Sisters-in-Service

How 5 extra pounds can Impact Your Joints

• Cat Corchado • Episode 171

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What if the holiday season didn't have to mean compromising your health and wellness? Join me, Cat Corchado, on this episode of Why Not Wellness, as I uncover how and why 5 extra pounds of weight can add significantly to added stress on your joints.

As we approach the festive season, I'm excited to offer practical tips on maintaining wellness amidst the indulgence, particularly the surprising impact of just a few extra pounds on joint health. Discover how you can relish holiday treats without the guilt and learn about the cumulative pressure that weight can add to your joints, potentially accelerating wear and tear. Whether you're a fitness enthusiast or just starting out, this episode equips you with strategies to prioritize health and wellness sustainably. Let's embrace the journey of health, fitness and wellness together

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to Sisters in Service podcast. Most of you know me as a strong advocate for women veterans in being recognized not only as veterans but also as women who are changing the world through our passion of serving even after service. This podcast is my passion by telling all the stories of military brats, military spouses, active duty and veterans, not to forget the veteran service organizations that help us along our transition journey. I want to thank you in advance for listening. I hope that you will join me. Every week, a new podcast and episode comes out every Tuesday, so I hope that you will join and I hope that you enjoy. This podcast is brought to you by Small Space Pilates. Are you ready to get fit and fabulous from the comfort of your own home? Look no further than Small Space Pilates. With live online Pilates and strength training classes, a video library and a no perfection allowed policy, you can achieve your fitness goals without ever leaving your house. Click on the link for your complimentary week and start your journey to feeling fabulous today. Hi everybody, this is Kat Cortado.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to another episode of why Not? Wellness, where I give you small tidbits of information that can give you long-term success in fitness. I love a hack and some people hate that word hack. But you know what? If I can learn a hack that will give me back an hour or a half an hour or 20 minutes, or I could do something that will still get me healthy, but I don't have to spend as much time doing it. I think I'm going to include that, or at least try it out. So today I really wanted to give you a change that actually not a change, but more about information, and so I'm going to be talking about how just an additional five pounds of weight on your body can significantly increase stress on your joints. So, whether you're someone new to fitness, maybe you've been working out for a long time, and especially now because the holidays are right around the corner. Right, and don't get me wrong, I love to eat. Why do you guys think I'm in the fitness industry? I have a healthy appetite and I enjoy, but my goal during that, especially during the holidays, such as I call them the holidays because I'm including Thanksgiving and Christmas is because we eat a little bit more. We're enjoying our lives with our families, right, and I don't know of anybody that's on a diet or anything else during those holidays. And if you are, please just enjoy the holiday and deal with it later. Okay, yes, I eat all the things. I eat the cookies, I have the ice cream, I have the food, but my goal when I go into a holiday is to not gain weight. Okay, so keep that in mind.

Speaker 1:

So let's talk a little bit about how just five extra pounds can mean additional stress on your joints. So what do we mean by stress on your joints? So your joints include your knees, your hips, your ankles, your back, your neck, all your joints. Right, they bear all of the weight of our bodies, all of it which can help us move or not, and it helps us support our activities or not. So maybe you're not moving, but your joints, ache, I get it. Okay, how am I going to work out of my joints? Ache, I hear you.

Speaker 1:

So it's about the additional pressure that weight exerts on our joints. So just five pounds can increase the stress on your joints. Like I just said, it's estimated Now, this is an estimation and I'm talking about the weight on your knees, your hips, your ankles and your feet. Right at this moment, an additional five pounds of pressure can be exerted on the knees when walking, so an extra five pounds of body weight can result in an additional 20 pounds of pressure on your knees with every step you take. Let me say that one more time For every pound of body weight, it's an additional four pounds of pressure on your joints. So an extra five pounds can result in an additional 20 pounds of pressure on your knees. I know so. This increased pressure can accelerate the wear and tear on cartilage, leading to the joint pain and maybe even osteoarthritis, not to mention if you trip and fall or something. It just takes a lot longer for that joint to heal. So I will tell you this I did buy a weighted vest because my husband and I do a lot of walking and it's a great way of getting in some cardio.

Speaker 1:

So I bought a weighted vest. It has an additional 50 pounds. Don't get scared, it comes with pockets so you can put five pounds, 10 pounds, 15 pounds, 50 pounds, whatever. My husband is 6'4". He needs a little bit extra weight. I will tell you that I put 25 pounds in this weighted vest and walk two miles and have been doing it for the past month, not every time I walk. I have to really pay attention to my abs. I have to really and really make sure that every step I take is soft and that all of that pressure from the extra weight from the vest is being absorbed into the muscle and not the joint. I'm just putting that out there too. So what do we do so? What do we do so?

Speaker 1:

What are some common misconceptions about weight gain and joint health that people should be aware of? Well, that's one we tend to think of five pounds is not a big deal. Yeah, it's five pounds, but just remember what we just talked about. Okay, so people think five pounds isn't a big deal, that weight gain is. It's not. It's not, it's okay. You know, I gained a few pounds, one or two pounds, five pounds, maybe more. But what happens to your metabolism is that it starts to drop, especially if you don't work out.

Speaker 1:

Now you've got extra weight on your joints and people tend to think, if they have joint pain, pressure or anything else, that, oh, I must be getting older. No, no, it's not. You are getting older. Let me say that first. But start to think in terms of how can I make myself feel better? And this is where I'm going to interject 11 minutes, 11 minutes of walking, 11 minutes of stretching, 11 minutes of I don't know. Dance to your own music, make have your own playlist. Just start moving. That's all I'm going to say. Just start moving.

Speaker 1:

So it's important to understand that when your joints hurt or if you have a joint, if you've ever had an injury I was an athlete, so I had injuries it's so frustrating because I can't just get up and go. I can't just get up and do. I have to find people to do it for me, and that's frustrating in and of itself. So start thinking in terms of how much weight can I not gain during the holidays? We'll talk about that in just a second. So the weight on your joints, it's not just about long-term effects. It is, but even short-term weight gain can affect your mobility and your wait for it.

Speaker 1:

Quality of life. Don't we want quality of life? Don't you want to just be able to get up and go? Do instead of oh, I can't go to the swim park because of my knee. I can't go hiking because of my back, I can't, I can't, I can't, and that's frustrating. So simple activities like walking, even standing, like walking, even standing. Do you have a standing desk? Use it please.

Speaker 1:

So I told you that my goal is to not gain any weight and that I'm not going to say should. I was going to say that should be yours too, but you know, no, I'm not going to go there. But I want you to feel good, but I want you to feel good. So I really hype up my fitness routine during the holidays. So what do I do? Let's say it's Thanksgiving day. That morning I go for a walk Might be two miles, might be more and then I feel really good about eating what I'm eating. I don't stress oh, I shouldn't eat this. How many times have you said that I shouldn't have this piece of pie? Why not? It's pie. How many times a year do you have pie? And if it's more than you know, during the holidays, then we need to talk. I'm just going to say so, this is a big deal.

Speaker 1:

You know, this additional stress can manifest in ways that you can't even imagine Walking with groceries in both hands. That's what you should do. But how hard is that for you when your joints hurt, when your hands hurt, when your wrists hurt, when your back hurts? So the impact of this additional weight on our joints isn't irreversible, but it has to be front of mind. So, through mindful nutrition and I'm just talking about eating fruits and vegetables and being aware of what you're putting in your mouth. And a really good way to do this take one day, just one day. Everything you put in your mouth, write it down. If you have coffee and it's got sugar and creamer, and, and, and, and, especially if you go to Starbucks, write it all down. Piece of gum, write it down. You might be surprised at how much you're snacking and I'm not saying that's bad. I love some chips, just like anybody else. But when you're having chips every day, then that's the problem.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so we want to be able to walk, do regular exercise, lifestyle adjustments without the pain and aggravation of our joints, so it is possible to manage your weight and alleviate the added stress on your joints. So effective strategies. Well, I've mentioned a couple, maybe more than a couple walking 11 minutes, or dancing, or or. Or just stop chair dancing. I've done that. I can't tell you how many times I put my playlist on and I'm dancing in my chair like this. Just start moving. You know what 11 minutes does. It opens the door to you having a regular exercise routine because you understand you get to feel, not so much understand the effects of what it does on your body, but you know what else, what it does up here. It clears your mind. People talk about Alzheimer's and dementia. You know what exercise does. It's like a shot of adrenaline right to your brain.

Speaker 1:

Watching what you eat during the holidays and I'm not saying weighing everything. Here's what I do when I put my food out. I put a little bit of everything and don't get me wrong, I don't mean a little bit, but what I think I can eat in that one sitting. And the reason I do that is because I know that if I want more, I can go back if I want it. I've seen some of the plates that my brothers during the holidays and it's I don't know where they put all that food. Go back, if you want. Here's another trick that I've done I eat my protein first, so whether it's turkey or whatever, and then I have my vegetable and then I have my carb, and most times I can't finish the carb. So the dressing Okay, that's all I'm going to say the dressing, I eat it last.

Speaker 1:

So, movement, being front of mind about your movement what are you going to do? When are you going to do it? Start off with dancing in your chair, that's okay, being mindful of what you put in your mouth, writing down one day of everything, that you eat everything, and then looking at it and going, huh, that's a lot more than I thought, because in our mind we're like I really didn't eat anything today. So this is just an intro. Because the holidays are coming up, I want you to think about it more now. Don't, please, for God's sake, don't wait till January. Okay, please for me. Can you just do it for me? Start thinking about it now. Start movement now. You know what happens. By January, you may have found that you've lost five pounds or more. Don't do it for the weight loss. Do it because it will make you feel better. So we've tied together what extra five pounds can do to increase joint stress, and it's a powerful reminder of how closely our weight and joint health are linked. So, making informed choices about our health, we can protect our joints, enhance our mobility and improve our overall quality of life. So thank you for listening, thank you for being here. I hope this helps in some way, shape or form. So always remember that you know.

Speaker 1:

If a health club isn't your thing, but you're really looking into getting moving, let's have a discussion about working out at home. That's where Small Space Pilates came in. But I'm not going to sit there and tell you to join. I want to talk to you first. I want to find out your why. Why is it different this time? Let's have a talk, that's it. Let's just find out. Maybe you don't join Small Space Pilates and you know what, that's okay, but maybe I have put you on that path the movement. So until next time, kat Corchado, your movement specialist. Signing off for now, thank you.