DAY 13: GETTING BACK IN THE GAME

My leg pain hasn't really improved much, so I benched myself yesterday, too. I'm not too worried about it, though, because I've lost another half-pound. That makes two pounds total weight loss in less than two weeks! Even while breastfeeding, I'm not too far behind my weight-loss goal, and more importantly, my wardrobe is slowly but surely being restored to its former glory.

I decided to retire my trusty Asics cross-trainers. They were pretty worn out and—I'm pretty sure—the culprit to my leg pain. (Not to mention the outside of my left foot and my left knee have also been giving me trouble.) 

My new Asics GEL-Ipera...Aren't they fabulous??

Pretty much any injury I've sustained by exercising throughout the years I can pin on my shoes. As much as I love cute shoes (what woman doesn't?), this is one area where it's important to choose function over form. Wearing the wrong type of shoes for your individual type of feet or for the exercise you're doing, or just wearing ones that are well past their prime, can cause major damage to your body and sabotage your workout goals.

In high school, I developed relentless shin splints and almost had to quit the cross country team. Later, I found out the problem was that I had been wearing trail shoes and not cushioned running shoes. In college, my plans to run a half-marathon were halted when I wore my non-exercise New Balance Classics to run my nine-mile day. (I don't care what they claim to be; those shoes are NOT for running!) My knee pain was so severe I couldn't run for months afterward.     
 
If you are serious about starting a workout plan, you must be serious about getting the right equipment, and that includes taking care of your feet. First, decide what type of exercise you will be doing. It's not just a marketing scheme; you really do need different shoes for running than you would for walking. I have three different pairs of exercise shoes: one with more flexibility for running, one with lots of cushion for walking, and one with more stability for cross-training. 

Next, go to a specialty running shoe store like Fleet Feet Sports, where they will measure your foot's arch and record it walking and running to check for pronation to find the perfect shoe for you. And don't assume that you know what size athletic shoe you need, either; mine are a whole size smaller than the rest of my shoes. If your shoes are too small, you can cut off nerve supply. If they are too big, they won't bend where they need to and can injure your foot.
 
Today, I'm planning to do a lower-impact Jillian Michaels workout and some weight training. That will help me make up for the doughnut binge my husband and I had this morning! I know, doughnuts are quite possibly the worst food I could consume, and they certainly don't make my list of sugar-free treats, but this is the last day of my husband's vacation, so we are living it up with doughnuts and movies. 


And tomorrow, I'll be right back at it.