MFP Weight Goal ACHIEVED - 95 Pounds GONE - Wheelchair User

eminater · June 2018

So inspiring!! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your journey.

You look amazing - healthy and happy - you've put a smile on my dial!

runningforthetrain · June 2018

You look fantastic! Congratulations. This is so inspiring. I have been looking for a long time for someone with mobility challenges to show my mom that it can be done. She is disabled. I haven't been able to accomplish what you have done even with exercise! You are a rare gem. Thanks for sharing your story!

tablefor5now · June 2018

Your no nonsense approach and steady determination is fabulous. Well done!

Jedi_Jo · June 2018

Many congratulations

Candyspun · June 2018

Fantastic job!

MindfulDecision · June 2018

I have returned to this thread in amazement with the outpouring of positivity!

I wanted to write a bit more about my journey, and some additional practical tips that helped me along the way.

Firstly, in my post I wrote about how I instituted small changes to ensure I never bit off more than I could chew. Around the 9 month mark (and this will be a good tip for those with mobility issues), I purchased a stationary arm bike off Amazon (https://www.amazon.ca/Sunny-Health-Fitness-SF-B0418-Magnetic/dp/B00QIM5CMA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1529782297&sr=8-4&keywords=arm+bike). I thought this would be a great way to achieve some much needed cardio exercise. I figured it would allow for me to 1) increase the amount of calories I am allowed per day if I desired a bit more 2) improve my lung function 3) allow me to getting to goal weight quicker 4) add in a balance of diet/exercise into this new lifestyle I was trying to achieve. I aimed to do an hour of this arm bike exercise, 3-4x per week. After my dietary changes, weight loss, and now with the arm bike - I discovered upon visiting my Respirologist that all of my lung test numbers improved on average by 30%.

When performing cardio, I focused on getting heart rate up, and reaching the point of "sweating". There is no need to go crazy and burn out - that is not the point at all. Maintaining a steady rhythm, and getting the heart rate up is the goal. Lastly, the arm bike is small enough that I accomplished these session while it sat on my coffee table while I watched TV. I encourage those with mobility issues to look into this, as it is something that they can do. I increased my calorie allotment by roughly 200 cals/day, however most days I still aimed and achieved 1200. I did this routine for roughly 5 months, however ramped down as I moved closer to maintenance stage of weight loss/weight maintenance. In case some are wondering, I am 100% sure I did not need to exercise to reach my weight loss goal, but saw the benefits that I listed above.

Secondly, I wanted to fire off some helpful practical tips that I use on the daily to help meet my calorie goals.

1) When I eat meals, I cut my food up very small, chew longer, and drink water between bites. There is a window of time where your body will finally recognize you are full. Eating slower, thinking about your food, and realizing what you are eating will allow you to reach that period of time where you will feel full instead of just shovelling everything in at once, and still feel hungry for seconds.

2) I use a teaspoon to eat rice, and soups (again, consistent with my reasoning above).

3) I have NEVER weighed my food, not once.

So you must wonder how do I accurately calorie count? MFP has been extremely helpful for this. My entire philosophy of weight loss is that it must be manageable, and the steps involved cannot be overwhelming (or I will relapse into old habits, imo).

My method of calorie counting goes as such: I will log onto MFP, and plug in what I will eat. Let's say I am having a chicken drumstick, I will put that in MFP, and take 4-5 suggested calorie quotes (this is the range of calories the chicken drumstick could be), then I will find the LOWEST amount of calorie listed and the HIGHEST amount of calorie listed. I take the highest calorie listed on MFP (and consider the range), and put that in for what I ate in the day. More often than not, that highest calorie item is higher than what mine actually is (because of the way I cook most foods, and how I prepare them), so in the long run my actual calorie intake is lower than what my total calorie for that day will show me.

Is this the most accurate method of calorie counting? NO.
Is this more convenient? YES, for me.

4) I look for alternatives to my favourite fattening foods. (Ex: buy low fat mayo instead of regular mayo, or Greek yogurt, popcorn instead of chips, zoodles instead of pasta).

5) Use google to find low calorie, filling snacks.

6) I eat before I am hungry to avoid over eating on meals (meals are usually higher calorie). For example, an hour before dinner I'll eat an apple/pear/raw fruit/almonds. From my experience, if I am ever hungry during the day it means I have not eaten or drank enough and I've let things go too far.

7) If you decide to snack, portion the snack out in a bowl. Put the bag away after. Snacking is fine, I do it basically every night and factor it into my daily calories allotment. But, COUNT what you are snacking on (use suggested amount on back of bag/box), and control your intake to make sure you are within your allotment. Warning: suggested amount on back of bag/box is not 100% accurate, however convenience always takes priority and as long as I am CLOSE to calorie goal (+ - 50-100) I am satisfied.

8) Prepackage and measure meals beforehand to give you greater control over calories, and portion (for example: I make big pot of brown rice, and then portion out half a cup, put them into ziplocs, freeze). It's easy math from there on out.

I hope you find these tips useful, and once again best of luck to all of you on your weight loss journey. If any if you would like to reach out with questions, or looking for some support along the way, feel free to add me up and shoot me a message!

Updated:

runningforthetrain · June 2018

@Mindfull -Thanks for this added information. I think it will be invaluable to me to show my mom the next time I go to see her. Wonderful!

snowflake954 · June 2018

I love your last photo. You have a wonderful story and should be proud. Best of luck in the future.

fifipink · June 2018

Well done! That's awesome and inspiring.

Styggian · June 2018

Amazing story, great result congratulations

MindfulDecision · July 2019

Hello all,

I wanted to make an update post, as it has been abit over a year since I initially created this thread, and so I'd like to firstly demonstrate that I have successfully maintained my weight. I'd also like others to see this thread, and learn that they too can shed the weight (and more importantly, keep it off in the long run).

From the time I created this post, I have successfully maintained my weight from 125-130 pounds, using maintenance strategy. While in weight loss mode, I had a target of roughly 1200 calories per day. Now that I am in maintenance, my daily allowed calories is 1700.

Each stage of weight loss, and weight control, presents different challenges. While having more calories allowed to you per day may seem easier, it unfortunately gives way for you to "take your eye off the ball" per say. In other words, it's easy to lose control over counting your calories, and underestimating how much you are actually eating (and thus, going over daily limit and gaining weight).

I still follow all of the tips and tricks I posted in this thread. I have started a mixed approach to tracking - while in weight loss mode, I tracked day to day, every day. However, while I more often than not still do this, sometimes depending on if I know I'll be eating out on the weekend/weekday, I'll track on a weekly level. The result is the same (calorie deficit by weeks end), however, instead I try to amass large calorie deficits earlier in the week, and then will go over by conservative amounts later in the week (however, still ensuring I do not get to a caloric surplus).

In addition, I have adopted some strategies for eating out that I'd like to share. Some of the following might sound like common sense, nevertheless I hope some are found useful.

1) If I know which restaurant I am going to eat at, I will look at menu ahead of time to plan my meal. This gives me the opportunity to assess which is the best choice of food from a caloric standpoint.

2) Often times, we will not have the luxury of looking ahead when eating out. When this is the case, focus on how the food is prepared, and delivered. Grilled chicken, and fish are great go to's when eating out. For condiments, remove calorie wasters like cheese, creams, avocados, and mayo and replace with spices (garlic chilli sauce, saracha), or lime/lemon.

3) Drink water instead of ice tea/wine.

4) Replace the rice with a house salad.

5) Remove bread if meal has high caloric potential, and replace with lettuce, or cabbage. This will substantially reduce calorie.

6) Eat a high fibre piece of fruit before going out. This will allow you to avoid wanting to order an appetizer while you wait for your meal. It'll also help with portion control on the main, as usually mains have massive portions.

If you're unsure of calories in what is in your meal/on a menu, use MFP to get a sense of the rough calorie estimate - remember you don't need to eat everything on the plate. You have control of what you put into your body.

The weight loss journey/maintenance is never ending even once you have reached your goal. It is about figuring out how to make it work for life - otherwise relapse will be inevitable.

If anyone needs any help, guidance or tips for their journey - post in this thread or shoot me a message. And remember, believe in yourself!!!

bosque1234 · July 2019

Wow! I use a manual chair and have begun this recently, doing what you did, CICO only as exercise is hard with the chair. I love what you've written, you're a great writer! Did the loss impact the size of chair you use? I'm hoping to just fit better into mine, not really shift to a smaller chair. But you lost so much. I'm at 1200 cals a day and going slow and steady. I can't weigh myself right now but am searching for an easy to access wheelchair scale somewhere in town I can pop in and use. How did you handle this part? I can't say how much your words and experience mean to me, you are proof this is possible!

socajam · July 2019

You are truly and inspiration to those who are in wheelchairs and non wheel chair users.
I love this from your comment:

2) I use a teaspoon to eat rice, and soups (again, consistent with my reasoning above).

Everything you have written is so true about this weight loss journey and maintaining afterwards.
Good luck for the future and for giving us more tips that have proven successful to you.

IsETHome · July 2019

Fantastic, looks like your team is my old hometown! Congrats on such a brilliant accomplishment - a wonderful story of a mind/shift to achieve a fantastic goal - amazing record time as well. Truly inspirational.

PradaGx · July 2019

Thank you so much for posting this. Such a huge inspiration for me and hopefully anyone who stumbles across this. You sir, are amazing.

MindfulDecision · July 2019

bosque1234 wrote: »

Wow! I use a manual chair and have begun this recently, doing what you did, CICO only as exercise is hard with the chair. I love what you've written, you're a great writer! Did the loss impact the size of chair you use? I'm hoping to just fit better into mine, not really shift to a smaller chair. But you lost so much. I'm at 1200 cals a day and going slow and steady. I can't weigh myself right now but am searching for an easy to access wheelchair scale somewhere in town I can pop in and use. How did you handle this part? I can't say how much your words and experience mean to me, you are proof this is possible!

Thank you Bosque! My post is meant to inspire everyone that this approach DOES work. If it worked for someone who lives a sedentary lifestyle, than surely anyone can do it.

My weight loss certainly affected the size of my chair that I required. I live in Canada and so every 5 years, the government will fund a good portion of the total cost on a new wheelchair. I was lucky in that the bulk of my weight loss happened in the 3-4 year mark of my old chair. I do find my current chair slightly big on me, and will get a smaller one on my next chair.

As for being able to weigh yourself: yes this is a struggle that I had as well. During my entire weight loss journey, I was only able to weigh myself twice. Some options for you would be to connect with a local rehabilitation centre - they typically have scales that you will be able to drive your chair onto. What they will then do is weigh the chair with and without you in it, and then minus that from the total weight (with you and the chair). There are less accurate methods of measuring your weight loss, which would be things like clothing size, how you sit in your chair, ease of transfers.

While it may seem challenging not knowing how much you are *truly* down in weight, I see many posts on this site of people obsessively weighing themselves, and being fixated on that number. The inability for wheelchair users to do that, might actually be a good thing as it focuses us on the bigger picture.

Keep up the great work of 1200 calories a day. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it - this result was a year and 5 months in the making.