LIVIN' LARGE: Minimizing yourself and maximizing your life!When you have over 100 pounds to lose it can seem impossible to get started in the right direction.
Well I thought i'd throw this out there hoping that some additional ideas might be suggested.
My mother needs a hip replacement surgery but needs to lose about 100lb before the surgeon will attempt the surgery.
Hip is so bad walking is a major mission and swimming is currently the only form of exercise she can perform. For xmas I bought her a arm crank machine so she can do some upper body pedaling which might help with some extra weight.
Her diet isn't full of junk its just that she can't exercise. I've put her on a low carb, high vege type diet and the weight is slowly coming off.
Hi,
sorry to hear about your mom! I hope surgery helps her health and she feels better soon!
How long do you have until surgery? How much does she weigh and how old is she?
Does she swim already? If so, how long? Can you have her do some aqua exercises with maybe floating support?
It's a bummer she can't move but the machine seems like a solution. What is she eating like (more specifically)? What's her water intake like? Is she on any medication? Other than the hip problem what's hear health status?
Closer to surgery you could do a PSMF-type diet if not all the weight has come off, but hopefully she will have done it by then. How long since you started her on a lower carb diet? How much has she lost?
I hear you. Lower body exercise is a challenge for me at present. I need to get my permanent leg before I will be able to do most of it. My temp leg has no articulated ankle which makes it very difficult.
Hey Josh, sorry about the late reply. Work and all...you know how it goes. Galya hit on many of the questions I might have asked. I am not sure, though, that I would jump head-long into a PSMF though. What sort of recommendations did the surgeon make? What is the timeframe in which she needs to lose this 100 lbs? Age? Ht? Wt? Medical History, etc all the usual stuff... feel free to PM me if you'd like...
I am glad to hear that she is able to swim. How often does she swim? The arm device you mention could be useful. My initial temptation is to say stick with what is working. If she is making consistent progress with the current plan and is able to continue sticking to it, and these results fit within the surgeon's timeframe.....perhaps your plan isn't so bad? There will always be little things we could do better with any diet but in the big scheme of things, what isn't quite what you think it should be about her diet/progress/etc?
I've written her a swimming program that she has been doing for a little bit. Only went low carb about a week ago.
Health is suprisingly good. BP normal, cholestrol normal and resting HR is normal.
Age is 45 and the operation is planned for easter or mid next year. Any weight loss will lower the risks of surgery so its all better then nothing. The 100lb won't come off in that time frame I'm aware of this just anything is better then nothing.
Also forgot that she has a lympatic draining problems.
Dietition had her on a vlcd of liquid shakes but that arrovated gout. Doc is pretty much stuck on what to offer.
Medication is just pain killers but my sister is a pharmist and they don't have weight gain as a side effect.
Thanks for the support.
This is a hard case for me as the unusual restrictions and being family its hard to be overly strict.
Josh, there is a lot that you can have her do in the water ... not just traditional swimming ... I have treated many arthritic people pre-op in the pool.
1. She can do HIIT type walking (remember that intervals are individual, so a "sprint" for her might just be a fast walk, while recover might be a slow walk) forwards, sideways, and backwards. The deeper the water, the less impact on her joints ... chest deep is ideal for her probably but even waist deep would help.
2. Open-chain hip movements ... hip abduction, adduction, extension (with knee straight and bent), flexion, and circumduction; knee flexion (like kicking herself in the butt); as well as squats, lunges, step ups, heel/toe raises. With the open-chain stuff, have her do it bilaterally so that she is working on stability when doing it on her "good" leg.
3. Kicking with a kickboard ... flutter and whip/frog ...
4. Treading water.
As for diet, if the low-carb thing is working for now, then stick with it ... best of luck to her ... also feel free to PM me any questions related to her surgery/recovery ... I've treated many overweight people who've been very successful with THR.
I think the swimming will be very beneficial to her. Also the ability to work with someone one on one like Julie would also be fantastic. Keep us posted Josh...
unique case
Keep us posted Josh... 
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