6 month point – highs and lows

Can anyone believe that it is already June. Seriously where has this year gone!

It’s been an interesting year thus far. I set out with the best intentions but haven’t been able to succeed with all of them. But you know what I’m not going to beat myself up about it, it’s just something that happens. I want to focus on the positive as I have stuck with some of the things.

My diet has been going from strength to strength, I do have days of where I cheat or eat thing that I shouldn’t. But it’s ok you know, because I have the discipline to go back to my diet and not stray every day.

My exercise hasn’t been as great. I still work out every second week or so but its not as rigid as I had hoped. But I had to listen to my body. My body wasn’t ready for a constant exercise program yet.

With my shoulder injury, my autoimmune diseases and glandular fever I have really learnt how to listen to my body. And to be honest I don’t have the same energy levels as a normal person does. I’m fighting to make it though an average day let alone beating myself up about exercising.

I do understand that exercise is a form of medicine but when you are juggling so many things sometimes it’s the thing that falls off the radar. It’s a great stress relief.

I’m now seeing a massage therapist that specialises in Chinese medicine, cupping and other massage techniques. And the improvement that I have seen in my shoulder, back and general feeling is amazing. I am now starting to be able to hold my body weight when I plank or push up again and I’m able to start to take a top off over my head without it hurting.  I’m deadset cheering – I know it’s the little things. But this was something I took for granted, it’s not something that I ever thought I wouldn’t be able to do.

Now saying this I hope in the next 2-3 weeks to start training seriously again. And I’m so excited.

It’s amazing the mental fight you have when your injured. And how it impacts on so many levels.

This has been the battle I have been fighting and I am pleased to say that I’m not letting it beat me and I am going to win.

Rambling post – yes, but I wanted to take the time out to verbalise how proud I am of my achievements to date. And you should be proud of yours too!

Everyone has a battle they are fighting. How do you celebrate overcoming your everyday battle?

Em

Feeling stressed – ain’t no body got time for dat!

It has been a couple of months since my last post and what a couple of months it has been.

I started uni (which I’m loving), working casually at my old job (until I have trained up the new team) and have been travelling a couple of ours a day (to uni and work). I was doing really well, keeping up my fitness program and then I started to become overwhelmed. I was running out of hours, putting so much pressure on myself to get through certain things within a certain time. Over easter I had mid semester break which I had planned to catch up on my study notes. But instead I didn’t do a thing.

And it was fantastic.

I feel revived, and ready to focus again. Ok I probably am a bit behind in my study notes and that may come around and bite me during exam time but I will work that out then. Besides I still have 5 weekish to catch up – whats a couple of days. There was no point forcing myself to do all of this study if it wasn’t going to sink in. I needed that break and to stop putting so much pressure on myself so I could actually relax and enjoy myself. I caught up on sleep and I feel as though it helped me get a bit more energy back to fight this virus that I have been the host to for the last couple of months.

Underlying message is, remember your only human and you need to listen to your body. Give yourself permission  each day to do something that you love.

And don’t stress on the small stuff. Relax, breathe and remember to smile, because it will all turn out ok in the end.

What is your favourite thing to do you do when your feeling stressed?

Em

Lifestyle change 1.0

As you can imagine from my previous posts, 2014 was an tricky one for me.
I was slammed at work, working in an environment which I just wasn’t enjoying. I could do the work, totally fine. If anything I was nailing it. But I just didn’t like the environment, the organisation I was working for was a top firm and I was in one of the smaller offices so there was no priority to supporting me and helping me. I was working what 4 people did when I first started and now there was just me and a junior, who worked in a different office. I didn’t drop the ball on anything, never turned down anything, always helped out. I took it in my stride and got shit done.

You can imagine what this stress did to my relationships, body and health (both physical and mental). I think the line in the sand was when I started to get pains in my joints, and couldn’t get rid of this paralysing pain in my shoulder (even after months and months of physio and chiro appts). By this stage I was feeling terrible, I wasn’t happy and no matter what I did I couldn’t get enough sleep.

When I finally went to the doctor and got my results back, I was semi in shock but also relieved that there was a reason why I was feeling so terrible. Because if you looked at me, there were no major signs to demonstrate why I was experiencing these feelings.

At 26 I was diagnosed with my second auto immune disease, rheumatoid arthritis. I also have a thyroid condition which also at this point had flared up as my body had been in overdrive for months now.

It was at this point I began to think, I’m ruining my body and I’m not even enjoying what I’m doing.

So I began to think about what I wanted to do with my life. I decided to take a risk. I applied for uni, in a completely different field. Resigned from my job. Began a healthy lifestyle, exercise program and diet.

I can always fall back on my previous education and experience if it doesn’t work out.

But at the moment, am the happiest I have been in a long time! I couldn’t ask for much more – maybe except for winning the lottery!

This is the beginning of a very exciting journey for me and I hope to share it with you and maybe even inspire you.

Have you ever taken a life changing risk?

Em