Motivation after an Injury

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ted278
ted278 Posts: 8 Member
in Motivation and Support
About 3 1/2 months ago, I fractured my ankle hiking and had to have surgery. This has probably been the toughest battle I have had to face in my weight loss journey. I was just released back to the gym about 3 weeks ago but only to ride the stationary bike. It's kind of depressing and discouraging, especially when people tell me about how good I was doing and how bad they felt for me when they found out about my injury. I'm at the point now where it feels like I can do things, except that I can do the things I want to do. I miss actually sweating and I miss going to the gym and pounding out a workout that left me feeling weak. I miss seeing the scale numbers slide down and feel my pants getting bigger and bigger. I know that any workout is better than no workout but it just doesn't feel the same as it used to knowing that I'm limited right now. It's hard to stay motivated knowing that I can't do the things I want to do or that my ankle slows me down when I try. I was told by the doctor that it may never be the same again and that's even more discouraging. How do you bounce back from injuries like this?

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  • _benjammin
    _benjammin Posts: 1,224 Member
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    Focus on what you can do. I had shoulder surgery last Dec. Ended up being a blessing in disguise. I've spent the last 11 months working on my lower body.
    Couldn't you do an upper body routine 3x week? Work on healthy eating habits, food relationships and emotional eating (if applicable), sleep patterns, meditation, try yoga? Maintain a calorie deficit and the scale will continue to slide.
    The Dr. give me a bleak prognosis after surgery too. Planned for one labrum tear repair, during surgery another tear was found (and repaired) along with rotator cuff damage and repair. Anticipated 6 month recovery turned into 12 months recovery when I woke up. At my 10 month follow up Dr. said my recovery was a best case scenario.
  • ted278
    ted278 Posts: 8 Member
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    Wow that makes me feel a lot better! I know I'm not the only person ever to have an injury like this but man it sure feels like it sometimes. I have been doing upper body workouts but it doesn't feel like enough. I know it's a slow healing process and I just have to keep reminding myself of that! Thank you for sharing your story!
  • NailsnfitnesS
    NailsnfitnesS Posts: 7 Member
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    Im in the same boat :( I concur -that is good advice. I will try to apply it to myself :neutral:
  • desiresdestiny
    desiresdestiny Posts: 175 Member
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    _benjammin wrote: »
    Focus on what you can do. I had shoulder surgery last Dec. Ended up being a blessing in disguise. I've spent the last 11 months working on my lower body.
    Couldn't you do an upper body routine 3x week? Work on healthy eating habits, food relationships and emotional eating (if applicable), sleep patterns, meditation, try yoga? Maintain a calorie deficit and the scale will continue to slide.
    The Dr. give me a bleak prognosis after surgery too. Planned for one labrum tear repair, during surgery another tear was found (and repaired) along with rotator cuff damage and repair. Anticipated 6 month recovery turned into 12 months recovery when I woke up. At my 10 month follow up Dr. said my recovery was a best case scenario.

    This!!! Find what you can do and don't compare yourself to others. I have multiple chronic illnesses and I have learnt what I can and cannot do. This past week I had such a bad flare that it hurt to stand or walk, I found a chair workout and just modified. I also did upper body from the floor and couch. I also did more Pilates YouTube workouts. You can do it

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