It is much different from sitting around feeling depressed, which actually makes it even harder to move, and then that feeds on itself. Walking makes me feel like I am not a slug and that I am doing something good for myself that is more than eating drugs. I feel like I am in better control. Shelley has been participating in APLA's nutrition classes since 1998. From that time her body cell mass increased a total of 6.7 pounds and her body fat decreased a total of 10.3 pounds over a period of time when she gained 18 then lost 16 pounds for a big total weight increase of 2 pounds.
Fluid changes account for the rest of the body composition changes.
Those numbers don't tell the whole story, however. Like many HIV-infected women, Shelley has been experiencing body shape changes. Her face, arms, legs and butt are decidedly thinner, and her waist and breasts are larger. Four weeks after starting to make concentrated dietary changes to bring down her lipid levels, Shelley had a follow-up lab drawn. The lab reported her triglycerides were 625, a reduction of 236, and cholesterol 332, an increase of 9.