What do I do?

Mangoperson88

Two days ago I was running on the rooftop of my apartment building and my foot got caught in a bunch of pipes and I fell down hard spraining my back a bit..now I feel a bit of pain when I get up after sitting otherwise it's not much of a bother. Infact, I went today also coz I've been stress eating since the past couple of days and wanted to get a gentle walk which actually turned into a moderate to brisk pace😬 can I do bodyweight exercises and lifting weights while by back still hurts or forget about it. Asking coz I KNOW my eating is gonna be messed up for a few days coz I'm worried. Help! Sorry for the long post.

MaltedTea

No need to apologize for the post. Can you clarify the question or concern however?

In the meantime, hope you get better soon

Mangoperson88

I want to know whether it is wise to do a HIIT or strength training workout while my back is still hurting coz I know I won't be able to control my eating. If anyone can gimme tips to control my eating while I let my back heal would be great.

chocolate_owl

You really should rest while you heal. You don't want to risk a much more serious injury that requires you to recover for weeks instead of a few days. I promise you're not going to gain 10 pounds if you don't work out for a few days. And you might find that you don't engage in "messed up" eating if your body isn't demanding the fuel for workouts...?

That said, if you MUST exercise, you should skip the HIIT and stick to walking until your back heals. For weights, it would be a good idea to stick to machines if you have access to a gym. An injured back means your form might not be great with free weights, and we tend to do really stupid, back-aggravating things when picking up dumbbells or plates that we don't even realize we're doing (bending over to lift instead of squatting down, picking up something heavy and twisting with it, etc). And if something even remotely causes pain, don't do it. Back injuries are not to be messed around with.

MaltedTea

There is a recent thread called "Tips for staying consistent" that you may want to search for (with the search box). I'm on my phone and can't link to it.

But there are lots of gem threads like this throughout the MFP forums. Ultimately, you have to pick a method that's going to work for you as everyone's strategy is going to be a little bit different based on their personality, motivation, goals, etc.

There's a lot of fails on the road to success but don't let that stop you. The fact that you're trying to mitigate before there is a problem is likely a good thing too. Yay for progress 😊

Mangoperson88

Yes I am thinking of sticking to walking/ jogging only as it's not very taxing on my back like dance or HIIT and pullovers really make me aware of my lower back the next day lol. What's worrying me is that I'm gonna binge like I did today coz I know I'm in one of those moods when I just wanna throw in the towel

chocolate_owl

Don't jog - it's high-impact, and you want to steer clear of that. Walking or elliptical are the only "safe" exercises right now. Cycling is a bad idea since you'd be bent over on the bike, and swimming can be aggravating because of the movements.

What going on with food/binging, exactly? Have you been doing this for a while? I get burnout from being in a prolonged calorie deficit, and sometimes have to eat at maintenance for a few days to feel better. The weight loss is slower, but it's better than being hangry, exhausted, and tempted to binge. Or is there an outside stressor that you can address some other way (favorite hobby/TV show/bath/journaling)?

Mangoperson88

Burn out! Yes coz I've been eating mostly healthy from may 1 and I'm kinda sick of salads now so I was hungry today and reached for a couple of packets of biscuits and also binged on some fox nuts. I've gotten my bored/ emotional eating under control but I am *kitten* scared if I give in I will lose control. I will also check out the consistency thread like you or someone else suggested. thanks

neanderthin

Keep it to a minimum and let your body repair itself, life isn't a sprint race.

janejellyroll

Part of long term weight management is figuring out how to calibrate your calorie intake to your activity level. We'll all likely have times when we're injured, feeling unwell, or are very busy and might not be able to be as active as we usually are. In order to keep on track, we have to figure out how to adjust our food intake accordingly.

So instead of freaking out, I'd approach this period as a time to figure out some new strategies.

If you're sick of salads, what are some other things that you can eat within your calorie goals? If you're hungry, what are things that you can do that don't involve eating high calorie foods in larger quantities than you planned?

If your weight control requires exercising even when you're injured or ill, that's not a good long term strategy, IMO.

Mangoperson88

I'm Indian and my cuisine, even though simple is carby. So I love to eat white rice with some vegetable curry and when I enter it here the carbs go through the roof and it really freaks me out. I literally panic even though everything I'm eating is home cooked like lentils and veggies. I try to stay away from rice and bread and I succeed mostly but I have a terrible fear of passing out if I eat less.

chocolate_owl

There are so many ways to eat healthy outside of salads! You just have to get the portions right. Here's what I ate the past two weeks:

-Chipotle chicken, Mexican rice, and sauteed zucchini, corn, and peppers
-Baked parmesan herb salmon, green beans, and bread
-Ginger beef, mushroom, and kale stir fry with noodles
-Bean and kale enchiladas (with a ton of feta)
-Pork chops with onion and peppers over brown rice
-Orange-ginger shrimp, broccoli, snap peas, and carrots over white rice
-Thin crust pizza
-Leftover honey ham and potato salad from a party
-Portobello mushroom bolognese over pappardelle noodles
-Grilled chicken, asparagus, tomato, and feta salad w/ balsamic vinaigrette and bread
-Tequila lime shrimp, Mexican-spiced veggie kebabs, and rice
-Chipotle pork tenderloin, spinach salad, and bread
-Tuna nicoise salad

I eat 1300-1400 calories a day. My protein bar breakfast is ~200 calories, and each lunch/dinner meal is 450-600 calories. If I have some extra calories at the end, I have some chocolate or wine.

Basically, if you're really bored with your food, eat different food! Get creative! Cut down on how much oil you cook with, bulk up your meals with more veg, make some substitutions for lower-cal ingredients where you have to, but eat food you really enjoy. I clearly eat salad, but I wouldn't want 90% of my meals to be salads. I'd be burned out too.

ETA:

Frompumpkin2cinderella wrote: »

I'm Indian and my cuisine, even though simple is carby. So I love to eat white rice with some vegetable curry and when I enter it here the carbs go through the roof and it really freaks me out. I literally panic even though everything I'm eating is home cooked like lentils and veggies. I try to stay away from rice and bread and I succeed mostly but I have a terrible fear of passing out if I eat less.

Carbs are FINE!!! They're fuel for your workouts. Eat them, log them, and stay in your calorie goal. You want to be hitting a protein minimum to help preserve muscle, and you need some fats to keep your body functioning properly, but if you fill in the rest of the calories with carbs, there's nothing wrong with that.