You don’t have to be extremely overweight to experience back and knee pain, because any additional weight can have an effect. It has everything to do with how your body carries that weight and chances are you are suffering as a result.
The good news is that effective weight loss programs such as the 5:2 fasting diet plan can help in reducing and possibly eliminating the pain. Plus it has the benefit of improving your overall health, so it can be a win-win.
More About Weight And Your Spine
Your spine is designed to evenly distribute weight loads during your awake and active times as well as when you are sleeping. When your body has extra weight to carry, it forces the spine to work harder to bring your body into balance. What may result is injury or pain as your spine attempts to cope with the additional load.
This added weight can lead to poor posture and this contributes to various forms of back and neck pain. When the spine is forced to balance additional weight it can cause pain in the most vulnerable location – the lower back or lumbar region. Chronic lower back problems develop from this aggravation.
And with the increasing trend of the sedentary lifestyle, this only adds to the postural and weight problems for many people.
How Weight Can Affect Your Knees
Cartilage covers the bones that form the joints in your knees. This means that when you walk or do anything that bends your knees, the cartilage provides a smooth surface for the shinbone, thighbone and kneecap to move over. When your body has excess weight it puts additional force on the cartilage and can cause it to become sore and inflamed.
Extra Weight May Lead To Osteoarthritis
Some experts believe that excess body weight may be responsible for the release of leptin. This hormone could be linked to the development of osteoarthritis. Plus, the substances tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-1 are released from body fat to promote inflammation. As a result, they may be the cause of cartilage damage resulting from osteoarthritis.
What Can the 5:2 Diet Do For You?
If you are sick and tired of carrying that extra weight and unable to accomplish much in a day because of the aches and pain from your back and knees, there is an answer. The intermittent fasting diet can help you lose that excess weight and to keep it off.
It is not a crash diet or a fad. It is an eating plan that allows you to eat what you normally do, but reducing it twice a week. On the 2 fasting days, you reduce your calorie intake to 500 calories for women, or 600 calories for men, which is approximately one quarter of your “normal” daily calorie intake.
This intermittent fasting diet was developed by Dr Michael Mosley. It has been used by 1000’s of people over the world with great success. What makes this an appealing weight loss plan for people with back and neck pain is that the diet is easy to do, and does not rely on exercise, which can be difficult with people in pain. For best results though, movement and activity is recommended, but this can be gradually increased as the weight is decreased, since people’s mobility will tend to increase with weight loss.
Hollywood 5:2 Diet Tick Of Approval
When a movie role may require an actor to change their body, more often than not dieting becomes part of the process. Hugh Jackman is well known for using the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet to prepare for Wolverine movies, and actress Viola Davis uses it calling the intermittent diet program the “Wolverine Diet.” They have used it as an effective weight loss tool.
Conclusion
When you start to see the weight melt away you will feel alive. Your increased energy will make you more active, improving your lifestyle. And the added benefit of losing the weight is the less strain it will have on your back and knees, reducing the pain.
So if you have struggled to lose weight in the past, why not give the 5:2 diet program a try. Make sure that you check out this site which includes a 4 week challenge to support you along the way.
