Week 9: Unofficially Gimpy

Well kids, I officially screwed up my feet. Or at least as officially as my primary care doc can say. I've got a referral to see a podiatrist at the end of the month. After listening to my symptoms, and administering a few pokes, prods, and not-so-gentle squeezes my doc pronounced her verdict: I've probably got neuromas growing on both feet, metatarsalgia, and possibly some plantar fasciitis going on as well. The one that weirds me out is the neuroma, which is basicly a benign tumor or growth on the nerve. It's just creepy. She did a simple test: squeezing the sides of my feet together, right across the widest part of the foot, just below the toes, and YEOWCH! On both feet. No bueno, my friends.

I likely ended up in this pickle due to the following factors: I'm about 100 lbs overweight, (duh), overuse (i.e. going from zero to gym bunny in a short period of time,) and wearing improper shoes. This means no heels in my wardrobe for the foreseeable future, as they will only exacerbate the problem. Most sandals are also a bad idea, unless they have good arch supports. I'm going to go see a podiatrist just to make sure what I'm dealing with, but my doc tells me the treatment is pretty similar whatever the exact problem turns out to be: I've got a prescription for anti-inflammatories which will hopefully help the pain and swelling to chill out.  I need shoes that provide good shock absorbtion, and have a decent amount of padding across the pad of the foot. I need to wear good shoes with proper arch support all the time. Even in the house. Apparently, going barefoot on hard surfaces is a bad thing, and my whole house is tile.

So... that means shoe shopping, right? Yay!!!

"Shoes.... OMG! Shoes..." 

Not so much. Have you seen orthotic shoes? Most of them are not cute, and they come with a higher price tag than I'm used to seeing on my shoes. I picked up a pair of Merril sandals for $35, which was half off the regular price, but still pretty pricy for what amounts to a pair of glorified flip flops. I think for the time being, I'll stick to my tennis shoes and Teva sandals until I see what the podiatrist recommends.


My doctor gave me the go-ahead to go back to the gym, as long as I stay away from weight bearing excercise. I'm good to go with the eliptical and stationary or recumbant bike, but I'm forbidden to set foot on the treadmill. Yay...? So, off I went that very night, determined to get cracking and get the vacay weight off. I did 20 minutes on the eliptical, and 25 on the recumbant bike. Great workout! I got this! No problem... until I stepped off the bike and had to limp my way out of the gym. *sigh* I think I'm going to have to give it more time. I really don't want to slack off, but I'm also tired of being in pain. Meh!


Now for the good news: I lost two pounds this week! That's even with a happy hour cocktail party on Tuesday, a happy hour work function Wednesday, and dinner out on Friday to celebrate my roommate's birthday. I BARELY stayed within my points for the week, but I did it. Down to the last activity point!

And I lost two pounds. Maybe I should eat all of my points more often...? Nah!

Just three more pounds to go to get back to my pre-vacay weight. I know it's a lot to expect to do it in just one week, but I'd really like to get back to 265 by my next weight in. That will mean that the month of February 7- March 7 was a wash, but then I can get on with my progress, instead of just making up lost ground.

Weeks down: 9

Weeks to go: 43

Starting weight: 271.5 lbs

Current weight: 268 lbs

This week's loss 2 lbs

2012 weight loss: 3.5 lb

2012 goal: 219.5 lbs

Starting BMI 40.00

Current BMI 39.6

Started WW on 11/28, @ 281.5 lbs 

Total loss: 13.5 lbs