4 ways to lose weight for pain relief

If you're encountering pain related to your present health condition, chances are that your doctor has told you that losing weight can help. We'll give you some advice to make it easier to meet these goals.

Researchers have found that people can make big strides toward eating less by simply making small changes. For instance, by serving food on smaller plates, you'll automatically give yourself smaller helpings. By preparing plates in the kitchen and eating in the dining room, you make seconds much less likely.

If you're someone whose downfall is TV snacking, try this: put a loose rubber band on each of your wrists. Every time you reach into the snack bowl, snap the rubber band on that wrist. This practice will make you more aware of how much you're eating.

• Changing the kinds of foods you eat is key to losing weight. Try to get more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats and less sugary, fatty food.
• However, these changes won't do you much good if you continue to overeat the healthy stuff. That's where portion control comes in: you not only have to eat more healthfully to lose weight, you also have to eat 500 fewer calories per day to lose 500 grams (one pound) per week.

Water can be a great boon for diet success:

• A glass or two before meals helps you feel full.
• Water is essential for good health: it helps regulate body temperature, remove waste, and carry healing nutrients and oxygen throughout your body. In fact, some of the signs of dehydration are chronic pain in your joints and muscles, headaches, and constipation.
• Getting enough water is key to less pain, but let's face it: water isn't as good as a milkshake, and lots of people simply don't like drinking it. Like eating more healthfully, drinking water is a new habit to establish.

Losing weight is a challenge for many, even those that don't suffer from pain. If your doctor thinks that losing weight can help relieve your pain symptoms, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. Use these tips to help.