how can a wheelchair user user lose weight?

[carrotcake121]

Hi just writing to see if there is any one with advise out there. I am a wheelchair user and have gained roughly two stones in weight because of this. Any advise on how to lose this excess weight?
Thanks all

It’s tough.

This is the NHS advice (FWIW);

www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/wheelchair-users-fitness-advice/

Can you access a pool at all to do any water based exercise or hydrotherapy? (A lot depends on what your underlying mobility is).

If I was you I'd work out my average calories burn a day, there's a name for this I just can't think, and then plan to eat a deficit of this every week. Use my fitness pal to track what you eat.

Try bootcamp?
It’s about eating differently (low carb and high fat) and not about exercise at all.
I’ve lost nearly 1.5 stone since jan with little additional exercise and it’s a long term way of eating that is good for reducing cholesterol and diabetes.

You have to eat less calories than you burn, same as anyone else. Lots of upper body exercises can help.

You have to eat less calories than you burn, same as anyone else. Lots of upper body exercises can help.

You don’t use a wheelchair, do you?

Yes to swimming. Depending on what your needs are for the chair, there are lots of seated exercises you could look at. I suppose there would. Be a huge difference between exercises for someone with paralysis and those for someone with balance issues or back problems.
BHF give examples:
www.bhf.org.uk/heart-matters-magazine/activity/chair-based-exercises

Pilates and Yoga have many seated or lying movements that can help with muscle strength as well as weight loss.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/low_carb_bootcamp
The week 1 thread has all the rules on!

Morning 🥕 carrot

My sympathies. Between the bed & wheelchair & inability to exercise, I put on nearly 2 stone. The only way I was able to shift it was with the Ketogenic Food Plan. Detest the word 'diet'

It also sorted out my sugar cravings, carb binges, erratic energies etc. I am so much happier now! Though I confess it took me nearly 2 years of making excuses as to why I couldn't be Ketogenic. It IS tough & you have to be organised & plan ahead. I tend to take the easy road so wasn't happy about this at first

It's much easier to shift my body between places now & get out of the bath so I guess I'll stick with it. You can cheat a bit & I expect I will this summer!

t's much easier to shift my body between places now & get out of the bath so I guess I'll stick with it. You can cheat a bit & I expect I will this summer!

Yes, Sundays being unrestricted food days keeps me sane. But that needs balancing out and anyway, there’s something about sitting down most of the time that makes you lay down fat in a different pattern to previously. It’s very easy to go soft around the middle.

Weight loss is usually 80-90% down to diet, rather than exercise. Assuming you haven't got any specific dietary needs, you need to pick a diet that you like the sound of and stick to it!

It can be easier to make small changes at first, rather than large ones, so maybe start by reducing your portion size and trying to make lower calorie choices about snacks. As others have said, you need to create a calorie deficit each week- if you achieve this, you will start to see weight loss!

Reading some good advice here. Ketogenic is just a stricter High Fat, Low Carb food plan & I hung out on the MN Boot Camp Jan-March to keep me going! Bless them. Didn't post, not well enough, but enjoyed being part of The Team to keep on track.

Another Low Carb Boot Camp has just started 🌟

Weight loss is usually 80-90% down to diet, rather than exercise.

Again, that sweeping generalisation is based on an able bodied person with an average balance of muscle tissue, body fat, etc. You need a decent proportion of lean muscle tissue to achieve a good resting metabolism. The biggest muscle groups are thighs and glutes; The same groups that tend to waste if you have a mobility issue. So those muscle groups need attention if you’re a wheelchair user to keep your body in balance. It’s not appropriate to blithely say “pick a diet and stick to it”.

Do you have an accessible gym?
The gym I work at has equipment that works itself, so a wheelchair user could still use our equipment. We also have accessible weights which I would help you with.

I've also sat on the floor before (before I worked here) and pushed the pedals on an exercise bike so the person was getting leg exercises although that's not as good as the machines we use now.

Bootcamp for a wheelchair user! I go to a combat bootcamp, and none of the exercises would be appropriate for a wheelchair user.

Mabey Google or see your GP and referral to physio for exercises. See if there are any wheelchair exercise groups in your area!

Aero - not the fitness type! Low carb bootcamp

My brother is tetraplegic so keeps his weight in check through eating a very miserly diet. It's the only way, unfortunately.

What level of mobility do you have? Are you still under physio or a consultant who may be able to help?

Op didn't say why she's in a wheelchair, but all the gym talk & upper body exercising is completely unachievable for some disabilities.

Until I changed my food plan, I felt quite despondent about not being able to exercise & 'up my activity'.

Reducing calorie intake was the only way I could balance this to reduce weight. Even if I was a stubborn donkey about changing my nutritional lifestyle

Are you able to transfer from the chair to equipment or a pool with help OP?

I wish I knew, if you find out, please tell me because after six years wheelchair bound (four of those using a powered wheelchair and two of those being bedbound) I am heavier than I have ever been. I have issues with tachycardia where just sitting up pushes my heart rate through the roof and I tire so quickly.

I have started a vegan diet and my clothing seems slightly looser so hopefully, I am on the right track! I used to go to weight watchers meetings and lost all my baby weight, however, that was when I could be weighed every week. I wouldn't be able to stand to be weighed now though.

I think they mean Low carb bootcamp. Not an actual physical bootcamp.
Op I would definitely try going on a low carb plan.
Also Michael Mosleys 8 week blood sugar diet is great for a short time period. It's all in the planning though. I know a few people who can't exercise at all for various reasons and they have all had good losses on this sort of plan. However definitely worth checking with your doctor first.

Caledonian

No advice but lots of empathy. I’ve got degenerative arthritis in my right knee making walking or any movement painful and difficult, so I struggle with my weight. I can only imagine how much greater the struggle if you’re a wheelchair user.

I'm a part time wheelchair user, can't walk very far at all. I 've lost eight pounds since February basically cutting out most sugar, crap and alcohol (I have the occasional glass of wine and slice of nice cake).

I am able to use an exercise bike in a fairly gentle way, so I think that helps. It's been slow going though. I'm fairly happy at the size I am now, (I'm about 8.8 and not very tall) but need to keep an eye on it creeping back on.

I agree it’s very hard! All my stomach muscles are just saggy and I don’t have much upper strength either. My rest motsblishing is only about 1200 calories so if I want lose weight it’s eating less than that which is hard. And of course soon as I eat anything over bang weight goes on.

I'm not a wheelchair user, but do have some motion-limiting problems, e.g. arthritis in the knees which is now spreading to other joints. The best fitness advice I received is "Focus on what you can do, not what you can't do."

So which bits of you can you move well? Which bits only move a little bit? The bum and thigh muscles are big muscles, so even if you can only move them a little bit, e.g. small squeezes, you're going to be doing something more than doing nothing.