Hey folks, Brian from West Chester, Ohio.
I have been reading tons lately about weight loss. I went from 175lbs with an athletic physique (pre injury) - to a whopping 230lbs and a physique that would flatter Jabba the hut (post injury) It took ten years of bad choices and my arms and shoulders cannot take the pounding of wheeling 20-30 minutes a day.

I have been stuggling with weight loss philosphies specifically with caloric need. I believe caloric intake should be recalculated when you introduce, quadraplegia or paraplegia. In otherwise healthy Humans, their largest musle group (the thigh muscles) are the biggest spender of caloric needs. For us this need has been wiped away. So when we calculate caloric need, this has to factored in. So the USRDA says 2000 cals for a healthy diet; but what about paras and quads?

Any time I've tried to talk with a professional about this they totally baulk at the answer.

Since we don't use our legs why do the need the 2000 calories? It's half my body so should my goal be 1000 calories? Maybe I should just try this and see

Thanks for listening!

From being 265lb at my heaviest, I dropped down to a muscular 185 a couple years pre-injury. So having gone through a weight-loss, I can confidently tell you that the recommended 2,000 calorie diet is pure nonsense.

Caloric intake depends on so many things so you just cannot name one number that will satisfy everyone's weight loss needs.

Back when I was 265, I was still consuming 3,000 calories (many of them through protein shakes) and lost the weight in about 6 months.

Of course things are much different now.

It is true that your quadriceps and hamstrings consume A LOT of energy but unless you ran 5K everyday (well..even if you ran one everyday), most of your caloric expenditures were by basic functioning of the body, i.e. breathing, digesting, staying awake....etc. This would be your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Because this rate is different, you would need to adjust but the drop in calorie by half sounds very drastic. Remember that you're trying to lose FAT..not weight. I can tell you by experience that a sudden drop like that will make you feel dizzy and extremely exhausted.


You should really consult a nutritionist to find out what your specific caloric needs are based on your size, age, and level of activity.

I am actually in the same boat as you. From working out 6 days a week with fellow US marines to sitting around all day got me heavy again. I am trying to eat 5~6 times a day...small meals... and pushing at least 3 miles a day on top of a 4 day a week weight lifting regiment.

I can't really measure my body fat percentage or weight but I have noticed that I am a size smaller in my pants.

Best of luck to you.

-James

James thank you!!

My argument is that for us "crips" size is a horrible way to determine caloric need. especially noting that atrofied leg muscle requires very little nutrient. If I were to cut off my legs ( hypathetically speaking ) I would loose about 40 lbs. I don't need them to survive. I don't understand how I would be dizzy if I chose 1000 calories per day when I don't use the energy.

Thank you for serving our Country brother!

Semper Fi

1000 calories will most likely be enough I just started a 1200 calorie eating 5-6 times a day about 150 - 250 calories at a time. I find that I am still hungry.
I am loosing about 1-3 pounds per week right now which is a healthy amount to loose it takes time.
It really depends on each person you height activity level all contribute to how many calories you take in.
If you really want to know the answer you need to count every calorie you take in and your activity level monitor your weight and see if you go up or down if you go up to many if you go way down not enough

Yes you're right calorific intake does need recalculating but the general guidelines about calorific intake are pretty much useless anyway. I'd be very surprised if the reduction in calories used is anything like as much as 50% purely based upon loss of lower body muscles and (probably more importantly) loss of weight bearing but added to a reduction in activity it may for certain active pre injury and inactive post injury individuals be that great.

That's not to say that a reduction in the general guidelines of 2000 cals to 1000 cals sounds like a good idea. The only way you're going to see what your needs are is to try it. I'd suggest that dropping to 1000 cals is way too drastic as a starting point. Weight loss nees to be a medium to long term goal so try with something closer to 1600 cals (or possibly more if you're active). If you're functioning ok (ie not continually hungry, tired and/or lethargic) then monitor your weight - if you're losing slowly then you've got it about right. However it really is a suck it and see scenario.

Be aware that a rapid drop in calorific intake will NOT cause you to lose body fat but will affect your ability to function properly and will result in muscle wastage.

Personally I don't bother with calorie counting, just eat properly and eat smaller portions and the weight falls. My weight yoyo's by about maybe 10lbs (5Kg) - when I can see a little bit of weight going on I just work a bit harder on avoiding the cookies and cakes and drink a little less beer for a couple of months. I'm 6'1" and about 180lbs so it's not a big problem for me as long as I keep a eye on it but the principle is the same for anyone.

I agree with Russ1 100%. Like I mentioned before, it's different for everyone. It depends on your metabolism rate post injury, your lean body mass (everything in your body except for the fat), and your current level of activity.

I just wanted to warn you that although you'll lose weight cutting calories by half, most of that weight will NOT be body fat; it could be your lean body mass.

Like wheeels mentions, a fat loss of 1-3 to pounds is ideal for not losing muscle. However, this figure is recommended for able-bodied people so I would really recommend .5~1 pounds of loss over a LONG span of time.

Good Morning, Here's my take on weight. First you have to look a genetics. Are your Mom and Dad big people? My parents believed in balanced meals. Morning maybe yogart fruit and a piece of toast. For a snack how about an apple or dried apricots. At lunch soup and a sandwich,grapes. For dinner a piece of meat or protien half the size of your hand,2 serving of salad and a vegie, and a carb. Just balanced meals. I have the other problem I'm trying to gain weigh...I'm coming up from 92lbs and hit 100 last week. Any ideas on what would help me gain weight? PM me.

Well, I just can't help "weighing in" on this one too...

I'm 5' 1" tall, T2 para and I've lost about 100 lbs. in the last 14 months. I don't have a clue as to how many calories per day I take in.

I am living on a food plan that is basically just a good, well balanced diet with a super easy way of portion control. No tricks or gimmicks. No high protien or low carbs. There are many foods that I can have unlimited amounts of and without weighing and measuring every single bite that I put in my mouth. I know what a cup of cereal looks like in the bowl give or take a flake. I know when we go out to eat to cut the meat or chicken in half and take the rest home for another meal. I know how many pieces of pizza I can have on pizza night. I think that my favorite all around food in the whole world is a potato and I eat lots of potatoes.

My best friend was just here from Texas. She is AB however struggles with knee pain so there's a lot of intensive exercise that she can't do either. She decided that since I could lose weight sitting in this chair that she'd start living on the same food plan and she's lost nearly 45 lbs. in the last 6 months. When I emailed her a couple of weeks ago with a milestone that I had just hit weight-wise she emailed back "ME TOO! ME TOO!"

Do we as "plegics" burn calories at a different rate as an AB? Of course but it's not an EXCUSE and there's no big secret formula to compensate. I'm beginning to think that some people just want to commiserate in our shared wieght struggle rather than getting excited about life and taking control of one aspect of our lives that we can control since we had no control over what put us all here in this community.

Tired of hurting... My cousin was a very tall thin basketball player who needed to gain weight so they had him drink milkshakes one or two everyday. It takes an extra 3500 calories over what an AB burns to gain 1 lb. An average milkshake has about 1200 calories in it. You can pack in a lot of extra calories each day with just one milkshake. I also heard some movie star talking the other day about gaining weight for a role and she said the same thing...milkshakes loaded with whatever you like. Dear God...why couldn't that have been my cross to bear?!? (Second to potatoes...ice cream!)

Eat breads, noodles, potatoes and such. Starches are full of Carbs.

Pre-accident, I was a wiry dude. My folks and all my relatives were pretty average weight-wise and tended to be tall. My older brother is 6' 5", my younger brother is about the same, and I'm about 6' 1".
My sisters are tall women. After my accident, I kind of 'scrawned out', but put on some needed weight when I got married. I'm about 180-185 lbs.

I thinks as SCIs, we burn up a lot of calories with just daily activities. Much more so than AB. Think about the effort it takes getting dressed, transfers, grooming, bathing, driving, doing the dishes, cooking, playing with your kids, you name it. It takes 3 times as long and about the same effort-wise.

I can sweep the kitchen & dining room floor from my chair and it takes me maybe 1/2 hour with all the chair maneuvering. My wife can do it in less than 10 minutes and use 10% of the energy.

So, I think it's not just about which muscle groups do or don't function, but how much the functional groups are working. If you're a para, for instance, your arms and upper body have taken over for your legs and lower body. They're doing 2-3 times the work and need the nutrients and calories to do that.

I'm afraid I don't agree with this. You should aim to gain muscle mass and not fat. Although fat is good for insulating your organs and protecting your buns from pressure sores, you'll benefit much more from muscle gain.

Carbs are good for energy-- if you burn it off. When I was a runner, I would binge on carbs before a race (or before Personal fitness tests for the military) the night before. Sitting on your buns eating a piece of bread and not moving will get you to gain weight..it's just that the weight would just be fat mass.

Try to gain some muscle. Have a cardio and weight training regiment and consume a lot of proteins whether it be lean meats, fish, eggs, or whey.

www.bodybuilding.com is a great resource to find tips on dieting when you're trying to bulk up. Of course, this site is for AB's, but the basic information is there.