Keeping In the Game

Life has been busy so I haven’t been keeping up with the blog as I should have, so with a few minutes early this Saturday morning, I want to get some thoughts down on where I am at in my recovery, weight loss, etc.

Recovery:  I am finally feeling mostly back to normal.  I still feel some tightness from time to time in my hip, but it isn’t even on a daily basis at this point.  I do feel like I limp still when I am first getting up in the morning and a bit stiff, but others have reported to me they don’t really see a visible limp.  I am worried that my right foot is turning inward when I walk, but my surgeon at my last visit did not seem concerned.  It is nice to finally feel like things have returned to where they used to be.  I still struggle carrying heavy items and walking up the stairs without leaning on a railing, especially if I have something in both hands, is not easy.  But overall I am feeling very good.  It has been four and a half months.

Weight Loss:  I finished my 28 Fast Metabolism Diet down about six and a half pounds.  I tweaked it here and there:  didn’t stop drinking (though I definitely cut back), didn’t stop drinking coffee (let’s be real) and if I was out with family or friends, I didn’t get all “Oh, I can’t have this and I can’t have that.”  Instead I increased portions of the stuff that was on plan and had very small amounts of what wasn’t on plan.  

Since then I have been just trying to eat healthier and avoiding the bad stuff.  I am down about two more pounds over three weeks, which I am not happy with.  I am probably going to start another cycle of the FMD next week to kick start things again.  That being said, I do feel like I am on track and in the right mindset.  Even if I were losing a pound or even half a pound a week, I can live with that.  That’s how I gained the weight (ten pounds in a year) and if I lose it that slowly while still enjoying life, that’s OK with me.  It’s a marathon not a sprint.  

Exercise:  The doctors say I should still avoid running and any high impact exercise indefinitely.  So lack of cardio is probably not helping me lose weight.  I did join the local YMCA and have been there several times a week to do the stationary bike and the weight bearing machines.  I don’t love it the way I did running but I know I need to continue at least short term to get my muscles strong again.  I have also walked, both on the treadmill and outside, and I am up to two miles.  It’s a long way off of running miles and miles, and I finally just cracked 3mph, but I’m getting there.  I have attended one yoga class, and plan on going again once a week when I can fit it in my schedule.  The one class I went to really helped loosen up my hip and was really the start of feeling much more “normal” again.

Races:  I have one, possibly two 5Ks coming up in a few weeks.  Obviously I will walk them.  The first is the Vicki Soto 5K, which I have done every year since they started the race.  I couldn’t imagine not doing it, so I am signed up.  It will be my first “race” since my injury.  It will be bittersweet in so many ways, but it is a race where tons walk, so I won’t feel strange about it.  I have a second one a few weeks later, but I’m going to wait to commit until I see how the Vicki race feels.  I don’t want to be the last one across the finish line, and with my times still likely putting me at over an hour to finish a 5K (ugh) I don’t want to embarrass myself too much.  

Family:  I don’t talk much about my family here other than the occasional mention of how we’ve had a pretty rough year.  Right now things seem to be smoothing out a bit and I am very grateful.  It has been one horrible thing after another since last fall and so I am hoping that we’ve turned the corner.  We spend every Christmas in Florida, and I am hoping to go this year feeling healthy and happy.