Lying hips and truthful scales

According to astrology, jeans, my go to tkd kick and my inner Shakira the hips and thighs are my focus point, my strongest body part and the most fun to shake. However a visit to physio this morning told me that maybe my hips aren’t so strong or stable. I've been having knee pain in tkd and taking a break from it and last week when I joined a group during a round dance (like in this video), my legs were really aching.

So I'm on a plan to do some stretching, strengthening and realigning to reverse the impact of a tight IT band and some weaker muscles. I hope to be back at TKD by the end of May which will coincide nicely with a transition from the most restrictive 16+1 day diet cycle to stage two with more carbs and calories.

I am still feeling good on this plan – sometimes hungry if I don’t plan for snacks but still feeling energetic and not missing the restricted foods too much. (not bread at all which surprises me but definitely oatmeal and chocolate)   

And I'm down 2 pounds in the first 7 days. That even included a rather off-day on Saturday at my grandmother's. For lunch she made seafood chowder, specially without onions for me, and biscuits. I ate the chowder and had spinach salad but passed on the biscuits. And then dinner was lobster*, potato salad and chocolate cheesecake for dessert. I see my grandmother less than once a month so it’s worth it to go off-plan. After all this is a lifestyle not just a diet.

Hope you had a great week!


* Lobster is a tradition for our family on Mother's and Father's day but not so extravagant a one as I live on the coast. We buy it from our cousin, a lobster fisherman or at the wharf. Bought live, cooked outside in a big pot in sea water so it's fresh and sweet tasting. We cover the dining table with newspaper and put out a couple of bowls for shells and dig in.