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belly fat

greensmile
  • By greensmile
  • Posted May 31, 2009 at 6:10 am · 29 replies
  • Shared with the public
3 Recommendations

hi to all :)
i know this sounds crazy but does anyone know how to get rid of belly fat? i'm totally grossed out by this "tire" of fat and obviously am unable to excercize it off.any attempt to strain a muscle causes severe spasms in my whole body and the belly fat ......well.....it just sits there and grows,ugh,yuck,and blahhhh.any suggestions?if so i'll be one very happy camper,as the rest of me is as skinny as a rail because of the paralysis from a.l.s. sooooooo,here's one green smile waiting excitedly for a solution and thanks in advance :)
never ever give up hope,keep the faith,and keep smiling :) :) :)

Explore topics in this journal entry and replies:

Exercise Surgery Metabolic syndrome Yeast infections Allergies Stroke Psoriasis Suicide ALS Acupuncture Paralysis Dieting

29 replies

fec139

Yes I have the same problem. I have always worked out at the gym, walked, run, etc. I have rolls and havw to lift them up for my caregiver to wash under them, or my skin starts to deteriorate and stink! I don't know how obese people who are not confined to wheelchairs, walk around this way! It's absolutely disgusting!

I get PT now 2x a week and that gives me exercise, and I try to do exercises from the wheelchair between sessions. I have drastically had to cut down on food intake, but I have to keep watch that my energy doesn't go down too much.

I, too, am interested in feedback. I go to support groups and my fellow PALS are all skinny and concerned about losing weight while I keep getting fatter and fatter!!!

I keep hearing that we have to take in like 3-4,000 calories per day because we expend more calories, but that's not the case here!!

greensmile

yep :)
the only fat area wit me is my belly.my arms and legs are as skinny as rails and getting skinnier while my belly keeps getting bigger.i have hydro twice a week ,one hour each time.i'm wondering if electrical stimulation can do the trick.

Learning1

A few ideas that might help.

First is diet (i.e. method of eating, rather than specifically looking at weight loss). The most obvious part of this is how much someone eats, but numerous studies have shown that someone can almost be starving and not lose weight.

More important than how much is eaten (which still is important) is a combination of the body's metabolic rate and actually what is eaten.

Normally metabolic rate is increased by exercise, but other methods can apparenlty help stimulate the body's metabolic rate also, including the right electrical stimulation, possibly the vibration, actupoint stimulation by lasers, acupressure, acupuncture, or and the right electrical stimulation should all help. For those with SC injuries, exercise is either very limited, or not an option, so it may be necessary to look at other options.

As a lot of information coming out now shows, WHAT you eat is also important. Apparenlty they have taken people with stable weight and an active life style, put them on a diet that had the same number of calories but substituted hydrogenated fats (i.e. trans fatty acids) for healthier fats, and they all gained weight. The bad news is that almost all processed foods contain transfats, even the ones that say they do not contain them - anything labelled "hydrogenated" contains transfats. And eating too much (for some people, even a small amount can have a significant impact) sugars and starches like breads, pastas, etc, can cause weight gain, or at least stall weight loss (since your body turns those into sugars, then stores them as fat). Far better off to have moderate size portions of healthier protein, vegetables, and a moderate amount of fruit. For example, there is even a video out there, in the healt market, called "Sweet Suicide"

An exercise physiologist from the Denver, Colorado, area, who works with a number of spinal injuries, suggests what is called Whole Body Vibration therapy. He says tat even for someone who can't stand, it helps prevent atrophy simply by putting the feet on it. It is fairly inexpensive - they are sometimes on sale for down to $200, and it should help move the muscles. And helping prevent atrophy should help decrease weight gain.

It sounds like electrical stimulation under the right setting, especially able to mix with some movement might help - An example is where the injuries allow adding in some mobility, like Project Walk.

Another form of electrical stimulation, using a more advanced electronic signal, similiar to the nerve impulses, is the Scenar, and with the right electrodes and / or techniques, it holds potential. The Russians claim to have some techniques to work with weight reductions. Some of the basic 660 nm (red light) lasers also claim to that by use on the right acupoints, it can help stimulate the body's metabolism, which should help with weight loss.

No real studies on any of these that I've seen for SCI, though, other than Project Walk, but there are probably some dieticians out there with some expertise in the are.

fec139

Thannk you Learning1! Now I know I am not crazy!

I am currently eating by mouth as well as putting liquid nutrition down my PEG. Recently I told the dietician at the ALSA clinic that I was bothered by the amount of sugar in the tube feed, and was shocked to find out that there were really no viable low-sugar alternatives.

I am able to eat pureed foods and drink thick liquids. Where can I get info on recipes to make my own tube feed and/or mixtures I can drink?

Fern

greensmile

well......... i started reducing the starch intake which was low in the first place,increased fruit and milk products,and i now only eat chicken w/o fat and skin and only cooked or oven baked,gring it up and enjoy.i also do NOT drink soft drinks (never realy did).but i will also check out electrical stimulation modalities because if i make the smallest effort i spasm like crazy.
soooo...let's hope i can say good bye belly fat very soon :) thanks to all for your great input
never ever give up hope,keep the faith,and keep smiling :) :) :)

Learning1

In the nutrition world one of the factors they look to is the glycemic index of the food. This is how fast the body processes the food and turns it into blood sugar. The higher the glycemic index, the faster it is taken into the blood stream as blood sugar. And the more the blood sugar, the more the body's production of insulin to pack away the excess blood sugar to the cells, which causes weight to be put on. If you can get lower glycemic vegetables, etc, finely chopped or ground, etc, it may work with your feeding tube.

Starches are as bad as sugar. White bread and has a higher glycemic index than table sugar, and the same seems to be true of white rice. I suspect that pure starch would be the same.

Plain tea, or plain ice tea, is not bad, but some of the herbal ones are better, and often taste better. Adding a bit of lemon also helps the body's PH, which is healthier, and adds a bit more flavor. If you want or need sweetness, avoid the normal artificial sweetners - they are bad news for your body. Probably the best one out there is one that can be obtained from the health food stores - stevia. It is 300 times sweeter than sugar, totally healthy, none of the sugar or other side effects. Actually, there is one side effect. It is a herb that helps the pancreas, and the FDA has approved it as a herb to use for that, but they can't advertise it as a sweeter (great government regulator, isn't it - the most effective and healtiest sweetner can't be advertised as a sweetner). So technically you are getting a herb to help your pancreas, and get the side effect of sweetness.

Another option out there to look at also is a little electromagnetic pulse device. No studies on weight loss that I've seen, but it apparently helps stimulate the body, and any stimulation can only help the metabolism. As well, there are some preliminary studies which indicate that it can help bring back some feeling in SCI injuries, and can even help wake up dorman neurons in the spinal column, in the process adding to potential for muscle movement. And one magnetic pulse machine even had success in helping speed recovery from pressure sores. Most are fairly expensive, with the pad type versions starting at about $2,000, but there is a little hand held unit which seems to be able to do a lot, and it retails for around $300 plus shipping on the internet. It is put out by Sota. Sold for other purposes, but its developer indicated, before his death, that it was as successful as the Diapulse machine for a lot of problems (and the Diapulse is one of the machines that has a number of studies, is a very expensive clinic type machine that has been around since the 1930's).

Learning1

One web site I recently was pointed to has a lot of truth to it. The site is: http://www.anti-aging-vibes.com/. While I'm not a fan of the commercialization of the site, there seem to be a number of points there that are very true. One of the biggest culprits for weight gain is glycation, what the body does with sugars and starches. The site explains the process fairly well. And the site goes a good job of explaining what metabolic syndrome is (typically this is what causes weight gain).

I was pointed to the site because of the vibration therapy concept. Basically it fits with what others have said before about bouncing, or the up and down movement from walking, etc, helping both the muscles and the lymph system. The exercise therapist who suggested the site says that, from what he's seen, the vibration plate is one of the best ways of helping keep down further degeneration / atrophy. The condition to that, though would be that the SCI is not of a type where the vibration could aggravate the problems.

There are apparently methods to use a vibration plate by putting feet onto it, or even by sitting on it, if standing is not an option. If it can be tolerated, it sounds like it might also help the digestive track.

Basic weight loss theory looks at:
1. Calorie intake
2. Body metabolism

It doesn't look at some of the critical things your naturopathic community has pointed out:
1. Sugars and carbohydrates like flour, potatotes, rice, etc. (your body needs carbohydrates, but what it needs it can get from lower glycemic vegetables and fruits).
2. Trans-fats (anything that says "hydrogenated" on the label). Basically these are plastic fats - they have, often by means of heat, combined smaller fat molecules into bigger ones, giving them more shelf life and making it so the fats are solid at room temperature. These clog the cell membranes. You are far better off eating saturated fats than trans-fats, since your body knows what to do with those.
3. Elimination - if your elimination system is not working right, food sits in the intestines, putrifies, and more bad stuff, and more unneeded calories, are absorbed.

The other principles to watch, from a basic health perspective, is that whole foods are better than suppliments, less cooked is better than overcooked (since the needed digestive enzymes are still there), and even with meats, eggs, etc, you want the things cooked enough, but not too much, because if the food is overcooked, the enzymes your body needs to properly digest the foods are destroyed by the excess heat.

Learning1

On the food tube question:
A quick search of the web turned up a couple sites as a starting point, and the idea of using a Vitamix blender to ensure the food was properly ground.
http://my1spot.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/g-tube-feedings-recipes-for-blended -food/
And one that is a wealth of information:
http://lucysrealfood.com/
The second implies that you might have to go with cooking longer than is ideal for maintaining the enzymes, but you might be able to get around that as you experiment.
Good luck!

A few ideas to try to remember:
- better to stay away from juices and instead puree complete fruit
- good to main a healthy mix of lower fat protein, healthier fats (from olive oil, almonds or almond butter etc), and carbohydrates (primarily from lower glycemic vegetables, and some fruit - but not overdoing the fruit),
- and drink enough water every day - remember your body needs this to help flush out the residue as it begins to break down fat, etc.

sansco

there's no muscles to hold your guts in, so everything protudes

greensmile

realy,this is soooo true to,ugh.my muscles are definitely out to lunch.,and forgot to come home,but that's one of the "pleasures" of a.l.s.(a.l.ass.)
never ever give up hope,keep the faioth,and,yes,keep on smiling :) :) :)

janders199

Greensmile,

I have the same problem. I eat perfectly. I used to have "six pack" abs before my strokes. And I weighed 175 pounds when I had my strokes. Today I weigh 158 and have a belly, just like you. I weighed 155 when I graduated from high school. Today I weigh almost the same, but I have a belly! It grosses me out too! I try to sit up in my wheel chair so I don't look fat. My doctor told me that the weight that used to be in my butt is now around my belly. Since I am not overweight, he told me to get used to it . . . he said that he was certain that there were six pack abs under my belly, but stroke victims end up with "keg" abs no matter what they do. Sorry darling!
Jim

fec139

We are not stroke victims; we have ALS/Lou Gehrig's Disease.

greensmile

well............what-ever,i guess any kind of paralysis has its bell fat,major bummer,but all said and done ,the belly fat still sucks.someone actually asked if i'm pregnant.i answered that i'm pregnant with air from my bipap and with fat.although my arms and legs,and shoulders,hands,and feet are skeletal.hhmmm,i used to weigh 74 kilos and it was all muscle a very long time ago,and now i weigh 58 kilos,no muscles,but...........yep you guessed it,belly fat UGH. :) :) :)

Learning1

Fec139 mentioned ALS.

That's a hard auto-immune disease to tackle, but the suspicion is that, by using some of the electronic medicine techniques, plus heavy reliance on the appropriate diet, that many of the symptions can be reversed and a more normal life may be possible.

Parkinsons, MS, and similar auto-immune diseases have apparently been helped by use of Scenar technology, and also by use of electro-magnetic pulse therapy. Since it is not the disease that is treated by the modes mentioned, but rather the body's overall conditon, arguably much of the treatment should be the same with these methods. One Mexican clinic, which has had a lot of success in treating with one of the top end magnetic pulse therapy machines, the Papimi, confirms their that they have been able to help Muscular distrophy, MS, and Parkinsons. See: http://papimi.com.mx/papimi_en.htm

On the OneMedicine forum [http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ONE_Medicine/ at post # 1014] a holistic practitioner from England indicated that she helped someone with a moto neurone degerative, apparently something very similar to ALS, by a combination of Scenar (an electrostimulation biofeedback device that has signals that mimics the signals from the nerves) using a combination of nutrition and some scenar therapy. The end result was that his problem went into complete remission, and he regained a lot of his former mobility, until he died of an unrelated motor vehicle accident. It sounds like a key factor to the diet used was a shifting of the body's PH to above 7 (something described in the book "The PH Miracle"). Her diet recommendations were done remotely based on a detailed survey. She operates out of a clinic at: www.margarethillsclinic.com.

It is suspected by some that ALS is very similar to Lymes disease for its causation, with causation being related to some form of bacteria or virus that can change its form hide itself well from detection. With Lymes, antibiotics do not work well against the culprit. If ALS is similar (and apparently some cases originally diagnosed as ALS have ultimately been determined to be Lymes), if the cause can be removed, it should be easier for the body to deal with the problem. A number of years ago Robert Beck designed a protocol that will kill pretty well any virus or bacteria without antibiotics. Information on his protocol is available on the site www.braintuner.com. They also have some devices there that can help implement his program. Back when Beck was alive, he gave away circuit diagrams for the devices free of charge. He also helped the folks at Soto with the understanding that they would keep their prices as reasonable as possible.

TahneeMara

Hi greensmile
It looks like we have some things in common with als. I was diagnosed in 1985 and have been using a bipap since 2001 at night. I've been living in a nursing home for the last eighteen months and have been watching my diet. I only eat one helping and quit eating bread, donuts, and any sweets. I drink water, orange juice no pop and have been losing three pounds each month if I stick to it. The weight I loose 173 to 164 hasn't done anything for the old tummy fat so far though. If you look at me from the side it looks my back caved in and my stomach pushed out. I ride an exercise bike four times a week for thirty minutes and a standing frame twice a week. With als we need to be sure and not lose too much weight some people look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them I'm on a diet. I really like your attitude I think staying positive goes a long way living with als. Jerry

greensmile

hi tahneemara :)
hmmmm yes we do have some things in common.i've been on bi-pap with full back-up now 14 years,and a.l.s. perhaps since the early 80s.i also eat one small portion of food,no breads,cakes,or cookies,or other starchy products,and i also eat fruit,and drink natural juices (preferably fresh squeezed).i also get on the excersize bike which pedals automatically,and i mke sure to stand every couple of hours for a half hour.my limbs are very thin as are my shoulders,and the belly fat is going down :).my back is staight because i have a near total spinal fusion.so happily no back problems :).thank you so much for your response,and here are hugs,prayers,and smiles to you :) :) :) :) :)
never ever give up hope,keep the faith,and keep smiling :)

graybeard

If you can....use the standing frame every day! It will help with digestion, which can help process food better for you. E-Stim can help with muscle tone...BUt it does take awhile. I can walk some(feebly), stand everyday in the frame, and ride the FES bike as much as I can, but still got a belly. No muscle control of the trunk (core), and it jus wont tighten up. So, I too need to back off the chow line, and lighten up the sugarland express...I jus stopped the Pepsi treat, which is killing me, but so is this floppy belly. Keep sending in the helpful hints, they are great!

goldy24k

I too have a tire around my middle. I exercise every day with improvement in my muscles but not my belly. It seems like your best option is surgery. Have you consulted a doc? There are also drugs out there that might help.

greensmile

i've considered the idea of surgery to remove the "tyre"but here this is considered "beauty"surgery and there fore is not covered by insurance soooo i'll have to convince them that this is medical and not for beauty reasons.thank you for your feedback.hugs and smiles to you :) :) :)

Redskinsnation

Hi all,

I'm new here but had the preconceived idea that a website devoted to ALS would NOT be concerned with dieting. I mean, given the fact that we're dying, who cares if we have fat stomachs or not? Me too, that's the only place where my body shows that I eat anything at all. That must be the way the disease works. I don't care. I do care that I'm dying. I'd like information on the disease. Anybody have any?

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