Self Love is So Important

As I looked in the mirror this morning as I do everyday, I found myself looking at the more defined muscles of my upper body instead of picking apart my lower half. Yes I have saggy skin, cellulite and stubborn fat to get rid of still from my weight loss journey, but today I am making a conscious effort to not solely focus on those areas when I am looking at my reflection. For me it has been a constant struggle to find self love. I am my own worse critic and I don't know if that will ever change but I am more gentle on myself each day. I have learned to appreciate my body for all of the terrible things I have put it through in the past, all the healing that it had to go through and all the hard work that it does for me now.

We only get one body in this life and what we do with it is our choice. For today and the rest of my life, I'm going to strive to do what is best for my body as well as my spirit. I want to live a long healthy life. In order to do that I must continue to learn ways to love myself and let my body know that I care.  In the movie Hungry for Change, Dr Northrup suggested that we put a note in the places we look the most that says, "I totally and completely love and accept myself right now." I immediately did just that. I am starting to think it has helped me. What do you think? Do you love yourself as you are today?

Confidence in Sharing Your Story Part 2

Last month I talked about a couple of opportunities that had come my way to share my story with a wider audience on other peoples blogs. This month I was notified that they had been published! More than one emotion washed over me. Part of me was excited and proud and the other was apprehensive and had butterflies. Overall humbled to be able to share my story with others in hopes of helping even one other person out there achieve a healthier life.

I want to say thank you to Anna, who took the time to write me and ask if I would like to share on her blog. I so appreciate all of the fit community who take time out of their busy day to reach out to others. Her blog is amazing! Please go check out my story and the rest of her blog at http://www.rulesofdieting.com/kristies-weight-loss-success-story/. Thanks to her I was able to share my story with another blog as well. Thank you Lydia for agreeing to share my story as well. You can read the full edition of my story and check out Lydia's blog at http://divinehealthfromtheinsideout.com/2014/06/from-size-18-to-8-2/

I hope my blog readers will find all of what I shared on these blogs just as helpful as what I have posted on here. I have not had many comments as of yet and I do hope that you all feel free to share your thoughts and feelings with me.

Confidence in Sharing Your Story Part 1

 For some time now I have been sharing my story with as many people as I could that would listen. First with family, second some friends, third viewers of my FB page and this blog and then the world. My mom and fiancee are constantly telling people to find my FB page for info on better health too. It is something that I feel passionate about sharing. I wished that I had someone around to do so for me when I was thinking about making this lifestyle choice. I want to be there for others. I really feel that anyone out there can do this for themselves if they just have the right information and desire to change. The hardest part for me in getting the word out there is that I am a bit on the shy side. It has been easy to put info on a FB page and blog, less scary for someone that blushes at the drop of a hat. What I have felt the need to do lately though is work on my confidence so that I can start to break out of my shell.
Earlier this month I was asked via FB to do a couple of interviews on how I achieved my weight loss. The first person to do so would be via Skype. Gotta say my first reaction was, yikes on camera? I'll have to think about that. I was told to check out some of the other interviews that were done and get back to him. I did, but too bad for me, he has not gotten back with me. You snooze you lose huh? No worries it wasn't long before someone else asked me to do an interview but this time via a blog. I immediately said yes this time and to my surprise it led to being featured on another blog as well. Getting my story out to try and help as many people on their journey as possible has been my goal from the beginning, so needless to say I am thrilled. I was told they will appear on these blogs sometime next month.
Then yesterday I was given an opportunity by my fiancee to share some info with a couple of girls at the service department. At first just writing down my FB page name. That in turn led to some further comments, which led to an intro to my story and hope in their eyes. It wasn't as embarrassing for me to talk with them as it has with others in the past. It's a step in the right direction anyways. I'm seriously considering making some business cards with my FB page and blog on them to hand out in times like these. Who knows where this journey will take me in the future. Hmmm. Something to think about.

Keep Those Muscles Guessing

In the P90X program they teach you to change up your exercise routine often to shock your muscles and keep them from getting complacent. They do three weeks of one routine and then end the month with a week of recovery exercises that don't involve lifting weights. They continue to change it up each month. After my first round of P90X I was pumped and ready to move up to Insanity. Well, something came up and I ended up opting for a modified round 2 of P90X instead. No biggie. Just continuing on my path of fitness. I wasn't seeing the big changes in my body that I had in round 1 though. As much as I wanted to push it again to the next level, something came up again and forced me to opt for something else.

During my detox I have lost some strength. My body is busy healing. While I still want to exercise for body, mind and soul, I need to respect my body and listen to what it is telling me. So I decided to give the Power 90 program a try. It is less intense than P90X with shorter workouts. I still get a good sweat and can feel my body responding so I know it's making a difference. It may take a little longer to get where I want to be with my physique but I will get there a lot faster than if I gave up or risked injury. I'm going to stick with it for the full 90 days. Then see where my body wants to go. Do you change up your routine? Push yourself to the next level?

Life is About Change

If there is one thing that I have learned it is to be flexible in life. Things are going to change all around us and its easiest on us if we ebb and flow like the grass in the wind. If we are ridged we may break in these every changing times. There have been several times on my journey to better health that I have had to stop and make a correction/ improvement in what we were eating, drinking, supplementing and even thinking. In the beginning it was really hard for me. Over time I have been able to adjust.  I am grateful to be in touch with my body and notice when it requires a change. I have had to make two adjustments to my daily routine lately. A change in supplements and an added snack in the morning.

Recently, I began taking two new supplements to help with my infertility issues. I noticed a few things within a week. Once was that I was more thirsty and the other was that I became hungry during my workout to the point that I felt like I was starving. Well, most protein shakes have a lot of extra additives that I avoid so I had to find something that was not solid food but would tide me over until I was done working out and could eat breakfast. What came to mind was Chia. I tried a tablespoon in 16 oz of water. Guess what? It worked! Woo hoo! Nothing like being hungry during a workout and it only lasts long enough til I can finish my exercise and eat breakfast.

The other thing that happened was that we decided to stop taking a fish oil supplement we had been taking for awhile. I know it's hard to know what advice to listen to on what to take and what not to take. You just have to trust your own instincts sometimes. It had only been a short time since discontinuing the fish oil that I began to notice some joint pain that I had not had before. With vigorous workouts it can be painful. So, we did some research and asked around and were told a few things to try. We are giving flax oil a try first. I just added it to our smoothies and we will see how it goes. An update on this supplement change is that it seems to work great, yea!

Let Thy Body Heal Itself

I wanted to share my experience, strength and hope with all of you that have been diagnosed with health problems and told that not much could be done. I'm here to tell you to try an alternative approach. I am living proof that if you give your body good nutrition, good water, exercise and the right supplements your body can and will heal itself. No kidding! I also wanted to add that we have found a website that is very helpful called Cure Zone. When I want to do a search to read up on any ailment that myself or someone else is having and want to find a natural approach, I type in the ailment followed by Cure Zone and browse until I find one that seems to fit what I am looking for.

I was told years ago that I had Gingivitis. They said not much could be done, just lots of trips to the dentist and possible surgery for real problem areas. Well I researched it and found that Quercetin (a vitamin found in the cuticle of grapefruit skins), Vitamin E and CoQ10 along with regular cleanings would help to reverse if not cure this ailment. Low and behold, it did. My gums have healed.

For a long time I also suffered from cysts on my ovaries. One would grow so large it would cause my ovary to flip over on itself, very painful. They wanted to do surgery to remove it. I asked for a few months to see if I could heal it myself. Did some research on what supplements to take and did some castor oil hot packs on my abdomen. Guess what? Yep they shrank and went away on their own.

So now I am told that I am infertile due to blocked and inflamed fallopian tubes. Do you think I am going to lay down and take it? Hell no. I went to my local vitamin and herb lady and asked her. She said we can work on that. She recommended a couple of supplements and of course faith. I started them tonight. I'm not giving up until the fat lady of no more menstruation sings!

I decided to go for a stronger quicker approach for healing and went to see a doctor in Oriental Medicine. He feels that he can help me on my path to healing by taking some teas 5 days a week, 3 times a day. I have a good feeling that I am on the right path. The teas are a bit strong at first and the detoxing side effects are a little difficult at times but I must stay positive and be patient. My fiancee has helped me realize some benefits that are showing already; my scalp doesn't itch anymore, no allergy symptoms even in the heart of spring, and my breasts weren't sore this past cycle just to name a few. He says my skin is clearer too.

I also just recently watched some fabulous videos on FMTV(Food Matters Television) that point out that your belief and the way you think and feel play a huge part in your body's ability to heal naturally. Remarkable examples of people that have overcome all kinds of life threatening diseases with a strong will to live, a healthy diet, exercise and changing their outlook on life. Amazing. I'm on board, are you?

2014 Anti-biotic experience

The end of January I went in for a procedure recommended by my gynecologist. A test where they basically shoot dye into your reproductive tract to check the status of your fallopian tubes (the small information I got during the test didn't sound good but I will have to wait to talk with my doctor.) Anyways, I was required to begin taking anti-biotics the day of the procedure and continue on them for 10 days. Since starting a healthy diet back in 2008 I have rarely had food with anti-biotics in it much less needing prescriptions for them. To help my digestive track out I began taking pro-biotics as well. Well let me tell you, my body did not like this at all. Major stomach aches. FYI, I would never recommend taking one of each at the same time. I began to space them out more evenly through the day. I still had stomach problems and not enough energy to exercise. I began to feel better three days after starting them. Finally able to exercise after four. My regular appetite has not returned yet though and I have skipped one meal each day still. Hmm. On a side note however, my brother had either a stomach bug or food poisoning on the Monday before Wednesdays procedure. Could the tummy problems be from a bug we might have got from him or the clinic? Don't know. Anyone else have similar experiences with anti-biotics?