Lately I had been thinking that I could not put my finger on what was the true cause of most of my health issues. I knew my symptoms and I was seriously growing frustrated with most of them because I just couldn't solve then with what I was doing. I thought I was eating healthy enough, not perfect but I was getting there, and I was back to consistently exercising, yet I saw 0 results, and this game has been going on for a very very long time, I'd say about 2.5 years or more. I was constantly doing great but getting frustrated because it seemed like nothing was happening, even after months of efforts. I absolutely understand that the journey to best health is a long one, but also just wanted an ounce of progress to let me know I was on the right path.
Now I definitely know why all that was happening. It came in a total euraka moment at work. I was speaking to my coworker (I work in a health food store) and we we're discussing a random topic when she said" You know that creepy feeling, like a mosquito running across your skin, which is a symptom of candida issues?" I didn't know, and I had had that symptom for so long that I just considered it me being paranoid! So I went to look up a list of symptoms:
Vaginal Yeast Infection
Constant fatigue
Brain "fog" -hard to focus or even think straight.
Oral Thrush (a white film on tongue or in the mouth)
Bad breath, foul taste in mouth
Abdominal pain (intestinal Candida)
Bloating and indigestion
Increasing allergies to foods (gluten or celiac problems can be a direct result of Candida overgrowth)
Constant craving for something sweet!
Joint pain with arthritis-like symptoms
Chronic sinus drainage -which antibiotics don't help!
Weight gain (or loss) and the inability to change it.
Fungus on the finger or toe-nails
Itching, red eyes
Candida Skin rashes on the body (eczema, atopic dermatitis)
Candida Rash inside the ears or around the groin area
Anal, penile or vaginal itching
Hair loss
Vision problems
Depression from feeling so low and bogged down all the time.
The highlighted ones are the ones that I'v experienced. Come to think of it, I've probably had candida issues for years, but never knew it. The worst part is, I know about candida, I talk about it with clients all the time, I've read about peoples experiences with them, I knew some of the symptoms, but obviously not all of them. I had always thought when reading or talking about it, that I didn't have that problem and that I was really happy I didn't! SO now I have to deal with it head on because I really can't wait for allllll those symptoms to disappear.
Candida is basically a yeast that is present in our bodies, it has a place and is good when at healthy levels. But many people have issues with overgrowth, where it flares up because of various causes (like the overuse of antibiotics, use of contraceptive pill, high metal toxicity in the blood, etc) (I am actually unsure of my cause because I've never used antibiotics, but have been on the pill) Most common "cures" would have you cutting out all sugar, because that's what candida feeds on. So there are tons of candida cleanses and special extremely restrictive diets that claim to bring it under control, but usually once the cleanse is over, it comes back with a vengeance and so begins a viscous cycle. The actual cause of overgrowth in most cases in too much fat in the blood which causes sugar to linger there as well, when the body wants it to be transferred to cells as quickly as possible. Your body doesn't like having sugar hanging about in you blood so when this happens candida flares up and eats it all up. The true solution to candida is to eat a very low fat diet, like 80/10/10. Keeping your fat levels low is what will give long term relief of all candida issues, it's really that simple!
My plan of action? Going 100% raw of course! Everyone I know of that went raw with prior candida issues had them solved in no time. I've struggled with it in the past and I may still, but now that I have the knowledge of what wrong with my body, I know that it will make it that much easier to keep my resolve. Not having cooked foods is minor compared to the benefits it will give me!
My training in the last week wasn't as good as I would have wanted it to be, I was fighting a terrible cols thats been lurking in my household for the past 2 weeks and my body was telling me to rest it out, so that's exactly what I did. I still got 3 workouts in though!
February 5th
| Running in place | 2 min | 2 min | 2 min |
| Crunches | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Butt lifts | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Plank | 60 sec | 60 sec | 60 sec |
February 6th
4K run/walk in 30 mins (4.75 total)
| High Knees | 100 | 170 | 150 |
| Squats | 75 | 100 | 60 |
| Crunches | 50 | 75 | 100 |
| Lunges | 50 | 50 | 62 |
| Push-ups(knees) | 20 | 17 | 20 |
| Plank | 83sec | 60sec | 60 sec |
February 7th
off
February 8th
Off
February 9th
K walk/run in mins
| High Knees | 75 | 100 | 100 |
| Squats | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Crunches | 86 | 60 | 60 |
| Chest fly | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Chest Press | 20 | 20 | 20 |
February 10th
off
February 11th
Off
In other news, I will be moving in 6 weeks so I'll get some good exercise while packing and sorting through. We actually get the keys 15 days before we move so that we can get everything sorted without to much rush! This week I'll be concentrating in getting at least a 20 minute good sweat everyday to get myself out of this tired funk.
Making an effort everyday t move is better than staying on the couch! So my advice to myself and to anyone trying to motivate yourself is that every small effort counts, so if you do a 10 min workout instead of nothing, then you are ahead of the pack!
