Ask a Wheelchair Girl Ms Wheelchair America in Central ParkShow Video Details ↓ Kristen McCosh: This is Kristen McCosh, Ms. Wheelchair America and you're on the road with Ms. Wheelchair America in Central Park, New York City. I'm here filming another segment of "ask a wheelchair girl." Someone wrote to me from California and asked me how I stay in such great shape despite the fact that I've been in a wheelchair for 25 years. Well, I'm in New York City to film a webcast in conjunction with Mount Sinai Hospital's wellness project for people living with chronic spinal cord injuries. The webcast deals with health and wellness, including physical fitness and nutrition to help people with disabilities stay in great shape. They brought me in to speak about nutrition and fitness for people who use wheelchairs. What I spoke about included tips on nutrition to keep your weight down and maintain great health. I joined a fitness program almost 3 years ago, I lost 40 pounds and today enjoy much improved health and self confidence. One of the ways I did this was paying attention to my nutrition. One of the tips I said in my webcast was that I always carry a bag of healthy snacks on my wheelchair for the times when I get really hungry and don't want to binge on junk food. In this bag I usually carry nuts, fruit, milk or orange juice, and other healthy items for when I get starving and need something to eat right away. Snacking on these healthy items can push you through to the next meal without having you resort to going to the store and purchasing a bag of chips or a candy bar. So I recommend that people do this, always carry healthy food. I also always have a bottle of water with me at all times. For my fitness routine, I talked about the fact that I go to the gym 3 days a week, I work out with free weights and nautilus on my upper extremities and I use FES training on my legs which is Functional Electrical Stimulation to propel paralyzed muscles to ride a bike on their own. I also engage in a standing frame which helps put weight on the bones and maintain flexibility. You can view a link to the webcast from Mount Sinai on my blog at www.mswheelchairamerica 08.blogspot.com and also email me any other questions you have for ask a wheelchair girl at mswheelchairamerica08 at yahoo.com. Thank you. [silence] |