TRX Workout. Why?

As I sit writing this, I find my body is sore, but a good sore.  I had a session with my trainer at the gym today and we did more work on the TRX system.  For those of you who don’t know what the TRX system is, it’s a system of straps that are hanging from a frame that you use for your workout using your own bodyweight as the resistance.  I will be honest.  I used to walk by this system at the gym and I would be like “Nope, no way, not me!”.  First off, a being a curvy lady I look at these webbing straps and go, “Like that can really hold my weight”.  Then it’s on a freestanding frame.  “It’s gonna fall over on me!” Well the trainer I’m working with has had me doing exercises on it and I’ll be the first to say I was wrong.  I love the TRX!  It gives me a great workout.  I can do deeper squats than if I were just standing on the floor, and they don’t hurt my knees.  I have more stability doing lunges.  The only exercise I’m having trouble with is bicep curls but that is just going to take time to develop those muscles.

I will say some of the exercises I’ve seen people doing on the TRX still intimidate me.  Putting my feet into the handles and doing push ups and other exercises will take a while till I do that, and I’d need to make sure someone is nearby to help as I can see myself getting stuck.

If you haven’t tried it yet, have a trainer, or someone who is experienced with the system, show you how to do some basic exercises on it and see what it is like.  Maybe like me you’ll find you have an exercise you love at the gym.

It’s been a while

Well It’s time to get back to this.  The reason I haven’t written for a long time is, well, life got crazy.  In December 2017 I was in a car accident. My husband and I were rear ended while in stopped traffic on I25.  No major injuries.  Unfortunately, I am still dealing with neck problems and neuropathy that goes down to my thumbs which is very painful at times.  I am seeing different medical professionals to hopefully get to the root cause and then figure out how to make it all go away.  Keep your fingers crossed.  I have let this slow me down way more than I would like but that needs to change, now.

I have decided that this is the time to get myself moving again.  I’ve put on all the weight I lost in 2016.  I’ve really not been active.  Nothing like I used to be.  That starts changing now!  I recently read the book The 12 Week Year by Brian Moran.  Yesterday was the start of my first 12 weeks.  I have set some goals for this next quarter and I’m putting them out there for all to see.  Goal #1 – Lose 10 pounds.  Goal #2 – Make my first sale in the business that I am part of.  (I’ve been working in the business as an assistant but now want to add the sales as part of my job.)   Goal #3 Clean out my garage.  We have had a bunch of “stuff/junk” in there for three years now.  I’d like to be able to put a car in the garage.  What a novel idea. 🙂

The biggest goal that that I want to spotlight here is the weight loss.  I’m not going to do anything crazy.  No fads or gimmicks.  Been there, done that.  I’ve just decided to get back to really eating healthy.  I see how much the grains affect me so time to get them down to a minimum.  I need to increase the amount of protein I’m eating.  I’m going to go to the gym.  I have purchased several 30 minute training sessions so I’ll have someone to guide me.  Once a week I will meet with the trainer to get a short routine I can do when I at the gym that week.  I want to do more activities.  I plan on signing up for some 5K’s.  Get out on my bike.  Just get going.

I know this isn’t going to be easy.  Things won’t change overnight.  I will have obstacles along the way but I need to change my attitude, my wellness, my life.

Wish me luck!

 

Some People Don’t Get It

I haven’t written much lately as we made a couple of getaways before the end of summer vacation.  The other day I posted pictures on Facebook from our recent adventure.  We had a lot of fun and I wanted to share that with friends.  One comment made on the pictures bugged me.  I know I should consider the source and I know the person who made the comment is someone I haven’t seen in a few years but it bugged me.  The comment was that they could see I was getting in shape.  What does that mean?  Why did they say that of all the things that could be said about the photos I posted?  I think it was supposed to be a complement.  I think?

As I said in my description of myself I have always been overweight.  I can lose weight and then promptly gain it back with more.  I am lucky though, I don’t have any of the issues usually associated with being obese.  I don’t have diabetes, my blood pressure is good, my cholesterol for the most part is good, I’m active and enjoy life.  I try not to let my size stop me from doing the things I want.  People don’t get it that no matter what I do I can’t explain why I’m fat.  I’ve had people tell me to exercise more.  After two years at Taekwondo with little change in my diet I didn’t lose an ounce.  When I said I was switching to Paleo I actually had one person tell me to let them put together a diet and exercise regimen so I could lose weight.  I even had a doctor once look me straight in the eye and with a serious face tell me to stop eating all the donuts. None of them get it.  Not everyone who is fat is that way because they eat a dozen donuts every day or sit on the couch all day long.  Most of us struggle on a daily basis to understand why it is that we can eat the same and do the same activity as others and be in the body we have.  This leads to a lot of frustration and pain. It hurts when people who think they are being supportive by saying eat less or exercise more don’t get it that you’ve been doing all that and nothing changes.

What people need to think about before saying anything is try to understand that not all of us are made the same.  We aren’t all going to be a size 2.  I’d be happy to get to a 14.  That would be devastating to some but for me that would be a happy place.  As long as I can be healthy I’m not too worried about my size.  This has taken me a long time to realize.  I still fight body image issues.  Even when I lose weight I still see the fat body in the mirror even though I am wearing smaller clothes, feel better and look good.

As I said I know some people just don’t get it that my size, weight and fitness level can be a tough subject.  I will be the first to say I’m not perfect, but who is?  Maybe before commenting on a person’s size, weight, fitness level, or looks we should comment about ourselves first and see if it is something we want to hear, say to others, or post on social media about ourselves.

Ok rant over.  Think about others before you judge and /or open your mouth or post a comment.

Salt

The other day when I was thinking of all the changes since switching to a paleo diet salt was something I thought of. Two years ago when I started taekwondo I found that I was craving salt, to the point that I would have been happy just pouring salt on my tongue. At the suggestion of my instructor I added sports drinks into my regimen. Since then I would always have it. There was always a little in my water as I always had it diluted otherwise it was too sweet. Fast forward to the switch to paleo and no more sports drinks. Less than a week from starting paleo my mother was having leg cramps and through research I discovered that a lack of salt was a possible cause. The articles went further to say switching to the celtic salt was better because it has all the minerals that table or sea salt don’t. I realized that even though I’m working out as much I’m not craving salt. Maybe there is something to be said for switching to the better salt. 

Results

Well I got the results of my tests and I’m still trying to figure it out but here are the basics.  The doctor said that the tests show I’m deficient in vitamin B12. They also show that, yes, I have a leaky gut. The tests showed that there is too much of the bad bacteria in my system thanks to the leaky gut.  Also, my body doesn’t process any of the fats I eat, good or bad so that doesn’t help either.  So what is the next step.  I’m taking some supplements to see if we can start getting things working right.  I’m using a B12 cream in the morning.  I take a supplement called Ortho Digestzyme to help with digestion.  I’m taking Glutamine to help heal the leaky gut.  Then I’m doing drops of Biocidin to help with getting rid of the bad bacteria.  I’ve also gone off the prescription pill for the acid reflux.  That has been tough but I hate taking more pills.  I’m tracking my foods and seeing what causes flare-ups and taking DGL lozenges when I need.  I guess when you go off that type of medicine that has been inhibiting the acid once its out of your system the body goes into overdrive creating the acid.

What’s next?  I will be reading through al of the information I got with my test results.  Just been a bit busy to really sit and read through it all.  Also I’m going on vacation for a couple of weeks and I’m working on a plan to keep eating paleo as best as I can.  Looking for foods that I can easily prepare while there, luckily we will be with family, and making sure I have some convenient snacks so I won’t be tempted by the fast food/junk food.  I will share what I decide to take let you know how it works.

 

 

Yippee!!

Today I stopped by the office of my regular doctor to get a quick weigh-in.  I went because they were the last place I had an official weigh-in before I started Paleo and I didn’t know how my home scales compared to theirs for my weight.  Well I’ve lost 17 pounds!!  I weighed myself when I got home and the scales said the same number so I will do my weight at home from now on.  Tomorrow I go to the functional medicine provider to get the results of the tests.  Keep fingers crossed that all goes well.

What’s going on?

It has been a while since I’ve posted and I think I should tell what has been going on.  Since the beginning of the year I’ve been having issues with breathing and my throat swelling and my chest bugging me.  I’ve also had some dizziness and just feeling crappy to put it simply.  I’ve always thought my thyroid was the issue as when you look at the symptoms I have many.  In fact, I felt I had Hashimoto’s because of how my body swings between the symptoms of hypo- and hyperthyroidism.  Well they did all the antibody testing and an ultrasound of my thyroid and it came back normal.  This was after all the antibiotics and prednisone I took in January because I had a sinus/chest infection.  To explore my thyroid further I went to and ENT.  After what I would call a weird visit he said my thyroid wasn’t the issue it was acid reflux and allergies.  He gave me a pill and that was it.  I went back to my primary care physician and asked how to find out the cause of all of this.  I felt there must be a food sensitivity as my throat would really swell after eating certain food but that I couldn’t narrow it down completely.  Her reply is that is not what she does.  That is more holistic medicine.  So on to find someone who can help me.  In May I met with a nutritionist/functional medicine provider.  What a difference.  She understood that I wanted to figure out the cause of why I felt so bad.  She listened when I said please don’t throw a bunch of pills at me. I’m a terrible pill popper.  She decided we would run some tests to see what was going on as well as make some changes to my diet and we would go from there.  From some of the history I told her, like when I take medications that should help me regardless of shat they are I always gain a bunch of weight even though most people on those meds would be losing.  She felt maybe leaky gut was a problem.  I can go through depression and anxiety.  I am active, I don’t have cholesterol or blood pressure issues.  I’m not pre-diabetic.  As a larger person I don’t have many of the health issues one usually associates with a heavy person, but at the beginning of the year something started to change.  Well on Thursday I will find out the results of all the tests.  On June 7th I started a paleo diet at her recommendation.  I will say I love how I feel.  I’m pretty sure I have lost weight but will wait until tomorrow or Thursday to weigh myself.  So far so good.  Making changes for the better.  I can do this and I will beat this whatever it is!

Taekwondo Districts Competition

districts 2016

Today my son and I competed in the Taekwondo Districts for our region.  It was great that they were held in Denver and we didn’t have to travel far for them.  It was a nice small tournament since only those who qualified could compete.  I trained as well as I could and only had to compete in two disciplines, weapons and combat weapons sparring.  My ring was small as there aren’t many 40-49 year old women doing taekwondo in our area that also compete.  After a good competition I ended up with Silver in both events.  I was really happy with how well I did.  I was also proud of my son who ended up District Champion for 15-17 year old boys in Creative Weapons and Weapons and got a silver in Forms.  It was a great day for both of us!

 

Thoughts

IMG_1921In January I completed my first 10K.  It was a great accomplishment.  At the finish of the race I was almost in tears.  More from the sense of accomplishment than anything else.  I was also saturated and tired but it felt sooo good.

Next month I will be doing another 10K at Disney.  I will be honest and say it will probably be my last 10K.  I think 5K is the distance I prefer.  I can complete that in about 48 minutes or less.  I almost don’t have to think about it.

Once I finish this 10K I going to focus on my health a bit more.  That may sound funny but I’ve been dealing with issues, I will go into more detail in a future post, and I’m trying to find the source so I can get back to feeling happy and healthy.

Autism Speaks

Well I am now registered for two 10K’s next year.  I’m starting to get my body moving and trying to be more aware of what I’m putting into my body so I can be ready to do well and enjoy the races.

The first 10K is in January at the Disney World Marathon Weekend.  As part of being on the team for Autism Speaks I need to raise some money for this wonderful organization.  I’m sure many of you know someone who is affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  Although no one in my immediate family is affected I was surprised when I sat down with my son to talk about doing the race and what charity to support how many people we knew that were affected by ASD.  That is what made me choose to support this organization.

If you could possibly help me support this wonderful organization I would really appreciate it.  Please go to my fundraising site at Michelle’s Donation Site for Team Up with Autism Speaks

Thanks!