Putting things in Perspective

Another doctor's appointment today and she's moved the surgery up by five days.

Of course I'm anxious about the surgery itself, but I'm more stressed about the recovery period and the fact that it'll keep me out of the gym for 3-4 weeks with no strenuous workouts for 6-8 weeks. I remember how painful the recovery was after my first surgery - could barely sit up or stand up without help ... it was very depressing and demoralizing.

However, I'm trying to keep a few things in mind:

1. If I could survive it once, I can survive it again.

2. I am a lot stronger now, so I should be able to cope better.

3. This discomfort will be temporary -- once this recovery period is over, I'll be better.

I thought I'd have about ten days before the surgery so I was planning on spending quite a bit of time in the gym - kind of trying to build some strength before going through the whole process, but I guess I won't have that much time.

I went to see my trainer DV at the gym today - not to workout, just to talk and kind of have a therapy session if you will.

It was great. Really, really helpful. He's known about my condition so he knew right away what I was talking about. He let me talk and then shared his thoughts ... he went into a lot of stuff, but the note we ended on was what meant the most to me.

When I told him about my concern about being out of the gym he said - So what? Once you're better you'll be right back. You're in pain now. This condition is getting in the way of you making progress. So have the surgery. Recover. And don't worry - I'll train your ass off when you're strong enough.

First time I really smiled in the past four days!

He said instead of trying to wear myself out over the next few days and overtrain that I should focus on workout out to relieve stress - cardio plus yoga/meditation. He reminded me of all I've accomplished and all that I will accomplish once this is over.

I can't tell you how much better I felt. I know it may seem like a silly concern, but it's an important one for me. There are actually so many little things that are on my mind right now -- about family, work, friends, weight loss challenges etc. I'm just trying to tackle them one by one.

I think the next few days are going to involve taking care of my mental framework to help my physical healing.

I'm also going to have to figure out how to handle my Fired up for fall and Triple Dog Dare challenges ... some modifications may be necessary ... we'll see. Advice/Suggestions are appreciated.

In the meantime - despite the stress, my diet has been excellent. Food is totally on plan, water intake is a bit tough because of the pressure on my abdomen but I'm still hitting my goal. I haven't put in as many hours at the gym this week ... yet. I still have a few days to see what I can accomplish. Lots to do. Not much time. It will all get done. Just trying to keep things in perspective.