Health Update and Weight Loss Maintenance

I Am Off The Net Till This Evening, Time To Paint!

I was diagnosed with fibromyligia back in 1993. What this means is I suffer from muscle and joint pain, inflammation, infections, fatigue, memory problems, it's really a nasty diagnoses that has a host of symptoms but no known cause and no cure.

I lost 50lbs 3 years ago going on a no grain, no sugar or processed food, no booze, just a little bit of fruit, tons of veggies, a little bit of legumes, a little bit of lean meat, red meat and fish twice a week, with intermittent fasting, change of eating habits and lifestyle (diet).

Intermittent fasting means I eat within a 6 hour window and don't eat for the rest of the 24 hour day.

I am a 57 year old biological female of European and Native American lineage. I am done with premenopausal symptoms and firmly established in postmenopause now.

I am Free!

Which means my biological system has shut down it's reproductive system. The transition was difficult and I had to totally change everything I eat, my exercise program and a lot of my habits. I am basically a totally different human now...I've been through this several times, moving through my childhood, teen years, and motherhood/adult years so I know how to break old habits and establish new ones to suit this new body.

Yeah, I said new body. Our body is constantly changing and I don't look at age the same way many people do. I don't care how I look, I want to function efficiently. I found the medical and psychological establishments don't care about my health, they only care about profits so I had to figure out what health means to this body right now at this time.

Health is different for everyone but we do have some universal truths regarding all human health. We all need a safe place to live, 6-9 hours of sleep, fresh air, sunlight, exercise, clean food and water sources and friendships. The combinations of these things may be different for each one of us. I share my struggle to find health to inspire, not to tell you what you need.

This summer I felt like crap, I was extremely fatigued which can be partly blamed on menopause but I also think I had a parasite problem from eating raw foods like veggies and fruit. That's one of the reasons why humans cook their food! So I went on a cleanse most of the summer and feel a lot better. I also added more red meat to my diet, this body cannot process vegetable heme (iron) so I had to add red meat and organ meat once a week to my diet. I don't mind, I am not a vegan or anything else you can name. I try to eat organic and whole foods, keep it simple is my motto when it comes to food. I eat the way my northern ancestors ate and my body seems to thrive on lots of greens and a little bit of animal products like fish, eggs, cheese, butter, cream, animal flesh and organs. I do not do very well on a lot of fruit or grains, I get inflammation issues, infections, and my cognition slows down a lot! I avoid caffeine from coffee as well. I can handle tea just fine thank goodness.

I used to run at least 5 miles a day, five days a week in my 30s but my joints couldn't handle the stress, I have wide hips. I have no problem popping out those babies though! So I do weight bearing exercises, simple stretches, and I walk at least 4 miles a day, five days a week.

I don't need a lot of water but I need clean water, city water makes me sick so I usually filter my water to get rid of fluoride, chlorine and other chemicals that screw with my hormonal system called the endocrine system. Our endocrine system is the communication system for the body and you screw with your glands with fluoride which is close to iodine's chemical structure you are going to kill your master gland called the thyroid. During menopause women's thyroid is weak and we must protect it at all cost or it will cost us tons of money and lots of pain as we move into our 60s. So I take usp grade iodine with selenium made from organic mustard seed. That may be why my hair hasn't gone completely gray but it also may be a genetic gift from my Native American lineage.

My parasite cleans consisted of taking a mix of green hulls from the Black Walnut, Epazote leaf, fresh organic clove buds, wormwood, pumpkin seeds, and papaya seeds. I am not going to give advice on recipes or tablets. You can research and find out what you need. That is what I did and it's part of discovering who you are and how your body works.

I also have lived in moldy old houses and been taking herbs dealing with mold and yeast problems in the body. I take Quercetin tablets, Jatoba bark, Pau D Arco bark, Licorice root, Goldenthread root, and anise seed, all of this are certified organic. If you buy tablets you can be getting sources that have been processed to the point of being ineffective. So you really have to research how the herbs are gathered and processed.

All the sitting I've been doing this summer painting I put on 10lbs of fat, I had to cut my fruit, which kind of makes me sad, that's the only sweets I get anymore. But momentary pleasure isn't worth the pain I suffer when I get too heavy, all my old injuries start complaining and my immune system can't function correctly. Last month even through I felt really tired I started walking 7 days a week in the early morning rather than at night. The heat here in Oklahoma is too hard on me to walk in the evening. So I get up around 5:30am and go for my 4 mile walk. I dumped my 10lbs in a month cutting out fruit...so sad and so happy at the same time!

I hope my little update inspires you in your quest to find health and happiness!

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