Vegan, bed bound due to illness from Scotland, UK.

vegan_rose
vegan_rose Posts: 12
in Introduce Yourself
Hi there.

My name is Rose. Both me and my husband started using my fitness pal a few months back and we have both been supporting each other through our weight loss journeys. Until now I've been keeping an eye on what I eat via my husband's diary as we basically eat the same. Yesterday I decided to start my own diary as not only do I eat or drink different things at times but also I felt I should be on less calories. I'll still use my husband's for most of our meals as I'm not going to waste time adding it in two diaries although I will add my portion via the quick calorie add option. This way I can still track my calories and see what I am eating, I can also make notes related to me e.g I don't always finish what I have.

In a way my journey is very different to my husband. He can exercise and I can't. The only way I can loose weight is through restricting what I eat. The good news is I am looking weight this way. I am severely long term ill, totally confined to my hospital bed and require full time care from my husband. I am very limited in what I can do. I can't even weigh myself on the scales as I can't weight bare, I'm literally stuck in bed. However we do body measurements from me and that's how I know I've lost weight these past few months :-). I can also feel parts of my body getting smaller so that is good.

Anyway I wanted to say hi. I am not sure if I'll find anyone in my situation on here, trying to loose weight but being restricted because of my health. It's not easy loosing weight when your stuck in bed all the time and so very ill but I am and both me and my husband are so grateful for MFP.

For us this very much feels like a lifestyle change rather than a diet, because it's a different way of living and diet doesn't seem to cover it. Being vegans has really helped in our weight loss journey I feel, at times it's a struggle for either of us to reach our calorie allowance. I realised for me that my main source of going over my calories before the diet was my drinks, since starting MFP with my husband a few month ago I've been addressing this as well as keeping an eye on my portion size. I always remembered before this leaving lots on my plate. Now we both control our portion sizes this doesn't happen often which I good.

I'd love to make a friend or two on here, if your interested please message me. Just to add some normal.things I live with my husband and two lovely dogs, one of which we hope to train as my assistance dog in the future. We also have several lovely cats and I couldn't imagine my life without them, they bless me with love and company and help me through each day. I love music, reading books on the kindle, crafting when my health allows, I love teddy bears and like to collect them. I like a lot of things although sadly my bad health stops me doing a lot of them...

Anyway enough about me. My goal my next year is to drop several clothes sizes as that would mean the world to me and certainly make buying clothes (well pyjamas in my case) a lot easier.

Bye for now

Rose :-)

Replies

  • vegan_rose
    vegan_rose Posts: 12
    ***bump***
  • angellover1974
    angellover1974 Posts: 10 Member
    Hi,
    I'm also disabled although I can walk with help, it is really hard to lose weight without exercise.
    I have ehlers danlos syndrome which means every organ in my body is affected, my joints dislocate. I have 4 children 1 dog 1 cat a couple of rabbits oh and a husband that looks after me :) I'm also in the UK.
  • vegan_rose
    vegan_rose Posts: 12
    Thanks angellover197 :-) asked to be your friend. Best of luck in your weight loss journey, I know we face more challenges but I am sure we can do it - it will just take more time. Thanks for replying :-).
  • Ragingwitch
    Ragingwitch Posts: 28
    I would suggest looking at Spark People - they do exercise videos for people with limited mobility, which you do from a sitting position in many cases. I use them as I have bad knees and suffer with a back injury. They do decent workouts but they're designed not to be too strenuous.
  • bearwith
    bearwith Posts: 525 Member
    Hi Rose

    Take it a step at a time. Remember - one dress size at a time, 5 pound goals at a time and reward yourself without food when you get to each goal. E,g, when I lose 5 pounds, I am going to go on an hours walk with a friend that I have not seen for a while. When I get to the next size down, I am going to have a clear out of my wardrobe and cleanse myself of the larger sized clothes and make way for new ones.

    God luck
  • MRSHHJONES
    MRSHHJONES Posts: 41 Member
    God bless you Rose:) I pray the Lord will give you the wisdom and guidance you need to accomplish everything you set out to do!!! It sounds like you and your husband have a great relationship! Keep up the good work on My Fitness Pal!
  • cedexvegan
    cedexvegan Posts: 20 Member
    Hi Rose,
    My name is Christina...I am a vegan (new) and also cannot exercise. I am a thyroid cancer survivor. During the surgery to remove my thyroid, they had to scrape a tumor from one of my vocal chords, causing permanent paralysis. This left me without much of a voice, which I needed. So, I had an implant inserted to hold my vocal chord in the closed position so I can now talk, but have only half an airway...I loose my wind very easily due to spasms in my diaphram...so, no exercising for me.

    I am also a type 2 diabetic, and exercise is fundamental for good glucose control. I have gained weight steadily in the past 6 yrs since my surgeries. At the end of February I was told by my Dr. that I would have to go on insulin if I cannot get my glucose under control. I've been trying to follow the reduced carb diabetic diet along with taking oral meds. It was time for a drastic change in order to avoid the insulin.

    So, on February 27th I began a vegan diet. I am following Dr. Neal Barnard's program for reversing diabetes...that is, vegan, low fat, high fiber, whole foods (as much as possible). I will find out what my glucose and cholesterol are in a few weeks (I'm looking forward to that!), and so far I have lost 14 lbs. I did not think that was possible without exercise (while eating healthily).

    Please consider me a friend in your corner. I would love to share recipe ideas and just the knowledge that we face a similar struggle.

    God bless you and your husband,
    Christina

Categories