Food & Cooking Community

Hi Elena. You are right that unless you start out fit, a lot of exercises out there, are difficult at best. I have arthritis in both my rt knee. So I know where you are coming from about the walking.
There are some really great "seated" or "chair" exercises out there for larger people who just need to get started moving, and losing, and for those who have lower extremity limitations.
Go to www.sparkpeople.com , click their video sections and find and download their 12 minute "seated CORE" exercise video, it's free and I do it every night. The download is through RealPlayer and if you don't already have it, it downloads that for you too, just click run, not save when prompted. Then the realplayer icon is right on your home page and when u open it, click library and all your downloaded vids are right there.
There are several strengthing and stretching exercise videos on sparkpeople , download everything that looks like you'd enjoy then rotate them on a daily basis.
I also like Tai Chi, you can download videos right off of Utube, just google Tai Chi for elderly beginners Utube and see what I mean. These go straight into your RealPlayer Library cache too, which makes it convenient.
I'm part of the 50-100 lb and 100 weightloss blogs here on WebMd, that's where you'll find a really good group of us lurking. The 50-100 lb is a seriously supportive group that I can't recommend enough. Please join us over there, it's fun to have some people that can relate, you know?
Also. Can you tell me what you eat on any given day, just , like a sample menu? Be true, and we may be able to help. I've been on my quest for better weight, and health since Jan 3, 2012 and have so far lost a bit over 30 lbs. just by changing my intake , upping my activity a bit and charting every last thing i eat and do, lol. Seriously , though, it helps.
Kim

oops, lol, both rt knee and left hip, skipped that there..... lol

The principles of healthy eating or eating for weight loss with/without a gall bladder are fundamentally the same. The difference the absence of a gall bladder makes is that, for many people, high fat meals can lead to intestinal problems because there can be limitations to fat digestion.

The primary principle of weight loss is reduce the calories you take in and/or increase the amount you move. If you can't walk, try to find other forms of exercise. If you are limited in exercise, then you have to limit what you eat even more. Target especially high calorie/low nutrition foods (cookies, candy, soda, cake, juice, pastries, etc.) Choose instead high nutrition, lower calorie foods that help you feel fuller sooner.

This is my general menu: half a sandwich(whole wheat sub roll) for lunch; if I'm up early enough, I'll have 2 slices toast w/ butter & jam. For dinner I try to have something each day, but it greatly depends on my budget because I have a limited income (SSD & some food stamps). Here are some of the menu items:
Spaghetti w/ sauce & cheese bread (1-2 slices)
Soup (Cr. Mushroom or Chicken Noodle)
Chicken
Beef Stroganoff
I just started making it a habit at night to have a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios; because I sometimes get hungry & it would keep me awake.
I recently cut down on my ice tea intake & drank more water; noticed a slight weight loss, but that was my lower abdomen. I need to reduce the 'gut' between my breasts & bellybutton; I am pretty sure that that is fat accumulated outside of my stomach, which is why I need outside help. Thank you, Kim!

Hi Elena, I understand your dilemma with being on a truly fixed income. I was in home healthcare and most of my "people" were too. I grocery shopped for them , with them most of the time to help them make the right decisions about better choices at the store.
You are getting a whole lot of carbs in all the breads and cereals you are eating. SOME carbs in your diet are necessary as your body prefers to use carbs first for energy. This is the single most lazy thing your body does for itself, and I'll tell you why. Carbs break down as simple sugars, sugar gives you instant energy (we all know this from drinking a can of Coke and eating a candy bar) BUT it burns fast and bright and is gone before you know it. Leaving you hungry and wanting something more. This is where snacking yourself into oblivion comes in.
There are better choices than breads for your carbs, you need fruits. NO this does NOT mean bananas since they actually gain calories and sugars as they ripen. I mean the fruits you have to chew, apples, oranges, grapefruit, pears, stuff like that.
You also dont get enough raw veggies. Instead of all the breads to eat a sandwich with, try wrapping your sandwich meat or whatever in a romaine lettuce leaf. I've actually done this and you save about 140 calories right there for not having those two slices of bread.
Start reading all labels, Like I like miracle whip, there is a TON of difference in reg vs light in calories and sugars , so I eat the light.
With your spaghetti, this one you won't like me for.... but cut your serving in half , eat it with a big side salad with just a little dressing, and NO BREAD or just a half of 1 piece. Since you are already getting alot of carbs in the spaghetti, you shouldn't have all that bread. Make your choice, it's either /or, not both.
Soups are easy, make your own chicken noodle with defatted chicken stock or bouillon cubes and only a handfull of heart healthy wide wheat noodles, you'll save a bunch of calories and fats if you do it this way, also throw in a few handsfull of frozen peas and carrots and you have a meal.
NO CREAM SOUPS! Eat tomatoe soup made with water. Much better option
Instead of the cereal, try airpopped popcorn if possible. Spray with Butter flavored PAM instead of butter and use a lite salt or sodium substitute.
You CAN afford to eat better, if you make better ,more enlightened choices. You'd be surprised how far your money will stretch if you eat more veggies(even if they have to be frozen)because they fill you up faster and last longer for more energy . Like chicken breasts (boneless skinless) and Tilapia fish, good choices, low fat, high in dense protein that burns slowly.
Kim

Kim- Thanks for your reply. What I meant to ask was that IF this weight I put on can be lost because of where it's at (upper abdomen area).

OH , yeh , definitely. I started out with that same roundness at my upper,middle ribcage. It's slower coming off, but now that I've lost 30lbs it is starting to go down along with the rest of my measurements.
I definitely suggest going to www.sparkpeople.com and downloading their "12 min seated CORE " exercise though. It's all done while sitting, can be done if you are a secretary or just sedentary or whenever you have the time. I do this twice a day.
These exercises don't just work during those 12 min. either. They seem to make you more aware of your core (tummy) muscles and you tend to keep them tighter on your own for the rest of the day, which in and of itself will work to strengthen and tighten them.
I have also found that since starting them, I do "extra stretches" , like just standing at the sink or stove or even during set up times between sets on my WII tennis, I do overhead arm stretches and tummy tighteners lol.
Try them! I'll lay good odds that you will start to see a difference within two weeks. Measure your rib roundness today, then in two weeks. I can almost guarantee it if you do them.