It’s amused me sometimes to see FB posts asking about the
weight of a hip implant, compared to the old bone. I think they’re usually from people looking
to attribute some weight gain to this alien body part we now carry round with
us. It’s something I’ve followed with
some interest but also disappointment as nobody has yet said that a titanium
hip weighs 12 lb more than the natural one that’s been removed.
My weight has been something of a personal battle for ages
now. During the first half of 2007 I did
get down below 10st (140lb for the benefit of US folk who often have no idea
what these stones are that us Brits talk about). But it slowly crept back up…and up…and
up. So 10st became the magic goal figure
and several times I’ve got right down close to there only to be sabotaged. Christmas, holidays, business trips. Obviously it is never my fault. It just happens. Just under 3 years ago I started doing 5:2
intermittent fasting and did slowly lose weight, as well as see other health
benefits. And I found it something I
could do quite easily, and if social reasons meant I missed a fast I didn’t get
hung up about it, just picked up later and got back on track.
This Christmas was no different, with a few pounds creeping
back on but what was different was that I didn’t lose it again as by then my
mobility was pretty slug like. I don’t
mean I left slimy excretions where I walked.
Just that I was very slow. VERY slow.
So I went through January carrying a few pounds over the 10st mark and
then came up to surgery. I knew that I
should knock fasting on the head around surgery and focus on healthy
eating. So I did knock fasting on the
head. As for the healthy eating…errrr
that’s where things didn’t go as planned.
Working from home the week before the op I was doing too much comfort
eating and managed to put on a few more pounds.
But I’d heard that healing uses up around 5000 cals and people lose
their appetites after surgery so all would be good. Except I never did lose my appetite. For
anything. And of course the people who
came to visit are the ones who know me best and inevitably turned up with
chocolate. And I love them for it. But the scales haven’t taken so kindly.
My scales actually can be a bit dodgy. Recently they showed me having gone from 10st
3 to 9st 8 in a week, which was something I savoured for a while before
admitting it was an error. But I use my
Wii fit and that seems reliable, if less kind.
Last weekend that showed another 4lb on, which meant a total of 12 since
the week before my surgery. Yesterday I
was a bit nervous getting on it but there was no gain. No loss either but no gain. Big sigh of
relief. Then a bit of feeling of
annoyance as this past week I’ve been doing lots of walking. I even got in a 10000 steps day on one of
them (admittedly the evening was spent doing a bit of pacing round the house
and inventing excuses to go into the kitchen to hit the magic number). But although I’ve been doing lots of walking
I’ve also been doing lots of eating. And eating rubbish. I partly want to go back to fasting but with
my sleep being as it is I am tired and feel I need to eat a breakfast, and once
I’ve done that I just can’t fast enough of the rest of the day. So it looks as though I will have to actually
just eat better. On my last week in the
office I had stopped fasting but wasn’t pigging (as I was busy working) and did
actually drop a pound. So if fasting
isn’t an option then discipline has to be.
I have actually braved trying on clothes as I was convinced nothing would
fit me and I was meant to have been going out for a meal on Wednesday evening
with some friends. But yayyy there are 2
pairs of jeans I can get into. A little
more snug than they should be but not quite venturing into camel toe
department. And as I found out today
that meal out has to be postponed I have time to lose a few pounds. Though I did wear one pair today and
survived! I also tried on one of my pairs of work trousers, the largest pair
that I’d stopped wearing as they were getting too loose. They are snug. I need to lose weight to get back in them and
have 3 weeks to do so. That’s a target
and so at least I have something to aim for.
Yes, I will be back in the office in 3 weeks. I spoke to my manager a few days back and
we’ve agreed I’ll spend the first 2 weeks (from immediately after Easter)
working a few hours a day from home, then start doing more hours and going into
the office. By mid May (12 weeks post
op) I’ll be back full time and in the office.
During that transition time I’ll have a parking permit and access to
higher chair/desk. I think I’ll still be
taking my cushion in as it still feels at times that I’m sitting on a golf ball
in my right bum cheek. Part of me is
looking forward to getting back to some normality but part of me is bricking
it. Apart from maternity leave I’ve
never been off for more than a couple of weeks at a time so I’m slightly scared
of what I’m going back to and hoping I didn’t leave other people in too much
mess. I’m also a bit worried at making
sure I am only doing a couple of hours or whatever for the first few days, and
not getting sucked into more and feeling I’m drowning under workload, which got
to be the case over the past couple of years.
But hey ho, got to bite the bullet and see where we go. I am determined NOT to let work be as all
consuming as it was so maybe this whole hippy thing will have been worth it for
that alone. And 2 weeks after I go back
full time I have a week off and 4 days in the Moroccan sunshine to look forward
to :)
As for the hippy stuff, well that just goes on pretty nicely
during my days, and still continues to be horrible at nights. I’m getting in walks most days with no
problems, just one blip on Saturday. I’d
been doing quite a bit and comfortably on one crutch, and then on Friday night
I took a tablet to help me sleep. It
wasn’t like a knock out pill but I did sleep more. Downside of that though is that it meant I was ‘set’ in one position for a while,
after a day doing quite a bit. Saturday
morning I did feel a bit heavy though not hurting and decided to walk as
normal. As we needed stuff from town I
decided to walk there and as far back as I could. Last time I’d done it I got Kev to pick me up
for the last half mile but thought maybe I could do the whole lot. Wrong!!
My back started hurting on the way down and by the time I got to Tesco I
was in a lot of pain and rang Kev to pick me up there and then. Felt gutted and wanted to cry. I hate having my hip doing OK but then my
bloody back throwing me out. Anyway I
went home, rested, ate more chocolate and did feel better so tried again in the
afternoon and successfully managed just under a mile. Was good to have my old determination back
and not let it beat me.
And apart from that blip it’s pretty good. I’m getting slightly obsessed with step
count, distance and pace. MapMyWalk and
my fitbit dashboard are serving as my conscience as well as motivation. I’m even planning my times when I charge the
fitbit so I don’t miss out on steps. Yesterday we went round Shakerley Mere again,
a little quicker than before but inevitably have to make allowances for
stopping to admire views, watch birds etc.
I did try not to get too obsessive over pausing my MMW workout but I
still get disappointed at an apparent slow pace. Today we went into
Chester. That meant sitting for a car
drive of just over half an hour, then a short bus ride, before the walk around
the shops. I took my cushion along – I can’t
face sitting on anything without a bit of padding above my own. As Kev went off to get his hair cut I
wandered round the shops on my own. I
had fancied looking at shoes but realised I couldn’t reach my feet properly so
shelved that idea and took comfort in the scarf section. I have a bit of a scarf obsession and seeing
nice scarves and the sign ‘sale, 60% off’ was too god to resist. I did only buy one though. Most unlike me. We also went to a café for lunch. I say lunch but it was actually just a hot
chocolate and a pain au chocolat pastry.
Ok so the healthy eating plan hasn’t kicked in yet. But leaving that aside it was a success in
that Horace sailed through with no problems.
I ended up only taking one crutch – I had thought I’d take the second as
a security blanket but decided it was more hassle. And I really didn’t need it. After having the bus and car journeys back
home I was a little tired but still went for a walk later. Did 1.5 miles round trip to a local mini
supermarket and emerged with a chicken pie and nothing chocolate. I will have vegetables with it tonight – healthy
stuff going on here!
So my daytimes are generally great. Evenings get ropey as my feet start to swell
up a bit and once I’m in bed…well I won’t moan any more about that. But 5 weeks in I’m starting to feel a lot
better. I realised today that even with
my one stick I’m walking far better than pre-op when I had a marked limp. At home I’m often not using the stick at all
for short bits and the limp is very small.
If I walk slowly and carefully I may feel where it’s tighter in the new
hip, but you probably wouldn’t notice anything if I didn’t point it out. I am now walking the stairs like a normal
person, one foot on each step and not the geriatric shuffle. I have also managed to do loads round the
house including putting washing on the line.
Silly little things but I feel stupidly over-excited about them. If only I was allowed to climb ladders I’d be
doing other bits but even I have my own sense of limits. It’s nice not to have to rely on Kev, being
his patient isn’t something I ever particularly relished. Not that he doesn’t care or do his best but I
just want him to be my husband, not my carer.
And on a Sunday morning when he’s been working the night before it means
I’m not waiting until he surfaces to be able to do anything. I still haven’t figured out a way to feed the
cat though so she suffers. And not in
silence. I do have one of the noisiest cats ever and she hasn’t yet figured
that shouting at me for food will get her nowhere. But vocal felines aside it’s all coming
together. Now…chocolate or fruit???
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