Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Pain (35 page)

Per Serving: 15 g carbohydrate, 3 g protein, 0–1 g fat, 80 calories

Tip: Choose whole grains as often as you can
.

Per Serving: little or no carbohydrate, 5 g fat, 45 calories

Tip: Choose good fats as often as you can
.

To learn more about the topics discussed in this chapter, we suggest that you explore the following resources:

Center for Science in the Public Interest,
Nutrition Action Healthletter
(newsletter):
www.cspinet.org
.

Environmental Nutrition
(newsletter):
www.environmentalnutrition.com
.

Mayo Clinic, “Nutrition and Healthy Eating”:
www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition
-and-
healthy-eating/basics/nutrition-basics/hlv-20049477
.

Tufts University,
Health & Nutrition Letter
:
www.nutritionletter.tufts.edu
.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Heart Healthy Home Cooking, African American Style
:
www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs//files/07/30/87/f073087/public/heart/cooking.pdf
.

University of California,
UC Berkeley Wellness Letter
:
www.berkeleywellness.com
.

Warshaw, Hope.
Eat Out, Eat Right: The Guide to Healthier Restaurant Eating
, 3rd ed. Chicago: Surrey Books, 2008.

Woodruff, Sandra, and Leah Gilbert-Henderson.
Soft Foods for Easier Eating Cookbook: Easy-to-Follow Recipes for People Who Have Chewing and Swallowing Problems
. Garden City Park, N.Y.: Square One, 2010.

O
UR WEIGHT EFFECT OUR HEALTH
, how we look, our ability to move, and how we feel about ourselves. Being overweight or underweight can have major effects on your pain and your life. Excess weight is associated with such painful conditions as arthritis, back pain, fibromyalgia, headache, neuropathic pain, and angina due to coronary artery disease. It increases your risk for such other chronic diseases as diabetes from high blood sugar (called type 2 diabetes) and high blood pressure. Being underweight can weaken your immune system and make you less able to fight infection. It can increase the likelihood of developing osteoporosis, which increases the risk of painful fractures. In younger women, being underweight can affect fertility and result in menstrual problems.

Special thanks to Bonnie Bruce, DrPH, RD, for her help with this chapter.

A healthy weight contributes to better health and a better quality of life. Managing your weight can help you manage symptoms of your pain condition, including
fatigue restricted movement, and pain itself. It can help prevent or hold off related health problems such as diabetes and high blood pressure. In addition, maintaining a healthy weight can help you be more active, sleep better, and do the things you want and need to do. In this chapter we spell out what defines a healthy weight, how to make changes, how to decide whether you should lose or gain weight, and how to maintain changes you make.

Most people’s weight tends to move up and down over time, even over the course of a few days. So a healthy weight is not just one specific number on the scale or some sort of “ideal” number. There is no such thing as an “ideal” weight. Your healthy weight is a range of pounds that is unique and personal to you. It is a range that will help you lower your risk of developing or further worsening health problems. Being within a healthy weight range helps you feel good in your mind and your body.

Pinpointing your healthy weight range and deciding whether you need to change your weight depend on several things. These include your age, your activity level, your health, how much and where your body fat is located, and your family history of weight-related health problems, such as high blood pressure or diabetes.

To get a sense of a healthy weight range for you, see
Figure 14.1
, which is a chart of height (in inches or centimeters), weight (in pounds or kilograms), and body mass index (BMI). Although not a perfect tool, the BMI is a useful, quick, and general guide for adults. Find your height and follow that line to your weight. Locate the point on the chart where your height and weight intersect. Read the number on the dashed line closest to that point. That is your BMI. You can also locate your BMI using
Table 14.1
on
pages 238
–
239
. Next, refer to
Table 14.2
on
page 240
, which tells you how your current BMI is classified.

Another way to judge your weight is to use this rough rule of thumb. Give or take 10 percent, women should weigh about 105 pounds (47 kg) for the first 5 feet (152 cm) of height and another 5 pounds (2 kg) per inch (2.5 cm) after that. Men should weigh about 106 pounds (48 kg) for the first 5 feet (152 cm) and an added 6 pounds (2.5 kg) per inch (2.5 cm). For example, for a woman who is 5 foot 5 inches (165 cm) tall a healthy weight would be 130 pounds (58 kg), and her healthy weight range would be roughly 117 to 143 pounds (53 to 64 kg). This weight range places her in the BMI “normal weight” class.

Another way to judge your weight is to measure your waist. If you are overweight and most of your body fat is around your waist (rather than on your hips and thighs), you are at higher risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes. For nonpregnant women, this means that health risks go up with a waist size that is more than 35 inches (88 cm). For men, it is a waist circumference that is greater than 40 inches (100 cm). To measure your waist correctly, stand and place a tape measure (one that is not old and stretched out) around your bare middle, just above your hipbone. Measure your waist just after you breathe out.

Table 14.1
Body Mass Index