I've been away from here for a while due to a bad few months. I'm now back but have gained a few pounds back. I was previously walking to work but I've got arthritis in both my knees but recently the right one has been hurting bad so if I do a fair bit of walking one day, then that knee hurts for several days afterwards. So I can't really walk to work any more. I'm going to try and cut back on the chocolate and rubbish. I'm an emotional eater and the last few months have really messed with my emotions so you can imagine how I've been.
I bought some slimfast this morning, to just use as a substitute for one meal a day. I did do slimfast a long time ago (but for two meals a day), lost 21 pounds and kept the weight off for a couple of years. So I'm thinking it would be worth a try again, though I can only face it for one meal a day.
I'm not sure about what to do for exercise with arthritis, but I'm sure there are people here who've been in the same situation and have suggestions. Do knee supports (something like Ace bandages) help for walking with arthritis? Or maybe swimming?
I have done Slim-Fast drinks off and on over time, and I agree, they do work. I also found them to be most effective when using them to replace just one meal a day instead of two. I haven't had one in a few years because I'm focusing on a "whole foods" approach to eating instead.
What types of things do you have planned for your other two meals, and snacks? Do you cook only for yourself, or do you cook for a spouse/family too?
Well, the good news is, you've come back to the right place! Sometimes life gets the better of us, and our diets get put on the back burner for a while. And that's okay. You are ready to start up again, and that is what matters. Purchasing the slim fast was a great start. You know it works, because you have seen results with it. Excellent! Instead of walking as your exercise, find something very low impact on your knees. Hurting yourself is not going to help anything. You just need to find something that can keep you active and keep your knees happy. Eliminating the junk food is tough. Start out slowly, and work your way down. Being an emotional eater can make the past few months feel like a disaster, but don't beat yourself up. Look forward, and what you are going to do, not what you have done in the past. You can do it! Just take one step at a time.
It could be that you need some anti-inflammatory meds to reduce the problem. By all means, it's not good to keep walking on it if it's causing you that much pain. Of course, I am not a doctor, so you'd want to check with your own physician.
What else is going into your weight loss plan besides SlimFast once a day? Tell us more about what you'll be doing.
I saw a specialist doctor a few years ago about my knees. At that point they werent so bad but I think maybe I need to go back. I can't ride a bike or an exercise bike because that kicks the pain off. So I'm not sure what exercise I could do, other than some kind of upper body exercise or any kind of exercise that doesn't involve regular impact involving my knees. I'm not sure about whether swimming would help but I don't feel confident about being in a swimming costume at the moment.
As for the rest of my eating plan I'm going to try and eat more fruit. I'm a vegetarian anyway so my dinners are always healthy. My main problem is snacking because I get so hungry in between meals. 4.00 in the afternoon is my low point when i feel really, really hungry and it's quite a serious problem because I work on a reception so I can only eat quick snacky things. This is when I end up eating rubbish.
I have a husband and son and we all tend to eat differently and also I am the only veggie in the house. I tend to eat my main meal on my own mid-day before going to work. Then in the evening (6 pm) I only have to worry about preparing a meal for my husband and son. This is the point where I think I will take the slim fast. But really I need to eat something filling about 4.00 to get me through until 6pm. If I come home starving a slim fast wont be enough.
Previously when I was on here i didn't change my eating habits much but the walking seemed to help me lose 7 pounds but if I can't walk I know I've got to be more drastic with my eating habits. And as I said before when I'm stressed I just crave sugar. The stressful time has now gone so if I can get sorted and shift at least 14 pounds I'll be happy.
Have also got a family event in 3 weeks, which is another reason to try and get sorted
Some people probably think I harp on this one too much, but...oh well. LOL
I have arthritis in my knees. At heavier weights, it bothered me daily. But I was determined to start running. This made my knees hurt even more. My right one was the worst and I had a knee support I used on days it bothered me. Going up the stairs at work was painful sometimes. I discovered though that when I wore that support one day while running, my right knee had NO problems during or after the run. So I bought another support for the left knee and wore them everytime I ran after that. Eventually, I stopped wearing the supports. I still run, but have no knee troubles now.
The type of supports that I found worked were not the ones with the hole where the knee goes, but the ones you slip on over your foot and pull up over your knee. It is a solid elastic band that covers the whole knee that I got at Wal*Mart. At first I used an Ace bandage, but when running, sometimes it would slip and start sliding down.
You should pick up a couple of these supports and try them out to see if they help to alleviate some of your knee pain. And once you lose the weight, you may see a very noticeable improvement in your knees.
I will definitely look into getting some knee supports. I'm the same in that it is my right knee that is the worst and when it hurts it's generally if I am climbing stairs that it hurts the most.
I am also hoping that losing the weight will help with this problem too.
I understand your discomfort with the thought of putting on a swimsuit; I feel the same way. It really is an excellent, no-impact exercise that burns way more calories than walking, though, so if you can get over your self-consciousness, it might really help get you back on track.
My husband is an amputee and I got him several of the chair aerobics tapes. They actually give a good workout while sitting down. You might try one. Or you could ask your doctor to refer you the one physical theraphy session. They will show you exercises you can do with resistance bands, etc. without hurting your knees. You can lose weight without exercise, but you lose muscle as well as fat. So try to do something.Good luck!
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