Boulder, Colorado: population 100,000, elevation about 5300 feet, nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains about 30 miles northwest of Denver. Boulder is a city known for making #1 of many top 10 lists. These are a few I recall over the past years, thanks to Forbes, Princeton Review, and USA Today:
- #1 fittest city in the U.S.
- #1 in highest per capita of residents with college degrees (aka “most educated”) in the U.S.
- University of Colorado, Boulder was once ranked the #1 party school in the U.S.
- #1 skinniest city in the U.S.
- #1 per capita of residents with trust funds in the U.S.
- #1 triathlon training mecca in the U.S.
Boulder is also known for its 300 days of sunshine per year. Beautiful, fit, smart, affluent Boulder. My point is, if you are self-employed and love outdoor activities like I do, Boulder is a great place to live and play.
So how can a former serious recreational triathlete and cyclist find her new role living and playing in Boulder County? I am still trying to find how I can fit in with all my active friends in this active city. “Let’s go for a hike,” a friend of mine suggested recently. “I can’t. My hips. Coffee or lunch?” I email a reply back. Big heavy sigh as I hit the send button. I have gained 25 pounds since Ride the Rockies (543.5 miles over 7 mountain passes), mainly due to increased hip pain thanks to the torn labrum ligament (caused by the dysplasia) leading to a severe decrease in activity. I do not feel like I fit in at all anymore. As a certified personal trainer, while I understand the “why,” I still am very hard on myself and ashamed of my weight gain, especially when I run into people around town that I haven’t seen for awhile.
I am 10 weeks out from my LPAO (left PAO surgery). If I can’t lose weight by exercise, its going to be a big shift in my nutrition. Gone are my recent bad habits of eating and drinking out of sadness of my declined physical state (I found my comfort in a box of Lucky Pie pizza, a cheeseburger during a lunch break from metal-smithing, or a bottle of wine at the end of my day, hoping it would numb the physical pain of my hip). The holidays are over, its time to get my body in the best shape possible by March 5! Tomorrow will be the first day of my anti-inflammation diet (the lower inflammation in the body, the faster the healing process), including no alcohol, severely limiting my dairy and wheat intake, whatever I can do to lose weight (note: I will not count calories, just focus on eating natural, unprocessed foods) . The diet will consist of yummy organic veggies and fruits (Boulder should also be ranked #1 in the most health food stores in a city, even Trader Joe’s is finally opening in February!), whole grains such as millet, quinoa and rice, and lean protein. I have always been a very goal-oriented person, so I am optimistic. I used to eat this way when I was in the peak of my training, it was easy back then because I had a goal (racing). I have a new goal: be healthy for surgery. While it may be hard initially to detox, I am sure after the first week, I will feel better, physically and emotionally.
Wish me luck!
Hip2bHippy 
Good luck with the healthy eating! I have a renewed effort, too. Instead of thinking about it as a diet or restriction, I’m trying to think about eating as an opportunity to nourish and nurture my body.
I’m sure this goal will be a piece of cake – er – a bowl of quinoa for you. 😉 We’ll have healthy food stocked up here, too, and I will make lots of yummy, healthy dishes for you as you recover (even if I have to cook some ahead of time and freeze!).
Have you given thought to the idea that inflammation is required for bone healing? Also – cutting back on dairy when your body will need calcium to heal the bone? Just wondering as I have been told to include a lot of dairy products in my diet!
I did my Master’s research in Immunology (specifically the effects of exercise and stress on inflammation clearance). So what you bring up has piqued my interest. I would love to see a link to the research that inflammation is required for bone healing (I suspect this is localized inflammation vs. systemic inflammation). Also, yes, calcium is very important. I was tested for a dairy allergy a few years ago, but am now committed to see if it makes an improvement on my well being by limiting it (I was told sheep feta and buffalo mozzarella are o.k. for me). I included a link to non-dairy sources of calcium (below). Also: sardines have more calcium per serving than milk and most cheeses, the same goes for soy (note: when eating soy, best to choose organic to avoid GMO’s): http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/whole-story/non-dairy-sources-calcium I also like how this article talks about calcium balance. They do not mention this but for example, the phosphorus found carbonated drinks leeches calcium from the body. Vitamin D is also important for calcium absorption, so get 10 minutes of sunshine a day or supplement with a vitamin (when getting non-fortified sources). Hope some of the info about calcium is helpful!