Weight Loss Journal: October 12th

Well, Monday was the start of a brand new week and presented itself with a brand new set of challenges. To kick off the day I got very little sleep. So little, in fact, that I did something that I rarely do. I called out of work.

My back pain had hit a crescendo overnight and I was left with no choice but to take a day off to see a doctor. Actually seeing the doctor was an absolute nightmare (a healthcare story for another time, I suppose).

When I finally got back to see the doctor, she checked out the area of my back that had been bothering me. She explained that as she pressed on certain areas of my back the muscles would go into spasm. It was her opinion that I should take it easy for a few days. To help me sleep, and to help with the pain, she prescribed a muscle relaxer and an anti-inflammatory.

She also suggested that since this was an issue dealing with the thoracic spine that I should consider having an x-ray taken to make sure there wasn’t an injury. I opted to hold off and see how the medication worked before putting out the money for additional testing.

I don’t like the idea of not exercising but I think it is best to be cautious in this situation. I’ll try to keep my calories in check this week then begin hitting the gym again next week. The last thing I need right now is for the situation to get worse because I’m pushing in the gym before I’m ready.

On a side note, I did not want to know my weight while in the doctors office (because of this challenge I’ve undertaken). I didn’t look a the scale, however, when discussing my recent exercise habits with the doctor she noted that I was down 15 pounds from my last visit and said that it was impressive (I don’t know what I weighed the last time I was in). Additionally, she said that my blood pressure was 120/66, which was great, and that I should continue to do what I’m doing.