Sacroiliac joint injury (Update)

Saw a sports injury specialist yesterday. Felt a bit like a fraud when I filled in the form... 'what sport do you play', 'what is the name of your coach', 'what team do you play for'... Actually, writing this now I have just realised that I have the perfect answers; Sport: TT, Coach: Craig Ballantyne and TT Members, Team: Breakthrough Challengers. Don't you hate that when the perfect answer pops up hours later!

Anyway, the sports injury specialist thinks it is my Sacroiliac Joint. She gave me a cortisone injection which will apparently help determine things 100% ie. if it still hurts in a week then it isn't my Sacroiliac joint. I am getting heaps of support from my Doctor, Osteo and Kylie, the sports medicine expert.

The best thing is that I can resume some form of exercise. I refer to it as 'nana' exercise but at least it is something. Last week I devised a program using what TT exercises I can do and have been given the ok to do pretty much all of what I put in there for my upper body. Unfortunately I am back to the 80's for my lower body... leg lifts and that sort of thing for a couple of weeks. I can also cycle on my spin bike for 15 minutes (unfortunately at a slow, consistent pace for the next few weeks) and walking in the pool. Luckily I have my larger size togs from last year when I was recovering from my ACL op. Was quite amusing last year. Because my left knee was weak, I couldn't really use it much for awhile so I had serious trouble swimming straight ie. right leg stronger so I would weave my way up the lane. One night I had to share my lane with about six other people... a bit like dodgems.

Anyway, there is hope. At least I can do some exercise now!

Week 1, Day 1 TT Challenge II (RESTART)

Right. Today I am officially re-starting my second transformation challenge.

For those of you who are not aware, I started this challenge May 5th and injured my back. I actually injured it at the end of the last challenge and it flared up again while doing my first workout for this challenge. I am limited as to what exercise I can do so will be adapting the TT workouts to fit in with my limitations for the next few weeks until I have the all clear to get stuck in properly.

This challenge is really going to be a HUGE challenge for me as my results are going to be quite slow due to having to take things carefully on the exercise front. As per usual my husband Jason will be unofficially doing the challenge with me.

Starting Profile:

Weight 67.5kg (148.7lbs)
Shoulders 101.5cm
Chest 96.5cm
Waist 82cm
Hips 101.5cm
R/thigh 62cm
R/calf 36cm
R/bicep 30.5cm

Goal weight at the end of 12 weeks:

61.4kg (135.2lbs)

My goal weight was originally going to be 57kgs but I have adjusted this to a more realistic target as I will not be able to exercise to my fullest capacity during much of this challenge.

Exercise program for week 1 and week 2

Resistance training: As per usual with TT workouts I will be doing resistance training three times a week and will be combing upper body and lower body exercises from various TT workouts as well as including some new ones that my specialist has recommended.

Cardio: Alternating between bike and walking in the pool (three times a week each, at low to moderate intensity for 15 minutes)

Core/stretching: Three days a week, between my resistance training, I will spend approximately an hour working on my core and stretching.

Rest day: one day per week

The main aim for the next couple of weeks is to re-establish my exercise routine, strengthen my core and glutes, increase mobility in my lower back and be very careful!

Nutrition

As per my goals on my original start date, I have thought long and hard about how I should approach the nutrition side of things. This is my area of weakness. Setting rules for myself doesn't work - it just makes me want what I can't have even more. Tracking my food worked really well but is time consuming, not something I can realistically stick with in the long term and I found myself justifying cheat meals because I was under my calories.

I have decided to set myself guidelines which I will adjust where necessary until I get the right 'fit' for me. The following are my nutritional guidelines to start with:

• No coffee (except for cheat meals)


• No alcohol


• No refined sugar/flour (except for cheat meals)


• Planned exercise each day (except where impacts on back injury recovery)


• 90% compliance (I have rated my cheat meals / occasions so a snack is 0.5 of a cheat meal and an entire meal is a full cheat meal)


• At least five serves of vegetables per day


• At least two serves of fruit per day


• Be aware of how much water I am drinking and ensure it is adequate


• Eat my food slowly


• Limit any snacks after my evening meal to fruit or nuts Monday to Thursday (I have started a habit of having toast/honey/butter and coffee, chocolate and coffee or something similar after my evening meal which I wish to discontinue).


• Have at least two cups of green tea each day (I don't really enjoy green tea but think I will once I get more use to it).


• No starchy carbs for lunch (Mon - Fri) and dinner (Mon to Thu), optional on other days

Supplements

I take a variety of supplements including Multivitamins, antioxidants, fish oil, protein drink post workout etc.

Final comments

Because I am trying to keep my time sitting to a minimum I wont be posting as often as I would like. Possibly only weekly at this stage.

Sacroiliac joint injury

Hi everyone. Just and update on my back injury. Got worse in the weekend. Went to osteo yesterday and she thinks it is my sacroiliac joint. She has told me I have to be really careful as I could slip a disk. There are a few exercises I could try (mainly involving bi-lateral movement using machines) but I have to be really, really careful and there are risks. Even swimming is risky - could kick wrong and twist things again.

My plan is to rest for another week and see how things are. If things are getting better I will look for gentle exercises I can do. Even if I have to do nothing for the next three weeks so I have a chance of getting right before the end of the challenge I will. The Osteo didn't seem very encouraging when I mentioned I was intending doing a fitness challenge in a few weeks though.

I am really struggling at the moment. I am in quite a bit of pain physically and mentally I feel really down. It took months for me to get in the right head space to be able to achieve what I have so far and I am so scared I wont have the energy to get back there again. I know what I should be thinking/doing - easier said than done.

I probably wont be posting too much in the next few weeks as painful to sit at a computer.

If anyone has any suggestions on how I can manage/speed recovery please let me know.

TT challenge: Delaying start date

My week started with a hiss and a roar... put my back out really badly (not sure how), have the flu/cold and extreme abdominal pains (not sure why) and have no idea where my brain has gone (not sure where). I suspected I was getting a cold on Sunday and almost delayed my start then but was trying to be positive - didn't work!

Anyway, I am going to need a couple of weeks of taking it easy to get my back right so will be delaying my start date.

On a positive note, my nutrition has been really good which is unusual for me when I am unwell, food is usually my comforter when in pain. I am going to try and do what I can which will include walking, gentle yoga and maybe light weights later next week. I hope to restart my challenge May 19th.

Illness and injury are a part of life and this is just another challenge that has been placed in my path (wish it wasn't quite now!) to deal with... and deal with it I will!

Week 1, Day 2: TT Workout Day

Today went really well. It is another one of those days where I would like to say I leapt out of bed to do my workout but it wasn't. Have not felt too well the last couple of days and had to push myself to do the workout. Was great once I got started. It definitely seems easier getting started this time round from a mindset perspective. No mind games or second guessing myself. I seem to have just switch straight back into it. I was particularly happy with how I felt after dinner. I had made the decision not to allow myself a coffee and chocolate after dinner during the week and I didn't. The decision was made. I wasted no time second guessing myself or self-talking myself 'through it' like I sometimes do. It was easy!

Exercise:

TT 2K3, TT Interval

Nutrition:

100% compliant with food.
Should have had more water.
Only one green tea.

Muesli, yoghurt, kiwi fruit (x3)
Muffin, coffee
Subway 6", chicken
Carrots & celery
Nuts & raisins
3x feijoas
fish, grilled capsicum & corgettes, kumera, broccoli

I wont be posting what I eat every day due to time constraints.

MOTIVATION MONDAY: Dave Kekich (8-14)

I am on to week two of working my way through Kekich's 100 Credos.

The first week went well. I printed the first seven out and carried them with me each day. I worked to keep out of my comfort zone, was more aware of how I was spending my time and making commitments to others that I would struggle to keep. I think point for me is something I have done too much of in the past but perhaps not in the smartest way. I need to put some more thought into this one. Ha ha! I always try to show gratitude, but not so much monetarily - I don't have much of that to give right now. Point 6 (produce for wealth creation and accumulation) definitely needs work. A whole lot of work and I need a lot longer than a day to get it sorted. I think I am really lucky with respect to point 7. My friends, colleagues and other people I interact with on a regular basis are pretty positive, hardworking and definitely honest!

Kekich's Credos
©2000 Piranha Marketing & Dave Kekich: 8 to 15

8. Learn from the giants.



9. A little caution avoids great regrets. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Keep fully insured physically and materially and keep hedged emotionally. Insurance is not for sale when you need it.



10. Learn the other side's needs, offer as little information as possible, never underestimate your opposition, and never show weakness when negotiating.



11. Never enter into nor invest in a business without a solid, well-researched and well thought-out written plan. Execute the plan with passion and precision. Plan and manage your life the same way.



12. Success comes quickly to those whom develop great powers of intense sustained concentration. The first rule is to get involved by asking focused questions.



13. Protect your downside. The upside will take care of itself. Cut your losses short - and let your profits run. This takes tremendous discipline.



14.The primary purpose of business is to create and keep customers. Marketing and innovation produce results. All other business functions are costs. Prospecting and increasing the average value and frequency of sales are the bedrock of marketing and business.

Week 1, Day 1: Starting Stats

Yay! The start of stage two of my transformation.

From past experience, I know it is going to take lots of hard work and commitment to reach my goal weight. Bring it on! The difference between last time and this time is that I KNOW I will do it. Barring external forces outside my control, I know I will complete this challenge and I know I will reach my goal weight.

As with the last challenge, my husband Jason will be unofficially doing the challenge with me. He lost 10cm around his waist in the last challenge and is starting to get the beautiful body back that he had when I first met him 13 years ago.

While officially today is day one, tomorrow is when I am actually going to start the challenge. I had to take my before photos on a weekend day so I could take them during the day. I wont be posting progress photos on my blog, just the before and after photos once I have completed the challenge.

Profile:

Weight 67.7kg (149.1lbs)
Shoulders 101.5cm
Chest 96.5cm
Waist 82cm
Hips 101.5cm
R/thigh 62cm
R/calf 36cm
R/bicep 30.5cm

Goal weight at the end of 12 weeks:

57kg (125.6lbs)

Program for first four weeks:

TT 2K3
TT Interval Advanced (alternate between spin bike and elliptical)
Yoga and power walking on off days
Rest day Sunday

Nutrition:

I have thought long and hard about how I should approach the nutrition side of things. This is my area of weakness. Setting rules for myself doesn't work - it just makes me want what I can't have even more. Tracking my food worked really well but is time consuming, not something I can realistically stick with in the long term and I found myself justifying cheat meals because I was under my calories.

I have decided to set myself guidelines which I will adjust where necessary until I get the right 'fit' for me. The following are my nutritional guidelines to start with:

• Eat my version of clean 90% of the time (no more than 4 cheat meals a week)


• Any cheat meals are to be planned at least 24 hours in advance (thanks Steve!)


• Spend the time that I would have spent tracking my food (approximately 10 minutes) meditating or just sitting quietly and having some 'still' time each night after work.


• Eat at least two servings of fruit and five servings of vegetables each day


• Be aware of how much water I am drinking and ensure it is adequate


• Eat my food slowly


• Abstain from alcohol


• Limit any snacks after my evening meal to fruit or nuts Monday to Thursday (I have started a habit of having toast/honey/butter and coffee, chocolate and coffee or something similar after my evening meal which I wish to discontinue).


• Have at least two cups of green tea each day (I don't really enjoy green tea but think I will once I get more use to it).

Supplements:

Multivitamins, antioxidants, fish oil, protein drink post workout

I have come a long way since January 14th when I started the first challenge. My body feels so much stronger and firmer. I look forward to getting up in the morning and working out (most of the time!) and I don't dread getting ready for work in the morning as my clothes are starting to fit me again. Life is great once again!

My 'Cave'

I love our house. Each room has something special about it. One of my favourite rooms is my 'Cave'. Technically it is not a room. It is really just a bit of space on the second level of our house that was too low to do anything with. I made my library in the cave. I get to my cave via a door in our walk in wardrobe. There is also a 'sub-cave' that you get to from the main cave but that is another story for another day.

I have a bean bag and a big red cushion in my cave and all my books, magazines and special things. Spiders love my cave and so do my two cats. My husband very rarely enters this space. I love my cave. It is so quiet. Sometimes when I go in there to find something (which takes awhile as my cave is messy) I just sit for awhile and listen... to nothing. I look around in awe at all the knowledge that is living in this tiny space. There are several hundred books, old tapes that I listened to... well when tapes were what you listened to music on, my art and design portfolios, paints and brushes, magazines, my old journals... it is a room full of 'me'.

I love my cave.

NEW!!! Lisa's Book Club

I love learning. One of the best ways to learn is through reading. To me books are like undiscovered adventures just waiting to be explored. I love the smell of books. I love the idea that I am being allowed to enter into another persons mind. I love knowing that I am going to learn at least one new thing that I didn't know before. When I enter a book store I am in my own personal heaven. I quite honestly could spend hours in a book store.

My love of books and book stores has caused some delicate situations between myself and my husband. Whenever we go to a new town (well any town actually) I HAVE to go to every book store I can find. A few years ago I had to pick up a book from Borders, Auckland. Jas waited in the car while I 'popped' into the store to pick up my book. Wow! Over an hour later I was still wandering around this amazing store. It had several levels, nice big comfy chairs everywhere and every single category of books you could imagine.

What draws me to a particular book? It depends. I may have heard about it from a friend, it may be an Oprah Book Club book, I may just love the cover and want to know more.

I buy most of my books from Amazon. I find the reviews are really helpful, the books are usually less expensive than most book stores, they have access to pretty much any book that you could ever want and you can get many books second hand which saves even more money.

From time to time I come across a book that really touches me. A book that I wish all my friends, family and... well everyone had the privilege of reading. From now on, each time I come across a book like this, I am going to post a review and a link through to Amazon where you can find out more information about the books I read.