I am a c-6 quad and I have gained about 40 pounds, mostly around the stomach area. I look 9 months pregnant. Have any other quads had this problem and what can I do as a quad to lose the weight around my mid section?

It sounds like you're developing what I have heard referred to as a "quad belly." I'm by no means an expert, but I think that extra weight around the gut is, unfortunately, normal for quads and paras. At least that's the way it seems from talking with others. I had a similar problem a couple years after my injury when my teenage metabolism shutdown. It seemed like my body stayed relatively the same size while my gut kept growing and growing. To make matters worse, I have also heard that a quad belly also results from unused stomach muscles settling down and that's why your gut appears larger while sitting than when laying down.

Within the last year I reduced my gut by going on a diet. I basically cut back and watched what I ate. Again, I'm by no means an expert, but from my own experience, I should warn you -- don't lose too much weight! Keep in mind that if you go on a diet to lose your quad belly you're going to lose weight in other places as well. In my case, I lost a lot of weight around my hips and developed a couple of pressure sores in the process. I think that you can reduce the size of your gut, but never truly get rid of it. Although I could be wrong and if anyone reading this message knows of a way to completely get rid of the oversized gut without losing weight in other areas, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Thanks for your reply. The first 5 years of my injury I really only gained maybe 10 pounds. Now the last year and a half I've gained forty. If I could lose 15 pounds I'd be happy.