Food has always been a ‘thing’. So has the mirror and what I look like in it. Not really a surprise for a millennial who grew up surrounded by women or family members wanting to lose weight and who were never happy with their bodies. And those women were praised for losing weight.
But when most folk come up against a problem such as ‘I’m a bit overweight, I need to lose some’ they might start eating better, or less, or going to the gym or out for run. Eating less might mean sticking to the recommended calorie intake for your sex, or slightly less to be in a deficit. Quite simple, right?
Well, no. Not actually. Those guidelines are based on the regular person with a typical activity level. Even if you have a desk job, chances are you’re also going to be running around after your kids, or loading washing into the machine, joining your friend for a dog walk or gardening at the weekend. Moving your body in ways complimentary to planned exercise.
But what if you can’t do those things, and most of your non-working time is spent observing others do those things. Verbal management of family life from the ‘comfort’ of your wheelchair. And also, being overweight causes additional difficulties when moving and transferring, and for those helping you. It puts extra strain on your already wonky body.
So you have a conversation with your GP (in fact 2 of them at one particular appointment) where you mention the constant, relentless focus and anxiety around your food intake and your weight, which is as yet completely unknown, as no medical appointment in the last 20+ years (incl. 3 pregnancies) has persued trying to find chair scales so you can actually be weighed… Only for the response to be along the lines of ‘you being in a wheelchair won’t really affect how much you should eat… But yes you are a bit overweight’.
I’d also noticed in the last year or so that my heart rate rises significantly (130+ bpm) for at least 30 minutes after eating. I don’t think that happens to most people.
Let’s see what the NHS website advises for people like me:
1. My exact thoughts. It’s common sense, right? But yet, I talk about this with anybody else and it seems to make no sense.
2. Oh goody.
1 I asked about BMI. I mentioned that it didn’t seem like it would be as reflective of my health because I am severely lacking in muscle mass, not just my quads. There’s also the problem of not knowing my height. Quite import for BMI, is it not?! Again, I was informed that my BMI indication would be no different to a non-disabled person.
2. The GP said he would see if a local care home would mind me coming in to get weight on their chair scales. I can’t wait.. Why not ask the vets, too?
3. I have mentioned this to the GP, on more than one occasion. I spoke of not knowing what I should be eating or how much, due to my lack of movement, and of the constant stress and confusion this causes. The first time I brought it up I was told ‘well, to be honest, most women shouldn’t be eating 2000 calories ‘. Helpful, no. But a perfect example of the contribution to the cause of food guilt for so many people. And what about losing weight, not just maintaining? What should that look like for me in terms of calories? Nobody seems to know or even acknowledge that it would be useful find out.
4. Well, we all know this hasn’t been the case.
1. Surely if this was available, it would have been suggested to me?
1. If there was something I could do that would challenge me but also not deplete me of all remaining strength and energy I would do it. I’d love to just go to pilates or join a gym, and I know you’re thinking you’ve seen images of inspirational (I’m kidding of course) disabled people working hard in the gym, I can almost guarantee most of them have normal hand function. Quite useful for lifting weights.
1. The problem with this, if it was even available near me, would be that without knowledge of my type of CMT and how it affects me, their advice is likely to be ‘tailored’ for the average wheelchair user with more limb function than me. I don’t fit into any category of average anything. Most people with CMT can move a lot more than me.
2. PAHAHAHAHAHA. Even my secondary school told me I wouldn’t be doing PE with my year group.
Have You Tried Walking Lately? 