I’ve been doing floor exercises since June or July (3 or 4 months), slowly getting stronger. Using 5-pound weights for my arms and just doing bodyweight exercises for my legs with some rubber bands. It started off ridiculously slow. I could hardly do 10 of these guys on my left leg.
And I couldn’t (and still can’t) get my leg straight on my right side because of the hip replacement.
It started off incredibly frustrating but I got stronger really quickly. After two weeks of doing floor exercises, I got stronger. That felt really good because I could feel the improvements really quickly.
I moved to a condo with a gym and I went to the actual gym for the first time since 2015 this morning. I had stopped going to the gym in the summer of 2015 (just after I cut out gluten but before the elimination diet and wayyyy before all beef). My physio had told me I was going to hurt myself because of my ankle replacement failing. So I quit. Then I lost all the weight I wanted to lose by going on the original elimination diet so I didn’t even feel like I needed the gym. I knew I was weak but hell I had abs (which I had never been able to get at the gym).
Then I got pregnant and had a baby and destroyed my core (as it does when you stretch out all your abs to hold a human). Slowly built that up (just by waiting and doing some seriously minor ab exercises) before I started the floor exercises.
Anyway, I’ve been avoiding going to a gym because I HATE it. I came up with excuses. I do need an ankle revision surgery (scheduled in January). It does hurt to do leg exercises. But mostly I was avoiding it because it’s frustrating and it’s hard and that is a terrible excuse. So I went today and absolutely hated it again. Not the exercising part. The frustration part. I’ll keep going regardless. And I’ll hate it less every time. I knew the first time would be the worst.
My left leg is SO weak. And my ankle hurts. And I can see the difference between it and my right leg in the mirror. It’s so weak. It’s not weak like before the floor exercises (which I have to keep remembering), but it’s so much weaker than my right. It’s the visual difference that gets to me. And my right ass cheek is weaker than my left because of the hip replacement!!! I have to do all the leg exercises separately on the machines so that I’m working out each side equally or one leg just takes over.
So after the complaining, mostly I wanted to say:
After you fix your diet and get healthier – that takes time, give yourself the time to adapt, go through sugar withdrawal, get into ketosis, and start to heal – start exercising. Start doing things again. It can seriously suck to begin with, especially if you have injuries or you haven’t done it for years, or you’re just permanently fucked in some way. It can seriously suck. Verge of tears frustration about life suck. I don’t get upset easily now that the depression is gone, but it still sucked. That’s not a reason to avoid it. If you’re healthy enough to exercise, force yourself to do it and you’ll get stronger slowly. And suck it up if it sucks. (Mostly talking to myself here). Suck it up because things could be much worse (you could be hallucinating soy demons). After you’re done feeling sorry for yourself (try and keep that to a minimum), turn that frustration and self-pity into determination and anger and tell the cards you were dealt to go fuck themselves.
My goal exercise-wise is to become one of those people with huge asses AND joints replaced. Stay tuned. Might take a while and will definitely be interrupted by a hopefully successful surgery.
🙂
Since starting ZC I’m able to run and exercise again, after 16 years of debilitating chronic exhaustion and a laundry list of symptoms. I didn’t have the same issues as you Mikhaila, but my ass was kicked into the ditch, and now I’m feeling the same recovery as you. I was once an ultra marathon runner before this shit storm began. This weekend I run a 10k trail race. My last race was 18 years ago. New beginnings eh!?
I am also getting over disability on carnivore and having good luck using resistance bands. Here’s an idea: find a way to attach the bands *above* your hurting ankle, and then do leg press, abduction, or hip extension exercises lying down. There are lots of sets of inexpensive bands on Amazon.
In the Dr. Oz interview, Dr. Oz asked your father about his diet, commenting that he was “rail thin”. Your dad revealed that he had lost over 50 lbs. on the all-beef diet!! Now much does your dad weigh now, 120? 130 lbs.?
In his Joe Rogan interview, he said he weighed 161.
When was his Rogan interview, because his recent Dr. Oz interview is new on his blog? If he continues on his meat diet he will continue to lose weight and become emaciated.
On carnivore, people don’t just keep losing weight indefinitely. Eventually the body gets to where it wants to be and adjusts the appetite and energy expenditure accordingly.
It’s amazing that you’re able to make time to exercise, run the blog and be a mother on your own – you’re an inspiration to us all!
So, your right hip looks like sexy Mom, your left hip looks like sexy girl; you need to get yourself one of those two-headed coins to flip just in case Batman shows up in your life. 🙂
Also, a key to being a successful Gym Rat is to team up with other Gym Rats and develop a training group together. Doesn’t have to feature everybody, every time, but a small-ish group of regular training partners that mix-n-match training schedules and activities on a regular basis. You end up supporting each other just by challenging each other, and it takes SO much of the suck out of training.
You got this.
Keep going Mikhaila, looking good!! I seem to have a somewhat similar hip problem going on but with no way near the arthritic response and pain you have had. I find going into the pool helps a lot with trying to get balance into your body, especially the legs. Try the pool some, especially when your inflammation is high on that day. The water is so good for resistance and support.
I had to go back to New Hampshire and get my house on the market but I am permanently moving back to Florida to be able to get back into the pool everyday and get all that wonderful sunshine. Left Florida 6 months ago and notice a substantial difference of not being able to get back into the pool and get that sun exposure.
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