Feel to be falling off. Really need some advice!

Train4Foodz

Hi guys,
Basically a week and a half ago I went running, I generally go 10-11 Miles, this was no different.
This time I tripped, breaking a bone in my left foot and rendering myself unable to run or put any serious pressure on that foot.

Because I'm aiming to build/maintain a lean physique I try to aim for around 2500 Kcal a day, keeping my exercise on top all the time.

This pas week and a half has been hell!

I have binged more times that I care to mention and I can actually start to feel the fat stores building up around my face and around my Ab lines that are usually pretty well defined.

I know the 'obvious' answer is snap out of it and start eating healthy again, I'm still trying my best. I just feel to be falling apart!! I feelthat because I cant go running or do any serious cardio that involves my feet I'm just loosing out all round.

In the past year I have made awesome progress, reaching my goal weight, building a good physique and maintaining it, I'm scared to death of letting it all go.. Probably sounds silly but I just need some advice

Thanks

dakotababy

I would let go of the running for now, and look for alternatives you can do. I truly believe ANYONE can exercise to some degree. Unless if you were a veg.

If you can not exercise AT LEAST eat at maintenance or a slight deficit. You can do this! You are out of commission for RUNNING temporarily. Do not let a month or 2 pull you off track, then you will really regret it.

Brandolin11

I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I think this injury and time away from running might be a big time blessing for you.

While it is SO great that you're getting so fit and have been eating better, I think what you're discovering here is that you might have been using running as a mental control mechanism... That is, as long as you perform this particular action (running), then everything is "okay" in your world. It's almost like the OCD guy who has to touch the door knob three times before opening it. When he does it, he has a sense of relief, a peace that everything is in it's right place. If he doesn't do it, then his whole day falls apart. It's a mental game you play with yourself, and it's not particularly healthy, because it's not based in reality. It can't last. As you are discovering, it doesn't allow for "real life" to get in the way.

If you can't be flexible, your mental state will crack, like concrete under pressure from water.

Reality says that sometimes things are not going to go as planned. Sometimes we don't have time to eat that particular snack that usually gets us through to dinner. Sometimes a person at work might do something that prevents us from finishing a project and we get angry and tempted to eat over it. Sometimes we get injuries.

The question becomes; is our life set up in such a way that we can *bend* with the unexpected moments? Set up in a way that we can accommodate, flex, adapt? When you learn to adapt to unexpected situations, you will have the skills to take care of yourself despite the difficulties.

Health encompasses ALL aspects of your life: your fitness program, sure...but also the way you interact with food, the way you deal with stress, the way you relate to people, the way you relate to your spiritual god or guide or spiritual self. Ultimately, all of this MUST be rooted in self-love and self-care. Those two bedrock principles have to under-gird ALL aspects of what you do to be healthy. Otherwise, it's just built on the sandy foundation of control, which can crumble.

Thus, if you can't do a particular exercise for awhile, you do not start "punishing" yourself or abusing yourself with food because you can't cope with the change. You do whatever it takes to care for yourself during that difficult time, despite not being able to run. This might mean choosing a different form of exercise for awhile, or reducing your calories to fit your temporarily sedentary life. You can get creative and figure it out.

So like I said, this can be a blessing if you learn from this situation.... Start releasing that tight control, and start truly caring for yourself instead. You can do it. :flowerforyou:

jessicagrieshaber

I sort of agree with Brandolin. Taking time off from running might be exactly what you need. I'm the same way - if something similar happened and I couldn't run for "x" amount of time, I would be totally lost. I wouldn't know what to do. But, I guess you just need to know that just because this injury occurred does NOT mean it's the end of your fitness and health quest! There are so many other forms of exercise that you can do. Try lifting weights or doing ab exercises more often to gain some lean muscle mass. If you're more of a cardio kind of guy, try out the rowing machine. As for eating clean, it's all a mental game. You're probably upset and confused because you can't run so you figure there's "no point" in continuing your healthy eating regime. This is not true!!! Continue eating at maintenance or even a slight deficit and you will be totally fine

Quick recovery and you'll be back out running before you know it!

AngeliqueAcee

Like others have said, a break from the running might be a good opportunity to try out other forms of exercise! Like swimming, that shouldn't put any pressure on your foot and it is still a fairly heavy cardio exercise.

As for the eating, try and switch out the things you're binging on. It may sound a bit odd, but it is what I do. Instead of eating a whole bag of crisps or cookies or whatever it may be, binge on carrots! You'll see that the urge to eat 1kg of carrots is not so great, and that might help you get your portions down to normal again

Train4Foodz

Thanks for the replies guys,
I do think that maybe I can take something good from this experience.. maybe find a new healthier coping method that doesnt involve constantly running.. as has been quite rightly pointed out.
I just find that for me that's the way that works to keep my Body Fat % down, I was down to 10% bodyfat, I daren't even think what I'm on now lol.. Although I haven't gone too crazy or let things go too bad I think I definately need to take some adviseof you guys and learn a new way of coping when my normal system is thrown out of whack!

I'm gonna keep to a very calorie controlled diet this next few weeks, keep protein high.. lift as heavy as I can and hopefully turn this into a positive experience!

I generally keep my Ab exercises going every day anyway so It's just a case of lifting more really I think..

Thanks again guys.