Weight loss in the face of medical conditions?

[bhollytba]

I am trying to lose weight, but I have a neurological disorder that prevents me from doing most kinds of exercise except for walking, so my diet is largely calorie-restriction based (which is terrible because I LOVE food).

Sometimes it's hard to keep going when you never feel good and you have a problem most people don't have. It can get difficult to stay motivated.

I know I'm not the only girl out there in the same boat! So many people suffer from worse problems than mine and still achieve success! What do you do? How do you stay motivated? How do you accommodate? Do you have secrets for gentle exercise?

Let me know if there are any success stories!

[tara]

Good for you for getting out there and walking. That's my top exercise, too. I don't like gyms and I don't like public pools, so since I'm not in tip top shape, I depend on just walking.

For motivation, I either walk with a friend, or tell an elderly neighbor that I will walk her dog. Just the social (I include dogs in my definition of "social" haha) element makes me feel like I can get out there and walk every day. It's so much more fun than going on my own. I have a struggle getting motivated to do that.

I also download audio books and listen to them on my MP3 player. I find that music is only good for a few days and then it feels repetitive. When I listen to a book as I look around me when I walk around the neighborhood, I stay entertained like I would if I was watching TV.

Good luck and keep it up! :D

[ffviifan]

I love food, too and that is what has held me back the most in weight loss. The important thing is to not deny yourself to the point that you are left really hungry. Keep making your favorite recipes, but make them really small and just put a tiny amount on your plate. That way, you still get a taste of it, but you're filling up on veggies that are way low in calories.

I tend to save my favorite part of the meal for the last bites so that this is the taste left in my mouth and I feel more like I've eaten something really satisfying.

[1000kw]

I don't fface the struggles that you do, but I have social anxiety that can make it really hard for me to leave my house, sometimes. It makes it hard for me to keep up with cardio because my favorite cardio is to walk. I like swimming, too, but since I don't have my own pool, that's out of the question. I find that getting a buddy to exercise with makes all the difference in the world.

I also use a calorie counter online and it is HUGE motivation for me because I feel like I'm always aiming for calorie, sodium, fat, protein, and carb goals taht are healthy, and when I can come up with a great food strategy for the day to meet those goals, there is a true sense of accomplishment that comes with it. I never would have thought that tracking would make such a huge difference, but it really does.

[treehuggertodd]

I let technology motivate me and its' really working. I have a pedometer that I can connect (wirelessly) to my computer and it lets me see how many steps I took, how many calories I burned and how much of that was exercise as opposed to wandering around the house. The stats drive me to keep getting out and walking and being active. There's something about tracking that really pushes you.

[tobetinytina]

I think that being a foodie has HELPED me to diet! I love food and trying new things so I've made it a mission to go healthy and lower cal but still make awesome meals.

[Beth]

I hope you're doing better, bhollytba!

[bruceH]

How are you managing, bhollytba?

[tammybear]

For me, it was easier to get started with exercise than eating. I hate being hungry so I tried to make smarter choices like I didn’t drink pop anymore. I drank water with lemon or lime. But the big thing was exercise. I was really not in good shape, so it started with a walk around the block. Over time, that got easier, so I did it twice. Then I walked around a bigger block. I got a pedometer and I actually cried on the day when I got home and I’d walked a whole mile without feeling like I was going to melt. If you start with what you can do and keep at it, it gets easier, I promise.