Taking the Plunge

By Katie Rablin  (Bev says she will blog soon)
The "get fit challenge" has begun!  It's mid-Janruary (not the 1st) but there is never a bad time to start.

I had my appointment with Cindy at Peak Performance, and it went great.  She had me write down some health goals before we started that included goal weight and ideal body fat.  Guess what?  I've already reached my goal of being 22% body fat!  Ok, 22% was my goal but what I didn't realize is that I'm already 22%.  I had no idea.  In my mind I feel like I'm 30%!  To test the body fat Cindy uses a dunk tank, and I had to go under the water and hold my breath while she did the reading.  It's pretty simple and straight forward, and she is super patient.  I took the plunge and came out realizing I'm healthier than I thought I was.  It's amazing how the mind can play tricks on us, and I really liked seeing  the data from the testing, it's motivating.

I also did my basic metabolic rate, which was good.  I burn 1900 cal a day on average just doing my thing, which shows my metabolism is cooking (thank goodness).  It makes me realize that deep breathing, stretching, qi gong, yoga, and a healthy diet have helped my body stay in balance.  If I want to lose some pounds I just have to crank up the exercise a little bit.

Lastly, I did the sub VO2 max.  This included running on a treadmill with a tube attached to my face via a mask.  This was the most surprising test for me.  I ended up being in the "superior" category, which both Cindy and I were shocked at because I don't do any technical "cardio" workouts.  I do qi gong and yoga, with a mild jog a few times a month.  The lesson for me is that yoga and qi gong are powerful tools to keep the heart and lungs in shape.  I study with the Ling Gui Qi Gong School based in Portland, Oregon.  Qi Gong reduces stress and promotes deep abdominal breathing.  It's fantastic!  I'm hoping to start teaching Qi Gong classes in Silverton soon.

Altogether, the testing with Cindy showed me that I'm healthier than I thought I was, especially after coming out of four years of graduate school.  I still want to feel stronger and be more flexible.  My health goals for the next 3 months are:

#1  Do yoga 3-4 times a week for at least an hour
#2  Do Qi Gong 4 times a week for at least an hour
#3  Maintain my GAPS diet
#4  Contemplate full-time gym membership?

I did a two week trial at Silverton Fitness which was great.  I took a wonderful pilates class from Rita, and I felt muscles I haven't felt in a long time.  I tried the yoga class.  The instructor was great, but the room was freezing cold, to cold for me to do yoga in (people had gloves on at the end of class).  I haven't tried the boot camp yet, and the boxing looked kind of fun!  I'm contemplating joining the gym full-time if I can work some more of the classes into my schedule, which is what I seem to enjoy most.  I'm told the zumba is super fun.

My challenges:
#1  I got a new puppy, Trillium, and she is taking up a lot of time!  My sister, Beverly, has a five year old daughter, Ariah, so I guess I shouldn't complain ( :
#2  Fitting gym classes into my work schedule is hard.  I asked one of the trainers at the gym, Rita, how she gets up to teach 5 o'clock classes, and her response "you just do it."  Well, I prefer a yoga session at home on my own or with a DVD.  I'm just not into the 5 am classes yet, yikes.
#3  My puppy likes to chew on me while doing yoga.............hmmmm

I've been sugar, caffeine, grain, and processed anything free for the last week.  I'm back on my GAPS diet full on, and I'm feeling great.  I've had a few headaches coming off the sugar, but a good detox bath of kelp, apple cider vinegar, or epsom salts works wonders.  My skin is clearing up (I've had eczema for years) and I love being free from the itchiness of eczema.  The GAPS diet has been a true life saver for me in regards to healing food sensitivities and chronic skin problems.  My eczema is about 90% better after going on the diet last year.  I can hardly wait for you all to hear about Beverly starting the diet, she detoxifies rather intensely and is completely addicted to sugar.  The other day I got a phone call from her and she says, "I have to confess something, I let 3 chocolate chips melt in my mouth today and they tasted so good!"  I was laughing pretty good.  It's nice to have someone to check in with and laugh through the cravings, moodiness, etc that comes when taking all the "junk" out of the body.  I don't think Bev's 3 chocolate chips set her back,  she is hanging tough with me.  I know from experience that it gets easier with time.  The body calms down and finds a rhythm.  We are changing patterns.  Bev and I had a pattern of eating dark rich chocolate chips together.  Now, we taste each others fermented foods.  After some time on the diet we will try and introduce organic dark cacao with coconut butter/oil, honey, and some mint.  Chocolate is medicine, we just need to leave out all the sugar.

If you started a new health regimen at the New Year, keep going.  If your considering it, jump on the wagon with us!

Take care and be well!