Recently in fitness Category

i expected something like this.

yesterday, after getting home from my semi-annual dental cleaning and inspection, i received an unexpected phone call from my knee surgeon. this was good because in my nervous anxiousness in anticipation of my consultation i totally forgot to ask all the questions i'd written down for the occasion.

he tried so very hard to be tactful, for which i told him i was appreciative, but the gist of call was to tell me that i'm too fat for the ACL reconstruction surgery.

it seems that he's been thinking about me and my knee and talking to some colleagues who have more experience operating on obese (there, i said it) patients. there are logistical concerns which come into play when the knee to be operated on is two or three times the size of an average joint. you see, they don't yet make super-sized surgical tools for this particular operation, therefore, it would be more difficult and dangerous for him to attempt to rebuild my ligament because of my size.

needless to say, that is exactly what i was afraid of going into his office last week.

but, because i am tenacious and determined, i peppered him with questions and determined that he could still go in there and clean up the mess in my meniscus which would eliminate half of my current knee troubles. then, once that's all healed up, i could start a weight loss program -- complete with exercise i can't currently do -- to drop enough weight to allow him to go in to fix my ACL. he even said he'd give me a prescription for a very spendy space-aged knee brace to help support my knee until it's operation-ready.

overall, it's not an entirely dire situation. i knew surgery and recovery would all go smoother if i could drop some weight first. honestly, i was surprised he didn't seem at all phased by the idea of operating on someone my size. i expected him to say something like "come back when you've lost fifty pounds" (which, ironically, he basically said last night) and shoo me off to find some way to do it with a broken knee.

so, instead of one surgery, there will be two. instead of being fixed by this time next year, it may take an additional year to be all repaired. but, there is a plan and my doctor is willing to work with me to get me fixed, even though it's harder for him, for which i'm thankful.

now comes the hard work. but not until i've had my cake. ;)

earlier this week i attempted to post something via imified, but it kept erroring out. i never found out if it was a problem with their stuff or my stuff, but it was annoying, so forgot to post it when i got home that night. then, i thought about posting it today, but upon reading it, i realized it was woefully out of date -- scary that three days can have such an impact.

one of the items in the post was me talking about how i'd reached a dangerous part of my CFC journey. i had started to feel really good physically. i'd dropped a few pounds, but mostly i was experiencing a re-connection with the strength my body hasn't felt in many years... and i was enjoying it. that part of my fitness experiences is dangerous because it's when i tend to stop trying to progress. why bother when i already feel results? isn't that enough?

the very same day i wanted to tell you about the potential motivational hurdle, i encountered a very different obstacle in my journey: knee injury.

i'd done my very sweaty thirty minutes on the elliptical. i'd stretched out. i'd done my upper body free weights. i was on the floor working my core when a mis-placed foot during a bridge pose caused too much torque on my left knee and SNAP! i was injured.

as soon as i felt that snap i knew what had occurred. it'd happened to me 11 years ago on a plane to Boston for Heather's wedding. i couldn't extend or bend my knee fully and any lateral movement was quite unstable. i was beyond upset.

i hobbled home, applied ice and took some naproxen for the swelling and went to bed. i kept waking up in the middle of the night as i rolled over, fearful of twisting something more out of place. silly me, i went to work the next day. silly, because the elevator doesn't go to the floor my office is on, access is only by stairs. silly, because my work involves a lot of different locations and ambulation is fairly mandatory. i smartened up enough to call the doctor and make an appointment for that afternoon. i wanted to get any treatment needed underway as soon as possible. i had CFC to get back to!

the doctor pushed up my pant legs, poked, pulled, yanked and wiggled my leg for a few minutes all the while looking up at me waiting for me to wince or cry out in pain. the lack thereof was determined to be a very good sign. the diagnosis: twisted tendons, resulting in inflammation. the treatment: more anti-inflammatories and ice packs. the prognosis: full range of motion will return, give it 10 days.

the latter was the most important news. i was so happy to hear it.

i've spent the last two days at home, avoiding all those work stairs and required hobbling. my boyfriend has been incredibly sweet and attentive, quite overprotective and adorable, actually. range of motion has improved 50% already and i hope i won't limp too much when i go to drop off my photo for the gallery show this afternoon.

slow and steady will have to be my mantra when i return to CFC. proper form, don't exceed my body's limitations, take it easy or i won't be able to do anything at all.

while this could have been a Very Bad Thing, i believe it's actually a Very Good Lesson. i just have to remember it in a month when i'm feeling cocky and strong again. over-confidence is the mother of all disasters.

my body seems to hate me lately. it keeps wanting to wake up, and i mean WAKE UP, between four and five a.m. and if i dare to go back to sleep, it punishes me with the greatest form of weariness you can imagine when my alarm beep-beeps it is time to get up and go to work at six. i'm not quite sure what's going on, but someone please send my body a memo that I'M NOT GETTING UP AT FOUR OR FIVE A.M. THANKYOUVERYMUCH. then again, i probably shouldn't complain too much. my body has also *cough*willingly*cough* let go of twenty and a half pounds of fat. that was a nice discovery last week. something about losing a score of weight that makes it all seem more real and continueable. so what if i still have lots more to lose? i haven't been able to say i've lost twenty pounds in, um, eight years. it's a major accomplishment. now if only i could learn to say no to creme brulee. mmm, creme brulee. it's almost time to start thinking about getting some new clothes. i have one pair of pants and three or so shirts that actually fit without making me look like some saggy shopping cart person. even my low-rise stretchy jeans are get a little droopy by the end of the day. i should be excited about this, but it's hard to when you know that everything i'm going to buy will be replaced in a few months' time. i think i'll go look around value village. maybe if i don't pay full price i won't feel so bad about not wearing them for very long.

argh! muscle does not weigh more than fat! sorry, but every time i read that on the weight watchers boards i want to scream. i know what people mean when they say that, but it's inaccurate and potentially misleading. one pound of muscle weighs exactly the same as one pound of fat. the difference is that the muscle is denser and is therefore one-fifth the volume of fat. stated sligthly differently: fat takes up more room on your body, that's why two people who weigh exactly the same can look so different depending on the amount of lean muscle mass they each have. are we clear now? good. last night i ramped it up and unwrapped the second tape in my slim in 6 journey. this tape is twenty minutes longer and includes some crazy lower body and resistance training exercises. i was completely drenched with sweat by the time i finished. the important part is that i finished it, though. i'm still feeling pretty good right now, but don't be surprised if i'm hobbling around like a senior citizen later. i treated myself for my good work last night by getting all snazzy in my new outfit today. new über-soft black slacks with my short-sleeve black & white gingham shirt with the white cuffs and collar. i even broke out the heels. yes, sir. i'm right dolled up. i feel very pretty and, not surprisingly, my mood matches.