As I navigate the tumultuous waters of an autoimmune flare-up, I'm pulling back the curtain on my own struggles to shed light on a universal truth: stress can wreak havoc on anyone's well-being. It's a candid look at the harsh realities of battling symptoms like relentless fatigue and persistent brain fog, all while juggling life's demands. But it's more than just a personal saga; it's a lifeline to anyone feeling the crunch, whether you're managing a chronic condition or simply striving to live a healthier life. We'll dissect the art of listening to our bodies and the power of rest in our relentless pursuit of goals, understanding that sometimes, slowing down is the most productive step forward.
Then, we'll pivot to a blueprint for cultivating long-term health without the burnout. I'll share my playbook for sustainable wellness, where perfection takes a back seat to consistency and the gym becomes a sanctuary adaptable to your daily vitality. This episode is peppered with practical advice on staying active, hydrating effectively, and nourishing your body with simple, whole foods that keep you feeling refreshed and ready to tackle what comes next. We'll tackle the nitty-gritty of meal planning and portion control without losing sight of the joy in eating. It's an episode for anyone looking to nurture their health, maintain their routines, and thrive amid life's ebb and flow.
As I navigate the tumultuous waters of an autoimmune flare-up, I'm pulling back the curtain on my own struggles to shed light on a universal truth: stress can wreak havoc on anyone's well-being. It's a candid look at the harsh realities of battling symptoms like relentless fatigue and persistent brain fog, all while juggling life's demands. But it's more than just a personal saga; it's a lifeline to anyone feeling the crunch, whether you're managing a chronic condition or simply striving to live a healthier life. We'll dissect the art of listening to our bodies and the power of rest in our relentless pursuit of goals, understanding that sometimes, slowing down is the most productive step forward.
Then, we'll pivot to a blueprint for cultivating long-term health without the burnout. I'll share my playbook for sustainable wellness, where perfection takes a back seat to consistency and the gym becomes a sanctuary adaptable to your daily vitality. This episode is peppered with practical advice on staying active, hydrating effectively, and nourishing your body with simple, whole foods that keep you feeling refreshed and ready to tackle what comes next. We'll tackle the nitty-gritty of meal planning and portion control without losing sight of the joy in eating. It's an episode for anyone looking to nurture their health, maintain their routines, and thrive amid life's ebb and flow.
Welcome to the Tea with Tina, your favorite podcast, where we talk all things health, fitness, lifestyle and maybe a little bit of tea gets spilled. We chat all about this in a super casual environment. So grab your beverage of choice, sit back, relax and enjoy. Relax and enjoy. Hello, and welcome back to another episode of the Tea with Tina podcast. For those listening in real time.
Speaker 1:
I had to pull back a little bit because I was having a little bit of what I think is a thyroid flare-up and this. This could be for many reasons and I want to share this because, even if you don't have an autoimmune condition, this is very similar if you're going through a stressful period in your life. And this is exactly what I teach clients on how to pull back when things are busy and crazy. But you know, you still want to move forward. You just can't maybe push at 100%, maybe it needs to be at 50% or 60% or 20% some days. So I'm just going to explain that a little bit, which it kind of relates to today's topic on stop wasting your money and how to actually lose weight. Okay, how to actually lose weight, okay. So you know, giving you a little background on what has been going on. You know, I was diving pretty deep into my own business and things got really busy. In March it seemed like out of nowhere which March and September tend to be my busiest day or busiest months but out of nowhere, you know, I had all these people reaching out to me wanting to join my programs, wanting to do coaching with me. So I have in-person coaching. I actually took on five group classes in person a week and I have a good bit of online clients. So I was doing all that and I had all these new people and it was exciting and it was fun and I was kind of running and riding this adrenaline high and then I inevitably crashed.
Speaker 1:
After March happened, I would say probably like early to mid-April and it was funny because I was actually due for an endocrinologist appointment. Um, I don't have that till July it is currently early May at the time of recording this, just due to availability. So I did get blood work done, though, because my endo is really good with messaging through the um our little my chart health app, you know. So we keep in touch and it's really easy, if something's not feeling right, to order blood work. But I just did the blood work because it was about time to test for it and I was feeling fine and my tsh levels, my thyroid levels, actually came back 0.15. So a normal range is 0.5 to 4 or 4.5 um, not necessarily optimal, but that's what they consider normal. So I'm actually low, which is weird because I'm used to having it be way too high and stubborn and that could potentially produce hyperthyroidism. And she asked me you know, are you feeling okay? And I said yeah, I feel fine. And, of course, within a matter of weeks I started to feel it as in.
Speaker 1:
The biggest thing for me has been after a workout, which I've noticed this in general with my thyroid, but it was really bad recently. After a workout I am just wiped out and if you do not have a thyroid problem, you may not quite understand this. Or if you've never experienced this type of fatigue, it's harder to explain because it's not like normal fatigue, because let me tell you, I can get nine hours of sleep and 10 hours of sleep, even sit around, do nothing all day, and then I could go do one task and be wiped out for the day. You know, I still drink my water, I'm still eating nutritious foods, you know I'm doing all the right things. But I'm still fatigued and, like I said, working out has been the big one that's been wiping me out. I've been supplementing with creatine you know I shared that with you guys Creatine's great and that's definitely helped. But even when I wasn't really pushing that hard like I was challenging myself but it was by no means a crazy workout just like a normal workout.
Speaker 1:
The one day in particular that got me was I came home at noon after training some in-person clients and doing like a 30, 40 minute workout like upper body lifting no, no cardio, no, nothing crazy. And um, I literally just sat on the couch. My brain fog was so bad that I just stared at the wall Like I could not function. I could not think. I just sat there. There was nothing else for me to do. You know allergies could be another thing. You know my allergies hit me pretty bad, but it just it was bad. I couldn't do much of anything.
Speaker 1:
So this past past month or so I've been really just doing the bare minimum of what needs to get done, and sometimes we're in those seasons until I get things figured out because, unfortunately, I wish I could snap my fingers and figure out what the cause of things are, but I can't, you know, a lot of frustration, a little bit of crying. It's just frustrating when you do all the right things and you have no energy and you have things that you need to and want to get done, but you're just so incredibly exhausted, like you feel like you're out of control of your body. So it's pretty crazy and it's funny because I kind of gaslight myself Like I'll feel good for like five minutes. I'm like, oh, I feel like not exhausted, and then I try to do something and I'm really reminded that okay, no, you definitely can't do this. So that's and if you've listened to me, for you know any period of time that's always been an underlying fear of mine was pushing to burnout, working too hard, finding a good pace, because I do believe in life.
Speaker 1:
Yes, you do have to kind of push out of your comfort zone and work harder sometimes, and there's sometimes they're required for rest. It's hard to be in the exact middle, but it's even harder when you do have something like an autoimmune condition where you know inflammation, any type of inflammatory stuff, any type of stressors, is going to make your condition worse and make you feel like crap. So, like you, you want to push but your body physically won't allow you. And I struggled with this a lot because in the business Space and in the fitness space it's always, you know, grind, grind, grind, work hard, push yourself. That's the only rate you're going to achieve great things, get out of your comfort zone and I'm like that's all Well and dandy, but I physically cannot. If I pushing myself I will end up in the hospital. So you know, that's what I've been struggling with and maybe some of you guys can resonate with that.
Speaker 1:
You know, I hope moving forward to keep enforcing the fitness ideation that to work out you don't have to feel pressured to. You know, deadlift your body weight, squat 200 plus pounds, run a half marathon or an Ironman or be a trail runner. You can simply go to the gym to move your body, for better blood work, to have less pain, to be more mobile, so you can keep up with your kids, so you cannot get winded to walk up the steps. You just want to do it, to feel good, for fun, your overall well-being, and that's what I'm content in teaching, because that's what I do for myself. And yeah, again, it's fun to push.
Speaker 1:
And if you want to step out of your comfort zone and try something. I'm by no means against it, but I don't want you to feel pressured out of your comfort zone and try something. I'm by no means against it, but I don't want you to feel pressured. And I feel like there's so many people who don't even attempt a fitness routine or a health routine, or give up on it because they feel that they have to perform to that level. And if they're not performing at that level, they're failing. And you know, having an autoimmune disorder is very humbling and it sucks also, though, because not many people get it. You know, you could look perfectly fine and healthy on the outside, but feel like absolute garbage on the inside, even with doctors Very frustrating, any of my autoimmune girlies will understand. But yeah, so that's kind of what's been going on in my world, so I'm kind of taking it easy, going to gradually rev things up.
Speaker 1:
I want to explain to you what my things are that I'm focused on right now, then also around the topic of stop wasting your money and how to actually lose weight, before I dive into the specifics of you know what I'm doing right now. The thing I see a lot is, you know, people always ask me these questions what protein powder should I get? What's the best protein powder? Do you think I should try this weird workout device? Should I be getting this and this? And don't get me wrong, I love myself a good supplement or something tasty or something new to try.
Speaker 1:
But the problem is is that you guys are putting the cart before the horse. You think that this product is somehow going to, you know, accelerate you towards your goals, and that's how they market it, that's how they make money. They want you to think that it's a magic pill, a magic device, and this is just the one thing that's going to get you the results, but in reality it's not. If anything, I want you to look at supplements and accessories, which I mean they're even in their names. They're supplemental and they're accessory to your journey and everything's so contextual. Just because there's information out there saying this is great for weight loss, it may not be great for you and your situation, your body type, your health history. That's why, in the small tiny print, they're always like consult with a doctor and physician to make sure it's right for you, because it's true, it may not work with you.
Speaker 1:
Some people are taking supplements when they don't even really need them. People are doing all this extra stuff when it really doesn't fit their lifestyle. They're just doing it because they saw some you know pretty fit influencer using it and they want to look like them and this is really hindering you From your progress and it can really get dangerous To the point where people are trying these extreme diets. They're taking these herbs, like these crazy herbs that give you weird side effects. Instead, they're really lacking the basics and, guys, this is why I drilled it into your head. I know it probably sounds boring, but very few of you Are doing the basics. It probably sounds boring, but very few of you are doing the basics to build a strong foundation consistently every day.
Speaker 1:
Can I say and I'm proud to say this that I would say 90% of my clients maybe even more than that have told me that this is the longest that they have ever stuck with a fitness and nutrition program, and that's what I want. I'm not selling you some extreme six week, 12 week program. I do those challenges as like little motivational boosters, but I encourage you to do this for the long term. It's not just a one and done, no promise of quick fixes, it's. I want you to stick with this for life. Now what it looks like day to day is going to be different month to month, year to year, and that's exactly what I teach you. But that's one of the biggest things is that they come to me and they say this is the longest I've ever stuck with something. So I want you to think about this.
Speaker 1:
Drinking water, getting movement in, you know, eating nutritious, balanced meals. Obviously, you're not going to be perfect every day. I would say an 80-20 split, 70-30 split is going to be good. Just know, the less you stick with it, the slower your results. Right, but something's better than nothing. But how consistent have you actually been with those things? Seriously, like day in, day out? Like, yeah, you miss a couple days, maybe the weekend you're more relaxed, but like, have you done this longer than a month, two months, three months? Can you think beyond that? And a lot of my clients, they get scared, but it's almost an exciting thing because they're like, wow, I've never done it this long before and they kind of run into new things like vacations pop up and they get sick and they need to adjust their programs. And it feels weird because they're used to just bailing and falling off track when they face adversity, but I teach them to carry through that adversity Right, and that's something I want for you. And, by the way, if this sounds like something that you need help with, I am your coach. This is what I specialize in. I face adversity and I have.
Speaker 1:
I'm not here for the perfect conditions. I'm here to show you how to keep your health and maintain a routine, so you don't have to start over again. Work with me, apply to work with me. Let's chat and see if you would be a good fit. I'm going to have a link in the description of this podcast episode if you would like to apply. It's no pressure. Just fill out the questions to see if we are a good fit. We can have a little chat via messenger, text, call, whatever you prefer. I'm all about meeting you where you're at. We can just see if you're a good fit and I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty easygoing. I have set coaching packages, but if there's something that you're looking for as far as how much support you need, what types of workouts, if you have a special circumstance, reach out to me and maybe we can make something work. I'm totally open to that.
Speaker 1:
Okay, but anyways, what I was gonna get at to kind of wrap this up is what I'm doing, because we talked about water steps, nutrition. I would include stress management and recovery in there. Here's what I'm doing. So I necessarily wasn't doing anything wrong. Right, I would say what I was doing the average person could get away with with, you know, a normal functioning body. But because my body's more prone to inflammation and I had a higher stress time, so my body was stressed out, I um was pushing hard with my workouts as well, so that added some extra stress and just a lot of new things going on. I needed that extra support through recovery. So I'm tightening up my routine a little bit and with that, this is what I'm doing.
Speaker 1:
First is with the strength training. Strength training seems to be, and this is why it's so important to be in tune with your body, because even you can learn a little bit just from hearing me chat about how I'm observing my body. So number one is the strength training. I know that this is draining me the most it is my biggest energy suck but I still think strength training is important. So instead of leaving it out altogether, I'm going to attempt to do about three days a week of strength training and what that looks like is normally I'm working with a barbell, dumbbells, machines, trying to lift heavy. You know, challenge myself on a lower rep range, I'd say between 8 to 12 reps.
Speaker 1:
Now what I'm going to do now is I'm really going to assess my body day to day. So some weeks I may not get in any strength training. Some weeks I may get two or three days in, maybe even more, I don't know yet. But I'm going to start with machines, because that is what I feel comfortable with and that's what my body feels good with with machines, because that is what I feel comfortable with and that's what my body feels good with. And then I'm going to try lighter versions of what I was already doing, possibly higher reps if it feels good, to get the burn right. So like, let's say, I was back squatting like 135 pounds, right, so now I might just use the bar or use a kettlebell or dumbbell. You know, I'm going to play around and explore and see what happens and see if I can gradually increase weight. I'm not here to burn myself out. I want to leave my workout feeling good, like I trained, refreshed, all of that. So that's going to be a very interesting experience.
Speaker 1:
Okay, so that's number one. To tie it in with movement, I'm shooting for a goal of 8 to 12k steps, so that's a pretty lofty goal, but I want to maintain my fat loss at the current moment. So 8 to 12k steps is a good range, and with this I want to do more walks as well. Walks in nature is good for my mental health, but it's also gentle on my body and I always feel good. I actually went for about almost four miles today 3.7 something to be exact, and I got almost 8,000 steps. So I'm already at my goal for the day. And Then I want to drink electrolytes, which I'm using Body Armor right now and Gatorade Light.
Speaker 1:
I kind of want to limit the sodium, though, because I feel like my body is a little sensitive to the sodium. I think I get plenty of sodium throughout the day normally, but potassium, magnesium, all that stuff. That can also be another issue with the thyroid stuff I could be, because I'm hyper overactive right now with my thyroid. It could be depleting all the nutrients in my body, using them up more quickly. So I got to make sure I'm supplementing with enough to stay balanced and help prevent the fatigue, and definitely getting 100 ounces of water a day too, so that those are going to be some staple goals.
Speaker 1:
And then, nutrition wise, I'm tightening up my diet a little bit and focusing on more just simple, whole foods. Right Before, I was having Kodiak pancake mix with, like, light maple syrup. Now, there's nothing wrong with that, but it's more processed, there's a lot of gluten, a lot of sugar, carbs not whole foods, right. So now my breakfast has been like, um, sprouted green bread with avocado, fried egg and a cast iron skillet and some mushrooms. I love mushrooms, um. For lunch I'm making a sweet potato in the crock pot with some ground bison, black beans and asparagus.
Speaker 1:
Um, and then dinners, I'm just gonna go with whatever we're making for the week, but I'm gonna adjust. You know my portionings. I'm not really tracking, I'm gonna kind of like loosely track because I just want to see how much I'm actually consuming. Um, snacks and stuff are gonna be like apples, strawberries. I'm gonna have a protein shake to make sure I'm getting enough protein. Um, and this, I would say, comes with somebody who's already pretty experienced with tracking. Like, I know the portions, I know how to balance my meals out. If you're somebody who's already pretty experienced with tracking, like I know the portions, I know how to balance my meals out. If you're somebody who hasn't really tracked before and you don't know how to balance out your meals, I wouldn't recommend doing this um unless you get the experience. So definitely try to track your food, um from that to get that knowledge and see how to really balance your meals, to get you know where you need to be. So I have that. So that is really.
Speaker 1:
And of course, sleep. You know sleep eight to nine hours. I was actually getting up at five and I may push that back to six. I wanted to have some me time in the morning, but 6am shouldn't be too big of an issue most days. But you know, prioritizing more sleep, we've been going to bed earlier, 8-830. I'm in bed by Staying organized, trying not to let my mind wander and focus on things that don't really matter.
Speaker 1:
I can get caught up and I think a lot of us do, you know, get caught up in menial things and worrying what other people are doing and should we be doing that? And um, you know I find it better to kind of block out the noise and listen to who I am. I will say on that deeper level, I felt like I got away from who I was, and you guys probably don't even notice this is more of an internal thing. Like you know, I'm a highly sensitive person, so my brain's going like a million miles a minute and I go through like a hundred different emotions a day. I mean, I think a lot of us do, um, but what I experience versus what you see is two different things and, um, I just feel like I was in a different headspace where I was trying to be something I wasn't, and it felt very inauthentic, and I feel a lot better when I just show up as me.
Speaker 1:
However, that is, and that's kind of why I decided to record this podcast episode, and that's why there was a little bit of a delay because, to be honest, I was like frozen. I was frozen on what to share, because there was a message I was trying to get out versus what I was experiencing were two very different things and it's hard to do that. Very different things and it's hard to do that. I am somebody that I like to share and create based off of what I'm currently feeling and going through, because I think that's important, it's fun, but it's also helpful to others. So that's why I decided to record this to just share what I'm going through and also throw in a little bit of teaching for you guys.
Speaker 1:
And another little tidbit I'm hoping to update on this is I'm going to and also throw in a little bit of teaching for you guys. And another little tidbit I'm hoping to update on this is I'm going to be using my coaching app to record this, so I'm syncing up my Fitbit to track my steps within the app. I am logging my food through the app. I'm going to put in the habits like drink my electrolytes, drink 100 ounces of water, get 8 to 12k steps. I'm going to put all my habits to check off in the app. Um, workouts I may program in there. I will say that my workouts do vary. It just depends um so that I may put in the app. I haven't decided yet, but yeah, so that'll be exciting to kind of have everything in one place and see the trends and stuff, and hopefully I can share that with you guys on social media as things go on.
Speaker 1:
This is the first real day. I actually got my blood work tested again today, so I'm curious to see what my thyroid levels are. They were 0.15 about a month ago. So let's see where they're at and I'm going to see if I need my medication adjusted. But yeah, so that is about my message for today, guys. What can you get out of that? I hope that maybe hearing my experience will give you some insights, um, maybe make you not feel alone or feel like you don't have to, you know, do all this crazy stuff. Also, it's to know that, hey, get away from the fancy stuff for a little bit and try to focus on the basics and get really good at those and watch at what a difference it makes in your life, and maybe you just need to revisit those basics again, pull back a little bit and recenter. All right, and that's all I have for you today, guys. So have a great rest of your day. We will chat soon. Bye.
