Injured/fitness levels/weight creep + random thoughts..... page

[nojoke]

Hello,


Dont post much on here, but kind of at a stumbling block mentally/physically. I have been primal around 2 years or so, lost the bulk of my weight and made my gains in late 2010 and early 2011, and got down to as low as 5'10 185lbs 31" waist. My training back in 2011 was a tad more endurance based for mountain biking solely. When I 1st started this approach of the primal life I came from about 5'10 215 37" waist in 2007. I will never go back to that person, and I am happy with who I am now, at age 34. Another "best shape/physique of my life story"

About 3 weeks ago I broke my right fibula while mountain biking, approximately 8 week recovery. I have managed to still stay active in the gym with very slow movement exercises, mostly body-weight, pull-up, push-up, weighted push-ups, dips, weighted dips, handstand push-ups, but the small explosive intensity bursts are on hold. I am used to a more intense style and moving larger loads with crossfit, and the powerlifting movements, and mountain biking. Everything in my life seems kind of mundane being injured.

Over the past 3 weeks I have slowly put on 5-7lbs of unexplained weight, I have been hanging around the 195 area for a little over a year since the fall of 2011. During my venture from 185 as I mentioned above my weight stayed the same, waist the same, but my strength has shot thru the roof (400 squat, 475 deadlift, 195 overhead press). I do admit on keeping tabs on my weight as I am in tune with myself, and today I jumped on the scale and was 202, this was the end of the day after a fairly large meal. Even on my worst day when I look in the mirror I look 10000% better than I did before I turned primal, even if you paired two exact before/after pictures of myself @ 202 from 2007 vs 2012....my wife says I have reversed my aging, even at 34.

I believe my eating approach is sound, I can only do much work in the gym. Is my body just suffering from a lack of withdrawal from activities and undergoing a change? Maybe the 200 barrier is such a mental hang-up for me after trying to get below it for the better part of 2-3 years prior to primal? Needless to say once I switched, and was educated on the matter my life has and always will be for the better.

Any adjustments I should take during an injury/recovery phase? Cut myself some slack mentally as I am always doing something outdoors in Alaska, mountain biking, hiking etc? Expect some un-wanted weight?

Thanks
Allen

[BestBetter]

I'm dealing with a similar issue (not the weight gain part, but the injury part). In the past few weeks, I've been taking these daily epic 2-3 hour walks/hikes, which is really exciting for me because:

1) I've been struggling with debilitating fatigue in the past months, and I finally have the energy to move around now.
2) Walking generally improves my mood and makes me feel good about myself physically.
3) It's blazing hot now, and the 90-100 temps don't bother me one bit!

However, during one of my walks, I seem to have developed some kind of weird pain near my knee that I'm assuming is tendonitis. Following my usual bad advice to just 'push through it', I think I made it much worse, which ended up with me not being able to walk much for about 1.5 weeks.

I SHOULD HAVE waited longer, given my body more time to heal, but since I wasn't feeling pain, I pushed myself too much with a 2 hour hike yesterday. That damn pain came back, and now I'm probably looking at a MUCH longer recovery time, which is torturous, I just want to get out there and move around!

So, I feel your pain, and honestly, I don't think that overexerting yourself right now will do you any good. In fact, you'll likely extend your recovery time, if anything. Our bodies have some amazing healing abilities, but only if we give them what they need. If your body is focused on intense excercises, it won't have the manpower to ALSO focus on healing.

When you are 100% healed, I'm sure it will take you no time to get back to where you were before the injury, so I wouldn't stress about it now.

Keep in mind I'm not a physical therapist, so I could be totally wrong - this is just my opinion based on my experiences.

[Tercio]

Injuries happen. I've had two bad ones over the years mountain biking. Both kept me off the bike and out of the gym for about 8 weeks each. I put on some weight each time too. Healing just takes time, more as we get older. Have you adjusted the amount of food you eat since you are less active? I'd just eat a bit less for a while, maybe try some IF. Are you taking any meds for the injury, some cause weight gain. I'd not worry about it too much since you will be able to resume riding in a few weeks.

[sbhikes]

I'll bet a portion of that weight, maybe not all of it, is inflammation for the healing process. A broken fibula is quite a trauma for the body. Once it's healed I'm sure you'll be back to where you were. But don't push it because you don't want to prolong the healing time.

[Paleobird]

In addition to the above, a broken fibula is probably not doing good things for your sleep quality or quantity. That can put an extra cortisol load on your body and stall/reverse weight loss.

Drink lots of bone broths and cut yourself some slack. The gym will still be there when you are healed.

[Knifegill]

Not to give more credence to CICO than needed, but you are probably moving a lot less than you realize. You BMR might have slowed down lately. Some might suggest eating less, but that could exacerbate your problem. I would try to increase your BMR instead. Focus on slow movement as much as you can. Can you stand and walk? Do it. Too early for that? Roll those wheelchair wheels until your arms fall off. I know you know how to eat, otherwise you wouldn't be here.