Health update & my next Ayurveda adventure

I have been flared up endometriosis wise for the last couple weeks. It seems the 2 days in a row of exercise from 2 weeks ago really angered it. I have had pretty consistent pelvic pain that feels like someone is dragging a steak knife across my pelvic area from the inside out or like I am being stabbed from the inside out with that same knife.

Additionally, today I am flaring in an unknown way. Which problem is causing it, I don’t know? I have read that neuropathy type stuff can come from endometriosis. This is more of a body-wide light nervey thing. That feeling when you touch your skin and it has a burning sensation, that alternates with tingly almost static kind of feeling and it hurts a bit too. It is weird. Usually passes in 24 hours, so fingers crossed it passes.

I have had a couple of days where I reached 5,000 steps but mostly between 2,500 and 3,000. Once the flares are quelled a bit, I plan on walking more and doing more gentle movement to get myself exercising again.

In the meantime, I had this notion that most of my problems were Kapha Vata problems, even though my assessments come out Vata Pitta dominant with a smidgen of Kapha. And I thought this for about a year or more at this point.

I get hot a lot and overheat a lot, so I don’t usually think much of it because it alternates. I usually store heat from the shower and get really red, especially in my cheeks. I can tolerate cold weather post shower for about an hour sometimes without a coat, after it wears off I am an icicle. Or I get red cheeks and hot from the neck up and am cold from the neck down and running a low grade fever. I also can’t exercise much without overheating, getting red cheeks and feeling that warm nausea. The most annoying thing is when my anxiety flares up and it causes me to run to the bathroom #2. And if I let the anxiety go, the #2’s will get more urgent, more severe – which could also be Vata Pitta.

…Then it dawned on me what might be going on.

I look at my tongue 1-2 times per day and I always have heat in the middle of my tongue (green/yellow) but a couple nights ago it was really thick.

I started doing research and learned that most of my problems are coming from a Pitta Vata imbalance.

My plan to remedy this is to eat more Pitta Vata foods, to do more Vata exercise, yoga, meditation, and work on my stress.

Also try to create a routine (the dominant Vata in me hates routine). Additionally, I got some Pitta digestive herbs to help nourish all doshas, and my intestines while helping me with the heat problem. I also got a tongue scraper. I can’t wait to get the herbs in the mail.
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When you realize what is actually happening and why I am so exhausted all the time, things click. Now, I am not expecting a miracle but I think these will help improve my well being, even if just taking the edge off my long list of health problems.

Let me explain to you my thoughts and what I found:

Despite my assessment, I figured I was putting on excess weight (from the high fat diet my former doctor had me on) because Kapha was unhappy. Kapha may have been a contributor but Pitta doesn’t like high fat either, especially when my digestion sucks because it has trouble moving and processing it. In other words, between doshas not liking high fat and me not liking high fat, my stomach not liking high fat, and high fat feeding the estrogen and endometriosis in my body – I put on a lot of weight and it happened really fast.

I also thought that my sluggishness, allergies and metabolism being slow was Kapha, and while it might also be a contributor, these things, when Pitta is unbalanced and digestion sucks, can come from Pitta. All according to research I read online recently.

There is a delicate balance going on here. And being Vata Pitta Dominant and Pitta heat running amuck, and my digestion being slow, plus a bit of Kapha, here I am. But I never thought to try and remedy Pitta (heat).

I am trying to think of how to word what I see intuitively and visualize how this works.

I am quite high strung, have high anxiety, a million thoughts throughout the day, sometimes I have trouble sleeping because of them and long to do lists (even if I write them down). Plus, I am a perfectionist and a bit type A in most instances. I want things done now and done right. I am also always thinking of things I can research (something I love) and trying to better my health.

I get irritable (more like sad, down, and pissy) when I don’t eat and I am prone to being low glycemic. But because I am ungrounded and very floaty and running at 200 mph, I can go 6-8 hours without eating anything because I am on a mission to get things done and completely forget about it.

Then, I found online that Pitta (and Vata) prefer a regular eating schedule. I want to work on this, but honestly I am not sure how I am going to pull it off. Maybe set reminders on my phone to eat? And then what do I do when I have an appointment in the morning or work? I won’t eat before I go anywhere in the morning because it might upset the IBS rendering me unable to leave the apartment.

Even though I am shy around most people, once I get comfortable, I never shut up. And I am always rambling on about a million different things. I am like the energizer bunny, constantly going, but I don’t have any battery life left, I am exhausted.

I think though, if anyone functioned how I do in any given day, they too would get exhausted. I told my fiance I could never be in a relationship with someone who has a similar Ayurvedic profile as me because their constant “going” and never shutting up and being on “go” constantly, would be exhausting to be around.

Thankfully, my fiance is Kapha where I am Vata and he is Vata where I am Kapha. He is like a rock, very grounding, calm, stable, patient and thankfully tolerant. His Pitta is equivalent to mine, but his is in balance and mine isn’t. We balance each other out. We have been together since 2008 and I am grateful to have found someone so awesome.

I have been brushing up on my social media marketing knowledge and one thing I read was that, when we think we are ahead, we are actually behind. That killed me. Just thinking I am BEHIND on something makes me feel this wave of heat and anxiety in me that NEEDS to get things done NOW so I am not behind. And I would end up sacrificing my health, food, even probably ignoring nature and her bathroom breaks – all because of this horrid drive.

I truly wish I had a great doctor to help me. I am broke financially but could use the help.
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With that, I will let you know how remedying my doshas goes. Have you had any luck remedying your dosha imbalances?

If the woman in this picture was blonde, she would be a good picture of what I felt like around 3:30 this afternoon (2/2/19).
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I hit a wall around then and ended up with a flare up – mostly CFS/ME and EBV. Then as time went on a slight fibromyalgia flare came out.

Interestingly, I am still working on losing weight (after my old doctor’s mistake). I exercise when I can, how I can, and this week I did 2 days of exercise. BUT I am still 110% committed to doing the old Weight Watchers Momentum/Flex Points from the early 2000’s.

I am happy to report a steady weight loss of 1-2 pounds per week. I have been doing it for about 4 weeks and I am down about 8 pounds and down around 9 inches overall.

I am still hoping Weight Watchers will make it so we can sign up for whichever Points program works for us because I have tried all of the others with no success. This one works for me. 

Here are the before and after pics. (above)

In the meantime, other than working, doing readings tomorrow, reformatting my website again, and watching the Super Bowl, my goal is to write my whole story about Endometriosis and the other many line items of problems I have.

More soon.

Today is a total rest day. Although I ran errands and have moved today, I did not exercise. I found exercising the last two days to be invigorating and reminders that I truly love exercising and fitness. But what I also realized is that my body prefers it if I exercise every other day.
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Yes, I am flared up. It is not as bad as it could be (which is good). My lower back is flared which is mostly the endometriosis. My general body pain is from the workout and a bit of fibromyalgia pain. CFS is flared up and my face and neck are hot and my cheeks are flaming red and hot. And I am an icicle from the neck down. My neck is also sore which is when the EBV gets mad and I am extra fatigued. BUT it isn’t as bad as it could be. In all honesty, it isn’t close to the worst I have felt. So even though I am flared up today, it is still a win.

Will I exercise tomorrow? Probably. But I will decide what to do for exercise tomorrow and maybe tone things down a little or exercise every other day instead of two days in a row.

I plan on cooking basmati rice in chicken broth for dinner and I feel that will help remedy things a bit.

And, as a remedy for my ongoing path to more self-compassion, I got my Kuan Yin and Dreamcatcher Alex and Ani Bracelets in the mail today! Totally loving them. I got the Kuan Yin bracelet to serve as a reminder to be compassionate towards myself (something I struggle with). And the dreamcatcher because I love them and all things Native American. I tend to feel bad about money when I spend it but I decided to embrace the purchase and enjoy it when I can afford to do it. Namaste.

More soon.

Just finished a great workout. Just because I have chronic illness, doesn’t mean I can’t workout, sweat and get strong when I am feeling up for it.
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My favorite thing to do is a circuit but I do it at home. I like going to the gym but having a slight immune deficiency that runs in my family, I tend to get sick easily from going to the gym. In a way, it is kind of like a big petri dish so it is best for me to workout here.
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You might be wondering – what is a circuit? A circuit is when we do a few minutes or reps of alternating exercises but in a loop per say.

I use the Gazelle first for about 10-15 minutes, then the tiny stepper for a couple minutes to get my heart rate up, then back to Gazelle for a few, then I do weights/resistance for a few exercises in varying reps but with a little speed to keep my heart rate up, then back to the Gazelle for a couple minutes, then the tiny stepper, then weights/resistance and I will do this cycle for 30-45 minutes. The weights/resistance I do vary each time. I do all muscle groups separately, in a cycle. Then I walk around for 2 minutes and follow it up with 15 minutes of gentle yoga and stretching.

I have everything here for a great workout: Gazelle Edge, tiny stepper, tiny stationary bike (both are basically just pedals -you can get them on Amazon), hand weights, resistance bands, Pilates ring, yoga mat, yoga blocks, yoga strap, stability ball. I also have a jump rope and a bunch of other stuff. Plus, my fiance and I have been working out individually and together for a long time – we are no stranger to working out. I just haven’t worked out as regularly in recent years.

Lastly, because my Garmin Vivosmart tracks stress, I watch that too. And my body tends to register exercise and post-exercise as being under stress. So I meditate for 15-20 minutes after yoga to get my body back in a state of rest. I will keep an eye on it for at least an hour post-workout because it will creep back up to a stressed state if I don’t.

More soon.
xx

Dear Weight Watchers,

I have been doing your programs since I was in high school. Unfortunately, I have always had weight issues but always found WW helpful in getting me back to my comfortable weight. It is worth knowing, I am 32 and was doing WW in high school in 2003/2004.

As time went on I still stuck with WW. It worked for me and I loved it. Online tracking was easy and kept me motivated.

The problem I had was once WW changed from Momentum/FlexPoints (i.e. Calories, Fat, Fiber), I tried losing weight with the other programs and didn’t have any success. I would call it my yearly WW donation – around $50 for the 3 month plan and I would try it every few months without success on the PointsPlus Plan. I then tried SmartPoints a few times without success and then also tried Freestyle a few times, also without success.

I went on eBay and got some old school Momentum/FlexPoints materials and I am now doing it on my own the old school way.

My hope and prayer this year, is that Weight Watchers (WW) gives us the opportunity to choose which tracking plan we want to be on.

Weight Watchers executives – not every plan works for every body. We all have different needs and what works for one person or even the majority, might not work for everyone. I ask that you give us the opportunity to sign up for WW and select which plan we want to track with while giving us the extra tools for Mind and Body.

I have endometriosis and recent research has proven my lifelong journey of low-fat high fiber being best due to estrogen issues. Anytime I eat something, even small amounts of fat, oil, etc. I gain weight and water up to 5 pounds overnight that never goes back down. I also have IBS and food intolerances. I can’t eat all the free fruits and veggies you give for the Freestyle program. I don’t like fish and there is only so much chicken one can eat. Plus, I have to eat eggs on a rotation, and usually only eat whites. Additionally, I am gluten and dairy intolerant. So a large majority of the Freestyle Zero point foods, I can’t eat. Then using the 27 per day, and having extremely high point values for everything is just undoable.

Thus, with over 15 years of doing the different WW systems and having only 1 work for me and it being the original one that I successfully used from 2004-2011 (before it changed to PP) – please give us this option. Thank you.

I am 5' 8" and my comfortable weight is 164. With the old WW I was always able to get back to that point. 

My current situation:
Well, a doctor I had for 4 years [starting Aug. 2014] (and who I recently fired in November 2018) told me to eat a high fat diet (knowing what I told her, that I gain weight on high fat really fast and it doesn't go back down). She persisted and kept telling me to eat high fat and she said it is impossible to gain weight eating high fat foods. So I did. Well, a few months ago - weighing 220 pounds (my saddest and highest EVER) I fired her. Despite counting calories and eating high fat, my weight just kept going up and she kept telling me to eat high fat - even after weighing in at 220.

Now I am trying to do the old WW on my own and through an app that claims to be letting me do the old WW. I am not 100% confident in their calculations but they are either right or close (and I make sure to edit according to my manual WW Momentum/FlexPoints tools.

While I am thankfully down 4-8 pounds in 3 weeks depending on the day - Nothing would make me happier than to get help from real, legit, WW and get my comfortable weight back.  ​