For
those who don't know me too
well that I have a severe
physical disability, I was
born with my arms shortened to
elbow length, just three
fingers on each hand and my
femurs (thigh bones) shortened
to about 30cm both sides.
This is as a result of the
drug Thalidomide (see Google
for further info on what this
was!)
My left leg is about 4cm
longer than my right. My
lower back has slight
curvature. I don't have any
proper ball and socket joints
in my shoulders or hips. My
walking gait is severely
compromised. All of my life I
have been unable to walk very
far (about half a mile maximum
before I need to stop and
rest). Of course, none of
this helps with weight and my
being able to exercise.
In 2002 whilst I was on
holiday in France, I set off
on the wrong side of the road
(driving) and had a head on
collision with a car coming
towards me. Although we both
braked and took avoiding
action, we met in the centre
of the road. The force of the
crash was so bad, it fractured
my right ankle (through the
accellerator pedal) and my car
was written off. My daughter
(the aged 5) and my then
husband were both also injured
- my daughter my the force of
the seatbelt on her collar
bone and hip, and my ex
husband (because me put his
left arm out and braced
himself) injured his left
wrist and ankle. Thankfully
neither of their injuries were
severe.
I had to have immediate
surgery to plate and pin my
right tibia and fibula. Our
holiday was... urrrm, extended
(shall we say) and I was flown
back to the UK on a private
plane (thanks to the holiday
insurance company).
I couldn't walk as I couldn't
use crutches (because of my
shortened arms). I was forced
to use a wheelchair outside of
the house so that I wasn't
housebound. I had my (new)
car adapted with a wheelchair
hoist to accommodate my
powered wheelchair.
My right ankle never healed.
Although it wasn't (prior to
the accident) affected by my
disability, it failed to
regain it's full
movement/mobility and I was in
constant pain. Despite
physio, my ankle was swollen
all of the time. I'd be
forced to go upstairs to bed
at 6pm just to elevate my
ankle and try and reduce the
swelling.
About 8 months after the
accident and with no
improvement and after getting
a second opinion from a
ankle/foot specialist, I had
further surgery - an
arthrodesis. They remove all
the cartilage from all parts
of the joint and pin all the
bones of the ankle to
permanently fuse the joint in
(approx) 50 degree angle from
the leg. The aim was to get
rid of the pain and to prevent
any more arthritis setting
into the joint (my ankle bones
were all moving out of
position).
Sadly the ankle isn't that
much changed - I still have
pain, it's still swollen.... I
can't walk even one step
without severe pain. I use a
powered wheelchair when
outside of my house, but it's
kept in the car. I can manage
to walk around the house and I
can manage stairs with extreme
difficulty (I come down in the
morning and go up at night).
Doing ANYTHING for me requires
far greater effort and
exertion than it would for
most people. Because of my
short arms, getting washed,
dressed, showered... takes me
twice as long (at least) and
possibly takes twice as much
effort. I haven't really been
able to walk (other than
around the house or out to the
car) for over 10 years. My
weight increased. My (slight)
asthma worsened. I was
possibly even a bit depressed
I am guessing (most people
would have been I think!). I
gave up paid work, and
suddenly for the first time in
my life I had to arrange for
some help around the house
with housework, shopping,
laundry, etc – and yes, even
caring for my daughter (which
was really hard…)
So.... back to exercise and my
HRM… the treadmill….
walking…..
I’ve been swimming once a week
for about 8 months now. I go
and swim for an hour on my
back (can’t swim on my front
because of my short arms and
arthritic neck). I wear
swimming fins (shortened
flippers) which help me move
through the water but also
provide greater resistence so
my legs/ankles have to work
harder to power me through the
water. BUT I wanted something
to help me with cardio
vascular exercise.
A week ago, I borrowed my ex
husbands treadmill with a view
to being able to start
exercising regularly. Bear in
mind, I’ve not walked for 10
years (in the proper sense of
the word). I know because of
the weight loss that my
fitness has already improved.
I don’t feel as if I’m having
a heart attack when I over
exert myself now! My asthma
seems to have vanished.
I planned to start by walking
quarter of a mile. However,
on my first attempt, I walked
half a mile. I did this at a
slow pace (1.7 mph) and I had
to stop every five minutes.
But I did it.
I have been visiting a
personal trainer (one
assessment, one session last
Friday), because I recognize
that I need to make sure I
don’t overdo it. And I bought
my HRM because I wanted to
monitor any improvements in my
fitness levels and ensure that
I was giving my heart a really
good work out.
Today I’ve done 20 minutes
(with two stops, not letting
my HR return to less than
120 bpm). It took me 29
minutes (20 mins walking, 9
mins resting), my average
speed was 1.7mph. My average
heart rate during the session
was 140bpm, the highest it got
to was 159. My HRM tells me I
burned 390 calories.
I've compared this to what I would earn were I "normal" (hate that word, but you know what I mean!)
Regular 20 minute walking on
treadmill would have earned me
53 calories.
However, my HRM
tells me I earned 390 calories
during the 29 minutes – which
minus background calories
leaves me with 281 calories.
That’s over 200 calories more
than
So – purpose of this post is
to (1) encourage EVERYONE to
try and do some form of
exercise and (2) to encourage
people to use HRM’s to give
themselves a more accurate
idea of just how hard – or not
– they are working themselves.
I kind of thought I was
burning a lot more than an on-line exercise calorie calculator tool on the weightloss website site was giving me, but I
hadn’t realized that the
difference would be quite so
mammoth!!!
After my free Personal Trainer assessment a week ago, I started
to think that a treadmill could be really valuable in increasing my
stamina and ability for walking. You may remember that as my walking is
VERY limited, I usually use a powered wheelchair outside of the house
for any distance. So it's either walk a very short distance or use the
wheelchair. There's nothing in between for me to measure any
improvement in my walking ability.
I am losing weight (2
stone at present) and hopefully this will have improved my stamina and
walking abilities, but it's really hard to work out just how far I can
walk or what the effect will be on me. I can't just "go for a walk" as I
have no clue how far to go before I'll need to turn back. I'm also
pretty worried about tripping / stumbling / falling over. For that
reason I'd need to have someone with me - and let's face it - if I fall,
they're not going to be able to stop that from happening!
HOWEVER,
ex hubbie bought a treadmill just before we parted company 6 years
ago... It's a pretty decent one (cost £1k 5/6 years ago from John Lewis)
so I asked if I could bring it out of retirement and make use of it. As
far as I am aware he hasn't used it since he moved out.
He
delivered it at midday, and it's all set up in the garage now. It's a
Horizon Fitness Omega III HRC Entertainment (if anyone knows about these
things....)
Once he'd set it up, I had a little toddle on
it. It's far better for me than the one at the gym as there are some
grab handles on the front of the machine (where the main controls are)
and the speed adjustment is on the right hand rail. It also has an
incline adjustment on the left handrail.
I'm only going to
be able to use it for slow walking (initially) but I'll probably use a
slight incline setting as I improve. I'm thinking that I'll set myself
an initial goal of 500 metres (just over quarter of a mile) and decided
that if I need to have a stop and a breather / sit down whilst
completing the distance, then I will.
So wish me luck!
Whilst Andy is enjoying listening to the footie (Newcastle game), I'm
off into the garage with my ipod, some water and my trainers.
I may be gone some time :)
This morning I am dressed in...... t-shirt, leggings and
trainer socks - and will add the finishing touch - the training shoes,
at 11.45am, when I am off for a 30 minute free session with a Personal
Trainer at the sports injury clinic where I attend regularly for physio,
accupuncture and massage.
I had to go any buy the
trainers, as my footwear is pretty limited, thanks to an ankle/foot
injury I picked up ten years ago. My first trainers in 20 years!!!
His
challenge is to find me some sort of cardio-vascular workout that I can
manage. Got a sneaky feeling this may involve a treadmill!
The
problem for me is since my RTA (2002), my mobility has been (further)
severely compromised. I can walk, but only very short distances so I use
a powered wheelchair outside of the house. I can walk to the car and
about the house easily, but the problem is when it's much further. So if
I am going anywhere, unless I can park right outside the door and know
how much walking/standing is involved, I take the wheelchair.
I
have REAL difficulty with standing still, so queuing, etc. This causes
severe pain in my lower back and hips, as well as in the ankle which was
damaged in the car accident and was subsequently fused.
BUT
I know with the weight loss and the hours swimming I am doing once a
week that my mobility has improved - as has the pain. The problem is
measuring how much more improved my mobility / stamina is. I need
someway to measure how far I'm able to walk, but I can't do this by
simply "going for a walk" because if I run out of steam or start to have
a lot of pain - I still need to get back or sit down!
Okay,
okay.... I have to admit that some of it is confidence and the fact
that since the accident (which affected my already very weird way of
walking) I have been more prone to falls. When I fall, I usually hurt
myself really badly (because of my shortened arms, I throw my head back
to prevent my face from hitting the ground, thus giving myself
whiplash!)
Last Christmas I had three falls whilst we were
staying in a cottage in the Lake District. The first two were little
trips and I was relatively unscathed. But the final fall was whilst I
was coming (at some speed because of the rain) through the doorway of
the cottage. The stone step of the cottage was covered in green slime
from a leaking gutter/drainpipe. My feet just shot out from underneath
me and I landed with my full weight on my right arm. I thought it was
broken, and could hardly move or lift it for the next few days.
An
x-ray revealed it wasn't broken, but I was unable to drive safely, and
as Andy isn't a driver himself, we ended up stuck in theLake District
for a few extra days waiting for the arm to recover enough for me to do
the long drive home... and even then I was terrified I'd not make it
home safely (I was driving on my own).
Bit of a long tale,
but the long and short of it is that I have realised that any more
accidents or falls may leave me unable to continue to be as independent
as I am - I can dress and wash (with a struggle, and it takes me 1.5
hours flat out) which is my little keep fit regime every morning!
I
want to carry on being relatively self-sufficient. I want to be able
to continue to do those things I am able to do without help. I don't
want help from someone I don't know with my personal care, and I don't
want Andy to have to do any more for me than he already does.
But then that is what this weight loss journey is all about right? Preserving the health and the abilities I have!
Will up-date you on how the assessment went at some point over the weekend!
I've always loved my fruit and
vegetabled. But since joining Weight Loss Resources my intake of fruit and
vegetables has slowly
risen..... and risen..... and
RISEN!!!
Today, my weekly shop (for
two/three people) contained:
1 x pack of pak choi
2 x red onions
4 x brown onions
1 x button mushrooms
1 x chestnut mushrooms
1 x portobello mushrooms
1 x pack of stir-fry veg
(ready prepared)
2 x cauliflower (to satisfy my
new "cauliflower
rice" craving)
1 x pack of greens
1 x lettuce
1 x pack of vine tomatoes
2 x yellow pepper
1 x red pepper
5 x carrots
1 x aubergine
1 x GIANT butternut squash
2 x courgettes
2 x bags of potatoes
1 x cucumber
1 x pack of parsley
2 x avocados
1 x pack of shallots
1 x fennel bulb
4 x pink lady apples
3 x bananas
2 x lemons
1 x lime
1 x bag of brazil nuts
1 x bag of walnuts
Now you may look at this and
think - there's no way she's
gonna get through that in a
week.....???
That's what I always think
whilst I am putting the
shopping away - but I do, and
each week I order more!
In fast we are now storing veg
in a crate in the garage (with
a lid to stop
rats/mice/squirrels).
Can anyone beat this????
Had a nice and very healthy
dinner tonight of sea bass
fillet, sauce made with low
fat creme fraiche and lemon
slices, boiled potatoes, pan
fried samphire and fennel - in
total about 450 calories.
Then ate 100g of mango with
low fat creme fraiche and bran
flakes.
Then 60g of tortilla
crisps....
THEN 50g of sugar
puffs with milk..... closely
followed by 5 Jacobs cream
crackers with goats cheese,
half an apple and some
grapes.....
This additional
"snacking" all added
up to 1,000 calories!!! 
I was doing so, so well.....
but at least I stopped after
just a very small glass of
white wine!!!
I have
made a really amazing
discovery!
I read a post on the forums (on Weight Loss Resourced) a
couple of weeks back in answer
to someone asking about
alternatives to rice (with
curry, etc) and it suggested
cauliflower rice.
I looked up how to make this,
and it's basically whizzing
some raw cauliflower in a food
processor until fine (and it
really does resemble rice!)
and cooking it (without any
added water) in a microwave. I
placed my cauliflower in a
microwave steamer, and cooked
it on full power for 2.5
minutes.
It was served with a Quorn
bolognese, and was actually
surprisingly tasty and a
really good, low calorie, low
carb alternative. 46 calories
for 150 grams of cauliflower,
as opposed to 50g of white
rice (that I'd usually have)
is 177 calories..... so that
is MORE for a fifth of the
calories!
It even looks like rice! It absorbed the
flavours of the bolognese when
mixed in, and had all the same
properties that I crave from
rice (soaking up the juice,
filling, etc)
Cauliflower rice with Quorn bolognese and stir fried pak choi and peas.
Thalidomide.... or Flid.......
For those of us accepted by Thalidomide, the term "Flid" is an accepted word. It's non-offensive, easier to say, and most certainly easier to spell!
All now in our fifties. As we get older, this is
probably the one single thing that is likely to cause us
serious health problems, side effects and ultimately send us on our
way..... is being overweight..... obese..... morbidly obese.
I am really interested in the whole weight loss for flids debate, as I
am nine months into monitoring and changing what I eat.... and shock,
horror, it is possible to loose weight without exercise/walking.
The only exercise I have done is swim for an hour about 6 times in
the nine months.... I have managed to loose 22 pounds, in nine months
just by monitoring what I eat and the calories it contains, and limiting
myself to about 1,500 calories a day.
I have been educating myself about calories in foods. It is possible
to eat very well and loose weight. I thought I did eat well, and
didn't eat that much, but by logging everything I eat and working out
the calorie content, I have discovered that I was probably eating about
twice the number of calories I needed to in order to loose weight.
Sadly, certain things I have had to eliminate from my diet more or
less entirely. Pastry, red meat, pork, alcohol, sweets, chocolate,
sausages, mayonnaise, bread, butter or spread… these are all
things that contain far too many calories for me to use my 1,500
allowance to enjoy routinely, so they are now rare treats.
The other thing I discovered VERY quickly is that there is very
little flexibility in my calorie allowance to let me eat out…. I DO eat
out, but it is now an occasional treat rather than the usual things to
do, and when I do eat out, I am careful to choose wisely. I also have
to work harder for the remainder of the week to stick within my calorie
allowance if I’m still going to loose weight.
Takeaways wasn’t something I had regularly, and in the past nine
months I have had just one. Fish and Chips and is definite “no no” as a
small portion of fried fish and small portion of chips would be my
whole calorie allowance for the day (plus some).
The other discovery I have made is that I can’t expect to loose all
of my weight in a short space of time. This is going to take me a few
years. BUT, on the other hand, the longer I am calorie counting, the
easier it becomes. It has become ingrained into my very thinking. I
can manage to go to a coffee shop and have a coffee without cake. If I
want cake, I have a bite of Andy’s. I am eating MORE now, I have to
shop every week, and it’s costing me more, but I am cooking a lot more
from scratch. I am thinking about food more, as I have to plan what I
am eating ahead of eating it and working out how to stay within calories
each day.
The result of all of this (if I manage to do it) is that I loose a
pound a week. I like it because it’s that easy. 1,500 calories in each
day = one pound loss at the end of the week. A pound doesn’t seem to
be a lot, but for me that’s what is achievable, and I don’t feel as
though I am missing out too much.
Actually, I’ll re-phrase that. To start with, I really felt as
though I was missing out, but as time has gone on, that feeling has been
replaced with a determination to loose weight! This has been helped
with loosing inches, and finding how much easier it’s become to carry
out my own self-care. Going to the loo, getting dressed – are all
becoming much easier.
