Where Have I Been?

Hello world, I'm writing this from bed, which is where I've spent the most time these last 4 days? 5 days? I'm not even sure how many days, because it's been so horrible. I spent half the time at the hospital and the other half at the neurologist office. Now I'm battling with this nasty feeling, because the IV drips at the hospital caused so much water retention I feel like a balloon. I suffer from migraines and I have for years, but in most instances I can work through them, and they are somewhat bearable,  but Monday night before I went to bed, I started seeing spots and then I lost complete peripheral vision. I knew that meant that a migraine was coming within 30 minutes(bless auras). So I took some maxalt and went to bed thinking that I had stopped the migraine and would be fine by morning....wrong! I could barely lift my head off the pillow, I knew I needed to call off work, but my boss sent me a text message saying that he needed me in the office. I showered and got dressed in the dark, drove to work at 6am with my sunglasses on, because the headlights on the cars behind me were making my head feel as if it would explode. Anyway, I got to work and did what my boss needed me to do and as I was making my way back to my desk, I collapsed,  completely broke down and was on the floor. I have never ever in my life experienced this type of pain, and the worst part is that I felt trapped at work, because there was no way I could drive in that condition. I took another maxalt pill and called Yuta crying hysterically(which I'm sure was not helping the migraine situation). He's so damn wonderful that he stopped doing something very important to come take me to the hospital. That is where I spent most of Tuesday. I was discharged Tuesday night, but had to go right back on Wednesday morning. I was now vomiting and I can't even describe what my head felt like. It was like someone stuck nails all over my head and took 10 hammers and started to bang the nails in....at the same time. Back at the hospital they decided to give me a MRI and a CT scan, which put me in a panic, because my mind goes to the scariest place no matter what it is. I was convinced it was some kind of brain tumor, which of course was ridiculous. Turns out it started as a migraine, then I got a rebound migraine, followed by a cluster headache.  Sounds as painful as it was I can assure you. So Wednesday was also spent at the hospital ALL day. I was discharged into the care of my neurologist who has been managing(or trying to) my migraine meds, which I'm limited on what I can take, because of hypertension issues. Thursday and Friday were spent playing around with different levels of medication, and trying to get it right. It is now Saturday morning and I have been pain free for a whole 24 hours and I'm feeling so much better. I haven't been on social media much and I miss everyone. I'm just happy that I feel like I can start back living and I'm trying not to be so scared that it'll happen again. My family and friends were so supportive and caring. They kind of put their lives and jobs on hold this past week to make sure I was okay. I could not have asked God to bless me with better people in my life. I'll be back to my normal routine today which is exciting.  Well, that's the story of where I've been. Let's hope I don't have to go back!

Society's Standards Or Your Standards?

If you turn on the television or flip through many magazines you can find yourself thinking that you are not thin enough or pretty enough. These are all based on society's standards for beauty. I will admit that at one point in my life I almost fell victim to this. I wondered if my body was ugly according to society. I work in the health care field and I've been seeing more and more girl's between the ages of 13-15 being diagnosed with anorexia. It's so incredibly sad that our youth does not have the confidence to be comfortable in their own body. I had the opportunity to talk to one of these girls and she told me that the reason she exercised non-stop and cut her calories is because she doesn't look like a model. She started pointing out parts on her body that she wasn't happy with and where she saw fat, I saw skin. It broke my heart that she couldn't see what she was doing to her body and her health. She was bradycardic and malnourished, but here she was standing in the mirror and she saw herself as ugly and fat. Something has to be done about this. It's time for us to teach our youth that being healthy is most important. Their bodies are still growing and the damage that they are doing to them now, can last a lifetime. It becomes not only a physical illness, but a mental illness that can and probably will follow them for a lifetime.  It's time for us all to stop trying to live up to society's standards and start living up to our own.

Zumba!

Love Love Love Love Love. I've been asking myself for the last 3 weeks: "Where has this been my entire life?!?" It is exercise in disguise for sure! I take classes 3 times a week at my dance studio and I also have the Zumba Exhilarate DVD set. I can not go through a day without doing it. It is incredibly fun and effective. I can feel my core strength improving and my legs are getting more toned. The thing I like the most about Zumba is that it gives me the same intensity as running on the treadmill or elliptical for an hour, I sweat just as much as I do at the gym, but the difference is....THIS IS SO MUCH FUN! You don't need to be an excellent dancer to catch on and you don't have to get the moves right in order for it to be effective, the key to Zumba is DON'T STOP MOVING! If you find yourself off with the moves, make up your own and you'll still get an amazing workout.

Now, for some facts about Zumba. This fitness "party" was created by Colombian dancer and choreographer Alberto "Beto" Perez during the 1990s.  Zumba incorporates dance and aerobic elements. Hip-hop, soca, salsa, merengue, bollywood and belly dancing are all a part of the Zumba experience. A lot of different celebrities have praised Zumba for it's effectiveness and entertainment values. You're going to get a lot of core work, leg work, arm work and glute work.  It really is a complete and full body workout.

My favorite Zumba instructors from the DVD are Tanya Beardsley and Gina Grant. I'm excited to get home and put in my DVD and get instructions from these 2 amazing women. They seriously make an intense 45 minute workout seem like it's 10 minutes. The music is amazing and it really gets you moving and you'll find yourself smiling the entire time. What is there not to love? Losing weight and having fun...sounds like a win-win situation to me!

What are you waiting for? Join the Zumba party! Check it out!

Until next time~

Special K...good or bad?

I mentioned in my last entry about how I've been eating healthier and exercising and I wanted to let you guys in on one of my many secret "diet" weapons. Special K products. I was skeptical at first because we all know that "diet" food is sometimes misleading. Special K has made a believer out of me. I'll list some of their products that I'm currently using.

Breakfast Foods:
Chocolately Delight cereal
Chocolately Strawberry (Limited Edition) cereal
Cinnamon Pecan cereal
Sausage, Egg and Cheese Flatbread sandwich

Protein:
Protein Shakes(Strawberry, Chocolate, French Vanilla)-so so so so good. All of them!
Protein Water Mix(Pink Lemonade, Strawberry Kiwi)- I haven't tried the Strawberry Kiwi yet,
but I can tell you that the Pink Lemonade is really good, especially if you're like me and have a hard time drinking plain old water!)

Bars:
Chocolately Pretzel
Blueberry
-there are many other flavors that I haven't tried yet, but I will soon.

****Bad product review(maybe, bad is a harsh word...it's just my personal preference. I don't really care for the protein bars. They taste a little chalk-like and gritty to me, and I was actually very surprised because it was the first time I encountered a product from them that I didn't enjoy)****

Snacks:
Pastry Crisps(all of them)
Popcorn Chips
Cracker Chips
Brownie Bites

Those listed above are just a few of the many products that Special K offers those of us who are looking to lead a healthier lifestyle. I wouldn't be able to make it through my 2 hour workouts in the morning without Special K. They have products that fuel me before working out and then re-fuel me when I'm done. I don't consider it to be "diet" food, it's good, nutritious, healthy food and who doesn't love to eat food that not only tastes good, but is good for you?

I'll leave you with a warning...Any food you eat, diet or not loses it's effectiveness if you consume too much of it. In other words, no matter how good they taste...don't eat 4 packs of Brownie Bites. You'll be defeating the purpose! :)

Until next time~

Are You...Getting Enough Sleep?

I work full-time 40-50 hours a week. My work day starts with me waking up to get ready about 5am. Over the past few months I've been going to bed between 12am and 1am. I'd wake up completely exhausted and go through my day in a fog. I'd have an attitude, i'd snap at people for no reason. I finally realized that I needed to start changing the way I take care of myself. Which was part of my promise to Kat and Miya. I've been going to bed between 9pm and 9:30pm. I wake up before my alarm goes off, exercise, make a cup of tea and watch the news. I never had time to do that before. I would wake up with just enough time to shower, throw my clothes on, run a brush through my hair and run out of the house. Now that I'm more rested in the morning, I have time to wake up gradually and take some "me time" it feels great. I've been in a better mood, and although I have some times during the day where I get sad, for the most part I think that I'm handling things really well. Taking care of your health is something that is very important. I hope that anyone who is reading this, is getting enough sleep and leading a healthy life.


Until next time~
Sierra~