Help me find a way to lose weight! Please! I have many medical problems!?

Question

I was in a bad auto accident 19 months ago and have been placed on 100% disability with Social Security. I had major back surgery and have had complications from that surgery. I have to use a walker to get around. And with that, I can only take a few steps without screaming in pain! The doctors have done many procedures trying to ease and control the pain, with no luck. I will have pain pump implant surgery the second week of January, but this will only help the pain tolerance about 40%. I will still have the severe nerve damage for the rest of my life. My problem is this. The doctors keep me on bed rest most of the time. How can I lose weight? I have gained so much weight in the last 19 months. I am not allowed to bend, raise my arms or walk very much at all. I know that I have packed on the pounds, because I can't move that much. So, everything I eat goes straight to my hips, stomach and legs. I am miserable!!! How in the world can I lose any weight?

I did not ask this question to be criticized for my weight problem! I have had the same doctors for over 5 years and I would never change doctors. As for the pain, I have severe RSD and there is no cure for this. You may look this up if you have a problem with the diagnosis given by 10 doctors. You have no idea what pain I am in and it is wrong for you to suggest that the pain is made up in any way. I have been to over 10 speacialists with this problem and they all agree with each other. This is a very severe problem and I will always have the pain, as long as I live. I do NOT feel sorry for myself and I do NOT overeat in any way. I watch every single calorie that goes in my mouth, but since I am unable to move around, every single thing I put in my mouth goes to my stomach, etc. So, if you have no advice as to a way to help me, please do not respond to my question. I am tired of being put down for something that is out of my control. I did not ask for this to happen to me.

Answer 1

Wow, that is tough. I am sorry to hear you have had to go through so much pain. That being said, there is not too much you can do exercise wise at the moment, especially if you cannot even walk on your own. To try to implement an exercise program could cause you even more damage than what you are already experiencing.
My suggestion is to eat as naturally as you can. All colors of fruit and vegetables (the more colors you eat, the higher nutrients you will receive). Definitely incorporate lean meats such as chicken, pork tenderloin, seafood, and top round/choice cuts of beef. And be sure that all of your grain choices are made from 100% whole grain flours and NOT refined or unbleached enriched flours (make sure the word "whole" appears first in the ingredients list). Better yet, make your own breads at home so you can be sure everything you put into it is natural (Arrowhead and Bob's Red Mill make excellent whole grain flours in many varieties). You know an ingredient is not too good for you if you cannot pronounce the word.
Also, it is important that you do not starve yourself. Try to eat small meals every 2-4 hours. You may think starving yourself is the way to lose weight, but doing so will only slow your metabolism (hence, no weight loss). Also, if you have not already done so, you have to stop drinking regular soda. This is the biggest culprit in weight gain. Switch to water (at least 64oz per day is recommended) or supplement with low calorie fruit juice or diet soda.
The AMA recommends cutting at most 500 calories per day in order to lose a pound a week. Generally, half of that number is burned off in exercise, but this is a rather extreme case. Again, you should definitely give your body time to heal before you begin exercising and when you do, begin SLOWLY. Your body needs time to heal properly. You basically have to learn to walk all over again. That should be your ultimate goal, not weight loss.

Answer 2

I understand where you are coming from. I have had M.E for 10 years and I can't get rid of the weight and I just keep getting larger.

I have problems with walking and I can be in my bed for months at a time. Also, the whole don't eat before bed...as soon as I eat, I sleep and there is nothing I can do about that.

About 6 years ago now, I had a doctor who insisted that I go on a special diet (because I have bad sugar cravings in an attempt to boost a flailing energy) and that I get a personal trainer at the gym. This was not for my weight problem, but they thought it could cure my M.E. It didn't and I got worse and I developed new symptoms and the ones that were always there got worse. And I will never lead a normal life.

Those of us in a situation of health issues have to learn to adapt. First off, you need to try to keep your muscles working so that when the day comes that you can do a few steps without pain, then you still have the muscle to be able to support you. This may mean eating a lot of protein and may cause weight gain, but from personal experience- I'd rather walk in pain than sit in a wheelchair- I need a little independence.

It's a catch 22 situation- you try to lose weight and your muscles suffer or you don't try to lose weight and they suffer from the extra weight they have to carry.

In February, you should go to your doctor, explain that you will be able to exercise enough to stabilize your weight and that the excess weight you are carrying (from being bed-ridden) is not helping you.

I wish there were a magic pill, but there is only the one that makes you deficate out the fat from your body (and it can also appear in the urine) in the form of a greasy film that is rather unpleasant. Or, there is reductil which works by limiting your hunger. So you don't really ever feel very hungry and when you do eat, it is enough to satisfy you. I don't know of any other things out there that really help.

Listen, try your best, but don't put your health at risk. If no-one else here understands what you are going through (ie. three months in bed is not the same as 19 months), I do. I may not know exactly what you are feeling, but I know what it is like to have a physical disability that inhibits you from losing weight or not putting more on. I may not have had to do it 19 months straight, but after 10 years of it, I know the consequences of weight gain and how you feel about not being able to do much about shifting it.

The very fact that you are talking about losing weight is because you are strong. You have learned to adapt to your disability well, and so well that you wish to take on more (losing weight). I commend you for trying, or even wanting to try when the picture can look so bleak. And come the start of next year, you will try your hardest and probably succeed. Once you are back on your feet again, you will need the fat storage to help rebuild your muscles. Just work at it slowly, and accept that it may take years, but believe in yourself, don't let others who have no clue put you down or try to tell you to "eat less", and importantly, don't be afraid to ask for help, whether it be pills, or emotional support, or someone to get healthy with you.

Losing weight is a side issue, getting as healthy as you can to lead a little bit better of a life is really what you need.

I do wish you all the luck in the world (but you're too determined to need luck) and hope that all goes better than expected in your operation.

Answer 3

Okay here's the quick and easy answer...When you intake more calories than what your body requires, your body stores it. Plain and simple that's the way it is. And of course the doctors say eat less and excercise more....yea right! The minute you go from eating to not eating as much. Your body hunkers down for a fight.
It's gotten used to you eating this way, and it's not gonna let you change it without a fight! But change it, you must. Calorie restriction is very hard to do. And excercising on the regular is just as hard for most people. But one thing that did work for me was yoga and or breathing excercises. Now I'm not talking about bending your body in ways it was never meant to go!
But very simple positions done with holding in your gut/stomach and 10 count breathing. When I first tried it, I was thinking how in the hell is this gonna burn calories! But before I knew it people were telling me how good I was looking and wanting to know what I was doing. And the tape measure was the most compelling of all. I was losing inches! If you can sit on the floor and strech out to reach your toes, there's a position right there for starters.
Take a deep inhale, then blow all the air out of your lungs, and then hold in your stomach for ten counts and hold the position. Then exhale comfortably.
Thats all there is to it. I incorportated my own positions for the legs, arms and of course tummy and glutius maximus. And the best part is your only suppose to do it for 15 minutes a day!

Answer 4

I've tried many diets and couldn't make anything work. Since having my first child, I've been carrying around an extra 30 pounds. This diet just made sense and showed me that everything I was doing before was wrong and a waste of my time.

The plan was so refreshing and so simple to follow. I did everything plan said and lost 23 pounds in the first three weeks. I'm now starting the diet again to lose 7 more pounds. This plan has changed my life.

Get started today!

Answer 5

You have to COUNT CALORIES! If you write down the calorie content material of each unmarried chew you stick to your mouth for every week, I will guess you're consuming 3500 energy an afternoon or extra- healthful or no longer. Losing weight occurs handiest whilst the energy your frame burns to stick alive is greater than you devour in an afternoon. To keep your weight (if you're a girl and round 30), could take 2300 energy an afternoon. A eating regimen could incorporate round 1350 energy! Start studying labels, weighing and measuring EVERYTHING you devour (men and women move far more than after they estimate!). Be sincere- you're no longer serving to your self by way of mendacity to your self. When you're so hungry you think like bingeing, devour anything low calorie til you think slightly convinced. Carrots & celery, apples, fats-loose broths or sugar loose jello, cucumbers or pickles, inexperienced beans, those are a few very low cal meals you'll devour till you're complete. But COUNT them as your calorie consumption! I was once identified kind two diabetic in 2004, and I misplaced eighty lbs by way of following this nutrition, setting out to a hundred sixty five (I was once forty three on the time). It is thoroughly viable for those who desire to avoid wasting your existence! edit- learn the complete reply. I realize, on the grounds that I've been there...chubby such a lot of my grownup existence. And once more- do not ESTIMATE your quantities- a serving of pasta is one million/two cup, no longer two cups. Measure the whole thing, on the grounds that I warranty you're consuming plenty greater than you suppose. Calories under no circumstances lie!

Answer 6

Wake up.
In the past I have tried to help many over weight people,
and I have come to the conclusion I can talk until I am blue in the face.
Unless.
The person can hear what I say.
The problem I see, there seems to be no one who is honest with you.
They are all enablers, especially the doctors.
You are their lab rat and meal ticket.
They pat you on the head and send you back to bed.
Cutting you and facilitating your pain in the process which is no cure.
You have to learn how to eat.
No ifs or but about it.
The liver stores all un-used, un-burned calories as fat tissue.
Fact.
You eat more calories than you burn, and you get fat.
Very simple.
It is the body's way of saving up for any possible future starvation, famine, ice age, etc.
The reason you feel pain, your body is out of balance.
Pain is a sign the body is not getting what it needs.
Like: The proper nutrients in balance and exercise.
OK, because this has gone on long enough you can not exercise, but you can study and use the muscle between your ears.
One thing you have plenty of and that is time.
Use the Internet to research any or all the things about your body you do not know, understand and need answers for.
Google your a*ss off.

Answer 7

I think Realm is right (the first answerer). I was in an accident also a few years ago, although I did not suffer near as bad as you. However I had to stop exercising for about 3 months and I gained weight. Since I had stopped for so long it took a while to really get back into it, so I honestly did not exercise for a year. All this time my doctor was telling me to get some exercise except for the first 3 months!! It is not normal for your doctors to watch you get to an unhealthy weight and not talk to you about diet (cas has great suggestions above) and exercise. Maybe its time to find different doctors.

Answer 8

Do 45 minutes cardio workouts a few times a week

Answer 9

get casual for 4 days a study shows that people take 491 more steps and burn 25 more calories on days they wear jeans to work

Answer 10

play chopsticks on the piano incessantly for 41 minutes