Transformation

When we see transformation photos, we tend to focus on how the physical body has changed. We all like to see ourselves looking thinner and trimmer. This transformation photo of myself shows this too, but there is so much more going on than just dropping pounds due to diet and exercise. I went through a weight loss six years ago. It was easier then. I had gained weight due to lack of activity while grieving the loss of my sister. The grief led to depression and chronic headaches and I got stuck there for a couple of years. As I began to heal mentally and emotionally, the more I found my way back to exercise and eating healthy. I hired a personal trainer and got to work. Obstacle course racing became an interest and off I went. It was great fun and I enjoyed pushing my body to be stronger and faster. For most of that weight loss, it was as simple as finding a calorie deficit (more calories burned than calories consumed).

As I continued to train hard and circumstances changed, I found myself in a stressful work environment. I hit walls while strength training because I did not have muscular balance. Injuries and chronic pain entered the picture. Headaches became frequent again. And no matter how hard I trained and maintained nutrition, the pounds began to slowly reappear on my body.

I knew something wasn't quite right but I didn't clearly see all the puzzle pieces. I already had my personal training certification and had determined that I needed to stop the heavy lifting and create more muscular balance through out my body. That's when I discovered Pilates.

The more I learned about Pilates, the more I appreciated the method. I began the teacher training program and quickly "drank the Kool-Aid". It made sense. It was thorough and in-depth. The requirements of college level anatomy, over 100 hours of class, and 400 hours of personal practice and student teaching, increased my understanding of how the body moves and works. Due to my commitment to the teacher training, I resigned my part-time job.

The pounds continued to add up. I knew what to do. I increased calorie expenditure. I reduced calorie intake. It didn't change my weight. I kept plugging along feeling a bit frustrated but not worrying about it as I knew I was doing the right things. I was more focused on creating muscular balance and reducing chronic pain than losing weight.

Suddenly, on a Saturday night at the end of October, I was in excruciating abdominal pain. Nauseated. Vomiting. I had experienced the same symptoms four years prior and was confident it was the same problem: Small bowel obstruction. But why was it happening again? And why so suddenly?

CT scans, x-rays, lab work, a colonoscopy, and biopsies confirmed what the GI docs suspected---Crohn's disease. Mild, but my ileum is smaller than normal. When it becomes inflamed and swells, it causes the obstruction.

I had experience with anti-inflammatory nutrition and quickly returned to it after that episode. Three weeks later, I had another obstruction despite the diligent nutrition. I kept digging into research and information about diet and lifestyle for autoimmune disorders. It was confusing! I reached out to my friend who has Hashimoto's and is now a food blogger with a focus on Autoimmune Protocol. She shared some resources and I began the Myers Way protocol for reducing inflammation. I found an integrative doctor and learned that my levels of estradiol, progesterone, B12, and cortisol were not balanced. All of these factors were increasing inflammation inside my body.

I continued following the Myers Way and began the supplements needed to balance the hormones. Things began to improve. I was feeling much better. Finally. And then I had two mild obstructions within a week of each other. Can we say frustrated?

I saw my GI doctor again and discussed my options. Thankfully, he was willing to listen to my pages of questions, what I was eating and not eating, and patterns that I was noticing. He suggested increasing the dosage of the anti-inflammatory medication before jumping to anything else. This has worked! I have a goal of being able to eliminate the need for the medication but at that time, my body needed the help.

All the while this was going on, I was continuing to teach Pilates 3 days a week, practice Pilates for myself, swim, and run. I also scheduled time to relax, read, be with the Lord, meal plan, grocery shop, and all the other things of life. There were times that I would swim 1200 yards or run 3 miles and then find myself exhausted or not feel well. Then I'd scale back and try to build back up again. I thought I was noticing a pattern but had not put my finger on exactly what was happening.

Then things just clicked. I stopped pushing so hard. I began to tune in even more to what my body needed each day regarding exercise. When I jumped in the pool to swim, I had a plan and a goal for the work out but if my body didn't respond well, then I did what I could and stopped. I stopped running. I walked instead. Some walks were leisurely. Some walks were pushing the pace. It depended on how I felt that day. The same with Pilates. Some workouts were tough. Some were gentle and flowy.

I thought I was losing weight because my clothes were looser. I began to weigh myself again. Yep. The pounds were coming off. Hmmmm. I'm not counting calories. I'm not hyper focused on getting in a certain amount of cardio or heavy weight training. So what is it? What were the key ingredients to this multi-layer transformation? Here's what I did and continued to fine tune:
Hormone balance
Increasing my level of B12
Supporting my adrenals
Increased sleep quality
Managing stress more effectively
Eliminating dairy (I have a sensitivity)
No gluten
Decreasing added sugars
Eliminating other foods that tend to cause inflammation (nightshades, legumes)
Exercise based on how my body feels each day
Reducing my toxic burden (filtered water, sunshine, glass containers for food, etc)
Choosing local, organic foods vs. processed

Even though the transformation photo says "17 pounds gone", it is not just about that. It has not been a simple formula of calories in versus calories out. I want you to know that if you've been trying to lose weight with that simple formula and it's not working, then there is likely something else going on. Inflammation, toxic burden, stress, autoimmune disorders, food sensitivity, and more can prevent your biochemical processes from working properly and prevent you from reaching your health and wellness goals.
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Your health is not just the number on the scale. It is not just how much you exercise. It is not your size. It is not just what you eat. It is not just your stress management skills. It is ALL of that and more. God created you fearfully and wonderfully. The human body and brain is a marvel. We have still only tipped the iceberg in terms of our understanding of how it all works together. But work together it does. I encourage you to explore all of your health: mental, emotional, relational, spiritual, and physical. Create balance. Give yourself space and time to do it. It is up to you to #fightforyourhealth