Days 24 & 25

Almost a month into this journey I have found a lot of positives in my every day. Beautiful looking, delicious healthy meals (like this morning's apple chardonnay chicken sausage with egg whites, avocado and strawberries). 

And the rush of endorphins from working out four times a week and the amazing energy burst that follows (seriously almost all my photos look like this now)

I've even delved into the negatives, gathering my thoughts about my emotional dips and difficulties I've faced. 

But nothing could prepare me for the physical negatives I'd be forced to face. Obviously I knew I'd have to deal with sore muscles and challenges in the gym. But somehow I forgot to think about the fact that my current body would be doing 4x as much exercise with much less recovery. That I'd be stretching and pulling my skin in ways it had never done. And the results have been...not that great. 

General warning: The rest of this entry is not recommended for the squeamish or those about to eat. Sorry!

Take these pictures of my foot from this morning, for instance.  

After walking nearly 25k steps last weekend, a blister appeared on the side of my heel. No big deal, I thought. But as I continued to walk throughout the week I noticed it was getting really full and uncomfortable. Not one to shy away from pain, I poked the edge of the blister letting the fluid drain out. But after yesterday's workout I noticed the top skin had pulled off, leaving a bit of a sinkhole in my foot. Not wanting to slow down, I generously applied some neosporin and a band aid, and continued to walk another 10k steps with my friend who was gracious enough to visit me in CT. 

Luckily, my sister is a doctor and has many doctor friends (one of whom is an incredible dermatologist), so I was quickly able to quash my fears that my foot was going to fall off or an infection would lead to sepsis and death before I'd be able to fly back to LA and see my boyfriend and my dog on Sunday. But, it DID prevent me from going to the gym today. 

Just like figuring out my calorie intake, workouts, and rest days, taking care of my skin is a new thing I've had to add to my list of priorities. Blister pads, antiseptic, and band aids have become my new best friends. Because I refused to be sidelined, no matter what my heels look like. 

The constant friction and sweat during my exercise hasn't only led to blisters, but chafing between my thighs and under the band of my sports bras. And I'm not going to lie to you all, it's not great! 

I know there will be more to come. That blisters are the least of my problems (I mean, just wait until I have to deal with sagging leftover stretched out skin!) but really, I'd rather be dealing with some minor skin problems than the multitude of life threatening diseases and chronic pain that comes along with obesity. 

So, blisters be damned. Let's keep doing this!