There is nothing more humbling than being able-bodied then not. One day you hop skip and jump along… the next one-foot hop aided by a walker!
Wheeling all the way home!
My silly ankle injury introduced me to all sorts of new wonders in traveling – including checking out the airport wheelchair services in Mumbai, Singapore, Jakarta, Tokyo, Shanghai, Manila, Kuala Lumpur… navigating obstacle courses on crutches… and realising that all that yummy food comes with an extra price beyond dollars and cents alone!
Yup you got it – between hotel and restaurant food for many months, the mad marriage marathons of December, our usual social whirl, there was a ripe recipe for some serious weight gain.
Yeah… us gals in our mid-40s don’t exactly bounce back from an enforced sedentary life-style and do have a slower metabolism.
And let’s face it… I got lazy. Inertia is a terribly seductive thing!
However, one of the best things about being between work projects is the TIME and opportunity to start my own project – “Get Fit!”
… until now!
My operation began simply:
- Survive physio and get the basics of walking back!
- Start slow with a bit of splish splashing in a pool until the winter cool made it too brrrr!
Then after all the season’s festivities subsided, it was time to crank it up a notch:
- Pick a convenient gym that doesn’t cost a bomb with a month of personal training thrown in for good measure
- Check-in with a doc to guide trainer on the “Do’s” n “Don’ts” to work around the ankle (and then knee!) injuries and hopefully avoid further mishaps
- Even more gaaakh! Add sensible meal-plans to the mix… Ugh!
I definitely do have my work cut out for me! I figure if it took 9 months to… ahem… go from fuller-figured to flat-out fat, will take about the same time and triple dedication to get back to some semblance of fitness… groan…
More than anything else – my minor injury has instilled a very deep respect for any and all who manage and can even thrive with a disability.
I am lucky to have a choice and it is time to get my lazy ass in gear!!
Wish me well! And all the best to any others embarking on similar groan, moan, arghhh ‘get fit’ journeys!
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Best of luck!
I seriously need it! Managed almost 3 weeks but man there is a looong way to go!
I’d send Nancy over but I think she’s off to London next 😉 Tough love in the extreme haha!
My trainer is doing a good job of that so far… interspersed with the rare gold nugget of encouragement or two. 😉
Ha, I suppose they have to be a bit bad-ass!
I think it is part of the JD for the good ones! 😉
Headed to Vancouver next week. UK is two weeks from now. 🙂 I’ll be cracking the whip in multiple continents.
Haha! We all are shivering in our boots! (or sandals in my case!) Have a blast and keep cracking that whip!
Topless, I hope 🙂
It’s the only way, really.
Stun them into submission 🙂
Good luck Carissa! Coming back from an injury is so hard. I keep trying to re-start my running, thinking my calf injury has fully heeled, then …BOOM… my left calf explodes after a few pounds of the pavement reminding me it’s not there yet. BAH!
Yeah… I had a reminder only 2 weeks in when my knee decided to go ‘Bloody hell you are NOT doing this!’ Had to take 3 days off then have been super duper careful this week with modified exercises and even less low / no resistance cardio type activities. Sigh… And just as I was feeling great and energy levels returning!
Slow and steady wins the race. You have got this.
That’s my plan! Realistic goals and the most important – just keep at it!!
the best of luck! Staying or getting fit is one hell of a battle for me, and since saying ‘no’ to all the delicious foods… well, it’s a roller coaster indeed – a run in a forest, some exercising, some ‘bad’ but Sooo good food, and we’re back to the beginning
I need all the luck I can get! And wish you well with your battle. 🙂 For me I can resist the sweet stuff… it is the savoury that gets me every time! I cannot pass up pani puri and other tart spicy salty yumminess!
It is always hard to get back and I wish you all the best with it. During my swimming ‘career’ I had many injuries and had to fight my way back which always took many months. Injuries were also in the end the reason why I quited, it was just too much to start from scratch again
Ah… but you then have a base of a much higher level of fitness and muscle mass than I ever possessed! 😉 Hope you still swim sometimes just for the pleasure of it? Really is nothing better!
My fault but I gave up ballet as a teenager to focus more on theatre and music. So when I first attempted to ‘get fit’ at 40, it was quite the change! That also was post a health issue but one that didn’t impact my mobility – so the only limitation was building stamina and some kind of muscles! I did great then and loved it!
However the level of caution and care required now?? Double ugh on top of being in the worst shape I’ve ever been plus the heaviest ever too! It is indeed an uphill battle!
It is really some tough work. Though I am still young with my 27 years I can feel the difference from when I was still a teenager. Injuries happen much quicker and I have to be double careful when doing some work out.
My father who is 73 is bicycling in summer always short distances like 50km a day. This keeps him fit though during winter he is doing nothing at all 😀
Bravo for your father! Mine keeps active throughout winter with curling, skating, even some skiing too! I’m in awe!
How quickly we forget. One day it’s “Yes, I can walk – I’ll never take this for granted again”. The next day it’s “it’s so nice here at home – I’ll exercise tomorrow instead”. I must get that feeling back, of just recovering from injury, and eager to get moving again.
Oh I’ve done more than my fair share of “It’s so nice here at home – I’ll do it tomorrow!” excuses! 😉 My best was – it is too cold to go swimming! (when it was something like 25-30’c out!)
Wishing you a smooth, speedy, and positive recovery!
Merci beaucoup!
An injury can definitely affect our lives. I hope all goes well and you will reach your goals in no time! Plus, you sound determined (a personal trainer) – that is the key ingredient of making your goal a reality!
Many thanks!! A personal trainer is my way of not slipping! At a min I will hit the gym 3 times a week and as he also monitors my cardio progress that adds another 3 with just one day off a week.
My 1st month is up in another 4 sessions so I just paid for the 3 month extension with the understanding that I may adjust sessions around a couple trips…
Trying to make more progress before traveling is part of why I decided to push my Singapore / Jakarta trip to March instead of Feb plus I should have a new product to throw into the marketing mix by then too! Amazing when can have a ‘business’ justification too for ‘personal’ decisions! The joy of having your own set-up – woo hoo!
Oh I so wish you good luck with this. Don and I have both been lazy and/or been eating too much and/or injured over the last 12 months, and we’re only now on the path back to being fit again and both so much look forward to when we’ve regained our previous weight and fitness levels. It sure takes time and commitment. Stick with it!
Alison
Wishing you folks well! Getting over the inertia state is the biggest hurdle… then just doggedly keeping at it… sigh…
Awrgh, it’s a fucker when your body keeps throwing spanners in the works! I hope you’ll get there.
I think I can… I think I can… I think I can!!! (even if there are many moments when I think I CANNOT!) 😉
Once decrepitude sets in… woe is us 😦
Yuppers! I keep thinking of my inspiration – my great aunt Daisy who was still kicking up her heels dancing at 100! If I even come close to her zest for life and health I will be doing rather well! 😉