Bad to the Bone

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 22:02:13 +0000

I haven’t been to the traditional gym in quite a while. Yesterday my husband told me I was missed at the gym. Flattered and curious I asked who had missed me. He said some woman he didn’t even know came up to him and asked where I’d been. I think he’s just as annoyed with having to explain so he just said I’d been doing crossfit instead. She said, “yeah, she was hardcore!” My first reaction was, “Why yes, yes, I am hardcore.” ::with a big grin on my face:: While my second reaction was, “yeah, and that’s why I am where I am. I’m such a bad ass I’ve gained half my weight back and can’t fit into my clothes! What’s so special about that!?”

Here we all are killing ourselves to be given the title “BAD ASS”, when really what most of us are doing is pushing ourselves further away from good health and being fit. The sad part is not many of us even get it. We only know what we’ve been told and more is better and “bad ass” and “hardcore” is worth the 1000 calories and lack of fat and carbs in our diet. Not to mention the countless hours spent breaking our bodies down in the gym. “I just ate 1200 calories, 50 grams of fat and burned something like 1300 calories! Hell to the yeah, I’m a hardcore bad ass!”

That really doesn’t sound that bad ass to me right now. Maybe the willpower of maintaining this “lifestyle” is what is seen as so admirable, because everyone really knows how ridiculously hard it is to maintain and no one that isn’t insane or obsessive compulsive (guilty on both accounts) could pull it off. At least for the long term.

With all that said, I still find hardcore and bad ass completely desirable. I just define it differently than most. Hours and hours in the gym is not my idea of bad ass anymore; it’s a sign you’ve lost your freakin’ mind, assuming you had it to begin with. Unless your doing low intensity cardio for that time period, I say call it quits after a moderate to intense 20-45 minute weights workout, get some carbs, fat and a lot of calories in you and go home and REST. Yes, I said REST, not move on to the next piece of cardio equipment to see how many more calories you can burn on your body bug. Don’t forget to pass on the caffeinated beverage of choice. When you can accomplish this, THEN you fit my description of a true bad ass! And after several months of smart lifting, adequate calorie intake, ample amount of rest, and passing on the Monster drinks you’ll be so hardcore everyone will want to be just like you!

Anyone that says “who can’t lose on 1000 calories?” is clueless and at risk for falling in the more-is-better trap. Hopefully you will be saved before the damage really sets in. I wish I would have had someone slap me around a few years ago. Instead I’ll do it for the both of us. Who doesn’t love a good bitch-slap once in a while?

What’s your routine like? Do you take time to rest and recover? Do you workout for longer than an hour beyond 75% of your heart rate?

Primal Phoenix

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:34:06 +0000

Through many struggles I have found myself in a position in which I’m searching beyond conventional wisdom and guidelines about our health. There’s pieces missing and I’m filling in the gaps. I am relying on primal instincts and primal living to find answers as I emerge from the ashes of my past life’s struggles.

My story begins as I desperately fought to lose over 100 lbs. At the end of the tunnel instead of light I saw adrenal exhaustion wrapped in hypothyroidism, which led to feeling fatigued much of the time, gaining a lot of my weight back, and having many hormonal imbalances as well as bothersome conditions such as constipation, sinusitis, candidiasis, high blood pressure and cholesterol and insulin resistance.

Fortunately, I’m blessed with a hunger for answers and curiosity that has led me further in this quest to find true health as I fight for what I believe to be the truth. Over the last several months, coming up on a year in September, I’ve spent a ton of time researching and answering my own questions, filling in the blanks, and connecting the dots. A lot of information I’ve come across is controversial and has caused some to lash out at me in defense of their own lifestyles and beliefs. These are my own beliefs and findings, if someone is interested in hearing them then I feel I have an obligation to share this knowledge I’ve worked so hard to find. I’m continuing to piece all of this together, and I’m sure I’m missing parts here and there, and of course every case has it’s own variables, but I believe there are some basic ideas a lot of us are missing that would lead to a better quality of life.

I hope this blog will be informative and inspirational for those also struggling with metabolic damage. Given the right tools and information we can get through this and prevent it from happening again. I hope the information here helps many. Please feel free to share information or experience. Collectively I think the answers will be clear for us.