others w/physical disabilities?

I'm severely limited after a car accident, and then some cancer, then a small stroke…I use a cane/walker when I may need it, and walk 40-60 minutes..slow- a day. For weight LOSS, exercise is not the big issue, and won't affect your success.. it's the foods you chose, not just a low calorie limit which tells you are are starving and to hold on to all fat… especially for women. the most success for obese people is eliminating all processed food..all sugars except fruit sugars. you will hear lower carb works better than lots of breads and whole grains..the heavier you are the less carbs you need as they can trigger insulin issues.

there are some AMAZING bread and pizzas made with cauliflower, riced up small, then baked, with sauce and topping added… http://ifoodreal.com/cauliflower-breadsticks-recipe/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtQjlqiuLj8

eliminating the flour/wheat works and allows for taste without metabolic issues.

PLEASE consider joining these sites…MOST people seriously overweight have the same mobility issues, and dietary choices will cause more loss than thinking you must run/lift or do endurance for hours.

There are groups ALREADY to join..one is 100+ pounds with no surgery and another is 50+ pounds to lose JUST SEARCH for these groups and join many who're active already.

For many 'morbidly obese' by the charts with metabolic disease based on carb intolerance and sugar will find a group The Low Carber Daily and 2 "Keto" groups discuss diets that eliminate these, to find better satiety and quicker weight loss.

good luck..so many thousands of posts come in daily this one will be lost soon..so find a group.

hrnielsen1973 wrote: »

Are there reałly no others with there own wheels\ walkers / cruches?

can't help here but just wanted to wish you all the best. There are hundreds of thousands of people here so I'm guessing if you keep plugging at this you will get some results :-)

Awesome... just found this post.... knew I wasn't alone on this forum.

redlocks70 wrote: »

I'll have to make the pizza this weekend. I like the fact you can customize it any way you like. I'll let ya know how it turns out! I've been living off of Easter leftovers and need a change.
Couponwheelie, have you found any exercise videos on YouTube that you like? How are they working out for you?

I hope I'm doing this reply correctly. I haven't started the YouTube exercises yet. I hope to next week when I am off from OT and PT. I'm tapering off a high prednisone dose and between the side effects, working hard in PT (I walked 44 feet with my walker today), and the usual myelopathy and neuropathy pain, I haven't been able to psych myself up for them. My heating pads and I are best buddies today.

So, how is everyone's weight loss journey going? Since I finally managed to work out the appropriate calorie allowance (which was a real Pain In The Ash!), things are going great here.

To work out my actual calorie needs, I ended up buying a BodyMedia Link Fitness Tracker from eBay (as you can't buy the Link in the UK) which told me that on a good day I'm using a maximum of 2000 calories. Obviously this proved to me that the advice of 2500 calories for a man would make me gain weight!

From the American SCI website (http://sci.washington.edu/info/forums/reports/nutrition_2011.asp#calorie) I also found the calorie advice: General guidelines suggest that persons with paraplegia need about 28 calories per kilogram (kg) of your ideal body weight. If you have tetraplegia, you need about 23 calories per kg of ideal body weight (the weight you should be). This corresponded with what the Bodymedia told me.

Although tetraplegia is not quadriplegia, googling for quadriplegic calorie allowance gave me the same answer for tetraplegia. The extremely bad part is once you know what your body uses calorie wise, you then need to create a deficit to lose weight!!!, I emailed MFP at one point and expressed my displeasure at the fact that MFP always advises 1500 for men, 1200 for women - as I didn't feel that it accounted for restricted mobility. Luckily, you can manually set your goal allowance.

I feel that when you have mobility restrictions, it's even more important to understand what you body needs. We are all unique, so everybody will have different calorie requirements.

I was always told by my GP that Cerebral Palsy would mean I needed to eat more (would have a higher calorie allowance) due to the spasms. I don't take medication at all as I find it hard to swallow. So I try to keep medication free and away from the doctor, but it does mean that my spasms are not controlled in any way. Again, it just proved to me that it is so easy to overestimate what your body needs.

My big downfall (the reason I gained weight in the first place) was always the beer - I used to drink tons of it on a daily basis from aged 18 up until I turned 40. Since I cut it out totally, I have lots more energy, and I've been able to use my calorie allowance sensibly on foods that are much better for you.. and so far, it's working.

I am also aware that we all have bad days. Sometimes you do need to just take a break from it all, but when that happens, don't punish yourself. I always just get back on track next morning. Just keep reminding yourself that you can do it - the one thing that will make it work is your own inner strength.

I also try to not use the word "diet"... it's a "lifestyle change" as I will always watch what I eat from now on for the rest of my life.

Just remember.... it is possible, no matter what your ability... so keep at it, think positive, and the rewards will come your way.

-- John.

Hiya, I'm disabled too, sometimes use a wheelchair and sometimes walk with a stick. I have quite a few things wrong which mean I can't really do exercise although I do try to walk when I can. I have a soppy Labrador and love going for walks in the woods with him, and I love nature so I find it really uplifting too

I am trying to stick with 1600 calories and eat more nutrient dense foods when I can. I have just treated myself to an exercise bike which I try to use every couple of days when I'm not flaring up, only 20 mins but every little helps

I chuckle when I see the debates about logging walking as exercise. For me it's really relevant as there are many many days where I'm stuck in bed and can't walk at all, so on the days when I can walk I definitely log it!

Excellent - nice to see some friendly activity on the forums.

I always used to believe tetraplegia meant three limbs were affected. Oh well, can't be right all of the time

I'm glad you've found the FitBit Flex to work for you. I did send out a few emails before I imported the BodyMedia, but I mainly got negative feedback from the companies involved, and Googling didn't help - responses were typically "we don't know" or "it may not be accurate" which defeated the point of getting one. With the BodyMedia, the reviews kept saying it was the most accurate, and I got it from eBay, so didn't pay a great deal for it, so was worth the risk. It was either that, or there was positive feedback about the Nike Fuelband being compatible with wheelchair usage, but I just didn't like how it looked. Me being picky

What really does annoy me is that I've found no way of getting any decent exercise into my daily life. My head is the only thing that works reliably. When I got referred to physio, they couldn't do anything for me, and after 8 weeks, I was just finding that I was relying on pain medication but still couldn't do anything with them - it was just them moving limbs for me. I do try and do a little bit on the Wii, but even that is a challenge. Would just be nice to earn back a few calories here and there. The main thing is that I have learned how much my body needs, which over time teaches you about portion sizes, and you start to realise how easy it is to overeat!

I have heard that protein is used in muscle repair, and also that it's great for keeping you fuller for longer. I'm not going to quote all the differing opinions from the MFP forums here - but personally, my body liked it for a bit - then I got to a point where I started sleeping a lot through the day. Once I started putting a few good carbs back in the mix (ie not just sugar) then I felt better. Again, it's all about balance. The idea seems to be not to go silly and start eating just protein all the time. Another problem I found was that I didn't realise was that when I overdid the protein, it affected my uric acid, which brought on a massive attack of gout. However, your GP mentioned it, so I'm assuming that wouldn't affect you.

Remember, you are not alone... take it one day at a time, and reap the rewards as they come

try2again wrote: »

Wow- what a nice discussion and exactly what I needed to read! Especially enjoyed your experience, Land_Rocket. I'm not disabled, but all the extra weight is starting to seriously impair my mobility. I've been feeling all sorry for myself, thinking "how am I ever going to get the weight off now?" Now I feel ridiculous! You guys are inspiring... mind if I continue to eavesdrop? [/quote

Try2again- Its absolutely normal to feel sorry for yourself- I have found for me that it actually can push me into action. There's times I cry because I'm trying to hold my foot on my leg to tie my shoe and it doesn't stay. Some days it takes three times. I just sit and think to myself this simple action hurts so bad and this is all BS. Then I get pissed- I just grab my foot and DO IT. My sadness turned to anger and from there I was determined not to let a simple action defeat me. When I finally got my shoe tied I stood myself up and said "Yeah, *kitten*!" just like Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad. It was pretty funny! ANYTHING you accomplish give yourself credit for- you've earned it. We're all here for you!