Gym time with your ostomy.

Yes, indeed I have an ostomy.  It is true and if you have one then the way to go.  Your life is probably better now because of it.  But with an ostomy bag does that mean you can no longer lift weights of run?  Heck No.  But we all can limit ourselves depending on how we feel or what we believe.  That fact is that it is our perception that many times actually create our own reality.  I hate to see good athletic people give up on their dreams because they just got out of surgery and believe that their new stoma will stop them from doing what they normally within reason.  What brought me to this was simply the fact that I was worried about my capabilities when I got out of surgery as well.  I am a pretty active person and didn't want to lose my ability to be healthy, and look good, and be comfortable in my own body.  What I found was that with lots of hard work I was able to really improve on my own abilities and even my overall body as well. 

You can't start deadlifting right after you get out of surgery.  Well, rather the opposite. I lost a lot of weight after my surgery and was rather timid about getting back into the gym.  The fact was that I was afraid of my own ostomy gear and didn't want to embarrass myself on the gym floor and make a huge mess.  So it took me more than a few months to look myself in the eye and finally take the plunge to head into the gym with an ostomy bag.  I was hiding it all the way in the locker room and decided I would no longer shower or change.  I would simply walk in and out and that would be it.  I wanted to be a ghost. Just like when you are fat and at a gym.  You don't want to be seen and I felt fat again.

It took me a while to get in there, but I finally did and I took my time getting back into a rythem. didn't want to overdo anything and hurt me.  I was a bit afraid of hernias and being more prone to them.  So I started slow with easy cardio and worked my way up from there. I found that smaller ostomy bags and some cool bags with belt loops that fit elastic belts were what worked well with my stoma.  I found a flange that fit perfectly and by the next month of taking it easy, I finally went to the weights. Don't feel bad about starting out super slow. That is totally fine and you need to because you just got out of surgery.   

Don't let fear drive your life.  Learn from the best about what to do and overcome.  I went to my pharmacist and learned a lot from him and he ended up saying that I should call the major manufacturers and that is what I did.  I learned a ton from them and even got some new gear at no cost to myself to try out.  Confidence is key and that is how I learned to become fit.  Slow steps forward and small steps start to become big.