This is another blog post to continue discussing the sensitive topic of “Moving with chronic disease.”

It is a companion blog post to our previous blog where we have addressed what are the different barriers that can limit us or stop us from incorporating movements in our lives. 

Although we have learned different ways to manage these barriers and limitations, we did not explicitly cover HOW to get started in practical scientific ways.  

And that’s exactly what we’re going to do today!

As mentioned before, this post DOES NOT aim to push you into something that you are not ready for or able to do. All there is, is to provide you with the best information and tips from professionals such as- Physiotherapy Pain Association, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Ok? 

Good let’s get started!

Starting with the sense of Neuf 

Neuf means new in the sense of brand new, fresh out of the factory, first of its kind. 

Before we start, You NEED to throw the whole ‘workout’ mentality influenced by social media and other factors in the bin, especially if movement is new to you. We have already discussed in the previous post the danger of “Setting goals that are extremely difficult to attain,”

You want to aim to find a way to move in what feels safe, and that you’re confident you can stick with, even if it needs to be adapted on more challenging days.  

Finding your niche

There are many ways and approaches to exercise, and all of them come with their own pros and cons. Many people with chronic pain may have conditions that scare them because of hearing negative or scary experiences of movement. In most cases, that fear can come from online pseudoscience too. So, taking the time to experiment with different exercises may help you find safe and accessible forms of movement that you can incorporate into your life. 

It is difficult to separate our bodies from our minds, you may find perhaps there are certain obviousness discussed here, and it’s important for you to know that all the information listed and reminders aren’t to tell you what you should do or should be able to do, but helping you to learn from the insights of others to discover what is best for you and your body. 

The direction

Obviously, and I guess this bears repeating repeatedly, everyone is different. But what we all do not want is to spend decades immersed in equally unhealthy body-abusing sports. 

If you know that fat loss and the attainment of a sexy, lean body begin with getting off your butt, moving more, working out, and slowly lowering the calories. You are in the right direction!

Now the direction you want to avoid is — a two-a-day workout and being cold and starving all the time — there are potent strategies that fly under the radar.

The myths 

You may remember that we spoke about how ‘Having core beliefs or fixed thoughts can be the reason for our failures a lot of the time’.

For example, you began reading about ways to burn fat, and you may have come across several flawed concepts. Take for example; while you can add more fat cells to your body, you can never eliminate them.

This dogma is commonly accepted in the fitness and diet industry. YES, you read it right, It dictates that if you have ever had excess weight or bits of undesirable fatty tissue on your waist, hips, and butt, then the fat cells never disappear, even with weight loss — they just shrink.

The problem is, this can get you in a rut, so you cannot work forward or worse you choose to drop it before you start. 

The iceberg theory 

An interview by a registered physician and nutritionist “Dr. Cate Shanahan” simply rebukes such flawed concepts. 

Dr. Shanahan explained that if you eliminate just one notorious biological variable present in most people eating a standard Western diet, then you can not only lose fat but also kill existing fat cells and transform them into more metabolically active tissues, such as brown fat and even stem cells, making yourself more resistant to future weight gain.

The issue with flawed concepts is rooted in the lack of research and experimentation we make. People tend to look at only the surface of the iceberg but not the explicit details underneath. This is why we should take an individualized approach, by experimenting with movement and strategies to find what works best for our conditions. 

Truth is, it’s not the excess calories. It’s not chocolate. To the chagrin of diet-book authors worldwide, it’s not gluten. It’s not refined carbohydrates or saturated fat.

It’s inflammation! Yes inflammation— particularly from exposure to a toxin-laden environment, consumption of heated and rancid vegetable oils, a stressful lifestyle, and sleep deprivation. 

Inflammation 

Before jumping into the nitty-gritty, you need to understand. There are different kinds of inflammations. Not all inflammation is bad. 

Acute inflammation is a natural biological reaction to stressors. For example, when you cut yourself, your immune system and regenerative processes respond to prevent you from getting infected and to heal the cut, and so it is only natural that the surrounding area of the cut becomes inflamed. Acute inflammation also occurs when your muscle fibers are broken down and then rebuilt after a hard workout.

But overworking in intense physical stress and mental stress more than your body can handle can lead to chronic inflammation. What this means; you are overloading yourself to a point you are producing a constant stream of inflammatory chemicals. 

Causes of inflammation 

Rancid Oil— You should pay close attention to popular comfort foods. Just to name a few; french fries, chicken wings to mac ’n’ cheese, packaged sushi, and trail mix. 

One of the biggest and most underemphasized causes of chronic inflammation is rancid oil.

It’s not only the oil but the temperature. Oil that has been exposed to high temperatures or high pressures causes a one-two whammy of inflammation and insulin resistance. When oil becomes rancid, it is promoting the production of toxic substances in your arteries, which, in turn, promote inflammation throughout the entire body.

So that’s the first thing you want to begin decreasing from your diet to lower inflammation. One way you can start to do this is by replacing them with healthy fat sources, such as coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, and macadamia nut oil. 

Stress— the second dominant cause is continual stress. This is an area where many of us find very challenging as it is difficult to overcome stress if the underlayer of your stress is unknown or difficult to resolve. Unmanaged stress can overexpose your brain to excitatory neurotransmitters like glutamate and keep your limbic system in a constant state of fight-or-flight.

What is the limbic system?

The limbic system is this region of the midbrain also known as the emotional brain that’s responsible for both threat detection and response. 

So why is it important that it’s both detection and response?

Well for every action there’s also a certain reaction and the important thing to take away here is that when it comes to our body’s unique responses, there are really two parts of the equation to focus on the first is what we’re exposed to that’s to say what may be coming at us from the environment but the second is how and why we respond to different things. 

This type of inflammation responds very well to breathwork, yoga, meditation, better sleep, and other relaxing exercises.   

Conclusion 

If you made it to the conclusion section, you should be very proud that you are taking these steps to prioritize your health and body. Without a doubt finding an exercise routine when everything hurts is hard work and takes courage, patience and persistence. Not having access to the adequate help and support you need can be hard and that’s why this information was tailored to help you even if you do not have the support, you deserve now. It is those first steps towards incorporating change in your life that lets you receive more greater things.

Taking the steps to learn about movement, how to handle pain will let you discover more areas that can improve your health, lifestyle and even chronic conditions. Remember, it doesn’t matter how slowly you need to go. If you’re consistent, you’ll still be building habits that will hopefully enable you to do what matters in your life.