I am sixteen years old and am about 8 months post op. All my life I have loved sports,Whatever you threw at me i would try. I was the fat kid you saw running around a soccer field, i was the one winning the backstroke race and I was number one on my high school varsity tennis team as a sophomore. I am 5'11 got down to 148, which was past my goal weight and i felt amazing. I joined another soccer team, I was not only just starting tennis season as varsity one but also as captain, and i ran my first 5k when all the sudden i bent down to pet my puppy and my knee just popped out of my socket.

I basically was told to stop all physical activity except physical therapy. This was like telling me to stop breathing. I am also a dedicated student which is extremely stressful. The way I relieved that stress was exercise. Apparently I have hypermobility in my joint which means I don't have enough muscle to hold them in place. I have had this all my life but the ironic part is that the fat was what was holding them in place and allowed me to be active. Now i am stuck for atleast 2 months doing NOTHING. I know this may seem stupid because it is not a life threatening injury and it will heal but it is the rest of my junior year which was supposed to be the one where i finally got to be the me i knew i could be.

Anyway , now i am gaining weight very quickly ( I am up to 155) and I don't know what to do because it is so hard to go back to 800 when i was up at 1300 and still losing. I feel so depressed and usually i would eat to compensate but now i have to cut my calories instead and i am having a really hard time. Sorry again for the rant, thanks for listening

-Olivia

Olivia,

I am so sorry for what you are going through. I was never active when I was young, but my daughters were and I saw how much it meant to them. Part of it was the joy of being active and part of it was being a member of a team. Is it just the activity you crave or is it also the comradery? If the latter, could you join something else (like yearbook) to get you through for a while.

You definitely need a way to relieve the stress. Have you tried writing or painting? Meditation might help.

Take care of yourself and don't beat yourself up!

Hi Olivia! I am sorry to hear about your injury. I know your physician advised to stop all sports activity, but have you thought about doing upper body strength training? That might be a good stress reliever and keep you a little active without irritating your knee. Of course, I would clear it with your physician but lifting weights or medicine ball work for the upper body, free weights, etc. while seated could be a way to burn calories and help you feel active again.

I also like the idea of painting, reading or meditation to take the mind off of things. Is your physician having you do many type of physical therapy for your knee?

Laura

Olivia, I had Achilles reconstruction surgery on 10/18/13 and was non-weight bearing on my right leg for 8 weeks! It is really hard when you have a major orthopedic problem, and to go from being very active to completely sedentary, is a huge change. The best thing you can do is get involved with a new hobby - something that will keep your hands and your mind busy and away from the food. Photography is a good idea, or any kind of craft.

You might also consider volunteering at a kids afterschool program. You could "coach" sports from the sidelines and still be involved in an activity you love. The key to this situation is to rededicate yourself to your weight loss goals and not let this new issue derail you! I know you can make it through this challenge and come out the other side a better Olivia!

Good luck to you, I believe in you!

I agree with Laura..upper body workouts..I have bad knees so using them in my workout is out of the question..Heart goes out to you darlin'. My gym has a recumbent eliptical bike.I use for a arm cardio workout. the Y has a "bike" that uses just your arms for cardio. other than that if your doc says ok..weight lifting with light weights lots of reps for cardio..your phys ed or gym coach could help you with some info..good luck...

Thank you all so much! I feel so much support. I took parts of all of you advice and am now lifting some weights and doing core work. Its not ideal but at least it keeps me off the couch. I also have started writing a letter once a week to someone who has influenced my life. I figure this will help me relieve some stress and also pass along the warm fuzzy feeling that you all gave me. I really appreciate it.

What about doing water walking at your local pool. Non weight bearing exercise and good resistance with the water?

Swim. Swim, swim, swim, swim, swim. And then swim some more.

You can do this!!

I understand what you are going through. Even at my heaviest I was always working out. Exercise is my stress reliever and my anti-depressant. It's very hard to go even a few days without needing cardio or weigh lifting (I have back problems - only thing that helps is strengthening my back muscles). But injuries happen sometimes and priority #1 is getting better so that you can get back to the activities you love faster. If you don't follow doctors orders on this, you could be off your feet a lot longer or do more permanent damage. I concur with the others that doing upper body conditioning could be good, as long as your doctor signs off on it. If your back starts to hurt, try crunches, they are my go-to. As far as eating, it may take a couple weeks before you figure out what you can eat every day and maintain what you've lost. Probably cutting down on any simple carbs (bread, pasta, rice) will help. You can and will move past this!!

Water, water, water, I bet swimming is okay, and they'll probably have you on a bike for pt. My husband just blew out his knee and they had him on the bike right away.