I broke my leg back in March (really nasty fracture, still not healed) but have been riding a recumbent stationary bike for Physical therapy since then. Last week, I decided to finally attempt to lose weight. 3 days into it my bike broke! The inside wheel is crooked, so the pedals don't turn right. I think it's defective. My question is: Does anyone have any ideas for indoor at-home exercises that don't involve jumping, walking, or dancing? I can't take walks cause my leg is still broken. But I really am missing my bike! I have significantly cut my calories, so I should still be able to lose weight. I just know that if I stop exercising, it will be harder to get going with it again.
Hello Lucylost- Sorry to hear about you breaking your leg. You know there are many ways to exercise. You can do many exercises just sitting in a chair. If you are able to get down on the floor you can do a few more. There are exercise tapes ,that by the way I am looking for, as I can.t do exercises that requires jumping etc. I do walk 3-3.5 miles a day which I know you can't do yet.
I hope you are better soon . Don't give up on the diet. What plan are you using. I go to Weight Watchers. I have lost 57lbs and am working on an additional 10-15 more for my own personal goal.
Good luck to you and your getting healthy and stronger soon.
Joanne
Ohh, sorry about the leg. Of course there are lots of exercies...modifed of course that you can do...sitting in a chair!!
The Long Term Care Unit I work at...has the residents sitting in chairs...standing if they can...and exerices arms, legs etc, any excercise is better than none!! row with your feet sitting in a chair...or as JoanneD stated, lying on your back on the floor. We all forget, that we usually walk, but upper body exercise is just as important, and think of the tone!!
Good Luck
Lynn Marie
Hello and Good Morning-- As I said , I am looking for a vidio tape for floor exercise .. If you have some good ideas ,please pass them on. Most of the tapes don't give a real good idea what is inside . It could be money wasted for me.
I found out today that I have to eat more points when I walk a lot. I am really confused with this. ???? I gained 1/2 lb this week.
Hello Lynock and Lucylost. Hope you are having a good day.
Bye, Joanne
Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately, I don't know of a video tape yet. I'll tell you if I find one. I am not on any particular plan. I am using fitday.com to track my intake of calories and I am trying to keep it 1500 or below as well as cutting my fat intake and cutting out straight sugar (i.e. candy bars and soda!). I'll be checking in with my doctor soon to get the exact amounts I need. My goal is to exericise 30 mins daily. So far I have averaged about 20 mins 3 - 4 days a week until my bike broke. I need to lose about 150 lbs!
Hello Lucylost-- Hang in there you will lose that weight. My sister has about the same amount as you. She goes to Tops. I go to Weight Watchers. I like their program a lot. I have already lost 57 and am now working on 10-15 more. Take it a little at a time. 2 lbs a week is good. Maybe you can increase your exercise program a few min. at a time. That is what I did. untill I can walk an hour with ease. Do you have a pool? Water exercise is really easy on you. Keep up the good work. Bye...Joanne
So sorry to hear about you broken leg (and broken bike!!!). I think you would do very well on Body Flex - maybe someone has the tapes you can borrow. It is a deep breathing program with gentle stretches - NO impact. The positions can be modified to suit your limitations - sitting, standing or lying down. Greer Childers is on HSN today but I don't know when. I really like Body Flex and do it daily - takes 15 minutes after learning the program. Works for me BIG TIME!!!
I understand how frustrating not having a 'leg to stand' can be- I have had 4 major knee surgeries in the past 2 years (7 total in my lifetime) and am left with walking with a cane and severe chronic pain in my left knee. I would assume that you are under the care of a physical therapist at least part of the time with the type of injury and slow recovery you are describing- they can be very helpful in figuring out other types of exercise you can do for over all health- I depend on my physical therapist a great deal to help me out. I currently use a cross country skier as my main form of aerobic exercise and pilates for toning & strengthening. I am limited on my recumbant exercise bike to 30-45 minutes per week total- basically for warm-ups only as most of my damage is to my kneecap so the going round and round with the peddles is very stressful on my kneecap. Is there any possibility of getting to a pool? Most areas of the US also have pool classes sponsered by the Arthritis Foundation that would be great for you to try- they are taught by instructors who are use to working with persons with limited abilities. I also use an upper body cycle- I converted a recumbant bike I got from WalMart so that I only have the peddle part- it sits on a table so I can bike with my arms- you would be amazed at how much of a work out that can give you. In addition to the upper body cycle I do use hand weights with my arms- you can do a lot while sitting on a weight bench.
The other thing I would be concerned about is that you are cutting your calories so low. Less then 1500 is leaning towards starvation. You do not state what you current weight is but you did tell us you would like to lose 150 pounds so I would guess that you are over 250, right? If it takes getting below 1500 now how much more can you cut it down when your body resets its metabolism? I started out at 280ish and now am down to 235- most of my weight lost during my rehab from all these surgeries while on crutches so it can be done. I also have contracted a strange stomach disease that affects how my stomach empties (food stays in too long so I end up not being able to eat very much at a time which leads to constant nausea and even vomiting- I have to eliminate high fiber/high fat foods along with taking medicaitons). I have been struggling to eat at least 1500 calories per day- my dietician was happy I was making to that point but she want 1500 to be the minimum I take in- she would actually like to see me closer to 2000 calories, even to 2300 when I can. Her calorie recomendation were based on my weight completely- nothing to do with my stomach condition at all. She knows I still want to lose weight and she actually said that the only way I will be able to do it to actually start eating more again to help reset my metabolism- it got really screwed up when my stomach disease got out of control in June and I had to force myself to eat at least 800 calories per day before I was put on the right medications.
The other thing you have to be careful of when dieting while rehabing is that you keep your protein intake up. My pain management doctor is big into the fact that rehabing takes as much as any athletic activity. We need the protien to rebuild our bodies- the muscle and the bone. It is also important that you get enough calcium in your diet too with the broken bone- several of my surgeries have including surgical fractures so I have been there.
Cutting out the empty calories from soda and candy bars is great- but please be careful how much fat you cut out though. Even with having to be on a low fat diet for my stomach my dietician wants me to make it 20% fat minimum but I can have up to 30%. I also use Fitday.com so I am familiar with their system so it should be easy for you to make sure your fat level doesn't get too low- and if it does start adding in 'healthy fats' from olive oil, nuts, and such. THose types of fats are so much better for us then fat from french fries and greasy hamburgers.
Thanks so much for all the info everyone! I only guessed 1500 because I understand that is about how much I would eat at 140 lbs or so. I certainly don't want to destroy my metabolism, so I do need to check this out with my physician. I am finding that I feel fuller now than I did before when I wasn't watching what I ate. Probably because I am eating more fruits and vegetables, hence more bulk than fast food and soda.
I currently weigh 281.5. I started with the assumption that I weighed 290, but since I did not own a scale until today, I do not know if that was really correct. My fat intake is still around 30 - 35%, so I'm not too low there. Protein is an issue for me because I am a vegetarian. I do eat soy daily and eat eggs and cheese. My protein intake is currently lower than I would like.
Thanks for the suggestions on the exercise. I went out and bought some light weights and a tape that I can use them with for arm exercises. I did Physical therapy the first three months of my injury. I am currently in month 5. The pool is a terrific idea but I can't get to one without help since I am not yet driving and the bus service in my town doesn't run during the pool's public hours. I will be seeing my surgeon in a week and a half and I will then check in with him on what I am capable of doing. If I can drive, I can get to the pool.
Broken leg
???? I gained 1/2 lb this week.
Bye...Joanne
