Fitness Part 2: With an emotional ending (so read the whole way through!)

There are three areas that need fulfilled, in my opinion. (Or for me personally, at least). Weight/strength training is necessary to keep any weight off that you lose. If you don’t build up your muscles as you are doing the cardio and losing weight, then you won’t be able to keep the weight off. Muscles burn more calories! Cardio is the second most important thing- especially if you have weight to lose. Third, for me is stress release. This includes stretching, breathing, becoming more flexible. Yoga focuses on breathing which I realized was very important. Deep breathing and meditation can really reduce stress and help clear your mind. Group classes are great especially if you do not have a workout buddy. For me, being alone is difficult. I have the support of my various family, friends, and co-workers (thanks guys!) but alas, at the end of the day, I still have a few days at the gym I am lifting weights/doing cardio alone. Typically for me, two days a week I do classes/personal training and I workout another 3 days doing cardio/weights on my own. I workout a total of 5 days a week right now because I hope to lose 80 pounds this year. Over 10 months, that is only 8 pounds a month, so it is doable. Again, the challenge for me is mental. I push myself very hard and want to meet my goals. Having a buddy for support will always help. Try walking around the neighborhood with someone, or cycling with your family. Do things you have never done before. My last trainer (brenton) kept my interest by his unconventional methods. I was always learning new things and overcoming obstacles. I flipped tires, and went through many obstacle courses he designed. If you love learning new things and are a ‘student’ type like me and want to challenge yourself, perhaps personal training is for you. There are scammers out there and people who will push you beyond your limits so beware! Look up their credentials, education, how long he/she has been doing it, and talk to LOTS of people/ask for recommendations. I asked instructors there as well as many other members of the gym before going with either trainer. Neither one has ever pushed me beyond my limits, yelled at me, or anything that would endanger my health. Both have shown the utmost concern for my health and how I was at each moment. If I am breathing hard or red faced (which happens a lot) they ask how I am, am I ok? What was the difficulty level for those weights, etc., etc. This is what you want. Not all personal trainers know what they are doing so if you do decide to go this route do your research! It’s just like anything else- if you needed a tutor in math, you would make sure the person was qualified right? Same thing. Try new things! My husband and are I going to try some ballroom dancing lessons (I’ll let you know how those go!) Once I started trying new things, and realizing “I can do this!” I became addicted to that feeling. Dancing lessons are another extension of that. I found I really like dancing (sh’bam at the gym) and I want to be able to dance with my husband. Doing something new like this is something I never would have tried before. When was the last time you had an epiphany about yourself or life? When was the last time you amazed yourself or did something you didn’t think you could do?  Once you have this feeling, you will become addicted to it, I promise.

 

Start small with whatever exercise you decide to try. I started out doing just yoga, twice a week. I eventually started to do sh’bam also, and then decided to do personal training and learn how to do more weights. I didn’t just start out at 5 days a week. There are a lot of cardio workouts that can be done without spending a lot of time doing it. Try doing intervals on a treadmill. Walk for thirty seconds, then turn it up and run for 30 seconds. Work your way up to a minute. 20 minutes of this will burn more calories then just walking alone for an hour! Also, try using an incline at the gym. Gradually increase the incline over 10 or 20 minutes and have a great workout! Having an 8 or 9% incline and taking turns holding on and pumping your arms off an on 30 seconds on /30 seconds off is another great quick workout. Both personal trainers have taught me that there are lots of cardio workouts that can be done without spending an hour doing it. If you want to maximize your time, invest in some kettlebells and a kettlebell dvd workout or watch some videos on youtube. Kettlebells are AWESOME! Total body workouts can easily be achieved while doing cardio and working up a sweat by using kettlebells. Look them up on the internet if you don’t know what I am talking about. You are lifting weights, working various parts of your body, and can be doing cardio at the same time! They are different, fun, and an entire workout can be done at home without spending hours doing it!

 

My week right now looks like this: Tuesday, I do a sh’bam class and a bodyflow class. Each is an hour long. I do my cardio which is fun, and also work on my strength, flexibility, and also feel a release from stress by doing the meditation and deep breathing involved. I highly recommend you try a tai chi or yoga class if you ever have the opportunity and you want something that will just help you relieve stress. Wednesday, depending on my work schedule, I may do another yoga class in the morning. I do one of my new trainers’ workouts. Each includes a half hour of cardio, and  various weight training exercises that either focuses on the upper body or lower body, with some core exercises included also. The upper body workout looks something like this: 15 mins cardio warm up (I’ll probably do the incline on 8 or 9 percent). 3 sets of 15 of each of the following: Shoulder press, one arm row, inclined bench press, lateral raise, front raise and bicep curl; Then some work for the core area: 3 sets of 15 reverse crunches and compound crunches followed by prone planks and side planks (holding each for 15 seconds each time for 5 times). Then, if that wasn’t enough, 15 mins more cardio. This whole thing takes me about an hour and a half. So as you can see, it is a serious amount of dedication that I am describing. If you are looking to just build up your strength, something as intense may not be as necessary. And this is by no means a guide (again I am not a professional) just an idea of what I am doing. If you are curious about any of the exercises, feel free to ask me, I’ll be glad to describe them to you or discuss my favorite ones. Free weights are always better than machines, in my opinion, and kettlebells are really the best. However, each week so far with this new trainer and program (it’s only been two weeks I believe) I have been losing a significant amount of weight, and I did meet my goal for January of 8 pounds. So, that’s Wednesday. Thursday, I meet with my new trainer for an hour for a total body workout of weight training with some cardio. I do the second half of sh’bam (a half hour) of cardio and usually do bodyflow at night. (Mostly because it makes me feel good). Friday, I will do the lower body workout. This includes again a 15 minute cardio, followed by using the leg press machine, the puremotion squat machine, hammerstrength leg curl machine, cable torso twist,  adductor and abductor machines (which I am not sure really work- there is a lot of material on the internet discussing the general usefulness of these machines. My personal opinion is that these machines are good if you are shaping or strengthening your legs but if you need to lose weight from your thighs then squats, lunges, and yoga along with cardio is really the best way to lose the weight). Kick backs, (put your leg back, opposite arm goes out, from a kneeling position), followed by reverse crunch, supine arm/leg raises, and 15 minute cardio cool down finish up Friday. Saturday is another 30 minute cardio day, with some weights- such as strength training for my arms- for areas that I want to focus on. I take two days off and start again. I am going to receive a new set of exercises in the next week or so which is good because a) your body gets used to doing the same things over and over, and b) I like to be doing something new and become bored easily.  Eating properly is extremely important! If you are not eating properly then you will not see results! Don’t bother trying to put yourself through the level of work at the gym that I am talking about here (if you are trying to lose a lot of weight or build up your muscles in a serious way) if you aren’t watching what you eat. I’m not just talking about carbs or wheat or gluten. Putting salt on all of your food, eating a lot of processed stuff, binge eating sugary foods or not eating enough vegetables/nutrients will result in not meeting your goals. Once you start to pay attention to what your body is telling you, and cut back on high carbs/sugary foods, you will notice that sweet things taste too sweet. I crave vegetables now and enjoy eating salad/soup more than I ever have. Things taste different- some things even taste bad that I used to enjoy. I know I am not eating enough fiber since I stopped eating wheat, breads, cereals, etc. Now I am trying to take a fiber supplement because fiber is crucial in controlling insulin levels and breaking down food. Many health problems and issues can be solved by figuring out the mysteries of ourselves and figuring out what our bodies need. What is your body telling you?

 

My closing paragraph for the segment will just say that again, every day is a struggle. Confronting any personal issue, whether be health related, emotional, or mental, takes a lot of willpower. No one can keep up the level of willpower 24/7. Yesterday at the gym, I went in to sign up for 6 more personal training sessions. I really need to have someone there to answer questions, give me feedback, and encourage me to continue. This is the main reason I need personal training. I could probably figure out some workouts on my own and be OK but to get the results I want I need help. I realize that the turnover for personal trainers is pretty high so I decided to just do 6 more one hour sessions for now. I asked the current trainer and his plans are for now, to be at galaxy.  He did just finish a master’s degree, and as someone with a master’s degree, I know how student loans can pile up, and the need to make a higher wage can weigh on one’s mind. In any case, you can see how I have clearly put too much thought into this whole scenario. In the end, I just don’t want to go through the experience of losing a trainer that I like again. It was difficult the first time, and I just don’t want to face it- or face being on this journey without help- alone- again. I know this is a psychological issue that is just in my mind. I know I’ll be fine- trainer or not. It still bothers me though. So, I go to the membership desk and the very nice lady points out that with the current sale, the 12 session is a way better deal (3 extra come free, and with the discount it ends up being significantly less per session buying in bulk- just like anything else). I spill my guts to her about being afraid of the trainer leaving. (What the hell am I THINKING!!) She assures me he has many clients and is not going anywhere. She offers to call him for me (how embarrassing!) I tell her no it’s fine (I’m crying now too by the way) so she gives me a tissue and calls the manager over (also a nice guy) and he also assures me that he is not leaving. I decide to do the 12 session thing. Today had a session with the trainer. He heard about me yesterday and I had to apologize to him for my scene and any implications I may have made that he said he was leaving. He never said that. I created this whole problem in my mind. A problem that does exist yet- because I am afraid. I am scared of facing the rest of this journey and all of the goals that I want to achieve alone, so to speak. I am not really alone, I have more support than most people could ever imagine, yet when I am at the gym, my mind takes over. I have a psychological need to be reassured, pushed, and guided toward my goal. Do I need someone to hold my hand? Is that it? Maybe. I’m admitting it to all of you and the rest of the universe. Just so that if you ever take such a journey to better yourself, or decide to try to achieve a difficult goal, know this:  on your worst day, when everything seems hopeless, that you are not alone. You’re not alone and don’t be ashamed or embarrassed of being afraid. Life is hard.  Listen, everyone makes an ass out of themselves sometimes. Your strength is measured by whether you can pick yourself up, admit your faults, make fun of yourself, and keep going the next day. Live without regrets. Be happy, have energy, and LIVE!

Fitness Part 1- a background

This post is going to be about my struggles with exercise and fitness. I can only imagine that many of you have similar struggles. It has always been more mentally difficult for me than physically difficult- once a person has convinced themselves that they can not do something, they will continue to make excuses and come up with reasons why they can not do that certain thing. I do feel good after going to the gym- if I didn’t I would not go back. But I hear a lot of people while they are there saying how they hate the gym but need to lose the weight. If you hate something, you’re not going to give it your 100%. And honestly, it shouldn’t be easy- if you are doing a class or working out and you don’t feel like you have taken it to your limit at some point during the workout, you probably aren’t doing it right. I’m not saying to overdo it here, I am saying that working out will result in being sweaty, out of breath, with various muscles hurting.  I will mention some of the various tricks and secrets and workouts that I am currently employing and things I have learned in the next post (Part 2), but first I’ll discuss my own personal struggles from an early age; I’ll talk about finding an exercise that is enjoyable, and difficulties of going it alone.

 

If you have read my very first post, you will have gleamed from it that I had some hatred for exercise drilled into me at an early age. Instead of finding something healthy to do that I loved, or something healthy that was done as a family, I was “forced” to do workouts or “forced” to be walking a certain number of miles each day to keep “fit.” I hope to find some pictures of me as a child, and then as a teenager so that you can see how completely average I was. I was not overweight. I was not struggling with food consumption or playing video games all day. I went outside, I played softball, I rode my bike, and as I grew older, I even joined the marching band. No part of me was out of shape or not fit. This particular part of my childhood that dealt with exercise damaged how I was eating, (see my first post) my outlook on exercise, as well as my outlook on myself. For a long, long time, I would see myself as worthless and overweight. (Hilarious, that, I wouldn’t actually be overweight until I was in my 20’s when my thyroid went out of control).  Every time I go to the gym and actually manage to do 10 sprints it is a real accomplishment. Stepping through those doors at all amazes me. I am amazed that I had the courage and strength to do it. Some part of me somewhere says “It’s too hard” and “You don’t have to do it. No one can make you do anything now. F##k them! You are fine exactly how you are and no one will ever make you do something you don’t want to do again.”  So you see, I have to want to do it. For myself. More than anything in the world. It takes a lot of energy to keep up that level of willpower, and on many days I struggle or wonder if I am getting anywhere.

 

I met my husband when I was 19. I would not move in with him until a year later. He may have saved my life. The strict routine with my father continued even at 19 years old. I was under his house, I would obey his rules. At 20, I either wanted to move out or die. I hit my lowest of lows. My father continued to make his demands, and as Jason and I grew closer, I decided to try to find an apartment with him. Meeting Jason and gaining my son Jacob was the best thing that ever happened to me. Some would say that it was a miracle, and we were sent to help each other. The apartment we had was a dive, but I was proud of it. I didn’t have health insurance, and at about this time my thyroid really started to slip. I will just say this on the topic of my father: The weight gain wasn’t his fault. My thyroid and gluten issues wasn’t his (or my own fault) and I have long since forgiven him for what he thinks was “watching out for me.” I still don’t understand his fixation with pushing exercise onto other people in an unhealthy way. Invite someone to play tennis or take a walk around the neighborhood. Play basketball. Join a club that has a swimming pool or racquetball. There are endless options so why we couldn’t go bicycling together instead of walking around the neighborhood by myself I will never understand. I will just say that it has never been easy.

 

If you’ve read my previous posts, you will know that I already thought I would never lose weight because of my thyroid. My struggles with my thyroid resulted in me gaining lots of weight over the years that I never thought I would lose. At 330 pounds a few years ago, I asked my husband if he would still love me if I was 400 pounds. I was terrified. I honestly did not know if I would ever stabilize my thyroid or lose weight and I thought I might just die early. I believed that exercise just didn’t work, and it certainly wasn’t for me. I was never going to “listen to the man,” or do what other people wanted me to, or lose weight to make society happy. I have made an incredible transformation from being that person. Now having lost 50 pounds and several sizes, I am on my way to meeting all of my goals. I workout 5 days a week and have learned a lot along the way.  If you have read my previous posts you will see I learned a lot from Brenton and Megan in particular. One of the things I have learned is that exercise has to be something you enjoy, and something that makes you feel good. Refreshed, invigorated, released, energetic, and having a “natural high” from the release of endorphins after exercising will make you want to continue to do more. My advice is to start slow, with something that you enjoy. There are many different kinds of group fitness classes (that can also be done from home via videos) such as yoga, tai-chi, Pilates, bodyflow (a combination of those three), sh’bam (dancing of different styles), zumba, bodypump (weight lifting class). There is something for everyone. It is crucial to try new and different things and really give each new thing a chance. I had many people tell me that they had tried bodyflow and it was too hard. I had people discourage me from doing it. I continued to do it, even though I couldn’t do all of the moves at first, and have gradually been building up my strength. Sh’bam was also something that I heard was difficult. Don’t listen to what other people tell you about any exercise. Go experience it for yourself. Also, it doesn’t have to be mastered in the first try. As long as you are having a good workout and are enjoying it, that’s all the matters.

 

Aside from the group classes, and even though I have made many friends at Galaxy fitness, I still spend a few days doing my weights/cardio alone. I know that strength training is important, and I am also trying to do cardio five days a week in order to lose the 8 pounds a month I am shooting for. All of that is easier to type on my keyboard than it is to actually do it. Especially on days I am going to the gym alone. I have to motivate myself, and watch out to not feel discouraged if I haven't lost as much weight as I wanted yet, feel guilty over something I ate and beat myself up, and also not overwhelm or pressure myself and overdo it. I already have a tendency to overwhelm myself with all of the things I want to accomplish and feel like I must accomplish. And if I've had a stressful day at work, it takes a lot of motivation to still make it to the gym and not just go home and go to bed. It takes a lot of willpower to keep up this level of dedication (to anything) and I will admit to you that it falters. I have days when I doubt myself or doubt that I can do it. All I can say is that if you can join the gym with someone, or have a neighbor to walk around with, or someone you like playing basketball with or whatever, that is the best way to avoid the trap of feeling alone. Having support is really important, and so is having someone to give you positive feedback and hold you up on your bad days. If you are going it alone, try not to be too hard on yourself. Make sure that you are doing something that you enjoy (at least some of the time), and also hold onto that great feeling that you have once you have worked out. Nothing is better than the release and rush of energy I feel after working out! Hold onto that, it will keep you going. Until next week! Be happy, have energy and LIVE!

Blood pressure update!

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I had a bad reaction to my blood pressure medicine, lisinopril. I started an experiment to see if I could control my blood pressure without using prescription meds. I went to the doctor and was prescribed lisinopril. I was taking this for a few weeks, and it was the only time I had ever taken a blood pressure medicine. After feelings serious side effects, I decided to try and control the blood pressure with supplements, and the doctor encouraged me to try. The doctor warned me that if I was not able to control my blood pressure in the next two weeks, I should call him to adjust it. I am by no means a doctor, (even though I have cured myself of yet another ailment!!!) so DO NOT stop just taking your blood pressure medicine cold turkey. I have no idea what the results of doing so might be. I will however give you some insights on ways to naturally lower blood pressure, discuss blood pressure side affects to watch out for, while talking about my long trials with blood pressure.

I have had high blood pressure off and on for several years. I was convinced that it was either stress or the insulin resistance that was causing it, so I was hoping that with diet and exercise that I could control it. Despite exercising several days a week, watching my sodium intake, and not eating processed foods, when I went to the doctor in early December, my blood pressure was 142/95 (eek!). So what was the cause of my high blood pressure? First, for those of you that are not familiar with the top and bottom numbers and what they mean, I will take a minute to briefly explain. The top number is the systolic pressure. This measures the pressure inside your blood vessels as your heart beats. Diastolic pressure, the bottom number, is the pressure inside your blood vessels in between your heart beats, when your heart is supposed to be resting. Here's a handy link I used to explain all of that the best that I could and it also will tell you what ranges are hypertension or not. http://blood-pressure.emedtv.com/blood-pressure/blood-pressure-numbers.html So, if you have high blood pressure, your heart has to work harder! Not good. Possible causes of high blood pressure include smoking, being overweight, having a thyroid disorder, genetics, older age, stress, lack of exercise, too much salt or too much alcohol. Being a non smoker, who had lost a considerable amount of weight (I want to lose 80 more pounds this year so I still have a ways to go!) who was exercising, cutting down on salt, alcohol, and having my thyroid in order (finally!) I chalked my blood pressure problems up to genetics. My mother, both aunts, and various grandparents have a history of high blood pressure. Insulin resistance can also contribute, but I had that under control also. As a result, I decided, with the encouragement of my doctor, to try lisinopril.

I was only on a small dose, 10mg, for a few weeks, yet I had many side effects. Having done a detox before starting this medicine, I felt amazing before I started it.  I was losing weight and had energy and had even kicked coffee. So what happened? I had chills, body aches, flu symptoms, tiredness, muscle weakness, chest pain, cough, dizziness and drowsiness; I became very depressed and in general miserable, and had a really pesky cough. The cough and chest pain were bad enough that I thought I was starting to get bronchitis or a chest infection. When I went to the doctor, he said my chest was fine and that I was not congested. No reason for the cough or other flu/cold symptoms other than the lisinopril. There are many other side effects of it http://www.drugs.com/sfx/lisinopril-side-effects.html. And blood pressure medicines in general are known for causing adverse effects. The good people at WebMD have a nice article on the different side effects that can be caused by blood pressure medicines as well as information on the different kinds of blood pressure medicine. http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/side-effects-high-blood-pressure-medications As I said, they say on their page too- DO NOT STOP TAKING BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICINE WITHOUT CONSULTING YOUR DOCTOR. Again, even though I clearly think I am as smart as or smarter than most doctors (kidding!)  because I have cured myself of many ailments, alas, I am not a doctor! (Yet?)  If you really do think you are having side effects consult your doctor about slowly weaning yourself off of the blood pressure medicine so that you may try something else for awhile- whether it be another medicine or one of the other supplements I am about to discuss.

Even with a clearly genetic blood pressure disorder, I still managed to beat it using natural resources. While researching ways to lower blood pressure, I realized that I was already doing everything that most experts recommended. Losing weight, exercising regularly, lowering sodium intake and eating more healthy, limiting tobacco and alcohol, cutting back on caffeine, and stress reduction (specifically I have been doing bodyflow- see my previous posts! several days a week. Yoga is specifically mentioned in some resources as being a good stress reducer and blood pressure reducer also), were all things that I was doing already. Everything recommended to me to reduce stress and blood pressure, I was doing already. Clearly my genetics had a hold of me. After talking to a neighbor of mine, he told me about his father's success with almonds. His father regularly ran a few miles every day and also was healthy yet had high blood pressure. He didn't like taking the medicine either, so he did some serious research and found that eating a handful of almonds every day can reduce blood pressure. I decided to try almonds myself, and investigate further options. For about 20 days I have been eating almonds every day, taking magnesium, and calcium and the combination has reduced my blood pressure to 114/82. My husband assists me and checks it regularly, to make sure that it is not regressing. Sometimes it goes up to 123/85, which is still in the acceptable range. It is crucial to buy a blood pressure machine (they are pretty reasonable if you look around), do your research, and consult with your doctor if you plan on adjusting without prescription medicine. I did it with the assistance of my PCP, who is very supportive and has always believed me about my symptoms and has been one of the few doctors who I trust and respect. He helped me figure out this blood pressure thing and monitored it with me.

All I can say is that prescription medicine is a necessary, useful tool, that saves lives everyday- but it is not natural. I am not against prescription medicine in any way whatsoever. The Synthroid has helped me regulate my thyroid, and without it I would be doomed. But I am saying that there are other solutions out there. Everyone has a truth to find about their health or lives that is up to you to find. Maybe your particular blood pressure issues can't be addressed by natural means. However, trying different alternatives sometimes can surprise you. Try different alternatives, pay attention to your body, and what the side effects are doing to you. I've managed to solve several of my health issues just by paying attention to what my body was telling me and doing some research. Find your own truth. Live happy, be healthy, and have energy!

10 years of doctors, more doctors, and more doctors....

My problems with my thyroid started in my teenage years. At 18, my parents took my to a well renown endocrinologist we will call Dr. K. Not all of Dr. K’s tests were covered, and my parents dished out a lot of cash to have various tests done. The results came back that I had several issues. One of them was my thyroid, which would explain the tiredness and sluggish metabolism among other things. The other issues I didn’t understand; not everything was explained to me and a variety of medicines were prescribed. We couldn’t afford them all. As I reached my twenties, I didn’t have health insurance. My PCP’s were unable to help me other than to refill the generic brand for Synthroid called Levothyroxine. As my thyroid spun out of control, I gained more weight, and only had been told by my first doctor the tip of the iceberg of my issues. I sought out another endocrinologist, one that some of my other family members regularly saw.

 

The second endocrinologist, while more forthcoming with my issues than my first doctor, would only add to my weight gain. He told me (looking at the records from the first doctor, who just clearly choose not to tell me everything) that I had Hashimoto’s disease. This is a severe thyroid disease classified as an autoimmune disease because the thyroid gland is attacked by in a “variety of cell- and antibody-mediated immune processes.” (Wikipedia). It results in weight gain, depression, mania, sensitivity to heat and cold, fatigue, migraines, hair loss and much more, all symptoms of which that I experienced. It might interest you to know that family members on both sides of my family, living and deceased, have Hashimoto’s thyroid disease. It is strongly possible that my Hashimoto’s disease is caused by wheat consumption. I have discussed this in previous posts, but I will reiterate that one of the symptoms of having gluten sensitivity is having autoimmune disorders such as Crohn’s disease, Hashimoto’s disease, and even rheumatoid arthritis. This is because in some people, the gluten can not be properly processed in the bowels, and has the ability to sneak out into the blood stream and wreak havoc including causing the production of antibodies that will attack the thyroid. My recent blood tests not only cleared me of my insulin resistance, but my thyroid is functioning better than ever. Time will tell as I lose more weight, and have my dosage reduced, if wheat was the cause of this disease. Meanwhile, not only was Hashimoto’s disease one of my issues, but I heard for the first time “insulin resistance.” I didn’t know what it meant, or how to fix it. Dr. B, the second endocrinologist prescribed metaformin and told me I couldn’t eat anything with sugar in it. “Why are you gaining weight?” I remember him saying “you understand you can’t eat anything with sugar in it right?” Well, no I didn’t understand that. There was never any explanation of what insulin resistance was or how to eat properly with it. And it was more than sugar. I would only find out recently that sugar was more than what caused insulin levels to spike. It was wheat based foods and starchy carbs.

 

I had several more trips to the second doctor. Metaformin disagreed with me and resulted in many trips to the bathroom! He tried Actos, which made me gain even more weight; among other medicines for the “insulin resistance” I still didn’t understand. My thyroid medicine kept being increased, but the Levothyroxine didn’t seem to have any affect. I felt the same: tired and depressed. Due to the sudden weight gain, my gall bladder was affected and I had to have it removed. I was about 22 when that happened. I remember clearly one day wondering if I would ever stop gaining weight. would I be 400 pounds? I didn't know. Would my husband still love me? Desperate, and not seeing results, and frankly tired of being treated like shit, I went back to the first doctor, Dr. K, which again cost me and my parents a lot of money out of pocket.

 

Dr. K said that Actos and some of the other medicines that the first doctor prescribed were ridiculous and known for their weight gain. My thyroid still not stable, he prescribed a higher dose of the generic for Synthroid and also gave me some samples of liquid metaformin which was supposed to be gentler on the body. It did work somewhat, but without insurance was impossible to maintain. I went to my regular PCPs for many years trying to do something about my thyroid, which still wasn’t functioning properly. In between trying to deal with that, I went to see a gynecologist in Monroeville who told me (while wearing nothing but a hospital gown on a table, mind you, because she had just examined me) that “having thyroid issues was no excuse for my weight gain and that I needed to eat better and exercise.” I pointed out to her that she herself had some weight to lose. (She was overweight, criticizing me!! That takes some balls don’t you think???) She agreed that she had her own issues, but this was about me. Oh, how caring. Gee, you shouldn’t have.  Not knowing my traumatic issues from childhood (see my very first blog) related to being forced to exercise when I was younger, and basically growing up thinking I was ugly and fat already, this pretty much was the worst thing that she could have said to me. It would be many, many, years before I went back to a gynecologist due to the depression that set in. No one could help me. I would give up trying. This is just how I was and I was doomed to have Hashimoto’s disease that would never get better.

 

Every doctor and person around me thought I just couldn’t put down the fork. This was never my problem. Not that I ate healthy mind you, but I wasn’t one of those people on the “Biggest Loser” who didn’t want to give up their gallon of ice cream every day. In fact, one of the symptoms of having such a severe thyroid disorder is having a complete loss of appetite. I never felt hungry, just tired. I could sleep in until 2pm wake up, and still not be hungry. I might eat once a day. So someone explain to me, please, how, if your thyroid causes you to gain weight, you are tired all of the time, and doctor after doctor is not able to even stabilize my thyroid, how I was supposed to lose weight even if I found the energy to work out????  

 

I saw my regular doctor for many years. At various times, he would encourage me to see an endocrinologist because my problems were out of his specialty. I still see him today; he always listened to me and did his best to help me, even at my worse, darkest times.  There were a few other endocrinologists or specialists I tried during this years, whom I only saw once, who usually either told me my thyroid was fine, or that I needed to take metaformin. It was the same old stuff.  For my PCP, treating my thyroid was out of his realm of specialties, but I begged him to help me anyway, having told him about all of my misadventures with endocrinologists. He himself was unable to recommend a good endocrinologist in the area. (Great. They are all clearly a bunch of asshats who don’t know what the F@$# they are doing, I thought to myself).   He tried me on Armour, a synthetic thyroid drug made from the thyroid of pigs. I tried this for many years, without any success.

 

About 26 or 27 years old at this point, and at 330 pounds, and with the encouragement of my PCP, who was unable to stabilize my thyroid so far, I decided to try the market again and see if I could find a decent endocrinologist again, who could help me. I sought out a woman and UPMC in downtown Pittsburgh. Having a huge endocrinology department and being one of the best hospitals in the area, I tried my luck there. After seeing Dr. B one time, within the first five minutes, she informed me that “there was nothing she could really do to help me. I would need bariatric surgery, and even then it would be difficult for me to reach a normal weight.” She also told me it was highly unlikely that both my T3 and T4 needed medicine. I explained to her that I had tried Levothyroxine for many years, without any success and begged her, (in tears at this point because she had just told me there was no help for me basically), to give me something to address the T3. She quoted me some statistics about the number of patients that actually need a T3 drug, but with tears in my eyes I convinced her to try to treat me on cytomel also which addresses T3 production.  She put me on 250 mg of regular Synthroid, not the generic. The generic she said (Levothyroxine) did not work the same in all people. She also put my cytomel 5mgs twice a day. I had some blood drawn and went down to the café to call my mother, in tears, yet again. She did not address the insulin resistance nor did she explain it, prescribe anything for it, or discuss it at all. Would there be any help for me?

 

I looked online for reviews of endocrinologists. I wouldn’t be fooled again, I thought. I found reviews for a Dr. E that had good reviews. He was a doctor that would listen. Again I traveled downtown to an area that was supposed to be known for its good health care and quality doctors. He spoke to me for an hour, discussing my long history and my various symptoms. He wanted to see current blood tests before addressing anything else, but it seemed promising. Two weeks went by and I hadn’t heard anything from their office. I would spend the next two weeks further trying to obtain some answers from someone in his office. They would continuously refuse to let me leave a message for or allow me to speak to him. Finally someone agreed to check my results and said that my results were fine, and that if the doctor wanted to see me he would call to have me schedule an appointment. I was completely jerked around by his many (no less than 6 different secretaries and nurses) and no phone calls every came. A few months later I received a letter saying that his office had been trying to contact me to make an appointment. (What the F#@!) By that time I was completely in despair and had given up on endocrinologists again. I still have not seen another endocrinologist since then. I was 28/29 when I saw my last endocrinologist. I will be 31 in march.

 

I had my PCP obtain my blood results from the last doctor, Dr. E. Before I had seen Dr. E I had been prescribed 250 mgs of Synthroid and 5mgs of cytomel and I had been taking it for several months. This seemed to be the right dose and combination of things, my PCP said, as my thyroid was finally showing improvement. My insulin levels and cortisol levels were still through the roof. I worked on dieting and cutting sugar. I stopped drink any pop. I read a book called the insulin resistance diet that instructed that if I ate a balance of protein with limited carbs in certain proportions that my insulin would improve. I learned from this book at least that when your insulin levels spike due to sugar or carb consumption, that your body stores the sugar/carbs right to fat because it is unable to process it correctly. So I had finally learned what insulin resistance was- or so I thought. I started to lose weight just by dieting, not eating sugary foods, pop, etc. Over a year’s time I lost weight and my thyroid was stabilized for the first time. This was a year and a half ago. I had blood tests done, and my insulin and cortisol levels were still high. I thought I was eating better- so what was the problem? Also, the abnormally high levels of insulin in my blood were causing other problems. High blood pressure, as well as mood issues. My stress levels were through the roof. As you have seen from my previous posts, this is the reason I joined the gym last year. I thought more weight loss would be great, but I really wanted to do some yoga/tai-chi sort of class to relieve the stress. I couldn’t keep going on how I was. The driver’s license picture in my previous posts was taken in July of last year. This is right before I joined the gym. You can see from my face that there is one of me missing!!!! In 2011 I wore a size 26. Early in 2012 I was a 24. After joined the gym in July, I started to lose sizes quickly. First a 22, and then after not eating wheat and training with Brenton (see my last “special dedication post!) I am now currently an 18. These are a little big on me as I am starting to gradually work my way down to another size.

 

The real breakthrough was when I stopped eating wheat. Not only is the Hashimoto’s disease a symptom of wheat or gluten sensitivity, but insulin resistance is commonly related to gluten and wheat. Eating all the gluten and starchy carbs sends insulin through the roof for people like me with insulin resistance. For people with insulin resistance, the body stores that sandwich you just ate or pizza straight to fat. The person is swollen with insulin and unable to lose weight and your blood pressure among other things is affected. It is highly possible that reading the wheat belly in combination with the help of my trainer saved my life. I would have continued to stumble around eating what I thought was healthy, unknowingly sabotaging myself the entire time.

 

There is one more person to whom I owe thanks. My mother was the one who helped pay for the personal trainer, and encouraged me to do it. She is also the one who listened to me in tears, over many years, taking me to doctors when I was younger. She also has consistently been trying with me whatever different health foods, supplements, or lifestyles I have been investigating this whole time, supporting me the whole time. She recently bought me the wheat belly cookbook which is amazing! Readers can look forward to some recipe reviews in the future! Thanks mom, you saved me too.

 

Find your own truth. Educate yourself. The internet is a great resource, but research some books written about a particular subject by doctors/people who have done extensive research and have studied numerous cases of what you are experiencing. The truth is out there. It is up to YOU to find it. No doctor is going to find it for you, and as Brenton said to me once, “there is no magic pill” to make your problems go away or make you lose weight. Never give up and never let anyone, doctor or not, convince you that there is no hope. Have faith. I know some of you out there are not spiritual or religious, but I am telling you that my prayers have been answered. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” –Matthew 7:7.  God helps those who help themselves. Make the first step and seek the knowledge. I’m willing to help! Whether its blood pressure or depression or whatever, let me know what topics you’re interested in and I’ll try to come up with some books to read and review for you on the subject. Whether you’re a complete stranger or a good friend, leave a comment or facebook me on what you would like to see. Be healthy, have energy, be happy and LIVE!

SPECIAL EDITION: DEDICATED TO MY TRAINER, BRENTON, AND MY BODYFLOW TEACHER MEGHAN!

There are two people who have changed my life forever. In an epic way that I could never forget,  and without whom, my health and life may have had a drastically different outcome. After reading this post, you may even say that they saved my life. Brenton has been a personal trainer for a long time. He is currently leaving galaxy fitness to pursue a better life for himself (which is what brought on this post). I wish him all the best because he is an incredible person and he deserves to have an incredible life and meet all of his goals. I would not have met Brenton at all if it wouldn't have been for Meghan, my bodyflow teacher. Bodyflow is a class that is mostly yoga, but has a tai-chi warm up and pilates involved. This is the first class I took at the gym and the reason I continued to learn more and become more motivated. Before I list everything that I have learned from them, I will tell you first how I started at the gym.

I have been at the galaxy fitness in Irwin since July of 2012. Going to a gym was something I thought I would never do. I was always sure that I couldn't lose weight due to the extreme weight gain and instability of my thyroid. I started to loose weight the year previous to joining the gym by eating better and stabilizing my thyroid. In 2012 I started to realize that my stress and general instability (my "tweaking out" I've mentioned before) was out of control and that I needed to do something to relieve stress and feel better. Even if I didn't loose weight, I needed to do some yoga or tai-chi or something because I was flat out miserable. Having high levels of stress and the really high insulin levels that I had at the time (which is cured now! See my last few posts!) can cause high blood pressure and general "tweaking out" all of which I was experiencing. I would come home from work stressed, and the smallest thing would set me off and make me angry and upset (my poor husband and son!). Sometimes it was so bad, I would have to go upstairs to a room by myself and just not talk to anyone. Knowing that my thyroid/hormones were NOT the cause of this problem, I decided to join the gym because it had a bodyflow class that had all the elements that I wanted- tai-chi, yoga, pilates, etc. I knew I couldn't continue on this way. I had managed at that point to loose some weight solely on eating better and I had kept it off. This was the next step.

Meghan is the bodyflow and sh'bam teacher at galaxy fitness. I true one of a kind person, with a kind disposition, she makes every class fun and challenging. The general positive energy she brings to every class allowed me to not feel out of place. There were many positions and moves that I could not do, for many months, and I still struggle with the balance tracks. She encouraged me, and showed me "lower options" so that I could do the class. As I have built up my strength can do more and more of the moves correctly, and even do some high options. She spent a lot of extra time after classes showing me some moves, and providing general help and guidance, making sure I felt comfortable. Despite there being many regulars who could do many many more of the yoga parts than I could, she made it so I never felt out of place. After doing the bodyflow twice a week for a month or so, she encouraged me to do sh'bam. This is a dance class that is based on cardio and having fun, with each song being different from disco to hip hop to latin to pop. It's all different and easy for anyone to do. I never thought that I could do sh'bam. I never thought I could dance for an entire hour. This would be the start of things that I learned I could do.

This was just the beginning and one of many mindsets that would be broken by Meghan and Brenton. I kept an open mind, and with some help, I broke through barriers. Soon I would be doing two classes, the sh'bam and the bodyflow afterwards with no problem at all, enjoying both, laughing in sh'bam, smiling while working out, an hour going by like a minute. Amazing. If you have never experienced a personal "Epiphany" I encourage you to go out, find something that challenges you, you are interested in, or thought you could never do, and do it. Having an "Epiphany" about yourself- realizing that you CAN do something, and succeeding at doing things you never thought were possible, is an amazing feeling. I will never forget the first "mindset" that I broke through. Several people told me I couldn't do bodyflow. That it was too hard and I should try something else. I tried it anyway because I really wanted to do something similar to yoga that would relieve stress. And boy did it ever! I had  no IDEA the benefits of breathing deeply. I can not begin to tell you how that class makes me feel between the combination of exercise and actually taking deep, purposeful breaths. I had also heard that sh'bam was hard and was worried I couldn't do it. Meghan teaches sh'bam as well, and I trusted her advice and I tried it. The other instructors who did sh'bam were equally as nice, encouraging, and fun. Finishing that class, enjoying myself, breaking that barrier for the first time was something I would become addicted to. In October/November, I saw that one of the trainers, Brenton was offering free personal training sessions. I was nervous about doing something like that, but I had tried the bodypump (weightlifting class) and found it difficult because I didn't know what I was doing. There were too many people in a class to get a lot of guidance or help, and I knew that weight training and building muscle was a key to loosing weight and keeping it off. I asked Meghan about her thoughts on doing the free session. She encouraged me again, telling me Brenton had been doing it for a long time and that I should try it. She even offered to talk to him for me if I wanted! I did do the free session, and that was the start of something amazing.

I recently told my husband what I wanted for my birthday (In March of 2013) was more training sessions with Brenton.  Slightly sad, since he is leaving to purse his goals. Leaving something you love to do something better for your life takes courage.  Many people settle for comfortable; few people have the guts to go out there and demand out of life everything that they want from it. It is really difficult and takes courage, so while I am sad that he is gone I can do a tribute here to him and share with you everything I learned in an incredible little over two months time. Every hour session I had with him, including my last hour session that was today, I learned something new. An hour never seemed like long enough. Even though I have an MBA (among many other accomplishments) I can tell you that I learned and accomplished more with the time I had with him than anything else I've done in my life. From the first free session, I could tell that he was easygoing with an unconventional style that would keep my interest. I knew he would teach me things that were beyond learning to work the machines at the gym and would be things I would do and keep with me for the rest of my life. Little did I know, I had more breakthroughs to be had and the secrets he would share!

An unexpected journey I would take with him would involve food and changing my eating habits to a diet that would improve my life forever. The first month he encouraged me to have a food journal. This has now morphed into a food/weight/thoughts/ everything journal. At first though, like many beginners, I thought it was stupid. We talked about food, and trying to eat "what Adam and eve" would have eaten or had available- fruits, vegetables, etc. He converted me to eating whole grains, which was healthier....little did I realize that for me, whole grains was not natural, and would be something I eliminated all together. Wheat is in my previous posts, so you can see my struggle with it. After the first month, I had lost approximately 5 pounds, if that. Maybe just 4. I was loosing weight, but not at the rate I wanted. After talking to Brenton, he said it must be something I was eating. I started to panic and become very upset. I thought I was eating healthy and honestly didn't know what to do. Brenton had been telling me about doing a detox, and that he knew a safe one to do. He told me you had to be very mentally committed to do it or you would fail. It would help my metabolism, clean the toxins out of my body, and reset my system so I didn't need caffeine or anything else. I thought (another crazy idea that he rid me of) that detoxes were stupid gimmicks for health nuts. I didn't think that they worked and I thought that people that did them were, well insane. I did it anyway though- I'll tell you this, if you are willing to learn, and accept that something you "think you know" may be wrong, there is no limit to what you can accomplish. You can do anything if you are willing to whole heartedly give it everything you have. I was willing to do everything that Brenton asked of me, even if I thought it was nuts, because I trusted in his abilities and I knew that what I was doing wasn't working, so trying something else couldn't hurt. If you ever enlist the help of a personal trainer make sure that you do some research (ask around about them, and look up their credentials) and also go into the experience with an open mind to achieve maximum results. In any case, as you can tell from my previous posts, not only was the detox a success and I felt amazing, but at the same time I was doing the detox (which required eating no wheat, caffeine, or dairy for a week) I picked up the Wheat Belly book that I have mentioned in many of my previous posts. I beat the cravings for wheat, cleaned it out of my body, and within five weeks lost 12 pounds. The first two weeks alone of not eating wheat I lost 8 pounds, and I have so much energy now it is crazy! I have regulated my insulin, and no longer have insulin resistance. If I hadn't have met Brenton, would I have ever made the connection with the wheat? I don't know. Would I have ever had the tools to really beat the wheat and never go back? It is possible that not only did he change my life, he may have saved it too. This was epic and was more than I accomplished with my health after 10 years going from doctor to doctor. My regular Thursday post this week will discuss my struggles with doctors and my thyroid.

All aspects of my health from sleep to having energy to loosing weight have been improved since I stopped eating wheat and started working out 4-5 days a week. He taught me the benefits of using kettlebells, and how to do a cardio workout in 20 minutes that would really burn calories. I have learned to use many different weights in many different combinations. For many weeks, I have been doing intervals where I run for a minute, then walk for a minute. Doing this for 20 minutes a few times a week can really have great results. I never thought I could run. I never thought that you could do a workout that was beneficial in a small amount of time. I always thought working out had to be "an hour" or "a long time" or it couldn't have good benefits. WRONG! I also started flipping tires. Not small car tires. 250 pound tractor tires. Yeah, I can flip them ten times in row (we did 30 over the course of an hour one time doing one of Brenton's amazing obstacle course workouts that I will really miss). I realized that I had no idea how strong I was. I am still figuring that out, but I realized that I was strong, and that I could do incredible things. During the past two months, I lost two more dress sizes. I am now an 18. What is hilarious about this is: I thought (again, another crazy mindset) I would be lucky to get down to a 16. I thought that was all the smaller I would ever be able to accomplish. Where did I get that idea????? Now, I am more energized than ever because not only will I get down to a 16, but I will go way beyond that and I am not sure what size I will be in the end. Kind of exciting.

Today was my last session with Brenton. I learned lots of more different exercises that work many aspects of the body at the same time, (which I love), and I graduated from doing intervals (the running for a minute, walking for a minute), to doing sprints. Me, running! Never, in a million years, would I have thought of or even pushed to do this myself on my own. Sprints are the following: Running as long as I can (for me its like 30seconds to a minute) at the maximum speed I can, until exhaustion. Recover, and do it again. I had been previously been running at a "4" on the treadmill, to give all of you out there an idea of how fast I made it up to today. Today, we started at 5, then went to 6, then went to 7. I can run really fast! Absolutely blew my mind. Doing this exercise according to Brenton will burn calories for days. Here's the crazy part: I loved it! I loved running. I felt so amazing after running and while I was doing it, and the energy that your body has after running is incredible. It is the best natural "high" that can be achieved. I always thought that people who ran were nuts. You see those people, in the winter, running on the side of the road or at a school or something- yeah crazzzyyy I would think, driving past them in my warm car. Another Epiphany I would have on my last day with Brenton: People run because of the rush of energy, because of how amazing it feels doing it. I can only imagine how it would feel if I made it up to running any long distances. Even just running my sprints at maximum speed, which was way faster than I ever thought I could go, felt incredible. And I did it.   Losing weight and working out included learning a lot of things about myself, breaking barriers, and learning how to eat healthy for my body. Educating myself and having help from Brenton and Meghan helped me tackle that. But having someone who believes in you, believes that you can do it, and wants to see you accomplish your goals, is a powerful thing. Unbelievably powerful. I lost 16 pounds in the time I spend with Brenton, about 26 total since I started the gym for a grand total (over a year and a half time now), of 46 pounds.  Having Brenton and Meghan share in my successes and push me to challenge myself helped me more than I can express to you in words. Thank you. Both of you. Live healthy, have energy, and be happy! What else is there?

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Look for a SPECIAL EDITION early blog this weekend dedicated to my personal trainer (who is leaving galaxy fitness) and my yoga teacher- both of which have changed my life in an amazing and incredible way!

Wheat and you part 2

Went to the doctor today since I have been feeling ill for the past two weeks. Interestingly enough, most of my symptoms are being caused by my blood pressure pill, lisinopril so I have to stop taking it. Look for a post on blood pressure in a few weeks. For now, I am experimenting trying to naturally lower my blood pressure while I wait for the lisinopril to make its way out of my system (as per the doctor). Anyway, I had my blood results done! (drum roll please). My sugar and my insulin levels are that of a perfectly normal person thank you very much!!! My thyroid is fine also- which I will be discussing next week my thyroid and all of the many many doctors and shenanigans I have endured due to that in the past 10 years. I have however, successfully reversed my insulin resistance without prescription medicine. My insulin levels for the past  2+ years have been out of the normal range, into the "high" range no matter what medicine I tried. These tests are proof that cutting wheat out of my diet has reversed my insulin resistance. Now, onto more details about wheat!
Wheat and you part 2: First lets talk about how wheat was genetically modified.  Now, let me start by saying, again, that Dr. William Davis of the Wheat Belly is really the one who did the research and provided the information about wheat and how it was genetically modified. If you buy his book, you will see in the back pages and pages of references and citations due to the amount of insane research he did. I am just passing the info along! So the first type of wheat, in the wild, was einkorn. This is a simple grain with only 14 chromosomes. As time went along, goatgrass joined in and the result was 28 chromosomes of wheat. Interestingly enough, plants, such as wheat can combine chromosomes. It is possible to take the 28 chromosomes of one type of plant and add the 28 of another similar plant to arrive at 56 total chromosomes- this is called polyploidy. Now, just follow me here- this is important. The most modern type of wheat has 42 chromosomes and is the combination of 3 unique plants. Scientists, trying to solve world hunger, and modifying the wheat by breeding it to yield more and be more resistant to certain things such as drought has resulted in a wheat strain that is completely different than the wheat that we would have eaten 50 years ago. Yes, the wheat now has been genetically altered and messed with so many times (and remember the wheat can "absorb" more chromosomes when breeding wheat) that there are many extra chromosomes, enzymes, proteins and whatnot that were not in the original wheat. AND, to top it all off- this genetically modified wheat was never tested first on the human population to see what the effects would be. I am really just stating the basics of what happened in the history of wheat. Dr. Davis really explains in much detail exactly what the names of the types of wheat were, and how/when they were changed so if you are interested please read the book. So, scientists, in their haste to create a wheat with a high yield, figured it would be safe and that new strains of wheat would not have any undesired effects.  Here's a small quote from Dr. Davis, "Wheat gluten proteins, in particular, undergo considerable structural change with hybridization. In one hybridization experiment, fourteen new gluten proteins were identified in the offspring that were not present in either parent wheat plant." (Wheat Belly, pgs. 28-26). Also, compared to much older wheat, the new genetically modified wheat has a higher amount of genes for gluten proteins that are know to be linked to celiac disease. Basically, scientists 50 years ago messed with wheat, combining plants and chromosomes, without testing it, and it resulted in effects that could not be foreseen including more gluten proteins as well as extra enzymes and proteins that were never produced in wheat originally. No wonder some people's bodies can't process gluten! That's because its not natural anymore!
As a result of this genetic modification, wheat can cause inflammation, arthritis, acid reflux, crohn's disease/hashimoto's disease, asthma, and many many other issues. Wheat causes many of these issues by disrupting the pH level in your body. Too much acid or alkaline can be dangerous (or deadly) in your body. The "hunter-gatherer" diet as Dr. Davis describes it, of meats, vegetables, fruits, and some nuts result an ideal slightly alkaline effect. Wheat, when it came along 10000 years ago shifted our diets to the "acid" side (or dark side as I like to call it). Too much acid with affect your bones, joints, cause inflammation, osteoarthritis, and acid reflux! Swelling in your joints, hips, knees, or hands could all be because of all the wheat in your diet. There have been studies showing improvement in these areas, once wheat was eliminated!!! In the case of auto immune disorders such as crohn's diease and hashimoto's thyroid disease (which I have), wheat causes this when being processed by your body and broken up in your intestines- because it is not being broken down properly due to your body's allergy to it, it is slipping out into your bloodstream and wreaking havoc. Another issue with Wheat is that it is addictive. Wheat has similar effects on the brain as opiate drugs! You can and may experience actual withdrawal symptoms if you are giving up wheat. There have been studies conducted that demonstrate that gluten has the ability to sneak through the blood-brain barrier where the wheat polypeptides "bind to the brain's morphine receptor, the very same receptor to which opiate drugs bind." (Wheat Belly, pg 49). So, you may literally be addicted to wheat, and the good doctor goes into great detail with a lot of studies and research to back up his claims.
Another sneaky thing that wheat affects is aging. There are certain end products found in older people, that are known to stiffen arteries, cause cataracts, and have been connected to dementia, and are known as AGEs or advanced glycation end products. As we get older, more AGEs will be found in our organs and skin. Basically, AGEs are "useless debris that result in tissue decay as they accumulated." (Wheat Belly 134). They have no purpose and do not provide energy or anything like that- AGEs simply occur more and more as we, well, age. Now, the interesting part- the higher the blood glucose, the more AGEs will accumulate and the faster we will age! Diabetes patients with high blood glucose levels will find more levels of AGEs as well. This is a very complicated subject to put into simple words but basically wheat products trigger a ton of AGEs to form! Eeek! Put down the bagel and save some wrinkles!

So you want to eat healthy eh? Well, there is a Wheat Belly Cookbook that Dr. Davis just put out and his book Wheat Belly also has some great recipes in it too. It isn't a diet- it is an entire lifestyle change. Even if you are wanting to cut down on the wheat consumption and carbs, (maybe not go to the extreme I have gone) you still have to make some preparations. Find some healthy foods you love- celery, humus, nuts, broccoli, what kind of salad do you like? tuna, any kind of fish, berries,- and prepare a healthy lunch for yourself ahead of time. Lunch on the go is difficult and can be very unhealthy. Prepare a healthy lunch for yourself and buy things that you like to eat that aren't going to jack up your insulin and glucose levels (see a glycemic index book!). If all you have in the house is chips and cookies- well you're going to eat chips and cookies. Have some cheeses you like and some whole corn chips with salsa and some dried fruits. Almonds are spectacular! They are good for blood pressure and many other things as well! If there's a box of cookies in the breakroom, move them! If you sit in front of them and stare at them, you will be more tempted to eat one. Finally, all I can say is that aside from having healthy options available and planning ahead of time, you have to want it. In your soul. It has to be a strong desire to change your life and be healthy. Pending doom such as accelerated weight gain, high blood pressure, "tweaking out" as I like to call it (being stressed), fatigue and general feeling miserable are all things that pressured me into wanting to make the change and staying motivated. As soon as you start to really have energy and sleep better, you will never want to go back to how you felt before I promise! Exercise helps- any exercise, walking, yoga, dancing- whatever you enjoy- will also make you feel better and motivate you to eat better at the same time.

Listen. If you suspect that wheat is causing some or several of the things that I have talked about- chronic fatigue, rashes, hair loss are a few I haven't even mentioned in detail- you need to 1)buy this book and 2)not eat wheat for 1-2 weeks. Do the detox I posted before, and clean it out of your system. If you don't feel better in a week to ten days, than you can tell me to stuff it. Not everyone has issues with wheat- my husband for example, can eat as many pieces of bread as he damn well pleases without it affecting his health or weight WHATSOEVER. So wheat may not be your issue- but if you have insulin resistance, chronic fatigue, unexplained rashes, acid reflux etc. etc., you owe it to yourself to try it. Just one week. I don't know about you but I want to live. I want to live healthy, and have energy and if anything was out there I thought I might be having a problem with, then I'd want to find out for myself. Remember, there is NO TEST for gluten sensitivity AND CELIAC DIEASE TESTS ARE NOT 100 PERCENT ACCURATE. You are the best resource on you. No matter what doctors tell you or anyone tells you- educate yourself and find out for yourself what is best for your body. You'll feel better if you do. Eat healthy, have energy, be happy!

Pictures as Promised!

The top photo is me now, taken a few days ago. The bottom picture is me- it was taken in July of this year, approx. five months ago. Sorry the bottom picture is a little blurry- but the change in my face is unmistakeable.