tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37689689164861939032024-02-06T19:06:22.290-08:00Beating LymeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-52780522832313695802018-12-01T01:05:00.003-08:002018-12-01T01:12:27.862-08:00<br />
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</div><!-- TradingView Widget END -->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-7555085492253602182016-04-02T04:24:00.003-07:002016-04-02T04:30:07.139-07:002015 and first quarter 2016 - the 15 months that flew byIt's hard for me to believe how fast the last 15 months have flown by. I moved into a new team at work at the end of 2014. That still seems like yesterday but it coming up 1.5 years ago. I guess it's part of getting older that the years seem to go by faster. In a way I think it's a good sign. For most of that time my health and happiness levels have been very high. And when that's the case time seems to pass faster. During 2010 and 2011 when I was really struggling the weeks and months used to drag on forever. <br />
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Aside from a couple of blips my health has been great. So long as I stick to eating whole foods and close to zero tolerance on sugars (and alcohol) then my health and general wellbeing continues to get better and better. Far higher then before I got sick with Lyme disease. During those times it's fair to say that I've made a 100% + recovery.<br />
<br />
2 or 3 times per year I generally have a blip. The trigger for the blip is usually a holiday. It's a familiar story: I go on holiday and start to get relaxed with my nutrition. I start to enjoy a bit of wine and chocolate in the evenings. First few days my health is still great so I keep going, upping the wine, chocoate and introducing a bit more bread, pasta and other foods that I generally avoid.<br />
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Now I need to make it clear that, aside from the chocolate, I'm not binging on this stuff. 2 or 3 glasses of wine a night, a couple of slices of bread. That's all we're talking about. But it's enough. After a week or two my health starts to suffer. Especially my sleep. It was my first problem when I got sick with Lyme disease and it's the most enduring and most insidious. Usually this time coincides with the holiday ending and beginning back at work. I don't then have the luxury of being able to take it easy and rest during the day so I manage to convince myself that it's OK to up the coffee and chocolate intake to give me the energy to get through the day.<br />
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But of course it's a no-win strategy. My sleep suffers more and every day becomes a struggle. That is the downward spiral I've found myself in 2 or 3 times per year in the 6 years since I first got sick with lyme disease. When I'm doing well, which is around 9 months per year, then I'm doing great. But when I'm in a blip then life is hard.<br />
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I'm coming out of a blip at the moment. Up until the end of February I was doing great. At that time I was finishing a 100 day yoga challenge (100 hot yoga lessons in 100 days). During a lot of those 100 days I felt more content, happier within myself and confident than at any other time in my life. <br />
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The last 2 weeks of my yoga challenge were hard. In order to make my goal I had to do at least 2, sometimes 3, yoga lessons per day. It might sound easy but hot yoga is intense. Either 60 or 90 minutes of hard work in 40 degree heat. I pushed myself too hard in those last 2 weeks and once my challenge was over I was wrecked. The day after my yoga finished I went on holiday. I went from extreme discipline and health to no exercise and over indulgence. Booze, junk food, chocolate replaced water, salads and smoothies. TV watching replaced yoga. For the first few days it felt good. Shortly after that my health started to head south. Sleep problems, no energy, back problems. I just felt old and tired. <br />
<br />
But I've been through it before. And as the years go by I become more accepting when it happens. Although I'd like to be strict and maintain great health 100% of the time I don't think that's realistic, at least not for me. So these blips, these periods where I fall off the strict eating wagon for a while, could well be something that will continue to feature in my life.<br />
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My last blip started a month ago. I'm almost fully back on the wagon now. I did my first yoga class in a month a couple of days ago and immediately I felt better. It's so refreshing going to yoga without a goal in mind. Just being there. That's how I think yoga should be.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-90077399158718426842015-02-08T08:15:00.002-08:002015-02-08T08:22:16.972-08:00How I gave up diet soda and why you should do the same<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fairdinkumradio.com/resources/toxic-aspartame.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://fairdinkumradio.com/resources/toxic-aspartame.jpg" /></a></div><br />
For 10 years I was dependent on diet soda. My drug of choice was diet coke (a.k.a coca-cola light). At an absolute minimum I would need a can a day. If I didn't have this I couldn't function. But usually I had way more than a single can. I would often buy 1.5 liter bottles and go through the whole lot in a couple of hours. <br />
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During the early years in my recovery from Lyme disease I knew that I should give up diet coke. However my consumption actually increased. It was my crutch. I was trying to work full-time whilst sleeping 2-3 hours per night. Whenever I had to give a presentation or attend an important meeting I didn't feel like I could function unless I had a diet coke beforehand. <br />
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Then one day I stopped. I had done this many times in the previous years but this time it was different.<br />
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It was still hard. The cravings were super strong. But I stuck with it. And eventually I got through the day. Then the next day. Then the next. It's now been 9 months since I had a diet coke (or any other fizzy drink). There are still times, particularly after a terrible night's sleep, when I hesitate whilst walking past a vending machine. But so far I haven't weakened and I'm determined to keep it that way.<br />
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<i>5 reason I gave up</i><br />
These 5 reasons below were the reasons I gave up diet-sodas and are what I focus on to stay strong if I'm experiencing cravings. Most of the reasons are really referring to aspartame, the artificial sweetener in diet coke and many other diet sodas.<br />
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<b>1 - It's toxic<br />
</b>The initial reason I switched to diet coke back in 2004 was that I was seduced by it's message of zero sugar and zero calories. It seemed a drink I could enjoy guilt free. On the contrary there are many health issues linked to aspartame consumption. To confuse matters, some of the studies that have been undertaken on aspartame show it to be safe. However there are often conflicts of interest issues behind many of these studies. <br />
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<b>2 - It can prevent recovery from Lyme disease<br />
</b>It's reported that aspartame consumption can cause <a href="http://www.dorway.com/lymedis.txt">relapses in Lyme disease</a> and <a href="http://www.samento.com.ec/sciencelib/addons/lymeRichler.htm">lock the Lyme bacteria into the body</a>.<br />
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<br />
<b>3 - It can makes you fatter</b><br />
Some studies have shown that aspartame can increase insulin and leptin levels, which can lead to obesity and diabetes. The fact that it has 0 calories does not mean it'll help you lose weight.<br />
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<b>4 - It's expensive</b><br />
I was probably spending close to 600 euros a year on diet coke. Plus often when I bought a diet coke, I bought something to eat from the vending machine. So in effect I was spending close to 1000 euros a year to make myself fatter and sicker. <br />
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<b>5 - I feel much better without it</b><br />
Once I made it through the first week I started feeling much better. I could sleep better. I didn't go through a huge dip every day at work. My brain fog lifted.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIbKFNixl8c2CJoFdwPKtv1axjnhYjOJcKS78EINot6b-L2wY4y3MWrzPEBqIZOvVNQ4KoTgS3iqEpAP_uds7q8FQjjzU765zY0uw3UYiUUGJR3wRqGzK1Kon1OZckAW7-9vhodgU3TQ/s1600/diet_coke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIbKFNixl8c2CJoFdwPKtv1axjnhYjOJcKS78EINot6b-L2wY4y3MWrzPEBqIZOvVNQ4KoTgS3iqEpAP_uds7q8FQjjzU765zY0uw3UYiUUGJR3wRqGzK1Kon1OZckAW7-9vhodgU3TQ/s320/diet_coke.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<b>How did I quit?<br />
</b><br />
<i>- I focused on the reasons above to keep in the front of my mind why I was stopping.<br />
</i><br />
<i>- I found a substitute (green smoothies) that gave me a lift without the bad side effects.</i><br />
<i><br />
- I focused on getting through one day at a time.</i><br />
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<i>- I drunk more water</i><br />
Often I had diet coke when I was thirsty. I found that if a craving for diet coke reared it's ugly head I could defeat it by drinking water.<br />
<i><br />
- I watched out for my weak spots</i><br />
For me a weak spot was long car journeys where I used to use diet coke to keep me sharp. I swapped out diet coke for coffee and also pushed myself less when undertaking these journeys. If I was tired I would find a place to sleep rather than ignoring my body and pushing through it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://thecorderoexperience.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Why-Im-Giving-Up-Diet-Coke.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://thecorderoexperience.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Why-Im-Giving-Up-Diet-Coke.png" /></a></div><br />
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The first few days were the hardest. Once I made it through a week most of the cravings had gone. However occasional triggers (such as long car journeys) brought them back again. In these times I focus my attention on getting through the moment and not giving in. <br />
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In the months since I've given up diet coke my health is significantly better. It's impossible to isolate how much of this improvement is due to giving up diet coke as I've also made other changes in my diet and lifestyle. However feeling better and sleeping better are huge motivators to stay on track and aspartame free!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-85172100522710422152015-02-02T07:11:00.003-08:002015-02-02T07:11:25.140-08:00new beginnings with my blog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/eiffel-tower-paris-france-26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/eiffel-tower-paris-france-26.jpg" /></a></div>(I'll be running up the Eiffel tower on March 20th 2015)<br />
<br />
<br />
I've been very slack at my blog the last few months.<br />
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I'm planning on turning that around in 2015 and devoting more time to blogging. I'm still busy with my Lyme journey and learning so if I can share that and possibly help someone else then that makes it worthwhile.<br />
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Health wise things have been going well for me. Last December I placed 4th overall at the dutch stair running champs and was the first old guy (40+). Recently I got selected to take part in the first ever Eiffel tower running race in March 2015. At almost 1700 steps that is far longer than the races I'm used to doing so I'm working hard on my fitness.<br />
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I'm still having trouble sleeping. Sometimes I have good periods, for a few days, a week or so. But then I also have periods where I'm only getting 2 or 3 hours of quality sleep a night. This only came on when I first got sick with Lyme disease 5 years ago. I've been numerous times to the doctor, sleep clinics, neurologists but their view is that this is not a lyme disease problem but something in my head. Unfortunately I hear many stories of people who are terribly sick with Lyme disease being told the same thing. <br />
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Luckily for me I can still function, and usually thrive, through lifestyle and nutrition choices.<br />
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Beating Lyme for me to all about being vigilant. It's about working out the strategies that work for you and making them habits. I fully appreciate that I am one of the lucky ones. Many people aren't diagnosed and some who are sick are probably too far gone to make a full recovery. However having said that I think the power of nutrition (especially fruits and vegetables) and lifestyle choices to heal is incredible and too many people give up before exploring all of these options.<br />
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I wish you all the best for 2015.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-44304232580777393422014-08-31T10:48:00.000-07:002014-08-31T10:48:33.319-07:0016 week fat loss challenge - end of week 7<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZy6uf27qaP59OBKfc8pKbFD2SCm_UpgZTxg7DexbYUsGXbuRaURxgZZ_qsG-YABATGPg12k7r55ThOMaYv9dq-lLWXEkNdgV4OBSKtfr3wSOp1zsyuj-dsV2DgR4qNkh-pXsGed1IE_z/s1600/mms_img-137152816(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZy6uf27qaP59OBKfc8pKbFD2SCm_UpgZTxg7DexbYUsGXbuRaURxgZZ_qsG-YABATGPg12k7r55ThOMaYv9dq-lLWXEkNdgV4OBSKtfr3wSOp1zsyuj-dsV2DgR4qNkh-pXsGed1IE_z/s400/mms_img-137152816(1).jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
Alriiight....86.1kg !!!! The last time I was down at this weight was 10 years ago!<br />
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The progress the last few weeks has been awesome. Recently I've been reading about intermittent fasting and I am going to give it a try. Actually I already did... I tried it yesterday and it felt fine. Normally for me I gobble down breakfast as soon as I wake up but this morning I 'broke fast' after getting home from my yoga class at 12:30. Breakfast (well it was really lunch but it was breaking fast in it's truest sense) felt different from my normal breakfast. I could really taste and appreciate the food much more. <br />
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So I'm going to keep the intermittent fasting up for a while and I'm going to aim for 2 days a week. The approach I'm trying is 16/8, so 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating. So I'm going to have my last meal about 18:30, and then break fast the following day at 10:30.<br />
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Intermittent fasting is touted to have many benefits beyond weight loss. Once I have read more and tried it out for myself for a period of time I'll report back as to how I found it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-17140534997723994232014-08-17T06:25:00.000-07:002014-08-17T06:26:20.898-07:0016 week weight loss challenge - end of week 5....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGL0N-33UQxdtM97uOY-I8zFt3o0hKoH21dbCCgi6hY89PoK3_zRvGjHsSVfoFrO4YjpHdxi1p_JB86NcrbFVyPELq5lJZ3E_w2vfeF5Eh0jZTYLMqe0nv6YlTy7U9Z6XvJJzXfflgpkAo/s1600/mms_img-51481419.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGL0N-33UQxdtM97uOY-I8zFt3o0hKoH21dbCCgi6hY89PoK3_zRvGjHsSVfoFrO4YjpHdxi1p_JB86NcrbFVyPELq5lJZ3E_w2vfeF5Eh0jZTYLMqe0nv6YlTy7U9Z6XvJJzXfflgpkAo/s400/mms_img-51481419.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjjApDES_VIBVBtlaDuDVthvutoPqXdVVmmz_I91AlG3-7nI1U_u3g17vB0CBnSpz2XR49vMhglC5zVNxISYQ4xCT5Mp7t7Dhx0lKSADTBqJpQfX0pSklKUYVijKMTi6kWOAOVFZm7nuCD/s1600/mms_img-1241185287.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjjApDES_VIBVBtlaDuDVthvutoPqXdVVmmz_I91AlG3-7nI1U_u3g17vB0CBnSpz2XR49vMhglC5zVNxISYQ4xCT5Mp7t7Dhx0lKSADTBqJpQfX0pSklKUYVijKMTi6kWOAOVFZm7nuCD/s400/mms_img-1241185287.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
OK - so I've only lost 200 grams from my last weigh-in post 4 weeks ago which looks pretty average BUT I just spent 3 weeks on holiday so any weight loss at all over that period is pretty awesome I reckon!<br />
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I was strict on my diet on holiday and most days I did at least a couple of hours cycling and lots of swimming in a (very cold) mountain lake but it's all paid off. <br />
<br />
So now I'm back about to get into the normal work/home routine and I've got 12 weeks to really buckle down and get down to my goal weight!<br />
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Weight = 89.1kg<br />
Body Fat % = 21.2%Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-22529803216428917982014-08-16T11:39:00.000-07:002014-08-16T11:42:53.904-07:00my fitness test - Cetta to Carmo Langan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOMUC7oGWjmCUNaMD6TlEaCMM1Xn9yodl04hVx1H1lE9tKg8ubwFlmFx8EdSdzJgaRXyANXLTvqbwz2cxs_iD1JqPSME-XmulYO2CxQHW9WiIFJzto42qKV-lnkktHdKLTzs3y_EZhkgUg/s1600/mms_img-1875725700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOMUC7oGWjmCUNaMD6TlEaCMM1Xn9yodl04hVx1H1lE9tKg8ubwFlmFx8EdSdzJgaRXyANXLTvqbwz2cxs_iD1JqPSME-XmulYO2CxQHW9WiIFJzto42qKV-lnkktHdKLTzs3y_EZhkgUg/s400/mms_img-1875725700.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I'm very lucky to be able to enjoy holidaying a few times each year in the magical village of Cetta, set 800 metres above sea level in the Ligurian Alps (Italy).<br />
<br />
My family and I have been coming to Cetta for 7 years and it is an amazingly tranquil and beautiful place.<br />
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As you can see from the photo, Cetta looks out over a valley (national park) and it is in this valley which I have a fitness test which I do about 4 times a year.<br />
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The test is to walk or run up the old path from the river (basically the lowest point when looking up the valley in the photo) to the road (close to the highest point when looking up the valley). The path that I follow is many hundreds of years old but these days I'm pretty much the only person using it (I've never seen another person on this path in the 7 years I've been walking it).<br />
<br />
When I first walked the path a few years before I got Lyme disease it took me 40 minutes. Over a number of attempts I managed to get this down to 36 minutes which I thought was pretty good.<br />
<br />
Then I got sick. There was a year or two when I didn't attempt the path and when I finally tried again I couldn't make it. I had to turn around.<br />
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But I kept persevering.<br />
<br />
In May this year on my 40th birthday party I was able to do the path in 26 minutes 16 seconds. That time blew me away. Was far faster than any other time I've done.<br />
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3 days ago (August 2014) I did the path again. It's brutally hard. It's 600m of altitude gain clambering over rocks and tree roots. If you go all out you're huffing and puffing and swearing like a trooper before you make it a quarter of the way up. I gave it by best shot and ended up completing it in 24 minutes 34 seconds. WOW!!!!! That's a full 10 minutes faster than what it took me when I was much younger and prior to getting Lyme disease.<br />
<br />
I was pretty chuffed.<br />
<br />
I'm going to keep training away and I reckon I can bring the time down even further. Getting below sub 23 would be awesome, sub 20 would be epic!!!<br />
<br />
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ps - in earlier posts I had talked of my fat loss challenge. I wasn't able to weight myself for the last 3 weeks (on holiday without scales) but weighed myself this morning and was 90.3kg. That is slightly heavier than a few weeks ago but after 3 weeks of holidaying in Italy I reckon that marginal weight gain is more than acceptable! I ate super clean most of the time and so managed to keep the weight under control.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-67380099997018063772014-07-20T03:35:00.004-07:002014-07-20T03:35:56.291-07:0016 week weight loss challenge.... end of week 1<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalgPjIWzEOa6ky5m7x2O-sq71_1AH9dZz6XIQzdAyQ6xQnOvptG26RSpWk5fgNZsyZdTtXnEPUVwcRY-Nu8u9E-txiQvxlUQnGT80bHEADayVCuk9eQTz864mHfXcMG4uf1jc2csoock4/s1600/mms_img460623821.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalgPjIWzEOa6ky5m7x2O-sq71_1AH9dZz6XIQzdAyQ6xQnOvptG26RSpWk5fgNZsyZdTtXnEPUVwcRY-Nu8u9E-txiQvxlUQnGT80bHEADayVCuk9eQTz864mHfXcMG4uf1jc2csoock4/s320/mms_img460623821.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6O8WKpQOxUOaf6aWDUnoGfZ5XmgqtynK1eA6nMz29rbeZw2EYWpSIzieBPbZ_m86lZpVIoAdsTXOgdwn_u9z0MaZUHhe4PGx_klMSOVFY07Y1nAWHrX8sBwXtt43rT2vHMmi86PajShj/s1600/mms_img-105406927.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6O8WKpQOxUOaf6aWDUnoGfZ5XmgqtynK1eA6nMz29rbeZw2EYWpSIzieBPbZ_m86lZpVIoAdsTXOgdwn_u9z0MaZUHhe4PGx_klMSOVFY07Y1nAWHrX8sBwXtt43rT2vHMmi86PajShj/s320/mms_img-105406927.jpg" /></a><br />
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Time since beginning challenge: 7 days<br />
Weight lost: 2.2kg (91.5kg to 89.3kg)<br />
Fat % change: 2.5% (23% to 20.5%) <br />
<br />
Really successful week for losing body fat. Due to time constraints I didn't have the chance to do much exercise but I did eat SUPER clean. I also limited my fruit intake. Whereas normally I put banannas, dates and berries in my smoothies, this week my smoothies consisted of broccoli and kale. Not that tasty but effective for burning the fat.<br />
<br />
The challenge is really going to be to try and lose (or at least limit the increase of) body fat over the next 3.5 weeks when I will be on holiday. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-61989717867870629902014-07-13T11:24:00.001-07:002014-07-13T11:24:33.542-07:0016 week fat loss challenge..... day 1 !!!I've written a fair bit about the new sporting challenges I've taken on in the last couple of years; stair running and recumbent bike racing.<br />
<br />
I feel now I've got the energy and determination to really get fit so that I can be competitive in these sports, especially in stair running.<br />
<br />
To be competitive means getting in good shape and getting down to a good, lean racing weight.<br />
<br />
2.5 years ago I weighed 103kg. I've done well since then and have got down to 91kg. Of course that is a much healthier but I'm still about 10kg above where I should be. At 103kg I was obese. At 91kg I'm overweight.<br />
<br />
So the challenge for the next 16 weeks is to see whether I can drop enough fat to get down to my goal weight. I've got two primary goals. The first is to get down to below 85kg. I want to achieve that by September 11th. That date will be my 10th wedding anniversary and the last time I weighed less than 85kg was my wedding day.<br />
<br />
2nd goal is to get down to below 79kg. My goal for that is November 13th, 16 weeks away from today. Last time I was below 79kg was when I was super fit, having spent 3 months biking around Europe and the USA. <br />
<br />
They're both challenging and difficult goals. I've tried many times before to lose the fat but have never been able to lose it and keep it off.<br />
<br />
I'll write more about the fat loss strategies I'm using in later blog posts.<br />
<br />
I want to sign off today with a photo of the scales when I weighed myself this morning. I'm going to take a photo every Sunday and post it on here to be accountable. Any support is very much appreciated so please leave a message here or e-mail me. And if you also want to tackle some goals in the coming 16 weeks let me know and we can be accountable to each other.<br />
<br />
photos 13th July 2014: (23% bodyfat at 91.5kg)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitt-tzcgo263EHYY0-WV-wXmNOn1M460EpCWOCEQqQQzq216jzdBUp3SyDg1A5dPL2mVvGAsW3XVcB5pnY2hKb26Vn6vfGcrXQZM-eGaevfNfnV1LKp4nHN3xrridbYiAGqd-owntVse2U/s1600/mms_img-446135871.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitt-tzcgo263EHYY0-WV-wXmNOn1M460EpCWOCEQqQQzq216jzdBUp3SyDg1A5dPL2mVvGAsW3XVcB5pnY2hKb26Vn6vfGcrXQZM-eGaevfNfnV1LKp4nHN3xrridbYiAGqd-owntVse2U/s320/mms_img-446135871.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9QCV2zj6ilzhKaK0KqAzUsXLUU5sV6bMNYMv2mwM4LtcLlhe2ciOmFVwtDOILze75HyyzLwVJ3O5OwiEwvpnMPloFpwye7SAbqsY3QrHtRMIiZJGpHMyu-EU0TXxqY_iprG1qIbbAAXB/s1600/mms_img-518100503.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9QCV2zj6ilzhKaK0KqAzUsXLUU5sV6bMNYMv2mwM4LtcLlhe2ciOmFVwtDOILze75HyyzLwVJ3O5OwiEwvpnMPloFpwye7SAbqsY3QrHtRMIiZJGpHMyu-EU0TXxqY_iprG1qIbbAAXB/s320/mms_img-518100503.jpg" /></a><br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-67122180806079509622014-06-08T09:20:00.003-07:002014-06-09T00:50:36.549-07:00First amateur and first team in tower running competition !!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.almeredezeweek.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/WTC-Trappenloop-levert-Parkhuys-geld-op-480x319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.almeredezeweek.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/WTC-Trappenloop-levert-Parkhuys-geld-op-480x319.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
The last 5 weeks been pretty tough. I had a fabulous 2 week holiday 5 weeks ago and since returning I've really had trouble sleeping. Since I've had Lyme I go through periods like this a few times a year. I feel like I'm coming out the other side now but when you're getting by on a few hours sleep a night or less it's hard to stay positive.<br />
<br />
So needless to say it's been hard summoning the willpower and energy to train for the stair running competition I'd been targeting.<br />
<br />
But I stayed tough and trained and last weekend I turned up with my teammates to take on the 34 stories (600 steps) of the Almere World Trade Centre.<br />
<br />
This year there were three categories: business teams, amateur, professionals.<br />
<br />
My strategy was to take it relatively easy the first 10 floors, build pace for the next 15 and hang tough for the last 9. The first 10 floors went well, however when it came to the build and sprint for the finish I just didn't have it in my legs. I gave it my all though and passed three people (we start 1 minute apart) so was hopeful I'd put in a good time. Last year I'd finished 15th and I was hoping for a top 10 this year.<br />
<br />
After the finish I hung out with my teammates at the top and then we all ventured down to the timing area. To my surprise I was coming first! There were still quite a few runners to go so we milled around outside and watched the invited elite 'professionals' warming up.<br />
<br />
A few minutes later all the amateur and team runners had finished and the presenters counted down the top ten teams. He got down to the top two and we still hadn't been called out. Then he announced the winner..... we'd won!!! That was a great moment for us all to savour. As well as being part of the winning team I'd got the fastest amateur time, about 18 seconds faster than the 2nd place getter.<br />
<br />
Of course most of the elite category beat me and the top few beat me pretty soundly (I got 4.30, the winner got 3.35). However there were lots of things to be positive about and lots of areas where I can improve for next year and other events later this year.<br />
<br />
I'm focusing on a 3 pronged strategy for improving:<br />
<br />
Weight - for the race I weighed 90kg with a bodyfat percentage of around 22%. If I could get down to, say, 78kg that would make a massive difference to my results. With stair running you have to lug your mass at least 100 vertical metres, so every additional kilogram is significant.<br />
<br />
Endurance - when I was at my fittest 16 years ago the training component that really made the difference to my endurance was running, lots of running.<br />
<br />
Explosive strength - I'm aiming to get this through a combination of weight training and plyometrics.<br />
<br />
I've got 6 months till the dutch tower running championships. Last year I rang 2.29 and placed 14th. This year I'd like to go sub 2.09. That should get me on the podium which would be pretty cool.<br />
<br />
I'm excited about the next few months. I had around 10 years of bad eating habbits and inactivity that left me overweight and unfit. Now I'm turning it around and it's an exciting process. Bring it on !!<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-28301371948670243862014-04-04T06:18:00.002-07:002014-04-04T06:21:36.550-07:00Training PB in the tower! and suffering through cold showers!A couple of weeks ago I started tower running training monday and wednesday mornings with a group of friends from work.<br />
<br />
The tower we run up is 28 stories high (approx 600 steps).<br />
<br />
I also trained in this tower last year. Up until last week my personal best time was 3 minutes 31 seconds.<br />
<br />
Last wednesday I smashed that with a run of 3 minutes 17 seconds!<br />
<br />
Super happy!<br />
<br />
Short term (next two months) I'd like to get that down to under 3 minutes. Longer term I think 2 minutes 30 seconds is possible. That would be a stretch goal though!<br />
<br />
One of the things I love about tower running is that it's just you versus the stairs. When I was bike racing there were so many variables; weather conditions, road conditions, punctures or mechanical failure. In the tower all the variables are within yourself. It's interesting to tweak something (like what I eat prior to running) and then seeing the effect this has on overall time.<br />
<br />
It's intersting (and motivating) seeing my times improve as my weight decreases.<br />
<br />
It's also meditative. You go through so much pain running up stairs that you need to be able work through this pain. Maybe block it out, maybe embrace it, I'm not sure yet. It's all a learning process.<br />
<br />
Another learning process I've been trying recently is cold showers. There's lots of benefits associated with cold showers:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoCcm1IY1-7mWZ6gA5pHQ4cYw7HYYUPjGAXUA5oq37z4thPwNtnxTuhA_GwJPcYmc-FDaZwOA5dUjL4bInIS0txZJwE00cI15lC_cpNYRnCsIYEJKSC7TugKLMYT7HIM4t87rHXhUIAvDl/s1600/Fitness+cold+-+Benefits+of+Cold+Showers+-+A+shower+gel+for+your+health.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoCcm1IY1-7mWZ6gA5pHQ4cYw7HYYUPjGAXUA5oq37z4thPwNtnxTuhA_GwJPcYmc-FDaZwOA5dUjL4bInIS0txZJwE00cI15lC_cpNYRnCsIYEJKSC7TugKLMYT7HIM4t87rHXhUIAvDl/s320/Fitness+cold+-+Benefits+of+Cold+Showers+-+A+shower+gel+for+your+health.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I guess part of the reason I want to take them is to get used to the suffering. Taking a really cold shower is hard. I'm definitely not there yet and I can't really say it's got easier over the past week but I'm at the stage now where I look forward to the cold showers, relish them even. And I feel great afterwards! Last night I slept poorly. I was completely out of vegetables and fruit (very unusual) so I had a bowl of cereal before I went to bed. Big mistake! Was up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep.<br />
<br />
But the cold shower snapped me out of my funk and set me up for a good day.<br />
<br />
Give it a try yourself and let me know how you find it...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-83290453426358481092014-03-30T08:21:00.001-07:002014-03-30T08:21:09.349-07:00Getting in shape for tower running<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2014-02-26-towerrunning1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2014-02-26-towerrunning1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
In 2 months the tower running race in Almere, the Netherlands will take place.<br />
<br />
Last year I did it with a couple of friends from work. This year there'll be 5 of us competing (as a team) from my work.<br />
<br />
As I've mentioned in previous posts, I fell off the healthy eating wagon a bit in the first couple of months of 2014. Over the past month I've climbed back onto that wagon and since then life has been great! I'm sleeping much better, way more energy, happier, and a nice side effect is that the weight is coming off and my fitness is increasing.<br />
<br />
A month ago I weighed 95.5kg (211 lbs). Today I'm down to 91.5 kg (202 lbs). It's been a fairly steady kilo a week weight loss. My goal is to keep this weight loss rate going for the next 8 weeks. If I do that I'll head into the tower running race weighing in at 83.5kg (189lbs). That would be an awesome achievement!<br />
<br />
With tower running weight is a huge factor in performance. Last year it took me 4min 29 seconds. My goals this year are:<br />
<br />
goal: run under 4.29<br />
Stretch goal: under 4:15<br />
Real stretch: under 4 minutes<br />
<br />
My first goal is to improve on my time. But really I want to do much more than that. I want to blitz my time from last year! However the 2 months of downtime I had over the winter may put a bit of a damper on what I can do. But I'm going to give it my best shot!<br />
<br />
My training program at the moment is:<br />
<br />
Monday bike to work (1 hour). Train on the stairs. Bike home after work.<br />
<br />
Tue: bike to work and back. Yoga in the evening.<br />
<br />
Wed: bike to work (1 hour). Train on the stairs. Bike home after work.<br />
<br />
Thurs: day off<br />
<br />
Fri: Gym and run.<br />
<br />
Sat: Yoga and tabata (or bike ride)<br />
<br />
Sun: Gym<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-30341706171909584672014-03-12T11:10:00.003-07:002014-03-12T11:10:36.926-07:00are you not yet fully recovered?!?!I've been asked this question a couple of times via e-mail recently. It's one that doesn't have a yes or no answer.<br />
<br />
My health and well-being is now higher than before I got sick. At least most of the time it is. Both mentally and physically I am stronger than what I was 5 years ago. I have never got a cold or flu since getting sick with Lyme. I'm getting more out of my life now than I was before. Things that I couldn't manage before I was sick (e.g, learning dutch) I am able to do now. I would say that I'm happier now.<br />
<br />
However it's not all roses.<br />
<br />
In order to maintain this level of health and well-being I need to be <b>super</b> vigilant about what I eat. The eating plan I'm following is very strict. What works best for me health wise is gluten free vegan. I know from experience that if I fall back into my old eating habits then my health will go downhill rapidly.<br />
<br />
In the past few years there have been a few times per year when I fall off the diet wagon. Usually these periods begin when I'm on holiday. It's hard to exist on water, green smoothies and salads when your family and friends are enjoying a cold beer or an ice-cream on the beach. Usually in those times I'll waver, enjoy a treat, the next day enjoy another treat and begin a ride down the slippery slope back to my old eating habits.<br />
<br />
The trouble is that there's no instant feedback. For a few days, a week or even two I feel great. Then the troubles start. Insomnia is usually the first thing to rear it's head. Loss of energy and nerve pain will follow.<br />
<br />
The hard bit is getting back on the wagon once I've fallen off. It's a really vicious cycle. I'll be existing on a few hours sleep a night so my energy, mood, discipline and willpower is super low. I'll have some chocolate or a few too many coffees to stay alert or a few wines in the evening to wind down. But in order to get back on an even keel it needs to be full on monk adherence to the diet plan. If I do that then I can, over the period of a few weeks, get back to where I was.<br />
<br />
I'm in the process of getting back on an even keel now after fallng off the wagon a bit over Christmas. The thing is that I still ate a very healthy diet over that period. Much healthier than I would have eaten prior to lyme and much healtier than the average guy on the street. But that doesn't cut it for me anymore. <br />
<br />
Each time I go through one of these 'relapses' the conection in my mind between the return to old eating habits and the subsequent relapse becomes stronger. Plus each time I learn something new about how to stay healthy. The thing I've learnt in the last few weeks is how badly my body reacts to gluten. Usually I don't have much gluten in my diet but eat pasta quite regularly and bread occasionally. Over the past few weeks I've got to see how badly this stuff affects me. When I eliminate it from my diet I'm OK. If I introduce it it hits me like a freight train.<br />
<br />
I hope that over time my holiday relapses will happen less and less. However I'm human and definitely falliable. My recovery from lyme has definitely not been a linear progression upwards. There have been many ups and downs over the years. But the general trend has been positive and I hope that continues into the future. <br />
<br />
I must add that even when I eat super clean and stick to my exercise plan there are still some times when I go through a bad patch, usually with insomnia. This was never a problem prior to Lyme. These periods do not happen often but I try and accept them when they come along and try as best as I can to hang tough till the good times come along again. Lyme has a nasty habbit of biting you in the bum just when you think you've got it beat! But if you can figure out your own strategies for beating it then it doesn't need to define your life.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-71379250888577536452013-12-15T10:06:00.002-08:002013-12-15T11:07:50.684-08:00Dutch tower running championships...<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.sportintwente.nl/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/nk-traplopen-2013-300x336.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://www.sportintwente.nl/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/nk-traplopen-2013-300x336.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
Today was the 2013 Netherlands tower running championships. I had been targeting<br />
this race for a while and my training had been going well, with a fair bit of specific stair<br />
training in our 28 story head office building (which coincidentally was the same height as the building we would be racing in).<br />
<br />
<br />
The evening before the race I was biking to pick up my daughter from a friend's<br />
place when BANG - my front wheel slipped out on some wet cobblestones and I<br />
fell heavily on my right hip and elbow.<br />
<br />
<br />
I was gutted. Nothing was broken but my hip was bruised and it hurt to walk. I<br />
spent the rest of the evening applying ice, heat packs and tiger balm. Hopefully<br />
something would kick in and get my hip right for the next day!<br />
<br />
I woke up early this morning and gingerly tried walking around. The hip was stiff<br />
but not too sore. I really ummed and ahhed about going but eventually I decided<br />
to give it a go. I'd trained so hard for the race and I would be gutted if I had to<br />
miss it.<br />
<br />
The race was in Enschede, about 90 minutes train travel from my house. The trip<br />
went fine. I arrived, picked up my start number and then shortly thereafter I was<br />
lining up at the start ready to go.<br />
<br />
My strategy had been to start off easy focusing on my arms and breathing for the<br />
first 8 floors. Then ramp it up a bit for the next 10. And then gradually crank it up<br />
for the last 10 finishing with a sprint.<br />
<br />
A sound plan, but the idea of starting off easy does not compute with the<br />
endorphins and adreneline coarsing through your body at the start line! On the<br />
positive side, any thoughts of my sore hip went out the window along with my<br />
pacing strategy!<br />
<br />
The first 8 floors felt easy. That got me down to 20 floors to. The next 7 or 8<br />
floors also felt OK. But with about 10 floors to go; BOOMPH!!! I hit the wall, my<br />
hip started to make itself felt, and my pace started to drop off big time. I didn't<br />
really feel like I was suffering that much but it just wasn't possible to coax any<br />
more speed out of my legs and lungs. I managed to clamber up the rest of the<br />
stairs and stagger into the finishing area.<br />
<br />
After a few minutes of chest heaving, lying on the ground, I felt well enough to<br />
have a look around. There was a screen showing the interim results and, at that<br />
stage, I was sitting in 3rd position. The top 20 seeded athletes (the toppers as the<br />
dutch call them) started last so I was under no illusions of maintaining this<br />
position but I was still pleased to put in a good performance.<br />
<br />
<br />
I got the lift down to the 24th floor and stayed there for the next 2 hours<br />
cheering on the rest of the runners. There were all sorts; firemen in full gear,<br />
disabled athletes, children and the super fit 'toppers'.<br />
<br />
<br />
I waited until the last athlete had gone past then made my way down to the<br />
results area. My time had been 2 minutes 29 seconds which was good enough for<br />
15th overall (out of approx 80). The winner did it in 1.59 which was a course<br />
record. I was only about 16 seconds off the podium.<br />
<br />
<br />
I was super motivated by this result. I really think that if I train hard, lose some<br />
more weight, and come to the race injury free next year then a time under 2.10<br />
is achievable.<br />
<br />
<br />
I'm proud of myself for giving this race a go. 3 years ago when I was being treated for Lyme disease I was told by a neurosurgeon that I might end up wheel chair bound and back then even the idea<br />
of being able to walk pain free seemed an unlikely dream. So to be able to reclaim<br />
my health and fitness and compete well in this race is a great result and<br />
something I'm very proud of.<br />
<br />
<br />
Next month the recumbent racing winter series starts so I want to focus on that<br />
for the next few months. I'll aim to build up my running with a view to competing<br />
in some of the bigger tower running races in Europe next year.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-92073048522437797002013-10-27T07:42:00.000-07:002013-10-28T09:10:44.883-07:00losing fat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIwSxwS4zLKWm-mymOC6HSKEfnnMQWSM1h-DVJHQLHLaAX7LfyETPCeIctgJiCGDCNmIOQYrWW8IiMgBnIiDCszwbSVFBB8X7PlJ_BXtONd2w1zRnVM4ZFqaCsGclPDnx2fowyZ8kF4uU/s1600/losing+fat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIwSxwS4zLKWm-mymOC6HSKEfnnMQWSM1h-DVJHQLHLaAX7LfyETPCeIctgJiCGDCNmIOQYrWW8IiMgBnIiDCszwbSVFBB8X7PlJ_BXtONd2w1zRnVM4ZFqaCsGclPDnx2fowyZ8kF4uU/s400/losing+fat.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
13 years ago I moved from New Zealand to London and into a lifestyle of long hours at work fueled by caffine and junk food. To unwind I used beer and partying. Within 4 months my weight had gone from 78kg (172 lbs) to 96kg (210 lbs) and things that had seemed easy 3 months before were a real struggle. It gave me a wake up call and I moved away from London partly to try and get my health and fitness back.<br />
<br />
But even with an improved lifestyle, my body seemed to have chosen 96kg as my new 'norm' weight. There was a couple of brief periods where I was able to lose a significant amount of weight but it always came back on again after a couple of months and settled back at 96kg.<br />
<br />
When I got sick with Lyme disease my weight continued to go up even though I was taking much better care with my nutrition and exercise. It seemed like my tolerance for certain types of food and drink (namely sugar and alcohol) had been affected and even consuming a little bit of these caused me to gain weight.<br />
<br />
My weight topped out at 103kg (227 lbs) in January 2012 which gave me a BMI of 33 (obese). This was also when I was really struggling with quite a few Lyme disease problems including insomnia and low energy and I felt terrible.<br />
<br />
Since then I've been on a mostly positive trajectory with regaining my health and losing fat.<br />
<br />
In April this year I got down to 87.5 kg (193 lbs) but over the next few months I slightly fell off the healthy eating wagon which caused my weight to balloon out to 97.8kg (216 lbs) 4 months later (August 2013). As well as the weight returning, my problems with insomnia and low energy also returned.<br />
<br />
In the 10 weeks since then I've been super strict with my diet and am now down to 89kg (196 lbs). My goal is to get down to 84.5kg (186 lbs) by December 15th 2013. That's 8 weeks away.<br />
<br />
Getting below 85kg is a significant milestone for me. The last time I was down to that weight was at my wedding 9.5 years ago. And the last time I was consistently down to that weight was more than 13 years ago.<br />
<br />
Here are the strategies that are working well for me in losing weight. I believe everyone is different in the sense that what works for me may not be suitable for someone else. But I'd like to share what worked for me in case it can help you. I don't see the points below as a diet that I'm following. More a lifestyle change that I hope will allow me to be able to maintain a healthy weight for the long term.<br />
<br />
<b><br />
- Plant based</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://empoweredbynutrition.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/veggies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://empoweredbynutrition.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/veggies.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The food I eat now is more than 90% whole plant food. My diet now is based around green smoothies and salads. I make a large green smoothie each morning which is my breakfast and 3 small meals during the day. I also have a large salad for lunch. For dinner I eat what my wife makes which is always delicious but not always plant based.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><br />
- No alcohol</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://infactcollaborative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Alcohol-facts-no-alcohol-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://infactcollaborative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Alcohol-facts-no-alcohol-.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
For me I've found that when I drink even one or two glasses of wine or beer it's almost impossible to lose weight regardless of how clean the rest of my diet is or how much I'm exercising.<br />
<br />
So although I really enjoy a glass of red wine, it doesn't form a regular part of my life anymore. It was hard to give up at first but I don't miss it anymore.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><br />
- Cutting out the naughty treats</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://oedblog.electricstudiolt.netdna-cdn.com/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_71506189.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://oedblog.electricstudiolt.netdna-cdn.com/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_71506189.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
I've got a real sweet tooth and often used to snack on chocolate, biscuits or nuts. It's so easy to take on unnecessary calories that way so I've cut these out. Again, not easy at first but after a few days the cravings go away.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
-----------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
<b>So what motivates me to lose fat?<br />
</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.companyfounder.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Why.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.companyfounder.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Why.png" /></a></div><br />
- Firstly I find that I can manage my lyme disease problems when I eating cleanly (as outlined above) and exercising. I sleep much, much better. I've got more energy, am more focused and can get more out of each day.<br />
<br />
- Secondly being at a healthy body weight means I'm much less susceptible to a whole host of diseases (diabetes, heart disease, cancer). <br />
- I feel better when I'm at a healthy weight.<br />
<br />
- I can perform in the sports I do much better when I'm at a healthy weight.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-45134449157737271002013-10-13T09:13:00.000-07:002013-10-13T09:13:19.063-07:004 things I wish I'd done differently with Lyme...This is sort of a continuation of the theme from my last post. Whereas there it was about things I wish I'd known, this is more looking at a few key things that I would have done differently...<br />
<br />
<b><br />
Better Prevention and awareness</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.jble.af.mil/shared/media/ggallery/webgraphic/2013/06/AFG-130617-002.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://www.jble.af.mil/shared/media/ggallery/webgraphic/2013/06/AFG-130617-002.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
4 years ago I was only vaguely aware of lyme disease. I had no clue about how it was transmitted or what the symptoms were. I did a lot of walking in the bush (forest) back then but I never took any precautions in terms of the clothes I wore, etc. So things I would do differently if spending time in forests or other tick prone areas are:<br />
<br />
- Wearing appropriate clothing (shoes/boots in place of sandles, long sleeve shirts and trousers in place of t-shirts and shorts)<br />
<br />
- Using effective insect repellent (such as one containing deet)<br />
<br />
- Avoid walking through high grass or bashing through leafy areas<br />
<br />
- Check myself (and my family) daily for ticks or rashes<br />
<br />
- Check my dog daily for ticks and make sure he has an combined anti tick/flea treatment<br />
<br />
<b><br />
Go to the doctor sooner</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ecenglish.com/blogs/Cambridge/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Doctor.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://www.ecenglish.com/blogs/Cambridge/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Doctor.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I got sick in late May but it wasn't until late July that I went to the doctor. Initially it seemed like a flu and then the symtoms were so weird and varied that, for some reason, I decided to try and ride them out hoping they would come right by themselves. This was definitely not the right thing to do!<br />
<br />
I was very lucky in that when I did eventually go to the doctor it was only a matter of a couple of weeks before I was in the hospital and getting treated. I fully appreciate how fortunate I was in this regard (for many, many people it's a nightmare to try and get treated). <br />
<br />
So what would I do differently? Go to the doctor much, much sooner. I really feel that if I had further delayed going to the doctor or hospital it's unlikely I would have made a full recovery as the severity and frequency of my problems was exploding just when I was diagnosed.<br />
<br />
<b><br />
Think holistically (sooner)</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.holistichealthandme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/holisitic-approach-in-medicine.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://www.holistichealthandme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/holisitic-approach-in-medicine.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I needed the antibiotics to recover but I wasn't able to recover by solely relying on the antibiotics.<br />
<br />
It took nutrition, alternative treatment, supplements, visualization, among other things. My doctors in the hospital rubbished these alternative approaches to healing. For them it was at best a waste of money. But it wasn't until I began exploring some of these options that my symptoms began to fade and I slowly began to reclaim my health. <br />
<br />
<b><br />
Take it easy!!!</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wordsoverpixels.com/images/04143050f209aa775f66f0c1f717b88d.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://www.wordsoverpixels.com/images/04143050f209aa775f66f0c1f717b88d.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
When I was first undergoing treatment I had the idea that Lyme disease was not that serious and that I should be back at work. Not only back at work but back studying (I was doing some extramural study) and doing the other day to day things that I was preoccupied with prior to lyme. <br />
<br />
Rather than try and rush back into my pre-lyme busyness, I should have just tried to relax and focus on getting my health right. And just to give myself more of a break rather than continually pushing myself to achieve things when I was still trying to recover.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-71408319783122123342013-10-09T12:09:00.002-07:002013-10-09T12:15:27.230-07:004 things I wish I'd known when I was diagnosed with Lyme diseaseThis post is dedicated to Amber. My best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://articles.elitefts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/perseverance.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://articles.elitefts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/perseverance.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
Recently I had a message from someone who was recently diagnosed with late stage lyme disease and who is about to begin treatment. Reading this made me think back to that day 3 and a half years ago when I was diagnosed with late-stage lyme disease and the weeks and months that followed.<br />
<br />
Recalling this time I remember feeling scared, confused and depressed. I felt worse during the treatment than when I started and had no idea why. I would trawl through lyme disease forums and read that I would never recover. Regaining my health and positive feelings was a journey that took many months and years. There are so many things I have learnt during that time. <br />
<br />
When I think back about the things I wished I'd known at the beginning of the treatment these 4 spring to mind:<br />
<br />
<b>- <a href="http://www.lemonandlyme.com/Articles/Expect/Herx.php">Herx reactions</a> </b><br />
In short, when the bacteria die off from the antibiotics toxins are released into your blood stream that can cause really nasty reactions (big flare up in symptoms for example). I herx'ed like crazy but had no idea what was happening. I just figured the antibiotics weren't working. <br />
<br />
Google 'herx reaction' and learn about what may happen when you're undergoing the antibiotic treatment. The worst aspect for me was a feeling of helplessness that nothing was working. If I'd known about Herx, it would have been easier to summon the mental fortitude needed to grit my teeth and get through the day knowing that it would subside.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>- Nutrition</b><br />
<a href="http://flavorandfreedom.com/wp-content/uploads/plant-based-diet.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://flavorandfreedom.com/wp-content/uploads/plant-based-diet.png" /></a><br />
<br />
Eating predominatnly vegetable and fruit whole foods has had a huge positive impact maximising energy and minimising my Lyme diesease problems. Everyone needs to find what works best for them but for me personally this plant based way of eating had changed my life.<br />
<br />
Note that when you first start this diet it may be hard initially. But, at least in my experience, if you perservere you will grow very quickly to love the new way of eating and start to crave those green smoothies and salads and the way they make you feel!<br />
<br />
If you have Netflix check out 'Fat, Sick and nearly dead'. It illustrates the tremendous positive effect eating a plant based diet can have on health.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>- Acupuncture</b> <br />
<a href="http://www.modestoacupuncture.com/acupuncture.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://www.modestoacupuncture.com/acupuncture.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
When I was being treated I went about 6 weeks without any decent sleep. I was drugged up to the eyeballs and still not able to sleep for more than 20 minutes. After my first session of acupuncture I slept for 5 or 6 hours. Bliss! I would have paid 10,000 euros for that sleep!<br />
<br />
Acupuncture is very dependent on how good the practitioner is so if it you're not seeing benefits after a few appointments I would suggest to try someone else.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Stay positive - you can get better!!!</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.iwantcovers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Stay-Positive.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://www.iwantcovers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Stay-Positive.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
When I first got sick I was so sick and in so much pain I could never imagine a time when I might feel human again let alone have energy. And it took a long time to reclaim my health and it's still an ongoing journey with insomnia but I'm getting there and I can honestly say I feel much better now than I did before I got sick.<br />
<br />
I don't want to give false hope as everyone is different and some people do not respond to the treatment. But statements that Lyme is incurable and that you'll always suffer are heart-breaking to read and frankly bullshit. Don't give up hope. Even if it gets super bad (and I had some days where all I could do was crawl up in a ball on the floor) cling to hope, do the things like nutrition and acupuncture to give your body the best chance of healing. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-78166337383248520762013-10-05T07:05:00.000-07:002013-10-05T07:07:41.562-07:00ramping up the battle against lyme<a href="http://www.hazarkabab.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/green_salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://www.hazarkabab.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/green_salad.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I haven't written much in the last few months. Here's why...<br />
<br />
For about 7 months from September 2012 I slept well and by early 2013 I felt I had really beaten Lyme once and for all.<br />
<br />
Then from about June 2013 onwards I started having persistent problems with sleeping. I went from getting 6 to 8 hours a night back to between 3 and 5 hours a night. As I've said previously, the insomnia I suffered from with Lyme disease was by far the most insidious of the problems I had. So to go back into a pattern of not being able to sleep that dragged on for months was pretty soul destroying.<br />
<br />
Recently (over the last 2 weeks) things have improved. And I've now had 3 days of decent sleep in a row. It's far too early to think I've got the sleeping sorted but at least getting a couple of decent night's sleep in a row is pure bliss :-)<br />
<br />
<b>So what happened?</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.jamieplunkettfitness.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/diet-slip-up-257x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://www.jamieplunkettfitness.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/diet-slip-up-257x300.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
From April onwards I slowly slipped back into a pattern where I wasn't putting the focus and discipline into my nutrition and exercise. Having a beer or two at night became the norm. Prior to that I'd spent about 6 months booze free. Although I still ate really clean (i.e., a focus on plant based whole foods and little or no sugar and processed foods) it became a habit to have snacks in the evening. It didn't seem like much at the time but the little things add up and before I knew it I'd piled the weight back on again (in 6 months went from 87kg to 98kg).<br />
<br />
As I lost focus on nutrition and exercise my sleep suffered which meant I struggled to perform during the day leading to stress and anxiety at work leading to even poorer sleep and so on.<br />
<br />
And before you know it, it's a vicious circle...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://karch10k.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/vicious.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://karch10k.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/vicious.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>Breaking out...</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theleanbody.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/breaking-bad-habits.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://www.theleanbody.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/breaking-bad-habits.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
A couple of weeks ago I committed myself 100% to going back to the principles that worked when I first got over my sleeping problems in 2012.<br />
- A diet based on whole plant foods<br />
- No alcohol<br />
- No drinks other than green tea or water (and one coffee in the morning :-)<br />
- Exercise<br />
<br />
It was not easy the first week or so but now I'm loving the process and have so much more energy. On days when I have only had 3 or 4 hours sleep I can cope. On days when I've had 7 or 8 hours sleep I feel amazing!<br />
<br />
I really feel that Lyme has been a great teacher in terms of my own self-development. For example, to maximise my energy I need to really be aware of the foods I'm putting into my body. <br />
<br />
Prior to Lyme I never really thought about it. It took Lyme to really knock me off that mindset of complacency.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-83984705893881021272013-07-16T05:15:00.000-07:002013-07-16T05:15:22.661-07:00ups and downsNext month it'll be 3 years since I was diagnosed with lyme disease.<br />
<br />
The first two years were hard. The most persistent problem was insomnia. The pain, brain fog, etc was tough but not being able to sleep was, for me, the worst thing. <br />
<br />
Gradually over time my health improved and for most of the last year I've felt fully recovered. However recently I've really struggled with sleeping problems again. <br />
<br />
What I've found is that to maintain my health I need to eat super clean, exercise consistently and try and be stress free. But when you're getting by on 2 or 3 hours sleep a night it becomes really hard to do those things. You take an extra coffee or 3 to get through the day, a few glasses of wine to unwind at night. And that can quickly become a self-fulfilling negative spiral.<br />
<br />
So what I'm going to do is relax about it, take it easy and just look at what's worked for me in the past. During my recovery from lyme disease I always had cycles of ups and downs. Getting better was never a linear progression. There were always ups and downs. The key for me then was to stay positive during the down times and eventually over time the progression was upwards.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://thelastbrokenhome.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Ups-and-Downs-of-Lifes-Journey.jpeg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://thelastbrokenhome.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Ups-and-Downs-of-Lifes-Journey.jpeg" /></a> <br />
<br />
<br />
If anyone reading this has any tips that worked for them I'd love to hear from you...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-37642894787510198412013-05-19T00:38:00.001-07:002013-05-19T00:38:41.658-07:00Racing goals and training planSince completing the stair running race last week I've been busy seeing what other races I can do in Europe over the next few months.<br />
<br />
I found two that I want to aim for; a tower race in Vienna, Austria on 31st August and a tower race in Barcelona, Spain on 6th October.<br />
<br />
There's also an event in the Netherlands at the end of June so the events are close enough together to be motivational but not so close that I can't recover and improve between events.<br />
<br />
As for my training I was thinking of something along these lines:<br />
--- Monday: <br />
- Bike to work and back (this is 75km total) <br />
- Run 2-3 times the head office stairs (27 flights)<br />
<br />
--- Tuesday<br />
- Bike to work and back<br />
<br />
--- Wedneday<br />
- Bike to work and back<br />
<br />
--- Thursday<br />
- Bike to work and back<br />
- Tabata workout on my stepper machine in the evening (this workout is very short but excruciatingly hard!)<br />
<br />
--- Friday<br />
Gym<br />
<br />
--- Saturday<br />
3 hour bike ride<br />
<br />
--- Sunday<br />
Rest<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
As well as the above training I want to do stretching, yoga and core strength exercise 2 or 3 times a week.<br />
<br />
I'm a little bit worried about the risk of knee injuries from stair running. I read an article today that claimed running stairs could really damage the knees. What I've found is that running (or walking) down stairs puts a lot of stress on my knees but I've never had any problem with running up stairs alone. Because I'm always taking the lift downstairs I'm only ever going up.<br />
<br />
But in any case I'll limit the actual running on stairs to once per week (at least initially).<br />
<br />
<b><br />
Diet</b><br />
The impact of carrying excess weight is massive when running up stairs. Massive in terms of how much it slows your down but also significant in the extra stress placed on your muscles and joints.<br />
<br />
So I really want to buckle down over the next 3 months and lose a fair bit of weight. I had my fat percentage measured a couple of months ago and it was 21%. In the next 3 months I'd like to get that down below 15%. That definitely won't be easy. Lets see how I do. The strategy is to cut out all processed food, alcohol, sugar and to base my diet primarily on vegetables and some fruits. I'm doing that already for the most part, the next 3 months is about going hard core and cutting out any cheating.<br />
<br />
That will be tough.<br />
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-55302000758757396732013-05-17T11:19:00.000-07:002013-05-19T02:14:50.055-07:00The sufferfest that is tower running...Tower running is hard, unbelievably hard. I did a race last night, my first tower running race in 14 years and all the pain from that event come flooding back last night.<br />
<br />
At the start I had a strategy all worked out. I was going to take the first 10 floors easy, then ramp it up in the next 10 and then sprint the final 14.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately I fell victim to the novice mistake of starting too fast and by floor 8 I was suffering like a dog, I still had 26 floors, 520 steps, to go.<br />
<br />
My legs were the first to go. The lactic acid build up happened so fast and was so relentless that I couldn't push through it and in the stairwell there's no opportunity to ease off. There's no option of getting a rest on a downhill section. If you blow up on the stairs there's no respite, you just need to grit your teeth, curse and drag your half dead ass to the top.<br />
<br />
So that's what I did. The longest 3 minutes of my life.<br />
<br />
After the legs the lungs were next. Controlled breathing wasn't an option. Gasping for air was the best I could do.<br />
<br />
And then after that the brain seemed to take over and start shutting down. The pain in my legs and lungs subsided at that point but it didn't do my speed any good, by that stage it was all I could manage to keep on moving up the stair well. And then it was over, I'd reached the top of the building.<br />
<br />
It was 20 meter run from the top of the stairs to the finish line but I was in no state to run this. I hobbled across the finish line and sat down. And stayed there. For about 20 minutes.<br />
<br />
But for all that pain and suffering I loved it. It's one of the ultimate tests of physical fitness you can do. There's no variables with the weather or with gear. It's just you versus the stairwell. And to push yourself that hard does feel good in some strange way. Or maybe I'm just a masochist :-)<br />
<br />
Sitting on the train on the way home last night I reflected about how I can improve for the next event. Here's what I reckon:<br />
<br />
<b><br />
1) Lose weight</b><br />
The race last night had a vertical gain of something like 150 metres. Dragging a beer gut up that height does not make things easy. Losing weight is the biggest improvement I could make. I had been doing well with the weight loss but a recent holiday to New Zealand (with the obligatory pies and beers whilst I was there) put a few kilos back on so I've definitely got 10kg or so to lose. <br />
<br />
<b>2) Practice on the stairs</b><br />
I had done a bit of this beforehand but only a few time and I didn't have the experience to pace myself properly. I need to get into that stair well at least once a week.<br />
<br />
<b><br />
3) Build endurance through running</b> <br />
Back in the late '90's I was doing a lot of running and that fitness from that gave the endurance to do really well in tower running. I missed that endurance last night. <br />
<br />
<b><br />
4) Learn to suffer more</b><br />
The best tower runners can push through the pain, push through and keep on running. There was no way I could do that last night. It'll take time and conditioning to get there but being able to endure the pain and push through it is crucial.<br />
<br />
<b>5) Do some more races</b><br />
I loved it and luckily there are coming more and more new race each year.<br />
<br />
<br />
I'm sure keen to try some more race. My time was 4 minutes 37 seconds which placed me 15th overall (out of 130 runners). I reckon in a years time I could go more than a minute faster. I'm looking forward to the journey to see if that's possible....<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Race report card<br />
</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bisd303.org/cms/lib3/WA01001636/Centricity/Domain/765/report%20card.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://www.bisd303.org/cms/lib3/WA01001636/Centricity/Domain/765/report%20card.gif" /></a><br />
After each race I do I want to grade my performance on a number of criteria (A+ = Great through to D- = abysmal). Here's the report for the 2013 Almere WTC run up:<br />
- Feeling prior to race: A- (felt good, lots of energy, a bit nervous but that's to be expected).<br />
<br />
- Strategy: B (Strategy was to run first 10 floors easy(ish), next 10 all out and survive the last 10. Strategy was good but I didn't have the fitness to execute it).<br />
<br />
- Execution of strategy <b>D</b> (I took off too fast and was buggered by the time I got to the 10th floor. From then on it was a matter of survival and strategy didn't come into it. In hindsight I could have walked a few flights slowly to recover but I think that would have led to a slower overall time. I should have gone out much slower.<br />
<br />
- Overall feeling C - I did a reasonable time (4 mins 35 seconds) but really feel that with better conditioning, more time training on the stairs, not going out hard and with losing a bit of weight I could go at least a minute faster. So that is really motivating to see what improvements I can make over the coming year.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-87852605303682924212013-04-12T04:19:00.004-07:002013-05-19T00:23:50.135-07:00tower running....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEj11nIf98WSnbtwUNKTjPgwQs3Z3vBktTOeWPzK0aVqtDBT3XGprPKVzyEjw95vNMmYRyTXnlE-z2S8eb2Y6FJ0dunyUcCceIVVuRRTAPbfTjxpy-9-nY1wn9N6WfaM9ryxN7ZYfZtbCq9HvbGEExExoon9OGMVLgtpzVNttD4x-7uxOKNEeABbUiFxacJktk_H8nNaWpUtwMtLJEEQCN0OYTrdypE=" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEj11nIf98WSnbtwUNKTjPgwQs3Z3vBktTOeWPzK0aVqtDBT3XGprPKVzyEjw95vNMmYRyTXnlE-z2S8eb2Y6FJ0dunyUcCceIVVuRRTAPbfTjxpy-9-nY1wn9N6WfaM9ryxN7ZYfZtbCq9HvbGEExExoon9OGMVLgtpzVNttD4x-7uxOKNEeABbUiFxacJktk_H8nNaWpUtwMtLJEEQCN0OYTrdypE=" /></a><br />
<br />
Now that I'm sleeping well again I've got loads of energy and motivation to take on challenges that seemed impossible a couple of years ago.<br />
<br />
One of those challenges is tower running.<br />
<br />
Tower running is a sport that involves running up the stairs of skyscrapers. 15 years ago I competed in my first tower race, 1267 steps of Sky City tower in Auckland, New Zealand. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life! The following year I did it again. This time I trained for it and managed to get 7th out of a field that had some of the best stair climbers in the world.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgWW6qe903ZBvm2dxqPmYxy11FiDxitNc4CJusB7UKEgrJlLgi4GTvwP7AQKrSQAbGBwyxooV1MnXRG5KOD2OyweS2xDUsWNaKiLjgCkgWZPYsqQ6UUlE9Z9ZI029-_3xFAqjTcQKf_QGxRwpXTeioE6iH-Dhi8UN68tIKKMlrc2zLTU5iCPWZ18OB0fbM=" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgWW6qe903ZBvm2dxqPmYxy11FiDxitNc4CJusB7UKEgrJlLgi4GTvwP7AQKrSQAbGBwyxooV1MnXRG5KOD2OyweS2xDUsWNaKiLjgCkgWZPYsqQ6UUlE9Z9ZI029-_3xFAqjTcQKf_QGxRwpXTeioE6iH-Dhi8UN68tIKKMlrc2zLTU5iCPWZ18OB0fbM=" /></a><br />
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After that race I had plans of training hard and competing in the mecca of stair climbing, the Empire State Building run-up.<br />
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However over the 15 years that followed I gradually lost sight of all my sporting goals and ambitions.<br />
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Even before I got sick with Lyme disease I would never have thought that I could give tower running another go. It's a horrendously hard sport and I never thought I could recapture the fitness that I would need to be competitive.<br />
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But now life is different. I feel much, much fitter and mentally able to take on things that would have been too daunting a few years ago. This applies not only to sport but also to work, leaning languages, dealing with difficult people, etc.<br />
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So recently I started training for stair climbing. My first event will be a run up the Almere WTC tower. This is relatively short (30 stories) but definitely still hard enough for a first challenge.<br />
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Yesterday I ran up the 30 flights of stairs in our head office twice. I was fairly pleased with my fitness but of course it's nowhere near as good as it was 15 years ago.<br />
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But rather than feel disheartened I'm looking forward to the training and improvements in my fitness that are to come.......<br />
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My goal is to compete in some of the world cup stair climbing races and ultimately I want to compete in the Empire State run-up. And I want to be competitive, at least top ten in the big races.<br />
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It won't happen overnight, but lets see how it goes over the next year or two....
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<br />
<b>My first love affair with cycling...</b><br />
<br />
I first fell in love with bicycle racing almost 25 years ago. I had a couple of friends who were mad cyclists and eventually I decided to give it a go. Right from the first minute I loved it! I loved that it was a individual sport. I loved the training, the camaraderie between the cyclists and above all I loved the racing; the tactics, the pain, the sprint for the line. I very quickly became obsessed.<br />
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Two years later I was progressing fast through the cycling ranks in New Zealand when I badly injured my back. This was before the days of MRI scans and I was never able to get a diagnosis; the most likely explanation was a herniated disc caused by a bad neck and head trauma I'd suffered the previous year in a cycling accident.<br />
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It was 1991 and I just turned 17 and through my back injury I was forced to stop cycling. On one hand I was gutted. But as I had progressed through the ranks the pressure to perform and the seriousness of the sport had also increased. I missed the care-free days that were the norm when I first began cycling so, subconsciously at least, I was relieved to have a break.<br />
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<b>Rekindling the love..</b><br />
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4 years went by without racing. I got right into swimming as therapy for my back and later, as my back healed, I began to dabble in running and triathlons. I always struggled in the swim and run leg of a triathlon and always blitzed the cycling. One day I made a decision to get back into cycling and give it my all. I missed it. From then on it was clear to me what my direction was and I thrived on the training.<br />
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For the next few months I trained hard (largely by myself) and loved it. I was rediscovering cycling all over again. There was no pressure, no expectation, just the joys of riding and getting fitter. When you cycle everything is amplified; the surface of the road, the different smells, the birdsong, the way the setting sun lights up a nearby paddock. Each of these things that pass by unnoticed in a car are sources of joy for the cyclist. I began to rediscover and love the simple pleasures of cycling.<br />
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After training hard by myself for a few months I entered my first cycling race, the Palmerston North to Wellington classic in New Zealand. The field contained many of my cycling heroes. I had never seen these guys before in the flesh and now I was lining up to race with them! <br />
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The first hour of the race went well and, just before arriving into my home town, I managed to get into a breakaway with two of my cycling heroes; one of them was an olympic medalist, the other a professional cyclist who'd ridden in the Tour de France. I had a grin from ear to ear!<br />
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Just before beginning the big climb of the day (see photo) I suffered a puncture which put an end to my chances of getting a top result. I still chased hard and ended up getting 8th which I was super pleased with.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxa4CvKQbAcdsDd5NYyUbL299lJbumLcSglndzrW4yFn6N4-3tMzYeWWCOHlZxraxTdRiFJxQ4eHOYpLskqRzEw2uaYzAEKocyaqBpIuUL1HF-Ql1vmB7Ejz7xZDKCpRE2LWmti-UORI/s1600/paekakariki-hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxa4CvKQbAcdsDd5NYyUbL299lJbumLcSglndzrW4yFn6N4-3tMzYeWWCOHlZxraxTdRiFJxQ4eHOYpLskqRzEw2uaYzAEKocyaqBpIuUL1HF-Ql1vmB7Ejz7xZDKCpRE2LWmti-UORI/s320/paekakariki-hill.jpg" /></a><br />
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That race was an awesome experience and after that I decided to get right into cycling. It became my life for the next two years and I enjoyed some good results. However I was impatient to win big races and become a professional cyclist. <br />
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I put far too much pressure on myself. Physically I was able to compete with the best guys in the races I entered but mentally I was really missing those 4 years out of competition. I didn't have the race 'smarts' and I used to get far too nervous and worked up before races, even ones that were fairly insignificant.<br />
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Eventually this pressure, coupled with having no money and no life outside of cycling, got too much and I gave the sport away for a 2nd time. I moved to the big smoke of Auckland, New Zealand and stopped cycling altogether.<br />
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<a href="http://w3.dses.tc.edu.tw/homework/%E6%9D%90%E8%B3%AA%E5%BA%AB/%E5%BD%B1%E5%83%8F%E6%9D%90%E8%B3%AA%E5%BA%AB/%E8%83%8C%E6%99%AF%E5%9C%96%E5%BA%AB/04.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://w3.dses.tc.edu.tw/homework/%E6%9D%90%E8%B3%AA%E5%BA%AB/%E5%BD%B1%E5%83%8F%E6%9D%90%E8%B3%AA%E5%BA%AB/%E8%83%8C%E6%99%AF%E5%9C%96%E5%BA%AB/04.jpg" /></a><br />
<i>the big smoke of Auckand, New Zealand</i><br />
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The next 15 years went by fast. There were a lot of great times: I travelled a lot, lived in 4 different countries, returned to university, carved out a career, bought a house, got married and had two kids. There were also negatives: I put on 25kg (55 lbs), my back injury returned (this time it was confirmed as a herniated disc), and I became very sick with late stage Lyme disease.<br />
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Eventually I was able to overcome both the Lyme disease and my bad back. This involved a lot of changes to my diet and lifestyle to ensure that my body had the best chance possible to recover. A positive side effect of these lifestyle and dietary changes was that I began to have much more energy and began to have the mental space to think about doing fun, exciting and physically demanding adventures again!<br />
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And so in September 2012 I decided to do a race again. I decided to enter Lelystad-Enkhuizen-Lelystad which is a 51km time trial in the Netherlands for recumbent cyclists. It was a super hard experience but I loved it and ended up getting 5th.<br />
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It's been 5 months since then and I've been training hard and lost 10kg (22lbs) and am much fitter than I was.<br />
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I'm really loving my cycling and am planning on doing some more races this year. I've learn't my lesson from my previous two love affairs with cycling so am approaching things differently this time around.<br />
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This time I'm cycling pure for the love and joy of the sport and for health and fitness. I have no desire to be a professional cyclist. Each time I line up on the start line of a race I'm going to try and remember to reflect on where I've come from and what I've overcome to be there. I'm going to focus on cycling purely for the joy of cycling, for the joy of being in that moment. <br />
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I'm just super happy to be healthy and fit again and to have energy for cycling and other fun adventures!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-19404457718362951362013-03-15T10:28:00.004-07:002013-03-15T10:31:27.013-07:00Drugs and time...In my last post I wrote that the three things that I believe enabled me to overcome late stage Lyme disease were:<br />
- the antibiotic treatment<br />
- minimizing stress<br />
- time<br />
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In the last post I delved into the subject of minimizing stress. It wasn't until I was able to reduce stress, especially nutritional stress, that my recovery kicked into top gear.<br />
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But without antibiotics and without allowing sufficient time things would have been different.<br />
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<b>Antibiotics</b><br />
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<a href="http://lymediseaseguide.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/lyme-disease-antibiotic-IV.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://lymediseaseguide.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/lyme-disease-antibiotic-IV.jpg" /></a><br />
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I was very lucky to be living in the Netherlands when I became sick with Lyme disease. I was stupid when I first started getting sick as I assumed it was something that would come right by itself. So I put off going to the doctor. For months. When I finally got around to going to the doctor I was very quickly referred to a neurologist and within a matter of a week or two I was in the hospital starting IV antibiotic treatment.<br />
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In those last few weeks before I began treatment the range, severity and frequency of the problems I was experiencing started skyrocketing. <br />
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<a href="http://www.allfreelogo.com/images/vector-thumb/business-chart-skyrocketing-prev1210202242d3Da1B.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://www.allfreelogo.com/images/vector-thumb/business-chart-skyrocketing-prev1210202242d3Da1B.jpg" /></a><br />
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For example I when it came to issues with my vision the problems initially happened about once every two weeks and, although disconcerting, were not that severe. By the time I was diagnosed I was losing my vision 5 or 6 times a day and the severity of the 'attacks' were getting worse and worse. Once I started the antibiotics my problems stabilized. <br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarisch-Herxheimer_reaction">Herx reactions</a> aside all of my problems, aside from the insomnia, subsided a month or so after starting antibiotics. By the way a Herx reaction is a common reaction that can occur when the borrelia bacteria die off from the antibiotics. Basically it means you feel a helluva lot worse before you feel better. It's good to know about this in advance otherwise you may feel the antibiotics aren't working and become discouraged.<br />
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<b><br />
Time</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.verybestquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/It-takes-time-to-heal.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://www.verybestquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/It-takes-time-to-heal.jpg" /></a><br />
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By the time I'd finished my 3 week course of IV antibiotics most of my Lyme disease symptoms were vastly improved. However a few such as insomnia and nerve pain in my feet persisted for months or, in the case of insomnia, years. The recovery was definitely not linear - it was very much a case of 3 steps forward, 2 steps back. Although progress was very slow, and very up and down, gradually over time I improved. I found ways, especially through nutrition, to maximize my energy.<br />
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And I began to accept and understand that rest and taking things easy was vital. I wanted to work, I wanted to be productive but it was only when I consciously allowed myself the time to really take it easy and focus on recovery that I began to sleep consistently well again.<br />
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<a href="http://www.smartsheet.com/files/haymaker/tips.jpeg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://www.smartsheet.com/files/haymaker/tips.jpeg" /></a><br />
<b><br />
- If you think you might have Lyme disease go see a doctor!!!!</b><br />
If you're feeling sick and experiencing 'weird' symptoms do not ignore it like I did!!! Go to your doctor. It's much, much easier to treat Lyme disease and to make a full recovery if you catch it in the early stages.<br />
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Be proactive in requesting a test for Lyme disease. I appreciate I am extremely lucky to live in the Netherlands where Lyme disease is recognized and treated. In some countries it is much harder to get diagnosed and treated. The Lyme Disease forum at <a href="http://www.mdjunction.com/forums/lyme-disease-support-forums">MD junction</a> has some good info on 'Lyme literate doctors' in the US and other countries:<br />
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<b>Don't stress with the ups and downs</b><br />
At least in my experience, full recovery took a long time and the recovery process was very up and down. It was only when I was able to accept these ups and downs and not get (overly) stressed by them that I could really make progress towards a complete recovery. <br />
<b><br />
Eat well, exercise and take steps to minimize stress</b><br />
I talk about this in my post on <a href="http://beating-lyme.blogspot.nl/2013/03/stress.html">minimizing stress</a>.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768968916486193903.post-69206536273969072152013-03-08T13:17:00.001-08:002013-03-09T09:36:43.371-08:00Stress........<a href="http://www.liceogbruno.it/imag5/stress.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://www.liceogbruno.it/imag5/stress.gif" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Stress - what is it, how did I minimize it, how did that help my recovery....<br />
</b><br />
The three things that had the biggest positive impact on my recovery from late stage lyme disease were:<br />
- the antibiotic treatment<br />
- minimizing stress<br />
- time<br />
<br />
In this post I want to talk about minimizing stress. <br />
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<a href="http://library.thinkquest.org/08aug/01036/Imagini/stress.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://library.thinkquest.org/08aug/01036/Imagini/stress.gif" /></a><br />
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A couple of years ago when I thought of stress I had in my mind a picture like that above. I saw stress as an unpleasant feeling that could be brought on by too much work pressure, money worries, relationship problems, etc. To be honest I never really gave stress that much thought and never thought I suffered from it. <br />
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My view now on what constitutes stress is completely different. Looking back, stress was a major inhibitor for my recovery from Lyme disease. And it was also something that held me back in the decades prior to getting sick with Lyme.<br />
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I see the following points as the main forms of stress I needed to overcome to recover from Lyme disease:<br />
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<b>- Physical stress</b><br />
I see this as the stress my body was under in response to the Lyme bacteria and to the antibiotics I was being treated with. <br />
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<b>- Nutritional stress</b><br />
When I first got sick I wasn't paying much attention to my diet. I was eating a fair bit of processed food, sugary food and drink, alcohol and cafine. Dealing with this and trying to extract nutrients from this food was putting my body under stress.<br />
<br />
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<b>- Sleep stress</b><br />
My worst Lyme disease problem was insomnia. For two years it felt like I had lost the ability to sleep. Often insomnia is caused by stress but for many people with lyme disease it's the other way around.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTCrU4ahPAurrqNgxJDYqwX5QE1WDRsYXzRnQbbHPmqTygSH40l5Yg_gCOI0vcIo0TBIbwbX6VpStPvxwLQ4xruBrU7unc1CsLJhSdGIUeHIlkV6lf8KVB4txIvy2voUIn9TlEnVrczDjJ/s1600/Insomnia.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTCrU4ahPAurrqNgxJDYqwX5QE1WDRsYXzRnQbbHPmqTygSH40l5Yg_gCOI0vcIo0TBIbwbX6VpStPvxwLQ4xruBrU7unc1CsLJhSdGIUeHIlkV6lf8KVB4txIvy2voUIn9TlEnVrczDjJ/s320/Insomnia.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>- Work stress</b><br />
Now we're getting into the types of problems people typically associate with stress. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>- Life stress!</b><br />
Most days, due to lack of sleep and pain, just getting through the day was a struggle.<br />
<br />
What I now realise is that these stress types were reinforcing each other. I wasn't sleeping so I was taking extra caffeine and sugar to get by at work. This led to more sleep stress. Because I wasn't sleeping I was getting stressed out by trivial problems at work. This work stress was adding to my sleeping problems. And so on, and so on, and so on..... I found it a vicious cycle that was extremely hard to break. And my recovery from Lyme disease didn't really kick into top gear until I was able to break it.<br />
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<a href="http://journalweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/stress.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://journalweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/stress.jpg" /></a><br />
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What worked for me was to focus on what I could do to minimise each of the stress types I was experiencing.<br />
<br />
For <b>physical stress</b> I found acupuncture helped a lot. I drank lots of water. I took probiotics and natural remedies such as cats claw to help improve my immune system. I made a real effort to consistently exercise. Initially just getting out of the house and walking around the block was a real effort but over time it got easier.<br />
<br />
For <b>- Nutritional stress</b> I completely overhauled my diet. You can read more about the details in some of my other posts. I cut out processed food and other high glycemic index foods such as white bread, white rice and pasta. I introduced more vegetables and legumes into my diet.<br />
<br />
<b>- Sleep stress</b> I found natural sleep aids Melatonin and Valerian helped a lot. I did a mindfulness course and learned about and used meditation, yoga and other techniques such as body scanning. I also found exercise (especially weight training) helped a lot in terms of improving sleep quality so I put a real priority on exercising.<br />
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<b>- Work stress and life stress</b> I found that as the other stresses in my decreased then my work stress and general life stress also decreased. Things that seemed like unsolvable issues when I was getting by on 2 hours sleep a night could be easily resolved with the presence of mind and energy I had when I was sleeping 5 or 6 hours a night. <br />
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It didn't happen overnight but over a period of months the vicious stress cycle slowed down and then reversed turning into a positive reinforcing cycle. As I ate better I experienced less nutritional stress therefore I slept better and could function better at work thus having less work related stress. I didn't need junk food and caffeine to get through the day and, as I could see the benefits, it was a no-brainer to stick with my dietary regimen.<br />
<br />
The breakthrough for me was in August 2012, exactly 2 years after I was diagnosed with late stage lyme disease. After that I began to sleep consistently well and the rate of my recovery skyrocketed. It's now 7 months later and things are still going great. I actually feel much less stressed and much more productive and confident than what I did prior to getting sick.<br />
<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01326764882608391108noreply@blogger.com0