And then it all went horribly wrong.

[DuelingWindmills]

Well, I was kicking ass.  Running every day, eating nothing but grilled chicken, fruit, and vegetables.  I was down 40 pounds and 15 away from my goal weight.

And then I moved to Colorado which has been one injury after another.

When I first arrived I discovered that the years of smoking did damage to my lungs which became extremely significant at this altitude.  My first run I passed out.  I decided to keep working on it, keep pushing.  I tripped on broken cement, hitting the ground so hard I broke my two front teeth out, fractured my knee caps, and snapped three bones in my left hand. 

 

And excuse number one appeared.

 

I took up hiking.  Started building endurance, taking my dogs every day with the goal of tackling Pikes Peak.

Then I slipped on loose gravel on a Boyscount trail and fell down a mountain, about 50 years with my feet tucked under me at an angle that resulted in lots of tearing and ripping of the tendons and ligaments in my ankles.

 

Hello excuse number two.

 

Following that I had to have a surgery to remove a 12.5 cm cyst, my ovary, and remove almost a pound of scar tissue.  They cut straight through my abdominal wall which I was not expecting to be so painful, nor was I anticipating that I'd immediately rip internal stitches that were left to heal rough because my doctors were worried about opening me up again (Apparently I really like anesthesia, so much that I don't want to come back out of it).  As an added bonus, the insertion site of my epidural alternates between painfully numb and nagging ache. 

 

And there's number three.

 

I've gained 30 pounds.

 

It hasn't been a very good two years for being healthy.

 

Right now I'm walking on stress fractures in both ankles, and I can't get up a flight of stairs without getting winded.  My back hurts, my front hurts, and every time I try to take a jog I'm gripped with overwhelming fear that I'm going to trip and fall again and get hurt worse this time.

 

But I'm done complaining now and I'm done feeling sorry for myself.  Right now I'm 5'9 and sitting at 183 pounds with a BMI of something like 23%.  I'm trying to set small goals, right now I want to get down to the 170s.  Ultimately I'd like to be a toned 140.  I'm going to have to try a lot of different things, because my ankles are made of glass and old rubber bands.  Oh, and as a fun side effect of the surgery, I can't eat red meat anymore.  But I'll figure it out.

[Shello]

Wow.  You sure have been through a lot and still have a lot to deal with.  But you're here and you'll find something do to to stay active.  Get back on that horse but stay within your means to avoid any further injury.  Then focus on diet. It's 80% of the work anyway.  The real question is..... can you still do bacon?   Who needs red meat anyway.  

[SevenofSeven]

Wow alright, none of that sounds like an excuse, more like really bad luck.

Do you swim? It might help get your endurance back on track. You can also HIIT in the water. Walking through the water is also great if you don't like laps.

Good luck with your rehab and gaining your fitness back.

[DuelingWindmills]

I really can't do any meat at all, sadly enough.  I do alright with fish and shrimp, but anything with land feet tends to leave me doubled over for a while.  I've mostly swapped to a vegetarian diet.  I do swim but there aren't really many pools around where I am so I'm needing to figure that out.  What I'm doing right now is 6-10 mile walks (I'm breaking them into morning/evening, not all in one go) and horseback riding twice a week.

Thanks for the encouragement!

[Cherry Poppins]

Hi lovely,

 

I think you are being extraordinarily hard on yourself! You're been through some truly shit times. You shouldn't view them as 'excuses'! Broken bones? Torn ligaments? Surgery? Damn girl! Cut yourself some slack.

 

Unfortunately I can't help you with the diet, as I'm somewhat of a carnivore who very occasionally eats vegetables however I may be able to help with the exercise. Can you lift weights? Get to a yoga class once or twice a week? Horse riding sounds awesome (and so fun). How about pilates?

 

It sounds like you've got the right attitude. We're here to support you! <3

[Carly Rae Jepsens Warlock]

That's a lot of history with pain.

I know you can do this and regain your health back because your will power is stronger than your fear.

Good luck with everything!

Sent from my SM-T550 using Tapatalk

[DuelingWindmills]

Thanks for the support folks!  I lost about 5 pounds, then found out on Sunday I'm pregnant.  That's going to complicate things.

[insanity]

Thanks for the support folks!  I lost about 5 pounds, then found out on Sunday I'm pregnant.  That's going to complicate things.

Sounds like it's time to celebrate... :-D

[fitnessgurl]

Congrats on your pregnancy. Don't give up! While there's life; there's hope! Check out YouTube for exercises to do when pregnant. I'm sure they have something. *hugs*