The Gym

I am struggling with the gym at the moment... not because it's hard work, or I hate it, or anything negative like that, but because I have hurt my foot really bad. I even went to A&E on Friday - during the Royal Wedding - to get it x-rayed.

My gym instructor says it's some kind of muscle thing and I didn't quite catch the name of it, but it was something like bla-bla-itis. It's the worst thing to happen to me right now.

Not only was I enjoying the gym, but we had been going regularly since 28th January 3 times a week and I had really improved my fitness levels. TB and I both started out lightly and didn't even break a sweat, but after a few sessions we really started to get going and I was doing 30 minutes on the treadmill at 5.3kph on random hills level 7!!! I was well pleased with myself. That was followed by 20 minutes cycling at level 9 and 75rpm and then 10 minutes rowing or mixed leg weights.

I was well chuffed with myself.

My foot had been playing up a lot, and it would be really really sore the next morning, but once I got going it would ease the knots out and would be ok. Any time I sat still for a bit, I would hobble for a while, but nothing really major. It was livable.

We went away on the 15th April for DS's Internet school residential weekend thing in Wales. It was awesome but meant that there was no gym on the Friday or the Monday. Wednesday went by as TB wasn't feeling great, and I had loads to do having been away for 4 days. Friday it was shit because of Good Friday, then Monday was shut too. The following Wednesday - 27th April by now - we went.

I typed in the usual 5.3 at level 7 on the teadmill and it nearly killed me. Those short 2 weeks had buggered my fitness level and I needed to slow it right down and we actually come home early as we were both knackered! I was shocked actually at how quickly you lose fitness!

I was hobbling a bit afterwards, but no more than normal, but Thursday morning WOW! What a pain. It was so excruciating, I just stayed in bed and on the sofa. It KILLED!

On Friday, I managed to get through the wedding ceremony but googled foot problems during the hour wait for the balcony scene and came across the words "Stress Fracture" and got the shits! So we hot footed it (hee hee) to A&E with DH rightly thinking that most people would not be harming themselves currently as they would be watching the wedding. We got seen to really quickly and stuff and it wasn't broken, just sprained some of the muscles.

That didn't really help.. especially the usual "Take some ibuprofen..." which followed with me once again saying to a doctor who has ALL my notes... I CANT TAKE IBUPROFEN I HAVE A BAND YOU MORON.

*sigh*

So I popped some of my dads stash of codeine tabs he gave me now that he doesn't have pain from cancer and they knocked the pain on the head good and proper!

But today, I have been to the gym and my foot hurts now. Right now. Tomorrow its going to be criminal.

I was even really good at the gym and did 30 minutes walking at 4.3kph and no hills :-( and then 10 minutes rowing and 20 minutes bike at level 5. It seems it is still not low enough not to cause me pain.

This sucks.

On the other hand, I think to myself... it hurts anyway, so why not just suck it up. So shall be continuing until the tendon snaps or whatever and I cant do it any more!!!

I shall keep taking it easy and see how things go. Rubbish cos I only burnt off 300 cals today instead of 450.

I also have the squits today - think it was the tuna I had last night. Was a bit manky tasting.

Mostaccioli With Beans

(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups uncooked mostaccioli pasta (or similar pasta shape like penne)
  
  


• 2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
  
  


• ½ lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into small sized pieces
  
  


• 1 onion, chopped (½ cup)
  
  


• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
  


• 1 (14.5oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
  
  


• ½ cup low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
  
  


• 1 tbsp chopped fresh or ½ tsp dried rosemary leaves, crumbled
  
  


• 2 cups lightly packed fresh spinach leaves
  
  


• 1 (15oz.) can cannellini beans, drained
  
  


• ⅓ cup low-fat Parmesan cheese
  
  


• Low-fat cooking spray
  
  

Preparation:

• Cook and drain pasta according to package instructions.
  
  


• While pasta is cooking, spray a 4-quart Dutch oven with low-fat cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat.
  
  


• Cook asparagus, red bell pepper, onion and garlic until vegetables are crisp-tender (about 6 minutes).
  
  


• Add tomatoes, broth, and rosemary to vegetable mixture and stir until blended.
  
  


• Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 3 minutes.
  
  


• Stir in cannellini beans and spinach and simmer until spinach is wilted.
  
  


• Toss vegetable mixture with the cooked pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese as desired.
  
  

Make 6 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (324 g)): 313 Calories, 14 g Protein, 62 g carbohydrates, 7 g Dietary Fiber, 2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 467 mg sodium

Understanding Weight Gain After Weight Loss Surgery

I am hearing from many WLS Neighbors who are struggling to get to goal weight or fighting back against a weight gain. If you are struggling - as we all do at times - please take a look at my article below that reveals 4 truths about regain and empowers you to understand why it happens to even those most resolved to beat obesity once and for all:

From 5 Day Pouch Test Featured Articles:



Four

Alert: Recalled Grape Tomatoes in Ready-to-Eat Salads

Many of us include vitamin packed fresh tomatoes as part of our weight loss surgery diet for their easy digestibility and high water content. Today in the news we have been alerted to an outbreak of salmonella in fresh tomatoe. Please take a moment to review this article from WebMD and evaluate your risk. This contamination scare coupled with the recent drastic increase in the price of tomatoes

AOL Success Stories - Submit Yours

I've just stumbled on a great selection of weight loss success stories at AOL's "That's Fit" website. Check it out at That's Fit: Success Stories. They have motivational stories from a diverse range of people of all age groups.

If you would like your weight loss story profiled at this AOL website, please contact Martha Edwards there. They have also put out the call to feature and link to bloggers who have weight loss success stories.

Mediterranean Pizza

(makes 12 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 oz.) thin-crust pizza dough (i.e. Boboli)
  
  


• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
  


• ½ cup onion, chopped
  
  


• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  
  


• 4 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
  
  


• 1 cup eggplant, peeled and chopped
  
  


• 1 tsp dried basil, crushed
  
  


• 1 small zucchini, sliced
  
  


• 2 tbsp sliced, pitted, ripe black olives
  
  


• 2 red tomatoes (or yellow), halved lengthwise and sliced
  
  


• 1 cup ripe olives, chopped
  
  


• 1 small yellow summer squash, sliced
  
  


• ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
  
  


• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  
  


• ½ tsp sugar
  
  


• ¼ sp salt
  
  


• ⅛ tsp pepper
  
  

Preparation:

• Cook onion and garlic in 2 tsp of the olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium skillet for about 3 minutes or until tender.
  
  


• Add tomatoes, eggplant, basil, sugar, salt and pepper and cook, uncovered over medium-high heat until liquid has evaporated (about In a medium skillet), stirring occasionally.
  
  


• Place pizza dough on a lightly greased baking sheet. Spread the eggplant mixture over the pizza dough.
  
  


• Arrange the red tomatoes, squash, and zucchini over the mixture. Brush vegetables with remaining olive oil.
  
  


• Sprinkle with feta cheese and olives.
  
  


• Top with mozzarella cheese.
  
  


• Bake, uncovered at 400 degrees F until cheese is melted (about 15 minutes).
  
  


• Cut into wedges and serve.
  
  

Make 12 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/12 of recipe (146 g)): 143 Calories, 5 g Protein, 19 g carbohydrates, 2 g Dietary Fiber, 6 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 7 mg cholesterol, 248 mg sodium

A little about PCOS.

PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and it effects 1 in 15 women. I personally was diagnosed with this seventeen years ago and also know several ladies who have this. It's so common, chances are you or someone you know has it too.

Woman can have one or all of the following symptoms:

• Acne
• Weight gain and trouble losing weight.
• Extra hair on the face and body. Often women get thicker and darker facial hair and more hair on the chest, belly, and back.
• Thinning hair on the scalp.
• Irregular periods.  Often women with PCOS have fewer than nine periods a year.  Some women have no periods. Others have very heavy bleeding.
• Fertility problems.  Many women who have PCOS have trouble getting pregnant (infertility).
• Depression

List from WebMD

It's not the worst thing to be diagnosed with, but it is time consuming to deal with.  Doctors don't understand why a woman gets this syndrome and they know even less about treating it so they prescribe drugs to manage each symptom.  At 20, my medicine cabinet resembled that of a grandparent. Little orange bottles of various sizes lined the shelves and it was overwhelming to not only look at but to keep track of when to take those little pills.

One day I looked at my future and I realized that the various medicines I had perscribed to me were for asthetic purposes.  At that time, I decided I would spare my liver and spend more time either in front of the mirror plucking or finding the right cleanser to control my acne.

Nearly two decades later and I still don't take anything for my crazy symptoms since they have remained topical. I am grateful for this since women with PCOS are likely to have heart and diabetic issues. I hope to continue to avoid such health issues by paying attention to my body now.

As for weight loss, PCOS does make it more challenging, but it doesn't make it impossible. Weight loss efforts can be effective if I put the focus on my exercise and eating and understand there is no wiggle room.  Gone are the days where weight just "accidently" disappeared because I was too busy to eat. I know if I eat a chemical free diet, exercise regularly and get plenty of sleep, my body will respond as I expect it to whether I have PCOS or not.

*I plan on discussing further in future posts.