I know many experience weight loss, but I was one of the lucky ones who experienced weight gain - 30lbs in the last 2 years.

I have been watching what I eat and incorporating minimal physical exercise, 10 min on treadmill, as that is all my brain will allow. I so desperately want to lose some or better all of this weight I gained after my injury.

I've read lots about hormones and people never being able to lose it, but I am determined to find a way.

So is there anyone who experienced a weight gain and then successful weight loss post TBI?

I went from weighing around 160 lbs pre-concussion to weighing 220 lbs 1 year post-concussion. my appetite was insane, I could not function at all so I ate to try to relieve the stress of the symptoms. I am now 2 years out from when this all started and I now weigh 165 lbs. Around 1 year ago, when I was at my heaviest and my symptoms were still rather severe, I decided that I was going to try as hard as I could to do something to better myself. I was not able to exercise, so it came entirely down to my diet. I reduced my calories to 1500-1800 calories a day, and within 2 months I had gotten down to weighing 180 lbs. Over the next few months after that I lost another 15 lbs and have been maintaining the weight that I am at now ever since.

So, if you are not able to exercise, then you are really going to have to watch what you eat. It all comes down to calories in and calories out. So if you are a woman as your username suggests, then you will likely need to eat around 1500 calories a day to lose weight. What I did was get into a set schedule for my meals. So I would basically have the same thing every single day for breakfast and lunch and then I would only have to worry about dinner. It removes the stress of having to choose what to eat, it becomes habit.

There are websites like https://cronometer.com/ where you can track what you eat so you get a good idea of how many calories you are eating in a day.

I would focus on high volume, low calorie foods like non-starchy vegetables, fruit, rice, beans, potatoes, etc. I would limit high calorie low volume foods like nuts, butter, oils, and other high fat foods. It is really easy to get in an extra 500 calories from fats like these without even knowing it.

So in conclusion, I would start tracking the calories you intake every day and see how your weight changes with the intake of different values. If you arent losing weight eating 1800 calories a day for instance, you might need to lower it, or be certain you arent getting hidden calories from oils or other things.

I can give a day of eating example for what eating 1500 calories might look like if you would like me too.

Good for you.

I've read that losing weight is 80% calorie intake and 20% exercise at best. There is not enough time in a normal day to do enough exercise to make a big difference. The one thing that exercise can do is increase muscle mass if muscle building exercise is done. That increases daily calories burned because muscle burns more calories than fat.

I gained 27 pounds on Paxil and went off the Paxil with no change. Then, I finally lost it due to a 6 week high stress event. Once I lost it, I stopped consuming soda and most sweetened drinks and have been able to keep it off.

My wife lost 15 pounds recently just by eliminating high sugar foods and most carbs except for healthy starches. She added raw veggie juicing to increase her nutrition. She had blood work done and showed very healthy results.

Sugar is the worst for our health and is a simple thing to eliminate if one can overcome the need for sweet food. My wife looks at sugar as if it is poison. It is easier to resist it that way.

I hope others can have success with this.

KOM,

Sugar was what I think made the difference for me too.

Before my injury I had dessert with every meal and I mean every. After getting hit I looked at pie and it wasn't the same, I could walk right on by with out needing to grab a bite or another piece. It was so weird to go from a guy who could down a pie in 24-48 hours to no interest.

I would think that if you can maintain weight loss it is also possible to lose weight the with the same concept as BB described.

I am really excited about you being able to do 10 minutes on the treadmill now, it wasn't that long a go that 10 minutes was out of the picture for you, always proud of one of our own's success. Keep up the good work.

Bud

Is fatigue the main treadmill issue or is it faster heart rate the issue?
Can you do moderate weight lifts, slowly , added to the treadmill work?
Not heavy or to bulk up, but more reps with a moderate comfortable weight.

Basics- read labels, avoid junk food /drinks, focus on veggies and lean protein cooked healthy - baked, broiled , steamed , crockpot , etc not fried.
Coconut oil is new thing now, olive oil is good.

If you can figure out your triggers to eat or make bad food choices... easier said than done tho...

We do have a weight loss forum here too, with posts, info & various diet plans linked in the sticky threads.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum42.html

KnockedOutMom, seeing a qualified dietitian could help you.

A dietitian will be able to review what you eat with you and suggest constructive changes.

I gained alot of weight after my injury. Fatigue and any increase in exercise brought on headaches and more fatigue. So walking very short intervals at first then swimming then finally back to yoga class - could not do much of class at first but it helped my flexibility and since it did not increase my heart rate I was able to gradually increase my class time. I recommend chair yoga for starters if you have balance issues. I continue to build up my tolerance to exercise and now (at 4 years post injury) I can do 45 min class and have recently started Tai Chi classes. There are all kinds of videos online so you can try out the yoga and tai chi at home in short intervals and see how that goes. Since I started the tai chi I have lost 3 lbs (in 4 weeks!)

two years ago when I was able to get out more, I joined weight watchers and have lost almost 30 lbs on that program. Their focus is reducing sugar and saturated fats and I eat very little processed food.

I have lost weight and increased my exercise without getting my heart rate higher than mid 80-90 per minute and only slight increase in headache (which I am prepared to live with) so it can be done

I also gained over 20 pounds since my injury over two years ago.
At first the weight gain was not so much, but then I started taking Trimipramin and that made me gain weight day by bay. After quitting it one year later my weight did not drop.

Before PCS I was a sporty person, every free minute I was doing something.

During PCS the only thing that seemed to not cause any Pain was eating
So thats what I did.

Now it is so hard for me to stay away from chocolate or other sweets.

Hope we find a way to loose all that weight again, I am not comfortable with it.

An example of your daily eating would be great, thanks.

It's a combination of the 2, the biggest probably being the increased HR. I only do a slow walk, but once I hit about 90-100 BPM I can really feel it. Right now that takes me about 8 minutes, so the last 2 minutes are harder. I always feel better, even if I am fatigued after for doing it.

I'd like to start doing weights but I don't know where to start. Any program that I find is meant for normal people. I want to start out slow too, but I can't afford a personal trainer to help me.

My biggest trigger is I just don't think about it. Grabbing a cookie is a habit and my mind doesn't even register until after i've eaten it. So I can do great for a couple days and then the moment some treat is around I go to town. It isn't until after I've eaten it that it registers that I shouldn't be eating it. I can't not have it in the house as I have a husband and kids who love treats. I try hiding it, and that does help. But then I go to a restaurant and order a favourite food and then realize that it was full of fat/etc.