted into a LC Clinic as of 4/1/24, no thanks to her. Now she wants me to get more tests and seems to be focusing on my heart ... although EEG/ECG's, etc. result in the need for more tests and not much else. This pacing thing (mental and physical) is hard to learn but seems to be the only thing that works for me. Gradually feeling less ill, after positive Covid dx ten months ago. Thanks for your suggestion... just trying to live your life and enjoy it. For me that includes lots of music (Classical WFMT in Chicago), time to finally read the books and magazines piling up, hanging out with a 10-year old grandchild... tonight the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, with Vince Guaraldi's music. Let's just keep on keeping on...

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Yrs, I used to take my grandkids to the zoo, bowling, and other outings. Now, I’ve shifted to the park, movies, lunch out, and less output activities. Also staying home playing board games is fun for all of us. They’ve understood the shift and are just happy to “spend time together.”

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beachbum | @arichards3 | Dec 24, 2023
In reply to @pat814 "Yrs, I used to take my grandkids to the zoo, bowling, and other outings. Now, I’ve..." + (show)
@pat814

Yrs, I used to take my grandkids to the zoo, bowling, and other outings. Now, I’ve shifted to the park, movies, lunch out, and less output activities. Also staying home playing board games is fun for all of us. They’ve understood the shift and are just happy to “spend time together.”

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@pat814 Mayo advocates treating yourself like an injured athlete. That means you can't go right back to the activity/exercise levels you were at pre LC, but you should push on and aim at the same levels of activity/exercise you were at pre LC with time. Don't overdo, but don't underdo either. Otherwise your body will deteriorate faster than it should. I wish you the best and Merry Christmas.

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ronag | @ronag | Dec 24, 2023

To arichards3: If I understand you correctly you add your resting and active energy counts to keep track of how much energy you used and don't let yourself go beyond a certain count in order to avoid PEM. Would that be the same as the total calorie count on my android? Thank you.

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1 reply
beachbum | @arichards3 | Dec 24, 2023
In reply to @ronag "To arichards3: If I understand you correctly you add your resting and active energy counts to..." + (show)
@ronag

To arichards3: If I understand you correctly you add your resting and active energy counts to keep track of how much energy you used and don't let yourself go beyond a certain count in order to avoid PEM. Would that be the same as the total calorie count on my android? Thank you.

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I don't know Android so maybe. With Apple Watch and the Fitness rings one can be confused. The 'Move' ring tracks calories and movement (not exercise), then you have an 'Exercise' ring and then a 'Stand' ring. I had to dig a bit in the Health app to find the 'Active' (which is moving around, walking, and EXERCISE) and 'Resting' measures as 2 of over a dozen Health Data. Good news is there are layman's definitions of the different data.

But short story when I add 'Active' and 'Resting' together that is my total calorie expenditure for the day. 'Resting' doesn't change much which is to be expected I guess. Looking back on the data and reflecting on it is the value. For example last Friday was a dinner with friends and a late night (for me) going to bed after 11. Usually going to bed before 10. I expected my Active to be really high compared to other days and it wasn't. Not a surprise but it's the real calories burning activity that makes the difference - heavy and long chore activity around the house, exercise in the gym, etc. Longer paragraph, I guess that wasn't a short story . . . 🙂

I am mildly crashed today so I've stepped over that imaginary moderation level. Looking at the data I have a 22 day average of 533 active calories. That's the value and my plan is to push on until high active calories do not crash me.

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