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Not Even Two Steps Forward

Last week, after a short bout of improvement in rehab for my injury (which included a whole 4 minutes of treadmill running), my back started to hurt terribly after a cycling class and PT session.

On Friday, my physical therapist dealt me a big blow: my new pain was indicative of poor healing progression and he was changing my course of treatment from running related therapy to more intensified core work through Pilates.

To add insult to (literal) injury, I was also told to stop engaging my new fitness passion, indoor cycling, because it was likely exacerbating my injury (of course this was right after I finally purchased some cycling shoes).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a one-two punch so hard that I almost cried right there in his office.  I waited until I got into the car to sob uncontrollably.  Great first day of being 43 – not even two steps forward and one step back, I was (and still am) pretty upset. […]

By |February 18th, 2013|7 Comments

Sounds of Saturday – Beautiful Colours

Today I’ll be running (or walking depending upon what PT says and how my back feels) The Color Run at Dodger Stadium with my fellow Duran friend, Josie.  It’s only fitting that Duran friends doing a race where the object […]

By |February 2nd, 2013|0 Comments

Does A Number On A Scale Define You?

Weight Loss, Diet, New Year's Resolutions, Balance, Fitness, Food & Nutrition

Image by: foshydog

I’m betting the answer to the above question has been “yes” at one time or another, maybe even now.  We’re in mid-January, the beginning of the “fitness season” (read: weight loss season) and a plethora of people are stepping on scales in their bathrooms, gyms or any other place that they think might have a “better” scale to determine their self worth.

My last post here was about how I feel about the word about the word diet.  It’s now time to come clean about how I feel about scales:

 

Unless you are following a doctor’s specific order to lose weight (or weight management) to optimize your health, I do NOT believe in weighing yourself on a frequent basis (daily or even weekly; monthly is only slightly tolerable).

As a dietitian, I fully understand the importance of achieving and maintaining a healthy weight for the general public and for those with diabetes.  (I even have a Certificate of Training in Adult Weight Management from the Commission on Dietetic Registration, the credentialing agency for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in addition to being a Certified Diabetes Educator).  Personally and professionally, I just can’t support the culture of dieting and scale obsession. […]

By |January 16th, 2013|6 Comments

Why A Dietitian Hates The Word "Diet"

Disclaimer: this post may not go over well with my Registered Dietitian colleagues.

Food & Nutrition, Diet, 2013, Dietitian, Nutritionist

Image by Duncan

It’s nearly mid-January and one can’t help but hear the word diet everywhere.  Every TV commercial, magazine and fitness-based company is hell bent on getting you on a diet that will change your life (and get you “skinny”) right NOW!! This way of thinking bothers me tremendously.

I am a dietitian that hates the word diet.  The word is part of my professional title but in my personal opinion, diet implies restriction, deprivation, punishment and all sorts of negativity.  Diet is usually closely followed up by the word “skinny” which is a word I’d love to be struck from the English language – it screams unhealthy to me.

How is it that a life-sustaining activity that must be done multiple times a day (ideally), has the word “die” in it?

I just can’t link the word “die” to what I choose to do for a living.  I’m a food and nutrition professional and for the record: I love food, I love to eat and I do NOT diet.  I don’t recommend diets to my clients.

I used to diet.  My life revolved around everything I ate (or didn’t eat), how much I exercised (or didn’t exercise) and what I could or couldn’t eat.  I was “skinny” and miserable.  When I became a dietitian, I changed my life. […]

By |January 14th, 2013|4 Comments

I Get My Back Into My Living…

#13in2013, fitness, sports injury

Image by: MR38

The picture to the right is not fake.  This is a real place in Temecula, CA.  Honestly, I saw the photo and I thought it was a joke.  However, I also feel like I could be their next patient.

In the past I’ve been to kinesiologists (Debbie Parsons in NYC is fantastic), PT, a well-known NYC sports medicine doctor and most recently an acupuncturist but I’m still an active participant in the injury and reinjury circuit with this back injury.

Last week I saw a new orthopedic surgeon (a runner and triathlete himself) and he said that I didn’t need surgery but recommended physical therapy.  The doctor said it’s likely I can run in the future but that this injury will recur.

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By |January 9th, 2013|12 Comments

Oranges Can Boost Your Mood?

I’m still getting used to the fact that I live in California.  I still marvel at the fact that I get to see this when I wake up in the morning in my very own backyard:

Food & Nutrition, Recipes, NY-LA

Navel Oranges

Seeing orange trees all around does makes me happy.  I’m used to seeing grey and snow (and sometimes grey snow) at this time of year in New York.

However, as I’ve mentioned, I’m also trying not go down Depression Road with this back injury.  I’ve been more than frustrated and in an attempt to make myself feel productive (since I can’t work toward running the #13in2013 rightthissecond), I decided to tackle an attainable goal, improve nutritional intake.  With nutrition, it’s easy to improve intake at just the next meal.  You don’t have to wait for the next day, the next week or the next month. […]

By |January 7th, 2013|5 Comments