Saturday, May 4, 2013

How to lose weight when almost confined to bed?

Question by Dawn B: How to lose weight when almost confined to bed?
My mom had heart & lung failure a few years back. She had to have a tracheotomy tube put in and sleeps on a vent machine at night to assist her lungs under her body's weight. She also has degenerative osteoarthritis. If she lost some weight she could lose the tube and probably would feel better, and would at least be able to use the lift bus service with her electric wheelchair. We don't have a lot of money for a weight loss program & our exercise options are limited. Any ideas?


Best answer:

Answer by Amy
Do some floor exercises, and lift small weights. You won't see a huge difference, but it will help with toning.



Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

7 comments:

  1. I have multiple sclerosis and fully understand your problems. However much the stricker persons wants to "stay in shape" there are barriers that cannot be overcome. Given the number of medical interactions she has, I'd suggest they prescribe or give a referral to a physical therapist that might be covered by insurance. Alternately many agencies that deal will illness can and do provide in home services of the sort you are seeking.

    You say that, ..."if she lost some weight she could lose the tube",.,This suggests that the medical personnel who oversee this should be able to make aggressive suggestions within her limits that would be of benefits.

    One of the things you need to learn to be is your own advocate. It's necessary to ask questions and, if you don't get action or service, keep pressing. Politely, but firmly. Help for her is there, you need to find it. The best of luck.

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  2. without knowing the current diet who could answer to be fair I would have thought so long as the Cal's are 500-1000 a day she ought to see some weight loss if they currently have more than that but if not and the intake is already in this ball park then the body will be used to this intake and expenditure to answer properly you need some hard facts

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  3. Without exercise, she's pretty much limited to dieting. She will have to reduce her caloric intake in order to make up for lack of exercise. She can either continue with her normal foods and gradually eat less and less, or she can try eating lower calorie foods. Dietitians recommend making 30% of your calories come from carbs if you want to lose weight. However, many people find that if they increase the portion of meat/eggs/other high protein foods, they can eat smaller meals. I guess it depends on the person and how they respond. You may want to do some research on diets to find one that will work for her. Also any type of exercise she can do would help not only to burn calories but to maintain her range of motion. If all she can do is ankle pumps that is still something. She can turn on the radio at various times of the day and pump her arms in and out and stretch legs up ad down or do ankle pumps to the music, trying to put each joint through its full range of motion. Light weights would be great too if she can do them. This will also help to maintain muscle strength so that when she is able to get around better, she will have less weakness.

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  4. Eat "Negative Calorie Foods".

    "Negative Calorie Foods" are those kinds of food that uses up more energy than the calories they provide so, the net effect is negative(less than zero) calories added to the body. So, you can eat more and still lose weight.

    Examples of these kinds of food are: asparagus, beet, broccoli, green cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, chili pepper, cucumber, dandelion, endive, garlic, green beans, zucchini, onion, radishes; and for fruits: apple, cranberries, grapefruit, lemon, mango, orange, pineapple, raspberries, strawberries, tangerine, papaya.

    These foods are also called fat-burners. They metabolize the calories from even the other foods you eat.

    More info from source: http://loseweightsite.net

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  5. First! You have to eat healthier, carrots and ranch are my favorite!
    Always Eat healthy! This Might Sound Very Crazy and I know most americans don't like normal excersing But....

    Fun Activites For Daily Excerise

    1. (Dance Dance Revolution) Is very Fun!!!
    2. Roller Skating in (Skate Houses)
    3. Dancing in clubs or you can get the (Flirty Girl Fitness) Dance video
    4. Walking (Very Common)


    Don't Worry! Just Get up and Have Fun!!!

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  6. Any exercise is better than none. Getting up and down more will help and using small weights or just any kind of moving will help. One thing that may help is a self treatment called EFT. You can look it up in any search engine. It is not hard to learn and could be beneficial.
    Another thing is to cut down on simple carbohydrates such as soda pop, cookies, cakes, bread and like that. If you are going to eat carbohydrates then eat more of the complex ones such as a baked potato, but without the sour cream and butter. Eat lots of fresh vegetables and fruit and drink lots of water.
    Hope this helps.

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