Tag Archives: exercise

I’m Loose…

…in my ligaments. That was the diagnosis yesterday from the sports doc. What does that mean? Basically, it means that my ligaments are weakened. They’re kind of like an elastic band that isn’t pulled taut.

Why does that make my knees and my back hurt?

My muscles are trying to overcompensate to protect the ligaments from tearing. That’s why my muscles always feel so tight. He said this has caused slight tendonitis in my knees and a really tender piriformis. (You were right, MF!)

What causes it?

It’s part genetic and it could also do with the extra strain I put on my muscles carrying around extra weight for a few years. The doctor said the good news is that because I’m in such good shape, I should have a quick recovery. He also brought up an interesting point — since my metabolism has so drastically changed, I may have some vitamin imbalances or my body may have changed the way I metabolize some vitamins. (I forgot to ask him what this means and what vitamins I might be lacking…)

What Am I Going to Do About It?

The doctor prescribed 2-3 weeks of physical therapy, which I’m actually pretty excited for. I’m excited to learn new exercises and strengthen these loose ligaments. The doctor said that it wouldn’t be too hard and that my running would be much better for it.

He also said I didn’t need to stop running! Whew!

I’ll have an official plan after Monday, but in the interim I plan on:

  • doing some more research
  • doing some of the exercises on Healthy Tipping Point
  • trying to get in a yoga or pilates class
  • really concentrating on my stretches and foam rolling
  • icing after running

If you know about this or have experienced it, I’d love to hear about your experience!

Spring Shape-Up Challenge!

So – the challenge has been underway for just about a week now, and I finally got around to tallying up your totals! There are 52 of you, with goals ranging from running one mile to running a full marathon; those of you moving to DC, California, those of you finishing up school (undergrad, grad school, med school!).

It’s 1am as I write this, and I need to get back on track with my own going to bed early, so without further adieu, here are the totals!

You want to lose 626.4 pounds by the end of the challenge (if you originally specified May or June, I also included that, so the actual total is probably something more like 600 pounds. 600 pounds!)

You want to run races totaling 256.6 miles by the end of the challenge! Clearly, this means between all of us that are running, we’ll have run a few thousand miles by the time we’re done training!

And you wanted to lose 41.5 pounds this week.

Let me know by 12am tonight (January 27) PST how you did! (E-mail losingweightinthecity at gmail dot com.) Keep in mind that only those that check in every week will be eligible for the grand prize at the end. (But please try to stay on track even if you do miss a week — the real prize is your health. Cheesy, I know.)