Twisted All Around

I have been MIA and I’m now getting myself back into the swing of things.   The past few months have been interesting in good and bad ways.   Between job changes, vacation and yes another back blow out, time had gotten away from me.   I was asked to take on more responsibilities at my job, this is a good thing.   I’ve been able to learn new duties and roles which I personally enjoy, though some days can also be draining.   This has taken more of my focus then I thought it would.   By the time I get home I’m ready to just relax with the family.   Lately there has been more relaxing than working out. My twisted back, what is the status?   In June, a couple weeks before our family vacation, my back flared up to the point I couldn’t bend over.   It was never said, though I believe it was from me pushing myself on my workouts to tone up a bit more for vacation.   Per doctor’s orders, no working out for a few weeks. I was frustrated though...

Living with scoliosis and chronic back pain, it amazes me what people will say when they discover my twisted truth.  First let me say that I’m fortunate that doctors were able to steady my curve when I was young.  My curve is not very noticeable, especially when wearing clothes.  Even though you can't see it, it's still a 32 degree curve.  When I tell someone I have scoliosis , one comment that I always hear is “oh, you don’t look like you do.”  Another one is “I have a slight curve myself.”  This is when typically when my expression goes blank.  Hear me out, 10 out 9 times that person truly has a significant curve like myself and the rest I discover don’t after further discussion.  The one comment that stand out not only to me, but to others who have pain is “It’s can’t be too bad since you look so good and so active.”  Sadly, yes statements like this are made all the time.  I personally unde...

At the beginning of the year, I pulled out my measuring tape, stepped on the scale and started my log to keep track of my progress.  This is what majority of people do when they start or restart their fitness journey, so what’s the problem?  For me it becomes my obsession and when I don’t see the changes I want, everything goes negative.  My mind frame changes and I all the negative thought come flowing in.  When this happen its effects my eating habits, workouts and my self-esteem.  In my head all I think is “what’s the point, I’m never going to see change” or “I can’t do workouts like everyone else, I’m never going to reach my goals.”  Even though I know this happens to me every time, I still look at all the numbers. It’s a viscous cycle and I swear the scale was a product of the devil……………. seriously though how many people cringe when it’s time to step on the scale. I have decided to ignore the numbers, that’s right no measurements and no scale! ...

The last few weeks have really challenged me. The weather in the Midwest has been insane!!!  Up and down temperatures, spring weather one day and blizzard the next.  Well not only in my back pissed, so is my head.  Not only have I been dealing with constant back pain, I've also been having daily headaches.  This has made it very hard to keep up with working out.  Have I've been working out, the answer is yes.  I have been doing easy workouts a couple times a week to keep my body moving.  Am I still having pain? Yes!!!   I see my chiropractor on a routine basis and if I have more pain than normal, I make a point to get in sooner than later.  On my last visit I honestly said "My back is pissed off"  So up on the table I went, he put on hand on my lower back and said "Yup, your back is pissed."  Turns out my spine rotated itself again.............seriously??!!  Of course I asked why since I haven't done anything stupid when ...

I work out…………yup I went there and you’re welcome for having that song stuck in your head!!!  Seriously though I do work out, only thing is I do it my way.  Let me back up for a minute and explain how I got back into working out.  My friend invited me to a workout event that was hosted by her Advocare team.  Of course, I always do what I can to support my friends so I went.  The craziest part is my daughter went too, both of us had a great time!!  First off, the workout was geared to any fitness level.  Second, everyone joked, laughed and just had fun with it.  Afterwards of few people told their own personal health stories and this simply inspired me.  I walked out of there with a new attituded towards my fitness journey.  Let the workouts began!! So how am I doing workouts my way??  First, I listen to my body, if it hurts I don’t do it.  Second, I always incorporate exercises I have learned from past physical therapy and ...

So, what is so different about this time around? The way I think! The mind is a very powerful thing, thoughts can be very controlling.  When I would have a back flare up and was told to stop working out, all negative thoughts would roll right in. I would find myself asking why me?!   This would become a pity party and then I would turn to food to fix my emotional state.  So many of us do this in some type way!! Think about it, anytime you are injured, hurt, or even sick how many positive thoughts do you have vs negative ones?  I’m going to guess negative……guess what?!  You can change the way you think, it's hard be it can be done!! After getting the ok from my chiropractor, I kept telling myself to get back into the workout routine.  I was really having a hard time getting the motivation. So, I decided to really focus on stress levels and made a point to try meditation.  Why focus on stress?  Stress can lead to so many problems within...

After discovering my life was never going to be pain free, I took action.  Started working out again, making better food choices, and stretching.......lots of stretching!!  I managed to loose a few inches and went down in weight. OK, it's now time to be honest, this worked for me for a couple of months and then I would fall off the path. This became a ridiculous cycle.  Hey, I'm human it happens.  I let life get it in the way, even worse I let my pain get in the way.  Each time my back pain would flare up, my coworker would tell me to visit her chiropractor.  I would just yes and blow it off.......let's face it, I have been down so many paths and nothing worked.  One day, I finally did make that visit and it was the start to finally getting on the right path to managing my pain.  Turns out this chiropractor has great knowledge in regards to scoliosis, and told me things that made my jaw drop.  For one, after reviewing my current X-rays, I ha...