Weight Loss and Leadership

This Friday marked a major milestone on my road to recovery from a major heart procedure.  A little worse for the wear but not so bad if I do say so myself.  Luckily our instructor did not end her usual unleash song, Tina Turner’s Rolling Down the River.  I would have ended up breaking Rule 2 below and looking more worn.  I simply can’t resist going 120 RPM’s on the chorus of that song. 

For those of you follow my blog regularly, you know how much I love spin class.  I fell in love with the music, movement, and madness that is spin about a year ago.  It is indeed one of my favorite ways to relieve stress.  But before getting back in the saddle, I first had to follow these three rules:

1. Rest, recover, relax.  This first rule was the hardest for me.  Having lost a ton of weight a few years ago, I was nervous that taking time off to rest and recover would throw me back off track.   So, I did a very stupid thing and broke this rule.  I went for a long 5 mile walk the day after returning from the hospital.  Initially, I felt great as you can read in this blog. https://weightlossleadership.com/2019/02/13/a-heart-filled-with-gratitude-and-love/ But, it was not to last.  During that whole week, I was recovering from the walk.

If I was going to get healthy,I needed to go back to the basics and follow this first rule.  So, I took the entire next weekend completely off and rested and relaxed.  It did a world of good and sped up the healing process.  It is very important to take time for yourself and relax after surgery before diving into your normal regimen. 

2. Ease back into exercise.  The second step after taking time to rest is to ease back into exercise.  As much as I wanted to, I did not get on the bike until three weeks later.  Instead, I went back to basics and walked at a much slower pace and for shorter distances than that first Sunday.  This less strenuous regimen provided two major advantages.  First it allowed the bruise around the insertion point to heal.  Second, it gave me a benchmark on my heart rate and gave me confidence the procedure had worked.  I now was ready to take the plunge (or in this case the seat!

3. Unleash without fear.  The last step is perhaps the most important one.  Once you have taken the time to recover, you cannot be afraid to test the limits.  It is the same lesson we all learned as kids.  Get back on the bike when you have fallen off!  I did watch my Fitbit carefully the first few songs but then gave into the vibe!  You must trust in the professionalism of your Doctor’s and your own preparation.  Get back in the saddle and ride!

And that is what I did and will continue doing.  This coming Saturday, I will again be participating in Lifetime’s Ride for A Reason to fund the good work of St. Jude’s Children Hospital.  Last year I rode all four hours and will hopefully do so again if the three rules allow.  Please consider supporting the good work of St. Jude’s through a donation at the link below.  The last picture is of me after last year’s event. https://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR?px=4996114&pg=personal&fr_id=103544