Dealing with PAIN - When exercise hurts, what do you do? PLE

imabigvegan

I have been struggling with a cycle of exercise and injury for some time now. I have over 200lbs to lose and the amount of weight I carry has ruined my knees. I have no cartilage left and almost any exercise aggravates, inflames and causes unbearable pain. I know that I have done this to myself but I fear that it is really now holding me back from solving the problem.

I have been swimming for sometime to get great cardio burns with no impact but this is still causing me pain as of late. I just don't know what to do anymore.

In the last few days I have been doing boxing on the Wii (Active 2) while sitting on an exercise ball and this is a reasonable burn but it is all upper body. I have also been doing pushups (on the wall) and crunches.

I have tried a few different types of food plans ranging from 6 smaller meals, higher protein, to low calorie all together. Nothing seems to result in consistent weight loss.

Is there anyone out there that can relate? Have you come across this wall in your own journey and found some solutions? I am open to any suggestions. I would love your ideas on how to stop this from inhibiting my progress.

Thanks in advance for your support!

hamiltonba

Would you be willing to make your food diary public?

AZKristi

Have you tried a stationary bike or elliptical trainer? THese are good, low impact cardio options. If these aren't an option, you might want to consider a few sessions with a trainer who can help you modify some exercises.

urbanmyth

Hi there - you mentioned high protein, have you looked at the Dukan diet?My sister, who has as a significant amount to lose, is doing really well on it when every other diet failed her.

For now, I would focus more on diet and perhaps gentle exercise like pilates. When you've lost more weight your body will find it easier to get into cardio.

NoAdditives

Do knee braces help? I had some knee injuries when I was dancing and no matter how much it hurt to walk, I could dance if I had my braces on.

MitchFletcher

Try the recumbent bike on low setting. Just sit back an peddle. No impact on the joints. Try to start at 15-20 min. and increase time as you get more fit. All movement burns calories. Diet is more important than exercise at this point. If you make your food diary public and honestly record all of your intake. your support will be here for you.

imabigvegan

I thought my food was public already?? How do I change that?

Thanks for the suggestions, I cant do a trainer and I have no access to a bike (right now) or elliptical.

I will make my food public ASAP.

Thanks!

imabigvegan

Food diary is now public. Duh!

31prvrbs

I'd have to agree w/everyone else that the food will be the most crucial aspect of losing enough weight to be comfortable enough to do certain exercises. That said, I also agree that no/low impact cardio will be your best bet @ this point. You may even find that you want to keep doing that even after the weight is gone in case you still have joint issues. I'm currently dealing w/an injured Achilles, and have been working around knee issues for long before that happened. The cardio that everyone has mentioned is right on point: cycling, (spin or recumbent bike), elliptical, etc are great for lower body conditioning and cardio. You can also keep doing what you're doing using your upper body to get your heart rate up as well, w/workouts like boxing (which is what I prefer to do via DVDs). I do almost exclusively upper body/boxing w/o's for cardio. Just get a good variety so you don't get bored..

There are many options out there for you, so don't give up, just find what works for you and work it! Good luck.

SPheonix22

There was a previous post on here where the person stated that she ate her biggest meal in the morning. Maybe you could try that I think the quote would be

Breakfast like a king
Lunch like a prince
Dinner like a pauper.

Sometimes just resetting the way you eay and what you eat will get it done as tha body will have to process it differently. I mean you could try. no harm no foul.

sofaking6

Don't worry if your cardio is mostly upper body..it still burns calories from all over! You can do no-impact stuff to strengthen your legs. Have you tried a GOOD knee brace? I had knee surgery once where one of the screws they put in there didn't stay put, it made a nice hole through my knee over the course of a couple of years. The little ACE brace from the drug store does not help at all. See if your doctor will write you a prescription for a high-quality custom made brace. Your doctor might also get you a prescription for physical therapy, they will have machines there that can help you with no-impact strengthening.

Also, what is the status of surgery or other repairs? I know I'll get reamed for suggesting this, but if exercise isn't going to do you any additional harm (like if you already have to have surgery on it), then suck down some Tylenol or Advil or Alleve.

ukaryote

You stated you have not cartilage. Is this an evaluation from a doctor? If true, then see your doc and ask about appropriate exercises and repairs. Otherwise, I would not do any exercises that depend upon my knees. Nope. Sorry. No way.

I would not even suggest any lower body exercises to you because I am not 100% certain which ones would never involve the knees. Recumbent bike - any cycling - also hurts because it definitely *does* put stress on your knee. It is not impact, but it is stress. I have a sore knee, not destroyed, and any cycling hurts until I warm up quite a bit.

TeaBea

Low impact cardio to try (free):

Leslie Sansone Walk At Home - you can try a couple workouts for free on exercisetv.tv.com

Start! Walking 1 Mile (or 2 miles)
Cardio Slim Down (this is 1 mile)

What's great about these - you keep the moves really small at first - and then build when you are feeling stronger. There is no choreography - so you can always go at your own pace. Don't try to do too much all at once. Good luck!

Bybybarriga

I was a swim instructor for a few years and during one of those, I hurt my knee really bad, and now I have similar issues, work out followed by injury. If swimming is the only thing you can do right now, I would suggest checking your form ( are you arms and legs the right way for your stroke) and off course stretching is critical. If you find you don't want to swim but still work out, I would try just walking around the pool, you will still work out, but very low impact. Good luck!

hamiltonba

How long have you been doing upper body exercises? I would definitely keep doing them! Don't give up! Maybe your body is trying to get used to your new food/exercise regiment! Good luck!