Okay, #FitnessFriday lovers, I have good news and bad news.

 

The good news is that I can walk without pain again. Yay! The bad news is that my attempts to get back into shape have taken a bit of a turn for the worse thanks to my old nemesis, plantar fasciitis.

I’m on my third podiatrist—I’m beginning to think it’s me, not them—and this time I got the cortisone shot. Y’all. Some day I’m going to learn that “It’s all good. I’ve had two babies!” is not really the proper way to approach impending pain. I can’t really describe this one other than to say, “No. No, I did not want to watch someone put a needle into my heel.”

But enough about that, and I have to tell you the relief was pretty darn quick. Next, my new podiatrist bae* gave me steroids and an anti-inflammatory. He’s pretty swell other than the part where he told me my running days might be over. Oh, and I have to do all of these stretches. Let me share those with you just in case you, too, are fighting off the dastardly plantar fasciitis.**

So, where do I go from here? I’m going to focus on diet and try out the pool, possibly biking. Of course, I don’t swim well (the podiatrist suggested I get lessons….fun times) and the bike needs air in the tires, but what could possibly go wrong? (So many things. Remember that time I did a triathlon? )

Let me leave you with this because I have found it to be true: my friend Wendy mentioned starting each day with a glass of water. It’s a small thing, but it’s done so much to help me with my appetite and to generally feel more awake in the morning.

Just last night, I found this passage in the Anne Lamott book I was reading. Take a gander:

…I lost ten pounds last year. Someone who spent $30,000 at a diet hospital told me the secret of how she lost weight there: Eat less, exercise more. Oh, and here’s $5,000 worth of cutting edge advice: Drink more water. So I did that, and in only three months lost ten pounds. You couldn’t sell one magazine by putting this on the cover: “Lost Ten Pounds in Just Three Months.”

So there you go. This is my goal for the summer: eat less, exercise more. Attempt to lose 10 pounds in three months. I know I often fall off the wagon because I’m looking at the whole goal rather than breaking it down into smaller increments. Also, as a perfectionist, I’m tempted to let the whole goal go to hell when the first thing goes wrong. (See “plantar fasciitis” above)

Maybe, by the time I’m ninety, I’ll have this fitness thing figured out. Of course, at that point I’m going to do whatever the hell I want to do because…ninety.

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*Did you know that “bae” is the Danish word for poop? Oops. Guess the younger generation didn’t think that one through. Also, my apologies to my podiatrist—he’s not really Danish poop, I just wanted to use that word so I could inform you of its alternate meaning.

**This calf stretch is my favorite and has been approved by TWO podiatrists.

This towel stretch is a new one, but I’m rather fond.

Two and six on this sheet are my other new stretch friends, but there are some others I may check out.

As always, you do any and all of this at your own risk, because I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. Go see your physician before you start any type of exercise/diet routine. Don’t call him/her your bae, though.

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You can always send me suggestions on Twitter, Facebook or through my website at SallyKilpatrick.com. Until we meet again, do at least one thing healthy—you deserve it!

– Sally Kilpatrick