Being a HUGE fan of The Biggest Loser from Season 1 and having followed a number of contestants through social media, I was intrigued by the idea of this DietBet thing I saw some of them post about regularly. I have struggled with my weight since I was a young girl. I have always been involved in sports, but couldn't always make the right choices about what time I ate or what I was eating thanks to my Pennsylvania Dutch family. I did not choose to play at the collegiate level past high school. After my freshman year of college, I DESPERATELY NEEDED a sport in my life. A floormate of mine suggested I come to her rugby practice. It was a club sport with little committment factor. I figured I had nothing to lose and went to the next practice. Fast forward ten years and here I am today still committed to this glorious sport of rugby!
What I can say is that I have never experienced a sport like this in my life! The camaraderie, athleticism, brain power and family atmosphere is amazing. Four seasons at captain has also shown me the grunt work behind making the club run. It takes a number of volunteers to manage our non-profit organization.
It is unfortunate to say, though, that I have been recently sidelined. After more than 9 years in a field position that put a lot of strain and compression on my back and neck, I have been diagnosed with a C5-C6 herniated disc in my cervical spine. 80 minutes of continuous physical and mental battle every Saturday for 8 months out of the year for 9+ years. Add 4 hours of practice a week in there and you do the math.
This is the first season in 10 years that I will be sidelined for an entire season or more. My head was spinning when everything first happened. X-Ray, MRI, Diagnosis, Treatment Plan including epidural injections and physical therapy all in a matter of a week. No doctor, teammate, family member or friend could prepare me for the diagnosis and determination that being back on the pitch would not be in my near future. It felt like my life was over. I cried for 3 days. And I couldn't wrap my head around why no one understood why I was so upset. Did they not love this sport as much as I?
6 weeks of PT and one epidural injection later, here I am. Discharged from PT on August 1st, Pain-Free (yay), but still not on the rugby pitch (obviously). Through my time of injury I continued to eat like I normally would without taking into consideration all of the physical activity I was NOT doing. As you can imagine before long, I was not only feeling awful about my injury, I was feeling awful about myself. I couldn't run, I couldn't play rugby, I couldn't lift weights, I couldn't do Crossfit. I was lost.
I've gone through the denial. The season started; I couldn't play. I've gone through the sadness. The women's rugby team played and I was on the sideline crying. I'm now to the anger and frustration stage. And am currently learning how to cope with it.
Fast foward to the present. Why did I choose to participate in DietBet? My weight and food intake is still something I can control. I could not control the unforseen circumstances of my injury. I cannot control the amount of time it will take me to heal. What I can control is putting good, clean food in my body and getting fit by walking and swimming, so when my body is ready I will be more than prepared to step back onto that pitch.
My only hope throughout this journey is that I will learn more about myself, make some motivating connections and get back on track.