Broken Ankle Boogie

Even with my lowered intake of food, something quickly became apparent during the course of my convalescence. I was both gaining weight and losing muscle. If you think about it, it makes sense. There is no mystery to this. If your activity consists of ambling about your apartment on crutches, and that's it, your body is going to change - especially if that wasn't your pre-injury routine.

I admit I didn't handle the injury well at first. Winter kicked in shortly after my injury, my Chinese apartment didn't have heating so resting under blankets became my natural state. I didn't want to go outside in bad weather when I couldn't walk. And I spent time writing rather than exercising.

The change to my body was slow and gradual. It took a few months for me to realize I was putting on weight AND getting flabbier. Once I was able to stand on my own two feet, I knew I had to take charge of my health.

Because they aren't.

You're in the privacy of your own home, and it doesn't matter what you look like. I do love dancing, and I'm horrible at it (well, according to a few people I've dated in the past...). It doesn't stop me, usually.

Once I decided that I was going to dance my way slim again, I couldn't believe that I'd forgotten the power music and dancing have on my mood. The first thing I was going to do was put together a playlist of songs that normally inspire in me the urge to move.

I am a person who likes to work out at home with videos, and if your are the same way, I would suggest foregoing that until you are in proper form again. The reason I say it is this. I know that if I'm tired or in a bad mood, I'm more likely to quit the video and not exercise at all if I can't keep up with the ultra-fit video instructor. And he or she usually gets a few choice words directed at them as well.

The dancing you do is going to be imperfect, and I'd suggest to just go with what your body can do. Don't necessarily do 10 of one movement and then change. That creates pressure to design a routine. This is supposed to be fun as well as healthy. The more you can let go, enjoy the music, and have fun, the more likely it is that you'll keep on with it every day and bring yourself back to health and fitness.

I'll end with a little peek into my world of groove - no, don't worry, it's not an embarrassing video of me dancing - instead, I've included ten songs from my much larger playlist below. I always put it on shuffle so I don't know what's coming next. The songs I listen to have different tempos so I can change the types of movements I do. And they come from different periods of my life, so I can tap into memories and feelings to fuel my dancing.

And one more thing - you don't have to be injured to make your own playlist and groove at home ;) Check a selection of mine out below.