Tag: Physical exercise

An unsolicited comment :-)

decisionsformyfamily2 Comments

I saw someone today that I have not seen in a few months other than a drive by in a car accompanied with a quick wave.  Right around my surgery her father passed away so her own life was very chaotic. I ran out to get the mail this afternoon without a coat and this friend was driving by and stopped.  The normal niceties were exchanged followed by a wonderful statement, “you look fabulous”.  What a nice thing to be told!  The fact that I was wearing dirty sweatpants, an ill-fitting shirt with hair pulled back since I had been cleaning all day made the comment all the more special.

My surgery seems like a lifetime ago, something I never thought I would say. I have made a full recovery.  I still have some numbness in my stomach and in the noobs which may always be there. I have a terrible time with sit-ups but if I am being honest, I could not do many before having the DIEP surgery.. None of these things has any effect on daily life.

I see the scares everyday. I think sometimes I allow this to affect my mental health.  I get a little down, excuse to have the extra snack and skip the work out.  A kind soul offering a totally unsolicited (but very welcome and extremely kind) comment goes a long way to reminding myself that the scares are only on the surface.  They are a sign of a great fight and should be seen as almost a trophy. (alright, maybe trophy is a stretch). If nothing else it is a little boost to remind me of how far I have come.

Step one

decisionsformyfamily3 Comments

So, I took that step this morning onto the scale.  My attempt to get back on track.  The results of that step were not as bad as I had expected which in itself was a little motivating!  I made a commitment last night to jump on the elliptical this morning and I kept my word!  I will not call it the strongest workout I have ever done but it all starts with that single step.442101-Royalty-Free-RF-Clip-Art-Illustration-Of-A-Cartoon-Sweaty-Woman-Exercising-For-Her-New-Year-Resolution

Tomorrow is another day…we have miles to go, one step at a time!

I did a sit-up….kind of

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So after roughly 2 weeks of  exercise, I really am getting stronger.  I am up to 20 minutes 4 times a week on the elliptical with no issues.  The other days we are trying to walk the neighborhood. I would like to work on my punching bag but the girls have destroyed it pretending they were in the olympics, that is another story but punching is out.

I decided to attempt to start abdominal work.  We have this old “ab rock it” . This picture is not ours but pretty close. You hold the handles and push forward to assist the sit up.  There is no way I could do them on my own but with the rocker I was able to do several.   I only did a few, may try more a little later.  I wanted to make sure I did not hurt anything.  I have no pain from my abdomen anymore but it remains extremely tight.  This is not really a bad thing, actually one of the reasons I think it is important to get working on the muscles around it so it remains tightened.

I have finally reached a point where when I look in the mirror I am seeing something positive.  The boobs, well they are a mess but there is a light at the end of the tunnel .  The rest though, not too bad.  Now that the swelling is basically gone, the DIEP flap is really like a tummy tuck.  After 2 kids it is the tightest my abdomen has been in years.  I have taken the opportunity to really focus on my diet and have exercised pretty consistently for 2 weeks.  For the first time in a long time looking in the mirror is not depressing, (not like seeing fireworks either) but I see positive movement.

Continued focus, completion of the nest surgery, the future looks bright!