It has been awhile since I posted my last blog. I do have a really good excuse though. Just after Thanksgiving I started feeling some real tightness in my back. This is not a new thing for me at all so I did what I always did; I went to my chiropractor. This has always worked before so I saw no reason why this time would be different; unfortunately I was wrong. After 6 visits and being completely bed ridden, it become very clear I had a very serious problem going on. To make a long story short, I ended up needing to get back surgery. I am currently getting physical therapy to work out the remaining kinks in all of this. See I told you I had a good excuse.
One thing all this down time has given me is plenty of time to figure out what I really think about health and exercise. How does one continue to lose weight and stay healthy if your stuck in bed? Is that even possible? What happens when you have a long road of recovery ahead of you and exercise is just not an option? Are you doomed for the rest of your life? These are really hard questions that I just have no answer for.
I guess the best place to start is at the beginning. For me the first step was to get a detox going. I really needed to get all the pain killer and anesthesia residue out of my body. I really feel for people who have to take pain killers on a constant basis. I absolutely hate the way they made me feel disconnected from reality and they never truly dealt with the pain. Thank God I have been pain free in my back since the surgery. This detox is still a work in process. I'm doing it nice and slow so that my body doesn't get overwhelmed with all the harmful toxins it is trying to get rid of. The next area I can control is what I am eating. My eating at this time is pretty basic. I try to not add any extra fat to my food. Simple things like not buttering my toast and eating nothing that is greasy or fried, which for me that has never been an issue. Next I try to make sure I am getting plenty of protein so that my body has what it needs to rebuild . When it comes to carbs I have a very small amount at every meal to keep my body burning. Since I can't work them off it is important to watch them closely. Finally I eat lots of veggies. Most of my lunch and dinner plate is a big green salad with NO dressing, I prefer a little balsamic vinegar to a heavy dressing. And finally we have the drinks department. That one is easy..Water..Lots of water. Water is not only going to help the detox process along, but it will also keep my body hydrated so every organ can function properly.
This is really not easy for me to stop exercising. Before this I was working out 4-5 times a week doing cardio and weights. At this moment I have no idea when I will ever be able to do that again. But I will not let this keep me from reaching my weight loss goal. So I will continue to ponder these questions until I have some answers that satisfy me . Stay tuned.
