[Ame]

So I joined this site a while ago hoping it would sustain my motivation to lose weight. I have been overweight my whole life, and school has kept me so busy (and broke) that eating right and exercise were not in the picture. When I stumbled on this site I got so motivated to find support and begin losing weight and then I had a serious ankle injury that has me in a walking cast.

After I got hurt I totally lost my motivation. I felt so sad and useless having other people help me get around until I got my cast.

Maybe someone can point me to the forum that's best for me? Or maybe some advice on how to recoup and get on track after an injury?

Thanks for the advice

[Sunshine73]

Welcome back! Sorry to hear about your ankle but remember that it's just a temporary set back. Maybe you could use this time to adjust your diet and find an eating plan that works well for you. Then, when the doctors say you're ready, you can slowly work your way into some physical activity?

[Lori Bell]

Excellent advice from Sunshine73. I think most "experts" give excercise around 20% of the weight loss equation. A healthy diet gets a whopping 80% of the attention. Truth be told you can lose a lot of weight without exercise if starting at a high weight. Of course you'll want to incorporate it eventually, but it's not the golden ticket to weight loss.

Being broke also has it's advantages. A candy bar cost around $1. A pound of apples on sale cost around $1. You can eat healthy for a low cost if you watch the sale ads and clip coupons for things like low fat milk and yogurt. You can do this. You just have to start. You can't keep a good woman down! Go for it.

[mandalinn82]

OK, I definitely know what you're going through. In this journey, I've had two rotator cuff strains, bursitis in my knee, a knee operation requiring 5 months of physical therapy and slow clearance back into activity and resulting in arthritis of the knee, and still ongoing, a shoulder muscular injury that has been part of my life for the last year and a half.

I never gained weight with any of the injuries. I made sure to be as active as possible within my limitations, to push myself to the limit of what I could do without hurting myself further or again according to my doc and PT's assessments, and most importantly, watch what I was eating to account for my lowered exercise levels. And while these were all setbacks, I actually hit my goal while recovering from the knee surgery and still under restricted activity.

With a LB injury, you can do upper body weights, boxing, and other exercises so that you don't get out of the exercise habit. My arms got SO STRONG after my surgery, because I had to get around on crutches and was focused on upper body strength training.

If you keep your diet on track and get in whatever activity you can, this minor setback doesn't have to be a major derailment.

Hope you heal up soon!

[Ame]

Thanks for the advice Sunshine and Lori! And Mandallin thanks for the tip about working out my upper body while I recover.

I think eating right is the hardest thing for me. I can find the motivation to exercise (as long as I have the time) but eating right is very hard on a budget. I tried the tip Lori mentioned about watching for ads for fruits and veggies but honestly I don't even have enough for that! What do you do when there's literally no money? My and my roommates kinda get extra food from our family sometimes and make it last. I know that sounds bad but school is costing me a fortune and it's my final year and I need to focus on my hectic schedule so I'm not working anymore.

As long as I can remember I always had to just eat what was around, and what was cheap was fatty and bad for me. That's still how it is I'm afraid :/
I always felt there was a correlation between eating healthy and income. It's not that I don't enjoy healthy foods, I just can't afford it! Anyone else ever been in this boat?

[fat chick 123]

well, i know its not the best idea, but a great way when your broke is to go on a fast. It doesnt take much energy and no money at all. expecially if you do a water fast. they help you loose wieght, and they help with healing (your leg)

but im no expert. im on one at the moment and its doing miracles.It cured my ear infection and my pink eye. ( i get sick alot )
and i have been loosing weight at a steady pace. Incoperating some chicken and veggies once every 24 hours is awsome.

Just a suggestion if your that tight on money dont give up

[stacygee]

Try sticking to an eating program and try some upper body weights and maybe some abdominal work. At least then you can still have the action of exercise. Muscle helps you burn fat. When my dad was in the hospital and I stayed with him I did not get to work out at all... however I did stay on my very strict eating program. Maybe you should make cuts in your calorie allotment and on program foods to account for the lack of exercise. Thats what I did. I spents 20 days unable to exercise and stayed on a strict dietic resriction and still lost a couple of pounds.

[shcirerf]

As far a cheap food, a big pot of veggie chili is cheap! And actually pretty healthy. 1 dozen eggs will give you 2 eggs a day for breakfast for 6 days. A big container of oatmeal from walmart, breakfast for weeks. Big bags of frozen veggies from places like walmart, are also cheap.

One thing I found at walmart, the fresh chicken breasts in the big packages, while they seem expensive, about $13, they are big enough you can cut them in half and they are about the right serving, so one package will make about 20 meals of chicken breast.

And my latest fave. Pizza soup, 1 little can of sliced mushrooms, 1 serving of Candian bacon, a generous sprinkle of oregano and top with tomato juice and a bit of mozzerella cheese. Yummy! Pizza without the fat.

You can bake or crockpot one whole chicken and have chicken burritos, chicken salad, chop it up and have chicken sandwiches.

Explore your local groceries, ask them when the best sales are, especially for fresh stuff going out of date soon.

I know you are busy, we all are. But just a bit of time dedicated to food will pay off in the long run.

[Ame]

Thanks for all the tips everyone! I will definitely try to allot more time to figuring out a meal plan that I can manage. That will probably be my plan while I am recovering then hopefully put it in place before too long :P

Thanks again!