I know this is going to be an individual question but on average, how many calories do you have? I was until last year able to walk and now use a chair but havnt adjusted my calorie intake. It obvious my body is working less so needs, in an ideal world less calories. I know everones different but is there any guidelines to what daily amount chair users should be aiming for? I have never really dieted basically because i cant stick to them but i am aware weight will creep up on me if i dont adjust my intake. Does anyone watch what they eat? I dont mean diet just everyday food.

Cheers Lee

First you need determine your BMR. Here is a link to a calculator: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

1. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
2. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
3. If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
4. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
5. If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

Since you are in a chair, you are more than likely going to be using factor #1 or #2. This will give you a good estimate of how many calories you need to maintain your weight. If you are trying to lose weight, take this amount and subtract 500 calories from it.

Hope this helps.


Jason

This is an interesting and informatic article for persons having spinal cord injuries:
As a spinal cord injury individual i would like to learn how far actively resisted exercises can benefit me.I am a paraplegic and i am ambulatory on braces(AFO).Also i would like to learn does my ambulation help my bone and muscle mass,i have a very good body weight control for the past six years... My wt is 68 kg,and my biochemistry tests are all normal..

Hello gurdeep,

Clearly I am not the Pressingtontx people..but I would like to give my perspective ( nursing, personal) on the questions you ask. I hope that is ok, and please ignore if it is not

Do see the current thread on what exercises a quad can do...it can also be applied to yourself ( and other paras, walking or otherwise).

Standing does help to ward off osteoporosis and strengthens bone. As for muscle mass and bulk, the more a muscle is used, the stronger it is, and bulk is achieved by use and exercise.

To expand further, the actual act of standing and ambulating is positive not only to your self esteem. It has a positive impact on your muscles - stretching far greater than you can from a chair. Standing, even without walking preserves Bone density and helps to stave off Osteoporosis. Those of us with a Neurological deficit experience loss of bone structure almost immediately ( 10 days peaking at 1 -3 months). This is due to hypercalciuria ( calcium metabolism) which is 2-4 times that of non SCI/D people.

The parathyroid hormone levels are also instrumental - being low til a year or so post SCI, due to the hypercalcuria. Then the levels of parathyroid actually goes the opposite way and winds up in most cases going off the scale. This sees an increase in bone reabsorption or osteoporosis related to parathyroid dysfunction.

As the upper body strength is gained and utilised after injury, they become stronger with an increased mineral concentration. For eg the upper body has denser bone. In contrast, the lower body ( below injury) is weakened further, being stripped of calcium and minerals for use in the upper body. In the lower body ( or upper), when weight is not placed on the bones bones they begin to weaken. This is sometimes referred to as disuse osteoporosis and is as a result of the spinal cord injury.

It is difficult to totally prevent bone de-mineralisation after SCI ( or advancement of SCD). STtanding and ambulation where possible, as well as supplementing LOW levels of paratyroid hormone (do be sure to get a test to check if you are worried) with Calcium and Vit D. A good well balanced diet in those with good levels should maintain them. Bone Mineral Density Scans (BMDS) utilising Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) scans can be obtained to visually see how much mineral loss has taken place. The usual pattern isd that hip and knees become affected by Osteoporosis first and severity is dependent upon how long the person has been injured.

The current stance is that we can not reverse Osteoporosis, but we can slow and prevent it from occurring by observing the above and:

Standing (in frame or independent) and ambulatory exercise where possible.

DO protect bones, by not placing too much stress on bones and joints as this can adversely affect bone density as sites of fractures place bones at more risk.

SPASMs can be a positive pressure/stress on your bones, but very strong spasms can lead to fractures in bones already weakened by osteoporosis, so should be managed with this in mind.

Using Fosamax® or one of the other bisphosphonates, can help prevent bone loss and increase bone density by 1 to 4%
This research was actually on Post menopausal women who showed similar patterns of bone density loss as SCI people. Alendronate® has been shown to have greater improvement in trials of male SCI (when compared with post menopausal women).


Lifestyle issues - smoking, drinking alcohol and caffiene can lead to increased calcium loss/impaired absorbtion.
(caffeine =diuretic, so more calcium lost, quicker.. alcohol has a general predisposition to speeding calcium loss..
smoking= poor absorbtion of calcium in SCI and non asci alike.)


I hope this helps, at least til the exercise experts get back to ya!

take care,

K

850 kcal still gaining weight

It also depends on where the calories come from. Pasta, bread, corn, soda and corn sugar will make me gain weight. We are told that we should eat vegetable oils instead of animal fats but we are hunter gatherers and it hasn't been until very recently that those oils have been available our systems aren't very good at burning them so they store it and burn what is easier. Since I stopped eating corn, pasta and vegetable oil my weight has stabilized I use butter instead of margarine I eat vegetables and a small portion of meat and fresh fruit. Eat the foods that are nutrient rich and pass on the carb loaded stuff avoid anything with corn, corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup in it. If you don't know what the ingredients are and can't pronounce them don't eat it. I think...................