Chronic Pain and Weight Gain

Isaiah 57:10 – You were wearied by all your ways, but you would not say, “It is hopeless.” You found renewal of your strength, and so you did not faint.

Chronic pain can bring many changes to your life:
 

• You’re not able to work as many hours as you used to and sometimes you can’t work at all.
• You’re not able to do things you used to do such as drive the two hours it takes to visit your sister and you miss her.
• You’re not able to get together with a group of friends and go for a hike and sit by a bonfire like you used to.
• You’re not able to keep your house as clean as you used to due to cleaning causes increased pain so you had to hire someone to do the work for you.
• You’re not able to eat what you used to because you don’t have the strength or the mobility to stand in front of a stove to cook homemade meals.

 
When you battle chronic pain you miss out on more things than your family and friends realize. Even what you eat changes.
 
Before you were injured and ended up with chronic pain, you could go shopping by yourself and choose healthy ingredients to cook what you wanted. Now it’s frozen TV dinners and fast food which are high in salt and most of the time high in calories. This can cause you to gain weight which then makes it harder to carry yourself which increases your pain level.
 
Medications may also cause an increase in weight. They can cause water retention, and may cause your appetite to increase which causes you to eat more and gain weight.
 
Lack of exercise can pile on the pounds as you’re unable to do even the simplest workout. And forget a ride to the gym to work out. Driving is next to impossible now due to mobility issues in your neck, shoulders and legs.
 
Because of chronic pain your emotional state can head downhill causing depression and anxiety. This can lead to eating to cover up what you’re feeling and your weight goes up.
 
Eating can also become a coping mechanism for dealing with chronic pain. You may reach for that bag of potato chips for a short-time elevation in your mood.
 
Whatever the reason, chronic pain can lead to weight gain. So what can we do about it? Practicalpainmanagement.com posts the article, “Weight Gain Means More Pain.” In the article, one of the things that hit home with me was the idea of stop trying to lose weight, but take steps to stop gaining and maintain your weight instead.
 
Gaining weight can be demeaning and cause you to believe you will never be able to get a hold of it. This can cause you to reach for more food.
 
Take a look at the Bible verse above. Isaiah, a prophet in the Old Testament times was worn out by his ways. He had his own battle to fight, though it wasn’t weight gain, but none the less he didn’t say that it was hopeless. Through God he found a renewal of his strength so he didn’t faint from the discouragement he felt. You also can find renewal to help you move past feeling hopeless.

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