Hi there, everyone! This is my first post, I sure hope it's not too long and thank you for taking the time.
I've always wanted to get tattoos (big pieces) and I finally got around to doing most of my leg last autumn. I still have quite a lot of work I'd like to get done, I'm only getting started,
however I am very afraid of disrupting the tattoo healing process and potentially getting an infection from the moisture and heat, therefore I always wait 5 full weeks before going back to my regular workouts. For example as my leg was healing I only did upper body strength and light core workouts to avoid sweating and working my leg muscles. After the 5 weeks I slowly started reintegrating HIIT and more intense workouts as well as lower body ones. This is really taking a toll on me though as not exercising for what my mind perceives as a not-good-enough-reason makes me feel as though I am lazy and slacking and it makes me worry about gaining weight and losing strength. I don't know what the best approach for this is.
Should I get one piece per year to mitigate the guilt? Should I get a lot of pieces in quick succession so they all heal at once thus reducing the healing time? All ideas and perspectives are welcome and if any of you have dealt with larger pieces before and have any workout wisdom to share I'd be very grateful!
EXTRA:
For context I've always had a shaky relationship with working out and healthy eating. I was overweight until high school when I started starving myself (to the point of passing out, losing hair and the likes).
I've luckily gotten out of that dark place and am trying to focus on the positives. FitnessBlender has definitely helped a lot but I still struggle sometimes with workout guilt (especially during holidays, when away from home or when injured - shin splints, muscle pain etc, and feeling like I'm not putting in enough effort), calorie counting (which I unfortunately still do as I feel out of control otherwise), an inability to let go of what I see as the proper way (such as eating 3 times a day even when I am not hungry, forcing myself to have a snack just to get in more veggies/fruits if I feel as though I haven't been getting enough of them that day) and an obsession with not wasting food (I don't live alone so I will sometimes force myself to finish meals that I know would get thrown out otherwise). Also I am currently at a healthy weight but I remain unhappy with my looks.
So I am fully aware that my problem may not actually be the tattoo healing time but my psychological state at the moment but I am trying everything I can.
Tattoo Guilt Help
Hi there, everyone! This is my first post, I sure hope it's not too long and thank you for taking the time.
I've always wanted to get tattoos (big pieces) and I finally got around to doing most of my leg last autumn. I still have quite a lot of work I'd like to get done, I'm only getting started,
however I am very afraid of disrupting the tattoo healing process and potentially getting an infection from the moisture and heat, therefore I always wait 5 full weeks before going back to my regular workouts. For example as my leg was healing I only did upper body strength and light core workouts to avoid sweating and working my leg muscles. After the 5 weeks I slowly started reintegrating HIIT and more intense workouts as well as lower body ones. This is really taking a toll on me though as not exercising for what my mind perceives as a not-good-enough-reason makes me feel as though I am lazy and slacking and it makes me worry about gaining weight and losing strength. I don't know what the best approach for this is.
Should I get one piece per year to mitigate the guilt? Should I get a lot of pieces in quick succession so they all heal at once thus reducing the healing time? All ideas and perspectives are welcome and if any of you have dealt with larger pieces before and have any workout wisdom to share I'd be very grateful!
EXTRA:
For context I've always had a shaky relationship with working out and healthy eating. I was overweight until high school when I started starving myself (to the point of passing out, losing hair and the likes).
I've luckily gotten out of that dark place and am trying to focus on the positives. FitnessBlender has definitely helped a lot but I still struggle sometimes with workout guilt (especially during holidays, when away from home or when injured - shin splints, muscle pain etc, and feeling like I'm not putting in enough effort), calorie counting (which I unfortunately still do as I feel out of control otherwise), an inability to let go of what I see as the proper way (such as eating 3 times a day even when I am not hungry, forcing myself to have a snack just to get in more veggies/fruits if I feel as though I haven't been getting enough of them that day) and an obsession with not wasting food (I don't live alone so I will sometimes force myself to finish meals that I know would get thrown out otherwise). Also I am currently at a healthy weight but I remain unhappy with my looks.
So I am fully aware that my problem may not actually be the tattoo healing time but my psychological state at the moment but I am trying everything I can.
Thanks again for taking the time!