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10 Weight Loss Tips for People With Chronic Pain
Blog > Avoid Knee Replacement
Losing weight with chronic pain feels like a Catch-22. You know that losing weight will reduce your joint pain, but you hurt too much to even think of exercising. You are not alone. The key is to take a holistic approach to weight loss that can start to ease your pain before you take your first step into gentle, low-impact exercise. This approach can help you to get moving with more energy and less pain. Read on to learn our top ten tips for how to lose weight when your body hurts.
1. Stop Eating Processed Foods
Yes, processed foods are both tasty and convenient. They are also loaded with trans fats, excess sugar, and sodium, all of which are known to promote inflammation — the biochemical origin of pain. Stop feeding your pain, and nourish your energy by eating a well-balanced whole foods diet. Don’t count calories and starve yourself — eat healthfully.
2. Incorporate Anti-inflammatory Foods
Adding anti-inflammatory foods like whole grains, leafy greens, berries, and fatty fish to your diet provides a host of weight loss benefits. Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, these foods can help boost your metabolism, stabilize your blood sugar, increase satiety, and reduce chronic inflammation. Add an anti-inflammatory flavor to your cooking with turmeric and ginger. Eating healthfully is a simple introduction to losing weight with chronic pain.
3. Stay Hydrated
Your body needs plentiful water to burn fat and convert it into fuel. Dehydration slows this process. Further, good hydration is an excellent appetite suppressant. In fact, many people mistake thirst for hunger, reaching for snacks when they need liquids. Replace sugary drinks and sodas with water or herbal tea, and drink up!
4. Explore Low-impact Exercises
You knew exercise was coming, right? But it doesn’t have to hurt. Low-impact exercise like swimming, water aerobics, or chair yoga places less stress on your joints while improving your flexibility and range of motion. Start slow, but be consistent. Learning how to lose weight with chronic pain requires patience and persistence.
5. Utilize Assistive Exercise Equipment
Consider trying low-impact exercise equipment, such as an elliptical trainer, which guides you through walking motions while eliminating stress on your joints. A recumbent bike provides a comfortable seating position that supports your back while reducing stress on your knees and hips. These machines help you get moving without exacerbating your pain.
6. Practice Mindful Eating
How often have you said, “Ugh! I shouldn’t have eaten so much”? Distractions like eating in front of the television can cause you to overeat without ever enjoying the meal. To eat mindfully, turn off the set and focus on your food, appreciate the colors, scents, flavors, and textures, eat slowly and thoughtfully, and stop when you’re no longer hungry. Eating healthfully, thoughtfully, and enjoying it are critical to losing weight with chronic pain.
7. Seek Pain Relief Solutions
Pain is more than a physical burden. It also saps your energy, leaves you feeling low, and encourages emotional eating. Natural, drug-free pain relief methods like chiropractics, massage, meditation, and regenerative pain treatments can help ease your discomfort so you can do more and feel better.
8. Consider Medical Weight Loss Programs
Getting medical support for healthy nutritional and activity changes and weight loss goals can help make your new efforts a habit. A complete physical evaluation of your health and any underlying conditions, together with a customized treatment plan, can help you see significant weight loss, boosting your motivation and confidence. Optifast, semaglutide under a doctor’s supervision, or advanced peptide therapy as part of a holistic weight loss program can help you to lose weight despite chronic pain and fatigue.
9. Prioritize Regular Walking
Regular walking is an excellent, low-impact activity that boosts cardiovascular health, enhances mobility and flexibility, promotes weight loss, and improves mental health. Start slowly and gradually increase your duration and distance as your endurance improves. Find a pretty place outdoors to enjoy the natural scenery, or bring headphones and your favorite music to move with.
10. Embrace Light Strength Training
Building muscle is critical to weight loss as it increases metabolism and burns more calories than fat. Muscle development is the secret to keeping the weight off once you lose it. Starting slow, with realistic goals, is essential for losing weight with chronic pain. Try wall push-ups and sit-to-stands, and use 1-2 pound dumbbells for bicep curls and shoulder presses.
You Can Lose Weight with Chronic Pain
By taking a holistic approach, losing weight with chronic pain is not just doable but also the path to living better and even easing your pain. QC Kinetix offers innovative regenerative medicine weight loss treatments in addition to our joint pain therapies. We provide step-by-step medical supervision to ensure your progress is healthy and support to help you remain committed to your goals.
Contact QC Kinetix to learn more and schedule your free consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Read our regenerative medicine FAQ for more information about our pain relief therapies. For more information about losing weight with chronic pain, please read below.
Can you lose weight if you're in pain?
Yes, losing weight when you’re in pain is possible, but it requires a holistic approach. For lasting results, eliminate the sugary and processed foods that feed your pain by promoting inflammation. Instead, eat whole foods known for their anti-inflammatory properties, and start a low-impact exercise program that will get you moving without exacerbating your pain. Practice mindful eating so you stop when you’re satisfied, and make proper hydration a priority.
Does chronic pain make it hard to lose weight?
Losing weight with chronic pain can be a challenge. The pain and resulting fatigue make it hard even to consider exercising. Yet the slow, gradual adoption of gentle, low-impact exercise coupled with a flavorful, anti-inflammatory diet can help to minimize joint pain. A holistic approach can help you make healthy lifestyle changes that, in time, can promote an improved quality of life.
Does your body burn more calories when in pain?
Acute pain from an injury or surgery temporarily raises your metabolic rate, burning calories more quickly. However, it is not recommended to exercise with such pain, as it can cause further damage. Chronic pain does not boost your metabolism. Instead, it makes you less inclined to exercise, which can eventually lower your metabolic rate and lead to muscle atrophy.
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