Hey all I need your help my mom is a 52 year old woman with a bad back (had sugery and still hurt) She doesn't belive me that it's possible to still lose weight and not have a gym membership or workout. I am trying to get her on a healthy eating plan with 6 small meals a day of clean food but she just thinks it will make her fat. She can't grasp the concept of feeding the body for fuel to speed up the metabolism. It is true that with mild walking and a good diet you can lose a good amount of weight correct??? I want to show her this thread and that it is possible so as many responses as possible will help, thanks ya'll :D

whoops wrong section could someone move this to fatloss/cutting

Eating small meals throughout the day does keep the metabolism elevated, yes, and prohibits fat storage as you don't over-eat per meal. (well, you want to make sure you don't) As long as her total calories for the day support her fat loss goals, and she does go for nice easy walks and such, there is no reason why she cannot drop weight. She may lose "some" muscle with the fat since there is no resistance training, however that can be minimized with the appropriate macro-nutrient distribution.

~SC~

Thanks SC, she would workout but she just physically can't becuase of her back. She cannot lift anything nor bend over ect. ect. Even walking is a tough task for her. Immediately after her surgery she dropped 50lbs and has now gained it back. I'm just trying to get her back to where she was. I know she wants it but I am hoping this forum board will tell help her to see that it's possible and that I'm not just full of it. I don't think my mom particularly cares about muscle at all she just wants to lose fat/weight to put her in good health.

Yeah, I hear ya! :)

Well, only she can make the decision to either do it or not, all you can do is try to get her to see the light so put on the high beams!

~SC~

[quote=needachange;393659]Thanks SC, she would workout but she just physically can't becuase of her back. She cannot lift anything nor bend over ect. ect. Even walking is a tough task for her.quote]

I take it that if walking is hard for her, she can't do easy movement in a swimming pool? Getting there might be too much of a painful process.
There has to be something she can do.....hmmmm....maybe some further research to see what others have done in similar situations.

I would think anything that she can possibly do to get her heart rate up above what it would be while sitting or lying is going to help. Any 'movement'. Finding one that doesn't hurt her is key obviously. ..and I'm sure important.

And eating six small healthy meals a day with a calorie deficit I think would work in her favor. Since she can't really exercise heavy, she would have to focus probably on her eating habits/diet.

I'm no expert though.

But I hope this helps!

Take this from somebody with a bad back.

The best things I've done was drop some weight and get more active. I know when the pains hit all I wanted to do was lay in bed. But that's the worst thing you can do. The less you do the worse it gets.

I'm not saying rush out and start lifting small cars single handed but start with basic streches. Move on to things like crunches. But do some thing. Stay moving or you'll turn to stone.

You can drop weight from just eating less. The first thing I did was cut out all junk food. I dropped a pant size. No added exercise. Then I started to pay more attention to portion control. I dropped almost 6" more. I still don't break a sweat very often. But the little I do and the weight loss has meant I've been pain free. Or at least the pain levels have been so low I don't really count them.

I don't think my mom particularly cares about muscle at all she just wants to lose fat/weight to put her in good health.
:(

If she doesn't work on building muscle, she won't be in the best health she could be.

It hasn't actually been proven that being a certain target body weight is healthier than any other. The reason that certain body weights are considered to be healthy is because, in general, those people who are at that weight consume a diet with appropriate nutrients in it, and engage in a leisure program with appropriate cardiovascular activity, flexibility options, and strengthening activities. In other words, the diet and activity are healthy; not the body weight level.

As a person ages, they lose valuable muscle mass, putting extra stress on their joints and bones. If she doesn't do something to improve it now, her strength will deteriorate further, and she'll be further handicapped in any future activities that she wishes to do.

Sure, your mom could lose weight without doing any exercise, but any health benefits she derives could be minimal at best. The best option for her is to perform any small activity that she's able to, and slowly progress to more challenging ones that will build her muscle mass.

I lost over 40 pounds by just walking and eating right but I also lifted weights several times a week. But had I not been lifted weights changing my diet still would have resulted in considerable weight loss, as I used to eat horrendously.

I lost 125 pounds with changing my diet and doing minimal exercise. I later moved on to adding in cardio and weight training...

..so it can be done...

the best thing I did food-wise? I ate 5-6 times per day, instead of NOT eating....I used to skip most meals and couldn't figure out why I could be heavy without eating!

I wasn't 52, but I was close to 40 at the time, after having 4 kids, and with severe joint pain due to fibromyalgia that had me bedridden in the colder months and not terribly mobile the rest of the time...

the good news: as the weight melted off, I was able to become more active and as I increased my activity, I was able to reduce pain and better deal with pain I did have...

best of luck to your mom!!

t

Wow 125lbs that's great congrats on your accomlishment :claphigh:

My mom and I are going to do this together so it will be easier for her starting this week which is good. Now that I have a hernia and cannot lift or do cardio this will be a good way for me to maintain my weight and not gain everything I lost back.

Can she lift small dumbbells - you can buy them as low as 1 lb, that would be something she could do even while watching TV (curls, arm raises, etc.)

But like SC said, you can only show her the way, you can't force her to actually work out.

Good luck!

Can she lift small dumbbells - you can buy them as low as 1 lb, that would be something she could do even while watching TV (curls, arm raises, etc.)

But like SC said, you can only show her the way, you can't force her to actually work out.

Good luck!
My mom is fit and has always been thin as a rail, but when she began to start working out she used to simply lift *soup cans* while she did her 1/2 hour of aerobics!

Here's a couple of easy resistance gyms she might be interested in.



http://www.smartchoicefurniture.com/item.cfm?itemID=2533


http://www.isokineticsinc.com/category/chair/product/cf_cfc100?ovchn=GGL&ovcpn=exercise+chair&ovcrn=content&ovtac=PPC

it is psychological.

she does not want to do it for some reason. i can not tell you why because i am not a psychiatrist, and i do not think your mother would be impressed at the mention of one. i am also not a doctor, so i can't tell you whether she even needs one.

at the risk of sounding new agey, perhaps tony robbins tapes could help? some sort of motivational book. if she wants to do it she will.