Late last year, I suffered an injury in my lower back that permeated pain down the front of my right leg. Let me back up and say, this does not happen to me very often. I am a stickler for good form and cross training to avoid just this. Aside from minor bumps and bruises, a long term injury is not in my repertoire.
Of course injury NEVER comes at a good time, right? Right! Neither did this one. All month long I had my “mojo on” during my workouts, I was making good progress and getting ready for a photo shoot for this website. So, what’s a girl to do? I stopped my workouts and rested for a month. The one thing I could do is continue to eat as clean as possible and keep my portions in check. Those of you that take my fitness classes know that I was not doing the workouts with you..or very limited work outs. Certainly not my normal. Hardest part was being on anti-inflammatory meds and avoiding cravings..sometimes it is the medicine that causes the cravings..keep that in mind before you beat yourself up over it. That is a whole other topic to cover another time. I went ahead with the planned photo shoot..ate very clean and cut out all cheats except for 1 meal a week.
Food is healing in many ways and is not for weight loss alone. I am certain that my efforts to eat clean during my recovery reduced my inflammation, and boosted my immune system to help prevent further illness. Did I mention it was prime flu season? By reducing inflammation, I was able to heal quicker than the Dr.s anticipated and was back to my regular routine sooner than expected. I loss minimal muscle and maintained my current weight, a win-win in my book.
You may ask, what is/was your motivation? Easy, my family. I love my kids and man more than anything in the whole world. I want to be around to enjoy being in their lives for many many years. Making time, for myself, to stay fit is one of the best things I can do for us all. My kids depend on me for many things which makes my schedule hectic and yes it is hard to fit it all in at times. I see it as two parts of staying fit: not only making time to workout but also eating clean. This ensures that my body will run at it’s best for as long as possible. It is worth it for me to gain that time with my family. Off the soap box now, lol.
So how important is nutrition? It’s 80% of the battle folks! I am living proof!
eatlivefit.net 