Shortly after we were married I got very sick. I suddenly had a chronic kidney stone illness and for the next two years I experience physically the hardest thing I've ever had to go through. The very first one I had was by far the worst of them yet. (I will write a separate post about my battle with Kidney Stones and how I've learned to deal with them to help those who have the misfortune of having one.) But to make a long story short the first one I had was stuck in my ureter for about a month before I would have to go in for emergency surgery to get it out. Since Spring 2011 to October 2013 I have passed about 1-3 stones every two weeks. Now I usually pass 1 every two weeks. Since learning to manage them they are small and I am able to pass them fairly quickly. But even the smallest stones can feel like you've been stabbed suddenly with a knife and slowly dragged down your back. The first year I was bed ridden with no exercise and a very poor diet. The weight slowly crept up on me and before I knew it I was a size 12. I did not look or feel like myself. I have very little documentation of myself because I hated taking pictures. I have a couple more I need to scan and add of my before pictures.
January 2012 The best decision we ever made was to move to sunny St. George Utah. This place has been like a rehab recovery center for me. The vitamin D, great doctors, and back to being active in church were just what I needed to become the happy person I wanted so desperately to be. We stopped eating out, which made a world of a difference with my weight loss transformation and energy level. And we were a lot more active. Being able to go hiking and go for walks through the winter is wonderful! I also did a little p90x here and there.
April 2012 We decided to move to Hawaii for the Summer for my husbands job. That was perfect motivation for me March 2012 to get in shape, and quick! I ordered Brazil Butt Lift, Turbo Fire, started doing P90X again and cleaned up my diet a little more. (Still isn't what I view a "healthy" diet now days, but I was getting closer.) I was able to get back to my original size 7/8. Still not where I wanted to be, but I started to feel like myself again!
And then the humidity made me even more sick again. The cooler in our home kept breaking, and I would have to walk a couple miles every day with grocerys in hand. And lets just say paradise wasn't always paradise. I couldn't keep hydrated to get the stones moving fast enough and I started getting very ill. So we had to cut our summer short and we moved back home. I continued searching for doctors that could help me because all of the doctors and ER visits left them completely stumped because It's such a rare case. Finally I found an amazing nephrologist (kidney doctor) and he put me on a low sodium diet. Which really helped with the Kidney Stones. Even if I never had another kidney stone again, I would always stick to this diet. Everyone should live a low sodium diet. It's recommended a daily consumption of no more than 2.3 grams a day (about a tsp of salt) But the average American has at least 9 grams, that's an extreme amount. Reducing your sodium intake can help lower blood pressure, prevent heart disease, asthma, migraines, gastritis, ulcers, bone loss, and of course kidney stones. Losing weight is just a bonus really! To have a low sodium diet get rid of your table salt, and all processed foods!!! I used to think that eating vegetables and fruits from a can was healthy. HAHA, no. Keep it fresh people.
June 2012 I became a beachbody coach which is just a way to help other people get fit and make a little extra money. Beachbody are the creators of the amazing fitness programs such as P90X, Insanity, Brazil Butt Lift, Turbo Fire, Body Beast, Hip Hop Abs, and so much more. I'm not an active coach as of now but I still love helping other people with their fitness goals. So if you're interested in a lifestyle change or want to became a coach yourself, don't hesitate to ask!
October 2013 Right when I get back to my normal body weight I get pregnant of course haha. Were having a baby girl and I'm so excited to meet our little Aspen, due July 31st. And my pregnancy fitness is a whole other post! ;)
I've had a long fitness journey of ups and downs. After all of the researching I have done and experiences of trial and error, I finally know what works. I've learned what's truly a healthy diet, or what I like to call lifestyle change, as well as exercise. One thing I've learned is that you can't achieve the body you want without one or the other. You must eat and exercise right.
Things that I thought were healthy in the past are not exactly what I would call healthy now days.
I used to think....
-Vegetables and fruit from a can were healthy. Now I don't eat any processed foods and stick to fresh fruits and veggies!
-Not eating many calories would help me be fit. Now I eat probably more calories than I used to, just of the right foods and portion sizes. To keep your metabolism burning and shed that fat you must eat every 3 hours, 5-6 small meals a day. I eat when I'm hungry, and I eat until I'm full and then stop.
-Eating fruit all day was healthy. Fruit is loaded with sugar. But there are too many health benefits to say we should eliminate it all together. It contains vitamins, dietary fiber, minerals, and antioxidants essential for a healthy lifestyle. Now I eat maximum one serving of fruit in the mornings because I try to stay away from carbs in the evening.
-Carbs are the enemy. This generation there's this big fad diet eliminating all Carbohydrates. I've never done this but I've seen someone on a no carb diet and watched her slab a HUGE chunk of butter on her Eggs! I said "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" She responded.. "On my diet I can have all the butter I want, they have no carbs." Eeek!!!!! She may lose weight but I can tell you right now that's not healthy. I believe butter is one of the worst things you can eat. There are healthy carbohydrates such as whole grains, fruit, sweet potatoes, beans, nuts, ect.. And like I said I try to stay away from carbs in the evenings.
-Weights were for men. I used to only do cardio. Now I love weights more than cardio, I think it's fun! And I think a toned body is much more attractive than a scrawny little twig. Strong is the new skinny! I no longer have a desire to be skinny, just fit and toned like the girls in my Oxygen Magazine. (Which is the best fitness magazine ever by the way)
-I was healthy if the scale says so. I used to be obsessed about my weight. Now I don't even weigh myself. I let my jeans and the mirror tell me if I'm where I need to be. Muscle weighs more than fat!
Here's my example daily diet (When not Pregnant)
Meal 1- Half a cup of oatmeal and five egg whites, unlimited veggies
Meal 2- 1 Serving of fruit, Jamie Easons protein bar
Meal 3- Five ounces of stir-fried chicken with half a cup of brown rice and steamed veggies
Meal 4- Protein shake(with water), unlimited veggies
Meal 5- Jamie Easons Homemade Italian chicken zucchini burger with Ezekiel bread, side salad
Meal 6- 5 Egg whites
Here's is a list of foods that I eat. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer-approved-foods-list.html
My workout routine- (When not pregnant)
Every other day I switch, about 45-55 min of cardio, and 15-30 min of glutes one day. And the other I'll do 15-25 of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) cardio, with 30-45 min of lifting weights, and 10-15 min of Abs
About an average of an hour to an hour and half a day. When I get to my goal, I'm going to cut down on cardio time and focus more on my real love, weight training.
Here's an example-
Day 1-
Turbo Fire- Fire 30
Body Beast or P90X- Chest/Tris
Brazil Butt Lift- High & Tight
Days 2, 4, 6-
Turbo Fire- HIIT 15, HIIT 20 or HIIT 25
Body Beast or P90X- Shoulders, Legs, or Back/Bis
Body Beast or P90X- Abs
Days 3, 5-
Turbo Fire- Fire 55, or Fire 45
Brazil Butt Lift- High & Tight or Bum Bum
Day 7- Active Rest, Go for a walk
No comments:
Post a Comment