It's Paying Off

So, a few weeks ago I started a post that I never finished. Basically, I was bitching and moaning about the fact that my family can hike 24/7, for hours at a time, and I on the other hand, can barely make it 20 minutes into the hike without turning into a big wimp and asking if we can go back. I would always finish the hike, but begrudgingly so. My cardio was shot. Deb has always been so patient about it.

I had Epstein-barr right after high school, and ever since then, I’ve had this story that it was impossible for me to ever be as fit as I was then. Then I found out that I had a thyroid condition that made me gain weight and get tired and basically be a mess emotionally and physically. So, with my very real thyroid problem, and my residual stories from my younger years, I have never really owned getting back in shape. I hit a period right before my thyroid was diagnosed where it went into the opposite state and I was quickly down to a size four, I then shot way back up to a much larger size. I have been on meds for a while now. Huge improvement, but still not in shape. When I have been small, I have been what I call skinny fat. Small, but not really in shape.

A little over a month ago, I decided to take control over my health. No more excuses. Deb and I joined our local community center and have been lifting weights. I am eating more balanced than I ever have. I am taking supplements, drinking water, and eating as organically and unprocessed as I can. I have lost a few pounds, and I am starting to look a bit more toned, and my skin has cleared up. The biggest reward is that we went on a hike Sunday and I could actually get through the hike without complaining. Deb was so sweet and it dawned on us, that I wasn’t complaining at all. In fact, I might have been able to go further. I could actually breathe this time. It was so amazing. We got high enough to see the entire city, all the way out to the Great Salt Lake. It started to snow, and it looked as if we were in the middle of a snow globe.

I have no doubt that I couldn’t function right now without my thyroid medicine. However, I am seeing amazing changes in my body due to diet and exercise alone. My emotions are balanced, my mental fogginess has lifted and I am much more focused. I am thinking about seeing if I can go off my medicine after a few more months of an integrated holistic approach to my health. I do believe that a lot of our problems are genetic, and do need the treatments of traditional medicine, but I question all the millions of health problems that have increased over the years. I find it hard to believe that a number of them are not caused by environmental factors and can’t be treated holistically or through diet. We saw a show the other day on how many kids are being diagnosed as bipolar and ADHD. I believe that the number has increased, but nobody is asking how the hell this is happening. Seriously, what we put into our bodies is so important. I can’t believe that there isn’t a correlation on how the chemicals in processed food, drives our nervous system and mental functions.

Recently, I have read numerous stories of people who had diabetes, thyroid conditions, and auto-immune diseases, who have now been undiagnosed due to simply eating a different way, a holistic way. So, here’s to my new found joy in whole food. I love what I am eating, and love how I feel. So far, this is going to be my best summer in a long time. :-)