Tag: celebrate

Posted in exercise

12 months later…

Posted on by nlchronicles

Sometimes, I don’t feel as energetic or as pain free as I’d like to be now, even after being diagnosed with Ankylosing spondylitis. Then I remember where I was just one year ago! I am so thankful for the improvements and positive changes that I’ve had over that time.

I started recording my walking and workouts on the app Map My Walk in June 2018. How do I know this??? LOL I looked it up yesterday because I went walking at one of my favorite local places. And it was FAST; well fast for me. I looked at the app to check whether I had ever recorded a mile pace that fast. 

And NO I had not! 🤩

Yesterday’s pace was a 23 minute mile. I was listening to music and imagine my surprise when the music diminished and the voice of the app stated the one mile mark with the pace time! I even went back and checked last year’s workouts when I was struggling just to get out of bed. I didn’t have the exact date but I did have a couple of times listed for February and both one mile pace times were over an hour!

AND, I was still walking with the cane then!!! 😧

I am so thankful and grateful for the opportunity to pursue better health and to actually feel better. Days like this are a wonderful reminder of progress. And thank you for rocking with me throughout this journey!

From yesterday’s walking path
Posted in Overall health

Relief!

Posted on by nlchronicles

Allow me to remind everyone that I am not giving medical advice, but just sharing my journey that has allowed me to move toward better health.

That being said, I started using Humira to stop/slow the progression of Ankylosing spondylitis. The rheumatologist recommended it and am I glad that she did! I can move better and more and I no longer need to get up an hour plus earlier than a normal person would to start my day. While I still get tired (working full time, part time and going to school part time will do that!), the all day fatigue has lessened. The knee swelling that made my right knee look double its normal size has gone down. And so many more benefits!

I got news of the biggest change yesterday!

I’ve mentioned working on my bloodwork numbers before, especially iron and c-reactive protein because iron would be low and CRP (an indicator of inflammation) would always be super super high. I had been trying everything – lifestyle changes, totally changed how I eat, exercise, supplements. I had to do bloodwork yesterday morning to set a baseline on the medication. 

EVERY SINGLE FACTOR CAME BACK NORMAL!!

Even my iron level went up to normal and the C-reactive protein dropped to a normal level; the CRP level had been crazy high when I first had it tested in 2018. If my calculations are correct, my original CRP level was about 100!!!!! That’s at the border of the high level and points to an autoimmune condition. Now it’s less than 3! I am so thankful and so grateful for finally getting relief.

I realize that everyone does not go the medication route but after trying alternative solutions for 4 years, I am elated to find something that has been most helpful!

Posted in Overall health, Updates

Healthy with Friends

Posted on by nlchronicles

As I’ve mentioned, I really started focusing on new ways to get healthier in August 2018. But before that, I had tried so many times to lose weight and would get to a certain weight and get stuck! In the in-between times, I would just think – screw this – and eat or do whatever I wanted, even if it wasn’t healthy.

What I have learned in this health journey is that having others who are moving in the same direction as me is key. That being said – a memory popped up on FB today from 7 years ago with a good friend. In the “then” picture, she had lost 15 pounds and I had not even tried again.

And then there’s our now pictures. We took very different paths to achieve better health but look how far we’ve come! My friend is a workout queen, working her way down to a size 6. I am more the lighter workout (think yoga, walking, bike riding) person and am at a size 8. And we both changed our eating habits, though I am much more strict since I’m following the AIP.

And I have other friends who are working on their health too! Be that person who motivates others to make a change to become healthier 🤗. I recently read a quote that where you will be in 5 years will depend on the people you hang around. Get some friends traveling in the same direction as you. It makes a difference!!

Posted in food

Surprises with the AIP

Posted on by nlchronicles

Allow me to remind everyone that I am not giving medical advice, but just sharing my journey that has allowed me to move toward better health.

Capturing how I’m feeling!

I have been on AIP (the autoimmune protocol) since January 1 and while there have been challenges, it has not been as dramatic of a change as I thought it might be. I had a win Friday! 🙌🏽

I manage osteoarthritis and get steroid shots in both knees a couple of times per year. In not planning as well as I needed to on Tuesday, I had to grab a protein bar to eat something while prepping for a lunch time meeting. Keep in mind, I had that same protein bar before AIP and thought that it did not affect me. But, later that night, I felt a twinge of pain in both knees and my ankles were much stiffer. I knew it was the bar! 🤦🏽‍♀️

So I readjusted and made a puréed vegetable soup to really focus on nutrients. And when I got up Friday morning, no more ankle stiffness or pain twinges. That was a great learning experience and it shows how far I have come. Before, when eating foods that arthritis doesn’t like, I’d be in a ton of pain in less than 2 hours! Like barely walking with the cane type of pain.

And then today … I did part of a yoga workout on the ball and could bend and lift knees, though not as high as instructor! 🧘🏽‍♀️I have not been able to get the right leg to bend and lift for months doing the exercise!How amazing is that! That’s combined with doing a short 1000 step walk beforehand without my knee sleeve!!! 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

This is such an unheard of breakthrough for me. I’ve read so many testimonials from people who have had such amazing health wins once they started AIP but those are generally from people who have autoimmune diseases. And technically, I don’t. Osteoarthritis is not and while PCOS is akin to autoimmune disease with a published paper making the argument that it should be, it’s not either. But I thought hey, what could it hurt to try and focusing on nutrient density is always important.

I will continue to document this journey, including reintroductions to find out what works for me and what doesn’t. If you don’t know a lot about AIP, I would definitely recommend finding out more, even just to dive deeper into better health. And if you know someone who has an autoimmune condition and think they could benefit, share this post with them!

Posted in Updates

Anniversary Sunday!

Posted on by nlchronicles

Three years ago, in the latter half of August 2018, I decided to make a real effort with getting healthier. I was tired of being sick and tired all of the time. Nothing was working and it seemed that something new was wrong all of the time. And I knew that I needed to do something in a different way this time.

See I had been to an expert in PCOS while living in Baltimore. And I was told to just take birth control pills until I died, unless I planned on having kids and we could look at other meds then. WTH! 🤯🤦🏽‍♀️ ummm, no I’ll pass. I had been following different docs for awhile and kept hearing about keto and thought – hey why not? Nothing else had worked.

Left – before an interview, Aug 2021. Right – before work, Aug 2018

So I started on keto and did that for 3 months until I literally had no appetite and couldn’t sleep. While I lost weight, keto was much too harsh for me physically. Some do well on it; I just couldn’t continue. I then migrated over to paleo. The weight released slower but it was a much more sustainable way for me, especially due to a heavy travel schedule for work.

And after doing the work, here I am, 3 years later. It’s not all about the number on the scale. Yes I’ve lost 100 pounds which is AMAZING and I’ve kept it off. But I also can sleep more than 4 hours per night. I don’t feel sluggish and sick all the time. Brain fog is gone. My outlook on everything is more optimistic. PCOS is much improved. Are there still challenges? Absolutely, but as I continue to research, read, learn and grow, I hope to find ways to smash those challenges too.

Left – Aug 2021 brunch bday celebration. Right – Apr 2018 work gala (I had very few full length pics that year 😲)

Change is hard. Growth is hard. I get that. But I had to learn that to get where I wanted to go, I had to change and grow. And you know what? You can too! I’m not so special that being healthier is exclusive to me. Just start, today. And that decision to start in August 2018 has led me to where I am today. Until next time, to your health! 💥

Posted in Updates

Transformation Tuesday!

Posted on by nlchronicles

I NEVER thought I’d get to this point. It’s definitely not something that I planned for as my goal was to lose 75 pounds. But I guess my body has other plans!

Please join me in celebrating the release of 100 pounds on this current journey!! 🤩🎉🎊🥳

Posted in Updates

Magnificent Monday

Posted on by nlchronicles

I hope you are having a magnificent Monday! Just a reminder that Wellness Wednesdays begins this week – May 5. Join me on changes that have helped me be and feel better. For inspiration, I’m dropping a comparison pic below. The left side was me about 90 pounds and 4 years ago; the right side was yesterday! Do I still have challenges to overcome? Yes but I’m celebrating the wins to date. See you Wednesday!

Posted in Uncategorized

Non Scale Victory

Posted on by nlchronicles

I live about 20 minutes from a Gap factory outlet and let me say, this store has the BEST deals. Each week or so, there are a few highlighted items there. And the store includes all Gap brands including Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta.

A friend went yesterday and sent a text that some of the items were down to $1.99! So of course I went after work 😄 Because my sizing continues to drop, I try to find deals on clothing. And yes, I found some amazing deals.

But…the best discovery was when I picked up the size medium leggings and THEY FIT! 🤩 why is this such a big deal? I remember buying a pair of leggings a few years ago size XXL from the same designer, Old Navy. The bonus was that the leggings only cost $1.99!!

For those who need encouragement, let this be it for you: you can drop weight the healthy way. It may take time and it may not happen the way you expect, but as someone who had to buy “husky” clothing when I was in elementary school, this is a great win! (On another note, WHYYYYY was clothing labeled husky? That’s another post for another day)

Share with someone who needs encouragement or share your NSVs below. 🥂 to your good health!

Posted in Uncategorized

A Late Post

Posted on by nlchronicles

OMG- I was sitting here thinking “when is the one year anniversary for reaching the goal that I set for myself in the weight category?”. So I looked through some of my old posts and realized that it was in NOVEMBER last year!! Clearly I did nothing to celebrate because I didn’t know that it had been one year.

To recap, my goal was to get down to 175 pounds. And yayyyyy, I met that goal. And I’ve blown right past it as well. My last weigh in was 154 for a total loss of about 91 pounds. The only thing I’ve tried to do is be more consistent, get good quality sleep and incorporate some type of exercise on most days. Cooking at home more has helped a good deal; that’s been easier since I no longer travel up and down the coast.

But why do I mention all of this? To continue to stress that better health is possible. Have I hit all of my health goals? No. There are other indicators that I would like to improve but I believe that I will get there as I continue to work on them.

I’ve included a comparison picture from yesterday that I took before meeting a friend for lunch (one of the few times I’ve eaten out in some time) and from December 2018 after losing about 27 pounds. Share with someone who may need motivation to keep moving forward. If this chick can manage PCOS and osteoarthritis and still lose weight, you can too!

🥂 to your good health!
Posted in Uncategorized

MILESTONE: 2 Years!

Posted on by nlchronicles

In the latter half of August 2018, I decided to really work on my health and find more natural approaches to do so. This was after an expert in PCOS basically told me that I could just stay on birth control pills to manage it for the rest of my life! 😱

I came across the keto diet and did that for 3 months. However, since I have slow digestion, the program has WAYYYYY too much meat for me and I never felt hungry. But the keto diet was a great kick start to transition to paleo, which is basically what I still follow. Keto helped me stop a lot of junk cravings but I still wanted to feel better.

I started working with a nutritionist who specializes in PCOS in January 2019. And while working with the nutritionist involved revamping everything I had known in terms of food, what would work for me, motivation and habits, it was sooooo worth it.

When I started mid-August 2018 to make a total change and find something that was a permanent solution, I weighed about 245 pounds. Fairly accurate as I went to a gym and used the scale there. I’ve included a couple of before pics from earlier in 2018.

Summer 2018
April 2018 at a gala

Since that time, I’ve lost 81.8 pounds to date. This is the first time that I’ve ever released weight and actually been able to keep it off!! Ever! And no, I’ve had no surgeries or used any gimmicks. I just had to make real, sustainable changes with the guidance of my nutritionist.

I have improved health in so many ways – better sleep, more energy, less brain fog, better walking ability with osteoarthritis, less PMS, clearer skin, less hirtuism, better digestion, very few junk food cravings, and more confidence because I feel much better! I’m still a work in progress and have more goals that I want to reach but I’ve included recent pics from this month.

Summer 2020
August 2020 birthday celebration

I hope this inspires you to reach your goals! You can do this. And if you veer off track, the next day is a new one; the next meal is another chance to do better. Until next time, 🥂 to your good health!