strength training

*** This blog is not to be prescriptive nor give you advice, merely to show you my way of navigating true health in a jungle of advice and pharmaceutical pressure. Please do your own research, ask your own specialists or contact those I have used if you wish to find out more about your personal condition and symptoms. To your very best health. ***

I am definitely in a period of sameness.

No new therapies to try out. No new books to read and, as such, no riveting progress to report on.

Over the past three weeks however I’ve noticed a positive vibe in my thoughts that hasn’t been there for a long time, despite some challenges this year. I’ve noticed what I need to do each day to have a good day and I’ve seen some of my exemplary behaviours around food slip.

I’ve known for a long time that I need to get out each day. I need the smack of fresh air on my face and I need to see sky. I don’t know where this comes from but there are brief moments in my life when I can remember that feeling, so it’s been with me a long time.

Running Fit Camp means that I am outside most days to run a session, but I hadn’t realised how important the time of day for being outside was to me.

Around the middle of January I had a morning when I didn’t have to get up for Fit Camp and there were no pressing appointments early on. Despite waking up early enough to get up and walk like I would normally, I lay in bed.

I didn’t feel guilty and I wasn’t particularly bothered (otherwise I’m sure I’d have got up) but by the mid morning I was aware at how grumpy I was. It took me a while to figure it out, but if I am not up and outside first thing it affects my mood. This was a great reminder and now I prioritise getting outside first thing. It doesn’t matter if I am running a Fit Camp session or walking or rebounding – I just need to be outside to get my kick for the day.

I have registered for the Jurassic Coastal Path Challenge in June and so I have started longer walks in the morning when I have time. These have started mounting up too. I got myself some new walking trainers and have been plodding the streets of Wokingham (it’s so like the Dorset coastline!) to get some miles on my legs. One of the fabulous benefits of my 14 months strength training at Rev5 is how easy this is. I’ve built my distance up to 27km and not felt it or ached the next day. This is a good place to be.

Talking of Rev5 I still love this time of my week. Every Saturday 06.15-07.00 I am in a bubble of happiness. It’s bloody hard and I give it my all each week and the improvements in my working times and weights are improving. I’ve impressed myself with more improvements on my leg strength and endurance and it keeps me motivated to want to be better next time.

Despite all this, the Hashimoto’s effect is slowing down what I see in terms of body composition change and my body fat percentage is increasing despite the improvements. I’d be lying if I said this didn’t bother me. It’s frustrating. I eat completely cleanly, no junk or processed foods and yet my body fat has tipped from the healthy range into ‘over fat’.

Getting a handle on sleep would certainly help this. Stress too, but a big fat GRRRRRRRRRRRRR, for it not quite going to plan in this department just yet. There’s more work to be done on the autoimmunity and other factors that are aggravating it for sure.

I am choosing positive workout wear to remind me what’s important…

I mentioned some changes to my eating and you may be thinking ‘ah-ha! that’s why the changes in your body composition‘ – I hope not. My changes are still clean. There’s been no sudden influx of custard (there’s one for you Sam) or cakes or sweets. Coffee is still at bay, although I’ve had the odd one or two, but really nothing more than 1 every 2 weeks or so.

But what I did discover was that Marmite isn’t gluten free! Shock-bloody-horror! I probably should have thought it through, but after a particularly bad breakout of dermatitis herpetiformis, for what I thought was no good reason, Mr Strickers suggested Marmite which I had recently started to slather on rice cakes. Lo and behold the yeast is grown on barley, oats, wheat and rye and so no wonder I was all an outbreaky itch – I can’t eat any of those!

I’ve ditched it in favour of Meridian’s yeast extract which is gluten free, but that affected me too and I know I am particularly sensitive so have decided to leave that alone for now too.

Also regarding foods, I’ve come to the very sorry conclusion that raw leaves don’t agree with me and my 3 salad meals a day are leaving me bloated and brick-bellied. I’ve started to cut back on them eating meals more based around cooked veggies or having something like meat or fish with an avocado and fruit. No leaves or salads at all. It seems to have made a difference and so I am monitoring that for now. Another minor irritation…you do what you think is the best thing. Eating raw, organic, fresh veggies and salads and they don’t agree. As such I’ve asked kinesiology-Annette if I can get in to see her more quickly to discuss some of this stuff.

In terms of thyroid related symptoms I still have cold/white hands, cold feet and nose all the time, scalloped tongue, poor memory, early waking, dry skin, lack of proper energy, laying fat down and a feeling that the thyroid gland is more swollen than before as even dropping my chin to my chest now feels uncomfortable, like I have a blockage in my throat.

On the upside, because I always like to think of the upside. My mood and positivity is up, way up compared to last year. I am able to stick to my plan without saying f**k it I can’t be bothered anymore, I am strong, fit, capable and happy. And I know that at some point this will all make a shift and I will start to improve.

And that’s that. Back with you when I have something to report 🙂