NutriSystem: Round Two

Ok, as of today I'm back at it again. The truth is, the NutriSystem diet isn't that bad once you get used to it and determine which foods are good and which ones are worthy of the trash can. Plus, once you start eating well and stick with it, you stop craving the 'bad' foods (like triple-chocolate fudgy brownies).

My second 35-day box of food (weighing 37 pounds) arrived yesterday. That meant a weigh-in today. Last I'd checked, I was down seven pounds. As of now, I'm down nine pounds. I think the weight-lifting routine is finally kicking in.

I wish I could add caridovascular exercise to my routine, but my knee still hurts after a long walk. As soon as I discovered that the "semitendinosus" is a large hamstring muscle, and not a knee muscle, I realized that my problem isn't really a knee problem after all. Rather, my knee pain is actually directly tied to the hamstring muscle that I apparently tore one year ago on September 14th at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

From my research, I learned that a semitendinosus tear can cause knee pain. I wouldn't have known this if my sister-in-law hadn't read my knee MRI. She mentioned it may be an irritation of the semitendinosus or bursitis. I finally found out (via the Internet) that the semitendinosus is the exact same muscle I hurt a year ago but hadn't healed.

The doctor here certainly wasn't any help. It's pathetic when you get better medical advice from the Internet than from the M.D. you just paid $750 to spend three minutes with. I told him about the pulled hamstring that hadn't healed in a year, but he totally blew me off. If he'd paid attention and asked more questions, he would've sent me for a thigh MRI, not a knee MRI. I won't be going back to him again. I'm so tired of doctors like him that make you wait then usher you out as quickly as they can before spending more than a few minutes with you.

A word to the wise: If you ever pull or tear a hamstring, stop running. Get off of it, ice it for a few days, take some anti-inflammatories, elevate it, and wear a compression sleeve on it. Let it heal. Now I know this. But back then I did not, and I was too busy getting laid off from my big Wall Street job to even think about seeing a doctor. (I was in shock for a month, so give me a break!) :)

I kept running on it thinking that it was "just a pull" that would go away in time, like most pain. Bad idea. I should've learned from my last year-long bout with plantar fasciitis.

Live and learn. I finally have a thigh compression sleeve and I'm icing the correct muscle (instead of the knee). I haven't run since last November, and I've cut way back on my walking. Maybe it'll get better. If not, well then it's time to find a new orthopedist. Ergh. It sucks getting old!