I have been doing regular cardio for a month now (speed walking at about 4 mph), at least 6 days a week. I also strength train 2 days a week. Over the last 2 weeks my shins have been getting increasingly sore...now it's to the point where every step is a jolt of pain up the inside of my shins. The progress I have made since I changed my life for the healthier have been amazing. On July 1st I weighed 211, now I weigh 197. I'm losing weight from everywhere, especially my chest (I hardly recognize the twins anymore ). I'm just so afraid that if I stop exercising I am going to stall, or begin losing a lot of muscle. I used to be a couch potato (watching soap operas all afternoon) and a junk food junkie. It's all changed now, and I don't even miss it. I also used to drink heavily, I don't know if I'd call myself an alcoholic, more of a binge drinker (an escape from all the pressure of being a sinle mom). All of that changed July 1st, and exercise has become my replacement for alcohol...without it...I don't know

Do you have access to a bike or a pool to swim in? There are many options that aren't weight bearing like walking/running and will allow your shins to recover. Also remember weight training. Using light weights for your upper body will give you some tone and definition. Good luck--you don't have to stop working out, just adapt!

hi amanda, what kind of cardio are you doing now? if you are doing walking/running, you may have shin splints...

"Shin splints is the name given to pain at the front of the lower leg. The most common cause is inflammation of the periostium of the tibia (sheath surrounding the bone).

The injury is an overuse injury and can be caused by running on hard surfaces or running on tip toes. It is also common in sports where a lot of jumping is involved."

The advice is to rest and use ice...

i agree with liz that you might want to switch up your cardio to something that won't bother your shins so much, like swimming or biking. i dont know how the elliptical is on the shins, but i can imagine that it isnt that bad if you dont put the ramp up too high.

don't worry, this won't ruin everything! just remember to take care of yourself first and foremost and never ignore an injury.

Unfortunately if it is shin splints the only way to get rid of them is rest. That doesn't mean you need to give up excercise though. Switch up your cardio like suggested. Also you could do an extra strength instead for a few weeks. Or something totally diff. like yoga?

I used to have really bad shin splints also whenever I would run or walk for a long time. The best thing I've found for avoiding them, or lessening them is taking at least a day off in between jogging sessions. I think it is recommended that you don't run more than 4 times a week anyway, just because it is so hard on your joints. Also taking some ibuprophen helps, as does icing.
And stretching! Rest for a couple days and then before you start back try stretching before and after. It really helps too.

I'll add one more thing to the great stuff everyone else has said -- do you have good shoes? The support you get from shoes when you are doing walking or running is really important in preventing injury. If you don't have shoes specifically designed for the activity you're doing, I'd suggest going to a specialty store. Good luck!

I used to get shin splints at first too. I second the good shoe idea. I also took ibuprofen, tried an elliptical machine and walked slower for a while.

Amanda - Good advice here....I would suggest slowing down some, you don't have to walk as fast as you can to burn stored body fat...Also drink pleny of water....
Do you have a bike? That is really good exercise also....
Don't quit, just change things up alittle...keep up the awesome change in your lifestyle!

I got shin splints and lots of cramping about a month into my jogging/walking sessions. I'd rest for a day or two and then start up again. Eventually my body adjusted to the excercise and the pains went away. I also second the suggestion for good shoes with lots of support!

Thanks all! Okay, I should have given more info. As far as changing up the exercise...I had a bike, but it was stolen (which really didn't hurt my feelings too bad because I live in Rochester "Hills", I ended up walking the bike ), our condo has a pool at the clubhouse that I used to use all the time, until it made me VERY sick (my doctor said that they keep it too warm (I got bacterial infection, pink eye, and a girly infection all at once can you imagine) and despite my pleadings they refuse to raise the temperature because it is "within legal limits". So, no bike, no pool

As far as shoes go...I've got the best. My dad bought me a pair of SAS (San Antonio Shoes) for those of you who own them you know that there is no better shoe on earth. I wanted them so bad, but they are sooooo expensive, so my dad got me a pair, yipeeee.

I think Lizzie is right, I just need to take a break between walking days (darn it!). The only thing that worries me about that is the alcohol. I get the urge to drink quite frequently at night after I tuck Jobe (my little man) in bed. This used to be an urge I couldn't say no to, it would nag in my mind like an intense craving until finally I would run up to the drug store and grab a 12-pack (I have high tolerance, probably because I come from a long line of alcoholics or maybe because I'm German and Irish ). Now when I get that craving, that urge, I throw on my walking shoes and head out the door, even if I don't feel like it. It always works, by the time I get back in all I want is a big glass of water!

I iced my shins last night (did a bit of research and found the info on shin splints) and put my legs up. Yesterday's exercise was halted early, like 25 minutes into my usual hour, because I was in agony. I limped home while Jobe rode his trike ahead of me complaining in that naggy little 5 year old whine (mommy, I don't want to go home yet...you said we were going to walk to Blockbuster...whyyyyyyy do we have to go home). We usually walk up to Blockbuster every night after dinner, but last night I was not up for a 3 mile walk up and down the hills, ouch!

Star - Girl, I would LOVE to walk slower, unfortunately Jobe and his big wheel set the pace. I can't walk without him because, well...I never get a break from him, I have no one to watch him. He sure is fast on that little bike!

Liz, SJ - I am bad with weight training at home. I have free weights, and I use them twice a week, but I have bad form. I am just, by nature, a very uncoordinated person. Always have been. Luckily I start back to school September 1st, and then I'll have access to a whole gym!

Soooo...I'll try taking today off, but man, I hope that's all it takes!

Amanda - Excuse me if I stick my nose into places I shouldn't, but if your alcohol urges are that bad, you may wanna consider seeking professional help. I am a binge drinker on occassion, but I never ever have had cravings for alcohol, and definitly never HAD to go out and buy it. It sounds like you may have developed a bit of a habit and you need to get that under control.

Feel free to stick your nose wherever you want I don't mind! As far as my alcohol use went, yes I did have a problem. I think some of it was just a genetic predisposition (another gift from the gene pool fairy), while some of it was my way of coping with stress and pressure, as well as the incident I wrote about in my first post (Getting it out...A story I have never told a soul). Fortunately my new lifestyle leaves no room for my prior habits. Unfortunately, I need something to fill the gap...this is where exercise comes in, and where shin splints make my recovery a little more difficult! Should I seek help, maybe I should, but I am not good at dealing with personal issues. I've taken psychology classes for the past 6 years, so I know that suppression and repression are not healthy ways of dealing with psychological problems, but I also know that freudian style confrontations often have undesired consequences. The person involved is often a good indicator of what they can and can not deal with at any given time, and my mind is quite clear when it tells me just to bury it a while longer. Look at past examples, such as Marilyn Monroe...she is a textbook case of someone who was forced to deal with, and thereby relive some of the details of her past that were better left forgotten. Yet she was treated with freudian psychoanalysis and went on to...well you know. I personally would never do that to myself, nor my son, but the alcoholism I lived with and fight daily was merely a symptom. Granted, until I deal with the root cause there will always be symptoms, but I will be the first to admit that I am not very emotionally strong. I can live with it, and unless it starts manifesting itself into some kind of psychological disorder that affects me or those around me, I will keep it burried where it belongs. Sounds unhealthy eh? I agree. But I assure you it's normal, repression is a mechanism everyone uses to some degree (whether they know it or not), and I would venture a guess that if everyone on this board were forced to confront their inner demons their diets would become the least of their concerns! My all time favorite quote "know thyself", though I'm not sure who said it, sounds great, but what it proposes can often do more harm than good. I say, know thy limitations and don't unleash what you can't control!

Amanda