Tag: healthy

Posted in exercise, self-care

Exercise – Wellness Wednesdays

Posted on by nlchronicles

Welcome to Wellness Wednesdays! Today’s focus is exercise. 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.

For most of my life, I’ve tried to incorporate some type of exercise. As a teenager, I ran track for a couple of years. I tried out for field hockey and made the initial cut to do conditioning but that level of running left me exhausted. Looking back, this should have been a stop sign to find out why I was so exhausted. In college, I worked out fairly consistently my freshman year and lost about 25 pounds. But when my course load increased sophomore year, physical activity decreased. After graduating, I worked at an hmo and went to the gym there several times a week but it seemed that I toned more than lost weight. And the saga goes on and on. Frustrating, yes?

Around 2011, I started having issues with my hip and so I chose yoga and stretching to help ease the concerns. And it worked! Another clue but I still hadn’t taken the time to put all of it together. I walked a good deal and did other higher impact aerobics but was just maintaining weight. Then I started following doctors and nutritionists who focused on PCOS. That was a game changer.

Basically, I had been doing a lot of the wrong type of exercises for me. While exercise is wonderful, the body believes there is stress and increases cortisol- your fight or flight hormone. Well with pcos, that hormone is hard to get back down and that increases the storage of fat and inflammation, especially in the gut. So I’ve changed to longer, slower walks and always stretch at the end. I try to do a yoga or Pilates based workout twice a week. Weight training probably once per week. I limit hiit workouts to maybe twice per month. Sometimes I cycle or do the elliptical at the gym, when available. And that’s it! After years and years and years of thinking that the harder I went, the more I would lose 🤯 I don’t have to do that. How amazing to have that revelation! And I have still lost 97 pounds in the process! 🤩

So I encourage you to find the workout that is best for you. Comments, questions? Drop them below and share what works for you. See you next week!

Posted in Overall health, self-care, Work/life balance

Sleep – Wellness Wednesdays

Posted on by nlchronicles

Where do I even begin with making sleep a priority? Looking back, for years I ran on little sleep which didn’t help me to better health. Then, for awhile, I would go to sleep really easily but wake up around 1 or 2 am and just be in the bed, wide awake until about 5, doze off and jump up to a 6 am alarm. I would maybe get 4 hours of sleep. Not enough hours and lack of quality caught up with me.

And I knew I needed to do better because I felt tired all the time. I would need a nap in the middle of the day, which worked out as I worked remotely at the time. But I felt awful and it affected everything else.

I follow a couple of functional doctors who kept emphasizing the need for quality sleep as well. Then I started with working my nutritionist (I actually work with two now who focus on different things). The first one really helped me to understand the importance of sleep and how it allows the body to repair itself and reduces inflammation, which is HUGE for me. And it’s made such a positive difference.

So if you are not getting at least 7 hours of quality sleep, rethink your routine. Wear blue blocker glasses after dark. Limit the amount of time you watch tv, especially at night. Don’t use overhead lights after dark. Stick to a consistent sleep schedule, even on the weekends. Meditate before bed to get your mind prepared to sleep. These are all changes that I made and continue to tweak as I still work on this area.

Any suggestions on how to improve sleep quality? Comment below and share what works for you.

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 Overall health

Summer series – Wellness Wednesdays

Posted on by nlchronicles

I am so excited to update everyone on this new venture that I plan to work on this summer. I’m going to publish a blog post every Wednesday, beginning in May through the end of August. Each week, I will feature a topic that has helped me throughout this wellness journey. I do not intend this to be medical advice for anyone. I am not a medical professional. I’m just someone who hopes to shed light on options that have worked for me. I even have friends and family who have asked for assistance with health challenges. And guess what? The solutions work!

I’ll also update you on my health journey throughout as well, including challenges for transparency. If this is your first time reading this blog, thank you. And thank you to those who continue to follow. I reached over 100 followers! Wow! That’s amazing as I never thought anyone might be interested.

For those who don’t know, I was diagnosed with PCOS in my mid-30s after YEARS of trying to find solutions to all of the issues that I was having. There are several types of PCOS and you can have more than one. Some days, I feel like I deal with them all at once! My biggest concern is chronic low grade inflammation; this (only my belief) led to the osteoarthritis that I deal with as well. I started working with a nutritionist in 2018 as I was having so many health issues and through the work, I’ve had major improvements including losing 95 pounds to date! With the arthritis, however, I am looking at possible knee replacement and physical therapy for cervical arthritis. It can be a lot and overwhelming sometimes, so yoga, meditation and prayer are key for me.

Down 95 pounds, starting mid-August 2018

So join me on this summer’s adventure. And feel free to comment with solutions that have worked for you. Let’s build a community. 🥂 to your good health.

Posted in Uncategorized

A Pizza Find

Posted on by nlchronicles

I have been wanting really good pizza for awhile! But with so many dietary restrictions, it’s a challenge to find something to purchase that won’t cause pain or bother my allergies; in other words, cause more inflammation. So I decided to start paying attention to ingredients that I might be able to try and give it a whirl.

And I made on today! AND IT WAS TASTY! When experimenting, I don’t really use measurements lol; it’s more of a play it by ear method. The crust is cauliflower based by Caulipower. I then minced 4 cloves of garlic and poured extra virgin olive oil in a bowl with the garlic so that the oil covered the garlic. I whisked for a bit and then whisked in dried oregano.

With the garlic oil base

Next I poured these onto the crust. Tomatoes are nightshades and tend to cause joint pain so I’m trying different bases. I cut up pre-cooked chicken sausage and added to the crust. Lastly I used a mix of goat cheese and vegan cheese (that’s not cashew based because cashews are a no for me) to top. I baked for about 15 minutes on 400 degrees.

What would I do different? Probably just use goat cheese. I liked that more than the vegan cheese but that’s matter of preference. I would also have added onions, olives and more oregano. Next time, I’ll also try a pesto base instead. To keep from getting bored, I have to keep trying different options. This will definitely go into the rotation!

Finished pizza

Any suggested toppings? List them below and I’ll try them too. 🥂 to your good health. Until next time!

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

Other Measures

Posted on by nlchronicles

So many times, we (yes I’m including me) only look at the scale to determine our progress. But health is so much more than that.

While I haven’t written as much, I have continued to work on my health. Yes, I’ve lost 88 pounds, but I’ve also worked really hard on getting my lab work together too. That brings me to HSCRP, which stands for high sensitive C reactive protein; it’s a measurement of inflammation and pain. I had the first test in February 2019 and my indicator was almost 41. That is sky high because the goal is to have a 3 or lower! So, after working with my nutritionist and working with an accountability nurse coach for almost 2 years, I just found out that the same indicator is down to 19. THAT IS AMAZING! I’m believing that it will get below the goal number of 3!!

If you haven’t had blood work done, please work with your physician to do so. The scale is only part of the story. Getting a total health picture is crucial! Below is a pic that I snapped on Tuesday. Blessed to have come a long way! 🥂 to your good health. Share your story about how your health indicators improved or share with someone who needs to be encouraged that they can do it too.

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!

Posted in Uncategorized

Dehydration Dangers

Posted on by nlchronicles

Sooooo…I live in the southern states of the United States and in the summer, it gets HOT. I mean, hot with humidity that makes you sweat instantly. And while I love hot weather, it can be extreme.

That leads to the downward slope into dehydration. My go to exercise is walking, especially since gyms were closed in my area due to coronavirus and I don’t know that I would go even if they were. I think I’ve been running slightly dehydrated for some time but it was not overwhelming.

Until this past weekend. I had started walking later in the morning. Mistake #1. While I drink a ton of water, I was not adding beverages specifically with electrolytes or foods that would supply these. Mistake #2. I was still wearing exercise pants to walk in because all of my shorts are too big. Mistake #3. And the list goes on…

I began feeling really dizzy Thursday evening to the point that I needed my mom’s help that night. The next morning, I was so weak and dizzy that just walking to the bathroom was taxing. My parents eventually called EMS because getting down the stairs would have been impossible. And the testing at the hospital confirmed moderate dehydration so a drip IV was needed.

Why do I mention all this? Because I don’t want the same thing to happen to anyone else. I am ALLLLL about staying healthy in all weather but be aware of the extremes. I even came across an article today that discusses making better choices when walking in the heat. The link is: https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/6-hot-weather-hacks-to-keep-walking-through-the-summer/?utm_source=mmf&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MMWalk_Newsletter_20200728

Please check out the article and stay healthy everyone. 🥂to your good health. Until next time …

Posted in Uncategorized

Feeling Festive

Posted on by nlchronicles

Today I am celebrating progress! 🥳 so many times, we (and especially me!), focus on how much further we have to go. But I decided that I’m going to start measuring how far I’ve come and making victory laps of baby steps.

Yes, I’m still in physical therapy but I can finally raise my head to a neutral position. Yes, I need to tone up more, but I’m down approximately 104 pounds from my highest weight. Yes, I still rely on a cane when needed, but I don’t need a knee replacement today.

Rejoice in celebrating life!! 🎉🎊🎆

🥂to your good health! Until next time …