I managed the 3-lb weights without much of an issue yesterday, so Arvin said we're sticking with those for at least another week. He said my strength in my legs is coming along well.
I've also tried standing unassisted on two feet for several minutes, with the knee straight on the left leg, though with most of the weight in my good, right leg. I feel fine in the knee, where the metal reinforcements are implanted, but I get twinges of pain along the bottom of the left foot that feel like the return of the plantar fasciitis that I experienced years ago. Arvin said the tendons in my foot are contracting from disuse, so now we've got to work on stretching them or I'll have a lot of foot pain when eventually I start walking again.
It's a sunny day here. I'm trying to breathe and enjoy it. I have identified an undercurrent of anxiety and tension, probably over recuperation from my accident, though I often felt that way even before the accident. Face it, I'll probably spend my whole lifetime coming up with coping strategies and unlearning unhealthy strategies. Eating used to be one of the latter, and I could relapse into it at any time, like any addict, because I relied on it for decades.
Trixie's behaviour modifications are coming along nicely. And she hasn't even been to class yet! I spent many years bribing Labradors with food so I have to get up to speed with actually TRAINING a dog.
We ran into one of the other dogwalkers who I've known for 15+ years this afternoon when I had Trix out by herself. She is a good person but still not so familiar with dogs. That sounds weird but this is a job that doesn't require a lot of skill so a lot of non-dog people can do it.
She grabbed Trix in a head hug when I told her Trix was my dog and started cooing at her about how pretty she was and so forth. I didn't react at all to the head grab and neither did Trix. She snuggled right up and looked totally cool about it. Good dog! Some dogs would have bitten a stranger who grabbed their face and smushed it into their shoulder.
And Natalie is now fascinated by the toilet flushing. If I put down the lid before the flush she squawks in protest. Only a matter of time before she leans in too close and SPLASH! Not going to faze her much - nothing does. I only hope I have already flushed when she falls in.
Shannon I too am now a bit confused about what to post where so I'm putting everything into this thread today. I have weighed myself two mornings in a row and now I remember why I stopped doing that. No way I lost 2.6 lbs. between Mon. and Tues. morning. I could jump up and down at the loss but I know it's not a fat loss but rather something else. So back to 3x weekly weigh-ins.
Hi Michele,
The sudden deaths of colleagues is a real eye opener. As a marrying minister who has also done hundreds of funerals, I can tell you I have done too many funerals for guys in their 50s in perfect health who just drop. And way more who are living very unhealthy lives. There's no extended warranty when it comes to our lives. Everyone be sure to tell you loved ones you love them, and often!
I weigh myself every day, tho Karen has taught me to just look at my Friday weigh-ins to see how I'm actually doing. Still, since I have a bit of an obsessive personality, daily weigh-ins are a kind of reward, even with the fluctuations.
Oh, and BTW, my 107-pound wife is 5'3". Since I'm almost 6'4" we do look a bit clumsy on the dance floor.
I agree, Chris.... dh is quite thrown. He's talking about lowering stress, etc. However, once the blow dissipates, I'm afraid he'll forget about it. I know he is also worried (as am I) about his aging parents, who have never taken good care of themselves and are falling apart now....
I weigh daily too but my "weigh in" is on Saturday. Usually if I've stuck to plan, I'll see the lowest weight for the week that day. With carb cycling, you can have a little fun on Sunday which spikes my weight up for a few days before going back down.
The sciatica has subsided somewhat and I am able to function.It still hurts to sit and to drive,especially in the leg and is much worse in the morning.I have not been going for my daily walks.I have been eating a bit more and the weight is 138.I have been eating stews and soups because it is too cold for salads.Still not eating between meals,but larger portions for meals and it shows on the scales.
For sciatica, I have found that a seat wedge helps a lot, especially in the car. One of our cars has a seat that is at just the wrong angle, and the seat wedge fixes it.
(You know what they are, I'm sure. They are a pad to sit on that's higher in the back and lower in the front. You can find them at WalMart for about $12, but of course there are some that are better made and cost more.)
Had a very busy start to my week (two MLK concerts with my church choir, many many work crises, etc) and looking forward to things slowing down a bit.
Sarah and I signed up for personal training...I was supposed to go in to schedule, but then got there today and she said, "Well, it's easier if it works for me to train you both at once". So I was unprepared but got a killer workout, and will be doing the old "slow lower to go to the bathroom" tomorrow. It's good though...I need someone who will push me on my shoulder...I either get scared or overdo, so I need a little guidance getting the muscle back. It's a year commitment so here goes nothing.
Thank you jay for your suggestion.I will look for one as soon as possible.Anything that helps is good.One of my customers suggested a leg brace that presses on the nerve to relieve pain.I read an article that suggests that pressing on the sciatic nerve,either in the lower back or on the leg seems to relieve pain.We have an"as seen on TV store"that may carry such a brace and I will go as soon as I can.Constant pain wears one down.My constant pain is in my leg near the ankle.
I used to have really bad sciatic pain if I sat in a car (or theather) seat for too long. I used a tennis ball against a spot on the small of my back on the right side (where the sciatic pain was worse) and it really helped me a lot. I think everyone is different.
It's a sunny day here. I'm trying to breathe and enjoy it. I have identified an undercurrent of anxiety and tension, probably over recuperation from my accident, though I often felt that way even before the accident. Face it, I'll probably spend my whole lifetime coming up with coping strategies and unlearning unhealthy strategies. Eating used to be one of the latter, and I could relapse into it at any time, like any addict, because I relied on it for decades.
How true, and scary! That's why we have each other, my friend. Together we are beating the statistics... apparently most people do not lose weight and keep it off, and for those of us who do it's a constant process.
This is a real low time for you, and as you recover and the winter recedes, things will get better. Sometimes life is about maintaining, but there is something in you and all of us that is more than just coping. I see it in you in the things you have posted here in the past! You're in my thoughts, I wish you patience and serenity for now and happier times soon.
It's so interesting how we revert to our old coping mechanisms again and again, unless we forcefully put new ones in place. After I abandoned eating as a coping mechanism (for the most part), I found exercise to be a good substitute...hence the million rounds of 1am leg workouts I did when I couldn't sleep post fire. Then when the shoulder surgery happened, I couldn't do THAT anymore, so I floundered for a bit. I went through a phase where eating anything at all was hard, which wasn't good (and so strange as someone who is post-obese).
Right now I've got a couple of goals I am tracking via a "Habits" app...one is "gratitude", because writing something I'm grateful for every day really DOES help me, one is "Journal", because writing a couple times a week DOES make a difference, and another is "Self Care Bonus", which is basically anything I do that's -just- for me...choir rehearsal, throwing on a face mask, taking a bath. That one is remarkably hard to find time for with work and the kid, but I'm aiming for 3x a week, even if it's something short.
What I find most interesting is that I will, for lack of a better word, binge on my coping mechanisms. So before it was food. If I don't watch myself now, I will push myself to injury in the gym, or be lifting at 1am, or etc. It tends to happen more when I've let myself get overwhelmed, which is part of the Habit app...if I do these things regularly, I'm less likely to get to the "overload on coping" point, which isn't great even if working out is healthier than eating junk.
I very easily slide into old patterns for coping mechanisms. When I'm tired, I'm quick to fall into the 'I've had a busy day, I want to relax and xxx'. Sometimes xxx is food, sometimes a bath with no exercise. When I'm on track with exercise and food but other things feel out of control, I tend to cope with over exercising until I drop. Then I'm tired again, and back to the beginning.
Apo - a coworker has trouble with her sciatica and she uses a chair wedge and gets massages every two weeks. It seems to help her.
I am taking another MOOC (Mass Open Online Course) and enjoying it immensely so far. It's "The History of the Rolling Stones" and I'm getting reacquainted with all my old vinyl from the 1960's. I didn't like those albums much back then - just bought them to have the complete catalogue - but I sure like them now. They are about the only things I kept from my teenage years.
I am taking another MOOC (Mass Open Online Course) and enjoying it immensely so far. It's "The History of the Rolling Stones" and I'm getting reacquainted with all my old vinyl from the 1960's. I didn't like those albums much back then - just bought them to have the complete catalogue - but I sure like them now. They are about the only things I kept from my teenage years.
Dagmar
How cool! Saw them one time in Tampa in the 80s. My fav album is Some Girls from when I was in high school, I know every word of every song on it.
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