Weight loss and diet plan for a healthy lifestyle.

It stands to reason that being at all overweight is not going to help your sciatica or back problems one bit. As we’ve seen, the spine’s design is such that it all too often has difficulty in coping with even the normal, ordinary demands put upon it through everyday living. If the burden it has to bear becomes even greater because you’re overweight, then it’s obviously more likely that something is going to give sooner or later.

There’s an additional point to take into account: most overweight people carry their extra pounds in the abdomen area, the hips and the thighs. Extra weight in the abdomen is particularly bad news for back sufferers because its presence not only puts extra strain upon the spine while you’re erect – such as standing or walking – but even when you’re sitting. And, of course, bending over or lifting anything creates even greater demands upon the spine when there’s excess baggage hanging out in front of it.

Keeping your weight down to a reasonable level can make a major difference in both preventing and easing back problems and sciatica. What’s more, of course, keeping to a healthy weight will also pay rich dividends in other health benefits. Additionally, many of the exercises that are so important to maintaining a flexible and trouble-free spine will be a great deal easier to do if you’re not carrying too many extra pounds- and a lot more fun, too! It’s a fact that the overweight – the very people who would perhaps gain the greatest benefits from frequent and regular exercising – are often those who exercise the least, part of the reason for this obviously being that exercising is all that much harder and therefore less appealing for them. This lack of exercising often imposes a double penalty upon the back: firstly, it is likely to contribute to the putting on of ever more extra weight; secondly, because the back muscles are not exercised, they’re likely to be in poor condition, lacking strength and flexibility, providing less efficient support for the back and the spine as a whole.

Faced with an obese patient with recurrent sciatica or other back problems for which no other obvious treatment is indicated, doctors will often recommend a weight-loss programme. Good though that advice is, most doctors unfortunately do not have the time to provide specific guidelines about how best to shed the pounds. Following are some of the things your doctor might suggest if he had the time.

*41\124\2*

As you can imagine, with all the symptoms I have just listed, including a grim and bleak view of your present situation and future prospects, a depressed person may easily reach the conclusion – or entertain the possibility – that life is not worth living. This symptom of depression, known to the clinician as suicidal ideation, is a very troublesome one. If you are experiencing any such ideas, please do yourself and everyone who cares about you a great favour and consult a doctor without delay. Depression is a condition where hope is in short supply and one way to get an infusion of hope is to reach out to those who may be able to guide you out of the dark place. Your GP is a logical first port of call in such an attempt to reach out. But if, for any reason, it is difficult for you to talk to your doctor about the problem, tell someone – a family member, friend, or even someone on a crisis hot line. Suicidal ideation is not a symptom that anyone ought to have to suffer alone.

As depression deepens, suicidal ideation may progress to passive suicidal longings, which may be accompanied by lack of self-care or carelessness. A depressed woman may feel a lump in her breast while taking a shower and may say to herself, ‘So what if it’s cancer? It would probably be all for the best anyway’ Another depressed person might cross the road carelessly and, in the back of his mind, be thinking, ‘Well, if I get run over, what loss will that be to anyone?’

Matters become even more serious when suicidal ideas begin to gel into actual plans, and even more so when actions are taken to put these plans into effect. It might seem unnecessary to say that if someone you know or love should mention suicidal ideas or plans to you, these should always be taken seriously. Unfortunately it is still all too common for people to minimize the seriousness of such communications. The idea that if someone tells you he is considering suicide, he is unlikely to act on it, is a very dangerous myth. Such divulgences should always be heard as a communication of despair, which may or may not involve immediate danger but which always warrants serious attention. At the very least it is an expression of severe mental anguish.

If you think that life is not worth living or have any thoughts or plans to end your life, you are very, very likely to be depressed. Please don’t delay in getting professional help for this problem.

*58\75\2*