Promises, Promises...

   Since the last time you heard from me I have been able to meet with my surgeon for my post op appointment, during which he looked over my incisions and stoma, and told me that I was healing nicely, and my stoma looked healthy. After the physical examination potion of the appointment was over, I was able to ask my surgeon a few questions.  How long would it be before I would be able to get back in the gym? What limitations would I have when it comes to physical activities, as I have read that people who have the surgery that I did are more prone to getting a hernia, and what foods do I need to stay away from?

   When I asked my surgeon about getting back into the gym, I was surprised to hear that I could get started now, but to only to do light cardio and some upper body workouts. The reason for the light load at the gym is that the full recovery period for my surgery is three months, and technically I'm still "recovering."  The good news is that only a few weeks separate me from "three months." My next question was if I was more prone than others when it comes to getting a hernia during physical activities because of my surgery, and I was given more good news when he told that hernias are not something that I need to worry about.  Now for the cherry on top...once I have passed the three month date of my surgery, I am not limited in anyway shape or form!! I can do everything I did before, there is no weight limit in the gym, nor any exercises I cannot do. I was sure that I would be limited in some fashion, but to know that I can have a "normal" life, I was ecstatic!  I called my trainer to tell him the great news, and we are scheduled to start working out mid November.

   As far as foods I should stay away from the list isn't very long, which I'm not sure matters, considering that I eat the same thing everyday, but that's a blog post in itself, (my diet) but I digress. There are really only two food items that I was told to stay away from all together: popcorn, and lettuce. Popcorn, because it can easily get stuck causing a intestinal blockage, and lettuce because its indigestible (an interesting tidbit I learned at my appointment).  Like I said, there are only two foods I need to stay away from altogether, however, I was cautioned about eating vegetables. I was told that if I was to eat any vegetables, that they should be cooked rather than raw, which would make it easier for me to digest.  Now all I have to do is eat better, and by "better" I mean more, and larger portions.  Before I had this surgery I would rarely eat three full meals a day, reason being, the more I ate, meant the more times I would have to empty my bowels, and before my surgery emptying my bowels entailed inserting a catheter inside my rectum between four and six times a day. Gone are the days where I can use the catheter as an excuse to why I am not eating all I should. Fingers crossed as I move forward, because my diet has always seemed to be my achilles heal.

  Bottom Line: When I started out on this journey I made some promises to myself. I promised I would document everything I go through, I promised I would give it all I had in the gym, and I would eat better to give me the energy I needed to work out, as well as be able to gain and maintain a healthy weight. Here are the facts: I haven't been blogging and documenting my recovery the way I planned, I haven't started to work out yet, so we'll see how that goes, but I haven't been eating the way I should.  Maybe I have a psychological block, maybe old habits die hard, or maybe those are all  just excuses, and the answer is simple, I'm lazy.

  Lastly, I don't know the reason why I'm not doing all that I should, all I know for sure is that I'm stuck and, not sure how to get moving again.  If anyone has found themselves in a rut, and gotten themselves out, please let me know how you did it, I'm listening....

kristoferadam78@gmail.com