Staying motivated while you can't exercise

Rae9911

Been to the A&E and seen my Dr and have been told damaged the tendons in my foot, she said I would have been better off if I had broken my foot because at least they would have put it in a cast. On three different types of painkillers and on crutches, been told I cannot exercise at all and have to keep the foot elevated. I will have to have physiotherapy on it as I cannot move my big toe at all or the foot up or down but I have found out that the waiting time for an appointment for physio at the local NHS hospital could be up to 20 weeks but dr has said she will put it through as an urgent case.

The thing being I feel so down at the moment after doing so well that I just want to stuff my face with all the chocolate and biscuits I could lay my hands on. I am trying to be strong and resist this urge at the moment as I don't want to put weight on as trying to loose it. As dr said I need to be strict with myself as I can't exercise I need to make sure I keep my calories down and not go over the 1500 allowance or the weight will go back on.

How do you keep motivated when you hit a brick wall?

BerryH

Oh dear, poor you! Definitely follow your doctor's advice - the more you stay off it, rest it and elevate it the sooner you'll literally be back on your feet. Try to stick with your calories but don't beat yourself up if you go over on the odd day. It's just a few weeks out of a lifetime of healthy choices.

Can you do any exercise sitting down? Try lifting weights or using a resistance band, or perhaps use light weights and "cycle" your arms for some cardio. Google exercises for wheelchair users too as they will be ones you can do while seated, here are some I found:
http://www.squidoo.com/wheelchairexercises
http://exercise.about.com/cs/exdisabilities/a/disabilities.htm

Good luck and get well soon!

Huffdogg

It's never true that you can't do any sort of exercise. You may not be able to get upright, but you can still do plenty of core and upper body work lying in bed if you really want to. You'll need to do as much as you can, in fact, or your body will start to catabolize your muscle tissue and you'll end up "skinny fat" when it's all said and done. Isometric "prayer hands" is great for arms, chest, shoulders, etc. You can do core flexion exercises: tighten your abdominal wall and simply hold it that way for as long as you can manage. You can even do elevated leg crunches. There are plenty of dumbbell/kettlebell exercises you can do lying flat on your back for your arms and chest. You won't get the calorie burn of sustained cardio activity, but you will get the burn of your body having to repair and rebuild large-fiber muscles, plus the additional lean mass means your body burns more calories just to maintain.

Rae9911

Thanks, will look into those exercises especially if I can do them lying on the bed or sat down, appreciate your input.

emsibun

As Huffdog says there's a lot you can do to exercise while a part of your body is out of action due to injury.

Start your research here:

http://exercise.about.com/cs/exdisabilities/a/disabilities.htm

Stay on it, and you can do this! Back AWAY from the chocolate and biscuits too

KEShikes

My gym even has a hand cycling machine. I remember when Joan Benoit had knee surgery just before the Olympic marathon...she did hand cycling to stay fit and mobile...and won the marathon btw!