What is it ????

Tuesday 3rd December – What is Adrenal Fatigue ???

Well where do I start….. Adrenal fatigue is generally not recognised by the medical community, it is thought that the adrenal glands (which are little walnut sized glands located on the top of each of your kidneys) have been exhausted and cannot control the correct amount of hormones in the body. These hormones include pinephrine, cortisol, progesterone, DHEA, estrogen, and testosterone. Changes occur in your carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism, fluid and electrolyte balance, heart and cardiovascular system, and even sex drive. Many other alterations take place at the biochemical and cellular levels in response to and to compensate for the decrease in adrenal hormones that occurs with adrenal fatigue.

 So essentially it is a collection of symptoms being extreme fatigue, the inability to sleep, sugar and salt cravings, sore joints, a “foggy head”, poor immunity and taking a long time to get over minor illnesses, never actually feeling re-charged or refreshed after rest, inability to lose weight and a reliance on stimulants such as coffee to get through a day. Now when I say extreme fatigue I don’t mean feeling a bit tired, I mean that you are incapable of minor thought function like simply getting out of bed and having a shower. You are so so tired you don’t know your own name, you get lost driving to somewhere you go everyday like work, you simply cannot comprehend anything at all, but your body is still wired like you’ve had too much coffee and you cannot sleep. All this can lead to severe depression in some subjects which can certainly delay recovery. Many medical professionals do not understand adrenal fatigue (or simply do not believe in it) as most tests done, for example, blood tests, will only pick up the top and bottom 2.5% extremes of cases. So anyone in the middle that is suffering tend to get overlooked. Imagine if your “normal” hormonal levels were close to the bottom 3% and your hormone levels are now closer to the top 3%, that’s a massive change in your body but it will not come up in standard tests….. Most patients suffering from AF get treated for depression and take far longer to actually recover.

 However, AF can be diagnosed using a saliva swab test which will analyse hormone output, particularly cortisol and DHEA. Fluctuations of these hormones can point to poor adrenal function and any changes to normal adrenal activity. But of course it will depend on your medical provider whether they think to do this or treat your symptoms as something else.

I was incredibly lucky that my medical provider saw the symptoms straight away and put me on the right path to recovery. Very lucky.

My symptoms were very obvious and text book. My energy an all time low. I was able to go great guns for about a 5 days then start to struggle then the following week be wiped out or sick. Waking feeling like I had run a marathon and simply crumpling to the floor with exhaustion getting out of bed with my poor mind exploding with overloads of information exhausting me even more as it was like watching 10 tv shows at once with the radio on and reading a book, so I would simply lay on the tiles and try and filter how to a) get up and get to work b) what the hell to do next c) how the hell to do it. If I made it to the shower to get ready for work I would end up leaning against the wall confused as to the process of the shower because I was so exhausted, staring at soap like it was new to the world….. then start crying because I knew something was very wrong but I didn’t have any physical scars, wounds, outward appearance of a problem and how do I relay that I just can’t make it out the door to people that look at me with make up, hair done, clothes pressed and simply looking a little tired from, hey maybe a big night out? It’s very hard to get across to people that something is wrong but I can’t show you, you have to just believe me.

 And food ??? The bodies reaction to utter exhaustion is that it needs fuelling immediately and it wants the most basic forms of fuel being sugars and simple carbs so I did have them, a lot of them as I had to make it through the day plus a few coffees of course to keep going. Essentially making things worse but I know that now after my saviour Doc pointed me in the right direction. I truly am so very lucky that I can move on with recovery now and be a whole lot nicer to myself because I wasn’t failing, I was simply having a poor start J

 Adrenal fatigue can be both chronic (builds up over time) from situations like regular stresses at work, the environment or poor diet or it can be acute from a singular severe stressful situation like an illness, death, or surgery. It can develop from basically anything that stresses the body either physically or emotionally in some way. Some people are born to handle stresses more efficiently than others and they handle a situation or multiple constant stressful situations for a long time then all of a sudden they are “wiped out” and cannot bounce back and others simply cannot handle stressful situation at all and one “push” sends them into a spiral.

 No one is immune to adrenal fatigue.

References

Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome – Dr James Wilson

http://www.adrenalfatigue.org/what-is-adrenal-fatigue

http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/health/health+az/adrenal+fatigue,11579

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

Related articles

• Adrenal Fatigue: What Can You Do About it? (completeherbalguide.com)
• Holistically Healing Adrenal Fatigue (holistichealthliving.wordpress.com)

I’m back…..

Monday 2nd December 2013

So it’s been a very long time since my last post. Well……. After continual stop starts, awesome weeks then crashing weeks, I saw my Dr a few times to find out why I wasn’t able to maintain what seemed so easy to me over the last few years. Full time job, lots of exercise, healthy and nutritious food, no cravings or binges, lots of energy and just a normal energetic person…….. why couldn’t I keep doing this, why have I changed, what was wrong with me !!!!!!!

Turns out, I burned myself out. Yeah I was a bit “are you for real?, that really happens?” myself…… But turns out that I overworked my poor adrenal glands which, turns out, are rather important for a hell of a lot of basic human functions. I will get into the nitty gritty of it all over time as I don’t want to overload on the first day back J

So basically it all boils down to some simple things a) no hard core training allowed b) very specific nutrition c) no cure, no pill, no potion fixes it, it’s all lifestyle choices and being in tune with myself and what my body is doing. It’s quite interesting now that I actually realise when my adrenalin is absolutely pumping for absolutely no reason. Like simply lying in bed to go to sleep and whoah off we go with the flight for fight mode and I have to get up and try to calm down. Fun times. Hard to believe I use to just lay there thinking “why can’t I sleep, why am I so awake, why am I so worked up?”

So it’s all about recovery for me right now. I have to suck up the fact that I cannot focus on getting my bikini body back just yet, I have to focus on getting my body back to simple and basic health so we can play on an even playing field, then maybe I can start thinking about getting back into my favourite shape.

So come along for a fun ride of recovery if you wish as adrenal fatigue syndrome is actually quite prevalent in our society. It comes in all forms and sizes and can happen to anyone. So if you feel like you want to start feeling generally better, or have similar symptoms that I will share with you then I will be sharing it all – my tips, triumphs and well, hopefully, only a couple of setbacks, with you. Don’t ignore warning signs as the longer you fatigue yourself the harder it is to come back and let me tell you. This sucks !!!!

Early Mornings….. maybe

Thursday 19th September 2013 (Day 46)

Today I set the alarm to get up early and get my workout done before work….. then promptly reset it and went back to sleep after 40min of telling myself to get up, which left about 20min extra sleep before I actually had to get up for work…… grrooooaaaannnnnnn

I have no idea why I’m so determined to get back to training first thing in the morning before the sun comes up, the birds wake and the bats go to bed. I know there are many benefits like;

• It builds consistency
• You generally don’t have to wait for machines or weights
• It helps increase your metabolism
• You feel more energized for the day
• It increases self discipline
• It clears your mind for the day and increases focus
• Burns more fat as you have no “food energy” to burn before your fat stores
• It can help regulate your appetite
• Regulation of your circadian rhythms (click here for more info)
• Daily life is less likely to get in the way eg working back late
• You seriously have less excuses, or none !
• I’ve been told you sleep better as well…..

BUT, even with all these amazing benefits I think the main reason I want to train early mornings again is I just want to go back to the way I use to be. Bouncing out of bed, sipping a coffee on the way to the gym to pump out some tunes to an awesome workout then do an internal self high five for being awesome and cooking up a fantastic breakfast to fuel the rest of the day.

Geez it sounds awesome writing it like that !!!!

So, even though I’m finding anytime between 4am – 6am a ridiculous time to train I’m going to do it. I’m so bloody doggedly determined to get back into that early morning rhythm and feeling fantastic. Watch this space.

Quick update – 21 days of healthy habits going rather well. I had some wine Friday night, but it wasn’t excessive and within my rules. OK on date night I could have ordered something much better than chicken and chips (which was awesome) but believe me, although I enjoyed eating it I felt so very sick after and the next day I felt like I’d gained a good 15kg from that one meal so I’m not doing that again. I’m definitely finding being healthy so much easier without all my added pressure of being at certain weights, measurements, km’s etc in short time frames. I feel like this is turning into a lifestyle (which is what I want) instead of yet another transformation. More on my changes from transforming to transforming a lifestyle another day.

References

http://au.askmen.com/top_10/fitness_top_ten/10_fitness_list.html

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mielke25.htm

http://www.boxingscene.com/exercise/1312.php

Related articles

• Becoming A Morning Person – IT WORKS (flyingfitforever.com)

Mythbusting Kez Style !!!

Friday 13th September, 2013 (Day 33 ??? keep losing where I’m up to)

Well being Friday the 13th had be thinking about myths and urban legends so I thought I’d have a look at this closer. There are soooo  many fitness myths that we’ve all heard that it’s seriously laughable. These are my top 10.

1)  I’m a girl, I don’t want to do weights because I’ll look like Arnie – You won’t, end of story, you do not have the same amount of testosterone rolling around in your body like men (who have between 10-30% more). If you start looking like Arnie, call me, I want to know how you did it !!!

2)  Carbs are bad – Your body needs carbs to function, they are your primary source of energy…. But this does not include an entire loaf of garlic bread with a giant side of pasta an hour before you’re going to bed :(, simple carbs aren’t a very good choice here. Good complex carbs (oats, grains, nuts) of low GI take longer for the body to break down and give you a more even release of energy over a longer period of time (and keep you fuller longer). Unlike simple carbs like sugar, pasta, refined white bread and rice, they do not make your insulin levels take a giant spike and then a giant fall making you want more more more !!!

3)  Spot reducing (like doing lower body weights only to reduce the booty) – Think about it. No matter what you do your body will do it’s own thing and take fat from where ever it feels to convert it to energy to support your exercise, no matter what exercise…running, weights, step, pump, walking, squats etc etc doesn’t matter, body needs energy, it will burn what it needs.

4)  I weighed a kilo more this week, it must be muscle !!! – Well this does certainly change per person as a lot of factors like genetics, type of training, diet, gender and age have a play in this. Some people can notice gains quite quickly, others a lot longer, but generally it takes a relatively long time to build significant muscle like a kilo and it takes proper muscle building training and nutrition as well to facilitate major gains in a short period. With targeted exercise you could generally expect to see some changes in a 6-8 week period again depending on your body type. One website I visited (aworkoutroutine.com) has written an average up (the person writing the article that I read had 10+ years first hand experience (and observations) and has spoken with trainers/coaches) and they published the following guide for an average expectation of how quick you could gain muscle (and in my personal experience I think it’s about right, well for my personal story any way).

Average Natural MAN: between 113grams – 226grams of muscle per week (or about 450gms –     900gms of muscle gained per month).
Average Natural WOMAN: between 54grams – 113grams of muscle per week (or about 226grams –  450grams of muscle gained per month).

5)  Fresh Fruit/Veg is better than frozen – With shipping and storage, fresh fruit can often sit around for as long as two weeks before it hits your supermarket. In contrast, frozen fruit is often picked and frozen at the peak of freshness.

6)  I want abs so I’ll do heaps of crunches – Good ole crunches (or any other forms of ab exercises) will in fact help you build mean muscly abs….. but you will not actually see them if you aren’t lean enough. I know when I first started weights I could literally feel how hard my abs were, but they were well hidden under fat and it was only after I started to lean up that I could actually see them and the leaning up had nothing to do with doing ab exercises in particular, it was my overall nutrition and varied training.

7)  I need to take supplements to get into shape – As the name implies, they are to supplement your nutrition. To pick you up in areas that may be lacking, like protein for bodybuilders as an example when they need to up their intake, or you may not be able to eat fish and can’t get enough Omega-3’s from other avenues…. But you do not need to just have shakes, pills and powders because you are now getting into shape…. They have their place to help you and you should seek advice on what would be best for you or beneficial to you.

8)  I ate crap food, but it’s ok I’ll train longer – One of my favourite sayings, ‘you can’t out-train bad nutrition”. It’s not just the energy in and energy out, all the ingredients can have their part to play, for example the fact that sugar is the ultimate enemy for stopping weight/fat loss. Your body will burn that sugar BEFORE anything else. So dig into your chocolate, and then the first hour or so of training (the more you’ve had obviously the longer you have to train) is WASTED burning off that sugar instead of your stored fat….

9)  I need to basically live on lettuce leaves and starve to lose weight – The idea is a balanced, healthy and proportionate nutrition plan. You do not have to starve or be a rabbit. The reason most educated people reach for the salad bag when they are serious about losing weight and starting a healthy lifestyle is that you can have an entire bag of mixed veggies or salad leaves which will have more nutritional bang for your energy (calorie/kilojoules) buck than say a quarter of a mars bar. Your tummy will be fuller longer from the fibre…. Geez there are so many reasons for reaching for some greens when you want to lead a more healthy lifestyle and starving is not one of them. Yes you do need to lower your energy input to lose weight, but this shouldn’t mean that you have air for snacks instead of good wholesome food. Basically you can fit a bucket load of healthy choice food on your plate for the same calories as a small amount crap food.

10)  I have to do cardio to lose weight – ALL EXERCISE WILL HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT, energy in, energy out. Nutrition has a large part to play in your weight loss journey. Simples.

WOW – thinking of 10 was actually harder than I thought, but there are quite a few myths about and all you need to do is listen. We believe so many untruths because a) they are told and say them ourselves time and time again without even checking if it’s true and b) they suit us and make us feel better about ourselves, eg gaining a kilo in a week and telling yourself it’s just muscle is far more acceptable mentally than truthfully looking at your nutrition and exercise or even other reasons like “that time of the month” or water retention etc.   Well I’m all typed out after all that, so stay healthy.

References
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/tips/strategy/top-10-fitness-myths/
http://www.gymjunkies.com/fitness-myths/
http://well.wvu.edu/articles/10_dieting_myths
http://howtobuildmuscleask.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-build-muscle/
www.livestrong.com/…/213868-how-long-does-it-take-to-gain-lean-muscle-mass/
www.musclebuildingdaily.com/muscle/how-long-does-it-take-to-build-muscle.php
http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-much-muscle-can-you-gain/

Reblog from Reembody – The 6 Most Shockingly Irresponsible “Fitspiration” Photos

This post is just far too good not to share. I agree 100% !!!

Reembody

The Reembody blog, up to this point, has been a thoughtful exploration of human movement, a subject about which I am extremely passionate.

Today, however, I’m mad and I’m going to tell you why.

I have been planning a blog post for a while on fitness misinformation, and it was originally going to be the same kind of thoughtful deconstruction found in my other installments. But then I read this and it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever found in my newsfeed: so beautiful, in fact, that the rest of the health and fitness propaganda floating around Facebook like turds in a pool started to really, really piss me off.

So thoughtful deconstruction has been postponed for another day. Instead, we’re going to take a good look at a few of those turds and get pissed off together because, when someone preys upon your insecurities in an effort…

View original post 1,993 more words

That was fun !!!!!

Tuesday 10th September, 2013 (Day 30)

Well I had a ball doing yesterday’s workout. Changing that focus seems to have lifted the black veil a bit and I actually enjoyed training. It wasn’t telling myself to “push harder”, “burn more”, “you use to do better”, “lift more”…. it was simply enjoyable. Well, as enjoyable as hill intervals, sprints and 1km rowing time trials can be lol…. I felt fantastic after. The endorphins were racing and I was actually happy and lighter leaving the gym.

So day 1 of 21 days of healthy habits was a knockout 🙂 And dare I say it and jinx myself, day 2 is looking pretty darn good too. So good I’m not actually wanting to weigh in tomorrow. I don’t want to have a number on a stupid scale ruin my current mentality….. see how I feel I guess.

21 Days

Monday 9th September, 2013 (Day 29)

 So it has been said that it takes 21 days to break/change/create a habit so my goal is to make it through the next 21 days with no eating issues and no skipped training sessions. Having a chat with a loved one on the weekend made me realise that I’m letting my goals swamp me and actually gain more focus from me than they deserve in the sense that they are everything I think about every single minute and I’m pressuring myself to reach them in the shortest time frame available instead of being reasonable with myself. Complete and utter stupid behaviour that cannot be maintained !!!

 My ultimate goal is getting back to 60kg which right now seems so so very far out of reach it hurts my soul. I know I can get there as I’ve been at that weight (well around it anyway)  for a few years. But being over 70kg and looking at that goal, holy crap it’s a long way away. So it’s time to really break it down and not just the weight. I’ve already made smaller (more attainable??) goals like be 66kg in the first 4 weeks etcetera and so on, but seriously, even that seems just ridiculous right now.

 So I’ve had a shift of focus to simply getting it right. If I can get my nutrition and training correct then the rest will fall into place right ??? SO for my first goal I’m going to make it through 21 days of good habits J . I’m actually feeling pretty good about this as it feels more like a positive goal whereas I’m finding a weight goal quite negative, pressuring and depressing. Don’t get me wrong I’ll still be weighing in and watching the numbers but I need to stop letting it control me. Just getting back to basics I guess. One day at a time. Still frustrating how I’m having to bring out these basic principles to get me back on track when I use to be so gung ho with my active lifestyle and normal in regards to eating. So frustrating.

RoboKez

 

Thursday 5th September, 2013, (Day 25…. I think)

Completely in robot mode today and trying to take the emotion out of everything. Seems to be working so far as I haven’t eaten anything that is not on my plan. Excellent.

NOW to just accomplish my workout which, of course, isn’t just an easy “do it on the way home” task like most days. Nooooooo now it’s a “do it later because the dog has his vet appointment”. So goal is to NOT listen to my excuses of “it’s too late”, “I need to cook dinner” blah blah blah and get it done.

THEN make sure I cook my nice, tasty, nutritious and healthy meal and not say “it’s too late, I’ll just have”…… This is so frustrating as this is beginner stuff !!!! Grrraaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr  !!!!

Must replace these excuses and bad habits with empowering thoughts and good habits !!!

One day at a time, one day at a time……..

Play It Again Sam !!

Friday 30th August, 2013 (Day 19)

I’ve realised just how much I depend on music to get me through a work out and without it I am seriously grumpy and out of my zen zone. Just one workout without the tunes seemed completely wrong and I was beside myself with many mixed emotions. So how come music is so important to me ??

i) It distracts me from exhaustion. I know countless times I’ve been at that stage of “I cannot possibly take one more step” and a song comes on and I can run miles or lift again.

ii) I train in time with the tunes so even tired I tend to keep my pace up.

iii) It effects my mood. I can have the worse day and shuffle will deliver an awesome track and bang !!! I’m up there with a grin and a groan working my butt off again.

iv) It puts my in my own world away from the distractions of other conversations of people around me.

v) I simply love music

Science Daily states that it increases endurance by 15%…. actually there are a few websites that state 15% as a magical number….. So I guess that’s why my training feels a bit lacking without the tunes. I feel the 15% loss… lol…

So here’s cheers to charging your ipod and busting out some tunes while your busting your butt 🙂

Side note update: I’m very very happy with my achievements this week. Trained every day and food is perfect. Looking forward to reaping the rewards on WIW…. I feel fantastic !!!!

 

Love My Gyms !!

Thursday 29th August, 2013 (Day 18)

I have to say I freaking love my gyms. I am so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful, friendly, supportive and amazing people.

My morning and ad hoc workouts are smashed out at Snap Casuarina, which is 24hr and usually I’m in and out of there when it’s very quiet and all the machines are mine mine mine !!!!! They are fitted out with awesome equipment that’s well maintained. Love it and love seeing the same people in there at 5am reaching their goals too !! When I have gone in when it is staffed, the staff are simply lovely and even organise little challenges for us all like a 1000m rowing challenges or planking challenges just to keep us on our toes. Love it !!

My afternoon wicked weight sessions are heaved at Fernwood Club Millner and I have to say the foxy ladies that work there are the most wonderful women I’ve ever come across in my life. Always supportive and attentive and some days just their smiling greetings makes the up coming gruelling workout seem lighter 🙂 AND before the stigma that girls only gyms only have little 1kg pink weights this Fernwood not only has nice heavy weights (well 20kg dumbells are heavy enough for me) they even have a squat rack so don’t judge a gym by it’s pretty cover 🙂

I certainly could not achieve anything fitness related without this amazing support system and being surrounded by like minded people. And that’s just the gyms !! not including my amazing friends whom are like minded !!!

Finding a gym that really works for you is (to me) paramount for success. If you don’t like your gym, you won’t want to be there and then the excuses will start creeping in so you don’t have to go and that will set back those goals. Not something anyone wants.