Most of my friends in life have been skinny and they’ve never set foot into a gym. They used to lie to get out of doing anything for any activity at school too. Skinny people aren’t in shape just because they’re skinny. Half of them can’t even run for a full minute, or do 5 sit ups or lift anything heavier than a non-gaming laptop.
Basically, you can’t outrun a bad diet. You can’t gain weight by not moving. In fact, if you stay immobile and stop eating, you’ll die of malnutrition and anorexia.
There are some modern day studies that suggest movement/exercise has little to no bearing on bodyweight. I worked as a personal trainer for the best part of 10 years so that was a tough read, believe me. But the data looks pretty legitimate and it’s commonly advised by fitness professionals that at least 70% of the body is made in the kitchen, anyway.
I wouldn’t equate anybody who is not overweight as having a regular exercise routine. They just eat rubbish less habitually. A lot of fat people run marathons.
I’ve been in a wheelchair for 18 years and as others have said there’s a fair amount of muscle atrophy going on in my legs. They’re very skinny now and not much on my thighs. But I’ve got the middle aged already going on in my top half. I’m not able to do much exercise (due to the muscle condition that put me in the chair) so I’m careful about what I eat.
Take today for example. I’m going to have an absolute fat bastard tea but haven’t had any breakfast and a small lunch. For me it’s just being aware that I don’t burn off calories as much through day to day activity so I just have to be careful with how much I eat.
Iâm a fitness coach in a wheelchair. I work out, I weight lift, I do cardio. I eat on a deficit, and you also gotta remember that we are doing more work to move than you do walking. Weâre moving the weight of our self and our chair (mine is 23lbs) with just our shoulders and arms. I see too many people under the impression that self propelling a wheelchair is easier than walking. It is very much the opposite.
How your body holds onto fat has a lot more to do with your diet, genetics, and health and a lot less to do with physical activity. You can be bedridden and lose weight if youâre not eating enough or if your body is unable to absorb calories. Physical activity is better for building and maintaining healthy muscle.
Wheelchair user here. I can really only speak for myself but here are my reasons (which likely have decent overlap with others affected by similar disabilities):
âMuscular dystrophy: in short, a genetic disorder wherein dystrophin production is abnormal and leads to muscle loss and atrophy. The kind of MD I have affects arms and legs, so I have really skinny arms and legs but a âtypicalâ torso. I say âtypicalâ because the arm/leg weakness does kind of trickle down and affect the torso.
âWatching what I eat: if an able bodied individual gains a pound, they go for a walk/run and before you know it the pound is gone. Granted thatâs an oversimplification. But to someone who basically canât exercise and is wheelchair-bound, that extra pound complicates many things: transfers, getting dressed, showering, increasing the likelihood of pressure sores, etc. With such little muscle mass, you really feel that extra pound.
So you seem to be under the assumption that not moving/exercising = getting fat. Thatâs just not rly the main factor for weight. Itâs all about how much you eat. For me for example, I tend to gain more weight when I exercise (as opposed to being sedentary) because it makes me hungrier and then I eat a lot more.
Exercise has way less effect on weight than you think it does. It’s ultimately just calories in and calories out, and we’re very efficient at both ends of that process, so weight loss happens at the dinner table, not the gym.
Have you tried to moving yourself all day long in a wheel chair? I have and it sucks. Itâs hard. So this type of cardio plus limited calories and some health issues and help a lot. For others you may see the boredom or depression of being in their predicament can add to their pounds.
Back in highschool I had surgery and couldn’t walk for 3 months. Dude I’ve never developed a much upper body strength as I did during that break. Lifting yourself up and down with your arms. Using them to move yourself in the wheelchair. It takes a LOT of effort.Â
People who have a good relationship with food and can follow natural food queues will naturally stay at a mostly stable body weight. It can sound crazy if you donât have a good relationship with food, but itâs possible to only want one bowl of chips, one servings of dinner, stopping when you feel satisfied and only eating to that point.
Itâs not hard if youâve learned or have been doing it your whole life. And at that point your hunger and cravings are there to maintain a balanced weight even if you donât follow a strict diet because your body naturally wants to reach homeostasis.
You see someone incredibly skinny in a wheelchair and they ainât moving themselves? Either they are taking the correct number of calories in or they are having involuntary movements in said chair that are burning calories {ticks, regular seizures}. If they are moving their own chair they are burning those calories.
Comments
For one, moving a wheelchair is not easier than walking..
Second is always calories in, calories out.
They eat normally?
Going to the fridge every 15 minutes gotta be harder
Sorry guys Im delirious at night I forgot about all the factors that influence your weightđ
They don’t have to eat anymore
Presumably they burn a lot of calories using their arms to wheel
A serious answer is depending on why theyâre in a wheelchair, there can be muscle atrophy. If you donât use your muscles they shrink.
There are fat wheelchair users out there too But it covers up that there could be very little muscle underneath.
Not overeating
Eating normally keeps you skinny
Most of my friends in life have been skinny and they’ve never set foot into a gym. They used to lie to get out of doing anything for any activity at school too. Skinny people aren’t in shape just because they’re skinny. Half of them can’t even run for a full minute, or do 5 sit ups or lift anything heavier than a non-gaming laptop.
Basically, you can’t outrun a bad diet. You can’t gain weight by not moving. In fact, if you stay immobile and stop eating, you’ll die of malnutrition and anorexia.
It’s easier to workout when you can skip leg day.
Why can’t they just invent a wheel chair with bike pedals? I ain’t no science rocket
Obesity is a complicated disease
They can’t reach the top shelf where the cookies are stored
Some of it is muscle atrophy
Weight has surprisingly little to do with exercise. It is much better correlated with hormone levels.Â
There are some modern day studies that suggest movement/exercise has little to no bearing on bodyweight. I worked as a personal trainer for the best part of 10 years so that was a tough read, believe me. But the data looks pretty legitimate and it’s commonly advised by fitness professionals that at least 70% of the body is made in the kitchen, anyway.
I wouldn’t equate anybody who is not overweight as having a regular exercise routine. They just eat rubbish less habitually. A lot of fat people run marathons.
By not being in a caloric surplus. /thread
I’ve been in a wheelchair for 18 years and as others have said there’s a fair amount of muscle atrophy going on in my legs. They’re very skinny now and not much on my thighs. But I’ve got the middle aged already going on in my top half. I’m not able to do much exercise (due to the muscle condition that put me in the chair) so I’m careful about what I eat.
Take today for example. I’m going to have an absolute fat bastard tea but haven’t had any breakfast and a small lunch. For me it’s just being aware that I don’t burn off calories as much through day to day activity so I just have to be careful with how much I eat.
I would imagine using a wheelchair is much harder than walking. At least burns more calories.
Depends on why theyâre in the chair. But Iâve seen many obese men and women in chairs. Not all are skinny.
“We’ll all stay skinny cos we just won’t eat”
Partly because moving around using your arms uses a lot of energy.
Have you ever used a wheelchair? You would be surprised on the amount of strength it takes to move around.
A ânormalâ person, when seated, doesnât use its muscles or move around. Wheelchair users do move around. And a lot.
Iâm a fitness coach in a wheelchair. I work out, I weight lift, I do cardio. I eat on a deficit, and you also gotta remember that we are doing more work to move than you do walking. Weâre moving the weight of our self and our chair (mine is 23lbs) with just our shoulders and arms. I see too many people under the impression that self propelling a wheelchair is easier than walking. It is very much the opposite.
How are wheelchair users weighed for their physicals
How your body holds onto fat has a lot more to do with your diet, genetics, and health and a lot less to do with physical activity. You can be bedridden and lose weight if youâre not eating enough or if your body is unable to absorb calories. Physical activity is better for building and maintaining healthy muscle.
I imagine that mindless snacking would be complicated
Wheelchair user here. I can really only speak for myself but here are my reasons (which likely have decent overlap with others affected by similar disabilities):
âMuscular dystrophy: in short, a genetic disorder wherein dystrophin production is abnormal and leads to muscle loss and atrophy. The kind of MD I have affects arms and legs, so I have really skinny arms and legs but a âtypicalâ torso. I say âtypicalâ because the arm/leg weakness does kind of trickle down and affect the torso.
âWatching what I eat: if an able bodied individual gains a pound, they go for a walk/run and before you know it the pound is gone. Granted thatâs an oversimplification. But to someone who basically canât exercise and is wheelchair-bound, that extra pound complicates many things: transfers, getting dressed, showering, increasing the likelihood of pressure sores, etc. With such little muscle mass, you really feel that extra pound.
They eat less than they burn
So you seem to be under the assumption that not moving/exercising = getting fat. Thatâs just not rly the main factor for weight. Itâs all about how much you eat. For me for example, I tend to gain more weight when I exercise (as opposed to being sedentary) because it makes me hungrier and then I eat a lot more.
Exercise has way less effect on weight than you think it does. It’s ultimately just calories in and calories out, and we’re very efficient at both ends of that process, so weight loss happens at the dinner table, not the gym.
You donât need to be active to maintain weight. Itâs calories in, calories out. Eat no more than what you need and youâll stay thin.
(Itâs still better for health to be active, but if we only talk about weight it doesnât matters)
You canât outrun your mouth anyways.
Have you tried to moving yourself all day long in a wheel chair? I have and it sucks. Itâs hard. So this type of cardio plus limited calories and some health issues and help a lot. For others you may see the boredom or depression of being in their predicament can add to their pounds.
By not eating too many calories. Same as everyone else
Back in highschool I had surgery and couldn’t walk for 3 months. Dude I’ve never developed a much upper body strength as I did during that break. Lifting yourself up and down with your arms. Using them to move yourself in the wheelchair. It takes a LOT of effort.Â
People who have a good relationship with food and can follow natural food queues will naturally stay at a mostly stable body weight. It can sound crazy if you donât have a good relationship with food, but itâs possible to only want one bowl of chips, one servings of dinner, stopping when you feel satisfied and only eating to that point.
Itâs not hard if youâve learned or have been doing it your whole life. And at that point your hunger and cravings are there to maintain a balanced weight even if you donât follow a strict diet because your body naturally wants to reach homeostasis.
You seen the Paralympics? Plenty of grass routes athletes too
kid from my class in first grade had the biggest biceps ever. like, it was scary.
Having a serious disease that makes your muscles atrophy is a quick route to weight loss.
You see someone incredibly skinny in a wheelchair and they ainât moving themselves? Either they are taking the correct number of calories in or they are having involuntary movements in said chair that are burning calories {ticks, regular seizures}. If they are moving their own chair they are burning those calories.