Why am I falling apart?
Since retirement my body seems to have decided to go on the fritz. A couple of months in, my back started hurting big time, and my knee started to get worse again. Unsurprisingly, instead of losing weight due to reduced stress, I started to gain it due to increased sitting on my butt watching TV or playing with the PC.
But maybe things are turning around. I think my back problems are sciatica ('pinched nerves' in the lower spine: shooting pains from hips down legs) and that's improved a lot to the point it only bothers me in the early morning and when I sneeze. :) And I got desperate enough about my weight to join Weight Watchers Online. Much to my surprise, it's helped immensely to both motivate me and get me to pay more attention to what and how much I eat and how much exercise I get. As of this morning I've lost six pounds in 5 1/2 weeks and have been walking or working out 30 minutes to an hour six days a week. It's not spectacular but is a good start. Biggest thrill: getting undressed and my 'fat pants', the only pair that wasn't uncomfortably tight a month ago, slipped off over my hips without being unbuttoned.
The knee is the dark spot in all this - if anything it's getting worse and starting to make it difficult to get my walking and other exercise done. I'm seriously considering arthroscopic surgery to clean up the torn cartilage and hopefully reduce the discomfort.
But maybe things are turning around. I think my back problems are sciatica ('pinched nerves' in the lower spine: shooting pains from hips down legs) and that's improved a lot to the point it only bothers me in the early morning and when I sneeze. :) And I got desperate enough about my weight to join Weight Watchers Online. Much to my surprise, it's helped immensely to both motivate me and get me to pay more attention to what and how much I eat and how much exercise I get. As of this morning I've lost six pounds in 5 1/2 weeks and have been walking or working out 30 minutes to an hour six days a week. It's not spectacular but is a good start. Biggest thrill: getting undressed and my 'fat pants', the only pair that wasn't uncomfortably tight a month ago, slipped off over my hips without being unbuttoned.
The knee is the dark spot in all this - if anything it's getting worse and starting to make it difficult to get my walking and other exercise done. I'm seriously considering arthroscopic surgery to clean up the torn cartilage and hopefully reduce the discomfort.