's motd Wed. 7/2/2008

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PLEASE THE KNEES!

Wednesday, 02 July 2008

How much do you think your ears weigh? How about your head, your neck and your broad shoulders? What do you think your chest, your back, your waist, your hips and your upper legs weigh? Let's face it, all of those body parts, together, are a really large part of what your total body weight is, aren't they?

So, can you guess what the total weight of those various body parts is? How much do all of those body parts weigh combined? Hmmm, I'm sure that all together they'll equal somewhere around 80% of your total body weight, don't you? And now I have to ask you another question: What part of your body has to support all of that weight? Well, it's your cute little knees!

That's right, you get out of bed, start your day and your knees have to carry all of that weight around no matter what you do that day. Let's face it, we use our knees...a lot. And I have to tell you that when you're overweight, you do great damage to your knees. And for me, there's nothing worse than knee pain.

Twenty-two years ago, I was in an accident and had to have surgery on my knees as a result. The doctor actually had to remove all instead of just the torn parts of my cartilage. So I have been bone-on-bone in my right knee for over two decades now. Ouch!In fact, that's one of the reasons I work so hard to stay at an extremely healthy weight. Because I'm telling you, if I gained only three pounds, I would truly feel the pain in that knee of mine!Do you have knee pain because of your weight? If you do, then you have to do something about it and I mean do it now! See, the good news is that every time you lose just one pound, you're also losing the effect of ten pounds of additional stress and pressure off your knees! Oh and when you lose the weight, you will definitely begin to feel the difference in your knees!Every time you eat healthy and every time you work out, you burn more calories, you lose more weight and you please your knees so much more! And here's something else that's a real knees-pleaser. It's a combination of heat and ice applied to the knees. Here's what I do...

I get into the bathtub, after filling it with hot water and soak my knees for about 15 minutes. I then take some soap and rub it around my knee cap and boy, does it ever feel so good! After that, I ice my knees for another 15 minutes. I know, there are all kinds of gel packs out there now. You put them in the freezer and afterwards, place them on your knees. But I prefer the old-fashioned way. That is, I get one of those good-old blue ice bags you can buy at any drugstore. You fill it with ice, place it on those knees and it makes them feel no nice! The heat first soothes the pain and the ice helps bring down the swelling.So I want you to please your knees and, believe me, they'll return the favor by pleasing you and lasting a lot longer for you, too!Love,