Heavy hips and legs – could you have lipedema?

Today I share news of an article on Diet Doctor site that may interest some of our readers. It is about Lipedema, read on and find out a little more. 

"Do you have big legs, thighs, hips, upper arms, or saddlebags? Do they seem out of proportion to the rest of your body? Are they painful, or do they bruise easily?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may have lipedema (spelled lipoedema in the UK and Europe.) Lipedema is the disproportionate accumulation of fat in the lower body that primarily affects women. Often that fat is painful.

Your upper body may respond to diet and exercise or be quite normal in size, but from the waist down, you may have lumpy legs with excess fat that is frustratingly impossible to lose.

You’re hoping to find answers for how to lose weight with lipedema or to stop the growing accumulation of painful fat on your hips and legs.

Don’t worry. You’ve come to the right place. This guide will help you better understand what is known about lipedema, a complex and often misdiagnosed female condition."

The guide is split into sections and covers questions:

"What is lipedema?

Is lipedema just obesity?

Main symptoms.

What causes lipedema?

Diagnosis, type, and staging of lipedema.

How to lose weight with lipedema.

Ketogenic diet.

Other treatments."

The conclusion states:

"Conclusion
Lipedema is a complex, misunderstood condition of disproportionate storage of often painful fat on the hips and legs of genetically susceptible women.

Obesity is a common aggravating factor in lipedema’s symptoms, but the two conditions, obesity and lipedema, are considered to be separate but related in what may be a vicious cycle.

So if you have lipedema you may have been misdiagnosed as just having a female form of obesity and made to feel responsible for eating too much and exercising too little. Traditionally, however, the condition has been deemed resistant to most diets and exercise.

The chronic progressive nature of the condition, which can lead in later stages to immobility and limb swelling from a dysfunctional lymphatic system, contributes to women’s eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and appearance-related distress.

Recently, a ketogenic diet has been proposed as a treatment for lipedema, with a few small promising studies and a strong theoretical basis. Emerging clinical evidence, and anecdotal evidence from increasing numbers of women with lipedema doing the keto diet, is encouraging but more studies are needed.

Other treatments to help improve the symptoms of lipedema include aquatic exercise, compression (with or without the addition of vibration therapy), manual lymph drainage, and liposuction.

Read this companion news feature about the growing numbers of women with lipedema who are trying the ketogenic diet. Their impressive results and support are encouraging other women with the condition to try it to lose weight and reduce symptoms, especially pain."

The above taken from article here

All the best Jan