I have ecstatic news. Last week I decided to weigh myself after seeing my doctor about 3 weeks ago. I weighed 166 pounds 3 weeks ago, now I weigh 147 pounds!

When I was ambulatory I weighed anywhere from 125-150 pounds, so I am really pleased.

A few months ago I remembered that I was looking up blogs for losing weight for wheelchair users. I found pretty good information about weight loss for wheelchair users. The part where the author explains how ‘a sugar-free Red-Bulll’ before any meal speeds up the persons metabolism… I do not drink energy drinks- no sugar-free sweeteners for me.

Nevertheless, my weakness is simple: Chocolate, Dr. Pepper, and Ice Cream. Love Ben and Jerry’s, love sandwiches, and basically love food. It is so frustrating to learn that in order to lose weight you need to cut calories. Any common since person would understand the concept that walking persons need more calories than a full-time wheelchair user.

Friedreich’s ataxia is different than someone who is a quadriplegic. I still stand, try and do 3 sets of squats a day (12 reps), transfer in/out of my chair at least 30 times a day, and use an arm-bike for 20 minutes a day. My measurements suggest I should be eating between 1700-2000 calories a day.

Katrina Gossett lost 50 pounds in a year by only eating 1100 calories a day. She would eat only half, sometimes only a third of restaurant portions during that time. Personally, life is too short to skip portions when eating out. Kudos to her motivation.

I have been eating a lot less than I use to: I have cut out soda (which is hard to do) and I have been moving more! Physical Therapy and going to the gym has made me feel happier. Losing 15 pounds makes me more motivated. I needed this just to wake me up from a cold/dark unmotivated state.

 

Until next time 🙂