Do Something! Day 3

Good morning, everyone!

I woke up and dragged myself out of bed this morning.  Achy from the previous 2 days of working out when I'm no longer used to it.  The muscles screamed at me, joints refused to move, but I did it.  There was a sunrise yoga class I could maybe get to if I could get up in time.  It was the only chance for a class I had today, because I work later than my usual shift, so it was then, or never.  Or by myself later, which isn't nearly as awesome.

Don't get me wrong, the home yoga practice got me through years and years of time, but there's something different about everyone in a room breathing together, moving together.  It keeps you going.  You are less likely to allow yourself to give up.  Home is where it's at if you can't make a class, but it's nice if you are able.

Anyway.  So I dragged myself out of bed, didn't get lost on my way to the center this time, and made it there to the giant room full of mirrors before anyone else did.  An older gentleman came in and asked if we were really using this room, and I said I didn't know, but nobody was in the smaller one either, so we set up and started  warming up, just the two of us.

Another girl joined us shortly, using one of the borrow mats they have laying around.  They squish and are not sticky, but they're certainly better than the hard floor!  But when another woman wandered in and asked if we knew the instructor was home with food poisoning, we had a choice to make.

Get up and go home, or do something.  I entertained going home and enjoying a cup of coffee in the early morning quiet.  For about half a second.  And then I returned to my half lotus forward fold I was in when she entered the room.  The woman graciously offered to talk people through her Tai Chi stretch she was going to do, and the borrow mat girl joined her for a while.  Another woman wandered in when I was finishing up my second Sun Salutation round, and we all set to work on our own.

Together in the room, the small group of us, each working at our own pace.  I moved through my poses, fell out of silly ones that I should really have down by now (Tree pose?  Really!?), and challenged myself to try wheel and head stands again.  I managed wheel for almost 2 full breaths before I needed to let it go, so that was exciting.  I've been afraid of that one due to the shoulder rotation and my injury, but it feels fine.  :)

I had to move over to a wall for the head stands so I wouldn't fall over, but I am definitely still working on that and need the wall.  The older gentleman watched my third headstand for a moment, taking note of how I was using the wall as a prop, and went back to his own thing.

Overall, I am really glad I made myself get up.  Even though I really did not want to.  I could hardly move, but I knew I would feel better once I was moving in that room.  And I did.  I do feel better.  I still feel achy, like you do when your muscles acclimate to something new.  I'm starving, so it's time to go make a smoothie for breakfast, and I need to go drag kids out of bed...

But that was my challenging day 3.  I know you don't want to do it today.  I didn't either.  But just do it.  Make it happen.  You'll be glad you did.  :)  I promise.

Do Something Challenge: Day 2!

Do you feel the burn?  I sure do.  But it's a happy sort of ache.  It's the "I feel good" ache.  :)

This morning I made a pineapple blueberry smoothie with chia seed and raw almond-cashew milk.  I should have added a little agave.  It was not as awesome as yesterday's smoothie, when I didn't forget.  :)  But I also had avocado toast this morning, so that does make some difference.

Avocado toast, by the way, is smashed up avocado smeared on toast (I like whole wheat bread for this), and then you salt and pepper the tops of the avocado.  Amazing, filling, and good for ya.  :)  Good stuff.  Give it a try.  I usually use about 1/2 an avocado per 2 slices of bread.  If you store the other half of the avocado with its pit, it doesn't get as brown and yucky looking.  By the way, that's just oxidation and it is still perfectly fine to eat.  Just like apples.

I'll have to get a pic to share when I make it again tomorrow.  :)

Anyway!  Eating well, good choices, and making time to DO SOMETHING.  That's my plan.  So tonight I will be going to a multi-level yoga class and pushing myself a little while the kiddos go swimming.  And then we'll head home and have something for dinner.  I'm planning something, will make it up and have it ready to eat when we get home.  There will be no greasy fast food caving!  :)

How are you all doing?  Well, I hope.  Don't push yourself too far!  Just do what you can, and then try to do a tiny bit more.  :)  You will get there!

Do Something Challenge: Day One: My plan.

I'm up!  I'm up!  GOSH, Mom!  Stop nagging me!

Getting up and getting ready for work right now.  Kids are off school for the holiday, so I don't have to run them out the door for once!  Think I'm going to go make myself a smoothie for breakfast instead of making coffee today...  and I need to toss some potatoes (cleaned, poked, wrapped in foil) into my crock pot.

I have big plans for dinner, I tell you.  Leftover soup I made the other day, Spicy Peanut Eggplant, time consuming and a little more complicated than I usually do, but totally worth every single minute!!  And vegan, to boot.  :)

So there's that, but then I am going to debate between 2 levels of yoga classes for this afternoon.  I could probably do the intermediate-advanced one on a good day, but I'm not sure how "back in the saddle" I am there.  Probably will start with the beginner and see how I feel after an hour of that.  :)

Up, moving, time to run.  Don't forget to find your 15 minutes of time to DO SOMETHING!!  :)

Long time no see!

Hi guys!  It's been too long!  Hope everyone is doing well!

I'm popping back in for a couple reasons!  First off, I just started this little facebook group to go with the blog, for people to pop over, ask questions, link stuff, that sort of thing.  You can find and join it here:  Whole Food Fitness Group.  It's a closed group so only members can post or see what has been posted, and I, the crazy Becca chick, am in charge of that.  Play nice and you will be welcome!  That's about it.

And secondly!  I'm finally feeling better after my stupid shoulder and back saga of irritation.  So I'm trying to get back in the swing of things.

I'm going vegetarian again.  Officially.  For the first time in years.  I think I'm finally in a place where I can do it healthily, officially, without allowing it to be an excuse to slip back into eating disorder land.  I used to allow it to just not eat when "there were no options."  There are always options.

Anyway!  So, there's that...  BUT I'm also starting a challenge for myself.  Starting tomorrow, 1-21-13, I will be challenging myself to do something.  To move.  To yoga, or swim, jog, do jumping jacks...  do SOMETHING.  Every day.  For at least 1 month.

I think officially this will be a February challenge, but I'm starting it now while I have the momentum going.  I want to do this.  It is time.  :)

So, who is with me!?  You want to move, you know you do.  15 minutes is nothing.  You spend less time getting ready in the morning, getting changed for bed.  You can do 15 minutes.  :)  There are 15 minute yoga videos over on the Yoga Challenge tab, if you want to do that.

The theory is, if we move our bodies, just a little, it will feel nice.  We will like how we feel, and we will want to continue.  And if we are having an "off" day, 15 minutes might be enough.  But most days?  We'll go longer.  We'll run more.  Do another lap in the pool.  Finish that yoga class.  :)

We can do this.  I believe in us.  But I know the power of accountability, and that's why I started the group.  To keep in touch.  To post happy little things, remind each other to keep at it.  Because alone we can give up, but together?  We are strong.  :)

LET'S DO THIS THING!

Update! Been a while!

Hey there!  Been a while since I posted anything here really.  A lot has been going on!  So!  Update!

Injuries:  I hurt my shoulder at work.  Strained rotator cuff and strained AC joint.  Not a good combination.  Ended up doing physical therapy and seeing doctors for 2.5 month, taking pain meds every day just to get by, etc.  Not very much fun.  But I have been released from that and seem to be doing well.  I even ventured to go off my pain meds to see how I could do without, and am med free (other than my thyroid tablets and my vitamin supplements)!!!  YAY!!!

BUT, with all that med stuff going into me, I felt awful.  I wanted to get it all out of my system, so today makes day 4 of just juice (and occasional almond-cashew milk), and I'm doing well.  It's day 6 overall, but I did eat the first two days, if not a ton.

Juice fast:  Is going really well!!  I wasn't even tempted at the movies last night to sneak a popcorn or have some candy or soda.  Not a bit.  I brought juice in a jar to refill my travel mug, and my husband informed me while I was pouring more, "That stinks."  Thanks, hon.  LOL

Back pain:  Doing better.  I was working too much last week to get in for adjustments, so not feeling AWFUL is amazing.  I am going to try and get back in there next week, but we'll see how work pans out.  I should be able to fit at least one in there...

Yoga:  The shoulder injury made it so I could not yoga really at all.  No pressure on shoulder.  No pressure on arms.  I did some basic seated bends and sat in half lotus while reading and all that like normal, but nothing involving arms.  I'm going to be doing another personal yoga challenge once my juice fast is done.  I feel it's best to wait to do that first, not together, at least for now.

Work:  I switched departments!  I'm no longer in a food area, I've moved to the pharmacy, and am studying to get my Pharmacy Technician's License.  I have to take a test and pass soon so I can stay back there.  It's a little intimidating, as you have to pay to take this test, and if you fail, you have to wait a few weeks before you can take it again.  NO PRESSURE!!!  I just need to take the time and study, and then take the time and GO DO IT.  I'm not super worried, as long as I prepare for it.  Just have to find time.  A lot has been going on, and people have been on vacation over the summer, so I've been working a lot more than my usual rest of the year schedule would be.

Things will settle down soon enough!

My 11th wedding anniversary is coming up!  It's on the 11th of the month, and we need to do something fun!  Too bad the actual day is inventory at work, eh?  LOL  That figures.  Gotta figure something special out, since this 11th year on the 11th thing won't happen ever again.  :)

Anyway, so that's that!  Despite some setbacks, still here, still trying, and doing what I can!  And really, in the end, that's all that I can ask for.

Namaste!

Becca

Chiro update, and fun with the hypothyroid!

Hey guys!  :)  Been a little while, had a lot going on!  So, an update!

My back issues and the chiropractor working to correct them continue.  I was having relapse pain/strain when I lowered my number of visits a couple weeks ago.  I'd been going 3x a week for 4 weeks to work on getting my pain under control, and the pain itself left, but I could feel things slipping back to where they'd been at the beginning of the pain when my visits lessened.  Not good.

The chiropractor did a follow up visit to see where things were compared to where they started off, and I'd made some progress.  As I mentioned before, a healthy neck curvature is not what I had.  It's supposed to be a 42* angle.  When all of this started, my first X-Rays, which I shared, my head was at an 8* angle.  Not good.  After 3 visits a week for 4 weeks, my neck improved to a 12* curve.  Better, but still not good.

So, we discussed the options to getting me back to normal, which will take roughly the following course of action:  3x a week for 8 weeks, 2x a week for 4 weeks, and 1x a week for 4 weeks.  After that I should be able to go back to 2x a month, biweekly, and that should be enough to hold me in a "normal" range.  We may never get back to the full 42* curve, but 30-35* would be so much better than where I am now.

But, my husband, a chiropractor skeptic, despite making my initial appointment, decided he wasn't sure continuing to go was the right thing to do.  Our compromise said I get a second opinion from a medical doctor, so I made my appointment for my physical for the year.  Two birds, one stone, and all that.

So, my physical came and went, they stabbed me a few times before they got the blood drawn that they needed (I have tiny veins that are hard to get without popping all the way through them), got my tetanus shot updated and all that stuff that needs doing every now and then.  And they essentially told me if my pain came back, they could medicate me, and run tests at that point, but where I am right now, they won't do much.  Well, that's really no surprise to me, but I'm not happy with the idea of waiting for things to get bad again before we do something about it.  So!  Chiro it is!

Anyway, so I started back on the 3x a week thing and have done that for a week or so now.  Feeling better every time I go.  So yay for that!

But...  then I get a phone call.  My labs are back.  They want me on a Vitamin D supplement because my levels are low.  No huge surprise to me, I've been inside all winter.  It's still pretty cold out some days, and I don't like being outside unless it's reasonably warm, because cold and I don't get along.  So that was no huge surprise, and I can take a vitamin, that's fine.

BUT it wasn't just my Vitamin D.  Apparently I've got low thyroid function as well, otherwise know as hypothyroidism.  (hypO, not hypER)  At first, this sounded kind of scary, because, as I recall, my aunt with non-Hodgkins lymphoma (a lymph node cancer) first showed thyroid issues...  so I asked them to look at my blood cell levels and everything there looks normal.  They'll keep an eye on it, but that's something to know, that there's a family history...

But then, I started looking into WHAT hypothyroid can present as.  And the more I looked at the lists, the more things sounded familiar.  My hair falling out as though I just gave birth.  I make jokes that it's a miracle I'm not bald, lol.  I have these little bumps on the backs of my arms, and dry skin.  My joints ache.  My muscles ache.  I get frequent, albeit mild, headaches.  Nothing to take pain meds for, since I try not to use those, but still there.  The older I get, the more PMS symptoms appear.  I get more mood swings, am more irritable.  I sleep a lot, have always been one who needs lots of sleep.  Fatigue sets in STRONG and I just have to go to bed.  I have difficulty losing weight, and if I'm not actively trying to lose, I tend to gain pretty quickly.  And cold sensitivity.  I've always had that.  I get cold and I just can't warm up again.  And my teeth have always been somewhat cold sensitive too.

All these things, alone, I didn't think were hardly anything.  Nothing to mention at the doctor, nothing to make note of.  Just things that happen to me, or things that happen as you get older.  Whatever, no big deal.  But when you add them all up together, it IS a big deal.  And if I can do something about it, why the hell wouldn't I?!  That seems SO SILLY to let it go and do nothing, knowing what it is.

If you want to take a peek at the symptom list, and if any of this sounds familiar to you, see the tests you can request to have run over here:  Squidoo's got a good page with lots of links worth following, and The Mayo Clinic's hypothyroidism page (more child related) is another good one.  HyPERthyroidism also presents with similar but opposite results.  Sensitivity to heat, loss of weight, etc.  Thyroid issues are VERY common, the more I look into it, the more I realize this!

Anyway!!  They want me on a synthetic thyroid hormone to correct the balance, and called in the script for me.  I've started taking it as directed, but of course, being the natural person that I am, I asked the chiropractor about it at my appointment this morning.  I need to get a copy of my blood work for him so he can figure out just what to do exactly for the supplements and all that, but there are things we can do without prescription medications.  As I suspected.

There are some supplements I can take and some stuff I can do (like more high impact exercise than yoga) to help stimulate the thyroid and get it doing what it should.  I plan on talking to my doctor about my plan, and hoping my levels are better enough they can lower my doses on the hormone meds, and hopefully the supplements can replace the synthetic hormone altogether soon.

There are some things I want to do alongside a medical doctor, and this is one of them.  I will take the synthetic hormone and do the supplements as well.  If the supplements and exercise program don't help enough, I will continue to do so.  But!  If I don't have to take the synthetic hormone, I'd rather not have to.  It's worth a try!

So, crazy long post later, here I am.  Doing well, on my way to even better.  Hope all is well on your end!  :)  Have a lovely weekend!

30 Day Yoga Challenge!! Day 30!!

Welcome to this, your final official day of the 30 day challenge!!  Just this one little practice and you will have a whole month under your belt!!  That is a full 4 weeks of daily practice to build the practice you want for yourself, for the future.

For most people, a good habit takes 21 days to form, and you have just done 29!  If that's not a way to get it in your mind that getting up and moving (in whatever way you like!) is a good thing, I don't know what is!

I know for me, I feel amazing.  My mind is clearer, my clothes fit better, and I am more in control of my random emotions as they come and go.  They are still there, of course, but I can more easily choose how to direct their energy, and can choose to be calm rather than upset, etc.

Anyway, so!  Where does your 30 days make you want to go?  Continue on?  Take a break?  Start from the beginning and do it all over again?  The choice is yours.

I congratulate you for making it this far!!!  It's no easy task.  There's always something that can get in the way.  But you made it.  Good for you!!!  That's amazing!!  I, for one, am proud of you.  *beams*

Okay, so here's your one last practice.  One more for the road, as it were.  ;)  Happy Yoga!!  Today, maybe focus on what you'd like to do from here on out, get into your mind and find your resolve or intention there.  You know what you would like to do from here.  Set out to accomplish it!

Today's is Yoga For Alignment, mostly because chiropractors and what they do are in the foreground of my mind this morning.  :)  Good stuff.



Namaste!  :)  Catch you on the flip side!