This is pretty much going to be my kick-off entry for the addition of resistance training to my life once again. This will be a long one so brace yourselves.
I'll toss out the most recent goings on that lead me to this point. I started having pressure in my lower abdomen back in October 2011 and for the past year or two I've had ankle swelling about once a month. In a nutshell, I had problems. Several of them but nothing dramatic or incurable. But the issues, if I continued to ignore them, would definitely shorten my life. I guess that is a bit dramatic but it doesn't feel that way with such easy fixes.
You see, that pressure was IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome) and I'd probably had it for a long time but didn't recognize the symptoms. Other issues included a racing heart (I felt like I wasn't going to make it when that happened). I decided to go to a doctor who practices both Western and Traditional Chinese medicine and it was the best thing I could have done for myself. She listened to me for about an hour and a half and then said I had a congested liver and that my gallbladder was in trouble. Odd, I didn't think I was having trouble with my gallbladder... She examined me and pressed just a little on my gallbladder and I was in agony.
By the time I left there, she suggested a change in my nutrition and to get my swollen ankles down, walk once a day to help with circulation. Her simple suggestions changed my life (partially). Based on her suggestions, first thing in the morning I took a tablespoon of olive oil every morning (by the next week the gallbladder pain was gone). I also had to cut out sugars except for fruit (but I cut out fruit eventually because of other issues. I can't have any sugar of any kind for a while). I cut out anything with gluten, dairy and nuts. Sounds tough huh? Not for me actually. I've always been a meat and veggies person but I admit, sweets were my weakness.
So, meat and veggies it was and I started eating at least three times a day (I was only eating once a day pretty much for ... longer than I care to admit).
It took about 2 weeks for the swelling in my legs to go down from the walking... or at least it seemed to be why it went down but we'll get back to that later.
I lost 25lbs with these changes in 2 months. This was starting in October 2011.
As time went on, I felt the doctor was becoming more focused on selling me things to ingest (like the "functional food" at $50 a pop that eventually made me throw up as if I'd had food poisoning). So I moved on to the next phase. I was researching everything I could about the gallbladder and having a congested liver. I found a website that really laid out many of the issues I had and helped me get on the path to fixing them.
I've left some stuff out... It was suggested long ago that I might have pcos (polycystic ovaries) but I didn't have cysts on my ovaries during an ultra sound, etc. I've also always had extremely painful periods (an understatement). I've killed my liver with obscene amounts of Ibuprofen since I was about 14 and I'm 37 now... Yep.
So this website had some Chinese herbal tinctures that would help with my congested liver and most importantly, they would gently crush my gallstones. I got started on them as soon as I could. For the first month or so I was having several gallbladder attacks a week. It just freaked me out. In the end, it was the gallstones moving around and being expelled. At the end of 3 weeks of the herbs I was supposed to do a gallbladder/liver flush to get the stones to come out but the week before I was to do one, the stones came out on their own! They looked like pieces of chipped tooth and scratched on the way out. TMI I know but hey, it is what it is.
NOTE: Some people have a gallstone issue so bad, this isn't an option. I was fortunate as I probably didn't have a huge gallstone.
Since then, no more gallbladder problems. Because bile was not flowing well due to the gallstones, I also had low stomach acid. Taking HCL Plus before each meal really helped! For many years, I only ate once a day because that's how long it took one meal to go through my system and I had no appetite usually. Food was just sitting and fermenting in my stomach. Now my food is digested properly and I'm able to lessen the amount of HCL I take.
My gallstones kept the bile from flowing freely, which caused low stomach acid which lead to the next big issue that was causing my IBS symptoms. I'd developed a leaky gut from Candida or just plain imbalanced intestinal flora. The IBS symptoms went away by drinking raw goat milk Kefir. Couldn't believe how fast that worked too!
This is why I have to have no sugar for a while. If I even take raw honey or fruit, I get thrush and my intestines start to hurt again. It will take a while to get my gut healed.
All was well for a while until recently... the swollen ankles are back and no amount of walking is fixing it. I still feel good in general but the ankle swelling although it's common, isn't common for me and I had to get to the bottom of it. Combined with my entire history and a recent trip to the ER because I'm now allergic to Brazil nuts when I've never been before, it turns out, the majority of my problems are because I have a thyroid problem. And I used to think I was an exceptionally healthy person aside from cramps. I actually never get colds or the flu, etc. even when I lived for 10 years in upstate, NY out shoveling snow every winter for hours. I recently moved back to Florida and now I'm all jacked up.
My swollen ankles, scalloped tongue, racing heart, fatigue, sleep apnea ... all thyroid related issue. Oh no! Well, it's not too scary. I'm also allergic to gluten now (may have been for a long time and didn't know it). I also recently learned that my intolerance to gluten is very likely to be the reason I'm having thyroid problems. It's a long explanation but it all made sense. I also realized my current ankle swelling started when I broke down for a few days and ate Pizza and breaded fried wings. Doh! But no biggie, I eat organic veggies (even grew some of my own in my aquaponics garden), and grass fed hormone and anitbiotic free meat, etc.
I also have a problem with excessive estrogen because my liver wasn't working as well as it could/should. I take D-Calcium Glucarate that help make sure excess estrogen is excreted and not re-absorbed.
I can report that since starting the dulse I don't have cramps anymore so I no longer need to take Ibuprophen. I think the D- Calcium Glucarate helped too.
You may be wondering how all this has to do with fitness and bodylastics...
Well I have a chance now to do what I've always tried to do but failed at because I had health problems I didn't know about or understand. For years I went swimming almost every day and I went to the gym lifting weights often and was simply unable to loose weight. I did that on and off for most of my adult life. I ate a similar diet that I'm on now but with the health issues not being addressed, it was futile. I've lost some weight now and haven't gained it back.
Now it's time to get my muscles going which will help me feel even better. So I'm really looking forward to working out with my bodylastic gym and I simply feel empowered. It is a terrible feeling to feel helpless about your health. But now I've been able to improve my health through nutrition and few herbs. Why stop there?
I'll use my space here to track my progress.
Thanks for reading, I know it's long and all over the place but that's how the experience has been for me. But things are going good and it's on!
Cheers!
Ashley (26)
Felix (21)
Joe Ferguson (17)
BrentCytron (15)