12 weeks to Maui - day 4/84

I've continued going to Dailey Method workouts throughout December and I still love it.  I had to take the 2 weeks of Christmas break off entirely due to family and myself being sick the entire 2 weeks.  I started back again this past Monday and went again last night.  I love it, love it, love it.  It is not a cardio workout, although I do raise my heartrate a bit at times, but it is small isometric movements that kill you and then big stretching of the same muscles.  I just really enjoy it and feel like it is something I'm doing for ME - something purely for my love of it, rather than feeling the obligation of getting to the gym to accomplish something.

I started running again on Tuesday.  I had started trying to run in mid december but again had to take a break during the holidays.  I would much prefer to run outside, but not doing it in negative temps.  I've been off of cardio for so long that i have to start small and build myself up.  Dave and I talked about doing the 5/3 riverbank, but there is no way i could build myself to that point in time.  Maybe I can get to the point of running the holland half marathon in the fall.  I really want to get back into running... not only to burn calories, but because i just miss it.  I miss the freedom, the adventure of running while on vacation, the feeling afterward.  When I drive down my running route on a nice, sunny day, I get wistful.  So I'm going to get myself back into running shape.

I've also made a commitment to change my eating.  I had really waffled back and forth over the last year with eating clean, eating paleo, doing weight watchers, etc.  I had started weight watchers right before I got that virus over the summer and was having some success in the few weeks i did it, but then with that virus, the weight just came off and stayed off so i never truly completed weight watchers.  I have tried paleo and high protein eating and it just doesn't work for me.  And then I had a 2 month sugar binge from halloween - new years.  Its time to cut the crap.  I'm at my Holy Shit I Have to Do Something About This weight - 136.  This is the weight I was in the Amazon and those pictures are upsetting to me.  So I'm cutting the sugar out and going to a plant based, healthy fat way of eating.  I also had bloodwork done and my cholesterol was 325!  So I started meds for that and I think plants are a huge thing for helping cholesterol...  Ultimately, I need to eat plantier and cleaner... its time to change and make it last.

To be clear, this eating change is not entirely about weight.  I'd be lying if I said that wasn't part of it, but its not the whole thing.  I have gotten lazy in my eating and even though I've been gluten free, I have not done a good job of staying away from other inflammatory foods - sugar, starches, crap.  I think my body is prone to inflammation and I need to be careful about the kinds of food I'm eating and how much water I'm drinking.  Changing my eating is a commitment to doing that.

I did not notice a major change in the way my back feels with just the addition of The Dailey Method.  But, I think I feel that it is better just since cutting out the junk in my diet.  I'm going to monitor that...  I was going to make an appointment to see a back specialist, but I'm so worried that a) he/she will tell me that there is nothing wrong and b) he/she will prescribe 3x weekly physical therapy... there really is just no way i can fit that in.  So I'm going to see if eating better has an affect.  If it doesn't, then I'll make the appointment.
 
We are heading to Maui on March 28th for Nora's 13th birthday trip.  It is 80 days away.  I have time to change my habits, get back into running and work hard at The Dailey Method!  And incentive, for sure!

Starting Over - The Dailey Method - November 24, 2014

So.

I've taken a looooong time off of working out regularly.  I don't even know exactly how it happened.  One day I'm running regularly, one day I'm not.  And then pretty soon it has been probably 3 years since I really ran (maybe more).  

And not just running.  I've really let it all go.  I've had some really bad back issues in the last 6 months so other than semi-regular yoga workouts, I've done not much of anything in terms of physical movement.  And my yoga workouts were only 25 minutes so I'm not sure they were good for a whole lot other than to say I did them.

I got my sleep issues resolved.  Somehow.  I think I finally healed my gut well and now am sleeping just fine.  I still stay gluten free so I don't have inflammation and joint pain.  In fact, I went to a naturopath who did a test that indicated I have a huge reaction to gluten.  So that confirmed it.  

Over the summer Dave and I both got some kind of mild virus for about 5 weeks, which resulted in me getting down to 124lbs and I was able to stay there.  Mostly because eating was a non-issue for me.  During the summer the virus caused me to be nauseous or have diarrhea so I had very little appetite.  After that (somehow) resolved, I started a major kitchen renovation which meant that I was hardly eating - not intentionally, just too busy to do it.  We ended the kitchen stuff and immediately went to Hawaii.  And this whole time I maintained 124 lbs.  But recently I've gained 6 and am back up to 130.  Halloween.  I was good at 124 until Halloween.  And now up to 130.  

Last summer a friend of mine told me about The Dailey Method.  She was attending classes in LaGrange and said a new studio would be opening in Orland soon.  So I went online to check it out and signed up for the email alert to let me know when it opened.  This past weekend was the Grand Opening and they did free classes Th/F/S/S.  I attended twice and I love it.  I signed up for the 5 weeks of unlimited classes and began this morning.  I am hoping that with a minimum of 3 classes (hoping for 4)/week I will find a non-medical, non-surgical solution to my back pain.  My next step was to go to a back specialist for an evaluation, but I wanted to try this first.  So I've committed to 5 weeks at this point and intend to continue after that.

I've also committed to limiting my sugar intake to 2 pieces of dark chocolate per day and limiting my carbs to only fruit carbs (the naturopath's test indicated that carbs are an issue for me so I should stick with high protein high plant based diet).  And limiting my alcohol to the weekends rather than my one glass of wine or cocktail at night.

Obviously, I will be giving myself a reprieve on Thursday :)  

This blog... I took pictures this morning and was not pleased.  The only way I'll post them is if there is an after picture that shows a change, lol.  But.  I had thought about updating this blog and then decided that I wasn't going to do so because I never look back at it to read my progress, so really what is the point of taking the time to do it?  A few hours later as I googled "The Dailey Method results" and "The Dailey Method before and after" for probably the 10th time in 5 days, I decided that since there are so few sites to look at that I would provide one (hopefully), so that is why I'm back.  

Ultimately my thoughts are: In 5 weeks I hope to feel a change in my chronic back pain and spine/hamstring stiffness.  By my birthday (April 1) I hope to SEE a change.  We will be in Maui over my birthday and other than relief of back pain, I couldn't think of a better incentive to stick with it and be consistent.

Today is day 1.

Day 29 - Monday August 12, 2013

Sleep: bed at 11 with 2 advil pm, slept until alarm at 7am

We are home and I slept fairly well the rest of last week, although I did use advil pm to ensure that I would sleep.  Christene does not want me to take these - and I 100% agree, however, if I had to be awake for 2 hours in the middle of the night while sleeping in a hotel with my family, I would have gone crazy (nowhere to go).  And Saturday & Sunday I was just so incredibly exhausted that I couldn't handle the thought of not sleeping.  But as of last night I won't be taking them - and I shouldn't have to because I'm home and in control of what I prepare and what I eat.

This morning I worked out for the first time in at least 6 weeks.  I was going to start P90x, but I got up a little late and I was intimidated...  a little worried about how sore I'll be after not having worked out for so long.  Instead I did Jillian Michael's Yoga Meltdown, which was tough enough as it was.  

I weighed myself this morning and braced myself for the weight that I've been for the longest time - around 128-130.  I was 125.4.  That is incredible.  I have not been that low in a year at least.  And I haven't been killing myself with my workouts, I haven't been counting calories, I've been eating incredible foods and enjoying them all.  The only thing I miss is wine.  I don't miss sweets, I don't miss grains, I don't miss anything else - just wine.  So hopefully I'll be able to add that back in at some point.  

Otherwise, I feel great.  I've gotten a few nights of sleep.  I enjoy my food.  I enjoy not worrying about what I'm eating.  I enjoy not feeling guilty about what I'm eating.  I enjoy the freedom of the restrictions I have... I simply can't eat so many things that its more freeing - there are no mental gymnastics of "I really want that but I shouldn't eat it", there are no mental gymnastics of feeling guilty because I ate something I shouldn't have.  I can eat all of the greens, vegetables, meat, berries, avocados, oil, etc that I want.  That is actually a lot of food.  I'm feeling great about all of this.  And if I keep sleeping, I'll be even better!

Day 24 - Wednesday August 7, 2013

We've been on vacation since last Friday.  We drove down to Destin, FL and left at 6:00am friday morning.  We drove 8 hours to Nashville, stopped and went to the zoo and had dinner with our friends, then continued on to Birmingham, AL.  Left again on Saturday morning and got to Destin around 4:30 pm.  We packed a cooler of food and I stayed on target the entire time.  Saturday night was a group dinner buffet and I again stayed on target and felt comfortable that I was not eating gluten.  I slept decently Friday and saturday nights - I took Advil PM just to make sure.  I slept through the nights both nights, but didn't feel super rested either night.

Sunday night I stayed on target throughout the day and thought I did at dinner, too.  We had seafood at a local restaurant - scallops, crab & fish.  Although I told the waiter that I needed my food to be gluten free, I perceived him to shrug me off and kind of roll his eyes.  There must have been some kind of gluten in the seasoning on the fish & the scallops because I was up at 3:30 again (even with the Advil PM) and didn't get back to sleep until 5:30/6:00.  We had to get up early to be at breakfast and a meeting on monday morning so I didn't have a chance to sleep any later.

Monday I again stayed on target throughout the day.  And again woke up over night: 3:00-5:??.  For dinner we had a group dinner at the Gulfarium.  We had burgers, hot dogs, pulled pork, chicken.  I ate a hamburger, a hot dog and some pulled pork (I was told that there was no bbq sauce on it).  In retrospect, i think i should have skipped the pulled pork - you just never know what it is seasoned with.  So, fail on my part.

Tuesday, again on target (we have a full kitchen so I went and bought the groceries that I needed so I could eat the same here as I do at home).  For dinner we went to a restaurant called Calahan's.  The waiter was very helpful and attentive to my gluten issue.  I had grilled pork chops, vegetables and a side salad with oil & vinegar.  I didn't take the advil pm last night because it wasn't helping anyway.  I woke at 2 and fell back to sleep around 3:15 and slept until 6:45.  I tried to go back to sleep but it wasn't going to happen.  I don't feel horrible this morning, but I certainly don't feel rested.

I understand that we are on vacation and I can only control so much when we're eating food prepared by other people.  The restaurants here do not seem to be allergen sensitive - they do not have gluten free menus or gluten free items on their menus.  I'm trying my best to not get discouraged or upset, however, it is somewhat upsetting that it feels like I have to eat absolutely perfectly or i will suffer at night.  I don't want to go to bed anymore.

I will continue to do what I'm doing and hope for the best during the rest of this week.

Day 17 - Wednesday July 31, 2013

Sleep: bed by 11, up at 3:30, took 10 mg of Melatonin, back to sleep until alarm at 6.  Should have slept later.

Christene and I emailed back and forth on Monday about all of this stuff.  She is so reassuring and inspires so much confidence and hope in me.  She told me that I WILL enjoy normal food and wine again.  It may take a while, but it will happen.  She suggested that I start taking an anti-fungal, so I went out and bought that.  She also told me that it takes 27 days for yeast loving food to get out of our system... after that the die off will occur.  So Day 1 was Monday because of Sunday.  

She acknowledges that it is difficult to eat perfectly on vacation and told me to do what I can to plan for not sleeping well - take the melatonin with me, plan for down time on a couple of afternoons, etc.  I think that is good advice, however, I plan to continue to eat properly - I am so sick of sleep being an issue, I want this stuff kicked as soon as possible.  I can do this.

I'm getting better and better at planning for my day and bringing food with me.  Yesterday we picked blueberries with my in-laws and I brought a salad with a piece of salmon, and a dish of cucumber/tomato salad.  I was totally fine.

So yesterday's food:

morning: 1 c. coffee

Breakfast: giant breakfast salad - organic greens & spinach / garlic / red onion / cherry tomatoes / 2 fried organic, free-range eggs / 1/4 avocado.  20 oz of lemon water.

Lunch: salad - organic greens & spinach / red onion / cherry tomatoes / 1T (or less) of greek olive vinegrette + leftover salmon filet.  Cucumber-tomato salad: cucumbers, tomatoes, yellow pepper, jalepeno, red onion, garlic, little bit of white balsamic vinegar, 1/4 avocado.

Dinner: Salad - organic greens & spinach / red onion / cherry tomatoes / greek olive vinegrette.  1 wild caught alaskan salmon filet (grilled with coconut oil, salt & pepper).  1 c. of brussel sprouts roasted in chili infused olive oil, S&P.  20 oz lemon water.

Snacks: a billion blueberries


Weight today: 128.8

Day 15 - Monday July 29, 2013

A letter to my health coach - explains it all for today:

Hi Christene –

You mentioned the other day on the phone that you want to see how I do on a super clean diet.  The answer is: I sleep through the night entirely with no waking at all. 

We talked on the phone on Wednesday and I eliminated all sources of sugar from my diet on Thursday, with the exception of berries.  Otherwise, I just ate greens, proteins & berries.  Friday & Saturday I slept through the night without waking at all.

Yesterday we were at my in-laws for their anniversary.  They are horrible eaters – quite possibly the worst eaters I know.  There is not a vegetable or fruit to be found in their house.  Dave and I got there after a long afternoon appointment and were already running late for dinner.  They ordered me a salad for dinner, but did not get it without cheese.  So I removed as much of the bleu cheese as I could, but there was still a dusting of it as well as some grated parmesan (I think).  I’ve had this salad before, so the dressing has never been an issue (in terms of hidden gluten).  I also ate 3 Hooters chicken wings, which I carefully removed all coating from before I ate.  And then later in the evening, since I was starving, I grabbed some potato chips (I know I shouldn’t eat them, but honestly, it was the only thing in the house that I could reasonably eat and I was starving… I don’t normally like potato chips, so I wasn’t satisfying a craving).

And I woke up at 3:45 and didn’t get back to sleep until 5:45… slept until 6:45.  I took 10mg of Melatonin.  I tried reading.  I tried the meditations.  I tried watching boring tv.  Nothing worked – just a solid 2 hours of being wide awake.  Not thinking of anything except a song running through my head.  Not upset.  Not worried.   Not anxious.  Nothing.  Just wide awake.

I’m really, really upset.  I cannot make even the slightest mistake in my diet without suffering for it.  And the thought of living like this for the rest of my life is distressing – I’m missing out on some of my favorite things in life: ice cream dates with my girls, wine & cheese with my husband.

We are going on vacation on Friday.  I am committed to eating strictly greens, protein & berries from this point forward.  BUT, when I come home I want to be as aggressive as possible in getting rid of this.  If you believe that it is candida and that if we can get rid of it I can eventually live normally, then I want to get rid of it as quickly and aggressively as possible.  I would do so this week, but I don’t want to feel crappy on vacation… if you don’t think that will be an issue, then by all means lets start asap.

Could you put together a plan of action for me so I can start right away on Sunday the 11^th?  If possible, I’d like to be able to have what I need in the house already when I get back – so if you could do so by Wednesday night, then I can go out on Thursday if necessary.

If you’re uncomfortable with this, then I’ll need to go with plan B and have you help me find a whole health doctor in my area.

I know this is my fault for straying yesterday.  I felt like I didn’t have any options.  But it is still my responsibility.  So I’m angry with myself, but I really need to either get healthy, or be mentally okay with eating like this for the rest of my life.

Thanks!

Jana 

Day 12 - Friday July 12, 2013

Sleep: Getting better!  Sleep by 11, up at 4, took 5mg of Melatonin, back to sleep (although kind of restless) and up at 6:40 with alarm.

I am so thrilled to have gotten an idea of what the heck is going on with me and thrilled that we can do something about it and there is hope.  It is going to be a long process, but I'm willing to do what I need to do.  I've been told by no less than 3 older women (60's) that this waking in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to sleep thing is an indication and symptom of menopause and there is nothing I can do about it except get meds from a doctor... and deal with it for 10-15 years (like they did).

Bunk.

I'm 37.  I should not feel like I'm 57 - achy everywhere and always tired and dragging.  I should not have to just deal with sleep issues like that and for that long.  And Christene is confident that we will get this resolved and that I am on track to feeling well again.


Yesterday's food:

Breakfast: big breakfast salad - organic greens, raw onions, raw garlic, red pepper, grape tomatoes, 2 organic, free range eggs fried in olive oil + salt & pepper, and 1/4 of an avocado.  Large glass of lemon water.

Snack: handful of fresh blueberries, couple of organic strawberries.

Lunch: Hemp chocolate protein smoothie made with organic frozen raspberries, organic frozen blueberries, 1/4 of an avocado, 1/2 T of coconut oil.  + bowl of raw cucumber, tomato, pepper, onion salad w/ 1/4 of an avocado.

Snack: 1 large granny smith apple.

Dinner: Big plate of organic greens & organic spinch, topped with baked organic, free range chicken tenderloins seasoned with s&P, 1/4 of an avocado, raw onions, raw garlic, grape tomatoes, minimal greek olive vinegrette (less than 1g of sugar).  Plus 1 slice of leftover pork loin from night before.

Before bed: 1 cup of decaf Honey Vanilla Chamomile tea

Weight: 129.6