Low-energy weeks with ME/CFS, some improvement with calorie counting and walking
- Condition
- ME/CFS
- At worst
- Mild (working or studying, with limits)
- Ill before improving or writing
- Not stated
- Last post
- Nov 2017
In their words
- Condition: ME/CFS
Reducing calorie intake was very hard on weeks where i have low energy
In context ↗ - At worst: Mild
Exercise wise I avoided high impact exercise and have stuck with walking
In context ↗ - Now: Somewhat better
As weight reduced i have felt less reliant on quick fix sugary snacks as my overall health has improved
In context ↗
Read from 1 of their posts and comments; links to the one this page draws on
Summary
A person with CFS who had low-energy weeks that made cutting calories difficult. Over the summer they used calorie counting to lose 2 stone, stuck to walking instead of high-impact exercise, and said their overall health improved. In the past they had slowly built up enough capacity to play volleyball and jog, but family life and a job no longer allowed that.
Ask Miruvor AI
What they tried
What they credit
Their words about each treatment
- building up my capacity slowly · Helped
In the past i have managed to play local volleyball league and go jogging, but this took a long time of building up my capacity slowly
In context ↗ - CICO (calorie counting) · Helped
Over the summer I used CICO (calorie counting, ensuring i was consuming less calories than i spent) to lose 2 stone (14 lb).
In context ↗ - walking · Not said
Exercise wise I avoided high impact exercise and have stuck with walking.
In context ↗
Approaches: Diet
Their path
How ill they were on the ME/CFS severity scale, estimated from what they describe at each point, in the order they describe; they don’t give enough times to place each step. Hover or tap a point. Dates are when they posted. What the levels mean.
Show as a table
| When | What happened | Where they were |
|---|---|---|
| — | CFS making exercise and fitness hard to maintainThis is something i often (and to some extent always) contend with.In context ↗ | Mild |
| In the past | slowly built up capacity to play volleyball and jogIn the past i have managed to play local volleyball league and go jogging, but this took a long time of building up my capacity slowlyIn context ↗ | Mild |
| 2017-11-20 | lost 2 stone with calorie counting, walked for exercise, overall health improvedOver the summer I used CICO (calorie counting, ensuring i was consuming less calories than i spent) to lose 2 stone (14 lb).In context ↗ | Mild |
Ask Miruvor AI
Similar stories
-
Bedbound with ME/CFS in a dark room, now moderate-severe with strict pacing and rest
A midwife in Australia, she became very severe after a tick bite and was bedbound in a dark room by 2021. A live-in carer plus strict pacing and aggressive rest lifted her to moderate-severe: sitting up most days, a rollator indoors, a wheelchair out. She…
-
Bedbound for months with long COVID, now much better with aggressive rest and acupuncture
A man in South Jersey got long COVID in July 2022 and had a worsening course with fatigue, PEM, brain fog, MCAS-like symptoms and anxiety, though he recovered to about 70% before three IVIG infusions in early 2025 left him bedbound for months. From late 2025…
-
Bedridden two years with ME/CFS, brief remissions then relapsed and mostly bedbound
In her teens a chronic cytomegalovirus infection left her bedridden for two years, and she spent a decade being told to exercise before recognising ME/CFS. Graded walking brought brief remissions and part-time work, but repeated crashes left her housebound…
-
Mostly severe ME/CFS after flu, somewhat better with pacing and time
She fell ill with flu and became much worse after a second flu a few years later. Years of chasing treatments brought few benefits; pacing, a low-glycemic, high-protein diet and food logging helped most, and pacing and time later made her symptoms much…