Excess Fat Hurts Feet Too? Yikes!
Yes, being overweight adversely affects every part of your body, but most of us don’t think about what it does to our feet. We just assume that our ole faithful feet will just keep plugging us along, like the wheels on a wagon. However, putting on as little as 10 pounds can cause our feet to begin making adjustments to compensate for the additional weight.
When we look in the mirror, we can see what excess fat does to the outside of our bodies but remember, everything trickles down, even weight. As 25-50 pounds of excess fat gets settled on our bodies, it slows us down. It weighs down our knees, back, hips, legs, and feet. It can make the movement more difficult, especially exercising.
Each of our feet is comprised of 26 bones and an assortment of tendons and ligaments. Our feet provide us with cool shock absorbers to offset each step we take. When we walk, we put more than twice our body weight on our feet. Those extra 25-50 pounds trickle down on top of our tendons and ligaments. That weight pushes down and flattens our arches and tendons and causes instability on our ankles. 50- 100 pounds can make standing on our feet so uncomfortable, we don’t want to attempt any extra movement, including simply walking. At this point, our body is straining to balance the extra weight. Part of that balancing act includes us adjusting our gait and stride; something most of us don’t even notice.
If you made a New Year’s resolution to get in shape, stick with it and do it the right way. Invest in a good pair of support shoes and use them religiously. If you didn’t make a New Year’s resolution, it’s not too late. Either way, consult a physician, establish a plan and invest in a pair of good support shoes.
Good support shoes will provide the arch support our overburdened feet need. Neglecting to invest in good support shoes can cause more damage to our feet. When those extra pounds are pushing down, the arch support in your shoes can help offset the flattening effects, and stabilize our feet and ankles.
Preparing our feet for exercise increases our success in our quest to lose weight
It’s also important to treat our feet to a pedicure every two weeks. If you can’t bend over to give yourself a pedicure, enlist a loved one to help you, or go to the salon. Scraping the dry dead skin off our feet increases circulation. If you can’t bend down, you can purchase the type of foot scrapper that you put on the shower floor, then run your feet over it as you shower.
Cutting our toenails is important because when they grow too long they cause toe pain when we wear shoes. Cutting toenails straight across will help prevent ingrown toenails. Our feet swell during the day so elevating them in the evening helps increase circulation.
Inspect your feet each day to ensure there are no cuts or bruises on them. If you can’t bend down, find a mirror, hold it up and inspect your feet. Make sure you wear socks before you put your shoes on. Our feet perspire and wearing socks that absorb moisture helps prevent foot fungus from growing.
So, are you ready to work out now? You’ll like the results and your feet will thank you for it. Click on the links below for additional information, and get ready to get moving.
http://ourhealthnetwork.com/conditions/obesity-and-the-feet/
http://www.portsmouthfootandankle.com/blog/post/obesity-and-your-feet.html
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