October 1st is fast approaching and I now have 27 days until my competition.
I am excited and feeling at ease which makes me confirm the choice to push my debut out a several weeks. A few weeks ago, I was feeling miserable (physically), not confident and big. I know, I know how can I even dare to say I felt big when I clearly am now tiny. But doing one of these shows requires a tremendous amount of body confidence, an ability to feel sexy and portray it and an overall feeling of loving one's body. I just didn't feel that a few weeks ago and a lot of it had to do with the flare of my disease as well as a shortage of time to practice my posing.
Three weeks have passed and what a difference it has made! After starting the new carb cycling and omitting most processed foods, all dairy and as much sugar as possible, I can totally feel my body healing and changing again. My symptoms are not gone completely but they are clearing up and becoming less severe. I have also lost 5 lbs in that 3 week span just by making those changes.
I am down to 136 lbs and was 13.8% body fat about a week and a half ago. I am excited to take another reading in about 2 more weeks. I have yet to take some new measurements but I plan to get that in this week. I am curious to see how much those have changed as it has been over a month since I last took them.
I met with my coach again this past Wednesday and we tweaked my diet slightly and changed my workouts up somewhat as well. I am now targeting specific areas that I need to improve on, like my deltoids and lats; really just making my lift sessions more are specific to sculpt them even more. I am back to do some lunge walking but it's only once a week this time around.
One other thing that I am trying to do is get to bed earlier. I am a night owl by nature and most nights don't climb into bed until between 12:30 and 1:00 a.m. Clearly not enough time to allow my body to recover, heal and rest. I have been doing pretty good since I started this Wednesday and have gotten to bed between 11:00 and 11:30 every night. Last night was a hard night though. I climbed into bed an 11:30 but tossed and turned with lots of "noise" in my head for a very long time. I can't tell you how long exactly because I made it a point not to look at my clock but I know it was at least 30-45 minutes if not more. I am accepting this will be process but from what I have done so far, I can definitely feel the impact to my energy levels throughout the day, specifically my "sleepy time" between 3-5 pm.
There has been a some things going on with my body physically that up until today, worried and perplexed me. I decided to do some research on my own (thank you Google!) and was able to pinpoint some of the why's of these symptoms.
I usually have pretty clear skin but last Sunday or Monday broke out in acne not only on my face but all over different parts of my body. I was at first frustrated, then concerned when new spots appeared almost on a daily basis. My arms, legs, back, chest, neck, face......everywhere.
After cross searching the acne with my crohn's, I was able to determine some answers. Although acne has not been proven to be a symptom of crohn's disease, losing a large amount of weight has. When your body begins to shed weight you inevitably lose body fat. Our bodies need a certain amount of body fat to function. Without it, we could not survive. One function of body fat, besides insulating and cushioning our organs is to "soak up" toxins in our systems. These toxins tend to remain in this body fat for very long periods of time. When a person begins to get below a certain percentage of body fat, the fat begins to release these toxins out into the blood stream. The lymph system is only able to handle some of this waste and because of this it begins to exit your system through the next best option: our skin.
This low body fat percentage that I have coupled with the fact that I have stopped menstruating and haven't had a period in two months (over abundance of hormones) is the cause of all this face/body acne. I am still frustrated with it but at least now I have answers and am not concerned that I was developing a case of leprosy. :-o
I went out today and purchased an inordinate amount of skin products (containing salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide) to help combat the crap that is coming through my pores. I am keeping my fingers crossed that some of these products will help with this outbreak. I am also trying to increase my water to a gallon and a half a day to help flush the crap out.
I am assuming that my body fat is probably between 12-13% now. I am shooting to lose another 5-7 lbs, which probably sounds insane and impossible to many of you but I now know that it is totally doable. My coach thinks that I will be between 129-131 lbs come competition time, so that is what I a aiming to achieve.
I am not on a starvation diet either. I am eating plenty just choosing very wisely. I will most likely come back up to the high 130's or low 140's after the show is over. The plan is to relax the diet after the show up until Jan. 2nd. Then it will be time to start carb cycling again and making adjustments to start training for the Spring show in March. I now know what it takes to drop weight and lose body fat and about how long it should take me, which should make the next round of training a lot easier.
On another note, I was hit with a crohn's related symptom yesterday afternoon. It took me off guard and hit me like a Mac truck. A common complaint is joint pain and arthritis, which is directly related to inflammation that is already going on in my digestive system. I was out running errands yesterday when all of a sudden I felt weak, feverish and was in severe joint pain. It hurt to walk. I had to come home and lay down for about 2 hours before I could function normally again.
I will NOT let this disease take over my life. I will fight and make as many changes to my diet and lifestyle that I need to in order to live as "normally" as possible. I am becoming somewhat impatient with this current flare, as the other 2 flares I had lasted between 4-6 months. It's been 2 months and I am tired. I am trying to remain hopeful. I am trying to use the improvements I see and feel as motivation to keep pushing forward. If you have never had to deal with a recurring digestive problem, you more then likely have no idea how I am feeling. It puts you in such a topsy turvy of emotions.
Tomorrow starts a new lift routine and I am excited as usual. I am so proud and astounded and how I have been able to not only change my body, but push myself mentally and emotionally. I have come a long way and don't plan on looking back. ;-)
P.S. I will be taking some new measurements and photos tomorrow and posting a picture timeline form April to now. I am ready to put myself out there and share my progress through pictures with you all. You'll be amazed. :-)
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