Hello from Long Lost Workout Buddy...
Hi Guys
First off let me just apologize for disappearing suddenly. I want to touch base with all of you before it gets crazy with the holiday season and it will be New year's before we know it!
The past two months have been terrible for me and I just kinda gave up on everything and focused on just making it through the day. I've had spinal issues with my neck and low back for the last 10-15 years and all of the heavy lifting must have flared everything up. On top of that I was following a jogging training program which made matters worse and flared up my hip and knees to boot! (Gosh, Im trying not to sound old!!)

My doctor told me to absolutely lay off of weights to recover and no cardio besides easy walking. At the same time, my mother had to have 2 surgeries a month apart and she was down and out for the last 2.5 months leaning on me to help her and my father. (She is doing sooo much better now!)
So, needless to say, my workouts stopped, completely, not even walking.

It affected my mood, slipped into a depressive mindset, gave up and just quit. Everthing! No exercise and no restrictions on my diet so I splurged and ate everything I haven't been letting myself eat and drink (aka wine). I barely had enough energy to get through my days oversleeping whenever I could.
The fog has begun to lift these past two weeks and things are getting better!

With my mother's recovery and my flare-ups calming down (well besides my shoulder...another story altogether) I have now been released to do callinetic type workouts, think pilates, barre, yoga, but still no weights. I also can increase my cardio, but still only walking or low-impact.
I am not sure if I will ever be able to lift heavy. The barbell would always stress my neck when I had it over my shoulders and also my low back if it got too heavy. Heavy dumbbells are hard to hold d/t my shoulder. I had a partial tear and I am still experiencing issues and pain with it and I have a surgical consult in 5 weeks. I haven't cancelled my Xtrain order though as I am not sure what the future holds and I definitely want the cardio workouts. I would at least like to be able to do light/moderate weights, but Im sure the weight dvds would sell on eBay if need be.
I have started doing Leslie Sansone walking videos only 2 miles at a time so far. And I have done small sections at a time from Cathe's TurboBarre. I also did a portion of REACH by Kari Anderson which is ballet/barre type moves and it felt good. But WOW, what I have lost in 2 months time! I am not focused on that instead I am focusing on how good it feels to move again! After struggling to do 15 minutes of Turbobarre, I did 47 minutes yesterday, so I am gaining endurance quickly, but boy, oh boy, the DOMS!
The weirdest thing has come out of my splurging and allowing myself to eat whatever and how much I wanted...healthy, moderate eating of whole foods.

I have lost my sugar/carb cravings and my obsession with food! No more dieting for me after 25 years of yo-yoing. I eat 3 balanced meals at the same time just about every day and my hunger is finally under control....go figure! I will however, eat a piece of fruit, nuts, or cheese if a meal is delayed or if Im too hungry later in the night.
I did gain 12 pounds and plenty of inches as a result of all of this, but I am starting to take it off. I have come to realize that I need to change how I take care of my body to accomodate what I am capable of doing. For now, that means walking for cardio. My goal for next year, as my body allows me, is to incorporate short interval/tabata training hopefully by modifying Cathe's workouts!

My strength training for now will be barre workouts. After researching, I have ordered 6
Physique 57 workouts (anybody tried those?). And I will continue to follow my new healthy eating habits. I know my body will reach a healthy weight/size for me by continuing all of these new habits, Im just done with pressuring myself to do it in a limited timeframe and I've come to realize this is a way of life, not a short-term program.
I have missed all of you!!! And I hope all of you are doing well (I have a lot of posts to catch up on!) In addition to preparing for the holidays, I also started a new job and I am helping my friend move. So, I will try and check back in when I can as I miss your friendship and support.
Gina