The First Week

Last Sunday I had trouble walking without a noticeable limp. I was favoring my left side to prevent that shooting pain I had developed over several months. When you get some pains here and there, and they persist, the mind wonders what’s going on inside you. Are all the pieces still connected correctly? Is there some permanent damage? Stuff like this goes through your mind. What doesn’t immediately occur to you is that your body has atrophied and needs to be used like it was intended. That’s where I found myself last week.

A week later, and everything is different. My pain is almost gone, and I have more strength and flexibility in my hip and groin, all from walking daily and choosing a better regime for myself.

My weight is down 2kg+, mostly due to not continually snacking on whatever was found in the cabinet. The tea-drinking has proved to be marvelous in hydrating me and keeping that hunger feeling at bay until it’s time for a meal. Although I still have these mysterious cravings for something, mainly in the evenings. A bit of a stretch and a mug of tea sends the cravings away, and I simply forget about them a few moments later. This is all very familiar with the cravings while I was quitting smoking.

The plan for week two is the same: exercise every day by walking. I won’t add or change anything yet, as it’s still early in my program. I will just continue on like this for at least another week. My goal is to be totally pain-free and perform regular exercises like dumbbell weightlifting or yoga or indoor cycling with no worries about injuries by the middle of December.