Category: Everyday Life

Losing weight is such sweet sorrow

youshouldgoanyway

The last few years I have managed to maintain my weight, or at least my shape while staying conscious about my food intake. I know this because I still fit in the pants I bought two years ago for a friend’s wedding. However, the pants are bit bigger than I’d like to be in right now. It’s difficult to weigh yourself constantly when you use a wheelchair and don’t want to waste money and space on a wheelchair scale, so I’m not exactly sure what I weigh right now.

One of my goals for 2012 was to “lose weight” but I have had to get more specific about this in order to see action. So I decided upon the following three items:

  1. Keep track of calories in a spreadsheet
  2. Exercise 30 minutes a day, or more
  3. Drink at least 64oz of water a day, preferably more

For #1, I created a simple Google spreadsheet that I enter everything I eat into, down to the cream in my coffee. My meals are not complicated and this is easy for me to do. I notice a few things about this process. First, at the end of the day I am much better about snacking. If I have leftover calories, I will pick things that fit within my 1250-1350 calorie daily budget. I know this saves me at least 200 calories a day. It’s important to remember that when you use a wheelchair that you don’t burn as many calories per day as a walking/standing person. But do consult a doctor about what you should be eating.

For #2, I moved my hand cycle right next to my desk. I also set up a great playlist I can access from my phone so I can plug in my headphones and go. I find that within 15 minutes of exercising I am actually enjoying it and the feeling is one of the high points of my day. I also keep track of my exercise progress on dontbreakthechain.com and it’s nice to look at the full calendar.

For #3, I push myself to drink four 16oz bottles of water in addition to any other drinks I intake during the day. I usually line up the empty bottles on a shelf next to me so I can keep tabs on where I am at. If I am falling behind and need some variety, I will drink diet Tonic water, or a diet soda, or add lemon, or mix in an iced tea mix to my water. Flavored waters are also great (but can be expensive).

Overall I am judging my progress based on how I feel and how I fit. I am feeling better overall. I am also fitting a little better too. It’s important to remember that this is a gradual process. With so many “instant” solutions to things, it’s easy to forget that losing a significant amount of weight takes work.

NutriSystem, Inc.

Staying warm with muscular dystrophy

youshouldgoanyway

I am in a constant battle with family and friends over indoor temperatures. During winter I am freezing. During summer I am freezing. Basically I am always freezing and sometimes bloody after a hardcore fight over the thermostat.

Physically I notice that my body works better when it is warm, so I have come up with some personalized solutions to keep myself defrosted and thought I would pass them along. These are all fairly easy to implement and don’t impact others in the house as much as cranking the heat does. They’re also very low cost.

1. Space Heaters
The main thermostat in the house I share with my sister back in WI during the summer is upstairs. Combine that with the fact it’s a tri-level and I am in the lowest level and I am constantly shivering. Tri-level houses have notoriously poor HVAC systems. Hot upstairs, cold downstairs, and sometimes comfortable in the middle. Usually, however, I am the only one downstairs and I did discover that a good space heater can help me get control of the temperature downstairs. I recommend getting one in each room you spend the most time, however I have a small one on wheels in my office that I can roll around if necessary. It’s just a pain to unplug and plug back in all the time. But it’s light, quiet, and turns my office into a sauna. You can also put a small one right at your feet and nobody else in the room even has to feel it.

2. Electric blankets
I like to plug in an electric blanket and throw it over my legs if I know I am just going to be watching TV or something for a while. It’s easy to have an electric blanket or an electric throw on the couch or recliner that’s already plugged in and ready to go — just flip a switch and it’s warm in no time.

3. Electric mattress pad
I had one of these on a bed during high school and it was wonderful. I did discover that it could get too hot sometimes. I do recommend trying a warming mattress pad, however, because you might want full-body coverage. But for me, I discovered it was my feet that were usually cold at night. To counteract this, I fold a regular electric blanket in half and use it under my sheet on the bottom half of my bed. It keeps my feet warm and doesn’t overwhelm me during the night like a full heated mattress pad does.

4. Heat lamp in the bathroom
I do not have one of these but whenever I stay in a hotel that has one, I feel like a toasty chicken McNugget just waiting to be served. It makes the transition from a nice hot shower to a colder room-temperature bathroom much easier to bear. I do, on occasion, roll my portable space heater into the bathroom to heat things up while I shower and do plan on getting one specifically for the bathroom sometime in the future.

5. Hot water bottles / Heating pads
When I am traveling and don’t have an electric blanket or space heater at my disposal, I like to fill up a water bottle with hot water from the faucet and keep it on my lap. I have also packed a portable heating pad before, which works great for travel as well.

UPDATED 9/30
6. Heated clothing!
I just got a heated vest and love it. It was not cheap, but I know I will get use out of it. There are also heated pads, gloves, and other items that run off batteries. Check out my heated vest review here.

I would love to get a heated seat for my wheelchair and there is a power converter that you can get to plug things in. I am not sure how long this would last or if it would drain my battery completely but it’s something I’d like to try eventually.

Say no to underwear

youshouldgoanyway

I’m not afraid to say it — I haven’t worn underwear in the years since I started using a wheelchair. I implore anyone who thinks this is unacceptable to try pulling up your underwear and pants while in a seated position and get back to me. (Remember, you can’t lift up both cheeks at the same time, either!) It’s a pain in the ass. Finally I was like, “Why do I keep doing this?!?!!” After all, we all know Britney doesn’t wear any. Why should I?

Either the underwear would bunch up and make it difficult to get everything in place, or I’d end up having to do the pulling-up hassle twice — first pull up underwear, then pull up the pants. It’s just such a waste of time.

Maybe I am not aware of the overall advantages of wearing underwear, but I have discovered a couple advantages to not wearing it, aside from making getting dressed much easier:

1. Cuts down on laundry.

2. Easier access for going to the bathroom.

3. Saves time.

4. Less packing when you travel.

I am sure there are others that I just can’t think of right now. One might be that you can get a wardrobe filled with brown and black pants and never have to see skid marks ever again. But I digress.

Pants and Intimidation

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Muscular Dystrophy PantsUp until 8th grade I played basketball despite having muscular dystrophy. One of the lessons I took from that came from the pep talk our coaches would always give us before each game. If we were playing an especially tough opponent they would remind us that “These kids put their pants on just like you — one leg at a time!”

This statement had always held true for me and helped me to make some potentially intimidating experiences much less so. However when I started using a wheelchair I realized it was one big lie — not everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time! For me, the best way to put on pants is two legs at a time!

I’m not sure it makes me more intimidating but you definitely do what you have to when it comes to adapting to a disability. Hopefully I can run into my old coaches sometime and share this piece of knowledge.

No, I don’t have MS and I’m not from Minnesota

youshouldgoanyway

People are funny. Whenever I tell someone I have muscular dystrophy, inevitably two seconds later they refer to someone they know with MS. It happens ALL THE TIME. Just the other day in the laundry room a stranger asked, “May I ask what happened?”

“I have muscular dystrophy,” I said.

“Oh, I have a boss that has MS. She takes lots of pills for that…” replied the lady.

I usually don’t correct someone when they make a mistake, especially if I don’t plan on ever seeing them again. Maybe I should. I usually correct people when they make the same mistake with where I was born.

“Oh I have relatives in Minnesota!” they’ll say just seconds after I tell them I am from Wisconsin. Even some people I’ve known for a long while still think I am from Minnesota originally. Whenever it comes up I don’t hesitate to correct them, “I am NOT from Minnesota!!!! The Vikings SUCK!” I will remind them in my most understated Wisconsin accent. I don’t really mind, but it’s fun to tease them.

I guess when it comes to diseases, maybe it’s not the best comedy material. But it would be nice to somehow politely point out that MS is not MD without implying “You’re such an idiot — I’m really not sure why you think muscular dystrophy would be abbreviated MS!”

It’s probably just some weird wiring in the human brain that it happens so often. Nevertheless I am still working on some answers to try out.

God knows I’ll get another chance soon.