Injury and emotional eating

[mrslee44]

I was injured in a horse fall several months back, it was minor but I had a big contusion/bruise on my inner thigh from raking the saddle horn as I came off the horse.

Fast forward to a week ago last weekend. I became ill with flu like symptons. Finally I realized that the bruised area of the thigh was ugly red and infected. Went to the doctor on Monday and he open and drained the bump. More pain physical and emotional. Finally on Thursday of last week a surgeon opened the entire abcess making a hole in my thigh that a golf ball would fit in to. It has to be dressed with fresh gauze twice daily, this hugh gaping hole in my leg.

I'm emotional and can hardly dress it, and last weekend I ate like a pig. It was all low carb stuff but I ate and ate and ate.

I'm still emotional and trying to come to grips with this hole in my body. I know it will heal, but it will take a long time. I feel like all the work from November until now, losing weight, more exercise and all my disclipline is going out the window, as my physical extertion level is limited.

Please offer me words of experience of how I can deal with this.

Thanks so much in advance.

Robin
:hug

[Sarah1341]

I don't have any advice to offer, but wanted to know I hear you and wish you well! I'm sure it is a hard thing to deal with, but you have progressed so far with following this woe. Stick with it and you'll be better in no time!

:hug

[mrslee44]

Thanks Sarah, I appreciate your kind words.

I've finally passed through the worst and I'm on the mend. I did not handle this very well, and fell off mulitple times after doing so well for so long.

I fall off 1 day, back on the next..fall off 2 days later, back on the next. Since I am on the mend now, I'm hoping for it to get back to normal.

Thanks again.

Robin
:hug

[jadzia007]

I can understand what you are going thru. I ran 4-5 miles a day 5 days a week...played softball....then one day at work got injured. Seemed like a little sprain....and that was two years ago. Been in a cast, crutches, had two surgeries...and still not back to semi normal. To go from being active to passive is extremely hard mentally. I binged quite a few times, but finally I have made a decision to stick with this WOL for life. And I KNOW someday I'll be able to do the things I love again. Keep in mind your body will heal!! Might not look real pretty, might take a while, but every day it's getting better. But....we have to work on keeping our mind healthy sometimes. All your work did not go out the window. It's just a bump in the road....and we'll get over it.

elle

[2big4mysize]

:hug oh the ugly high carb emotional eating sireens wait till we are most vunerable and then they attack us.

I know you are worried about will this heal and while you are stressed your body is releasing some nasty chems that are putting a lot of pressure on your craving controls.

I used treadmilling as my craving management system and when i had my back to back knee surgeries in March and April of 2004 I wasn't allowed to put my foot on the ground for several weeks as they healed. I was cheat free almost 700 days on Atkins and poof the emotional eating sireens atacked. I tried to stave them off by running to the board for help, tried the extra supplements Dr Atkins recommends, but in the end I caved and had serious doubts about Atkins as the pounds quickly piled back on and I couldn't get induction to be the happy go lucky way it had been the first time and cheated day after day.
Finally after much research i realized i was missing the hormonal changes we get from exercise. I had used the exercise high as a means to anestitize my cravings whenever I had them and couldn't any more as you are finding out with your leg injury.
Please explore other outlets for that control of those stress hormones like meditation or even upper body exercise if done enough can convert those hormones to a safe outlet and give you the endorphins you got doing your workouts.

You can find other exercise programs to keep your legs and body toned while you heal. ask your surgeon to recommend some isometrics or PT for you.

Will be praying for you.