MS & Me

Here's my truth, I have multiple sclerosis. It does not define me. I have this disease but I am not the disease. It took a lot for me to come to this conclusion.

I started complaining to my family and my doctor that I was constantly tired. All I wanted to do was sleep. I was 14. He tested my iron levels and several other levels but they all came back negative. I just kept pushing forward. I napped constantly and my sleep patterns were all crazy. Every other year or so, I'd go back for tests and it always came back negative. 

High school passed, University passed and I still felt exhausted. 

Then on one random day in November, just months after my mom passed away, I fainted at work and smacked my head on the floor. Off to the E.R. I went. From there, a miracle happened. 

I did a cat scan of my head. There was an abnormality in my scan. It should be super scary, especially since one genius doctor mentioned a tumor, but I didn't let it worry me. Actually, I was incredibly nervous. I had just buried my mother who lost her battle to cancer so I was petrified. An MRI was scheduled and I waited (im)patiently for the results.

"You have lesions on your brain."

What? What did that mean? The lesions are a sign of MS but a diagnosis was a still a while away. I was devastated. I needed answers. I didn't know where to turn. I had an incredible support system but it didn't help to ease the worry.

"Don't google! If you need more information, go on MSsociety.ca. Google will only show you the worse case scenario so don't do it." I didn't google like crazy, well just a little. My neurologist was right. BAD IDEA! The MS Society of Canada website was all I needed.

So now I waited. I needed actually symptoms to confirm a diagnosis. They hit me hard. I had intense shoulder spasms, a tightness in my torso that felt like "perma-spanx", limited use of my left hand and heavy legs. Here we go. Next came several MRIs, a round of Steroids, a visit to the MS Clinic to discuss a medicinal course. Inject myself with a needle everyday? It was overwhelming but worth it. I had an official answer. That's all that mattered.

It's been a tough battle. A really bad roller coaster ride. I have ups and downs. I spend days in bed. I spend nights awake. I have moments when I feel like I can conquer the world. I have moments when I want the world to go away. That's life in general for everybody isn't it?

I will survive. I will thrive. MS is not a death sentence. 

I really should be sleeping

I need to sleep. I have a very busy day tomorrow. Since I've been sick with this stupid cold, I haven't worked out, except for burpees, so I NEED to get a workout in. I'm singing at a wedding. I'm meeting with the inlaws. I'm taking the nephew to watch Monster's University and most importantly, I start my new medication Tecfidera. I'm hoping and praying for very little side effects but of course I won't know until I start. Hopefully, this will help me with my relapses. I hate them and I hate taking Prednisone to get rid of them when they start. I also hated injecting myself with a needle on a daily basis so taking a pill twice a day is a blessing. Living with MS is a difficult situation but it's not a curse. Wish me luck.

After the Reset

It's been a week since I completed the Ultimate Reset. I lost 9 lbs and it's an awesome feeling. After the reset, my life has been a little chaotic. I wasn't prepared. I should have meal planned. I put back on about 1.5 lbs. I'm not upset, nor will I give up. This is all a learning experience so I am stepping up my game and I meal planned for the week. I purchased tons of delicious goodness. I can't wait. I'm going to post recipes this week. Keep myself active and accountable. Plus, I really enjoy creating new recipes and this will be a great way to remember them. Keep an eye out for some recipes and food ideas!

Relay for Life

I have so many feelings about the last 12 hours of my life. 

It's my 4th year participating in the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life. Or so we think we can't remember at this moment. Regardless, it's the toughest 12 hours of my life but I'll do it over and over again. 

For those of you that don't know, Relay for Life is a 12 hour walk, done in teams. Basically you walk around a track for 12 hours as a team. It's broken up but I always try to walk as much as humanly possible. 

The evening starts off with a celebration of life; the survivor's lap. A walk my mother once took. It's an emotional moment when you see survivors of all ages walking the track or sitting in classic cars. You can't help but thank The Lord that they are still here and miss the ones who aren't. 

With high spirits, we're off. The first few laps are exciting, dancing our way through it. By lap 10, we're thinking let's take a break. Doesn't last long because its freezing and we realize movement keeps us warm. Visitor's bring us coffee and walk alongside us. We share stories, laughter and therapy sessions. Until 10 when my favourite part, the luminary ceremony begins. Hundreds of candles surround the track with messages of sorrow or great joy and the word HOPE creates a warm ambiance. A slideshow plays to remember those who have passed included my wonderful mother. 

By 3 am we're exhausted but we keep pushing. With breaks in between we push until breakfast time. You slowly start packing up. Tents come down, blankets folded up and coolers get packed. Heading home to sleep is our main focus!  And with that, another year is done. The memories will bring us through until next year. It's an experience that changes every year but it's one worth repeating. 

Day 17

I can't believe I'm on day 17! It's been an interesting experience. I'm not going to lie, I miss chicken and I'm sick of fruit every morning but I'm enjoying it. I miss working out. I can't wait to start Les Mills Combat after I'm done. 

I'm enjoying a wonderful Moroccan carrot salad. I probably should have taken a picture before I started eating it. 

 

I went to Target again today. I'm a little obsessed. Thinking of redecorating my bathroom. That will have to wait until after my reset is done. For now, I need to put together a unit for my living room. Wish me luck!

My Story

Let me share my weight loss story: I can understand how stress and life can make your weight fluctuate. I spent 7 years watching my weight climb until I hit the 157lb mark. I did weight watchers shortly after my mom passed away/MS diagnosis and I managed to lose 25 lbs. I left weight watcher’s thinking I could do it on my own; big fail; I was back up to 157 lbs. I was miserable. I went back to weight watchers but I noticed that weight watchers wasn’t helping me the second time around. It wasn't teaching how to eat. I was just fitting in all the bad foods (Mcdonald’s fries, Wendy’s nuggets and fries supreme from Taco Bell) and it didn’t help me make a lifestyle change. Although I lost weight before my wedding, I fell back into bad habits pretty quickly. I always knew about Beachbody. I loved Turbo Fire and Turbo Jam. It was how I managed to lose the weight while eating horrible foods. It wasn’t until I found the right coach. She motivated me to push further, work harder. An accountability group was great. I shared my successes and failures with them. I was never judged because we all shared the same goal. I tried Shakeology (again), started drinking it daily and incorporating Les Mills Combat into my routine. By the time I knew it, I was back down to 137 lbs. And then I moved; fast food was my friend. I stopped working out because there was no time. I gained back 3 lbs and I said this is it. I became a Beachbody coach so I could get a variety of Shakeology at a discount. And I could be accountable to myself and to others. I purchased the Ultimate Reset. It has taught me so much about food and about myself. I'm feeling great! I'm not where I want to be yet, but I'll get there. This has been a journey that I appreciate. It's a hard journey but worthwhile. I feel fantastic. You can too. Let me help! Click here to get started

Costco and Target? Don't mind if I do!

I have very few stores that I consider my happy place. I love Target because it's so clean and the clothes are adorable. Costco fills me with joy! I love buying things in bulk. Longo's is the great grocery store. I love the people and the produce. Wal-mart is the shit. Not every Wal-mart but you know. Don't bring me into a Sephora because damage will be done. And Ricki's/Dynamite are fantastic clothing stores. 

But enough about favourites, let's talk about my sweet potato and roasted red pepper soup. Delicious! Tracy said it was her favourite soup to date. Looks like I'll be making it again. 

I made a lot so Tracy and I can it for lunch tomorrow. 

I went to the nephew's soccer game. He scored two goals. I chased the other one around. It was fun.

I bought size small t-shirts from Target. That was an awesome feeling. 

I'm feeling a lot better. My energy was down today but seeing my nephews made me feeling amazing. 

Til tomorrow's fruit plate, goodnight!

It's a wonderful day

It's been such a fantastic day. I stepped on the scale this morning to get my week one totals and I'm down 5.4 lbs. 

But that's not all. No that's not all. 

I needed dress pants for work. It was getting ridiculous. I went to Ricki's, my fave place for pants because they have short lengths. No hemming for this girl! Anyway, I went to Ricki's grabbed a bunch of size 6's and a few 4's. I decided to just try on the 4's, hoping for the best, I was successful! I couldn't believe. I nearly cried in the change room. I didn't cry but I did dance and I jumped up and down a little! Fantastic feeling! 

Anyways, food today was excellent. I started to detox phase and it's going well. Mashed chick peas for breakfast tomorrow has me a little worried. Did most of my grocery shop, need a few more things but I'll get that tomorrow. 

Breakfast was fruit which I are out of a plastic container on my way to church. Lunch was a microgreen salad which is normal today had avocado. Yum. And dinner was delicious. I mixed everything together into a big bowl and it was perfect. 

After freezing my butt off at Le Husband's soccer game I am ready for bed. Til we meet again. 

Day 5

Day 5 was a big success. The food today was awesome. It was incredibly delicious. 

Breakfast: 

 

Lunch: 

Dinner: 

You definitely don't go hungry. My snack was celery and organic peanut butter. I still got some peanut butter. Yum. 

I purchased more Tupperware containers because I was running out. My fridge is packed. I'll be able to prep a lot more and maybe I'll have more room. Maybe. 

My bed is calling my name. I've got a lot of food to prep and a grocery list to configure for Saturday's grocery shop! Day 6 tomorrow! 

Day 4 Complete

I've decided to log my journey to fitness and health on a blog so that I don't clog my Facebook or Instagram feed. 

I'm on day 4 of the Ultimate Reset from Beachbody. It has been tough so far but the food has been wonderful. I've learned a lot about my food addiction and my caffeine dependency. I've already lost 3.8 lbs and my energy level is finally coming back up! 

Today I went to a Manager of Customer Service conference and it was a great experience. They wined and dined us, minus the wine and minus me. I brought my own breakfast and lunch. I received a lot of positive comments and words of encouragement from some wonderful people. I was so tempted to grab a cookie but instead I grabbed an apple for snack. Thank goodness they had fruit! 

I'm excited for tomorrow. Going to see if I can find Tempeh so I can make the Nori and for the breakfasts. Wish me luck because I don't know if I'll like the tempeh. I'll have pictures of my meals tomorrow but I was too lazy to grab my phone and take pictures today! 

Onto day 5!