Weight Loss - Week 2

Winding down the second full week in my weight loss program, and overall it is going well. I'm down another 2 pounds this week (woot woot!!!), which is great considering the physical activity has been minimal and the eating of unhealthy foods (mostly on the weekends) has been much greater.

If you'll recall my previous and first weight loss post, I was starting the Couch to 5k program in an attempt to get into shape and lose some of the extra poundage. What I failed to mention is that I have bad knees - yes, I know everyone says they have a bad something and that's what prevents them from working out and achieving their weight loss goals... but I have been told by physicians in the past that I should avoid running as a form of physical activity on account of my bad knees.

A little history...

When I was in high school I blew out my right knee during cheerleading practice (something else I may have forgotten to mention, I was a competitive cheerleader for a good chunk of my youth) and was recommended for surgery to repair the damage. Now, if you or anyone you know has ever had a knee injury and/or surgery then you know that it can really put a person out of commission (apparently your knees play a vital role in your daily life - who knew) and if you're a teenager involved in sports, then this is really the last thing in the world that you would want. In the end, the doctors told me that if I had the surgery I wouldn't have been able to get back to my usual physical activities for over a year :o( So instead I sucked it up, wore a brace, was extra careful, and managed to make it through the rest of my high school career and teenage years with only a few more minor injuries :o) However, I also managed to permanently damage my knees :o(

Back to my point...

Since this was so many years ago, I figured there was a statue of limitations on said knee damage - apparently I was wrong. After the first two weeks of my new running program, I managed to injure my left knee (yes, if you're keeping track that is or was my "good knee")! And so I have been away from any sort of physical activity for the past week, in an attempt to heal. It is slowly starting to feel better, but I do feel like running is out of the question for me at this point :o( I know that if I went to see a doctor they would order yet another MRI and would probably recommend surgery again, but this time on both knees (thanks, but no thanks). Since I have been pain free up to this point, with regards to my knees, I don't feel that surgery is necessary. I will just have to modify my workout routines, and stick to low impact activities (pretty much like I've known I should all along).

So I am putting the Couch to 5k running program to rest for now, and will hopefully resume working out on my elliptical and the cross trainers at the gym next week. Like I said before, a loss is a loss and I still had one this week even despite this set back - this gives me hope for the future, even without running.

Week 2 ~ Total Weight Loss: - 6lbs