Weight management is an essential part of living well with osteoarthritis. Even small changes to your diet and activity can have significant benefits.
Being at a healthy weight can reduce your risk and/or help manage many long-term health conditions, including osteoarthritis. Your overall health, including your mental health, will also benefit from being at a healthy weight.
Being overweight increases systemic inflammation and joint stress, especially in the knees, hips, and lower back. This can make you more susceptible to osteoarthritis and more likely to experience symptoms of pain and stiffness. Losing weight can reduce pain, improve mobility, and improve your quality of life.
Being overweight is now recognized as a major risk factor for osteoarthritis, a risk factor that can be modified. Every extra kilo you carry adds about four kilos of pressure to your head. What’s more, a daily task like climbing stairs puts seven times more pressure on your head to help you get more basic energy. This shows how valuable kilos are to your health.
How to maintain a healthy weight?
Being overweight or obese puts extra strain on your head and game and can cause joint pain. Therefore, maintaining a healthy weight is important for good health and reducing your risk of other conditions like osteoarthritis.
Losing weight is often easier said than done, especially if you’re experiencing knee pain. You may have pain when cycling, pain when descending, or pain when running.
If this is the case for you, the following lifestyle changes can help you stay motivated while trying to lose weight:
1. Try gentle exercise
Gentle exercise not only helps you lose weight but also affects your mental health. Stress can be a big factor in your weight loss and is also a cause of arthritis, which can aggravate your headaches.
Start by walking for at least 20 minutes every day and gradually increase the walking time. Another low-impact exercise that requires balance is swimming. Water exercise is a great option if you are in pain because it is less stressful for the game and the opportunity than other exercises. You can try water classes if you want to add a social element to your workout routine.
Other low-impact exercises like cycling and yoga are great, not only burning calories but also strengthening muscles and improving fitness.
Also, make sure to drink more water when exercising to stay hydrated.
2. Maintain a healthy diet
Instead of going on a crash diet, establishing a healthy diet as part of your lifestyle is the key to sustainable weight loss and weight control.
Simple solutions like reducing your portion sizes and adding more vegetables to your diet can help you lose weight. Drinking water can also help. This is because sometimes you can’t mistake thirst for hunger, drinking water can quench your thirst and curb your cravings for things you didn’t imagine.
Pay attention to what you eat, avoid foods high in fat and added sugar and cut down on processed foods like takeaways, chips, biscuits and ready meals. Avoid sugary drinks, including fruit juices, as the natural fibre found in fruit is removed in fruit juices, leaving you with sugary drinks.
Choose recipes that use fresh ingredients and are high in natural fibre and protein. Fresh fruit and vegetables are not only low in calories but also high in fibre, so you will feel fuller for longer.
3. Plan to maintain a healthy weight
If you are planning to lose weight, make sure you don’t gain too much too early in your weight loss journey so you don’t feel overwhelmed or put off your studies. Try to develop a healthy relationship with food and exercise as this will help them become part of your regular routine in the long run.
Making a routine work for yourself can help increase motivation. Try setting a new goal each week, such as increasing your workout time by one minute. Make sure your goals are realistic and achievable.
Plan your week on Sunday, write out your meal plan, and schedule your workouts. This will give you more structure and give you more of a sense of purpose.
When planning your meals, remember to plan for snacks as well. A light mid-morning and afternoon snack can help keep your energy and focus up.
Make sure to plan for some downtime. Your mental health and physical health are linked, and reducing your stress levels will help you focus better.
