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What to do about weight?
I used to be so thin before my head injury. Now I am 300lbs. I feel disgusting. I'm at a loss of what to do. I am mostly wheelchair bound and I live in an institution. The meals they serve seem healthy. I always skip snack unless my daughter is visiting. I'm sorry. Please tell me how I can loose some weight. I never thought I would have this problem. My genes are all super thin maternal and paternal.
PeasAreNasty
I'm sorry to hear about your serious injury, but I'm happy that you are still with us!
I really think you should talk to your doctor about your weight concerns. If they ignore you, talk to them again and again until they listen. They may have different priorities for you, but they can handle more than one thing at a time.
Also talk to your facility about your concerns. They may be able to offer you more diet-friendly meals.
Keep the healthy eating basics in mind while you eat, or choose your meals. Stay away from the white stuff (white sugar, white flour, white rice, white bread). Choose chicken and fish over beef. No processed foods as they are fattening and very high in sodium. Eat the least caloric things on your plate first -- salad, veggies, before you go for the more fattening entree. Remember that a meat serving should be about the size of a deck of cards. But you can pile on the steamed veggies.
Eat one or two fruits a day, but no more. And don't have fruit after 4pm in the afternoon. Fruit is fattening and you want as much time to burn it off as possible.
Your meals should consist of a lot of chicken breasts, fish (white or salmon), salads and veggies. Eat oatmeal for breakfast as it's an excellent source of fiber and it sticks to your ribs and keeps you full.
Snacks are okay to eat, providing you make a good choice. You don't want to eat cakes and cookies every day. A fruit snack in the afternoon is fine. Gram crackers with hot green tea in the evening is good for your diet and high fiber. They say a cup of green tea before every meal helps fill you up and actually encourages weight loss. Of course, you need to drink plenty of water, if you aren't retaining and if you can get to the rest room okay, but my husband lost weight without drinking a lot of water to flush his system.
Also, keep away from sodas. They are a waste of everything. Keep away from Splenda and other fake sugar. They actually make us fat! Get in the habit of drinking iced tea or water with lemon. It may sound blah now, but you don't see many healthy thin people drinking pop at every meal. It was hard for me to give up the Pepsi and now, when I treat myself to one, I notice major carb cravings afterward, even if I'm not hungry. I also feel a little cloudy in the head. Very interesting things I noticed after I stopped and then picked it up again.
I bought a bottle of agave nectar. It looks like honey and is almost too sweet to use. Diabetics use it as a sweetener because it doesn't mess with their glycemic index. I put it in my hot/cold tea and I also cook with it. It's not cheap like honey but it's worth the cost and your health.
Be sure to speak with your docs and the staff at your facility to help you change things. Maybe you need some labs done to see if anything may be going on with your thyroid.
You might also check with the physical therapist at your place to get advice on what type of exercises you might be able to do in your chair or even in bed. You may not be able to jog around the block, but I bet after a few weeks with hand and ankle weights, you would feel a lot more independent and good about yourself.
Best of luck to you. You will do fine - just take it one day at a time. ♥
I really think you should talk to your doctor about your weight concerns. If they ignore you, talk to them again and again until they listen. They may have different priorities for you, but they can handle more than one thing at a time.
Also talk to your facility about your concerns. They may be able to offer you more diet-friendly meals.
Keep the healthy eating basics in mind while you eat, or choose your meals. Stay away from the white stuff (white sugar, white flour, white rice, white bread). Choose chicken and fish over beef. No processed foods as they are fattening and very high in sodium. Eat the least caloric things on your plate first -- salad, veggies, before you go for the more fattening entree. Remember that a meat serving should be about the size of a deck of cards. But you can pile on the steamed veggies.
Eat one or two fruits a day, but no more. And don't have fruit after 4pm in the afternoon. Fruit is fattening and you want as much time to burn it off as possible.
Your meals should consist of a lot of chicken breasts, fish (white or salmon), salads and veggies. Eat oatmeal for breakfast as it's an excellent source of fiber and it sticks to your ribs and keeps you full.
Snacks are okay to eat, providing you make a good choice. You don't want to eat cakes and cookies every day. A fruit snack in the afternoon is fine. Gram crackers with hot green tea in the evening is good for your diet and high fiber. They say a cup of green tea before every meal helps fill you up and actually encourages weight loss. Of course, you need to drink plenty of water, if you aren't retaining and if you can get to the rest room okay, but my husband lost weight without drinking a lot of water to flush his system.
Also, keep away from sodas. They are a waste of everything. Keep away from Splenda and other fake sugar. They actually make us fat! Get in the habit of drinking iced tea or water with lemon. It may sound blah now, but you don't see many healthy thin people drinking pop at every meal. It was hard for me to give up the Pepsi and now, when I treat myself to one, I notice major carb cravings afterward, even if I'm not hungry. I also feel a little cloudy in the head. Very interesting things I noticed after I stopped and then picked it up again.
I bought a bottle of agave nectar. It looks like honey and is almost too sweet to use. Diabetics use it as a sweetener because it doesn't mess with their glycemic index. I put it in my hot/cold tea and I also cook with it. It's not cheap like honey but it's worth the cost and your health.
Be sure to speak with your docs and the staff at your facility to help you change things. Maybe you need some labs done to see if anything may be going on with your thyroid.
You might also check with the physical therapist at your place to get advice on what type of exercises you might be able to do in your chair or even in bed. You may not be able to jog around the block, but I bet after a few weeks with hand and ankle weights, you would feel a lot more independent and good about yourself.
Best of luck to you. You will do fine - just take it one day at a time. ♥
Talk to your doctor about this: there are some serious things you can do. Given your BMI ("Body Mass Index") you are a candidate for medical weight loss. The FDA has just approved a new combination of medications to help people lose weight. These medications have been around for decades and have not been shown to have the terrible side effects that the fenfluramine (of "Phen-fen" infamy) had. The two medications are available together as an expensive capsule They are also available less expensively as generics. I often also add a very low dose of an SSRI to help block obsessive eating behaviors. I have had patients on this combination lose 45 pounds so far in 5 months with no side effects. To really help it work, substitute a protein shake for two meals daily - the medication will help stop any hunger.
COMMUNITY LEADER
If you've had a head injury, there's a good chance that your pituitary gland may have been damaged. You should ask for testing to be done on both, your pituitary gland and your thyroid gland.
Maybe you're eating too large portions of the meals, or maybe the meals aren't as healthy as you think.
Maybe you're eating too large portions of the meals, or maybe the meals aren't as healthy as you think.
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Losing 45 pounds in 5 months on drugs is not something that most people can sustain, once off the drugs. Additionally, many people are not able to substitute 2 meals/day with a protein shake.. that's not something that's sustainable, long term.
The best way to lose weight is to learn to eat the right foods in appropriate amounts and get as much exercise as you can do in a wheelchair. Check out YouTube for videos of chair yoga and other exercises.