Andrea and Michele, my surgery for Thursday is an outpatient procedure. They're going into my leg to remove the two screws at the bottom on my shin, the two that I can feel and that startle the girls at the nail salon who are massaging my legs during a spa pedicure. The heads are protruding under the skin and they feel tender and they seem to be, well, pulling things when I move, giving me some pain and acting as an impediment on muscles & tendons and whatever else moves when I walk. After this procedure, I'll still have an entire plate embedded inside and eight other screws, since there are 10 in there acting as scaffolding. I'm told that generally the plate and screws aren't removed until a year after they're put in. I don't know yet about recuperation.
A dark blue sky on a Sunday, humid, with my energy levels still not back to where they were. Oh, and as a bonus, my weight's up another half-pound.
Weigh-in: 139.7, when I'd hoped that my deflating ankles meant I'd be shedding some fluid retention
Meals for Today:
Breakfast: Cacao nib protein shake muffin, egg bake with spinach, ham and mushrooms; yogurt and blueberries with cinnamon
Snack: A giant peach
Lunch: Baby kale salad with roasted vegetables, ham & cannellini bean salad, half an avocado, walnuts and goji berries
Snack: Cherries
Dinner: Salmon with miso glaze, roasted cauliflower, sweet potato
Dessert: White Chocolate raspberry Quest bar
Exercise for Today:
At the gym, 20 minutes on the recumbent bike, then workout 5B of Strong Curves advanced program. Some new moves, including use of a "landmine," which for me was an Olympic bar with no weight on it.
Saef, it sounds like you did an amazing job on your trip. Traveling is a huge challenge for maintenance, so I hope you are truly proud of yourself.
I'm trudging along today...Eating very light so far. Going out to dinner tonight. (Thankfully, Japanese food, so I shouldn't get into too much trouble. I'm thinking salad, edamame, and a small portion of a not-too-rich entree).
I am trying to remind myself of how great it will be to fit into all the clothes that are a bit too snug now....
Saef, do you get bruising on your upper thighs/hipbones from weighted hip thrusts and glute bridges? And is there an elegant way to get the bar up on your hips for hip thrusts?
I'm so physically tired today that I was pinching myself while driving into CT, to keep myself from falling asleep at the wheel. I feel stoical about work. Like what more can they do to me?
I am dreading the aftermath of my operation for this Thursday. How long will it take me afterward to get where I am today, using a squat rack in physical therapy?
And Andrea, no bruises on my hips. I bought a pink foam rubber thing called the Squat Sponge and I carry it with me in my gym bag and use it. This & many other tips came from the Facebook group, "SC Ladies," which you should join, or else follow Bret Contreras on Facebook, as he is a prolific writer who offers lots of tips & advice on a weekly basis.
Weigh-in: 139.7, steady over yesterday
Meals for Today:
Breakfast: Cacao nib protein shake muffin, egg bake with spinach, broccoli, tomatoes and mushrooms; yogurt and strawberries
Snack: A peach of Jamesian proportions
Lunch: Baby kale salad with red peppers, roasted eggplant, roasted corn, olives, edamame and chickpeas, marinated tofu chunks, sunflower seeds
Snack: Cherries
Dinner: Roasted cauliflower, two chicken leg quarters
Dessert: White chocolate raspberry Quest bar
Exercise for Today:
At physical therapy, 12 minute warmup on Cybex elliptical, 4x15 squats with a 35-lb bar in the squat rack alternating with 4x20 crunches; 3x12 quad raises and hamstring curls; 3x12 abductor/adductor; 12 minute walking at steep incline on treadmill
I am holding steady at 137.4 lbs. Haven't been trying to lose anything so far so that's good. Day 3 of vacation and I haven't had ANY energy drinks. My sleep is still weird but I'm a lot calmer and nicer to be around. I'm also not craving sugar by the pound in the evenings. Going to start scaling back the cals to try to get to under 135 by the end of the long weekend. Since I'm not working this shouldn't be too difficult. I don't need a lot of cals just sitting around or puttering in the house.
I think the reno might almost wrap up today. There will still be the task lighting to install but that will be it.
I am so glad to be able to make healthy food and to get water at an upstairs sink that the mess and disorder that remains is bearable. I really don't like a chaotic atmosphere - makes me anxious.
I've overslept by a half-hour today, as the aftermath of the trip to San Diego continues to take its toll on me, four days later. I'm finding it hard to get up and moving this morning.
Weigh-in: 139.5, not much of a change
Meals for Today:
Breakfast: Cacao nib protein shake muffin, egg bake with spinach, broccoli, tomatoes and mushrooms; yogurt and strawberries
Snack: Two persimmons and a lychee fruit
Lunch: Arugula with roasted vegetables, walnuts, goji berries, half an avocado and hummus
Snack: Large peach
Dinner: Mother's turkey meatloaf, steamed vegetables from a bag, roasted broccoli
Dessert: White chocolate raspberry Quest bar
Exercise for Today:
At the gym, 20 minutes on the Cybex elliptical, then workout 5C of Strong Curves advanced program. More new moves: Skater squats and close-grip pushups and one-legged barbell RDLs. And back to the lat pulldown machine.
I have not weighed myself for a while...Curious if I will have a small loss soon.
Today so far:
B: green smoothie w/ protein
L: small portion of chicken, brown rice, and veggies. Kale salad on the side.
S: natural protein bar
D: chicken with fennel, onions, and basil. 80 cal popsicle.
S: not sure yet
Somehow I've made it all the way to Wednesday. My heavy workload buried me again yesterday.
Weigh-in: 139.7, not much of a change
Meals for Today:
Breakfast: Cacao nib protein shake muffin, egg bake with spinach, broccoli, tomatoes and mushrooms; yogurt and raspberries
Snack: Plum and a peach
Lunch: Arugula with tuna, olives, artichokes and chickpeas
Snack: 180-calorie Bare Fruit cinnamon apple chips
Dinner: Chicken leg quarter, steamed cauliflower
Dessert: White chocolate raspberry Quest bar
Exercise for Today:
At the gym, 20 minutes on the recumbent bike, then workout 5A2 of Strong Curves advanced program. Finally benching 80-lbs for 3 x 8. I was enjoying the weights because I won't be able to do them again for a little while, as my screws come out tomorrow morning.
Weighed in at 148 today - a one pound loss. I'll take it!
Meals for today:
B: green smoothie with protein
L: chicken with fennel and onions, kale salad
S: not sure yet
D: not sure yet
S: brown rice cake with almond butter and jelly
Out of bed at 5 AM to get to the ambulatory surgery center for 6:15 AM. How I hate moving around without a cup of coffee. I was relieved to rinse out my mouth with cool water, and after a few hours, ravenously hungry. Then it died away as I was prepped for surgery.
Weigh-in: 138.9, and we'll see what happens with that this week. In the waiting room, my mother remarked that my forearm looked thin and asked if I'd lost weight since she last saw me. (I haven't -- this thread and the previous one testifies to my hovering consistently between just over 138 to 140 pounds.) But yesterday, the upper arms of my shirt were a bit tight from my biceps.
Very late breakfast, at noon: Cacao nib protein shake muffin, egg bake with spinach, broccoli, tomatoes and mushrooms; yogurt and cherries
Snack: Large, ripe-looking but not very juicy nectarine
Dinner: Turkey meat loaf, steamed cauliflower, steamed green beans, big sweet potato
Dessert: Cinnamon Swirl Quest bar
No exercise at all, for the first time in many months. I need to recover. It's strange to do a tough Strong Curves workout on the morning before and then to be incapacitated the very next day.
My leg feels like something inside it is gnawing at me.
Waking up in low spirits on Friday, since my leg is visibly swollen from yesterday's operation and it hurts me, with Percocet only taking the edge off. I'm using a cane again. Also, I've got foot drop and find it difficult to lift my toes because of the anatomical connection of tendons & muscles running down the front of my shin, which is where the screws were.
Weigh-in: 142.3, probably to be expected from the IV. Also, in the aftermath of a dry-mouthed morning, no fluids or food allowed for many hours, and in the hot, humid temperatures, I kept drinking cold stuff all afternoon.
Breakfast: Cacao nib protein shake muffin, egg bake with spinach, broccoli, tomatoes and mushrooms; yogurt and blueberries with cinnamon
Snack: 180-calorie bag of Bare Fruit Fuji apple chips
Lunch: Arugula, roasted vegetables and broccoli, walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, goji berries and goat cheese
Snack: Nectarine
Dinner: Mussels steamed in tomatoes and wine, asparagus, cauliflower and green beans
Dessert: White chocolate raspberry Quest bar
Saef, sorry for all the discomfort. At least it's over. Did they tell you about expected side effects like being difficult to lift your toes?
I have two straight days at home before an overnight backpack. If it were not for the thunderstorms in the mountains I'd leave today. But days at home make it easier to stick to my eating regimen.
Saef, hooray for being done with another surgery. Don't stint on the percocet (and don't forget the ice!). Small, temporary setbacks in the leg functioning department are totally worth it when you consider the bigger picture of recovery. Also: mmm, mussels. Haven't had any in months (no one else likes them in my family). Will need to eat some soon, now that you've reminded me.
The weather today was beautiful, and I barely went outside. One definite downside of doing a proper exercise program again is my (psychological) inability to be flexible with it- it says 3x/week, and d*mn it, I need to do it Sun. Wed. and Fri. come **** or high water. Which is ridiculous, and I'm sort of kicking myself now for not going biking, which I would have enjoyed a lot more today.
Also, was super-hungry today for no apparent reason. Had breakfast and lunch as usual, a salad with some ground beef crumbles at 3, an ounce of almonds at 5:15, dinner at 6:30 (including a Quest bar for dessert) and was then "starving" at 9 and allowed myself to eat 1/2 c. cottage cheese and a scrambled egg. My body is defending these 4-5 "vanity" pounds as though I were facing a month of impending starvation.
almost wrap up today. There will still be the task lighting to install but that will be it.
