HEALTHY = HAPPY

The last few weeks have been so draining and tiring since starting Operation R.G.F. Between the stomach pains and horrible digestion and not being able to eat enough because of it, my training went so downhill last week and I was so tired that I went back to my wholistic GP this week to find out why I was having such an adverse reaction.

As it turns out, the Allimax was causing the trouble - it is for killing off the bad bacterias and Streptococcus infection in my gut, so it does make sense. The good news is that I just finished the month long course of it. The bad news is that because my reaction was still so severe I will need to do another month course in about a week or so once my stomach has had some time to settle. But I'm hoping that my reaction won't be as strong this time, but I do know how to manage it a bit better this time i.e. avoiding coffee whilst on it, freshly soaked (not dehydrated) nuts only, not eating any raw vegies, extra bone broths and goat's milk kefir. On a basic level, just ensuring all my food is as easy to digest as possible and not cause any undue stress.

So after finishing the Allimax earlier this week I was able to eat properly and my training started to feel less painful. However I was still very tired and flat mid week so I intuitively added in some extra carbs to get my metabolism going and energy levels up. I was experimenting with a new recipe for Spelt Kefir Sourdough bread (which I will share once it's perfected) so it was perfect timing! After some with dinner on Thursday night and some Friday morning, I felt like bouncing off the walls and was so excited to get stuck into my cycle class. I was at the club early so I hit the squat rack first and did 4 sets of 10 x 20kg deep squats supersetted with 10 x jump squats. Super fun! Haven't done jump squats for months, and need to build up endurance but damn they are good in a love/hate way. Cycle class was awesome after that and then I did my all over body session with Carolyn in the afternoon too.

1st attempt at Spelt Kefir Sourdough

I only realised then just how shit I had been feeling. It really makes you realise just how important great nutrition is to support your training, immune system and overall health and wellness. It reminded me just why I eat the way I do and why it's so important to me to look after my body. Sometimes it is good to get those little wake up calls and slopes in life because it is all too easy to take things for granted, especially things like good health.

Speaking of good health and supporting your body with great nutrition, we had a fantastic wellness event at Pilates Evolution Now in Maitland with one of our Wellness Partners - the passionate, dynamic and gorgeous Peta Serras. It was heaps of fun with Peta doing a very enjoyable and educational talk to a room full of lovely women all interested in doing something to improve their health. We had lots of great questions afterwards and were both busy taking orders for Juice Plus+ from the majority of the women who attended and just understood the importance of supporting their baseline nutrition.

It was another reminder for me about how passionate I am about helping others to 'see the light' and make the change in their lives to start taking time for themselves and look after their health and wellness. It was such a catalyst in my life when I started taking Juice Plus+ three years ago and I can recognise others going through those similar stages of change too...and it gets me really excited because I know that we have helped them make a big difference to their health with such a simple thing. 

I feel like my stomach and gut flora is on track, even if it's going to go a bit downhill again when I start the next round of Allimax. I'm happy to just maintain my basic training, understanding that my body is under extra stress from the process of restoring the gut flora and balancing everything out. My macro nutrition will still remain relatively grain free (allowing rice, oats, quinoa or spelt occasionally) and low to medium carbs after another few days of some extra carbs whilst I am getting the metabolism boosted and my energy restored. I am getting to know my body more and more and the carbs are feeling good right now, rather than making me tired like they often can. I do have to keep my fats in check a little more as they can lead to upset stomachs when it is not functioning effectively, hence why I feel ok with the added carbs for now.

I have to say the sugar free is easy now, I'm not missing it much at all. Of course ice cream and brownies sound awesome anytime, but I really am not craving any sugar. I am having some berries about once or twice a week and have also had banana a few times over the past month. My wholistic doctor said that some fruit was ok, but I've done some reading and I'm not sure if I need to cut it totally...am trying to find out more on that currently. Kefir is really feeling good right now too. It did take a few cultures for the taste to be pleasant (I was a little worried at first!) but now it is smooth and deliciously tangy. Plus I'm looking forward to hopefully another attempt at my kefir bread recipe...

The past four weeks have cemented one thing in my mind - that when I'm healthy, I'm happy. It really is as simple as that!