Tips on how to lose weight for your knee or hip replacement surgery.

Obesity is independently associated with increased complications after joint replacement surgery. Many patients are encouraged by their orthopedic surgeons to lose weight before their knee or hip replacement surgery. Some surgeons even refuse to perform surgery on patients who are morbidly obese for fear of increased complications. How can you lose weight in a healthy way to improve your outcomes after knee and hip replacement surgery?

• Try Intermittent fasting: Intermittent fasting has been used in many cultures and religions throughout history but only recently has it been used for weight loss and health. There are many ways to do intermittent fasting but one way is to not take in anything besides coffee, water or tea for 16 hours a day (including sleeping) and then to eat in an 8 hour period. Usually most people pair this with a relatively low carbohydrate diet as it makes the fasting more tolerable and it speeds up the weight loss.
• Eat a more plant-based diet: Increasing the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables that you eat helps in two ways. One it helps increase the fiber in your diet causing you to feel more full and lose weight. But more importantly in the case of arthritis, it can help with inflammation. Fruits such as blueberries, raspberries and pomegranate seeds are useful in decreasing pain in inflammation in the joints.
• Eliminate flour and sugar: There is not a diet plan out there: weight watchers, Atkin’s, paleo diet, whole food plant based etc that says eat as much flour and sugar as you want. Every single diet plan limits flour and sugar significantly and for good reason. Flour and sugar are the main components of a Standard American Diet that increase insulin. Insulin is the main hormone in our body that tells our fat cells to store fat when we eat too much. Flour and sugar are also extremely inflammatory. Many inflammatory arthritis are treated with a diet eliminating flour and sugar so as to not stimulate inflammation.
• Start with little steps: If this all sounds too complicated and difficult, start with little steps. Try intermittent fasting for 12 hours instead of 16. Try just giving up sugar or just giving up soda. Many patients lose a tremendous amount of weight from just giving up sugar laden sodas that they drink all day. Increase the amount of leafy greens you take in one day from none to 3 or 4 cups.