How I lost 50 pounds
Quad belly! Yes, quad belly is a real thing among people with spinal cord injury. When you have no working muscles in your abdomen your belly is going to stick out. This can also be an area where you tend to accumulate fat, weight that is hard to lose.
I was not overweight, but I was getting fat. For 25 years I lived in Atlanta, Georgia. One of the best rehab centers in the country, The Shepherd Center, was like my second home. I played on sports teams there, I worked out in the weight room, I volunteered there and I got my medical care there.
The great thing about going to Shepherd was there were several locations where I could easily access a rollup scale. It was no problem monitoring my weight.
I never had a weight problem. For 25 years I consistently maintained my 195 pounds. Winters would add about 5 to 8 pounds, which I shed every spring. Over the years I was starting to accumulate belly fat. My weight was not increasing though my waist size did slowly expand.
During this time I was training and competing as a world-class athlete. I could lose weight dieting, but not the belly fat. Abdominal electrical stimulation failed to help. My doctor and I were running out of options. I was considering liposuction. Then my life changed.
An injury temporarily halted my athletic endeavors. A back problem put me out of work and back on disability. Recovery and rehab took a couple of years. This gave me a lot of time to think. I was approaching 50 and looking to make some changes in my life. I decided it’s time to make one of my dreams come true. Time to run away.
Panama
A tropical escape to Panama in 2011 was my plan. The owner of the rental house I had lined up backed out on me at the last minute. While I seeking a new wheelchair accessible house in Panama I stayed with mom for almost four months.
Mom was cooking all my favorites. All the holiday extras too added at least 10 pounds on me. February 2012, with only four pairs of pants I could squeeze in, I left for Panama.
Change came suddenly. My casita, little house, in Santa Clara did not have a real kitchen. I had a microwave, a toaster oven, refrigerator and sink.
February is summer in Panama. Going from winter to summer when I arrived made 9ooF feet pretty hot. The need to stay hydrated was something I took seriously. I was drinking a LOT of water, along with fruit juice, milk and beer.
Living out in the country with no car was a big lifestyle change. My little splurges were eliminated. In Atlanta, I allowed myself a couple of splurges once a week. One stop for fast food and one dinner out. Exploring ethnic restaurants was a favorite splurge.
My diet changed for the worse. Cooking was far more basic in my makeshift kitchen. Grocery shopping was a once a month trip. My pattern of eating was two meals; one light, one heavier. Without the wonderful accessible kitchen I designed, all my spices and easy access to huge grocery stores my love of cooking was diminished.
The American restaurant next door to my casita had a small menu with weekly specials. Visiting a few times a week I tried everything. Great hamburgers and chicken pot pie! My beer consumption also increased to 4 or 5 a week. The rest of the time I was drinking mostly water, a lot of water.
In September I returned to Georgia for a two week visit, including my annual checkup. I was shocked to discover I weighed 168 pounds. That was about a 40-pound weight loss! Without even trying to lose weight.
Everyone was saying, “You lost so much weight. What have you been doing?”
I didn’t know, my diet was not very good. I was eating less fresh fruits and vegetables. Convenience canned and frozen cooking was less healthy than my meals back in Atlanta.
The following year I paid a bit more attention to my lifestyle before returning for my next physical. In September 2014, I had lost another 11 pounds. There were several points that I believe contributed to my weight loss:
Portion control: Though the content of my diet was not as healthy, I was eating less.
Splurges add up: Eating healthy most of the time is not good enough. My splurges were not adding weight, but I believe they were the source
of my added fat.
Reduced snacking: My snacks were reduced to a jar of salsa and a pound bag of corn chips per month. I kept healthy snacks around
the house in Atlanta. Even eating small amounts of healthy snacks add extra calories.
Drinking more water: Staying hydrated has always been important to me as an athlete. In Panama found myself drinking even more water. That extra hydration really seems to make a difference.
Reduce stress: My new lifestyle is not tied to a clock. I still have deadlines, commitments and stress, but I am more in control now.
Working as a freelance writer has given my life flexibility, put me in control and brought tranquility back into my life.
Comparing my two lifestyles defies logic. In Atlanta, I had a healthier more balanced diet, exercised more, was more active and focused more on living a healthy lifestyle. In Panama, my first two years was more sedate and a healthy lifestyle was not part of my focus. Yet I lost the fat belly after all my previous efforts had failed. How crazy is that!
