Graston Technique aka Torture

I've officially been in my sexy boot for over 4 weeks now.  What originally was thought to be a 2 week adventure in Bootland has now extended to at least 6 weeks.  I've been going to physical therapy every other weekday to get the Graston Technique done on my Achilles, along with having to do some stretches and exercises.  I don't mind the stretching and exercises, but MAN the Graston technique hurts!!  Seriously, every time I get it done I am surprised at how badly it hurts.  But it seems to be working, so I'm happy about that.

So what is the Graston Technique?  I had never heard of it, but after getting it done to me I decided to research it a bit more.  This is what I've found:

Source

That sounds nice and wonderful, but the reality is that they take a scary looking metal tool with sharp edges and push nearly as hard as they can on the sorest spot on your injury and literally grind/scrape away the scar tissue.  It takes all my willpower not to scream/kick at them or cry.  I frequently leave the appointments with bruises.

This is the torture device used on me

And there is a lovely bruise from the tool

I am pretty sure it is the most painful thing (other than childbirth) that I have voluntarily gone through while awake.  I think it would be bad enough on a healthy tendon, but that area on me is currently sore just to touch so having that much pressure applied to it with such a sharp edge results in quite a bit of pain.  However, I keep going back for more because it really does seem to be working.  I can feel more mobility in my tendon, and the "bump" of scar tissue I had on the back of my tendon feels smaller every day.  I am REALLY hoping this works for me, for several reasons!  One, I am more than ready to get back to being active.  Two, it really freaking hurts so I would hate to go through it for no good reason!  :)

I have another appointment with my podiatrist (separate from my physical therapist) on Monday to see how much longer I need to wear the boot.  Even if I get the approval to take it off, my PT wants me to gradually taper down from wearing it so I will be in it at least 6 weeks total if not more.  I must admit--this is taking much longer to heal than I expected!  However, after reading this article I am beginning to understand why just resting the tendon and not working out did not do anything to alleviate the pain.  I'm just glad I finally went to the doctor when I did so that I wasn't having to wear the boot throughout the winter!  I just wish I would have gone earlier so I might have been able to actually get outdoors this summer.  Oh well, you live and you learn!

I am looking forward to being at the end of the healing process with my achilles so that I can come up with a workout plan that I can actually do and commit to.  My doctors have warned me that I have to start out really slowly, but that I should be able to ramp up fairly quickly after my achilles has proved itself.  I'm anxious for that stage to be here!  I was hoping to run a Turkey Trot 10k for Thanksgiving, but there is no way I will be able to.  At this point, I'd be lucky to run a 5k!

So that's where I'm currently at.  I will keep you updated!  Oh, and don't let my pain talk scare you away from this technique if your doctors think you need it done.  The actual "grinding" part only takes about 5 minutes of the appointment and it really does seem to be working.  For me, the pain will be more than worth it once my injury is healed!

Booty Call!

So now my little monster is 7 months old and crawling all around.  He's adorable and I love him so freaking much.  He keeps me on my toes!

What have I been up to for the last month?  Well, we took a week long vacation to Lake Powell at the beginning of September.  That is a great time to visit the lake because the water is so warm, but the temps are a bit cooler (around 90 instead of 100+).  Well, that is how it USUALLY is, but for some reason we got to experience 105 degree temps during the week!  It was HOT, particularly with no A/C and having a baby with us.  Good thing the water helps keep us cool!  Baby Boy was totally a champ and really enjoyed himself down there.  He loves the sights and he definitely loved swimming!  I think he went through withdrawals when we left!

Do you know what else is up since I lasted blogged?  You guessed it...my weight.  I somehow managed to gain TEN POUNDS in Lake Powell.  I'm not even sure that is physically possible, but somehow it must be because it happened.  I thought that originally it must be salt bloat, but it clearly is not.  I've lost a few of those pounds but I am still wavering between 167 and 168 pounds.  I'm not pleased about that.

Additionally, my plans to work out have also hit a snag due to lingering tendonitis in my achilles.  You may remember I struggled with both achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis last year.  I've finally had enough of the pain and went to a podiatrist.  He has me in a boot for the next 5 weeks, along with some intense physical therapy.  I am really hoping to get this fixed once and for all!

My friend named this sexy beast "Booty Call" hence the title of this post.  Hopefully I can be done with it soon!  I've been in it two weeks already, so only three more (hopefully) to go!

6 Months

It has been six months since this sweet little boy joined our family.  I can't imagine life without him!

Can I get a pause button, please??

An Addiction

I'm addicted.  I'm addicted to soda and have been for a while.  At work, we have a soda fountain that is free for all employees meaning I have unlimited access to my drug of choice.  As a working mom with a baby who doesn't sleep through the night, that glass of caffeine each day was a blessing and a way to get through the hours and stay awake.  But it is not healthy for me (or for baby after I did some research) and it is time for me to stop.  Cold turkey.  No more soda for me.

Part of me is very sad about this.  I seriously love the stuff and wish so badly that it was a magical drink that did your body good.  But alas, it is terrible for me (both diet and non-diet) and I know this.

The rest of me is proud I finally have the strength to make this decision and put my health first.  I will be better off both mentally and physically for making this choice.  While some people might think this is a simple choice and it's stupid that it should even be hard for me, others will understand the addicting side of soda and relate.  It's a bit bizarre to associate so much happiness with a beverage, but that's what I've done and need to move forward from now.

Today's Weigh-in: 162.2

And a photo of me with my little boy since I haven't posted one yet:

I sure love this little boy!

Hard to Get in the Game

Uggghhhhhhh.  Getting back in the mentality of losing weight sucks!  It's so much easier when you are already on the bandwagon and doing things out of habit.

I weigh the exact same as I did last week.  No progress.  And I only have myself to blame.

My excuses that I used throughout the week:
"I'm too tired."
"I don't have time."
"Family is in town."

But in reality, those are just excuses.  The truth is that I didn't place priority on myself and I wanted to make the unhealthy choices because they are more "fun."  Eating healthy and working out isn't currently "fun" to me, and until I make the switch in my brain and get back to finding joy in choosing to be healthy I won't be successful.

Trying again this week...fingers crossed for better luck.

The Reality

Finding motivation to lose weight and be healthy after having a baby is hard.  Unexpectedly hard.  All I want to do is snuggle my baby and spend as much time with him as I can.  I work from 8-5 and when I come home, I want to spend my time focusing on my son so that he knows that mama loves him.  However, I also want him to have a mom that is healthy and can keep up with him.  He's already trying to crawl at 5 1/2 months so I know this boy is going to be a mover!  And I don't want to be the mom sitting on the sidelines watching; I want to participate!

So I've enlisted help.  My sister and I are going to be doing weekly weigh-ins to motivate each other.  I'm going to focus on "making the better choice" and moving my body.  

Starting weight: 163 lbs

Weekly goals: 

• Move:  Crossfit.  Walk. Run.  Whatever.  I just need to move 3X this week.
• Eat: Clean eating, no fast food, limited treats and soda.  I need to kick my soda habit in a BAD way.
• Weight:  I have some bloat from this past weekend.  I hope to weigh around 160 come next Monday.

I'll update you next week!

The Honesty of Children

I loooooove my nieces and nephews.  They came into town this weekend and stayed with us for a couple of nights.  We went to ball games, had a BBQ, and did a little bit of shopping.  The weather was perfect all weekend, and we really enjoyed having them up.  

However, there was one very large black cloud moment for me during this weekend.  My little niece Allie is SO sweet and cute.  She loves her Aunt Becky like crazy.  But she's also a little girl and as such has no filter and doesn't know when something is necessarily "appropriate" to say.  Case in point, last night:

I have a ultrasound photo of my little boy hanging on my fridge.  My nephew commented and said "Oh how cute, it's your baby when he was in your belly!"  My niece, with her adorable little face and big brown eyes (she's 4 1/2 years old) looks up at me and says "Oh fun!  That's him when he was in your belly!  He's not in your belly now, but it still looks like you have a baby in your belly!  You don't, but it still looks like you do!"

Oh man.  The honesty of children...

She was so sweet.  She seriously said it two or three times like it was no big deal, just a fact.  She didn't mean any malice by it and you could tell she had NO intention of saying anything hurtful to me.  She probably would cry if she knew it had made me sad.  But the reality of the situation is, I DO look like I still have a baby in my belly.  Darn that extra pouch!  I fought back the tears and decided that I needed to make the best of this decision.  I can delude myself into thinking I look great for just having had a baby, or I can man up and face the mirror and realize that I don't like what I'm seeing and that I need to work HARD to put the brakes on and make sure that I don't end up as a permanently overweight mom.  I want to be able to keep up with my children and play hard with them!  Plus, my little boy is getting heavy and I want to be able to lug him around without feeling like my arm is going to break off!

So...I need to get back to the basics.  Working out.  Watching what I eat.  And probably counting calories.

*sigh*

I can't wait for the day when this is all just second nature to me!