My Can's

I'm probably a bit over halfway through reading Brianna's blog, when I came across her post about her list of "I can't, but I can." It really hit home for me right now because I finding myself increasingly frustrated with my sprained ankle. I kept telling everyone it's "super minor" because it feels fine to walk on, but everyone (including the doctor) always retorts with "that means you have to be extra careful" because that's when we do too much and make it worse.

It's frustrating for me because I want to be super active, but I am so concerned about over doing it and then not being able to get back to dancing/Curves/hiking until the end of the summer. :( I have been doing well this week by focusing on my food, reading various articles/blogs and starting up this blog so I have something healthy to focus on while I'm not at work. But now that it's been a week I can't ignore the antsy feeling any more. All I want to do is go hike up Mt Doug. I want to go and sweat for hours. I want those endorphins! But I can't. At least not doing the exercises I want to do. So, inspired by Brianna's post, I have decided to make a list of my can's.

I CAN still walk, although taking it one step at a time and listening to my body. I walked around for probably 25 minutes yesterday, plus being on my feet more at work, and my ankle is feeling ok. I'm going for a 20 minute walk to starbucks in an hour, and then another 20 back, and if I'm still good then I'll start building up my stamina/strength.

I CAN use an exercise bike (according to google). Thankfully, my friends who have one are graciously letting me use theirs. They are back from the mainland on Monday, so I'm going over Monday after work to sweat in their basement. I am so excited for it! I can't wait to feel my muscles screaming at me again.

I CAN swim, as long as I put those floaty things on my ankles to stop me from kicking. The frustrating thing is that I have discovered I'm either allergic or sensitive to chlorine due to doing swimming/AquaZumba 3-4 times a week while I was in school. Both Esquimalt and Pamarama apparently are salt water pools, so I can go there, but they are fairly long bus rides away. For now, I think I will put the idea of swimming on the back burner and if in two weeks I still can't do all of Curves, I will think more seriously about shelling out the money/time.

I CAN still do the upper body machines at Curves, which I have been doing. I just can't bounce on the boards, so I'm not getting the cardio I need/crave.

I CAN do crunches at home. These are not my favourite activity to do, but I might force myself to warm up to them.

I CAN do some of the exercises on Wii Sports. I remember working up a good sweat with boxing! Unfortunately, my Wii didn't come with it, so I have put a plea out on facebook to see if someone has it and will let me borrow it. *fingers crossed*


I CAN do ankle strengthening exercises so that I'm less likely to resprain. Writing out the alphabet with my toes makes the teacher in me giggle every time.

I CAN be thankful that I am getting frustrated with staying off my ankle. It reminds me that fitness is something I actually enjoy, and that I'm not just doing it because "I know it's healthy."

I CAN still focus on my food. Because I am not burning as much, I'm being more careful than ever and filling up on lots of fresh veggies/fruits. I'm also tracking everything again, which helps me feel more in control.

I don't think I'll lose much (if any) weight this week because I barely exercised and lost so much weight last week, but I am still optimistic that I will make my next goal of 100 pounds gone! I also have to constantly remind myself that this isn't just a number's game. I will not be a slave to the scale. I am doing this to be healthy and take care of myself. Injuries are a part of life, and I'm sure I'll have many more. By keeping a positive attitude, and focusing on the things that I can do, I will work through the frustrations. And look forward to the day where I can do the things I want to do.

(On a side note, I went to the Bryan Adam's concert last night and it was sooo much fun! Tomorrow's post will most likely be about how exciting it is to celebrate and stay healthy!)