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THIS is how you start a day!…

Posted by beautifullystrong in Uncategorized

I must admit to you all that the last month I have been a little bit of a “whiney b:+@h”, as you can probably tell from my “wahh wahh” blog posts about my injuries, hehe :-p Well, I have been, I’ll admit…but a girl can change. The other night, while sitting at the top of Elings Park with my ridiculously good-looking husband, watching my most-rad-ever dog run in psycho circles foaming from the mouth (from excitement…not rabies), while the bright orange sun was setting over  Pacific Ocean and the Santa Barbara Mesa….I realized that I had lost my grateful feelings…

I KNOW! HOW could I NOT be grateful in a setting like that?! This chick is CRAZY! But guys…I just let life stuff bog me down, work stuff, relationship stuff, grocery stuff, dishes stuff…etc etc, the list goes on. I was nose to nose with the most ginormous tree ever…and couldn’t see the beautiful fern gully-esque forest around me.

My always-so-brilliant husband reminded me that I haven’t done my “gratitudes” in quite some time, and that maybe I needed to revisit them. He reminded me how hard it is to be anything BUT happy when you are saying “thank you”…or thinking about McMillan…as we both look over at him and he’s drooling and grinning. I smile. It’s true…how can you not be happy when you’re thinking of him…or ANY ONE of the MILLION’S of things in my life I have to be thankful for. As we sat at the top of Elings Park I started listing things I was grateful for. “I’m grateful for this…sitting snuggled up with you, watching our dog run around happy as ever.”  “Babe, how about you take McMill for a walk tomorrow morning, and do your gratitudes? On the way to the end of the road, you list what you’re grateful for right now…on the way back, what you’re grateful for that’s coming INTO your life”.

The next morning, my bed felt EXTRA cozy. The room felt EXTRA cold. I may have even “woke up” and then went back to bed… Nick was smart; he prepared a hot cup of tea for me, ready to go, and lured me to the front door with it…along with McMill.

The Mesa extra foggy…and at 6am, there was no one in site. The only sounds I could hear were that of the fountain in our neighbors yard, and the birds in the trees. I started counting gratitudes…

…the more I listed, the easier it got…before I knew it, I was at the end of the street, and it was time to be thankful for that coming into my life. By the way, this is probably my favorite part of the activity. You say thank you for things you WANT in your life, as if it is already in your life. For example: Thank you for our new Chiropractic Assistant _____, who is SUCH a rock star and creates so much more texture and positive energy in our practice!  (we do not yet have a new CA…follow me? :) )

I find that by the time I get to the end of our driveway, I’m not ready to go in, I could sit there and say “thank you’s” all day long… but I continue on up our driveway, up the stairs to my front door…and I am greeted by my hubs…and I’m wearing a huge smile.

It may only be ten minutes of your day…and there may be “stuff” that comes up throughout the day…but from a girl who was hanging on for dear life at the end of her rope…trust me when I say that someway, somehow it gives your more patience, more kindness, and more grace in those tough moments.

THIS is how you start a day, folks…whether those thank you’s come when you’re still lying in bed…or over coffee at your kitchen table…or hell, even when you’re sitting in the bathroom…do what you gotta do…but try to get it done :)

Much love,

Jen

Injuries and Olympics

Posted by beautifullystrong in Uncategorized and tagged with , , , , , , ,

In light of the frustration I’ve been feeling lately about hurting myself over and over in the gym… and of course the Olympics (trust me, this will make sense…)…I’d like to discuss with you my recent brilliant idea… :-p

This past Saturday I came to the 9am class at Innate, like usual, and proceeded to whoop my own butt, like usual! One of the movements in the workout was a standing med ball throw (more like HURL…or CHUCK!) at a wall. My team chose a 14# med ball. Now, while doing the standing med ball throw, Andrew continuously said to me, “check your alignment, Jen. Square your hips!” (We have great coaches at Innate who care about your well-being, AND your spine!) I honestly didn’t know how to do that…I continued rotating MASSIVELY at the waist, and hurling this #14 ball as hard as I could at the wall.

Later that day, which seemed as if “out of nowhere” my back gave out on me. There was nothing directly tied to it to make me associate it with any particular movement. I felt like I was officially in a body cast of pain. The next day I ended up stealing Nick’s massage to try to loosen everything up around my spine so that I could get a better adjustment…and alas the massage and adjustment left me feeling a wee bit better. This all lead to ANOTHER conversation of frustration with Nick (not WITH Nick, the conversation was with him though… :-p) in that I’m SICK of HURTING MYSELF!!! Nick very gently played with my hair and assured me that he understood why I would be so frustrated…that HAS to be super frustrating…(way to validate, baby…way to validate :) ). Where we went from there was this…

…while I maybe (I accent on MAYBE) could be a higher than average athlete compared to the “average American”…out of the pool of athletes…I am (and I quote, this came out of my mouth today…) “the lowest of the low”. Damn girl, why are you so hard on yourself? This is actually a fact. The MAJORITY of athletes who are my age, have been an athlete since they were small. They MOVE like athletes; they have learned how to use their body to access the most strength, power and agility. A seasoned athlete would have done that same standing med-ball throw, and moved THROUGH his/her legs and hips…instead of essentially doing standing med-ball throwing twist spasms…ahem…like me. Nick explained to me that I am unusual in that I was NEVER an athlete, and then I was an athlete in one of the most intense sports out there…I dont’ necessarily know my body yet…which is why I am learning the hard way day after day after day. So, what am I going to do?…

…Nick suggest that I join a sport (other than Crossfit, I know that is a sport…) which will teach me foot work and how to move my body like an athlete. HE suggests tennis…ehhhh…while I want to learn tennis, I don’t get all excited and fired up about it. So here is where the Olympics tie in…

We were watching the Olympics on Sunday night, and the women’s rowing competition came on. Oh mannnnnn, I would be SUCH a good rower! I am long and lean, and I have a pretty decent 500m row time…not bad for a novice…imagine what I could do with a little practice! However, before I could jump into a regatta, I realized that there really is NOTHING available in this area for the average adult, post-collegiate career, to join a team. Ehh! Unless any of you know how I could do that??….

The other thought I had was…da da da DAH!!!…BOXING! Yes…boxing. I think I could be a BAD-ASS BOXER… There are plenty of places in Santa Barbara for me to access some training in that area…so, that may be the thing for me.

In the meantime, I’m working on lengthening my hamstrings, doing some gentle yoga…and trying not to beat myself up for not working out right now. Listening to the Olympians last night, they have rehab on lock-down at this point in their careers..what do all of YOU do for rehab when you hurt yourself? I would LOVE to know!

Much love,

Jen

Just DO it!

Posted by beautifullystrong in Eat Well and tagged with , , , ,

After 3 whole years of living the Paleo/Crossfit lifestyle, I have FINALLY started reading “The Paleo Solution”….SHAME! SHAME!! I know…I know…at least I’m reading it NOW!

While I was scanning the book and flipping to the implementation chapter (I’m just not one for much “science”, haha)…I started wondering where in the book I could find information for:

-helping family members get started

-convincing them I’m not crazy….and to just try it for themselves for ONE month (I know you don’t think I’m crazy, but there has to be a littttttle bit of “that chick is whack” in your mind, or else I wouldn’t be writing this post :) )

-helping people understand that this is a lifestyle, and it may take some time (it’s not a shake that comes in all kinds of flavors and promises to make you lose 40 pounds in a month)

-Convincing family who live in places like, ohhh…Caribou, Maine…that regardless of produce selection, there ARE ways to go about this lifestyle.

Now mom, dad and Justin…this is NOT a pick-on-you sort of thing…at all! I GET that there is not as much of a selection up in the ‘Bou…I know this because when Nick and I go to visit, we stop in Portland, ME at the nearest Whole Foods for groceries…

…folks, Portland is 6 hours away…

I just want to be able to answer these kind of questions for ANYONE who may be feeling these things…especially for my family, because I want you to live a LONGGGGGG, happy life. Mom, maybe this will speak more to YOUR values…I want you to play for a LONGGG time with your future grand kids who are not in existence right now, but I KNOWWWW you’re really excited for… soon!!…from Justin :) )

So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and contact the source!! I emailed Robb Wolf, and since Robb is a super busy guy, I got an email from his assistant, Chris. Here are some of the resources he provided me:

~ This is an AWESOME site called www.localharvest.org, in which you can plug in your town and there will be a list of local produce/meat/dairy farmers and providers in your neck of the woods for you to contact! Just for shits and giggles, I plugged in “Caribou, ME”: here is what I found (MOM!) :) :

http://www.localharvest.org/search.jsp?map=1&lat=46.84778&lon=-68.010475&scale=9&nm=&zip=04736

Go ahead and try it with your OWN town! (Mom, just click on that link :) )

~Can’t find anything near you on the site? You’re in luck! They have a “store” where you can buy things that may not be local for you:

http://www.localharvest.org/store/

Now, is this going to be more expensive than shopping at the local grocery store? OF COURSE IT WILL! I need you to look yourself in the mirror right now and ask yourself this question, however:

“Am I willing to pay for my health now? or pay for my sickness later?”

Don’t be a procrastinator.

~Another option for healthy meat would be http://www.grasslandbeef.com. Pick out the meat, and they will mail it directly to your door!

~Of course there is always the option of the grocery store, and picking out the best that you can. Look for grass-fed, organic meats, and pasture-raised (or free-range) poultry. As far as eggs go, look for pasture-raised (or again, free-free, or cage-free) and organic eggs…always best, however, from a farmer so you can grill them on how they raise their chickens. Maybe I will do a follow up on what specific things to ask a farmer when looking for healthy meats and eggs…hmmm.

Finally, Chris mentioned that Robb’s Paleo Diet Budget Shopping Guide is super helpful, so if you want to buy that, you can do that right here: http://robbwolf.com/shop/products/paleo-diet-budget-grocery-shopping/.

Finally, I often hear, “I just can’t eat that way…I just don’t know what to eat!”

Here’s a question for you, have you ever had bacon and eggs for breakfast? yes? How about a salad for lunch…? yeahhh? Okay, how about a steak and some veggies for dinner? YEAH?! Well, congratulations, you are bonified Paleo eater! Now…we just need to work on stringing them together!

Here are some other awesome resources to get you started:

www.simplypaleo.com (my sister from another mother’s blog…she’s a DAMN good chef!)

www.everydaypaleo.com

www.nomnompaleo.com

www.paleomg.com

Now guys, if you feel that this blog is talking right to you…it’s probably because it is…Take it this way, it means I super love you and want all of you to be as healthy as possible (this does not JUST include my family ps:). Since I’ve started this lifestyle I have gained an amount of health I didn’t even know was possible…so OF COURSE I want that for you as well!

If you live in the Santa Barbara area, and you just don’t have a flippin’ clue what I’m talking about with this Paleo Diet thing…you either,

a) have never read my blog before, or…

b) just still don’t know how to implement it.

If your answer was B, Nick and I are having a Paleo Diet workshop here at the office on August 8th at 6:30pm. We will talk about the what, the how and all the science and tips in between. Check us out August 8th at 6:30 at Santa Barbara Family Chiropractic (360 S. Hope Ave C100 in SB).

Feel free to shoot me an email (jen@thebeautifullystrong.com) if you have any questions that you don’t want everyone else to read!

With love and health,

Jen

What moves you?

Posted by beautifullystrong in Move Well and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

This song is one of the MANY bad-ass songs that I watched the Crossfitters working HARD to during the Games (and incase you haven’t seen the video, it’s really strange, and I thought I would share…). I remember standing under the punishing sun, whimpering a little bit, watching these people working as hard as they ever have, regardless of the heat (because unlike me, they are not a bunch of pansies who can’t even just STAND in the sun)…and then found myself  full fledge “fence dancing” (I was leaning against a fence…:)) because EVERY SINGLE song that was played during the weekend was AMAZING!

Music has an interesting power, doesn’t it? You could be having a super “off” day, or even working pretty hard during your WOD, but then all of a sudden the right song comes on, and you’re like “OHHHH YEAH!!!!” and all of a sudden Fran has become your little bitch.

Since we are all here to improve and find ways to make working out a little easier…(at least some of you are looking for that, anyway)  here are a few that do that for me:

- Rock that body by Black Eyed Peas

- Nasty Girl by Nitty (bonus if paired with “Nasty Girls”)

- Remember the name by Fort Minor

- Sexy and I know it by LMFAO

- My Chick Bad by Ludacris

- Anything Lil’ Wayne, Eminem, or could be categorized by “hate music” essentially :) …and apparently afer reviewing my list, I like songs that whisper sweet sublimitives to me that I am truly one bad-ass woman :)

 

So now is the fun part… let’s share! I want to know what songs really get you going HARD, and then we can make one BIG playlist that keeps us pushing our edge throughout all our workouts (sorry guys, but the random disco songs on the playlists at the gym are just no longer doing it for me :-p)

 

3, 2, 1….GO!

Almost Famous :)

Posted by beautifullystrong in Uncategorized and tagged with , , , , ,

I’m taking today’s post to spot light my soul sister, Kelly Kirlin, and her new business Tres Belle Photography (with photographer Rebecca Farmer). Anyone hear of boudoir?? Oh yeah? It’s allllllll the rage right now :-p…but seriously, it seems to be…FYI: Kelly and Rebecca started this up before boudoir was “hot”…just sayin’.

This month they are printing their first ever print ad in C Wedding Magazine, and the “model” in the ad is ME!!! Whoop whoop!! While I will not be putting the ad up in my post (my hubs was a wee bit uncomfortable with it :-p…which I unnnndderrrstand!), I’ve got some teasers for you, to show you the gift of photography that Kelly and Rebecca have going on.

Here are a few teasers:

*If you want to see the ad, it’s in C Wedding magazine this month…on shelves now*

Très Belle is a Santa Barbara based photo studio owned by Kelly Kirlin and Rebecca Farmer. We are creating elegant, vintage inspired and custom tailored boudoir imagery with an emphasis on photographing brides to be (however, not necessary to be a bride-to-be!). We offer photo packages that include beautiful custom designed sets, professional hair and make-up and champagne in a private studio close to the beach. Come play, be pampered, and feel Tres Belle! 

The day of the shoot, I was there with a group of my besties…hanging out, sipping champagne, snacking paleo style, getting our hair and makeup done by a pro and supporting the HELL out of each other! Every outfit someone put on, there was nothing but OOOOHHHHs and AHHHHs…you left that changing room feeling like a rock star GODDESS!! THEN…you get behind the camera, and Kelly and Rebecca are constantly telling you how beautiful and sexy you are…and immediately, all thoughts of shyness or discomfort for being in your underwear in front of a whole room of people…are gone. They are genius at what they do, and I wanted to do this write up today to support my friend, of course…but I truly, 100% believe in their gift, and I wanted to share that with all of you.

So you’ve been working hard for that body of yours…maybe you don’t have a special REASON to get a shoot done right now…but what better reason than to capture your hard work in print? You’ve busted your butt with squats, tightened your calves with all those sprints and double unders, sculpted your abs with those overhead squats and knees to elbows…

…show it off girl!

SO!!! Lucky you!! If you call Tres Belle Photography (805-669-7145) and tell them that you heard about them from The Beautifully Strong Project, you will receive 15% off the Princess Package:

Princess Package: $850
Fee includes:

  • Two set-ups and 2 outfit changes at Tres Belle’s private studio in Santa Barbara
  • Hair and make-up done by professional stylists in the photo industry
  • Same day viewing of images
  • Selection of 20 high resolution and fully retouched images (more images can be purchased a la carte if desired)
  • 3 custom designed wallet sized accordion booklets to give as a gift to your man (and of course keep a couple for      yourself)
  • $75 credit towards other prints and/or products
  • A bottle of champagne to lighten the mood!

That is an all around savings of $125!!! Round up a group of girlfriends, and find a reason to go out and buy some “pretty things” :)

Much love,

Jen

 

Dating…FOR TIME!

Posted by beautifullystrong in Think Well and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Okay, this post is for all you single Crossfitting hotties out there…

Did you know this existed?!…

…http://www.datewod.com/ 

…which has a tag line of “If you Snatch…we MATCH!”…which reminds me of the latest dirty bird shirt that I saw at the CF Games (“Snatch is Paleo” dirrrrty…but true, is it not?)…

…but seriously…how much are you kicking yourself right now for not coming up with this idea first?? A bunch of growth oriented, hot bodied, sweat machines (well, that may not be super sexy) looking for others of the like. Uh DUH…how has there not been a site like this sooner?

 If you Crossfit, and you aren’t finding what you want at your own box…(he he..box, sorry)…get on datewod.com :) Just helpin’ a fellow CF’er out :)

This could be you!

Much love,

Jen

“I think I want to do Bikram again!”

Posted by beautifullystrong in Move Well and tagged with , , , ,

This morning on our way to work, out of the blue, I say to Nick,

“I think I’m going to start doing some Bikram again…”

This seemed to be a little out of no where for Nick…maybe even myself. I was thinking recently that I needed to “crosstrain” (isn’t Crossfit sort of the DEFINITION of crosstraining?? What does someone do to crosstrain when they Crossfit?!). While I was scanning through the good ole’ FB this morning, I noticed my friend Stephanie posted one of my old blog post videos on someone’s wall…and guess what it was? My old Bikram vlog post. After watching it, I’m not 100% I’m convinced I WANT to try it again…but I may have to now, just to prove to myself it won’t kill me…or at least make another interesting video :)

Enjoy :)


 

 

PS: Nick and I are traveling down to LA tonight to begin our LONG weekend of CROSSFIT!!!!! The 2012 Crossfit Games begin on Friday at 8am (well, it actually started Wednesday, but for spectators…), and that is where we will be from Friday 8am to Sunday 8pm :) If you are watching on ESPN3.com…cheer a little harder for Alicia Gomes (our trainer back in Beverly, MA), she’s amazing!!!!

 

Much love,

 

Jen

Toxic Relationships…

Posted by beautifullystrong in Eat Well and tagged with , , , ,

Naturally, I’m talking about coffee :)

You know how most blogs sort of talk about one theme, but have these “tangent” topics? Example: There is this blog that I absolutely love that talks about being a mom, and a wife, and all the fun, crazy things that happen while raising a family…but then she has (whether it’s on purpose or not, I have no clue) a tangent topic about the show, “the Bachelor”. Are you with me? I believe, that MY tangent topic, as of probably today…is coffee.

I have found in my email inbox, but yet again, an article on coffee…why to love it, why to hate it, why it’s healthy, why it’s killing you, why to drink it, why to ditch it…I’ve seen them all.

Chances are if you are reading this either you or someone you care about is sick, inflamed, hormonally imbalanced, nutritionally compromised, overworked, stressed out, fatigued, depressed, and toxic. Coffee is not part of the medicine required for your healing.

Chances are, they’re right! Here they are…the 10 reasons why you should QUIT coffee…

Here are 10 reasons why:

1. The caffeine in coffee increases catecholamines, your stress hormones. The stress response elicits cortisol and increases insulin. Insulin increases inflammation, and this makes you feel lousy.

Yeah…I really don’t need any additional stress…who does?! I was told recently, that coffee is supposed to react in our body to make us believe we are being chased by a tiger…um…no thanks?

2. Habituation to caffeine decreases insulin sensitivity, making it difficult for your cells to respond appropriately to blood sugar. High blood sugar levels lead to arterial deterioration and increased risk of mortality related to cardiovascular disease.

Oh, hello diabetes…

3. Unfiltered coffee has the highest amount of beneficial antioxidants yet also leaks the most diterpenes into your system. These diterpenes have been linked to higher levels of triglycerides, LDL and VLDL levels.

Okay, I don’t have a clue what this means…but it sounds bad…

4. The helpful chlorogenic acids that may delay glucose absorption in the intestine have also been shown to increase homocysteine levels — an indicator for increased risk of cardiovascular disease, which tends to be elevated in diabesity.

….even worse?…

5. The acidity of coffee is associated with digestive discomfort, indigestion, heart burn, GERD and dysbiosis (imbalances in your gut flora).

Ah yes, this I CAN attest to. I don’t think I ever feel GOOD after coffee…but my heart feels warmer :)

6. Addiction is often an issue with coffee drinkers and makes it really difficult to rely on the body’s natural source of energy. Ask any coffee drinker about how it feels to withdraw from coffee, and you will mistake their story for that of a drug addict’s…

…I asked Nick once if there was an AA for coffee :( This is shameful …

7. Associative addictions trend with coffee — who doesn’t immediately think of warm, frothy sweet cream and sugar when they picture coffee? Surely the business of coffee has inspired a culture addicted to the sugary, fatty tastes of what has become more of a meal than a drink! That morning latte is the epitome of food lacking nutrition density yet packing energy!

…Those coffee marketing bastards…

8. 5-HIA, an organic acid and component of the neurotransmitter serotonin (the happy chemical) seen in the urine tends to be elevated in coffee drinkers, which means they may be at risk for lower levels of serotonin synthesis in the brain. Serotonin is necessary for normal sleep, bowel function, mood, and energy levels. It is a vicious cycle, as caffeine can disrupt sleep and promote anxiety and depression. We all know someone who tends to be tired, wired and over-caffeinated!

…How often do you hear people say they use coffee TO go to the bathroom…this is definitely a vicious cycle. You start drinking coffee, you have lower bowel function, you start drinking MORE coffee to try to rev up your bowel function…this seems to work for a while…then it decreases again, you up your coffee…you get the point? (apparently, my other tangent topic is bowel function…:-\)

9. Elevated urinary excretion of important minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium have been noted in coffee drinkers. An imbalance in your electrolyte status can lead to serious systemic complications.

Osteoporosis?

10. Constituents in coffee can interfere with normal drug metabolism and detoxification in the liver, making it difficult to regulate the normal detoxification process in the liver. Another issue to be aware of with coffee intake is how certain medications such as levothyroxine (thyroid) as well as tricyclic antidepressants are poorly absorbed, making symptoms curiously worse for patients.

So there you have it…a list of reasons that sound terrifying…another thing to think about when you step up to the Starbucks counter. Should I? Shouldn’t I?

*You can read the rest of the article HERE*

 

Much love,

Jen

Taking personal responsibility…and potty talk

Posted by beautifullystrong in Eat Well, Move Well and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

I have been asked on numerous accounts why I am doing the candida diet. The number one (and probably ONLY reason) I started the candida diet is because (I’m going to get REALLY honest with you right now…) I have had digestive issues since college…

My senior year of college, shit hit the fan in my life (family, school, relationship,friendships, not knowing what I wanted to do with my life, etc, etc…you know, the normal stuff!) and my poor body could only handle the stress I was going through by deciding to seize all function of my digestive system. I was in and out of specialists for a year (my lowest low was having an “examination” (digestive system…take a gander at where that exam was taken…) by a 70 year old man…lowwww low). I was drugged up, knocked out, and had the pleasure (*puke*) of experiencing my first ever colonoscopy at the ripe age of 22. The final diagnosis was IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). What’s a girl to do with that information??!   I was terrified to eat ANYTHING; I was constantly full of fear. It got to a bad point where I was only eating about 500 calories a day (not on purpose…just because everything was making me sick!). That 500 calories usually came in the form of a Smart One (the broccoli and cheddar potatoes :-p).

I was CONSTANTLY on the lookout for some MAGIC PILL that would get rid of my digestive issues.

*In walks Nicholas Araza*

Through Nick I learned all about the Paleo diet, and it completely changed my world. I started exercising…uh duh, I think we know how that affected my world. I started getting adjusted. All three of these things have COMPLETELY changed my world for the better…including my digestive issues. I no longer FEAR eating (I am actually quite OBSESSED with it, thank you!) and I haven’t had an “episode” in a couple years. Phew! :)

So why the candida diet… well…while my guts are much happier, they are not 100% better. I have messed up my guts for the majority of my life…and while changing my diet, exercising and getting adjusted has stopped it from getting worse I’m sure…I have lost a LOT of integrity of my gut lining. In laymen’s terms: my guts are screwed. Presently :-p I was hoping that the candida diet would clean up the last of those bad bugs because since adding exercise to my life, my bad guts have posed a WHOLE other kind of problem…

If I, or anyone, is unable to keep their abs tight while doing Crossfit…you are essentially efffffffffffffed. There is WEIGHT you’re lifting, weird positions you’re getting into, high repetition of exercises, BURPEES, full extension of exercises…etc, etc. If you are unable to protect your spine during these exercises, you are GOING to get hurt…period. WELL…unfortunately, when you have inflamed guts due to something you ate, or bad bugs that are taking over your guts…you cannot properly protect your spine, and you get yourself in the predicament I have been putting myself in for the last year and a half…which is constantly hurting myself, over and over again. 

back pain

Here’s where some venting comes in: people constantly ASSUME that since I am married to a chiropractor I don’t EVER have back pain, that I have a BEAUTIFUL spine, and la da da…well, not exactly. I met Nick in 2009, and I was diagnosed with a Phase 1 subluxation…borderline phase 2. My spine was as straight as a rod…and I have a congenital scoliosis in my mid-back. Not the “ideal chiropractor’s wife spine”…sorry to disappoint. We have made AMAZING changes so far (I literally started crying when I saw my most recent progress x-rays, I was so happy)…but as magical as my husband (or ANY chiropractor for that matter) is…he’s not a magician…and in order for him to do his job the best he can, I NEED to stop hurting myself!!!! Which in short means (because after many, many discussions, we both believe is mainly related to my irritated guts)…I need to stop messing up my guts, and I need to KEEP working on PERFECTING my form in the gym (and in life for that matter!).

I started the candida diet on June 25th, and then decided to have some homemade coconut ice cream this past Saturday (that would be TOTALLY okay if I were not doing the candida) that was topped with homemade whipped cream (this would NOT be okay even if I WASN’T doing the candida) and let me tell you…that whipped cream EFFED me. I have been feeling it since Saturday. Yesterday was a workout with burpees and pull-ups (my two biggest offenders)…so last night I was laying in bed, complaining and whimpering because my back was in so much pain. I’m frustrated. I feel like I should be stronger, I feel like I should be able to go faster, I feel like I should be able to do MORE reps; it’s hard to do that when you start progressing, then jack yourself, you know?

Let me tell you THIS much…I am SO grateful that I AM married to a chiropractor…I can’t imagine doing this, and learning this journey without my sweet, sweet husband to clean up after me. Tip, however: do not use your chiropractor as a custodian for your injuries and then wonder why you’re not getting the results you want. Clean up your own messes, prevent messes, and do what your chiropractor says! :)

Anyway, the point of this post was a vent, mostly. I needed to be honest and “out” myself…I DON’T, yet, have a perfect spine…I don’t, yet, do the movements perfectly…and I still hurt myself…kind of often :-\ I, too, am working on my health everyday. I, too, am on this journey with you.

With love,

Jen