Hi guys…
So my daughter, who is also a Doctor of Physical Therapy, has been telling me for months to see a Biomedical Doctor for my stomach issues. Here’s a little history behind that:
3 years ago I was having some really bad stomach pain, worsened as the night went on until I could no longer take it. My husband finally made me go to the ER where they did some blood work and rushed me into an emergency exploratory surgery. Turns out I almost died…had diverticulitis, which I never knew I had, and it ruptured, spilling poison in my body. Five days in the hospital and my stomach cut from chest bone to pelvis bone. It was really traumatic, I didn’t much want to live, let alone, think I would ever recover. Six months later, they went back in and reversed the surgery I had, re-opening the same area and also cutting horizontally this time. So, needless to say, my abdominals have never been the same, nor do I think they ever will be. That’s also why you’ll never see a fitness picture of me with my stomach in it… 🙁
However, after the surgeries and now 3 years later, I am healing and feeling better each day. I have, though, continued to struggle with stomach issues, despite the fact they also removed my gall bladder during the surgery. I still have so many foods that I cannot eat without getting very ill.
So, upon listening to my daughters advice I started a new diet and workout regime consisting of very healthy eating (though I do love sweets on occasion…lots of occasions ha) and I work out 6 days a week, sometimes twice per day. I have started incorporating yoga as well as P-90 and Barre. Once it warms up a bit I’ll venture back out for a few runs a week, though I’m not super stoked, running isn’t my favorite thing to do.
I wanted to share with you a few things I’ve started this year that have already really improved my overall feeling of well being. First, I started taking a probiotic called Visbiome. After doing some careful research I believe this to be the best on the market, having over 112.5 billion bacteria per capsule.
I ordered it on Amazon, around $59 for 60 capsules. It does say to take 5-6 per day, but I honestly only take two, one in the morning and one at night, and I can tell a big difference. Well worth the cost…
I’ve also started to just add “more color” to my plate. For instance, this was my breakfast this morning:
I cooked kale in about 2 tbl. of olive oil, along with a 1/4 of a yellow pepper, onion, and mushroom, just until tender. Then I scrambled up two eggs, poured it over the top of the veggies and then cut up some little cherry tomatoes on top. Used some corn tortillas, which have no gluten, and very low carbohydrates to make a little breakfast taco. Cut up some strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and pineapple. Like I said, colorful, and oh my, so, so, tasty. I’m not a kale lover, but I’ve been trying to incorporate it into my meals at least twice a day. Kale is low in calorie, high in fiber and has zero fat. One cup of kale has only 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber and 0 grams of fat. It is great for aiding in digestion and elimination with its great fiber content. It’s also filled with so many nutrients, vitamins, folate and magnesium.
I’ll get into the benefits of the other ingredients on another Fit Day.
My workout today is 1 hour morning Yogaflow, and then P-90 legs and back. I’m telling you I used to think Yoga was honestly for wimps that couldn’t handle a “real work out.” I’ve been doing P-90 for about two years, and it’s a killer, but I love that type of hard exercise. I’ve been doing yoga now for about a month, and I don’t believe any other type of exercise has pushed me to my limit quite like this. I’m a super competitive person, so not being able to master some of the moves is really good for me, it just makes me want to work harder at it until I get it. I’m quite sure I’ll never be a master at it, but it’s fun, something new, and very challenging. It also gives me a great time to just concentrate on my breath and be mindful of what my body is doing. I honestly love it and have rarely missed a day since I started.
If any of you enjoy Yoga, let me know what your favorite type of Yoga is and also what position gives you the most trouble, or that you’re best at. I love to learn what other people are doing for exercise.
I hope your day is awesome, try to make some better choices for your body and mind today. Remember, we can’t control everything, but we can control what we put in our mouths 🙂
Not there yet, but perhaps, I will be, Soon Enuff…..
