I am 5 ft and obese. I have MS, both types of arthritis, Connective Tissue Disease, lupus, fibromyalgia, pba, high blood pressure, migraines, osteoporosis, severe back , cervical dystonia and knee pain. The orthopedic doctor said I need a full knee replacement as I have no cartilage in my knee. I have other diagnosis' but too much to list.
I need to lose weight and would like opinions on what you think would work for me. I think my main issue is that I don't exercise. I don't eat breakfast, and I don't get hungry.
I eat usually one meal a day and a snack in the evening when I take meds. The doctors have me taking so many medications I am tired of that.
I can't walk very far due to my back pain. I have a fracture T12 vertebra, a lesion on L2, and L4 on top of L5.
My lower back has a very big curve and so does my neck in the back of it.
Any suggestions for my weight loss journey? I am 58 years old and medically disabled.
Written by
Bamagal14
2024 May
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You have a lot to deal with, in terms of your health. Regarding exercise, when it comes to weight loss, that's secondary to what we eat, but well worth finding something that you can do, for your general well-being.
Have you been given any dietary advice? Is there anything that you've found helpful before? It needs to be something you can stick with so that any loss is sustainable. You may find the daily diary useful, where members share their meal plans, and Springers Special, which has a theme for each month. You'll find them, and everything else about the forum, by following this link healthunlocked.com/weight-l... Take your time scrolling through the posts and join in when you're ready. Members will always be happy to chat about what works for them and what they struggle with.
My advice from my family Doctor's Nurse was "we can live on 500 calories day" and "instead of eating a big cinnamon roll, not that you do that but eat a chicken breast instead" . I asked for help and this is all I got from her. I did pool therapy for 10 weeks and it got too costly but I really enjoyed it.
I'm not a big fan of calorie counting - though plenty of other members are. It stopped making sense to me when I realised that calories from different sources are digested very differently by our bodies.
Gosh you are dealing with a lot. I found gp advice pretty useless for diet related issues, but you may be able to get a referral to one of the slimming clubs if you ask for it. I’m afraid I don’t know any details of how this works. I’m not sure anyone would recommend eating just 500 cals a day but again there will be eating plans online that might help you -I favour low carb but you can calorie count or follow a preplanned daily diet plan.
Exercise wise -food is definitely more important than exercise but if you look online you might find some chair -based exercises which are suitable, I know there’s definitely chair yoga available.
Lots of support on here so join in for encouragement and food ideas.
I'm not very active either, for various reasons. I agree with what's already been said though - food is more important than exercise in weight loss, but trying to be active will help your general wellbeing.
I hope to see you around on the forum and look forward to seeing what you try and what works for you!
All I can suggest is to start small. Maybe one of the online chair exercises? Check with your doctor first in case there’s anything you shouldn’t do. Then maybe look at *what you eat & how much. When you have a Med’s review, maybe ask if any of them might affect your weight or encourage water retention. Good luck!
Hello Bamagal14 Good to see you on. I notice you are OMAD. In our challenge at the moment we are looking at Gin Stephens' book 28 day clean fast. This looks at sending no signal to the body that food is on the way during the fast, no milk or cream in tea/coffee, sweet herbal tea...We are having some success and would welcome you. Link below
I would go to GP and say - look I am serious about this . I need help . How can I safely exercise as I don’t want to be doing anything harmful. When / what can I eat . Could you give me a referral to help . You deserve this and preventive measures should be taken seriously. See where this goes . Maybe a slimming club could help you trigger a routine and you may meet similar people who could support you as you would all be aiming for similar . Wouldn’t sign up for this until you have an idea of what they actually offer but these places are a start for networking with locals .
Very good advice. I will do this. I received a call from my Rheumatologist office last week for an acute appointment due to my Dexa Bone Scan FRAX score high on my hips and pelvis area. That's when I had an updated diagnosis of Osteoporosis. He wants to talk to me about treatment options and physical therapy.
hi bamamgal, all the advice on posts is great re weight loss. I would only add that if you need a knee replacement op then I would encourage you to do some strengthening exercises pre op such as your quads, a physio could advise of appropriate exercises. Most can be done on the bed or sitting. I had a total knee replacement 10 weeks ago and any pre strengthening would be beneficial for post op recovery.
Welcome back Benone01 thanks for your support. Things haven't changed much since you were last here. This is the link to our pinned posts where you can find everything that we have to offer.
Thanks tabbycat- it has been a while since I last visited the site, I will take a look around. I had gained a lot of weight and was wallowing in self pity! Always hard to join in the conversation when you feel on a downward spiral yet that’s when you need the encouragement the most. I hope everyone is keeping well on their journeys xo
I too have Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Sjogrens and Fibromyalgia. My weight and weight distribution has changed since 2015 due to the myriad of drugs I have been on to try and get me into remission. It started in 2010. The things I do to help me is Swim, Pilates and doing 3 or 4 exercices in the gym. My swimming can be 45 minutes front crawl, sidestroke and breaststroke. I feel invincible in the water and find I’m super mobile in water, I just started walking since my knee replacement in November is working out well.
My husband is a Type 2 Diabetic so we eat very clean and processed foods and lots of protein. He is militant about it and carbs are rare in this house. In spite of this I always had a hard time losing weight. Every time I change a drug for my RA, I gain weight. Prednisone is a killer for me. During Covid I joined zoom bariatric program and lost weight but was on a RA Drug that promoted weight loss, great benefits I was excited then my BP went crazy so I had to go off of it and go on Humira
My RA specialist told me that this is the best I have been from a pain perspective in 15 years with Humira 3x a month. I told him I gain weight from it and it’s the chicken or the egg. His suggestion was a a weight loss/ diabetic drug that was a pill, to try that so I am going to do that. With health and mobility conditions it’s tougher to lose the weight, hands down so try small steps, chair yoga lots of protein, etc. Meditations guided for weight loss and an app called “lose it “works well for me. Since you have a complex health condition, your journey is not a cookie cutter solution but many so try different ones, keep positive and know that you can achieve your goals eventually. Good luck with your knee replacement 😄
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High Fat Low Carb!
26, Overweight and worried :(
