No matter your age or biological, being underweight or overweight can have highly negative effects on your well being. That is why you need to maintain an ideal level of body weight through a healthy lifestyle at all times.
This also holds true even when you are at a minimal level of physical activity. For instance, if you are on crutches, you may be living a sedentary lifestyle that contributes to weight gain. However, you would still need to maintain your weight in order to steer clear of issues such as cardiovascular problems and diabetes.
Fortunately, you can lose weight while on crutches without compromising your safety. To help you along the way, here are a few tips to easily maintain your fitness without full mobility.
1. Do Some Weight Training
Being on crutches might hold you back from running or jogging, but it doesn’t stop you from participating in upper body exercise.
Keeping this in mind, you can easily do some weight training that helps you build muscle. This allows your body to burn calories, which leads you to shed any extra pounds overtime.
The level of optimal weight training can vary on a case to case basis and mainly depends upon your overall physical state. It is important that you consult your physician or a personal trainer to guide you towards exercises that suit you the best.
2. Perform Cardio Exercises
Walking on your crutches is one of the simplest ways to keep yourself active. It is also one of the easiest tricks to maintain your ideal body weight without full mobility.
The process doesn’t require much from you to lose weight. Instead, it only asks that you do some walking on your crutches for 20-30 minutes everyday. As long as you take care of your safety, this light exercise can help you with your fitness goals.
In order to steer clear of any falls or unwanted incidents, make sure that you are walking indoors on even surfaces. This ensures that you aren’t putting yourself at risk.
3. Follow a Healthy Diet
If you are on crutches due to a recent injury, it may be easy to fall into the thought of treating yourself to some comfort food. Doing so is not wrong as long as it is in moderation. But it is a cause for alarm when it leads you down the path of being overweight.
To make sure that this doesn’t happen, ensure to follow a healthy diet that isn’t mainly dependent on carbs or junk foods. Instead, you can use a mix of healthy protein, vegetables, fruits, and nuts in your everyday meals.
You can also cut back on fried foods, white bread, as well as sugary foods and drinks. These simple measures help you lose weight even when you are on crutches.
Being on crutches and maintaining your body weight aren’t mutually exclusive. With the right approach, you can easily manage your weight without compromising on your mobility or overall wellbeing.
