Skip to main content

Updates on the Leg

I'm sure you're all wondering how my leg is doing and my food issues and whether or not I'm still alive. I'm happy to clear it all up for you! I am in fact, alive. I have missed blogging but with the no running thing I'm low on material.
Perfected carrying all my crap into the gym!
I've done some "aqua jogging" exactly twice so far and it's not as bad as it seems. It's only mildly terrible. Although I've only done it for 30 minutes each time. If I decide to get an hour or so in, things might be different. So far it's been a combo of swimming and then running since I've yet to allow myself more than an hour at a time at the pool. I know, I'm super lazy during the "off season". I'm going to try cycling this weekend or next week. I'm allowed to do whatever doesn't hurt so we'll give it a try and see. Before I knew I had the stress fracture I rode my bike a lot in place of running because it didn't hurt so I'm going to give it a whirl again. I've only been crutched up for just over a week but I can already tell things are getting better. It had gotten to the point that I felt a little pain in my leg all the time. Even just laying on the couch I knew it wasn't right although it may not have been particularly painful. Just from not using it at all for a week I've eliminated most of the noticeable pain which is awesome. I put weight on it from time to time when I'm brushing my teeth or in the shower and even then there's no pain. I won't be walking on it for some time but we'll see if a little cycling movement makes it hurt or not. I'm going to start with just 10 minutes easy spinning and then see how it feels after 24 hours or so before I do more. I do still have pain primarily when I'm sitting and the pressure from the chair on the backside of my leg aggravates it. That's sort of the tell tale sign of a stress fracture so I'm not surprised by that.

As far as the food issues. Well, you could say they're getting better. A lot of it is a mental game which is the hardest kind in my opinion. I'm upping the calories and trying to eat more but it's exhausting. I'm working hard not to be consumed with thoughts of food and calories but it's hard. I'm also trying not to let the pound and a half I've gained bother me too much. It fluctuates but I know I've gained at least a pound which I have to constantly remind myself isn't that big of a deal. On the one hand, gaining a little tells me I actually am increasing my calories which is good and the extra weight will likely fall off pretty quickly once I start ramping up my activity again. But then I have my fat brain which is terrified of the slippery slope and convinced one little pound will grow by 34 tomorrow morning. It's a delicate balance. I have to constantly try to look at it reasonably, first, it's seriously just a pound. It isn't actually 35. Second my clothes still fit, in fact better than ever. I'm in the grown up equivalent to the size I wore in college (7-juniors then, 8-grown up lady now) and that's awesome. So in addition to just eating more which is extremely difficult, I'm looking into vitamins and supplements that might stimulate some bone growth to avoid having this little issue again.

Making lunch time more fun by watching White Collar
 I also have very little soreness or fatigue in my upper body from using crutches like I was expecting. This isn't my first rodeo on them and I have memories of ridiculous soreness through my arms, back and shoulders and huge bruises under my arms from where I'd get tired and lean too much. Even my forearms hurt! And that was only for a week! So 6 weeks sounded tough but I really don't have any of those feelings this time which makes me super excited to be in such better shape. I do notice when I'm swimming that my arms are a little tired even when I first start and the next day I might have some extra muscle fatigue hanging around but it's nothing new and nothing worse than how I feel after arm day with my sister. Looks like I've been doing something right!

Someone's excited I'm staying off my leg more...
So tell me, what are your words of wisdom for getting some more calories? Please nothing like "eat a burger" or something. I'm talking quality, meatless calories. Any shakes or vitamins that you're a fan of?

Comments

  1. I love this update! I'm glad that everything seems to be working out!

    Nuts and cheese? Full fat everything? I know people who add oils to their smoothies, shakes and oatmeal (coconut or olive or sunflower or whatever) to get in healthy fats.

    There is some company that has a birthday cake flavored protein powder! I've never tried it but I don't know how it could be bad!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm glad things are looking up! I remember being on crutches once in high school and my arms were so sore! I like Jess's ideas of adding some oils (like EVOO) to your smoothies and using full fat instead of low fat or light stuff. I bought some Garden of LIfe brand protein powder and it's a little chalky but tastes pretty good. It's a vegan brand made of all good for you stuff. You can order it on Amazon for the same price as a health food store.

    I hope you're back on your foot soon but in the meantime try to not beat yourself up over a little gain. I know it's hard but stay positive!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why I Hate the Ironman

I figure it's about time to put this out there and I'm pretty sure if you know me really well, you won't be surprised by any of what I have to say. I've been having a lot of issues lately. I've been working hard with my counselor to determine who I really am and what brings me true joy in life and it's been surprising, frustrating, difficult, fun, exhausting, enlightening, exciting and hard....to sum it up in a few words. I spent some time in Puerto Rico back in March and finally got back into doing some writing while I was out there. It wasn't anything long and certainly not anything particularly newsworthy but it made me feel good. I enjoy writing. When I was young I used to write short fiction stories on my mom's computer whenever I had free time and though a lot of them remained unfinished, they were always fun for me and surprisingly effortless to compose. Blogging has never quite been the same as my true writing and I've been working hard t

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 10K Race Recap

Wow, what a title right? Although I also could have titled it the greatest race of my life. Wanna know why? Yeah I thought you might. The week leading up to the race wasn't a great one. Stress at work, general grumpiness etc. etc. etc. So I really wasn't expecting much as far as performance but I wanted to get a 10K in really badly before the marathon relay this Saturday so I thought What the hell and signed up. The atmosphere at Komen events is like none other. Pink everywhere and people....so...many...people. For someone who hates crowds (i.e. ME) there are few things that will lure me to a crowded place. Races just tend to be one of those things. Anyway, there was a great survivors parade and all kinds of booths and music and general funness. What there wasn't plenty of was parking. Which I guess is the norm for an event of this caliber. Survivors' Parade Great Ladies I never got the chance to meet... Seriously packed at the start! Autumn Alexis, The Colonel and I g

Lovin the Hills Race Report

Guess what I did this weekend??? I was a very good girl and asked my coach very nicely if I could please please please do the Lovin' the Hills 6 mile trail race and because he's the best he gave me the green light to participate . So, I did my very first trail race on Saturday! I'm not necessarily a stranger to trails but I definitely wouldn't say we're friends. Trail running goes on the same list as all of those really great athletes I "know" and am Facebook friends with and want to be able to be real friends with but I'm too intimidated to try. You know what I mean right? Anyway, I've run trails before and volunteered at many a trail race but I've never actually "raced" myself so this was going to be a fun new experience. The site wasn't far from my house and since I'd waited to sign up for various reasons, I didn't have to get up too too early to get there in time for race day registration. I drove to Jeffer