Hello to everyone here! My name is Allison. I'm 21 years old & I have a 4 year old daughter. I am a C5-6 quadriplegic. I cannot move anything except for my head, neck & just a little of my arms. I live in northern Mississippi with my mother and daughter. I have been a quadriplegic since August of 2005. When I came home I was so very small and I felt that I just would stay that way but I soon learned that that was not the case. I gained a significant amount of weight when I return home. I would like to lose at least 50 pounds & I would like to do it as fast as I can even if some people says that it is not healthy. I am trying to lose the weight for my health & before I could develop diabetes (which runs in my family). I am also doing it because my mother hurts a lot & has very bad back problems. If I can't lose this weight than my mother might not be able to take care of me like she wants to & I want to be here with my family. Also I have 2 other reasons to lose this weight, one of them are it would definitely help my scoliosis & the second thing is for me to sit and fit in my chair the way idea when it was customized for me about 2 1/2 years ago. If I gain any more weight I will not be able to sit in my wheelchair. It is another 2 1/2 years before I will be able to get another one. Is there any type of over the counter medication that maybe several of you might recommend or maybe a prescription medication that I can talk to my doctor about? It would be nice to do it on my own but I was wondering how fast I could drop the 50 pounds? I am a white female, 5'10", 200 pounds & I carry all of my weight in my midsection (my belly). If you have any other questions or have any answers for me please e-mail me at quad.mom.2005@Hotmail.com

When you find a way to lose it, let me know......

Jim

Trying going back to basics and only eat fresh food. Nothing out of a tin or a packet... Eat as much fruit and salad as you can... Bread and anything with flour could be a cause so drop any food with this (gluten free)... Drink only water and fresh fruit juice...

Google "Food Intolerance" as this might be a contributing factor.

I cut my meals down...you're going to hate it for about week but you'll get over it as your body starts burning the feeding on the fat and you get into the routine. I lost about 30 pounds in about 3 months. The way I did it may not be the best way to do it but it worked. I usually just take a muti vitamin, C, D and drink an 8 ounce glass of water or glass of a all natural fruit juice like orange, apple, tomato or cranberry. Small snacks for lunch like a small bag of chips or bowl of sugar free cereal, a small side salad, 5-6 crackers or a piece of buttered toast, C, D and an 8 ounce glass of water or fruit juice. Then for dinner cut your meal to a quarter of what it was before. You can eat the main dish of what the rest of the family is eating for example just like two chicken legs or a half of a hamburger but nothing else except another 8 ounce glass of water or fruit juice and a multi vitamin along with C. Just keep doing this every day you'll start loosing the weight. If you get lightheaded drink a glass of orange juice. Be sure to drink nothing but water through out the day between meals. NO POP!

To maintain keep the same routine but add a light lunch much like dinner was while going through the loss. You can have a full meal maybe 4 days a week and that can be either lunch or dinner but not both.

This seems to be extreme but worked(s) for me. you should talk to a doctor before you start though.

I totally agree with this. A mostly raw, fresh, whole foods diet takes the weight right off while giving you pure nutrients that your body loves. Because of the level of your injury, your body probably has quite a hard time. Not eating the correct diet makes it work even harder. Salads(without a bunch of processed dressing) fresh fruits and veggies. A lot of people think it's a boring way to eat, but it's not, there are so many things to choose from. Another concern is not getting enough fat/calories with a raw diet. A small amount of nuts/Avocado/Coconut/Oil/Olives will suffice - but if you can't exercise, go very light on those foods, or you'll keep the weight on.

Raw whole foods means eating less and getting more nutrition
Eating cooked, processed foods means eating more and getting less nutrition(because cooking destroys them)

That's my 2 cents on the subject

You can find recipes/ideas/guidelines on raw food websites/forums - don't worry about the fanatics a.k.a. food Nazis - just concentrate on eating more fresh, high water fruits and veggies. Good luck on your journey.

You are going to half to cut your daily calories to under 1000, and keep the food low on the glycimic index. It won't be fun but will be effective.