Clean Eating and Chronic Pain

You know how when you are frustrated in the process and sick of repeating the same thing over and over again you just don't blog?  Yeah, that's pretty much where I'm at.  I'm doing the same ol' thing and not really having much to say about it.  Instead of focusing on what I think my readers want to read, I'm going to go back to the beginning and just talk about whatever is actually on my mind.  This started out as a journal for myself more than anything, and that worked for me.

So what's on my mind?

First and foremost, I'm gaining weight.  It's a very very very slow weight gain, but it's there nonetheless.  My typical response to this weight gain would be to hammer out some extra miles and just push it hard for a couple of weeks to shed the few extra pounds.  However, I can't do that.  Why not?  Well, that brings me to the second thing on my mind:

I'm chronically injured.  I've been struggling with foot pain (feels like fire) in my left foot and achilles tendon pain in my right leg for over 5 months now.  It just won't go away.  I've tried resting (read: being lazy) for several weeks to give it a chance to heal itself, but several lazy months later it still is there.  I've tried working out and running through the pain to see if that helped.  It definitely made things worse.  It's a manageable pain during the day, but in the morning it feels horrible and it's impossible to workout with.  The worst part about it is that it pretty much wiped out all the cardio I have access to--no running, biking, hiking, jumping, etc.  I just don't know how to workout hard without engaging the parts that hurt.

So...I'm going to the doctor.  I feel stupid because, like I said, it's totally manageable for day to day stuff.  It hurts, but not at an unbearable level.  It's only when it comes to doing the fun stuff that it really flares up.  Boo!  It's completely disheartening and has definitely sidelined my attempts to get re-motivated and back in gear.

However, I have been focusing on eating healthier over the last few months.  Hubster and I have really upped the amount of "clean" foods we're putting in our bodies.  Our intake of vegetables has skyrocketed (as well as our grocery bills)!  I've really enjoyed some of the meals we've been eating. To be honest, I was expecting to really "suffer" through a clean diet.  I figured the food wouldn't be nearly as delicious as the crap Americans have been eating for years now.  However, I've had some real luck with healthy real food recipes.  I'm really excited about this!  It makes it significantly easier to be healthy when you are actually enjoying yourself!

So that's where I'm at.  I'm frustrated, but still limping along on this journey with an end goal of just being healthy (and enjoying the nice body that comes with that).  It's embarrassing to me that I've been at this for over 2 years now and haven't been able to get it done, but I also am somewhat proud of myself that I keep getting up and brushing myself off and keep getting at it.  I haven't quit.  I'm still focused  on it.  I'll get there.