You Can't Out-Exercise A Bad
Diet
That was bang-on! It was a friend's FB status yesterday and
it struck me as the perfect one for my next blog. More so, when I had been
thinking along the same lines for the past week. Reason - I am going through
another one of my injuries; rather a resurfacing of one of my old injuries. And
I have been asked to stop my cardio and leg workouts.
It first started with a spasm in my lower back on the left
side. The physio advised me to use hot pads and Volini. I did this and it
settled down in a couple of days. This was followed by another spasm three
weeks later. I was too rushed that day for a repeat of the hot pad and Volini
routine, so an anti-inflammatory provided quick relief.
I was back in action the next day. A couple of days later,
after my routine twice-a-week morning run, I felt a tightness in the front of
my thigh. I dismissed it as insufficient warm-up before the run or stretching
after. It settled down with an ice pack.
A few days later, I experienced tightness in my upper
hamstrings (muscles at the back of my thighs). I put it down to the Mumbai
winter and stretched my hamstrings every day. All was well till one morning I
felt a strange kind of pain at the back of my knee after my morning run. When
it persisted, I visited my physio. She gave me ultrasound and asked me to stop
jogging for a few days. Unfortunately, the ultrasound didn't have the desired
effect, so I popped an anti-inflammatory. This worked wonders. I was back to normal a couple of days later.
Still, I decided to stay off running for the entire week.
But to my disappointment, the same pain, a little more severe, resurfaced, when
I ran a week later. It got so bad that even my anti-inflammatory refused to
work. By evening, I was limping and was forced to take a strong painkiller. I
wondered what was happening. This was a first-time thing for me.
The next morning, I experienced slight pain in my lower
back. It didn't take me long to see the connection between my lower back and
leg. It definitely was a nerve muscle and nerve thing, the nerve getting
pinched because of a muscle spasm somewhere in the lower back.
The physio used heat therapy for my lower back and asked me
to follow up with regular heat pads at home. I was allowed to do moderate
cardio workouts but no jogging. One week of this therapy but I didn't find any
relief. I could feel tightness at the back of my knee, which was very painful
and also affecting my natural gait.
I carried on with my therapy wondering why there was no
change. Then it suddenly hit me! And how! I was at the station and the train
had just arrived. I just had to reach two compartments further down. My natural
instinct was to make a dash for it. But I controlled the urge, but a little too
late. The sudden jerk on the knee did something to release the tightness in my
leg. The leg felt free, finally! Sigh of relief!
I checked if I could walk. I was relieved that I could. The
loosening effect had made me feel that I had torn a ligament or tendon. Next, I
did what I regarded as the best thing to do. I applied ice on the painful area.
And did that hurt! I took a strong painkiller that night. To cut a long story
short, I'm back at the physio again with a ban on my cardio and leg workouts.
Don’t worry; I haven’t digressed from my topic. The reason I have
started with a detailed version of my injury is to highlight two important
points:
Point No 1: Do not
overdo your fitness thing to the point of abusing your body. This can lead
to aggravation or resurfacing of your old injuries.
Point No 2: Do not
take your body for granted by following the ‘I will out-exercise my bad diet’
principle.
Confession time! I have been guilty of both…And am paying
the price for it. I advise my clients to separate mood from food, but I have done
the exact opposite! I’ve associated food with emotions very often. Besides, I’m
also an ardent foodie. So, I let myself over-indulge. Partly, I let my
metabolism do damage control. Also, I jogged for 45 minutes, at least twice or
thrice a week. Twice a week, the jogging sessions were followed by 45 minutes
to an hour of freehand and ab workouts.
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So my fitness schedule added up to 3 days of intense weight
training interspersed with 4 days of cardio sessions. Seven days of intense
workouts! I advise my clients to work out only 5 to 6 days a week, one day the
body needs rest. But I always prided myself on being very fit, so my body could
handle anything. At some point, even the fittest body will revolt, especially
if there are old injuries that haven’t healed properly. Yes, I’ve learnt my
lesson!
The bottom line is - I tried to out-exercise my bad diet.
Now let me clarify. When I’m saying that I over-indulged and refer to my ‘bad
diet’, I’m talking purely from a fitness professional point of view. For a
regular person, it may be not such a bad diet. We have higher standards to
maintain.
No Moderation
The popular mantra of the diet industry is all foods in
moderation but that's a tough trick to pull off. At times, eating sinful things
in moderation becomes a little too often. And that’s when you see the body fat
going up and the unwanted bulge. That is painful for someone who wants to look
toned and good in one’s clothes.
What we should remember before putting any food into our
mouths is that the foods we choose to eat as mood lifters have a pleasurable
taste. But nothing tastes better than looking in the mirror every morning and
feeling proud of what we see. When it comes to mood elevation, no food can ever
elevate mood as much as losing weight, looking better and feeling in control
again. The most effective mood lifter in the world is being charge of your
weight.
So now I’m trying to use all my diet fundas to lose that little
bulge I’ve gained in the absence of my cardio and leg workouts. But the silver
lining is - at times some patients at the physio ask me what’s wrong with me. When I tell them
that I’d developed this problem after my run, they turn around and ask me – ‘Do
you need to jog or run?’ Now that sure feels good!
