Broken

It has been a huge adjustment going from an average reasonably fit active walker to a completely sedentary person.  The novelty wore off about 3 weeks ago.  It is very frustrating.  I can't get around enough to effectively clean the apartment.  I can't do laundry because our laundry room is 12 steps down and around the corner and I can't really carry anything up and down the stairs. The shower is a problem--I cannot get into or out of the bathtub, so I am forced to utilize a bucket and a lot of towels in order to wash up.  It is annoying.  (and messy).  It least I can wash my hair in the sink!

While I can cook again, it is still tiring.  In fact everything I have to do on my knee scooter is tiring, which means that even small tasks require an amount of time to recover from.  For the past 4 weeks I have worked from home 20 hours a week which is good, but again, tiring (mentally anyway).  And to make matters worse, I am starving all the time! While I have tried to stick to one good balanced meal a day, I find myself far more hungry than normal and my fasting schedule has pretty much been non-existent.  I am doing 3 or so 24 hour fasts per week, and making sure that I eat enough protein and fat, and trying to restrict my carbs.  I've had a couple of cheat days, and am drinking more wine than I probably should, but I think it is time to rein it all in...

Today is a turning point.  I go back to the doctor today to see if I can put weight on my foot for the first time.  I am nervous, but also hopeful and excited.  I'm not sure what to expect.  I know I desperately need to rebuild a lot of muscle in my right leg--my calf has shrunk to half the size of my other leg which is weird and scary, but also totally to be expected.  I don't think that I will be able to just start walking again--it is going to be a struggle, but maybe later today I can take a shower.  And maybe later this weekend I can go out with my husband to our pub and have a meal.  I have been pretty much housebound for six weeks--it would be so nice to order a meal and a drink!!

But most importantly this turning point includes my fasting schedule.  I am going to pay more attention to my fasting for the next 2 weeks, and do three 20 hour fasts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with the idea of extending these to 36 hour fasts in the coming weeks.  The rules are simple.  I eat each fast night from 4-8.  I break my fast with broth, then a snack of veggies and either cheese or salami & one glass of wine.  Then dinner:  Green vegetable, meat, water, lots of butter, maybe another glass of wine.  When I transition to 36 hour fasts, I will only be having wine on non-fast days, and I need to focus on keeping my carbs to 20 grams per day on all eating days.

My macro-nutrient goals are based on what I have learned from Megan during our IDM meetings:

Macro-nutrient Guidelines:

Protein (for women):  

• If not actively working out: 50-60 g.    
• If working out: 70-80g  (It is best to workout while fasted, then have an extra 20 g. protein at that post-workout meal boosting your protein from 60 to 80 for example.)
• If recovering from broken bones: 80 g.

Fat:  50-100 g. Per meal

Carbs: 20-30g. Per day (This is effective carbs.  Carbs minus fiber)