Knees and Needs

I've been pushing my body to jog further and faster, in preparation for the Bellin Run, and I was experiencing increasing endurance.  Until I started to develop sharp knee pain in my left knee last Sunday. Since then, I was only able to get three to five minutes before the pain became too intense. Being a nurse, and a guy, I was trying to "play through the pain", but that wasn't working. This was not muscle aches. This was sharp and deep knee pain, under the patella.  Similar to when I tore my mensiscus in my right knee.

I decided to listen to many people about my knee. I am going to give my knee 10 days to rest. No jogging.  Rest and recuperation. In my zeal to prepare for the Bellin Run, I over-did it. I was pushing for longer and longer times each and every day. I never took a day off to let my knee recover. Knees NEED time to heal, grow stronger, build toughness.

Instead, I will focus on the weight machine (upper body only) for the next 10 days. Then I will get on the treadmill and start with a fast walk for a short time (3-5 minutes). I will take a day off after walking, and hopefully then be able to increase duration and speed incrementally.  However, if the knee pain returns, then it's back to my orthopedist to see what a doctor can do for me.

I am not going to worry about how this will affect my performance in the Bellin Run. One thing at a time! (That's something that I need to work on.)

I weighed in today, and recorded a weight that was unchanged from Monday. That doesn't mean the weight was completely unchanging day to day.  But I am feeling more in control at what I call my "balance weight range." Every day is a minor difference. A tad up, a tad down, a day of no change. Lather, rinse and repeat. It's only been exactly one month since I reached my goal, so we are eleven months from feeling like I am really grasping this phase of my life.

Don't get me wrong. Every day is still a challenge. I was at a convenience store today, and it is attached to an Arby's. I smelled the food, and I really wanted it. But I know that my meal plan for the day doesn't include a sodium-laden beef sandwich.

I hope that as you make your own progress that you never start to think, "It will be so easy when I reach my goal weight!" The reality is that the only changes to my meals is that I have 500 extra calories to eat, and that I am eating most of my exercise calories now. I still log my foods. I still have cravings for things (potato chips) in quantities that I shouldn't eat. But I am learning that I don't NEED to eat those things, or those quantities, to feel good. In fact, exercising self-control feels better than I could explain.

I purchased my LoseIt "Goal Achieved" t-shirt. I am proud to have earned the right to buy it. But I really feel like the shirt should read, "Goal Achieved. Now on to the NEXT goal".

We are all on a journey to better health and weight management for the rest of our lives.  Unless you are willing to risk returning to a previous physique, you will need to continue to consider your meals before eating. In the words of my son and many other wise people, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  Logging all food consumed gave me success. Logging will keep me successful. I won't think that "I have this figured out, I don't need to log" because I truly believe that while you success over a short period is possible, the act of logging your food creates ownership of your actions. It shows an acceptance of your responsibilities.

I'm still logging my meals and exercise, one month into finding my "balance weight range". I will be logging 11 months from now, and even after that. I want to keep the new me. I like the new me. I hope that you succeed and find the new you. 

Pictures of a new meal will probably be posted tonight.