I've been trying for the last few years to lose weight, but with my disabilities, exercise...well...sucks. That's bound to happen when you're hemiplegic. But then I found something that doesn't suck: my complex wading pool. Sure, it might be only 3 to four feet deep, but there's a lot you can still do with that, with or without equipment.

In terms of finding exercises to do in the pool, I recommend this channel on youtube to get you started. Or if you wanna keep it simple, try jogging around the pool in opposite directions for a few laps. You'll get a good cardio workout and you won't get nearly as sore in the process like you would just going to the gym.

Then there's the diet. Don't try to starve yourself because that'll just kick the crap out of your metabolism. Instead, cook fresh as much as you can. Granted, that's insanely hard to do given how the American diet is set up (Especially if you live next to about 50 restaurants all within walking distance like I do), but it can be done. Hell, I made a Brown Betty for the first time last night and have been trying new recipes all this week.

Here are a few cookbooks I can recommend if you aren't kitchen savvy:

Cook This, Not That! Kitchen Survival Guide

This has some good recipes based on some menu items from various restaurants. It's pretty simple to follow and has a lot of good alternatives to the high fat, high calorie food you might find at your average restaurant.

Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook, 4th Edition

Where do I begin with this one? It's got recipes for every meal including brunch. I actually managed to make a decent whole wheat pizza and sauce from scratch based on some of their recipes. I also made the Brown Betty I mentioned before based on the recipe this one gave and it was pretty awesome.

There are many books out there but these are the main ones I draw from when I need ideas that don't bore me to death and are better for me to boot.

See ya around,

Aspie