It has been a month since I last visited my doctor. Today, I went back and according to their scale, I have lost 6.5 pounds.

I think I have actually lost more than that. I didn’t take my shoes off today before weighing in, which is something I normally do. Plus, I suspect my clothes may have been a little bit lighter today.

On my home scale, I have lost 12 pounds. What I wear when weighing in as well as the time of day that I get weighed is pretty consistent on my home scale, so I tend to believe it.

This is a loss despite not being able to exercise. A month ago, my doctor restricted me to non-weight bearing exercise like swimming or bicycling. This, of course, happened right when the weather became cold, and I was disinclined to do either outside.

Since then, I have been checking out exercise bikes. We already own a treadmill, but I am not supposed to use it right now. Stupid ankle.

And exercise bikes? They are expensive.

And so I’ve been looking at second-hand exercise bikes, but they tended to be big and bulky. I already have one bulky piece of exercise equipment. I didn’t want another one.

Today, I managed to find a used bike in a second-hand store for $4. No, I did not forget any zeros. The bike is an older style, but it is lightweight. It is simple, and it lets you adjust resistance. The speedometer/mileage thing doesn’t work, but I don’t mind. I can exercise again!

Plus, I can lift up the entire thing with one hand. This means I can pull it out and use it in the living room and put it away in my office. It doesn’t take up too much space, which is another plus.

Today, I brought it home and put in 10 minutes. I didn’t want to do too much, and it seemed like a good time to start with.

A week from today, I will see my specialist to find out what will happen with my ankle.