Can a paralyzed person lose weight?
Asked by donnamcclung on May 17, 2009
in Health Conditions
I am paralyzed (can't walk). I chose minimum activity level. Will that be enough for my loss of activity? How do I account for this lack of activity when thinking about calories in and calories out? I've been keeping below the suggested daily amount of calories to help with this situation. I also do sit ups in bed and arm exercises to help.
Answer
You can lose weight at any activity level as long as your calorie intake is less than your output. Weight loss is merely slower when you can’t move and so it calls for a great deal of patience. You are correct to set your physical activity level to “Sedentary” and to do as much as you can. Depending on your disability, you may be able to do seated exercises, which are very effective for raising your heart rate and for toning and stretching too. College Video is the best source for sitting exercise videos and DVDs. You might even be able to raise your activity level to “Light” over time.
So you can keep track of what you eat - which enables you to analyze your foods and receive the following:
- Health Score of your overall diet
- Warning when you approach your daily calorie limit
- Overview of the good and bad nutrients