Tracking tips to lose weight for every body, including how to succeed if in a wheelchair

Do you want to lose weight, but don't know how when you spend all day in a wheelchair? You’re not alone, and it’s absolutely possible. With a few clever tweaks to your tracking and daily routine, MyNetDiary can help you make steady, sustainable progress while honoring your body’s unique needs.

How to lose weight when in a wheelchair starts with tracking

When setting up your MyNetDiary profile, choose “sedentary” as your activity level if you spend most of your day seated or using a wheelchair. This gives you a baseline calorie target that reflects your lifestyle.

From there, the magic is in the logging. Even if you're not moving much, consistent food tracking helps you build awareness and make small changes that add up. As one wheelchair user shared in the MyNetDiary Community, “I've lost weight through diet alone by staying within my calorie target. After a few weeks, I had my own data to look back at and adjust.”

Slow, steady, and consistent progress is what matters most!

Customize your exercise tracking

Wheelchair activity is often underrepresented in ordinary fitness apps. MyNetDiary's Exercise Catalog is based on the Adult Compendium of Physical Activities and includes a limited selection of wheelchair activities. However, you can personalize and track your exercises more accurately by creating custom entries for the exercises and activities that fit your life.

For more precise records, you can use the 2024 Adult Wheelchair Compendium, which provides updated activities for Metabolic Equivalent of Task for Wheelchair (METWC).

Note: For wheelchair users, one METWC equals approximately 0.992 kcal/kg/hour, slightly lower than the standard MET used for ambulatory adults.

Now, let's roll through an example using wheelchair pushups at 2.0 METWC.

Sample exercise-tracking scenario

How many calories does a 150-pound person burn doing wheelchair pushups?

• Step 1. Convert your weight to kilograms
  • 150 pounds ÷ 2.2 = ~68 kg

• Step 2. Calculate calories burned per kg body weight per hour of activity
  • Energy expenditure = 2.0 (MET for wheelchair pushups) x 0.992 (baseline MET for wheelchair users) = 1.984 calories/kg/hour

• Step 3. Multiply by body weight
  • 1.984 calories/kg/hour x 68 kg = ~135 calories/hour

• Step 4. Convert from per hour to per minute
  • 135 calories/hour ÷ 60 minutes = 2.25 calories/minute

Final Answer: A 150-pound person burns about 2.25 calories per minute doing wheelchair pushups.

Add it to MyNetDiary

• Tap "Exercise" on the Dashboard.
• Tap the green (+) symbol, then tap Custom.
• Tap (+) again, enter your exercise details
• Tap "Save" when finished.

In this example, you could use “Wheelchair pushups” as the exercise name, “minutes” as the Unit Name, and “2” calories per minute for Calories per Unit (rounded down from 2.25).

Fitness trackers that sync data with the MyNetDiary app, like Fitbit, Garmin Connect, or Withings, as well as devices that feature Apple Health or Health Connect, may overestimate calories burned for wheelchair users, so adjust your expectations accordingly.

Pro Tip: If you own an Apple Watch, you can set it to “Wheelchair Mode,” which automatically adjusts activity tracking to push-based motions rather than steps.

Focus on what you can move

Watch out for the lurking limited mindset, which may start with "how do I lose weight if I'm in a wheelchair and unable to exercise?" Movement looks different for everyone, and that's okay! Adults with disabilities are encouraged to aim for at least 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes per week of vigorous exercise, but any movement is progress. Even small amounts can help improve your cardiovascular health and build strength.

Try exploring the following activities that can be done in a wheelchair, a chair, or with a hand-pedal bike:

• Chair yoga or seated stretching for flexibility and stress relief
• Resistance-band workouts for upper body strength
• Hand-pedaler or mini-cycle workouts to elevate your heart rate

Nutrition still leads the way

You can't out-push-up your fork; nutrition still plays the starring role in weight loss for all mobility levels.

• Prioritize lean proteins (like eggs, fish, beans, or Greek yogurt) to maintain muscle mass.
• Include high-fiber foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, to stay full longer.
• Track your portion sizes carefully; use a food scale or measuring cups when possible.
• Stay hydrated, as thirst is often mistaken for hunger.

Pro Tip: If you're losing weight too fast or feeling sluggish, bump up your daily calorie budget slightly in MyNetDiary. Adjust week by week until you find your sweet spot.

Stay positive and patient

No matter how you go about it, efforts to lose weight take time, whether you're in a wheelchair or not. But it's absolutely achievable! Celebrate every victory, whether that's sticking to your logging streak, pushing a little longer, or simply feeling more energized than last week.

Your journey doesn't have to look like anyone else's. It just has to work for you.

Adapt your plan for lasting success

Learning how to lose weight when in a wheelchair is about adapting, not restricting. MyNetDiary lets you personalize your calorie goals, track custom wheelchair activities, and build habits that fit your lifestyle.

Wheeling around the block, squeezing in a few resistance band sessions, or simply tracking meals from your chair–every intentional choice adds up to a healthier, stronger you.

Related content

7 Reasons using a food and exercise tracker app helps you get the best weight-loss results

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Still new to MyNetDiary? Learn more today by downloading the app for FREE.

Check out PlateAI, our new AI-powered diet app at PlateAI.com

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