I Am My Own Princess!

[JayBird]

Yeah, you read that right. More than one of the articles mentions "the Princess," that is the person or personal goal that you are striving for. After reading this metaphor and playing with it in my mind for a bit I came to the conclusion that, in fact, I am my own Princess. The reasons for this are quite simple: I've decided to stop focusing on what other people think of me and want from me. I'm going to put myself first, at least some of the time, and actually take care of myself for once!

I'm from a divorced family and of all six of my siblings (biological or otherwise) I am the only one who seems like they are really going anywhere. I'm starting my final year of my bachelor's degree in education and I've got a GPA that's earned me several scholarships. All in all, we're 2 for 6 in terms of graduating high school and the other one only managed to get into hairdressing school. Being the one my parents placed all of their hopes on, I started doing things like skipping breakfast as I rushed out the door to class and dropping bike riding in favour of studying. As it stands now I'm 160lb at 5'2".

I was able to continue in that fashion for the first couple of years of my degree but things really caught up to me last year. I'm talking handing-things-in-three-weeks-late caught up to me. In addition to the weight gain, I also developed Generalized Anxiety, panic attacks, and my ADHD apparently got bad enough to finally get a formal diagnosis.

That was the kick in the pants I needed to finally look at what I was doing to myself and the effect it was having on me, my school work, my work life and even my relationship with my boyfriend. I realized how run down I was emotionally, mentally, physically, even spiritually. I felt like I needed to rest, but like the brainiac I am I started doing my research on how I could get control again. I took stock in how I conduct my life including my eating habits and how much exercise I get. Needless to say, I failed to impress myself.

I ended up on a long and winding road that eventually lead me here. My goals relatively simple, they can be more or less summed up as taking care of myself. I want to get back into the shape I used to be in. I've started taking a Yoga Vibe class, which is a little more fast paced than the standard Hatha Yoga; much better for a figgety soul like myself. I've also started roller bladding, jogging, and jumping rope. I'm making healthier decisions with my eating and I eventually want to phase out most of my sugary, creamy coffees in favour of fruit/green tea blends. I'm going to phase out as much processed foods as possible. In the end I want to lose about forty pounds.

Wish me luck, and don't forget to be awesome!

[Steve]

Welcome Jaybird!

Sounds like you've had to make a lot of tough life decisions recently, but it sounds like you did them for the right reasons and now you're on a much healthier path. Thanks for joining the community, we're really glad to have you here

Let us know what we can do to help!

-Steve

[JayBird]

Thanks Steve!

The one thing I am really concerned about is the risk of injury I have from the bizzare nature of my flexibility. I am hyper extended in my ankles and also in rotator cuff in my hip. I can twist myself into weird shapes in yoga but I can't stretch as far as that flexibility would lead people (including my yoga instructor in the initial class) to believe. It leads me land unevenly on my feet when I walk and run -- I tend to land on the sides of my feet if I'm not consciously thinking about it. I've actually fallen over sideways on a few occasions as a result. Even when that doesn't happen, I'm not exactly absorbing the impact properly when I walk. It's genetic, I got it from my Mom who ended up with knee injuries when she took up running.

I'm wondering if there are exercises that I can do which can help me either strengthen my ankles or at least obtain a slightly more natural gait and better balance. I'm thinking bare foot running might help? I know the yoga is definitely helping, but I want to do what I can to minimize the risk of injury. Injury is probably what I'm more worried about than anything. I have a reputation among my friends for having a dex of about seven. Yeah, sad.

[Dantes]

There are so many other ways to exercise without running.

I had ankle surgery a couple years ago.

The exercises they had me doing were.

Leg raises (either weighted or BW, single leg)

Stabilisation on a Bosu ball

resistance band work (can't remember the exact movements)

I would see a decent physiotherapist and get them to prescribe a routine to help you strengthen and stabilise your joints.

Oh and welcome to the boards

Best of luck with your goals.