What I Am Doing For My Health
Over the course of the last eight years, and three pregnancies, I feel like I've written similar blogs many times. Some of them were definitely more focussed on struggling to love my body with more weight on it, but this one isn't that way and I don't know if the last few have been either.
I am really bad at the post pregnancy phase. Not only do I struggle with my body confidence after each baby, But so many other issues tend to irrupt when my hormones are all out of whack. The third baby definitely has been the worst. With the struggles I felt physically over the last 20 months, it has solidified the fact that Emmitt is definitely my last.
Yes I'm frustrated that I am 22 pounds heavier now than I was before having Emmitt and only 7 pounds lighter than I was at almost full term pregnant, but that's not what's driving my hunt for my health. Every day I live with stomach pain. From massive indigestion and gas, to just plain stomach knife pains. I've been trying to make this pain each day feel normal.
In the past I've seen naturopath's and doctors for these symptoms And the only thing that seems to work is eating strictly Paleo, working out regularly and making time for a good nights sleep. The problem this go around Is that even those aren't working. So what do we do now?
In the next month, I am going to start getting tested to see if there might be something wrong with my thyroid. We have a lot of thyroid issues that runs in our family. My sister only has half of a thyroid due to a growth on it when I was 25. Thankfully it was benign but she is constantly now having to make sure her leftover thyroid is in working order. My grandmother also suffered from hypothyroidism which caused many other health issues for her so I don't want to get myself to that point.
On top of that I'm going to get tested for a possible hormonal imbalance. I don't do well with hormone therapy, which is why I've never been able to take birth control. So hopefully with just those two tests I can get some answers, or a least rule them out.
For the last almost a year now I have also been treating overactive cortisol levels, and trying to get the inflammaion down in my body. Three kids and owning your own business is definitely takes a toll on your stress levels, And I felt like I was constantly in the fight or flight mode. It finally seems to be working now that I'm mixing that with my Paleo diet.
When it comes to working out, you may remember my blog post from last summer. I am still walking 2 to 3 times a week whenever the winter weather allows it. And to be honest, getting those walks in is making this winter go so much faster than those before. On top of that I was trying Tone It up App again, But with the constant hiit exercises, it seemed to make me gain even more weight. After 10 weeks of using the programs, I am now back to The Pilates Class. The workouts are less intense when it comes to raising my heart rate but I work just as hard if not harder and burn the same amount of calories or more per workout.
As of today it's been two weeks of getting back into Paleo eating, And working out again with Pilates. The scale has yet to change, but I am already feeling a bit more like myself and not as in pain. I know there's definitely something underlying and I'm happy that we are getting things rolling to figure out what those are. But for now, having a proper diet full of nutrients and vitamins, and protein of course, I am finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Over the last few days, we have also added in intermittent fasting. Allowing your body a large rest period For proper digestion, Can also help regulate your hormones. So that is our plan. Usually when you do intermittent fasting and you fast for a large period of time and then eat the amount of calories you need to run your body in a small window. If you look it up on the Internet the most popular window is between 12 PM and 8 PM but that window doesn't work for our lifestyle.
We start our day at 6 AM getting everything ready To get the kids to school. We also don't struggle a ton with eating after supper which is 5 PM due to the kids. So for us, our eating window is from 10 AM to 6 PM. I'm three days in and I will tell you waiting till 10am For our coffee is painful to say the least. LOL. I try to spend the mornings keeping myself busy with work and getting my exercising so that I stop thinking about my growling belly. But within the last three days, my bloat has decreased by almost half and although I'm still getting stomach pains, I feel better overall.
Many of you have asked for an update so this is mostly for you but it's also to showcase that you may not be alone if you are suffering from this after having babies as well. This is my PSA to you to get yourself checked and trust your gut feeling.
