Losing pain with the weight

lokihen

I'm a very slow loser, the journey is taking years. One of my issues is joint pain; hips, knees and ankles making walking for exercise hard. I would go for a walk and be incapacitated for a week.

Then I crossed a threshold of weight loss and that went away. I could walk an hour or more every day without pain. Well, until the weather changed and the arthritis in my knees acted up. But it feels amazing to be able to do basic things like normal people again.

Even with another 60 lbs to go, I hope others in similar situations are encouraged by my 'so far' experience.

nossmf

At my heaviest, I'd have to stop at the top of a single flight of stairs, bent over and gasping for air while massaging painful knees. But when you drop 50 pounds and include cardio in your routine, suddenly stairs mean nothing anymore, just keep on trucking, barely even notice them once passed.

Good on you!

Corina1143

Hurray for you!
I find I can walk further easier since I've lost, too.
I used to have trouble carrying anything. A glass of iced tea was heavy. Now I'm good up to 20 pounds or so.

history_grrrl

Congratulations! I have scoliosis, and when I gain weight, the flab sort of congregates on my left side and my lower lumbar back pain is so much worse. As I lose, that pain lessens significantly and exercising is so much easier. Thanks for the reminder.

Smellifeet

Thats fantastic news!

I am only 15-20 lbs overweight and I have incredible hip pain and lower back pain every day. Doing yoga really helps. I was hoping that carrying less weight would ease the pain. Maybe it is a bigger issue though.

TiaRoes1309

Your stories give me hope!
I'm a busy mom of 4 (2 with special needs) and work full time as a PA. At 300 I was still functioning, but in a lot of pain. Now that I've tipped 340, something seems to have just broken. My feet are on fire from the moment I wake up in the morning. My hips and back get so stiff and sore after sitting at my desk for even 20 minutes, that I have to stretch for a minute or so just to stand up fully- and then i waddle like a penguin for the 8-10 steps. Moving my quadriplegic daughter from carseat to wheelchair is almost impossible, and I'm getting really scared about not being able to care for her if things don't change.

Posting this 5 days into my journey, 2 pounds down so far. Cant wait to see what 10-20 does!

anderssd

When I first started my weight loss journey I had some horrible shoulder joint pain. My wife, bless her, would rub my shoulders when we were in bed which helped a lot. Now that I've been exercising for the past 5 months the pain has pretty much gone away at this point which is awesome however I haven't mentioned that part to the wife yet because I enjoy the shoulder rubs. I'm probably gonna has some explainin to do once I reach the pearly gates but I'm willing to risk it for now lol.

AnnPT77

Congratulations, @lokihen - these kinds of improvements are so important (and inspiring).

I definitely found that weight loss improved things, too - more than I really expected, TBH.

I have at least one torn meniscus for which I'm deferring surgery as long as possible (and probably two), plus osteoarthritis and osteoporosis-related degeneration in spots.

At my starting weight (just over the line into class 1 obese), low-level discomfort was frequent to constant, and actual pain relatively frequent (multiple days a month, at least).

Losing 50+ pounds, which got me to a healthy weight, made a really big improvement. There are long (multi day/week) periods with little or no pain or even noticeable discomfort - it can be more like occasional twinges. There are still slightly worse times, but not even close to the frequency, duration or intensity I felt before weight loss.

Another thing that gradually helps, IME, is getting stronger and fitter. I think that being stronger better supports body areas and limits stress on problem points, being fitter improves circulation in those areas, and that sort of thing. It's pretty subtle, but I do think that it has helped incrementally over a period of time.

Smellifeet wrote: »

Thats fantastic news!

I am only 15-20 lbs overweight and I have incredible hip pain and lower back pain every day. Doing yoga really helps. I was hoping that carrying less weight would ease the pain. Maybe it is a bigger issue though.

@Smellifeet, I don't know how long you've been at a lower weight. If my memory serves, I didn't feel the full positive effects of weight loss until a while after reaching goal weight. I think the reduced stress on the problem areas needed to recover a bit, and I gradually just felt better. Improvement started during loss, but definitely continued for a while into maintenance of a healthy weight.

My weight loss started well over 8 years ago, and I've been at a healthy weight for 7+ of that, so I honestly can't say what the actual timeline was like, just that it took some time, including some time after reaching goal weight.

myhands4God

all of these comments are so encouraging. I had lost a lot of weight and my pain had diminished greatly and I felt great. Then I lost my father in law, hysterectomy surgery and then lost my Dad all within 6 months. I put all the weight I lost back on. I have been trying for a year to get it back off. I have been with MFP for years and things struggle to click. I know I need to get back on track and get the weight back off. I hurt everyday again.

DrWesner

I started off at 240 lbs. I am 48 years old and noticed that it hurt in my hips and my knees every time I got out of my car. When I started working out and got on the diet, I noticed a lot more pain in the early days every time I would work out. It was not muscle pain, but joint pain in my hips and knees again. Weight loss was also really slow. Then I finally got my protein levels right. I aimed for 1 gram of protein for every pound of weight. Boom...instant pain reduction and the weight started to come off quickly. When I hit 220, I started lifting along with cardio. The weight started to drop faster and I started gaining definition...again with no pain. I am down 30 pounds now, and I plan to drop another 20. I am looking to get to 10-12% body fat (What can I say? I am an addict.). The thing is, if I can do it...anyone can. Get your protein levels right and hit them every day. That was the secret for me. Good luck!

elisa123gal

anderssd wrote: »

When I first started my weight loss journey I had some horrible shoulder joint pain. My wife, bless her, would rub my shoulders when we were in bed which helped a lot. Now that I've been exercising for the past 5 months the pain has pretty much gone away at this point which is awesome however I haven't mentioned that part to the wife yet because I enjoy the shoulder rubs. I'm probably gonna has some explainin to do once I reach the pearly gates but I'm willing to risk it for now lol.

i think buying your wife something sparkly and sentimental for Christmas.. may secure your passage through the pearly gates. (shaking head.. yet laughing)...

Jacq_qui

Just reading these posts reminds me that we all carry pain of the non-physical type around with us as much as the physical. It's quite a lot for people to carry around with them. Reducing our bodyfat has so many positives though, it's sometimes hard to see the bigger picture when we're battling with the other things we've got on our shoulders.