On a Yoga High... finally

I am writing this post on a high - a Yoga high...

What on earth is wrong with me? WHY have I been putting off doing Yoga for 3 or 4 months?

I compare myself (as a PCOS victim) to someone who has bi-polarity and having been on a medication for some time, feels so good that they think they've been cured and that they don't need the medication any more. Therefore they go off of it, and over time, life becomes miserable again - a series of highs and lows.

Well, as a PCOS victim, and as someone who never has normal hormonal balance in their body, I have to say it is quite a similar situation with me and Yoga. Goodness me, I even feel my deadly cold (+ Asthma) waning as a result of the good hormones coursing through my veins. I read once, that this is the reason Yoga makes us feel so good. The positions we hold have a way of squeezing our glands, and therefore making them release the hormones that make us feel so much better. At the same time, it builds muscle tone, and just overall feels good. I also have noticed that my back pain has vanished. What a moron I have been to put it off for so long, when it makes me so happy.

Well, I hope I can continue to remember how good it makes me feel, and do it every day. (as mentioned in the diet plan - see above) I haven't been stalwart in my dieting as planned, and also I find myself struggling to walk to work every day. (back pain - due to old-agedness) So, if I can commit myself to one hour every day of Yoga, I think I can see some results - in every aspect of my life.

Oh, how silly we are - people...

Check out this fantastic video that my Cousin Claire shared on facebook...



Claire is in fact the owner of Leeds most exclusive Personal Training and Pilates Studio - "Equilibrium Health Personal Training and Pilates" so, if you're in Leeds or the area, do go and check out her studio... http://www.equilibriumhealth.co.uk/

I wish I was half as fit as our Claire. But, I can get there, with persistence.

2 Simple Things

I just finished my Yoga Practice tonight. It's the first time I've done Yoga since April 11th - so that's 10 days without Yoga - even though I keep telling myself that I'll do it every day. Well, today and for the last week really - I haven't felt like myself. Unfortunately, I have not been blessed with normal body chemistry, so when I take something out of the "magical formula" for weight loss I've been doing over the last 3 years - unbeknownst to me (until I REALLY notice it), it seriously affects my overall well being. Weight loss is only a side benefit from practicing Yoga really.

I think it does something with the glands when you do those twists, balances, etc - like squeezes them, or energizes them or something - but somehow - good chemistry comes out of it.

I feel 100 times better now than I did on my walk home today. Clearly - for me that means - walking is not as beneficial for me as Yoga is. Walking for 2 - 40 minute intervals every single day actually may trigger Hyper-Cortisol production. Anyway, I'm seeing the Doctor on Thursday to see if we can change something (medication perhaps) - because I've been gaining weight and suffering other unpleasant symptoms. There is no normal explanation for me doing so (as I really haven't changed that much about my lifestyle with the exception of a few "emotional eating" days - which was likely a product of the disease as well.) So, I've decided that instead of making a grand scheme/plan for weight loss - I shall do two simple things. My lifestyle is fine in every other way (as far as I'm concerned). I shall...

1. Do at least a little Yoga every single day. (7 days a week) I shall perhaps make up a spreadsheet with tick boxes to remind myself that I haven't done it yet for the day - so that it gets done.

2. Cut out refined sugar entirely from my diet. I shall use Honey, and bake good stuff from time to time, but as far as Candy, Juice, Pop, and Cakes go - they are out - in their entirety. They are like poison to my body. We all know this is true. It's as dangerous to me as pouring Battery Acid down my throat. (ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it is very detrimental to my health)

I just have to accept that I'm not like other people, and I can't live the lifestyle other people live. (especially not in this country) Therefore, I have determined to do these two things.

"Fight or Flight", Hills, and My Massive Thunder Thighs...

I think this is my problem...

http://www.advance-health.com/cortisol.html

It's either cortisol over-production, due to the "fight or flight" response being overactive; or mass muscle growth, combined with other hormonal imbalances. Freaking Hormones...

Men have it so easy, all they have to do is eat less and exercise. With us, it's some sort of battle, it's like - our bodies want us to retain fat. Likely they do. Something about reproduction or the like. I think all of the mass hill walking I'm doing to and from work every day combined with my slightly increased appetite (normal food, just increased slightly) has made it extra difficult for me to lose weight, and in fact, I am gaining it. Gaaah!!!! I mean, I'm not giving up the hill walking. I love my therapeutic walks to and from work, and being a Dundonian and all of that. I love it. Plus, eventually, it has to work in my favor right? I mean, I feel great otherwise... just heavy. Why does it always have to be an uphill battle for me? Right, just venting, but as you can see, (at the right) I've decided to ignore my scale. I suppose I shall have to live with my thunder thighs for now. My trousers are tighter and everything. I would take a picture, but I'm sure you don't want to see my huge tree-trunk thighs. Remember when I was biking 40 km to and from work? That didn't last long either, mainly because of the same reason - concern that if I continued, I might develop massive thighs. Well, I'm not giving up my hills. It's healthy, it's cheap travel (free travel), and it's therapeutic. So, I suppose I shall have to learn to live with it and stop complaining.

Perhaps I should take the perspective of this Nike ad on...

Learned - A Painful Lesson

Drug Dealer - thy name is CRAVE!!!

This blog may contain negative words - it's the sugar talking. So, as you know, yesterday was my first crave experience. It was overall pleasant, however, today I thought I'd be brave and try again because - I don't do guilt, and there they were - sitting there - waiting for me to come and buy and eat. I figure it's quite sensible to buy one now and then. 2 days in a row may be pushing it, however - thought I'd give it a try again. I now wish I had payed attention to the forboding feeling telling me not to. Well, I went in there - it was the end of the day, and for some - very strange reason - they had surplus cupcakes. I guess she said they were about to sell out, but got one last shipment in from the bakery (which is elsewhere in the city I take it). So, instead of throwing them out, she offered me one free one to go with the one I bought. I thought - ooh - that's not a good idea, however, I relented - thinking I would wait until tomorrow - at breakfast to enjoy it. I believe breakfast may actually be the best time to eat high calorie foods. However, the second one didn't last until morning - no indeed. After I had enjoyed the first one - which was the CraveOLicious - I guess - their signature cupcake. Chocolate cupcake smothered in blue vanilla icing...



I apparently had to have the second one. Why not? It's only a cupcake - for crying out loud. So, I had the Lemon-lime twist one that I had hoped to save until morning. It's a white lemon cupcake with creamy green lime butter icing...



Immediately after I finished my second cupcake - I had the full feeling in my stomach - the one which feels like a little bit too much. Apparently it was a lot too much - because my head started spinning out of control about 10 minutes later. No, I don't have diabetes, I am insulin resistant, but have managed to avoid the big D. You would think I was having a major high blood sugar though, considering how bad I felt. Now I'm completely dead - totally crashed right out. Basically, I feel like I had a really bad acid trip - not that I know what a bad acid trip feels like - but let's call this Becky's bad acid trip shall we?

I guess - my body doesn't tolerate large quantities of refined sugar anymore. I used to work with a lady - some of you may remember - who made these AMAZING sugar cookies for every single holiday. They were the kind that were really good sugar cookies to begin with, but were smothered in the most elaborate icing designs - that made you want to gobble their pretty little selves right up. I used to be able to sit and eat about a dozen without blinking an eye. They were quite large too. Well, I suppose I should be happy to be able to say that I really can't tolerate large quantities of sugar anymore. However, I do wish I didn't feel so awful right now. I guess I've learned my lesson.

Yes, this is a prime example of how enjoying your food is very important. Enjoying the eating part, and also enjoying the digesting. If you're not enjoying one or the other of these parts, then - I guess you know your answer as to whether or not you should eat it.

I think I need some Ibuprofen. I'm in so much pain. My head actually hurts. I must go and drink LARGE quantities of water now...

Bisphenol A Rant!!!!! (do not read if you don't want to see the angry Becky)

Today's news release from Health Canada can be found here...
Other articles about it have me more than a little concerned. Though it is the concern that comes from knowing something when it's too late.

Globe and Mail
Yahoo Canada News
CTV News
Washington Post

So, some of you may remember my post on the day I replaced my nalgene with a lovely Stainless Steel number which I bought at MEC. Apparently, I should have done that a lot sooner, like perhaps 8 years sooner. It seems ludicrous to think that every person living on the planet ought to sue the idiots that decided that it would be a good idea to put a toxic chemical into everything we eat from, drink from, and live off of; but the idea tempts me a little when I think about how my life could have been a lot different if I had not been hormonally disrupted by bisphenol A. I obviously won't, as seriously - it would be every person on the planet; but I'm really angry after hearing how serious the situation is in today's news. It's been in baby bottles - we're poisoning them at birth. My stupid dental sealants (which my best friend ignorantly convinced me I needed in order to protect my teeth) has it in them. I honestly feel a little violated knowing that it is permanently planted in my mouth. (I wonder if my dentist can remove them? - doubtful) Also, it makes me think about all those young, healthy patients we had on the Urology unit that came in because they needed their testicle removed due to cancer. Healthy young men in the prime of life - they eat healthy, they exercise, they do everything they should - probably drinking lots of water out of their stupid Nalgene Water Bottles which took over for the Lexan milk bottles which their mothers ignorantly fed them from. There were some who didn't make it. There's more cancer than ever out there. I don't know one person who hasn't been affected by it. I myself lost 2 loved ones in the last 3 years to it (I miss you Gram and Speedy). Where is all this cancer coming from? Well, we know that smoking causes cancer, and unhealthy living (bad diet and lack of exercise), even alcohol intake leads to cancer, and of course, NOW we know that Bisphenol A causes cancer. What else are we being poisoned with unknowingly? Who flipping knows? This is why I've started eating organic. You know, besides the cancer, this toxin has done more damage than people are aware. Did you know... (I've blogged about it before, so if you've read them, then you know) that 10% of women in the world suffer from a disease called Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome? More women than ever in the history of the world. I myself am a victim, and do you know why now? Because of hormone disrupters like Bisphenol A, and who knows what else out there in the environment?! Life could have been so much easier had I not had to suffer through it, but I did, and you know the truth is, I'm stronger for it, and now am trying to reverse the symptoms; but it leaves me with a little bit of anger inside thinking that someone somewhere knew what this would do, and probably didn't care enough because they knew they could make a lot of money from a plastic that was hard and "unbreakable" in nature. Grrrr, I curse you and people like you - the conspiring men who make our lives difficult because of the love of filthy lucre. I know - this is the angry side of me that most people don't get to see, but it's there, and it's fierce, and if those conspiring men were standing in front of me right now, there's no telling what I might do to them. Enough of angry Becky. Avoid plastic period (if possible), but more than any other - avoid the dreaded (7) and (3) type plastic. (Look on the bottom of your containers)


This video deserves a revisit. It's very liberating to watch.

By the way, here is the American Chemistry Council's response to Health Canada's announcement today. Note that this is the industry association that represents Bisphenol A manufacturers, and that no Bisphenol A is made in Canada.

My Silent Battle - Silent No More

I'm going to go out on a limb here and talk about something that's slightly more personal than I'm usually willing to write about in my blog. Mainly, for the reason that it's something important that I think people (particularly women) ought to be aware of, and be spoken of more often. 10% of women suffer from a syndrome which I have suffered through my whole life many of which have absolutely no idea that they have it. I had no idea until maybe about 4 or 5 years ago. No, actually, my Doctor first mentioned the idea in 2000 when I was preparing to go on a mission, but we didn't discuss it seriously at that time. The Syndrome I'm speaking of is called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (or Stein-Levinthal Syndrome) It has a number of symptoms, most of which I have, and they are - none of them very pleasant. The most difficult one of all is that it contributes to weight gain. When I was a little girl, I started gradually to gain more weight than most other neighbourhood kids. We all pretty much had the same diet, but I seemed to put on more weight than my friends. (Granted my parents submitted me to THE most unhealthy white death diet on the planet being British and all, but that wasn't really that much different than everybody else) This made it extremely difficult for me to lose weight, and anytime I made any sort of headway, I was quick to gain it back. PCOS is a metabolic disorder which begins in the hypothalamus decreasing insulin production, and increasing a variety of androgens causing rather unpleasant effects including numerous cysts on the ovaries, painful and irregular menses, high blood pressure, migraines, hair in all the wrong places, and thinning hair on the head, and most unfortunate of all - it can cause infertility. All of these symptoms can be treated, and also reversed with proper diet and exercise. Unfortunately though, it takes flipping FOREVER to see real results in weight loss with just diet and exercise, but I am proof that it can happen. Granted, it has taken me a year and a half to lose 70 lbs, but it certainly has been worth it. So, long story short, this is a most unpleasant disorder, and there are more out there like me that have no idea that they have it. They're probably just going through their lives thinking they're a bit bizarre because they grow a little hair in the wrong places and have a totally abnormal cycle and have just always been fat. Most people don't even discover it until they try to have children. Some studies have shown that PCOS patients who's Doctors treat them with Metformin which is an anti-diabetic drug balancing out the sugars in the body have seen positive effects including help in losing weight, decrease in unwanted hair, and most definitely - fertility resulting in pregnancy. So, I went to see my Doctor about this today, and she's an amazing Doctor really, I'm really lucky to have her, she really knows her stuff. I asked her about Metformin therapy, and she was not all for it at all. She's always the type to go the natural route and not too quick to take the quick fix. She refuses to put PCOS patients on Metformin unless they are trying to conceive. She really firmly believes in the GI Diet and exercise to naturally produce the same effects. So, disappointed a little, I've decided to plug on, and keep doing what I'm doing even though it has taken forever to see the effects of it. I really do feel a lot better than I ever have though if I'm really honest with myself. So, there is my effort to spread awareness about a silent epidemic that is affecting many women out there who have no idea they even have a problem. For more information about PCOS, see these links...

http://pcosacanada.org/

http://projectpcos.org/

http://women.webmd.com/tc/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos-topic-overview

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycystic_ovary_syndrome

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmvkzO-5024