Torn ACL. Needs Motivation

Lekili91

Hello!

My name is Leslie (24yrs) and I am on this app in hopes to change my eating habits inorder to lose weight, stay fit and healthy.

I've played a wide variety of sports my whole life and just love staying active. Just recently I got into rugby and I love it but I ended up tearing my ACL along with a small tear in my MCL and LCL. Now, I am unable to workout like I used to which means I need to change the way I eat because I am not burning off as much calories anymore.

I'm having a really hard time trying to stay motivated in changing my eating habits. I have gained some weight and it's stressing me out which then is bad because then it makes me eat bad food. It's hard to eat healthy because healthy food tends to be expensive and time consuming and I live on a tight budget and have little time to cook.

Also, before my injury I did a lot of cardio as my exercise. I never really worked on my upper body. I hate doing ab exercises and weights. That's where I need the most motivation because now I can't do cardio with my injured leg.

I was wondering if anyone out there can help me with either tips on changing my eating habit, exercises I can do, or tricks that will help me stay motivated!

Thanks!

I hope to hear from you guys soon!

JustSomeEm

The easiest way to tackle eating habits is to commit to being open and honest in your MFP diary. Log EVERYTHING, even if you go over your recommended calorie intake. It's eye opening, and you'll probably find yourself making changes almost without thinking about them so that you don't see the 'red' numbers in your diary as often.

I hope you heal quickly.

dhimaan

JustSomeEm wrote: »

The easiest way to tackle eating habits is to commit to being open and honest in your MFP diary. Log EVERYTHING, even if you go over your recommended calorie intake. It's eye opening, and you'll probably find yourself making changes almost without thinking about them so that you don't see the 'red' numbers in your diary as often.

I hope you heal quickly.

Follow this.

Cherimoose

Lekili91 wrote: »

It's hard to eat healthy because healthy food tends to be expensive and time consuming and I live on a tight budget and have little time to cook.

Check some of the threads in the Diet forum about eating healthy on a budget. Carrots, cabbage, beans, and chicken are all relatively cheap.

Keep in mind that to lose fat, all that's needed is a calorie deficit, so don't worry if your ingredients aren't exactly what you think they should be.

Walk a lot to keep your mood up. For strength training, start with very short workouts every 2 days, so you don't dread them. Good music can work wonders.
Try: pushups on your knees, table bodyweight rows, and shoulder presses, using anything heavy. If you get a medicine ball, perhaps from a thrift store, you can do floor slams, wall slams, and similar fun stuff.

percolater

There are some pretty good, "chair work-outs" on You-tube for while you let your ligaments heal. I tore my ACL and MCL a few years ago at the same time that I broke my femur and tibia. The ligaments took longer to heal than the bones, so try to be patient with yourself. Also remember that protein is the great healer so eat plenty of that. Good luck!