Dear Monica,
One more thing I forgot to say. Did she measure your body fat percentage? (I am not talking your BMI) After a while you can have it measured again and you will see how many pounds of fat you lost and how many pounds of muscle you have gained. That is a better indicator than the scale or your BMI.

Monica - How did it go this week? I was really upset at how your trainer treated you (having been in that position myself at one of those "chain" gyms)....more importantly, what did the doctor say and how are you feeling?

I'm really frustrated because the pain is absolutely no less. I'm wearing these braces during the day and am almost finished with the Medrol pack for inflammation but I don't think it has done its job. I keep reminding myself that the doctor did say it may take 2 or 3 week for the symptoms to subside enough to see if this is going to be enough treatment. My hematologist is just really concerned about my wearing the tight braces so long...even with the blood thinner injections I'm doing twice daily...especially since I'm also on decreased mobility. Oh, and now I have a quad cane for getting up and down stairs. I feel like a short jog (OK...shuffle...I can't jog now) from a retirement community. Ugh...

I get really angry when I think too much about the training aspect. I also get really angry at myself. My gut told me I was overdoing it. I should have listened to that instead of trying to please the trainer. I've always been someone who trusted my gut...I failed this time.

On the upside, I am still losing pounds. I'm trying to be much stricter on the intake to compensate. And I've tried to do some ab work (need DH to help me out of the floor afterwards) and I'm borrowing some dumbbells to keep up with arm sets, too. I'm determined not to let this put me back. I love that I'm wearing smaller clothes and that I've lost a chin and gained collarbones. I'm not giving that up just because I listened to a trainer with no common sense.

Thank you all so much for being amazingly encouraging. I can't wait to get back to my old self. I read your posts and your blogs and just want to get going! I'm so inspired!

Monica