Get Results

Wow, it has been along time since I wrote on here. I was looking back on previous posts and realized the last time I wrote was 4 months ago! At that time, I was writing about my experiences seeing a functional nutritionist and getting some more in depth information about my health and symptoms. I was experiencing morning fatige, general fatigue, difficulty losing weight (esp abdominal fat) and had an Adrenal and Hormone Panel run through my nutritionist. The results were not too suprising to me- it showed that I was in stage 3 Adrenal fatigue. Basically, my body has been under so much stress that my adrenal glands, which helps regulate the stress response by producing cortisol, a stress hormone, have fatigued out and are no longer working to their optimum. Basically I do not have enough cortisol, which would explain my symptoms. To help get my adrenals working properly, I was to start Isocort, a cortisol supplement, high quality B complex, as well as much herbals  (ex: Ashwaganda or Rhodiola) that can also help supplement and support the adrenal glands. I did do this for about one month and definetly felt a difference, but as with most things in my life lately, life got in the way and when I ran out of the supplements, I did not renew. Now that I have settled into more of a routine, I have ordered the supplements again and plan on continuing with them for the next few months, then rechecking my hormone levels to see where they are at.

I see so many patients, especially women, that are so tired and burned out, and many of their physical ailgments and even chronic diseases are related to these symptoms, that I want to do the best I can to keep myself healthy and my body working optimally so that I can live the life that I want and feel the best I can everyday.

Unrealistic expectations

Today I was reading a blog post about unrealistic expectations and it got me thinking about my own health expectations. I will admit that if I see a magazine with an article about losing 5 LBS IN 5 DAYS, I snatch it up, read it and am always disappointed . It's all things I have tried or things I am not willing to do ( eat only 1200 calories per day while working out for 2 hrs a day). So why do I keep buying the magazines and buying into it? Well, because I am a busy professional, who, like most people, wants results now without putting in the time and effort! I tend to set goals such as " lose x number of pounds by certain date " or even buy clothes that are too small with the goal of fitting into them by time the season changes. How many times has that happened? Zero. 

I need to focus on long term goals such as improved energy,stamina and health . With those things will come weight loss and changes in your body and these changes will last and become lifelong,because they are not a quick fix, but instead a way of life. That is my goal- to make healthy decisions for my body a way of life.

Some recent unrealistic expectations of mine (and some more realistic versions of them):

1." I need to be a certain weight, and I wont be happy until I am"-instead, I need to think" I want to feel good and look good to myself and the numbers on the scale mean nothing"

2. " I need to do a hard workup for at least one hour everyday to see results"-instead, " i need to MOVE everyday and find exercise/fitness activites that I actually enjoy"-even if I just take a nice walk in the evening, it is moving my body. It is so hard to stay motivated and stick with a workup program if you feel you HAVE to do it, especially if you do not like it. Of course you have to work hard to see results, but work hard at something that you LIKE!

3. "I need to do yoga 3 times per week (or any other specific number)"-instead, " I need to increase the amount of yoga I do/try and practice as much as I can"-again, when I put a number to something and I do not amek that goal, I get discouraged. Life is busy, some weeks more so than others. Instead of specifics numbers, do the best you can and (hopefully) it will become routine.

4. " I cannot eat any gluten, dairy, sweets, fast food, pop, etc"-I need to eat whole, natural foods that nourish my body, and it is ok to indulge every once in awhile-I have tried eliminating foods completely from my diet and have found that sugar seems to be my biggest problem (and biggest weakness!). instead of saying that I cannot have something, I think it is better to learn to eat whole unprocessed foods and if you occassionally indulge in something that is not, it is ok!

Changing your thinking about health and wellness can take some time, but like most things, give it 15 days and it will become habit. that is my goal!

LOVE this photo!

{Be Active}Biking

I... Can't...Move.  Yesterday I completed my first major bike ride-14 mile Nightowl Classic through St. Paul. Now, I have not been on a bike in about 2 yrs, so this was pretty ambitious of me, esp considering that I had done a C2 yoga vinyasa flow class followed by 45 mins Realryder spinning class. While there were definetly some struggles ( climbing the hills in St.Paul) I think overall I did good considering my lack of experience. I would love to get into biking more, since it is a great form of exercise and transportation! The St.Paul classic is coming up in Sept, I may have to sign up for it!

Today I plan on doing some gentle yoga, going for a walk, movie, little shopping, and preparing some healthy meals for the week. Sounds like a good Sunday to me!

{Be Holistic} Taking charge of my health

This summer has been the summer of me "taking charge of my health". I have been stressed, fatigued, bloated, digestion issues and headaches lately and figured that I wanted to do something about it. I have also found that despite working out and eating fairly healthy, I was unable to move the scale and reduce my abdominal fat (not that there is alot, but enough to bother me!). I was convinced for ahwile that it was my thyroid, but those tests have all been normal (although maybe out of the "functional" range). I decided that I wanted to learn more about holistic health and nutritions role in health, and what better way to do that than to make an appt with a health counselor?! I have been seeing a functional nutritionist (Katie Jasper -she is awesome, go see her!) for the past few months and have learned alot of about health and stress. One of the things that I did when I first started to "take charge of my health" was do a detox that was prescribed by the nutritionist. This involved eliminating gluten, dairy, sugar, caffeine and alcohol for 2 weeks and adding supplements that support the gut and detox process. After the detox was over I felt great-no more headaches, fatigue or abdominal symptoms and had much more energy than usual. Than-stressed kicked in big time at work and I fell off my healthy bandwagon. I began eating sugar again like it was going out of style and no exercise. I felt terrible and that made my stress worse. It was just snowballing. I know what to do for my health and I have the tools, I just need to DO IT! So after a nice relaxing week away from work and stress, I am back on my Detox, starting to do yoga/running daily and will restart Insanity once my detox is over. I am also taking some supplements to help support my stress and anxiety, and am awaiting the results of my adrenal stress panel to look for adrenal fatigue (my symptoms-fatigue, AM fatigue despite getting enough sleep, abdominal fat that is hard to get rid of, stress/anxiety, etc).
Stay tuned for more updates!

Try Something New

I had all these great hopes and goals for spring/summer, and it is already June and none are accomplished. I had signed up for Core Power Yogas 30 day yoga challenge, but now that it is day 10 and have completed only 2 classes, clearly that was a fail. I've been feeling really unmotivated and frustrated lately, so I decided to employ the experts and try something new.

I have always been interested in functional/integrative medicine and had been meaning for years to meet with one. I found that one of the yoga instructors at the studio I go to opened a practive in holisitc nutrition, so I decided to meet with her. I am so glad I did! After just the initial consultation, I already feel better and more focused on my health. I have my first "real" session coming up this week and cant wait. Not only do I want to learn more about this field for my profession, I also want to learn more about  my self and my body.
I have read article after article, suscribed to blogs, magazines, read books on the topic, and get so confused about nutrition and supplements that I get frustrated and think "forget it". So it is nice now to have someone with the education and knowledge to guide me personaly based on my needs.
http://www.katiejasperhealth.com/

I also caved and ordered shakeology from beachbody and will be starting that tomorrow!

{ Be healthy} Small goals

I just posted about my new start to the spring and decided that I should write down some of my small goals and try and keep myself accountable to them. I tend to have huge goals, so I am going to try and start off small and moderate, and if I stick with them, than expand from there!

1. Do some form of exercise every morning- My p90x workouts are 1-1.5 hrs long and I do not always get up in time in the morning to do them, although that is always my goal. But I know that it is always important to do some form of exercise in the morning, so if I do not get up in time to do my workout in the AM and need to do it after work, than my goal is to still get up a little early and go for a jog/walk for 20-30 mins before work.

2. Find ways to fit in more movement- whether it is walking on my lunch break, talking a walk at dinner, playing tennis, getting up from my desk at work more, I want to try and move my body more in general.

3. Dabble in vegan/vegetarian eating- Limit protein sources to one animal source/meal per day and try and go vegan all day at least 2 days per day

4. Drink more water!-

5. Get new, proper workout shoes-go to the Running Room and get fitted for proper shoes so that foot pain can no longer be an excuse for me!

6. Make new workout playlists

7. Incorporate fresh veggies/fruit into every meal and drink more green smoothies

8. Do more yoga/stretching-yoga at least 2 times per week and some form of stretching daily

{Be Fit} Back at it

It has been a whirlwind few months with my recent move and getting settled into a new house and neighborhood. I took a little time off from fitness and nutrition while packing and moving and now that I am all settled in, I am excited to get back at it! I started a 2 week cleanse to prep for my "spring slim down" that I plan on starting this weekend.

My biggest struggle with fitness and nutrition has been motivation and will power and I am more determined than ever to change that. I have no excuses-a beatiful shiny new kitchen to cook in, a workout room complete with weight sets, rubber flooring, TV/DVD player and other helpful workout equipment in the new basement a la Ben, and a gorgeous new neighborhood with lots of trails, paths, a workout center and pool!I also just purchased the Tone It Up DVD-Beach Babe, as a supplement to my Beachbody (P90X, Insanity and Turbo Fire) workouts.

I have also been reading up on clean eating and gathering lots of good recipes and inspiration. One of the things in the world of nutrition that I want to start doing is eating less animal products and eating more raw foods. As much as I would like to try going completely vegan, I dont know that I want to go that far , yet anyways. So my goals are to eat lots of lean protein, but only allow one serving a day to be from meat ( as a way to try and foprce myself to try more beans and plant protein sources) and try and go meatless/vegan at least 2 days per week.

I also want to get back into what I am going to call Journaling, as a way to highlight my progress, keep myself accountable and remind myself of my goals. While this is a blog, i dont consider myself a blogger or care if anyone reads this, it is just a fun way for me to journal! I love taking picture and want to find a way to incorporate that into my journaling. I recently saw a great idea of using instagram as a way to highlight my journey!

Ready, Set...GO!