6/14/2015
The Pros and Cons of a Lemonade Diet
The lemonade diet also known as the lemon juice diet is a fad that really caught on among dieters and has become very popular. So is all the hype about the lemonade diet true and does it really make you lose weight fast?
The lemonade diet is a pretty harsh diet. You are only allowed to drink lemon juice for a period of 10 to 12 days. During this period, you are not allowed to consume any other food.
The recipe for the lemon juice is pretty simple. You will need to mix 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with honey or maple syrup. Then add 10 teaspoons of cayenne pepper and water. You will have to make and consume about 12 glasses of this juice daily.
The purpose of the lemon juice diet is to detoxify the body and aid in fat loss. You might be wondering if this diet is safe or effective. After all, 10 days without food does seem dangerous and unhealthy. So, let’s look at some of the pros and cons of the lemonade diet.
One of the advantages of the lemonade diet is its detoxifying features. Since the lemon juice has detoxifying qualities, the body is able to detoxify itself effectively.
The disadvantage is that it’s not proven that the lemonade diet actually does any detoxification. The liver and kidneys are more than capable of detoxing a body without any harsh diets.
Another advantage of the lemonade diet is that those who go on it claim to lose weight quite fast. Since the diet is so restrictive and no fats or carbohydrates are being consumed, it is possible to lose a few pounds during this period.
The negative side to this is that the diet causes insulin spikes and obviously cannot be maintained for a long period. It causes cravings for food and once you’re off the diet and back to eating normal food, you will gain back the weight you lost and possibly a few pounds more. The diet due to its highly restrictive nature is stressful and you will experience irritation and anger easily.
There are several other negative possibilities with the lemonade diet. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the cons far outweigh the pros. The lemonade diet does more harm than good.
There is nothing like a sensible diet and regular exercise to keep you in good health. Fad diets like the lemonade diet, adversely affect your metabolism which drops since your body thinks that it’s on starvation mode and tries its best to hold on to the remaining fat.
Furthermore, the weight that you may have lost may just be water weight and not really fat. That makes the loss temporary and an illusion. Once you’re off the diet, the weight will pile back on and reality can be painful.
To summarise, the lemonade diet is not something that anyone should strongly consider as part of a long term weight loss solution. There is no substitute than good ‘ol exercise and a healthy diet plan.
The lemonade diet is a pretty harsh diet. You are only allowed to drink lemon juice for a period of 10 to 12 days. During this period, you are not allowed to consume any other food.
The recipe for the lemon juice is pretty simple. You will need to mix 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with honey or maple syrup. Then add 10 teaspoons of cayenne pepper and water. You will have to make and consume about 12 glasses of this juice daily.
The purpose of the lemon juice diet is to detoxify the body and aid in fat loss. You might be wondering if this diet is safe or effective. After all, 10 days without food does seem dangerous and unhealthy. So, let’s look at some of the pros and cons of the lemonade diet.
One of the advantages of the lemonade diet is its detoxifying features. Since the lemon juice has detoxifying qualities, the body is able to detoxify itself effectively.
The disadvantage is that it’s not proven that the lemonade diet actually does any detoxification. The liver and kidneys are more than capable of detoxing a body without any harsh diets.
Another advantage of the lemonade diet is that those who go on it claim to lose weight quite fast. Since the diet is so restrictive and no fats or carbohydrates are being consumed, it is possible to lose a few pounds during this period.
The negative side to this is that the diet causes insulin spikes and obviously cannot be maintained for a long period. It causes cravings for food and once you’re off the diet and back to eating normal food, you will gain back the weight you lost and possibly a few pounds more. The diet due to its highly restrictive nature is stressful and you will experience irritation and anger easily.
There are several other negative possibilities with the lemonade diet. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the cons far outweigh the pros. The lemonade diet does more harm than good.
There is nothing like a sensible diet and regular exercise to keep you in good health. Fad diets like the lemonade diet, adversely affect your metabolism which drops since your body thinks that it’s on starvation mode and tries its best to hold on to the remaining fat.
Furthermore, the weight that you may have lost may just be water weight and not really fat. That makes the loss temporary and an illusion. Once you’re off the diet, the weight will pile back on and reality can be painful.
To summarise, the lemonade diet is not something that anyone should strongly consider as part of a long term weight loss solution. There is no substitute than good ‘ol exercise and a healthy diet plan.
The Importance of Keeping Your Heart Strong and Healthy
The heart is the most important organ in your body and there is absolutely no doubt about that. The heart is a muscle and just like any other muscle, it needs to be worked and kept healthy.
The unfortunate thing is that most people neglect to strengthen their hearts. Even avid gym goers, especially the guys who lift the heavy weights neglect to exercise their heart which is actually the most important muscle.
The heart can only be worked through cardiovascular exercise. You will need to be panting and gasping for air when you exercise for your heart to get a good workout and get stronger. Resistance training though beneficial has only limited benefits.
Cardio training is usually tiring, involves sweating profusely and generally is not fun. Being breathless at the end of an intense workout is your body’s way of saying that your heart got a good workout. The question is… Are you willing to endure the pain of an intense cardio workout?
This article hopes to convince you that the answer should be a strong yes.
A strong heart does not tire easily. You can go about your day actively and not feel drained or exhausted by the end of the day. You heart will be better able to handle life’s daily stresses. For example, if you are running late for work, you will be able to sprint to your office and make it just on time without feeling half dead by the time you reach. This is a simple example, but you get the idea.
A healthy and strong heart also beats at a lower rate when it’s resting. Overweight people have hearts that are overworked. That’s why you see them panting for small things like walking to the shop or climbing a flight of stairs. The heart is weak and not able to function well.
The heart is a miraculous organ and has the ability to heal and restore itself. It is never too late to train your heart. Daily exercise will show improvements within about 3 weeks because the heart is a very responsive muscle.
Many out of shape people who start walking or jogging daily are able to report improvements in their stamina and recovery. The heart craves exercise and responds very well. It’s much easier to build stamina than it is to build muscle. Yet, this is neglected because it’s tiring and you can’t show off a strong heart the way you can flash a big bicep.
Even a heart that has been affected by heart disease can be healed and helped through exercise and a healthy diet.
A 15 minute workout with just you and a skipping rope will be wonderful. The beauty about working out your heart is that it does not require hours of hard training. A short 15 minute heart pounding workout three times a week will keep your heart in great shape and working well. Of course, if you can afford more time, that would be great and will keep your heart in tip top shape.
Finally, common sense will indicate that other than exercise, you should avoid smoking, sleep well, have a diet rich in fiber, avoid excessive consumption of alcohol and see your doctor every now and then to check up on your health. If you do all this, you will have a strong and healthy heart that will keep going for a long time.
The unfortunate thing is that most people neglect to strengthen their hearts. Even avid gym goers, especially the guys who lift the heavy weights neglect to exercise their heart which is actually the most important muscle.
The heart can only be worked through cardiovascular exercise. You will need to be panting and gasping for air when you exercise for your heart to get a good workout and get stronger. Resistance training though beneficial has only limited benefits.
Cardio training is usually tiring, involves sweating profusely and generally is not fun. Being breathless at the end of an intense workout is your body’s way of saying that your heart got a good workout. The question is… Are you willing to endure the pain of an intense cardio workout?
This article hopes to convince you that the answer should be a strong yes.
A strong heart does not tire easily. You can go about your day actively and not feel drained or exhausted by the end of the day. You heart will be better able to handle life’s daily stresses. For example, if you are running late for work, you will be able to sprint to your office and make it just on time without feeling half dead by the time you reach. This is a simple example, but you get the idea.
A healthy and strong heart also beats at a lower rate when it’s resting. Overweight people have hearts that are overworked. That’s why you see them panting for small things like walking to the shop or climbing a flight of stairs. The heart is weak and not able to function well.
The heart is a miraculous organ and has the ability to heal and restore itself. It is never too late to train your heart. Daily exercise will show improvements within about 3 weeks because the heart is a very responsive muscle.
Many out of shape people who start walking or jogging daily are able to report improvements in their stamina and recovery. The heart craves exercise and responds very well. It’s much easier to build stamina than it is to build muscle. Yet, this is neglected because it’s tiring and you can’t show off a strong heart the way you can flash a big bicep.
Even a heart that has been affected by heart disease can be healed and helped through exercise and a healthy diet.
A 15 minute workout with just you and a skipping rope will be wonderful. The beauty about working out your heart is that it does not require hours of hard training. A short 15 minute heart pounding workout three times a week will keep your heart in great shape and working well. Of course, if you can afford more time, that would be great and will keep your heart in tip top shape.
Finally, common sense will indicate that other than exercise, you should avoid smoking, sleep well, have a diet rich in fiber, avoid excessive consumption of alcohol and see your doctor every now and then to check up on your health. If you do all this, you will have a strong and healthy heart that will keep going for a long time.
6/13/2015
The Best Fat Burning Workouts
Losing weight and burning fat requires time, effort and sacrifice. It goes without saying that you will only lose weight in a healthy way if you combine the right exercises with a proper diet and keep up the regimen with consistency and purpose.
This article will focus on the exercise aspect of your weight loss program. You will need to do the correct exercises to burn as much fat as possible. If you’re not maximising your workouts, you’ll not burn fat fast.
This will demotivate you and make your fat loss journey a struggle. Like a hamster spinning a wheel, you’ll be doing a lot but not getting anywhere. Observe the tips below and watch the fat melt off your body in record time.
The key to losing fat quickly is combining cardio with resistance training. The reason most people don’t reach their fat burning potential is because they only do one and not the other.
Cardio refers to cardiovascular activity and it is the cornerstone to weight loss. Walking, running, swimming, cycling, rowing and skating are examples of cardio activities. Basically, any exercise that raises your heart rate for a continuous period of time can be considered a cardio activity.
The more intense your cardio workout, the more calories you will burn and if your diet is good, you will burn off more fat. Cardio activities should last for 30-60 minutes. It should never go on for more than an hour at a time.
There is often strong debate about whether one should engage in fast cardio or slow cardio. Another hot topic is if you should do cardio on an empty stomach.
The best advice I can give you is this. Cardio at any time is good but you will burn fat faster if you do it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. However, do it at a moderate pace. If your cardio is too strenuous, you’ll burn precious muscle.
It’s always advisable to alternate between slow and fast cardio on different days to spice up your training and keep your body guessing.
The next part of your workouts should be resistance training. That means working out with weights, resistance bands or other muscle building apparatus.
The heavier the weights, the more calories you burn and the faster you drop those pounds. Your body burns more calories when it has more muscle.
Women often feel that working out with weights will give them a masculine body. This is a common misconception. Weight training will tone up their thighs, butt and give their body a fit, feminine shape.
Building muscle is not easy and most men themselves, struggle with it. So, women can rest assured that resistance training will make them fit and fab without turning them into the Hulk.
Resistance training should last for about 30 to 45 minutes. That should be sufficient to raise your metabolic rate and make you a fat burning machine. The goal here is to burn fat, improve your muscle tone and raise your metabolism.
Both cardio and resistance training must be combined for you to have the best fat burning workouts.
For example, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays you could do weight training. On the other days, cardio would be your choice.Or you may wish to work out with weights for about 30 minutes and follow it up with a 30 minute run.
This would be an excellent workout. Combine both and you will have workouts that will burn the most stubborn fat in no time at all.
This article will focus on the exercise aspect of your weight loss program. You will need to do the correct exercises to burn as much fat as possible. If you’re not maximising your workouts, you’ll not burn fat fast.
This will demotivate you and make your fat loss journey a struggle. Like a hamster spinning a wheel, you’ll be doing a lot but not getting anywhere. Observe the tips below and watch the fat melt off your body in record time.
The key to losing fat quickly is combining cardio with resistance training. The reason most people don’t reach their fat burning potential is because they only do one and not the other.
Cardio refers to cardiovascular activity and it is the cornerstone to weight loss. Walking, running, swimming, cycling, rowing and skating are examples of cardio activities. Basically, any exercise that raises your heart rate for a continuous period of time can be considered a cardio activity.
The more intense your cardio workout, the more calories you will burn and if your diet is good, you will burn off more fat. Cardio activities should last for 30-60 minutes. It should never go on for more than an hour at a time.
There is often strong debate about whether one should engage in fast cardio or slow cardio. Another hot topic is if you should do cardio on an empty stomach.
The best advice I can give you is this. Cardio at any time is good but you will burn fat faster if you do it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. However, do it at a moderate pace. If your cardio is too strenuous, you’ll burn precious muscle.
It’s always advisable to alternate between slow and fast cardio on different days to spice up your training and keep your body guessing.
The next part of your workouts should be resistance training. That means working out with weights, resistance bands or other muscle building apparatus.
The heavier the weights, the more calories you burn and the faster you drop those pounds. Your body burns more calories when it has more muscle.
Women often feel that working out with weights will give them a masculine body. This is a common misconception. Weight training will tone up their thighs, butt and give their body a fit, feminine shape.
Building muscle is not easy and most men themselves, struggle with it. So, women can rest assured that resistance training will make them fit and fab without turning them into the Hulk.
Resistance training should last for about 30 to 45 minutes. That should be sufficient to raise your metabolic rate and make you a fat burning machine. The goal here is to burn fat, improve your muscle tone and raise your metabolism.
Both cardio and resistance training must be combined for you to have the best fat burning workouts.
For example, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays you could do weight training. On the other days, cardio would be your choice.Or you may wish to work out with weights for about 30 minutes and follow it up with a 30 minute run.
This would be an excellent workout. Combine both and you will have workouts that will burn the most stubborn fat in no time at all.
Is It Difficult To Lose Weight?
If you look at the ads for diet pills or the weird contraptions being sold on those late night infomercials, you’ll probably think it is easy to shed those pounds. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Losing weight is one of the hardest things to do. This probably explains why so many people give up on their fitness goals or break their New Year’s fitness resolutions.
Losing weight is a long, tough road paved with sweat and in some cases tears. The concepts of weight loss are pretty straightforward. Consume less calories than you expend. Combine cardio and resistance workouts. Eat healthy. Avoid the fatty foods and so on so forth.
So, what makes it so difficult?
Implementation. It’s applying these concepts that is so difficult. Eating less requires sacrifice. Most people are into the habit of eating whatever their hearts desire. Cakes, ice cream, pizza and all the other comfort foods make people happy. Giving up these high calorie foods means sacrificing short term happiness and nobody likes that.
Furthermore, eating poorly is a habit. So, by attempting to eat right, you’ll be breaking a bad habit. This is extremely difficult. Most habits are hard to break.
To make matters worse, exercise is required to burn fat. Often for periods of 30 to 60 minutes. This involves sweating, panting, gasping and pain. Exercise is not exactly fun for those who are fat or obese. They are not used to it. Once exercise becomes a part of your life, you’ll do it more willingly but even then, it’ll take motivation.
Not only is it painful to sacrifice your favourite foods but now you have to torture yourself with exercise daily. It’s a double whammy. Sacrifice and effort. It’s so much easier to gain weight. Just sit on the couch, watch tv and eat whatever you want , whenever you want.
It doesn’t take effort to gain weight. In fact, gaining weight is not only easy but it’s fast. This is the third annoying fact.
Why?
Because it takes a much longer time to lose fat that it does to gain it. This is the main reason that most people give up.
They do not see the results fast enough. An hour of intense exercise only burns about 400 to 500 calories. One slice of pizza contains about 300 calories. Eat two slices and you have cancelled your workout.
Can you imagine that? 1 hour of sweat and hard work gone with just two slices of pizza. That’s enough to break most people’s hearts.
Losing weight is a slow process. You will need to be on the right diet for quite some time. Depending on the amount of weight you need to lose, it could be a diet that you have to keep up for months. During this time, you will need to exercise as often as you can and not slip up on your diet.
A long, difficult process, to say the least. As difficult as it may be, you should stay on the path and not give up. You will reach your goal if you persist.
Once you have lost the fat and reached your desired goal you will feel a sense of achievement and happiness that no comfort meal can give you. The daily exercise and training will have you looking fit and feeling good. All the sacrifices will be worth it.
Losing weight is one of the hardest things to do. This probably explains why so many people give up on their fitness goals or break their New Year’s fitness resolutions.
Losing weight is a long, tough road paved with sweat and in some cases tears. The concepts of weight loss are pretty straightforward. Consume less calories than you expend. Combine cardio and resistance workouts. Eat healthy. Avoid the fatty foods and so on so forth.
So, what makes it so difficult?
Implementation. It’s applying these concepts that is so difficult. Eating less requires sacrifice. Most people are into the habit of eating whatever their hearts desire. Cakes, ice cream, pizza and all the other comfort foods make people happy. Giving up these high calorie foods means sacrificing short term happiness and nobody likes that.
Furthermore, eating poorly is a habit. So, by attempting to eat right, you’ll be breaking a bad habit. This is extremely difficult. Most habits are hard to break.
To make matters worse, exercise is required to burn fat. Often for periods of 30 to 60 minutes. This involves sweating, panting, gasping and pain. Exercise is not exactly fun for those who are fat or obese. They are not used to it. Once exercise becomes a part of your life, you’ll do it more willingly but even then, it’ll take motivation.
Not only is it painful to sacrifice your favourite foods but now you have to torture yourself with exercise daily. It’s a double whammy. Sacrifice and effort. It’s so much easier to gain weight. Just sit on the couch, watch tv and eat whatever you want , whenever you want.
It doesn’t take effort to gain weight. In fact, gaining weight is not only easy but it’s fast. This is the third annoying fact.
Why?
Because it takes a much longer time to lose fat that it does to gain it. This is the main reason that most people give up.
They do not see the results fast enough. An hour of intense exercise only burns about 400 to 500 calories. One slice of pizza contains about 300 calories. Eat two slices and you have cancelled your workout.
Can you imagine that? 1 hour of sweat and hard work gone with just two slices of pizza. That’s enough to break most people’s hearts.
Losing weight is a slow process. You will need to be on the right diet for quite some time. Depending on the amount of weight you need to lose, it could be a diet that you have to keep up for months. During this time, you will need to exercise as often as you can and not slip up on your diet.
A long, difficult process, to say the least. As difficult as it may be, you should stay on the path and not give up. You will reach your goal if you persist.
Once you have lost the fat and reached your desired goal you will feel a sense of achievement and happiness that no comfort meal can give you. The daily exercise and training will have you looking fit and feeling good. All the sacrifices will be worth it.
Is Going On a Detox Diet Plan a Good Idea?
The theory behind a detox diet plan is that our bodies and organs accumulate toxins through years of eating the wrong foods, breathing in polluted and drinking water which have chemicals in them. By going on a detox diet, we’ll be able to flush out the nasty toxins and rid our body of them.
Is this theory valid?
Unfortunately, it is. There are several negative effects of having toxins build up in our body. Skin that ages faster, cellulite, headaches, constant fatigue and aches are all symptoms of toxic build up in your body.
Therefore, it is an excellent idea to go on a detox diet plan for a few days before embarking on a weight loss program. The fat in your body is filled with toxins. Fat binds the toxins in your body to keep you safe.
Once you go on a detox diet, you’ll flush your body of toxins and it will be much easier to burn the fat. A detox diet plan can last for 3 days up to 7 days. A detox plan is not meant to be long term and it’s not meant for fat loss. It’s to detoxify your body.
So what is a detox diet plan like?
Before going on a detox diet plan, you should be aware that not all plans are created equal. Some are too strict and torturous to the point that they are not advisable. You need to do due diligence and see if the plan you are embarking on is sensible and not unbearable.
There are several examples of detox diets.
One method is to only consume 1 particular type of fruit for a period of 3 days. You are not allowed to eat anything else but that one fruit. You will also need to drink copious amounts of water with some lemon juice squeezed into it.
During a detox diet, it is advised that you only consume distilled water. You will have to drink about 64 ounces a day.
There are several detox diets that can be found online using Google search. Listing out all the detox plans is beyond the scope of this article. However, what I wish to impress upon you is that detox diets are good for you.
Embark on a simple 3 day program and enjoy the benefits of a healthier body. If a detox diet plan seems too harsh, you may wish to slowly detoxify yourself over a long period of time. You will eat only single ingredient foods such as broccoli, chicken breast, carrots, etc.
These are foods that are not processed and don’t have preservatives added to them. Steam your food and eat while hot. The less salt and artificial seasoning you use, the better. The theory behind this is simple.
If you stop overloading your body with toxins from bad food choices, over time your body will automatically cleanse itself of toxins. This is a less trying method and easier to follow.
You will need to change your eating habits and constantly think about how to eat healthy. In the beginning, this will not be easy. But with time, it will come naturally and the results will amaze you. You will feel so good that you will adopt healthy eating for life.
Is this theory valid?
Unfortunately, it is. There are several negative effects of having toxins build up in our body. Skin that ages faster, cellulite, headaches, constant fatigue and aches are all symptoms of toxic build up in your body.
Therefore, it is an excellent idea to go on a detox diet plan for a few days before embarking on a weight loss program. The fat in your body is filled with toxins. Fat binds the toxins in your body to keep you safe.
Once you go on a detox diet, you’ll flush your body of toxins and it will be much easier to burn the fat. A detox diet plan can last for 3 days up to 7 days. A detox plan is not meant to be long term and it’s not meant for fat loss. It’s to detoxify your body.
So what is a detox diet plan like?
Before going on a detox diet plan, you should be aware that not all plans are created equal. Some are too strict and torturous to the point that they are not advisable. You need to do due diligence and see if the plan you are embarking on is sensible and not unbearable.
There are several examples of detox diets.
One method is to only consume 1 particular type of fruit for a period of 3 days. You are not allowed to eat anything else but that one fruit. You will also need to drink copious amounts of water with some lemon juice squeezed into it.
During a detox diet, it is advised that you only consume distilled water. You will have to drink about 64 ounces a day.
There are several detox diets that can be found online using Google search. Listing out all the detox plans is beyond the scope of this article. However, what I wish to impress upon you is that detox diets are good for you.
Embark on a simple 3 day program and enjoy the benefits of a healthier body. If a detox diet plan seems too harsh, you may wish to slowly detoxify yourself over a long period of time. You will eat only single ingredient foods such as broccoli, chicken breast, carrots, etc.
These are foods that are not processed and don’t have preservatives added to them. Steam your food and eat while hot. The less salt and artificial seasoning you use, the better. The theory behind this is simple.
If you stop overloading your body with toxins from bad food choices, over time your body will automatically cleanse itself of toxins. This is a less trying method and easier to follow.
You will need to change your eating habits and constantly think about how to eat healthy. In the beginning, this will not be easy. But with time, it will come naturally and the results will amaze you. You will feel so good that you will adopt healthy eating for life.
Is Excess Weight Hurting Your Knees?
It is a well-known fact that being overweight or obese brings a lot of health problems. Diabetes, high blood pressure, blood clots, high cholesterol, etc are all common problems in people experience obesity.
However, what many folks do not realise is that pain in the joints such as your back, hips and knees are also health problems due to obesity. Since, it’s the joints and bones that hurt, people assume that it’s an unrelated condition. This is probably not true.
Excess weight on a body puts tremendous pressure on the joints. Even being a few pounds overweight can cause your knees to hurt. If you’re 15 pounds overweight, there is a force of 45 pounds on your knee joints when you walk. Over time, your knees will not be able to handle the torture anymore.
Since the knees are close to the ground, they experience more pressure than your shoulder joints. That is the reason why doctors are seeing many cases of knee and ankle problems nowadays due to the rise in obesity.
In the beginning, your joints are strong and can handle the pressure from the excess weight. Over time, the ligaments get worn out and the knees will start experiencing pain. This is a slow process which is why most people don’t realise it till it’s too late. Once the knees have weakened and given out, that’s when they feel pain and it feels like they developed a knee problem overnight.
Overweight people are more prone to spraining their ankles, twisting their knee, tearing their cartilage or having joints suffer from inflammation. This is due to the amount of stress placed on the joints.
So what can you do if you are overweight and have knee pain?
The first step will be to make changes in your diet. You want to be eating healthy and you want to be eating less. This step alone will help you shed some weight.
Since your knees hurt, you’ll want to engage in exercise that is low impact in nature. Yoga is an excellent choice. Swimming is great too.
Next up, it will be good to do some exercises to strengthen your knees. Half squats, lunges and general stretching are great. Bear in mind that you do not exercise through pain. Stop if it hurts. Pain is not gain here.
Get yourself a pair of good shoes that has good support. Keep your clothing loose and comfortable. Try and move around the house as much as possible. Walk more, do more chores, take the stairs, etc. The more active you are, the more calories you burn and the faster you lose weight.
Once you have lost a chunk of weight, the pressure on your knee joints will be greatly lessened. You will definitely feel less pain. It would be a good idea to engage the services of a physiotherapist to help you ease the pain. They’ll tell you what is wrong and what needs to be done to alleviate the pain.
Knee pain can be avoided by maintaining a healthy weight. Prevention is better than cure. Live an active and healthy life and you’ll keep all these problems at bay.
However, what many folks do not realise is that pain in the joints such as your back, hips and knees are also health problems due to obesity. Since, it’s the joints and bones that hurt, people assume that it’s an unrelated condition. This is probably not true.
Excess weight on a body puts tremendous pressure on the joints. Even being a few pounds overweight can cause your knees to hurt. If you’re 15 pounds overweight, there is a force of 45 pounds on your knee joints when you walk. Over time, your knees will not be able to handle the torture anymore.
Since the knees are close to the ground, they experience more pressure than your shoulder joints. That is the reason why doctors are seeing many cases of knee and ankle problems nowadays due to the rise in obesity.
In the beginning, your joints are strong and can handle the pressure from the excess weight. Over time, the ligaments get worn out and the knees will start experiencing pain. This is a slow process which is why most people don’t realise it till it’s too late. Once the knees have weakened and given out, that’s when they feel pain and it feels like they developed a knee problem overnight.
Overweight people are more prone to spraining their ankles, twisting their knee, tearing their cartilage or having joints suffer from inflammation. This is due to the amount of stress placed on the joints.
So what can you do if you are overweight and have knee pain?
The first step will be to make changes in your diet. You want to be eating healthy and you want to be eating less. This step alone will help you shed some weight.
Since your knees hurt, you’ll want to engage in exercise that is low impact in nature. Yoga is an excellent choice. Swimming is great too.
Next up, it will be good to do some exercises to strengthen your knees. Half squats, lunges and general stretching are great. Bear in mind that you do not exercise through pain. Stop if it hurts. Pain is not gain here.
Get yourself a pair of good shoes that has good support. Keep your clothing loose and comfortable. Try and move around the house as much as possible. Walk more, do more chores, take the stairs, etc. The more active you are, the more calories you burn and the faster you lose weight.
Once you have lost a chunk of weight, the pressure on your knee joints will be greatly lessened. You will definitely feel less pain. It would be a good idea to engage the services of a physiotherapist to help you ease the pain. They’ll tell you what is wrong and what needs to be done to alleviate the pain.
Knee pain can be avoided by maintaining a healthy weight. Prevention is better than cure. Live an active and healthy life and you’ll keep all these problems at bay.
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