Struggling

Constancecarder1 · June 2021

I had broke my leg a year ago along with arthritis ive veen on predisone on and off.It's so hard for me to loose weight when i cant exercise lije i use too.I diet for 3 days then i get tired of trying to figure out what to eat.

wi1234567890 · June 2021

I understand how you feel but with a change in mindset and small sustainable changes in lifestyle you can lose weight and improve your overall health.
I had an accident a few years ago which tore both medial collateral ligaments in my knees. I now have arthritis in my knees and right hip, Achilles tendinosis and Morton’s neuroma on right side. Previously I struggled with plantar fasciitis on left foot and as soon as that healed I had plantar fasciitis on right foot. In the past few years some body part of mine has been in pain at all times. After my accident I gained 30 pounds because I was of the mindset that if I can’t exercise the way I use to, then I didn’t want to exercise at all. I was depressed due to the pain and ate way to much food. The increased weight made all of my pain worse. My doctor recommended a cortisone shot in my worse arthritic knee which I refused. He then recommended prescription pain meds which I refused. He then told me to learn to live with the pain. After I left his office and had a good cry, I decided to lose weight and do whatever exercise I can. I started logging my food on MFP and staying within my calorie limit. For the sake of convenience I eat the same breakfast every day. For me that’s 2 hard boiled eggs, a cheese stick and a piece of toast with apple butter. I like it and it keeps me full until lunch. Lunch is always dinner leftovers which is simple - some kind of protein, some kind of starch and some kind of vegetable. It works for me. You can find whatever works for you through some experimenting.
For exercise out of convenience I started walking. At first I was walking very slow and did my best to articulate well through my feet and knees so I can walk without limping. Then I started doing some Pilates exercise that I found on YouTube. Slowly and over time I got stronger, was able to walk longer and faster and now I regularly go on long hikes. I still have some pain and I probably always will but it’s not as bad as it used to be. I definitely don’t need any cortisone shots or prescription pain meds. I have almost lost the 30 pounds that I gained.
There was a time when I didn’t think I would walk again but now I’m hiking for several hours at a time.
I know you can overcome your physical limitations. Work on them slowly and consistently. Over time you will get stronger and you will have less pain. You need to put your well-being first. You may need some physical therapy or maybe even your doctor can give you a printout of exercises that are appropriate for your injuries. Just start somewhere. Our bodies are amazing and resilient and you will get stronger.

csplatt · June 2021

Have you tried being more repetitive with your diet for some meals? It’s kind of boring but it jumpstarts me when I need to re-commit. For example, I will shred chicken in the crockpot and portion 4 oz of chicken with a half cup of rice into tupperwares and have it for lunch each day for four or five days. Or I will make spaghetti squash with half a cup of marinara and eat that a few days in a row. Then I keep dinner more interesting, change it up each day.

AlexandraFindsHerself1971 · July 2021

I crushed a foot in a car accident in my twenties, and so didn't do much exercise, just slowly gained weight for the next 20 years. After I divorced my first husband, I realized that I could lose weight, and over the last year and a half lost 55 pounds with diet alone. I am now trying to get into an exercise habit, but that's weight work, not cardio, and that because I like the way I feel when I shove weights around regularly. I have dropped three sizes, and have SO much more energy and so much more ability to stand, even though I need to lose about 75 more pounds. But the sheer joy of being able to move so much easier keeps me on the path. I like this! I want more of it!

I make a meal plan for the three of us every five weeks and then follow that. Five weeks lets me have variety, and do something like plan spaghetti and meatballs the first Monday, Fettucini Alfredo with chicken second Monday, lasagna third Monday, and so on. By the time five weeks has past, spaghetti will sound good again. I'm not wedded to it. If I really feel bad, there's always the taqueria down the street or hamburgers. But by and large, I made the plan with food I like, so I like to eat what's on the plan. And usually I'm not wanting anything specific but FOOD. So it works that usually I eat on the plan. This also means that I have in the house what I need to cook the meal, so it's not such a big deal. Usually on Sundays I put the things I'll need to cook this week in the small freezer in the kitchen, and bring things like the pasta and canned goods I'll need from my big walk-in pantry and put them in the cabinet. That way it's all convenient when I start to work.

I help myself out by precooking and preportioning, and buying things in individual portions. By precooking the meatballs for the spaghetti and freezing them, I can separate the time standing to make the meatballs from the time needed to cook the rest of the meal. And I can just plunk the frozen meatballs (separated into packages of just enough for a meal for the three of us) into the pot, pour the jarred sauce over them, set a timer, and sit down again if it's a bad foot day.

We repeat lunches week to week; Mondays are always quesadillas, Tuesdays always hot beef sandwiches, Wednesdays hamburgers, etc. And I have the same breakfast every morning, a toasted English muffin. I just vary the jam I put on it, or add a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. (I haven't been able to eat heavy in the morning for YEARS.) That helps too.

88olds · July 2021

There’s a significant learning curve that doesn’t get a lot of discussion. When you start there’s a lot of research and number crunching. In fact everything is number crunching. But eventually you will know the numbers for a lot of your favorite meals and dishes.

Your post points out the the problem with motivation. It’s fleeting. Try to think in terms of determination, tenacity and resolve. Take heart. Calorie counting works. It really does.

MsCzar · July 2021

Maybe plan for 2-3 days at deficit calories followed by 2-5 days at maintenance calories until you get in the groove of measuring and logging your food every day and making conscious decisions. At this point, NEVER skip logging your food. Don't worry about forward progress to start; just concentrate on owning your choices.

Meanwhile, work on transforming your kitchen stores so that figuring out what to eat won't be so difficult. When you have all the ingredients for fast healthy meals at your fingertips and cupboards free of high/empty calorie snacks, it gets a lot easier. Spend a little time figuring out some go-to meals that work with your comfort level of cookery. Then you can either whip up a fast meal or heat up something you've pre-portioned and made ahead.

Exercise is good, but please don't think that diminished ability is automatic pass on getting on with weight loss. 80 lbs. ago, I couldn't climb a flight of stairs without breathing hard and needing a 5 minute sit-down to recover. I started exercising just 3-5 minutes a few times a week... and I could barely do THAT! So start moving as slow as you need to, just keep at it.

You can do this! 💗

Struggling

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