Wellness Check-in

Hello, my wellness junkies! If you have been following along you have noticed the decline in posts. I have been deep in the throes of healing my gut, vitamin, and mineral deficiencies. I shared how things are going with my new vitamin regimen a couple of weeks back. You can read more on that here. It has been two months now since being on them and my digestion, sleep, energy, and mood have improved drastically.

With the positive changes, there have been some negatives as well. There were days my body needed to adjust, and I did not feel the greatest mentally, physically, and emotionally. Breaking old habits can be difficult at times. I had moments of restriction along with binging. I felt guilt and disgust for falling into old habits.

I began listening to a podcast on healing from eating disorders to help me work through my emotions and habits. This is a journey, not a race, it will take time, and just because I fell back on bad habits that do not mean I am a failure. I can continue this journey of healing and come out successful even if I have moments of negative actions.

Over the last month and a half, I have not binged or been restricted. This is a huge accomplishment. Pat on the back to me! With this accomplishment came some unwanted weight and inches. I keep reminding myself that it will stabilize eventually, and I need to continue this journey one step at a time. My mind does not always agree, and I must fight through the urges to restrict myself.

I tell myself this is nourishment, and my body wants healing. I cannot just continue to let the weight pile on and bring my mental health down pushing me toward the restrict binge cycle. Thankfully I have a huge and supportive system to help me in times of possible spirals.

I have made huge improvements with my gut and vitamin deficiencies over the last two and a half months. My eating habits have also improved over the last three months, even with those hiccups. My family and I are eating as much organic as possible, tons of vegetables, proteins, healthy fats, and good carbs. After the first month of my gut adjusting to getting the nutrients it was screaming for I have regular bowel movements that look how they are supposed to.

With my diet and deficiencies improving and my ability to stick with them, it is time to add in working out. I have said before that when you start a new routine take it one step at a time, slowly, and with achievable goals to keep you on track. You can read more on that here. I am taking my time and taking this one step at a time before adding more steps along this journey.

My workout routine is starting off slow with three days a week of Pilates. I like Pilates and yoga due to the back injury I sustained five years ago. The stretching and muscle building help my core and back to not be in chronic pain. I have been so focused on my diet that I was not working out for the last six months. With the lack of movement, I pinched my back and my sciatica flared up in a very bad way. I could not sit, stand, lay, or move in any way that did not send shooting pain all the way down my legs.

After a week of having to practically be on bed rest it is time to add movement back into my routine. My body is calling for the movements and stretches to continue this healing journey. I have been working out three days a week for the last five weeks building a routine that is sustainable for me. I am unsure at this time if I will add in more days or longer workouts. If my body starts calling for that then I will, but for now, this is working.

Remember one step at a time and it is ok if you fall off the wagon. If you fall off the wagon it does not mean you need to completely give up and go back to your old habits. Use it as a learning experience, what triggered you to fall off the bandwagon? Is that trigger something you can avoid or work on so that you do not fall off the wagon again? Do you have a support system to help you through the tough times? Are you leaning on healthy sources of information to heal?

Working with a licensed therapist can be a huge help if this is something that fits your budget. A great Podcast I found that has been a huge help is Dear Body Podcast Jessie Jean is a Mind Body Eating Coach that healed her own eating disorder. Recovery Warriors is an amazing blog and podcast with a multitude of information to help those recovering from eating disorders. I am by no means a professional I am on this journey myself and sharing the best information I have found.

If you need help please feel free to reach out to thewellnessblondie@gmail.com we can work through this together and build one another up. Thank you for joining me on this journey. If you are finding this helpful please share it on your social pages to spread the word. This is the best way to get the word out to others that are seeking help.

~ Tina