Living with A.S.

Germanamazon

Germanamazon

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Warrior from Germany
Posts: 112
Well here I am.
Still functioning, still moving, still walking upright. Still in a ton of pain on some days. I didn't know what to do. Still don't know exactly what to do. My doctors keep telling me to keep up an active lifestyle, but not to lift more than 3 kilos, no lots of lifting, no over doing it. Except they can't tell me when it's going towards overdoing it. Soo. . . Yeah talk about being confused.
So what did I do? I froze. I didn't do anything. Hey it's the truth. Then for some reason three days ago I woke up from my frozen state and started doing little things. A walk, resistance bands, a workout with my physical therapist, darebees haunted hive. I am having a blast!!
I wanted to go bike riding today, was looking forward to it. BUUUUTT. . my A.S. acted up in my gut. Oh well, postponed is not canceled is what we say on Germany. I will go for my bike ride hopefully tomorrow, if not tomorrow then as soon as my gut is ok again.

I wish darebee could/would do a thing like haunted hive once every two months. I know it's hardly possible since it takes so much work. I appreciate the haunted hive that's going on right now immensely!
So looking at the programs darebee offers and the levels I think zero to hero might be for me. Don't have to do it daily is all I have to remember. Definitely on my Goodison days though
 
WolfDreamer

WolfDreamer

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"respawinning"
Germanamazon said:
I am having a blast!!
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That's good to hear!

Germanamazon said:
I wish darebee could/would do a thing like haunted hive once every two months
Click to expand...

I think in the winter months (winter for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere) they do a "snowball fight," which might be like so many reps = so many snowballs, etc., and I think you have to do a certain number of burpees to "dodge" the snowballs.

Germanamazon said:
I think zero to hero might be for me
Click to expand...

That's a really good one! I'm glad you're here. You'll find a lot of amazing, supportive bees here to cheer you on!
 
Germanamazon

Germanamazon

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Warrior from Germany
Posts: 112
You would think living im Germany with a chronic illness is all help and no hurdles.
Yeah. .no.
Doctors help you a lot don't get me wrong, but just like all over the world they are human and don't know everything. I watched a documentary from the Ernaehrung docs from the 28th of this month with my chronic illness as a topic. I wish I could go see them, but they are a few hours away and my health insurance won't comp me for gas. Lol
Anyway has anyone ever heard of the confetti diet? I hate using the word diet for a way of healthy eating, but for lack of a bett word I'm using it.
It's basically concentrating on eating mostly veggies and fruits to use the anti oxidation in them. (ok my English has reached a wall not sure if I used that correctly.) Along with green tea, specific supplements and nuts it should help reduce inflammation and pain. Sounds solid since I always believed food can be the best medicine or the greatest poison.
Change in eating habits is tricky and tough. Luckily we darebees know of darebeets 😁. When it comes to eating more veggies they are a treasure trove of recipes.

I participated in the haunted hive boss battle today. 200 over head punches in total. Proud that I was able to do it. Sad that I won't be able to do anymore than that. Anything overhead does more harm than good if I do too much. I can already feel the tightening of muscles that will give way to pains and aches. Stretching is called for. Then breakfast. Yeah good plan.
 
Germanamazon

Germanamazon

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Warrior from Germany
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When you have a halfway good day. . Use it!!
I had a halfway good day today when I look at my pain and stiffness level. I definitely used this to my advantage. I did the starting point workout, 5 rounds. I did the level 2!! 😁 I'm usually at level 1. I told myself that if I can go to level 3 I will find a new workout. Almost made it!
Then came anywhere abs. Oh man my back! I feel good, did something for me and my mommy pooch. I might have to look for a different workout though. Any workout that agrivates my back is a no go in my book. I will wait an hour and then see how I feel.
Food wise was ok. Not the best, not the worst. Burgerking for lunch wasn't necessary, but hubby was hungry and I caved. Dinner tonight is a bell pepper skillet and chicken
Still figuring out this confetti diet I was recommended. I think first I will concentrate on adding more fruit and veggies to all meals and snacks. I have to check if darebee has a challenge for that. If not admins :approve: How about creating one? Pretty please.
 
Germanamazon

Germanamazon

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Life in autumn sucks right now. Pain management is almost next to zero. A dry autumn with no fog would be wonderful, but for that I would have to move. Germany and fogless autumns? Not happening. 😅
I am putting in great effort to exercise. I did 2 rounds of 10 back and side leg lifts. Helps the pain in my hips a tad. Getting in my steps, trying to keep up with walking. Trying to sleep the night. The usual.

Tomorrow I plan to do the workouts starting point and band it.
Anywhere abs on wednesday.
Then I will have to see how I am doing. Darebee has so many good programs. I will look into the easy ones. Maybe follow a 30 day program. I will keep posting here. One day it will show me.what helps and what hinders :typy:
 
Germanamazon

Germanamazon

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The lovely queit Sundays are the best!
It is foggy today and I was already on the go. Got myself a used mini stepper. With attached resistance bands. Looked up workouts for it and found about 25 youtube videos for the thing.
Pain management is bearable at the moment. I so miss the days where I can just get up and go. I so took those for granted. Then again I did not know what was coming. This is my first year with this diagnosis. This is also the year AS has decided to really show me how it can be, and I know it's not even at it's worse yet. Talk about your body giving you a wake up call since you have ignored the warning shots. 🤣
My morbid humor has not left me yet so all hope is not lost as of yet.

So let me focus a bit on what I would like to accomplish.
My birthday is literally just around the bend. I want to gift myself a hapoy, healthy and if anyhow possible a slender body. Since that is something I can't unwrapp and get now I know I have to really work on it. So it will be a gift to myself that will truly last in more ways than one.
I hate gyms. Mostly because I have having to go out to another building, see people that I have no idea who they are, just to be completely uncomfortable and slightly bored. I already tried that and I turned into a gym deadbeat.
So
With that knowledge. No gyms.
I like being outside when it is warm, I hate the cold. Exceptions are when I go to the woods to walk, go shopping on foot or go to the library cause parking is a bit away.
So I will use that knowledge as use it for me. That's why the stepper. No getting out of the house and no excuse for not doing something. Should help me build strong leg, butt, and back muscles too. Perfect for me especially for later in life.
Now to put all this together in a routine for myself that fits me.
Just kind of wish I could see what it would look like if I keep this up now as motivation.
 
neilarey

neilarey

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"Here to Serve."
Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday GIF by Babybluecat
 
Germanamazon

Germanamazon

Well-known member
Warrior from Germany
Posts: 112
Ok body,
Since when did the ability to single leg hop or calf rise leave us?! Here I am trying my best and it feels like you don't want to move, or can't move. Using both legs no biggie, just the right leg, hey works. Left leg? It's gone, just poof! Slightly frustrating love.
*sigh is this what AS looks like? Or is it one of the wonderful extras that comes along with it?
On the up side. Shoulder strength is booming. Upped my weight, and my reps. Yay!
Walking is doing OK. Rainy days are trouble though, but working on it. 😁
Food is good, not perfect. Don't want perfect. I want loads of anti-inflammatory, not perfection.
My vitamins are in check, love the ashwaganda, helps my mind. I'm thinking of adding Collagen. 🤔 should help joints and bones. Worth thinking about.
So for today I will get going. Have appointments to get to.
 
Germanamazon

Germanamazon

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It is the first of decemeber and the 1st Advent, christmas time has officially arrived.
I do not feel it since it has been up in the stores since the end of July! July bees!! So yeah Christmas spirit is lagging.
I have my advents Kranz done. Made it all myself, IMG-20241201-WA0002.jpeg
Need to get some black or red christmas ornaments tomorrow and put some on there. It's lagging a bit of contrasting color.
My goal for December is to do the fit December. Day 1 is done and accounted for 😁
I will also try some new vegan recipes. Thanks to a thread chat with our wonderful @neilarey and the tips of tofu to try and to just go for it. I will start with a recipe a week and build from there.
I have a family that isn't all to fond of change. Believe it or not married for over 20 years with 2 kids 11&7 (well almost 12&8), and two of them are super picky eaters. Only one of them is a kid 😉.
I have absolutely no problem with cooking two meals. If affordable. I do that fairly often to get some variety and to get the kids to try new things. We have the rule of a trial bite. So that means I need to meal plan and write a shopping list.

I have been reading around in a few check in logs. So many bees doing so many things! I found some inspiration here and there for myself. Planned out programs for a year, or a list of challenges they want to do, goals everywhere. Absolutely amazing. This place is my pick me up when my head is going down a dark path .

So now off O go, meal planning etc
 
Germanamazon

Germanamazon

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Posts: 112
Inhad a very good day! :move:
I did fit December day 2
I did day 2 of one and done
I did Band it level 1
And had a walk in rhe City.

I tried the banana bread Muffins from darebeets. So so good!
I made vegan shepherd's pie for my dinner, the fam got spaghetti and meatballs. :heartsit: lovely food all in all.
I was all in all vegan today. Not all too many changes with the things I usually eat. I already use oat milk instead or regular, instead of meat I used lentils for then pie today. Lunch was soup and sandwich. I had a vegan spread made of bell pepper and lentils, topped it with beets and seasoned it on some fresh bread. *chefs kiss*
That paired with a veggie broth soup with bak Choi and parsley. I was so satisfied. Oh and a orange as desert.
I planned my dinners for the week, so that I'm not scrambling when it's time to cook. I have to get some of that Taifun tofu that was recommended. I want to try the creamy eggplant with lentils this week too. 😋
 
Germanamazon

Germanamazon

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I am proud of myself.
I switched day 8 with 9 of fit December instead of letting it slide due to back pains. Living with A.S. has it's nuisances.
So far I have did my daily one and done challenge and did my fit in December daily. 8 consecutive days. On most days I did a second workout in the afternoon or had a long walk. Like today, walked around the flea market and then the christmas market with friends, then my other workouts in the evening before TV and quiet time. It's a huge thing for me keeping it up on the weekends. Shows my inner self that it is possible.
I will keep up my streak.
 
Germanamazon

Germanamazon

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What a change in my mental health I have been experiencing. It has been getting better on a daily basis. :yas:
I wonder if that is the reason behind my thought process today.

I want to change myself to a better me, my mental health is getting better, I would also love to improve my physical health. :plot:
Exercise is going very well, did my day 10 of O&D and FiD plus took a walk. Now I want to concentrate on my nutrition. Food can be your biggest health improvement or your hardest working poison.
I have absolutely no idea where to start though. So for now I will concentrate on adding more veggies and fiber as a start. Sounds good doesn't it? I feel concentrating on adding food instead of taking food away feels better. I hate the idea of forbidden foods. Makes me want to eat them just so much more.
Example: tonight I am cooking spaghetti Bolognese. I will add Zucchini noodles to the normal noodles. Maybe trade whole wheat for the normal noodles for me. They have more fiber that regular noodles.
After dinner I will sit down and write up what I could make tomorrow for my meals. Look up the macros etc. I already have a broad calorie and macro range for me (Depending on how fast I want to lose weight. Except that is not important at the moment). I already have tried a few darbeets recipes. The creamy eggplant with lentils was fabulous! The ones that I have tried and liked I will recook this week.
What else does one do to improve health? If anyone has tips, please I would love to see them.
 
Laura Rainbow Dragon

Laura Rainbow Dragon

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"Striving to be the change."
I like your approach to changing your diet. The more healthy food you eat, the less you will want to eat the less-healthy things. So that part almost takes care of itself in the end.

When I was looking to improve my diet (and also to lose some weight), two things that helped me a lot were 1.) committing to eating only homemade food, and 2.) committing to eating a salad a day. DAREBEE has Challenges to help you track these things:


(I see that you already do a lot of cooking. So you've already got a good start on this one.)



Of course, in 2024, it is pretty much impossible to eat 100% homemade all the time. So you decide in advance what exceptions you will allow. (For example: I allowed myself to keep eating commercially-prepared cheeses and hot sauces. But I switched to making my own salad dressings.) Then you do the best you can within the goals you have set for yourself.

The more we prepare our own food, the better control we have over the quality of that food. It can also really help with reducing the less-than-healthy eating without outright bans. (For example: Say you really love cookies. You don't want to say cookies are forbidden, because then you will just crave them all the time and probably give in at some point and eat them. But if you bake your own cookies, you can make them with less sugar than you would find in store-bought cookies. You can bake them with whole wheat and/or nut flours instead of refined wheat. So you still get to eat the treats that you love, but you've made them healthier.)

For my salad-a-day challenge I allowed myself to put pretty much whatever I wanted into my salads (fruit, cheese, nuts, seeds, fish, grains, etc.), so long as the bulk of the salad was some kind(s) of green vegetable, and any dressing was homemade. I had my salad for lunch because, at the time, I was responsible for feeding my father most days and he would not go for eating just salad for dinner. (For lunch he mostly just ate a hard-boiled egg, or a handful of peanuts. So I would give him that and then make my own lunch anyhow. So switching out my old lunches for a salad was a lot easier than trying to do the salad for dinner when I would also need to cook something for my father.) I also challenged myself to eat a different salad every day for the first month, so I would not get bored. Then I asked my fellow Bees for suggestions of their favourite salads. I learned some tasty new recipes this way!

On the exercise front: you are already doing the most important thing by being consistent! Adapting as you need to, but doing something every day is key to long-term success.
 
Germanamazon

Germanamazon

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Warrior from Germany
Posts: 112
I am busting with pride.
Living with A.S. isn't easy, on a lot of days it is hardly bearable. The aches and pains that come with it on a daily basis can really. . . Yeah let's not go there.

Today I am bursting with pride in myself. Haven't had that feeling on a bit.
I am on day 11 on one & done and fit in December. Plus I accomplished my goal of 500 kicks for my Christmas ornament. 🎄 All this on a high pain day (My level 8). My back is killing me and I did my things anyway. (Ok FiD was a hallpass day, but done is done!) :hooray:

For today I have done enough.
Tomorrow I have an appointment with my doctor. Need to tell him about the pain increase etc.
Rest of my early evening I will read and crochet. I feel good. 😁
 
Germanamazon

Germanamazon

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Warrior from Germany
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Well, today my doctor was more drug dealer than doctor. I know he can't help it, he's kind of done everything he can do. I have to give the meds "time to work". I have been taking the one for over 3 months, the fast acting one for 3 weeks now, and my hip and lower back still make standing or sitting for long hours very painful. :mad: So IBU 600, 2 times a day, up to 4 times a day. The only solution he had.
I am frustrated. Short and simple.
So today I did a short day. Due to lack of a other way of saying it.
I did:
O&D day 12
FiD day 12
Lugged 3 boxes of wood up one set of stairs.
No deep cleaning and no long walks. I let my hip rest a bit. Let's see how it feels tomorrow.
My plan for tomorrow is:
O&D day 13
FiD day 13
Band it level 1
Anywhere abs level 1

Let's see how I am feeling/doing tomorrow. It is my lucky day.
 
Germanamazon

Germanamazon

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Warrior from Germany
Posts: 112
Wow day 16 of the one and done challenge and fit in December. I have done each day so far without skipping a day, and only used one hallpass so far.
I was so happy I started wondering what should I do when these two are done. It's hard to choose the next 30 day program cause on some days I can do level 3 workouts, but most days only level 2.
Taking that into consideration, I chose foundation as my 30 day program and epic legs as my challenge. Foundation I will switch between level 1 and 2, on really good days I'll aim for level 3. :muahaha:

I will also have a go at the only homemade for 15 days, and the no junk food challenge for 30, except both more as a streak challenge. So no diligence for the complete time, just a see how long we can do this at one go thing. That way I stay cool and don't zoom in on what I can't eat and then want it even more. I have a problem with "verboten". My inner kid goes nuts when I say something is a solid no.
This time around I have everything printed out so I won't forget it. Bad case of out of eye out of mind (Thank you A.S.). I will hang the printed trackers on my kitchen cabinets where I see them first thing in the morning.
I think I have my bases covered for success.
 
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