How do you deal with injury? Looking for commiseration and support!

bananapyro · July 2017

I am serially clumsy and accident prone. It seems like every time I really get into a diet and exercise routine, an injury happens that slows or stops my progress. Last September, I was jogging early in the morning (dark, dark morning) and ran full force into a trash can and broke two ribs. I wasn't able to do much for a couple of weeks, and pretty much 'fell off the wagon' so to speak. Because of that, I regained the 15 or so pounds I had managed to lose between Jan '16 and Sept '16. Oh, and I was sidelined by 2nd degree burns on my feet for 2 weeks in July as well (long story short, dog got out, I chased with no shoes, it was 105 out...)

I'm a teacher, so the best time for me get into a workout routine is during the summer, which I was doing a good job of until today. I love biking, and I have been going 3-4 times a week for the last month and a half. Which has been great, combined with some weights, elliptical and rowing, along with watching what I'm eating. I was down about 5 pounds and then today happened.

I was biking around my usual areas and a dog ran out in front of me. I tried to stop/swerve but I still hit the dog. I flew off to the side of my bike and bruised/scraped my chin, elbow and knee. The bike and the dog are fine (though we did call animal control and filed a report). No broken bones, but I'm super sore and was told by the Dr. at the Urgent Care that shouldn't do any exercise for at least a week since I sprained my knee and have open wounds on my face and elbow. Oh, and to top it off, I broke my favorite prescription sun glasses.

I'm sharing in the hopes of some commiseration and support from others who have had injuries while trying to lose weight.

I'm also interested in how you guys may have dealt with them without getting sidelined from your weight and other health goals.

samthepanda · July 2017

Another accident prone Annie here.I was doing great, lost 60lbs, enjoying exercise, fell (on a flat surface!) and sprained my shoulder! I started working with PT to help build it again, and stayed with him for a while as I like the challenge of different workouts he did. Next year I came off my bike (too fast down a hill) broke my elbow and scaphoid. That was tough as we were just about to adopt a little girl and I needed to be match fit. First week I couldn't do much (and didn't want to!) then I did lots of walking. The worst sideliner I've had was pneumonia last year which put me out for several weeks. Exercise is my stress reliever so I struggled not being able to do anything. Remember, exercise helps but it's the food that is the main thing, Try and keep on plan (hard when you're fed up) and eat a maintainence. Don't try to do too much too soon. It gets better, but might take a while to get back to where you were, but you get there. My first run 5 weeks after pneumonia was 1.5 k in 15 mins! 3 months later I did the 10k race in 65 mins.
Hope you feel better soon x

Seany2425 · July 2017

Hi, I'm a paraplegic and get pressure sores which means staying of my rump for longs periods of time. Also sustain shoulder injuries from time to time which obviously means very low activity. Injuries are always a ruff go. But here is what I noticed. Don't change your food intake untill you actually start to gain weight. I know it sounds like you should instantly cut back since you are not active. My experience there is 5-7 days before the body goes oh I guess that exercise stuff is over I can slow down. Cutting back early seems to bring that on about 3 days sooner. I also find that waiting to cut also decreases the rest of the time that you are cutting back till healed. One less week of fretting so to speak. At the same time I do become very watchfull of my intake. Since I can't exercise a little more to handle the possible little splurge here and there. I try to plan my meals instead of winging it and stick to it. I know its not very much. But that is all I got. Good luck healing up and getting back to making progress.

88olds · July 2017

The trouble starts for me when I let the injury get in my head. Exercise is not a great weight loss strategy. But it has significant mental benefits. I don't like being knocked off my routine but I'm 67. I always seem to be dealing with some sort of ache or pain.

With YouTube I can always find something to work around an injury. I just don't feel right without some kind of daily activity. But it doesn't have to be a lot, just enough for my brain to register "workout."

Try to avoid "seems like every time" thinking. This time will only be like last time if you do the same stuff.

Weight loss is almost all about intake. I can easily undo an hour of exercise in 5 minutes in the dining room.

ROUNDY99 · July 2017

I gained a lot of weight over a stressful time in my life. I decided it was time to make a change and take control back. Unfortunately, one month into getting healthy, I tore my ACL, Mcl and meniscus playing volleyball. The injury was so severe I had to have the ligaments replaced with cadavers. I had to wait 6 weeks to have the surgery and I was told recover would be 6-12 months. I knew at that time I had to do something so I would not gain the weight I had lost back, that's when I started the my fitness pal app. Im still in recover but walking again with a brace. Since starting my fitness pal ive lost 38 pounds. I never expected to loose anything but hopefully to maintain. Im so happy I started this journey it has kept me on track and honest with myself.

ninerbuff · July 2017

Weight gain/loss/maintenance is all about consumption. If you consume less than you burn you'll lose weight. Last month I had a meniscectomy. I've had to seriously reduce the amount of cardio (mostly walking) for at least 6 weeks. Well to NOT gain, that also means I'll have to cut back on my calories. All the while I am rehabbing the knee to get back into the gym faster, however I've still being conservative on the approach. After 2 weeks now, I can manage walking with just a slight limp, but not more than 5 miles a day at most before I feel serious fatigue in the knee.
So to stay on track, watch your calories. Reset your stats if you have to so you can figure out how much you are allowed to eat and still lose weight.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

AgileK9 · July 2017

Glad your accident wasn't any worse! I seem to follow a similar pattern. A couple years ago I started running doing Couch 2 5K and was doing well, when I fell very early in the morning and landed on a rock on my knee. It laid me up for awhile and I've never been right since. I started swimming last winter and pulled some kind of muscle which made me take a break. Now, I'm recovering from a mountain bike crash almost 4 weeks ago. I finally went again last night and seem to be on the mend. I was so happy though that I managed to not completely fall off the wagon and give up during this time. The fact that I spent a ton of money on a bike did help keep me motivated to get back...lol.

That's the hardest thing, keeping up the motivation during the down time. Do take it easy until you feel better though. I read articles about mountain biking and planned some hikes I wanted to do when I felt better. It's been a long 4 weeks though! I was able to walk for some minor exercise during that time just to keep me from going nuts.

Good luck and hope you heal fast!

How do you deal with injury? Looking for commiseration and support!

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