Need help losing weight with severe arthritis.

[BigK]

Hello and Happy New Year!

I'm a 27yo Male that was recently diagnosed with severe arthritis of both hips. My left hip is basically 100% bone on bone and my right hip is around 90%. I'm currently sitting at 265lbs at 5'11" but I would like to lose some weight before surgery.

I was previously around 300 but was able to lose 45lbs with diet alone. After the holidays I've gone up about 10lbs but am now back on track.

What I need help with is finding fat burning exercises that I can do without using the lower half of my body, I have extremely limited mobility.

I was hoping that someone would have some advice on weight loss through exercise in my situation and maybe even build a daily exercise plan I can put into practice.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

[overlandflyer]

i can sympathize with your condition. before i had my hip replacement i could barely walk 50 yards without having to take a break and rest a few minutes. after that operation, over the next three years i also had both knees replaced, so i'm not about to run a marathon either. in fact i limit my exercise to mostly walking and now that i rejoined the Y recently, i do some stationary biking while i'm there. the only equipment i can think of that concentrates mostly on upper body was a rowing machine they used to have, but unfortunately they got rid of that one.

the most encouraging news i can give you is that after your hip replacements, walking is the recommended therapy and you should be feeling better than your presurgery condition in as little as a week after the operation.

most of my weight loss i will credit to a combination of a diet change (severely cutting back on anything with sugar or added sugar) combined with a daily intermittent fasting routine (typically a 4/20 fasting schedule... a 4 hour eating window daily and the other 20 hours every day i fast). also 5'11", in a little over 4 months i have managed to drop about 45 lbs and i'm now sitting around 180 lbs. up until a few weeks ago, all i did for exercise was about a mile walk every other day or so.

 

[mddolson]

Congrats BigK for loosing the weight & getting back on track. I'm not as bad as you are, but I've had a total knee replacement & looking to have my left hip done in the near future. I don't know if you can work on an elliptical , you'd have to try & see how you feel. They are great & have no impact.
I'm a scuba diver (retired instructor) & do recommend swimming. It burns a lot of calories, zero impact & puts no load on your joints.

 

[Trusylver]

I don't know if you can work on an elliptical , you'd have to try & see how you feel. They are great & have no impact.

Take care with this suggestion, these machines have the same problems as many exercise machines in that it lock you in to a specific movement pattern and if your body structure is not suited to that exact movement pattern it will make problems worse. eg, Elliptical machines cause me intense hip pain and knee strain.