Howdy, How's Everyone Doing? I hope well :)
Today, I'm going to discuss ways on how to become and stay healthy while being a wheelchair user.
Story Time
I, myself am a Wheelchair user - since I was a little boy. From kindergarten, I was in a wheelchair, and to this day, I still use the wheelchair. I'm currently 24 years old.
I was born with a debilitating condition called, 'osteogenesis Imperfecta,' essentially brittle bones. I've broken all my bones throughout my body. Except for some smaller bones such as the collar bone, and I believe that's it, lol. Anyways, I've been wheelchair bounded since essentially birth. I do not walk, but I can, and I am practicing. So I use my wheelchair every day, throughout the day because that's the easiest way to move around.
At one point in my life, for years I should say, I was overweight - FAT. I was fat, I have to admit. I was fat during school times, around the age of 11-17. I was overweight due to my eating habits. I ate like crap. I did not prioritize diet or nutrition. (Overall dieting isn't the main factor that leads people to weight gain, it's the nutrition that matters and how much food you're consuming. ). Along with no activity - no exercise, I gained weight easily. It was easy for me to gain weight. And for everyone else who doesn't exercise or become active, they are prone to weight gain. It's facts. If you're consuming lots of calories and aren't active, you'll accumulate fat over time which is not good for us. Being overweight causes a lot of issues and you must address it.
Later throughout my life, I began to focus on my health and lifestyle. I hated the way I looked and especially felt. I wanted to become more attractive, healthier, and stronger. I had to examine my life and have a different perspective on it. I soon realized that my whole life[style] must be changed. So, I did what had to be done - start changing my mindset and my habits.
I began to do what most people hate; change. Change requires discipline and sacrifice which many people cannot adapt to because, for one, it could be hard, for two, it's annoying, and for three, it may be uncomfortable. But that's life; life is tough and uncomfortable. Once you are uncomfortable, you have no choice to adapt, so over time, you'll become adapted to this new lifestyle you're trying to promote or achieve. I changed my diet and had to change my outlook on nutrition. I removed and avoided junk food as much as possible. I removed the amazing frozen burritos and chips and sodas that I use to love eating EVERY DAY, throughout the day. Those foods, that are processed are loaded with calories and junk ingredients which does not benefit us. As my life, my new journey began to roll, I noticed changes, huge drastic changes that I personally noticed. It was a good thing because I was noticing weigh-loss, improved mental and physical abilities (mental clarity and performance), and much more. I felt more attractive, more alive, uplifting, etc.
👉 Changing your diet, nutrition outlooks improves your lives. Because by properly nourishing your body, its easier to live life. You won't feel like crap, you won't have this unexpected weight-gain that is hard to get rid of, and much more. By having a proper eating lifestyle in place, such as not overeating, not indulging in sweets or junk food, and eating healthy as possible, it's hard to gain a whole lot of fat, especially to become obese. It's much harder in this case as opposed to eating junk foods; it's much easier to over-consume on calories when it comes to junk food.
Quick Nutritional and Health Tips for Wheelchair Users
- Focus and Prioritize on Diet and Nutrition - Eat healthily, Refrain/Avoid junk foods as much as possible.
- Exercise if you can, if not, strictly focus on nutrition. The better the nutrition, the healthier your body will become and will be overall.
- Don't overeat.
- Stretching and massages are recommended
- Change your perspective on life, especially how you go about eating foods. Learn about diet and nutrition. more importantly, Nutrition. Nutrition affects your whole life, performance, clarity, health, etc. It dictates longevity and overall health.
- Stay consistent with health(y) and lifestyle habits.
- Fasting can help with weight management.
- Supplements can be ideal - for health outcomes and so forth.
- Swimming is recommended for all sorts of people. Disabled, fragile/brittle people, elderly, etc can benefit from swimming. If you're able to move around with your upper half (arms and chest and back), swimming will benefit you. Don't just sit there and not exercise - go swimming. Find a pool, I prefer a therapeutic pool or a rehab pool that has employees who'll help you.
- Hire a coach/pt to become healthier and stronger. Pt/coaches can help depending on their experience and advice.
- Focus on Gut health
- Focus on a Positive Mindset, Mindset is everything.
>Learn Why Dieting Methods Don't Work
Conclusion
What I'm trying to say is that you people need to focus on nutrition. The more you focus on nutrition, the healthier you will be. It'll be much harder to gain weight if you were too healthy or to become overweight because it's just too hard to gain a whole lot of fat from a clean diet. Avoid junk foods because they contain processed ingredients which in return makes you gain weight and it damages the body over time. Exercise if you can. Even if you have a limited range of motion or barely could move. The more activity, the better. The body needs activity in order to function properly. By sitting/laying down all day long, it's much easier to gain fat because there's no activity. Activity leads to weight loss. Simple stretching/yoga/exercises shall do. And most importantly, focus on a positive and healthy lifestyle. Correct your habits, your eating habits, sleeping habits, stress management, and so forth. Everything you do in life dictates your health. If you're sleeping poorly, expect to feel and look like crap. So by fixing your life, you can become healthier and much stronger due to properly addressing things within your life. Too many people neglect self-care and prioritizing what needs to be focused on; So do what's right - Listen and Take care of your own self.
