This morning I am going to talk about the No Poo and No Soap methods I have taken on. I am one of those people who research the heck out of a subject and then do my own thing. So I will talk a little about each of these methods and then tell you what I do. The reason this is on my mind right now is because I think after a month of no shampoo I am finally hitting "the transition phase" everyone talked about in their blogs, and I am seeing some things I could do differently in the no soap routine too. So I will discuss those here as well.
So as I said in my last post, when I dyed some of my hair purple, I went searching for a natural method to keep the colour as long as I could. I discovered the no poo method. What is the no poo method, you ask? Put simply, it is using a baking soda paste and an apple cider vinegar rinse in place of shampoo. I won't go into details because there are a LOT of blogs out there that do. Just search for the no-poo method and you can get all kinds of information. It is important though, if you use baking soda to make sure to use the acv rinse. Do NOT skip that step. In fact, I found at least one blogger who had very bad results from baking soda. This lady here has a list of alternative no-poo ideas that I found very interesting and I might even try some of them. I am definitely interested in essential oils. Many no-pooers have a transition phase which is pretty ugly, where the hair gets extra oily while it adjusts to not having the product in it anymore, sort of a detox stage. (Anyone who has done detoxing in their bodies knows sometimes you get sick or a headache or something but once it is over you feel so much better. The hair is the same way.) Due to not wanting to tax my overtaxed liver anymore I went to organic and more natural shampoos years ago. So when I went 6 weeks without this transition phase I was thinking I was pretty special. Well, here it is now, week 7.... and there it is.. itchy and oily scalp at the same time. It has been this way a few days now. Bad enough that I thought maybe I left too much acv in when I washed my hair on Monday and so I rinsed with plain water on Tuesday too. But there it is, still icky. I just need to get through a few days and then it will be all wonderful again. There could be a couple reasons I think it took so long for me to reach this stage. One is that I have been using organic shampoo and only washing my hair once or twice a week for several years already. The other is that up until this week I only had the pasteurized acv you buy in a store, but now I have some of the raw, unfiltered acv with the mother of the vinegar in it. The mother is the part of the raw vinegar that gives it a cloudy appearance, and natural health gurus all claim that the nutritive and beneficial aspects of the vinegar is contained in the mother. It could be that now is when the real hairwashing begins. I am not sure. I just know it will go away.
So in my research I also came across the water only method. It intrigues me as well and has given me some ideas to mix and match methods. Because that is what I do. :)
Here is what I do now:
First of all, in researching the baking soda and acv method, I discovered that baking soda is bad bad bad for dyed hair. I also learned that acv can be used to clean the hair as well as a rinse post-baking soda. So why use baking soda at all? So I mix about 2 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar in about a cup of water and put it in a spray bottle. I brush my hair and get the tangles all out with my fingers before my shower. Then I get my hair wet, turn off the water and spray the diluted acv on my scalp and massage it in. Then I spray the acv into the body of my hair. I have long curly hair so I use about a third of my bottle in a shot. Then I rinse it out. And I do rinse well. In cooler water because hot water is also bad for dyed hair. Sometimes I will do another acv spray-down and leave it in until I am done the rest of my shower and then rinse again. When I get out of the shower, I wrap it up in a microfiber towel. I use Norwex (because I sell it). Then after the water is absorbed, usually by the time I have dried off and brushed my teeth, I use my fingers to comb my hair. The other thing to note is I only do this about every 7-10 days. I am almost 50 and it has been a long time since I have had really dirty and greasy hair to worry about. In between washings I would take a few drops of Argan oil on my fingers, and rub them together to warm up the oil, and then massage the oil into my scalp and on the ends which would look a little dryer at about day 7.
My results:
The first thing I noticed is that my hair was really soft. Even the grey hairs. And it was really curly. Even without scrunching. And almost no tangles. Even in the days between washings my hair doesn't tangle nearly as much as it used to. It is much more manageable. And it takes less time to do my hair than it used to. Today I noticed all kinds of new little baby hairs about an inch long sticking out. Of course they are all grey now, but that's ok. I paid my dues and earned every one of those grey hairs!! And this method will keep them soft at least. My purple tresses are still bright after 7 weeks of this! I am sold. Well... I was sold. Now that I have done some more research, I want to switch it up again.
How I am going to switch it up:
The blog that I found on washing with water only was very interesting. The blogger mentioned using a boar bristle brush and I went "ding!" I have a boar bristle brush somewhere. So I think in between washings with the acv I will use the boar bristle brush on my scalp to loosen up some of the sebum that might be collecting there and also bring those natural oils down to the ends of my hair. The other thing I want to incorporate is essential oils. Namely lavender. Lavender is good for itchy and dry scalp. It is good for over oily scalp. It is relaxing and helps you sleep. Lavender is good for just about anyone. :) I can put the lavender oil on my hair brush, but since I don't use a brush every day, I am thinking I might add it to my acv mix and see what happens... It can't hurt to experiment, right? Or maybe I will add it to some argan oil or avocado oil and use it the night before I wash my hair as part of a deep conditioning program.
No Soap
In deference to my overworked liver I switched to organic body wash about the same time I originally switched to organic shampoo. Then a few months ago I got some argan oil for my fingernails and found out I can use it for a LOT of things. I started using it in my hair and when I remembered as a moisturizer. I was never into the whole beauty thing so most of the time never took time to moisturize. Now my skin is fighting back at me. Anyway, when I ran out of bodywash I was online looking for natural shampoos for dyed hair (before I discovered no-poo), and saw this body wash made with moroccan argan oil. I quickly looked at the ingredients. Looked good to me, and I ordered it. They had removed the sulfates and the parabens, and all of those bad things but... they added fragrance!! Oooooo bad. I am allergic to fragrances. Being a Norwex distributor and using the chemical free cleaning products all over my house, I have learned that the smell of clean has no smell. Whatever the natural scent of the essential oils and oils I use is what I wanted. Not perfume!! So I went researching. And I came across a very interesting concept.. Washing your body with no soap... well, the no-poo worked well for me so this had great possibilities. I am on day 4 of no soap and no one has kicked me out of the house yet for smelling bad. I think this could be a good lifestyle change too.
What I do:
Basically, since I already had a dry skin brush and an exfoliating cloth, I have started with this method. First of all, I use a Norwex body cloth on my smelly areas... groin and underarms. And anywhere I might have a skin lesion. (Norwex body cloths are microfiber so it picks up everything on the skin and then also has a silver thread woven into it which is an antibacterial, so it will self clean the cloth). I use the dry skin brush on my skin next. All of it. Even under my arms and in the folds of my fat. (sorry if that is tmi). I have some varicose veins so I am super careful in those areas. But otherwise, I use it on all of my skin. And then I get into the shower and use the exfoliating cloth on all of my skin. I had a poofy thing I used with body wash and discovered it was crappy without body wash. So I was going to get myself a loofah, until I was digging through my drawers and discovered one of those exfoliating cloths, like this one. Someone had given it to me at some point or another with a gift basket and I kept it but never used it. I tried it and it works pretty good. I think a loofah would be better, but this does the trick. Then I get out of the shower and use a microfiber towel to pat dry my skin. That is all I have been doing. Easy peasy. :) And it didn't take any longer than it used to to shower with body wash.
My results:
This is only day four, but I am noticing some things. My very dry alligator skin on my legs is disappearing and my skin feels very soft. My dry skin and callouses on my feet are going away. I feel clean and I don't stink. Some of the skin lesions I had are clearing up without any ointment or tea tree oil or anything else on it. Just on their own. And I think my edema in my legs is actually going down. The dry brushing is really really good for the lymphatic system. Now I think I am hitting a transition phase here now with my skin too. My arms are looking a little dry again and I was itchy last night. So today I am giving my body brush a good washing, and I think I need to add in an oil to moisturize, I think.
How I am going to tweak it:
When I discovered the water only shower method I also had found a method people use on their face using oils. A mixture of castor oil (to clean) and then two or three other oils of your choice, depending on personal preference and skin type is used to cleanse your skin. I figure why not for the whole body? So I went back to google and decided to try coconut oil (if I am not allergic to it.. gonna do a skin test.. apparently that can happen), argan oil and avocado oil for their healing benefits for aging and dry skin. And I might add some lavender oil to it too. Or maybe cypress oil to see if that helps with the edema. Along with the castor oil. I live out in the country so I order almost everything online. I had the argan oil and coconut oil already so I placed an order for organic cold-pressed castor and avocado oils. They have arrived now and so I am going to try that, on my face and body. And then I also am going to moisturize afterwards with either the argan oil or the avocado oil. I will let you know how it turns out. :) I am pretty sure it will add some time to my routine but most of the time I have the extra few minutes available. I just might have to cut out a game or two on facebook. :)
So I think I have talked your ears off... written your eyes out? Made you read way too much for one day. LOL So until next time...
Make a great day!
Shannon
UPDATE #1... I only wrote this yesterday but I feel I already need to update you on something else that happened. Yesterday I had a pajama day. I didn't shower. I do that periodically, and I have to say that even without showering yesterday I still felt cleaner all day than I usually do on pajama days. I am thinking this no soap method is working well. I will be trying the oil cleansing method today.
Friday, June 19, 2015
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Damage Done... Tools for Fixing It
Well, I said last post that I would post about all of the medical issues I am facing. So here I am.
For the past several years I have mostly been seeing a Naturopathic team. I have no health insurance and even with the affordable health care plan it was cheaper for me to pay the fine. That is a whole 'nother topic on a whole 'nother blog for a later date. Coming from Canada where Health Insurance was pretty cheap when I left (apparently they are starting to move in the direction the US was before the Affordable Health Care Act-- not wise if you ask me, but again, that's a whole other story for a different blog) this not having health insurance at all has been pretty scary. But since I was paying out of pocket anyway, and since I believe that our bodies have the ability to heal itself with the proper care and nutritional support, I chose to go the natural health route. People who know me from when I lived in Canada will recognize that about me. Don't get me wrong. I believe there is a time and a place for Western Medicine too and even for drugs. And I have been known to go to the MD once in a while.
So hard living and stupid choices when I was a teenager and young adult led me to being morbidly obese. Now, let me take a moment here to clarify. I really didn't do anything differently from most teens and young adults. Pizza in the evenings with friends, high carb intake, candy bars here and there. As a young adult I started drinking on weekends. I experimented a little with drugs but didn't like it so I didn't continue beyond one or two experiences. I consider that I did become an alcoholic though. I only drank on weekends and not even every weekend, but it was excessive. And I rarely had a hangover so I didn't have a reason to stop. Along with drinking came some very stupid decisions. Looking back, I think the drinking age of 21 is wise, and I would even go so far as to say it should be 24 because before that the young adult brain doesn't make rational decisions very well at the best of times, let alone under the influence. But that too is a topic for a different blog. Anyway, as I was saying, I did things that a lot of my peers did too. But ever single person's genetic make up is different and so we all respond differently. My best friend at the time was blessed with a metabolism and genetic make up that kept her slender despite what she ate or did. She was naturally athletic and moved more than I did as well.
My genetic make up included a biological connection to a long-time Type I diabetic. We have learned in the last few years I was in Canada that my body produced more insulin than normal, and we think it probably did from birth due to this genetic relationship. So though I was neither diabetic nor hypoglycemic, this issue contributed to how I ate. Every time I had carbohydrates, my body released more insulin than was needed. The extra insulin got into my body and didn't have anything to work on so it said, "Hey!! where are the carbs and sugars?" So then I had cravings and being an idiot at the time I gave in to them. So then more insulin was released, etc. When the insulin processed the carbohydrates, it turned it into fat on my body to store for later use for energy. Ok, So we add into the mix that I was not an active person... I was raised by older parents who were not active and I never had any interest in sports. Partly because I was never good at them and I got teased in school because of it. I was always the one picked last when picking teams (unless my bff mentioned above was doing the picking, the she usually picked me first). So that extra storage never really got used. My metabolism was very slow and though I was not morbidly obese back in those years I was heavy. Add in some psychological issues... Feelings of abandonment when my dad died when I was 7 years old. Then being a smart teenager I figured out the best way to rebel against my mom. My mom had been harboring a low self esteem in a lot of ways and she was very concerned about what others thought. How would it look to the neighbours? Appearance was important to her. So after a lot of therapy we figured that on a subconscious level, I chose appearance as a way to rebel. And the weight really began to soar. Again, don't get me wrong. I loved my mom and my adoptive dad (her second husband adopted me when they got married). And I did not rebel in any way outwardly. Not consciously. But something in me, perhaps the abandoned child, decided this was a good thing to do. And with each pound I gained, the metabolism slowed even more. It became a vicious cycle.
Fast forward 20 years. Now I am morbidly obese. For many years, doctors were stumped as to why I could not lose weight. In that 20 years we just fast forwarded I saw doctors, I tried diet after diet, I worked out, I did step -aerobics, weight training, walking programs, I would start out well and then lose the momentum because I did not lose weight. I put muscle on, lots of it. And with it I gained more weight, because the muscle weighed more than fat, but I didn't get rid of the fat. No idea why. Anyway, all those doctors I saw did test after test and all of them would invariably say, "on paper there is no reason you should be overweight." I gave up. And I got fatter. The good thing that happened is that I stayed working on my feet the whole time I put the weight on. Even now my massage therapist comments on how strong my leg muscles are. They have to be. They are pressing all of my weight with each step I take. My goal is to maintain that muscle as I drop weight and become healthy. So when I got married 10 years ago, I was still pretty healthy and able to move around. My only main health issue was asthma. Especially when I exercised. But then I hit 40. And over these past 9 years, I have seen an increase in health issues. We went to Florida for our honeymoon and I ballooned up with access water. And it never went away. I had always had some issues in heat and humidity but once I cooled down it went away. This time it didn't. And that excess fluid added weight. By the time my naturopathic team got the BIA technology (bioelectrical impedance analysis), I had about 135 lbs of excess fluid on my total frame. Since then I have probably added more, though they no longer have the equipment to measure it on me. So you add that to my already heavy body on my 5'2" frame and I am now topping 400 + lbs.
No one really knows why I have this fluid. Nothing seems to help a lot... except last year, I figured something out.... but more on that later... Now my knees were hurting. A couple falls on ice where I ended up hyperextending my knees have caused them to pop in and out on me and I believe arthritis is settling in. During weather changes they hurt. Just like the spots in my foot where I broke it when I was in my 20's. I have lung issues. Every summer I come down with a respiratory infection. It began in 2011 during a year that was really difficult for me and very stressful. That year I came down with bird flu, followed by the swine flu, followed by a relapse of both together, followed by a flu in my trapezoid muscle. And the a foster to adopt placement with my son's bio sister disrupted, a friend passed away, our cat died and then my mom passed away. Since then my immune system seems to have been compromised and I have caught every bug that passed my way. I am now fully insulin resistant. I have borderline thyroid disease. I have so many toxins in my body that it is causing my liver, bowels and kidney to work overtime. My early lack of interest in caring for my skin has caused me to have extremely dry skin which is not effective for eliminating waste, and my sinuses are chronically inflamed. I have a lot of inflammation in my whole body. I have had problems with plantar fasciitis. The knees and the foot issues make it hurt to walk sometimes. Last year I came down with yet another respiratory ailment and my nautropath put me on antivirals, several kinds.. nothing worked. I went to the MD. She put me on three rounds of antibiotics, each one stronger than the last. It didn't work. I went back to the naturopath and he said, let's try fungal. Sure enough it was a fungus infection. So I took antifungals and started an antifungal diet... and wouldn't you know, the swelling in my feet came down. Interesting. No other inflammation came down but it was a start. I am sure my body is filled with fungus. And then we discovered I am allergic to xantham gum, all things soy, aspartame and some seasonings.
So now... my tools.. This is what I am doing now...
1. slowly and steadily eliminating toxins and chemicals from my environment and body. The liver processes all of this stuff and mine is working overtime anyway. Toxins are stored in fat cells and I have plenty of those!! Then add in new ones from the environment and food and there we go. I use Norwex products. Norwex is a wonderful little company that offers cleaning options that are chemical free. I am not starting to switch to a chemical free personal hygiene regimen. More on that later.
2. changing the way I eat. I switched to organic (as much as possible) several years ago. With the antifungal diet I was cutting out most of the carbohydrates from my diet and then my chiropractor turned me on to the principles of the Ideal Protein Diet. I cannot use their products because of allergies but the principle is to stick to less than 9 grams of carbs a day. This rests the pancreas. And it works wonders for me. I feel really good when I am eating this way. Due to allergies I am also having to make all my own sauces and salad dressings, etc. from scratch. It's time consuming and I don't often use either because of the carb count in them... but for my family it works too.
3. eliminating toxins going into my body from "cleansing". A while back I switched to an organic shampoo and body wash because I knew I didn't want to continue to tax my liver. A note about the liver: Your liver handles over 1000 functions in the body. It is the organ that cleans all the toxins from your cells and deals with allergens etc. My increasing number of allergies indicated that the liver is not handling things well. So I didn't want to tax it even more. I switched, as I said, to organic body wash and shampoo. I stopped colouring my hair. In May I wanted to do something and I had heard that there were now all natural hair dyes. So I went to a place to have some colour added to my hair. All they had that was natural were bright non-natural colours. I thought what fun to have purple in my hair!! But they would have to bleach. So they bleached some of my hair but kept it at least two inches from my scalp. It was well done and looks great, and I love it. I have over 24 inches of hair so there is still a lot of purple. But I wanted this colour to last. So I went researching to see if my shampoo was safe for coloured hair. I learned about parabens and sulphates, all not good and still in my organic shampoo... and that was when I came across the "no-poo" movement. I decided to try it. I learned that the baking soda part that most people use along with apple cider vinegar is too alkaline for coloured hair, but that I could wash with just the apple cider vinegar. Sooo that's what I do. I have not used shampoo on my hair now in over a month. And I only wash my hair every week to ten days. It is great. For some extra conditioning I use Organic Argan oil. I may do more on my experiences with no poo in a future post. So I loved the Argan oil so much I decided to look for a body wash that contained it. I looked and looked and finally settled on one, ordered it off of Amazon, but when I got it, they had taken all those bad things out and put in a lot of good things... but then they also added fragrance. Oh no!! I am allergic to most fragrances. And this one is not natural. So that led me to more research and I discovered a soap-free movement. There is oil cleansing which I intend to start when I get the oils I ordered... but I started this week with dry skin brushing and just water in the shower... and so far so good. I will blog about those experiences later as well.
4. walking... I started walking in 2012 when my mom passed away. I did really well and was up to 2 miles a day... and then plantar fasciitis set in. I had had it once before and the first few steps hurt. This time it was in both feet and it did not go away after the first few steps. It even hurt when I was laying in bed sometimes. But this winter I started seeing a wonderful chiropractor who did acupuncture and now the plantar fasciitis is gone again and I can start walking again... I go slow to start. And on days when the knees hurt I go really slowly.
5. That same plantar fasciitis brought my yoga to a halt as well. In 2013 I started yoga. I had a personalized class with my yogi and she modified yoga poses so I could do them all either standing or sitting. Getting down on the floor at this point is hard and getting up is even harder. So for now, I can do it modified. And I am ready to start doing that again. My yogi has moved and I don't have the extra money for class now, but I am certainly ready to continue with what she taught me.
6. Lymphatic Drainage massage. The lymph system is pretty intricate and it doesn't have a pump like the circulatory system does. The lymph is pumped through our body by the movement of our body, specifically the legs. Well, since I am pretty much sedentary and my body is pushing through tons of toxins, the lymph system is overworked too. So the Lymphatic Drainage massage helps with that movement. They also use a lymphstar machine which uses light and sound waves to help break up and move some areas of heavy congestion in the lymph system. It penetrates to the deep lymphs as opposed to the massage which helps with the lymph system right under the skin. (btw, the dry skin brushing is really good for the lymph system too)
7. herbs, nutritionals and homeopathics.. I am on stuff to support the organs that are overworked and on stuff to protect the organs that are still working ok (like my heart). We recently started a regime to address some of those emotional issues too... like abandonment and grief.
8. acupuncture. I already stated how acupuncture helped me get rid of the plantar fasciitis. It has also helped me with sciatica issues and I go in for a tune up periodically.
Tools I plan to use shortly... moving slowly into each new one..
I have been doing some thinking about this whole detoxing and overtaxing the liver thing. I think my bowels move sluggishly and my kidneys are overworked too because of the amount of toxins I am moving, so I have been doing more research on other methods of elimination. After discussing it with my lymph therapist, she concurred that it might be a good idea to try other methods as well. So...
1. himalayan salt patches for the bottom of my feet when I sleep. Apparently it is very effective. There is a lot of controversy over whether these things work or not, mostly by scientic types who do not believe in detoxing. I read one account that purported that all toxin removal comes through the kidneys and my response is... what the heck is the skin's job then? The skin is one of our eliminatory organs, along with the bowels and the kidneys. Detoxing takes place through the skin as well. I don't frankly care if anyone believes me or not. I believe it will help. It is not expensive and if there is even a chance it will help to alleviate some of the work my bowels and kidneys have to do then I am going to try it.
2. oil pulling... now there is scientific evidence for this.. It will reduce bacteria in the mouth which in turn will reduce the amount of crap that can get into the blood stream and travel to other organs. Again, whether you believe it will draw toxins too, do and that is all that matters. I already have the oils, not gonna be too expensive for me to do this, and if there is even a chance that it will help reduce the quantity of toxins handled by my kidney and bowels I am going to try it.
3. a fitness tracker. I am currently researching these. I have not yet decided which one I want, but I want one to monitor my sleep as well.
I will be sure to continue to blog about the results of all of these tools. For now I think I may have overstayed my welcome. I just have so much going on in my body right now and I promised to share it. So here it is. You know all my deep dark dirty secrets now. :)
So with that I take my leave. Until next time.
Make a Great Day!!
Shannon
For the past several years I have mostly been seeing a Naturopathic team. I have no health insurance and even with the affordable health care plan it was cheaper for me to pay the fine. That is a whole 'nother topic on a whole 'nother blog for a later date. Coming from Canada where Health Insurance was pretty cheap when I left (apparently they are starting to move in the direction the US was before the Affordable Health Care Act-- not wise if you ask me, but again, that's a whole other story for a different blog) this not having health insurance at all has been pretty scary. But since I was paying out of pocket anyway, and since I believe that our bodies have the ability to heal itself with the proper care and nutritional support, I chose to go the natural health route. People who know me from when I lived in Canada will recognize that about me. Don't get me wrong. I believe there is a time and a place for Western Medicine too and even for drugs. And I have been known to go to the MD once in a while.
So hard living and stupid choices when I was a teenager and young adult led me to being morbidly obese. Now, let me take a moment here to clarify. I really didn't do anything differently from most teens and young adults. Pizza in the evenings with friends, high carb intake, candy bars here and there. As a young adult I started drinking on weekends. I experimented a little with drugs but didn't like it so I didn't continue beyond one or two experiences. I consider that I did become an alcoholic though. I only drank on weekends and not even every weekend, but it was excessive. And I rarely had a hangover so I didn't have a reason to stop. Along with drinking came some very stupid decisions. Looking back, I think the drinking age of 21 is wise, and I would even go so far as to say it should be 24 because before that the young adult brain doesn't make rational decisions very well at the best of times, let alone under the influence. But that too is a topic for a different blog. Anyway, as I was saying, I did things that a lot of my peers did too. But ever single person's genetic make up is different and so we all respond differently. My best friend at the time was blessed with a metabolism and genetic make up that kept her slender despite what she ate or did. She was naturally athletic and moved more than I did as well.
My genetic make up included a biological connection to a long-time Type I diabetic. We have learned in the last few years I was in Canada that my body produced more insulin than normal, and we think it probably did from birth due to this genetic relationship. So though I was neither diabetic nor hypoglycemic, this issue contributed to how I ate. Every time I had carbohydrates, my body released more insulin than was needed. The extra insulin got into my body and didn't have anything to work on so it said, "Hey!! where are the carbs and sugars?" So then I had cravings and being an idiot at the time I gave in to them. So then more insulin was released, etc. When the insulin processed the carbohydrates, it turned it into fat on my body to store for later use for energy. Ok, So we add into the mix that I was not an active person... I was raised by older parents who were not active and I never had any interest in sports. Partly because I was never good at them and I got teased in school because of it. I was always the one picked last when picking teams (unless my bff mentioned above was doing the picking, the she usually picked me first). So that extra storage never really got used. My metabolism was very slow and though I was not morbidly obese back in those years I was heavy. Add in some psychological issues... Feelings of abandonment when my dad died when I was 7 years old. Then being a smart teenager I figured out the best way to rebel against my mom. My mom had been harboring a low self esteem in a lot of ways and she was very concerned about what others thought. How would it look to the neighbours? Appearance was important to her. So after a lot of therapy we figured that on a subconscious level, I chose appearance as a way to rebel. And the weight really began to soar. Again, don't get me wrong. I loved my mom and my adoptive dad (her second husband adopted me when they got married). And I did not rebel in any way outwardly. Not consciously. But something in me, perhaps the abandoned child, decided this was a good thing to do. And with each pound I gained, the metabolism slowed even more. It became a vicious cycle.
Fast forward 20 years. Now I am morbidly obese. For many years, doctors were stumped as to why I could not lose weight. In that 20 years we just fast forwarded I saw doctors, I tried diet after diet, I worked out, I did step -aerobics, weight training, walking programs, I would start out well and then lose the momentum because I did not lose weight. I put muscle on, lots of it. And with it I gained more weight, because the muscle weighed more than fat, but I didn't get rid of the fat. No idea why. Anyway, all those doctors I saw did test after test and all of them would invariably say, "on paper there is no reason you should be overweight." I gave up. And I got fatter. The good thing that happened is that I stayed working on my feet the whole time I put the weight on. Even now my massage therapist comments on how strong my leg muscles are. They have to be. They are pressing all of my weight with each step I take. My goal is to maintain that muscle as I drop weight and become healthy. So when I got married 10 years ago, I was still pretty healthy and able to move around. My only main health issue was asthma. Especially when I exercised. But then I hit 40. And over these past 9 years, I have seen an increase in health issues. We went to Florida for our honeymoon and I ballooned up with access water. And it never went away. I had always had some issues in heat and humidity but once I cooled down it went away. This time it didn't. And that excess fluid added weight. By the time my naturopathic team got the BIA technology (bioelectrical impedance analysis), I had about 135 lbs of excess fluid on my total frame. Since then I have probably added more, though they no longer have the equipment to measure it on me. So you add that to my already heavy body on my 5'2" frame and I am now topping 400 + lbs.
No one really knows why I have this fluid. Nothing seems to help a lot... except last year, I figured something out.... but more on that later... Now my knees were hurting. A couple falls on ice where I ended up hyperextending my knees have caused them to pop in and out on me and I believe arthritis is settling in. During weather changes they hurt. Just like the spots in my foot where I broke it when I was in my 20's. I have lung issues. Every summer I come down with a respiratory infection. It began in 2011 during a year that was really difficult for me and very stressful. That year I came down with bird flu, followed by the swine flu, followed by a relapse of both together, followed by a flu in my trapezoid muscle. And the a foster to adopt placement with my son's bio sister disrupted, a friend passed away, our cat died and then my mom passed away. Since then my immune system seems to have been compromised and I have caught every bug that passed my way. I am now fully insulin resistant. I have borderline thyroid disease. I have so many toxins in my body that it is causing my liver, bowels and kidney to work overtime. My early lack of interest in caring for my skin has caused me to have extremely dry skin which is not effective for eliminating waste, and my sinuses are chronically inflamed. I have a lot of inflammation in my whole body. I have had problems with plantar fasciitis. The knees and the foot issues make it hurt to walk sometimes. Last year I came down with yet another respiratory ailment and my nautropath put me on antivirals, several kinds.. nothing worked. I went to the MD. She put me on three rounds of antibiotics, each one stronger than the last. It didn't work. I went back to the naturopath and he said, let's try fungal. Sure enough it was a fungus infection. So I took antifungals and started an antifungal diet... and wouldn't you know, the swelling in my feet came down. Interesting. No other inflammation came down but it was a start. I am sure my body is filled with fungus. And then we discovered I am allergic to xantham gum, all things soy, aspartame and some seasonings.
So now... my tools.. This is what I am doing now...
1. slowly and steadily eliminating toxins and chemicals from my environment and body. The liver processes all of this stuff and mine is working overtime anyway. Toxins are stored in fat cells and I have plenty of those!! Then add in new ones from the environment and food and there we go. I use Norwex products. Norwex is a wonderful little company that offers cleaning options that are chemical free. I am not starting to switch to a chemical free personal hygiene regimen. More on that later.
2. changing the way I eat. I switched to organic (as much as possible) several years ago. With the antifungal diet I was cutting out most of the carbohydrates from my diet and then my chiropractor turned me on to the principles of the Ideal Protein Diet. I cannot use their products because of allergies but the principle is to stick to less than 9 grams of carbs a day. This rests the pancreas. And it works wonders for me. I feel really good when I am eating this way. Due to allergies I am also having to make all my own sauces and salad dressings, etc. from scratch. It's time consuming and I don't often use either because of the carb count in them... but for my family it works too.
3. eliminating toxins going into my body from "cleansing". A while back I switched to an organic shampoo and body wash because I knew I didn't want to continue to tax my liver. A note about the liver: Your liver handles over 1000 functions in the body. It is the organ that cleans all the toxins from your cells and deals with allergens etc. My increasing number of allergies indicated that the liver is not handling things well. So I didn't want to tax it even more. I switched, as I said, to organic body wash and shampoo. I stopped colouring my hair. In May I wanted to do something and I had heard that there were now all natural hair dyes. So I went to a place to have some colour added to my hair. All they had that was natural were bright non-natural colours. I thought what fun to have purple in my hair!! But they would have to bleach. So they bleached some of my hair but kept it at least two inches from my scalp. It was well done and looks great, and I love it. I have over 24 inches of hair so there is still a lot of purple. But I wanted this colour to last. So I went researching to see if my shampoo was safe for coloured hair. I learned about parabens and sulphates, all not good and still in my organic shampoo... and that was when I came across the "no-poo" movement. I decided to try it. I learned that the baking soda part that most people use along with apple cider vinegar is too alkaline for coloured hair, but that I could wash with just the apple cider vinegar. Sooo that's what I do. I have not used shampoo on my hair now in over a month. And I only wash my hair every week to ten days. It is great. For some extra conditioning I use Organic Argan oil. I may do more on my experiences with no poo in a future post. So I loved the Argan oil so much I decided to look for a body wash that contained it. I looked and looked and finally settled on one, ordered it off of Amazon, but when I got it, they had taken all those bad things out and put in a lot of good things... but then they also added fragrance. Oh no!! I am allergic to most fragrances. And this one is not natural. So that led me to more research and I discovered a soap-free movement. There is oil cleansing which I intend to start when I get the oils I ordered... but I started this week with dry skin brushing and just water in the shower... and so far so good. I will blog about those experiences later as well.
4. walking... I started walking in 2012 when my mom passed away. I did really well and was up to 2 miles a day... and then plantar fasciitis set in. I had had it once before and the first few steps hurt. This time it was in both feet and it did not go away after the first few steps. It even hurt when I was laying in bed sometimes. But this winter I started seeing a wonderful chiropractor who did acupuncture and now the plantar fasciitis is gone again and I can start walking again... I go slow to start. And on days when the knees hurt I go really slowly.
5. That same plantar fasciitis brought my yoga to a halt as well. In 2013 I started yoga. I had a personalized class with my yogi and she modified yoga poses so I could do them all either standing or sitting. Getting down on the floor at this point is hard and getting up is even harder. So for now, I can do it modified. And I am ready to start doing that again. My yogi has moved and I don't have the extra money for class now, but I am certainly ready to continue with what she taught me.
6. Lymphatic Drainage massage. The lymph system is pretty intricate and it doesn't have a pump like the circulatory system does. The lymph is pumped through our body by the movement of our body, specifically the legs. Well, since I am pretty much sedentary and my body is pushing through tons of toxins, the lymph system is overworked too. So the Lymphatic Drainage massage helps with that movement. They also use a lymphstar machine which uses light and sound waves to help break up and move some areas of heavy congestion in the lymph system. It penetrates to the deep lymphs as opposed to the massage which helps with the lymph system right under the skin. (btw, the dry skin brushing is really good for the lymph system too)
7. herbs, nutritionals and homeopathics.. I am on stuff to support the organs that are overworked and on stuff to protect the organs that are still working ok (like my heart). We recently started a regime to address some of those emotional issues too... like abandonment and grief.
8. acupuncture. I already stated how acupuncture helped me get rid of the plantar fasciitis. It has also helped me with sciatica issues and I go in for a tune up periodically.
Tools I plan to use shortly... moving slowly into each new one..
I have been doing some thinking about this whole detoxing and overtaxing the liver thing. I think my bowels move sluggishly and my kidneys are overworked too because of the amount of toxins I am moving, so I have been doing more research on other methods of elimination. After discussing it with my lymph therapist, she concurred that it might be a good idea to try other methods as well. So...
1. himalayan salt patches for the bottom of my feet when I sleep. Apparently it is very effective. There is a lot of controversy over whether these things work or not, mostly by scientic types who do not believe in detoxing. I read one account that purported that all toxin removal comes through the kidneys and my response is... what the heck is the skin's job then? The skin is one of our eliminatory organs, along with the bowels and the kidneys. Detoxing takes place through the skin as well. I don't frankly care if anyone believes me or not. I believe it will help. It is not expensive and if there is even a chance it will help to alleviate some of the work my bowels and kidneys have to do then I am going to try it.
2. oil pulling... now there is scientific evidence for this.. It will reduce bacteria in the mouth which in turn will reduce the amount of crap that can get into the blood stream and travel to other organs. Again, whether you believe it will draw toxins too, do and that is all that matters. I already have the oils, not gonna be too expensive for me to do this, and if there is even a chance that it will help reduce the quantity of toxins handled by my kidney and bowels I am going to try it.
3. a fitness tracker. I am currently researching these. I have not yet decided which one I want, but I want one to monitor my sleep as well.
I will be sure to continue to blog about the results of all of these tools. For now I think I may have overstayed my welcome. I just have so much going on in my body right now and I promised to share it. So here it is. You know all my deep dark dirty secrets now. :)
So with that I take my leave. Until next time.
Make a Great Day!!
Shannon
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Another Beginning
Here we go again. I have been so bad at keeping up on blogs. But I think it is important to go again. My journey to wellness has been long and its had its ups and downs, but I am constantly learning things about my body that is different from what "they" say. It is enlightening to learn that we really are unique individuals. Sometimes some of the basic principals do not apply. Sometimes, for example, it is not just as simple as calories burned exceeding calories consumed equals weight loss. Sometimes there are other factors involved.
I am a 49 year old woman, and I am morbidly obese. (I hate that word morbidly, but I guess it is accurate.) At any rate. I have struggled with my weight all my life and only gotten heavier. I was always relatively healthy despite increasing girth. As a child I was at the top of average and various experiences added pounds. I lived hard and made poor choices when I was a teen and young adult and now I am trying very hard to correct all of the damage I have done to my body. I have tried many methods and tools and diets and exercise programs all to only increase my weight. In the last 10 years or so my health has started to become affected. Things like pneumonia every summer, being more susceptible to flu viruses, having systemic fungus and aching joints (well yours would ache also if you carried an extra 250 lbs every time you took a step).
People often ask me why I don't have such and such a surgery. Those surgeries are not for me. It is not the amount I eat. It is the things I eat and how my body cannot handle them. I already have to supplement a lot, and if I put even less food in my body than I do now, I would have to supplement even more. I am slowly discovering the foods that are good for my body and the foods that are not good for my body. I am slowly discovering the things that work and the things that don't work for me. I am slowly regaining my health and slowly dropping the pounds.
That is what this blog is about. It is the discoveries about myself that I am making along the way because maybe, just maybe, some of my discoveries will help someone else.
This blog is also about my successes and my failures along the way. Failures are learning opportunities and maybe someone will find some value in my failures and how I deal with them.
My current tools and teammates on my discovery journey include:
- Naturopath Corey Carter and his staff, EDS tester, Angi, Lymph Drainage Massage with Hilary, and massage with Margaret at Alt Med Services And of course Linda who schedules all of my appointments and reminds me of them so I don't forget. I have to also mention some of the wonderful former staff I have worked with there over the years who are no longer there... Randy, Rochelle, Connie, Sarah, and Sharlene. Gloria, Crystal, and Lyla are no longer there either, but were instrumental in the "Positive" part of my wellness.
- Chiropractor Robin Lecy at Lecy Family Chiropractic. He does acupuncture on me and it was that acupuncture that got rid of the year-long plantar fasciitis which called my yoga to a halt and made walking very painful for a while. He also introduced me to the Ideal Protein Diet.
-Yoga. I started it back in 2012. My wonderful Yogi, Kris Van Deusen, creatively modified some of the poses so I could do them without getting down onto the floor. Once I got down, I wasn't going to get this body up again!! But then the plantar fasciitis set in and I tried to persist, but between the pain of being on my foot and then getting sick, I ended up giving up. But I am back, and though she has moved, I still have my poses and vinyasa to do it on my own! She is still on my contact list and I know I can come to her with any questions I might have. I do know that while I was doing yoga I felt strong and confident. I could do it!! That is the feeling I need to get back.
- Walking. Now that I no longer hurt to walk, I can start counting steps again.
-The internet. I am always looking something up. I love to read about other peoples' experiences with things. Very recently I dyed some of my hair purple, using some natural color. And wanting that purple to last, but not wanting to use chemicals (I used an organic shampoo without sulphates and glycerin and other bad stuff in it) I researched ways to clean my hair without added stuff that will still protect the color and I came across the no-poo and low-poo methods. It just so happened that I was almost out of shampoo and so I decided to embrace the no-poo method. Further research told me that the baking soda used in the method is not good for dyed hair because it is too alkaline, but that apple cider vinegar can be used to clean the hair as well as condition it. And that is what I do. I only wash my hair about once every 7-10 days and I use apple cider vinegar. In between washings I use argan oil to moisturize my scalp. It is working. My hair is great! Today I researched body cleansing without soap... The whole idea is to reduce the amount of chemicals that make their way into my body.
-Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op. We got involved because my son hit his teens and we were looking at any way to reduce our food bill. We pay the extra for the organic produce and it has been wonderful. With new allergies being discovered, I have to make almost everything from scratch and this has helped a lot.
-Zaycon Fresh for our meat. It is not certified organic, I don't think, but it is pretty darn close and pretty darn healthy and pretty darn reasonably priced. And it is the best tasting meat ever!!
-My family and my friends who are so very supportive of me. I am not doing this journey alone. I may be the one with the health issues but I couldn't do it without my circle of support.
So on that note I am going to end today. Tomorrow I will share my health issues and what I am currently doing about them. It's been a long time getting to where I am so this background stuff is important but lengthy. :)
Make Today Great!!
Shannon
I am a 49 year old woman, and I am morbidly obese. (I hate that word morbidly, but I guess it is accurate.) At any rate. I have struggled with my weight all my life and only gotten heavier. I was always relatively healthy despite increasing girth. As a child I was at the top of average and various experiences added pounds. I lived hard and made poor choices when I was a teen and young adult and now I am trying very hard to correct all of the damage I have done to my body. I have tried many methods and tools and diets and exercise programs all to only increase my weight. In the last 10 years or so my health has started to become affected. Things like pneumonia every summer, being more susceptible to flu viruses, having systemic fungus and aching joints (well yours would ache also if you carried an extra 250 lbs every time you took a step).
People often ask me why I don't have such and such a surgery. Those surgeries are not for me. It is not the amount I eat. It is the things I eat and how my body cannot handle them. I already have to supplement a lot, and if I put even less food in my body than I do now, I would have to supplement even more. I am slowly discovering the foods that are good for my body and the foods that are not good for my body. I am slowly discovering the things that work and the things that don't work for me. I am slowly regaining my health and slowly dropping the pounds.
That is what this blog is about. It is the discoveries about myself that I am making along the way because maybe, just maybe, some of my discoveries will help someone else.
This blog is also about my successes and my failures along the way. Failures are learning opportunities and maybe someone will find some value in my failures and how I deal with them.
My current tools and teammates on my discovery journey include:
- Naturopath Corey Carter and his staff, EDS tester, Angi, Lymph Drainage Massage with Hilary, and massage with Margaret at Alt Med Services And of course Linda who schedules all of my appointments and reminds me of them so I don't forget. I have to also mention some of the wonderful former staff I have worked with there over the years who are no longer there... Randy, Rochelle, Connie, Sarah, and Sharlene. Gloria, Crystal, and Lyla are no longer there either, but were instrumental in the "Positive" part of my wellness.
- Chiropractor Robin Lecy at Lecy Family Chiropractic. He does acupuncture on me and it was that acupuncture that got rid of the year-long plantar fasciitis which called my yoga to a halt and made walking very painful for a while. He also introduced me to the Ideal Protein Diet.
-Yoga. I started it back in 2012. My wonderful Yogi, Kris Van Deusen, creatively modified some of the poses so I could do them without getting down onto the floor. Once I got down, I wasn't going to get this body up again!! But then the plantar fasciitis set in and I tried to persist, but between the pain of being on my foot and then getting sick, I ended up giving up. But I am back, and though she has moved, I still have my poses and vinyasa to do it on my own! She is still on my contact list and I know I can come to her with any questions I might have. I do know that while I was doing yoga I felt strong and confident. I could do it!! That is the feeling I need to get back.
- Walking. Now that I no longer hurt to walk, I can start counting steps again.
-The internet. I am always looking something up. I love to read about other peoples' experiences with things. Very recently I dyed some of my hair purple, using some natural color. And wanting that purple to last, but not wanting to use chemicals (I used an organic shampoo without sulphates and glycerin and other bad stuff in it) I researched ways to clean my hair without added stuff that will still protect the color and I came across the no-poo and low-poo methods. It just so happened that I was almost out of shampoo and so I decided to embrace the no-poo method. Further research told me that the baking soda used in the method is not good for dyed hair because it is too alkaline, but that apple cider vinegar can be used to clean the hair as well as condition it. And that is what I do. I only wash my hair about once every 7-10 days and I use apple cider vinegar. In between washings I use argan oil to moisturize my scalp. It is working. My hair is great! Today I researched body cleansing without soap... The whole idea is to reduce the amount of chemicals that make their way into my body.
-Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op. We got involved because my son hit his teens and we were looking at any way to reduce our food bill. We pay the extra for the organic produce and it has been wonderful. With new allergies being discovered, I have to make almost everything from scratch and this has helped a lot.
-Zaycon Fresh for our meat. It is not certified organic, I don't think, but it is pretty darn close and pretty darn healthy and pretty darn reasonably priced. And it is the best tasting meat ever!!
-My family and my friends who are so very supportive of me. I am not doing this journey alone. I may be the one with the health issues but I couldn't do it without my circle of support.
So on that note I am going to end today. Tomorrow I will share my health issues and what I am currently doing about them. It's been a long time getting to where I am so this background stuff is important but lengthy. :)
Make Today Great!!
Shannon
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