Regarding Weight for Athletes with Disabilities

This is a tough subject.

I have been approached by many athletes with disabilities with either two things on their mind: I want to lose weight or I want to gain weight. I'd like to clear up the answers right now for the majority of this population.

First of all, understand you and your disability. I small athletes come to me saying help me gain weight, but it can be difficult in most cases due to the lack of body function. Gaining weight is not an impossibility, but it is more focused on lifting weights and increasing exercise. You increase your muscle mass, you increase your weight. There are many things you can do to encourage your body to build muscle like choose lean protein drinks and snacks and eat within 30 min after exercising.

Second, the bigger guys and gals need to understand the same thing. There is a weight for everyone known as the "set point" and this point is basically where the body will sit no matter how healthy you eat or how much more you exercise. When in great shape, you fluctuate around this number by 2 to 3 lbs. Once at a set point, you should become comfortable with your look and ability. Those with big bodies, but can't use the entire body functionally, can struggle to get rid of some extra poundage. The best bet here in order to help lose weight is to decrease total Caloric intake every day little by little. Facts you should know? You will be hungry at times. The weight decrease will be slow. Every dietitian will tell you to eat more fruits and vegetables. Exercising more or harder can be one of the only options.

What I'm trying to get at here is that it can be harder for some athletes with disabilities to lose that beer belly or to slim down just because only half the body is really being used. Same goes for putting on weight. My suggestion then to you? First, understand your body and the way it works. Don't get tied up with needing to be bulky or have a six pack or whatever. That has never defined athleticism. Second, concentrate and learn about your diet. Whether you are gaining or losing or just eating healthy, knowing your food and drink is 80% of the battle with the rest being fortitude and willpower to act on change.

So I hope this helps. I'm not trying to get on my soapbox and sound frustrated, but I want my readers to be happy with themselves and their outcomes. So go out and learn new things! Try new foods! Use my blog as a resource. No problem.