Good Food, Bad Knee

I am so happy that I took all of the foods out of my house that I would have been tempted to binge on. I pretty much sat on my ass Friday, Saturday and Sunday while recovering from this unexpected knee surgery. It would have been so easy to eat my way though the fridge and pantry, but my options were fruits and veggies and lean meats and eggs, so I successfully avoided a binge.

Monday I hobbled around the house on one crutch thinking I was Wonder Woman.

By the end of Tuesday I noticed I might be doing too much. Sitting still for long periods of time is really hard for me to do, so I was feeling super antsy, but I did my best to get a balance of rest and get shit done.

Wednesday the realization that I was not going to be able to drive as soon as I had hoped put me in a bit of a cranky mood.

An awesome co-worker of mine offered to come pick me up and drive me to work my WW meeting and back home. Thank you Carol. I love you!

i’m still not tracking smart points, but I’m very pleased with my food choices and the amount of water that I have been drinking.

Over the last few days……

A Simple Breakfast Hash

Sauté Peppers, Onions and Zucchini. Top with Eggs and Avocado

 

Easy Lunch

Taco Turkey Meat in a Low Carb Tortilla with Cheese and Avocado. Berries for something sweet.

 

Mike grabbed us dinner on his way home and I requested a Grilled Chicken Sandwich and Broccoli.

Chicken, Tomato, Mayo, Provolone and Avocado.

 

Yummy sandwich with only half the bun.

 

Getting my veggies in.

Breakfast Scramble with Peppers, Onions, Zucchini, Eggs and Everything But the Bagel Seasoning from Trader Joe’s.

 

Um, more veggies. Not your traditional Taco Plate. Sometimes ya gotta step outside your box and get creative.

Just a plate of Veggies with Turkey Taco Meat and a Pear.

 

We’ve been eating bags of salads a lot lately. I typically use half of the included toppings and dressing. You might be surprised how great most of theses salads are with only half of the dressing. I think the trick is putting everything into a big bowl, then putting a lid on it and shaking the ever loving daylights out of it. Every bite now has a yummy taste of everything. Try it!

 

I found these little guys at Costco and they are 3 Smartpoints each.

 

Dice a few sausages, add diced veggies and a little Olive Oil.

Dinner!

 

Need a Sweet Treat?

One Frozen Banana, 1/2 Cup of Frozen Blueberries, Splash of Almond Milk, 1 T of Unsweetened Cocoa Powder and 1 T. of Almond Butter. Toss it all in a blender or food processor. I drizzled this with a little extra Almond Butter cuz it’s pretty.

 

Okay….the Knee

I had my post-op appointment today.

I learned a lot.

In a nutshell, the meniscus was repaired AND, once inside my knee it was discovered that there was a lot of cartilage damage that the MRI did not show.

Osteoarthritis. That sounds like such an old people thing. 

My surgeon did a procedure called Microfracture Surgery for Cartilage Damage. This procedure is done by drilling several holes in your bone to release blood that will form a clot that will eventually mature into tissue that will do the job that the cartilage was doing.

Bummer. Now I can’t help but think the other knee has the same. I did get a cortisone shot in each knee just before the meniscus snapped, so at least the “good” bad knee feels fine for now. lol 

This was a more intense surgery than initially planned and this means a longer recovery, which I was not at all expecting or wanting to hear.

Four weeks of letting things heal with simple exercises twice a day. Then PT if everything seems to be going well.

Crutches and a brace for 6 weeks. Only light weight baring. I likely can’t drive for another week or so, which is honestly the hardest part. I hate having to depend on someone else to get around.

No long walks until at least 3 months.

I’m just a little disappointed but this too shall pass.

 

This is no excuse to let crap food come into the house.

So, there ya go!

“love the life you live, live the life you love”

7 thoughts on “Good Food, Bad Knee

  1. Yes, we have to make a conscious decision to put it behind us and learn something from it again! (Insert eye rolling emoji here…..LOL!) Like your daughter, I struggle with anxiety and on the dark days, we convince ourselves that junk type food will “calm” us down. Which we all know is totally false!

  2. Nature will provide you with a colorful landscape when your out walking in late October or at least a lot of Halloween decorations to look at. This time will pass quickly.

  3. Oh Kendra, I am so sorry. Those dark days are so difficult and it really is hard to understand why we find ourselves there sometimes. I know a lot of women that have had great success at weight loss, but they still admit that those dark days do happen and we turn to food for comfort or to fill a void. Then we automatically feel worse than we did before because we’ve let ourselves down. We feel as though we have failed. The absolute best thing that we can do for ourselves is to recognize what we have done, shake it off, get up and face the next day with a vengeance. Always moving forward, never looking back. Please look in the mirror today and tell yourself that you are beautiful, stronger than you think and that you are worthy. 😊

    Thank you so much for your wishes for a speedy recovery! Thank you also for your honesty and your comment. I’m sending you a great big hug. Today is going to be a great day! ❤️

  4. Hi Julie, So sorry to hear about your knee. I hope it heals quickly so that you can get back into that kayak and walking and doing all the things you love! I thought of you last Sunday as I had the absolute worst day and I have no idea why. I went and got all the binge foods and convinced myself that would make me feel better. I have so much to be grateful for in my life but that day, I couldn’t see any of that. It was a downward spiral and the worst day in a long time. Just when you think that you are past that, it comes back. As I’m sure you know, it had the same affect it was does, made me feel worse and felt like the biggest failure. I have found that very few people understand this. It is such a shameful and dark place. I mean seriously, how can food have such a hold over you… it sounds so silly. I’m so proud of you for stocking up on good food and not letting yourself “go there”. And thank you for keeping it real and putting your “bad days” out there too. Believe it or not, those are just as inspiring and relatable. Please keep us posted on your progress! Best Wishes for a speedy recovery! Kendra

  5. You are doing a good job of making a tough situation a success!!

    The recovery may be longer than you expect but you will be stronger than ever at the end!!

Comments are closed.