Evie Gets Fit

First workout at the ymca, it was hard and I couldn’t keep up the pace desired by the instructor on the app but I finished it and my legs are on fire!

1-2 cups oat milk

2 tablespoons peanut butter , or almond butter

2 tablespoons ground flax seed

1 banana, sliced and frozen

1/4-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 scoops vanilla protein powder of choice

 ice, optional

Add all ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth. You can add more milk for a thinner consistency or more ice for a thicker consistency.

Lets get this blog back into what I meant it to be in the first place, exercising, healthy recipes, and living my best life! I have a few posts in progress for a couple exercise routines and some of healthful smoothie recipes that I have come to enjoy that I need to write up and post. So look for those this weekend when I have a chance to sit down and focus.

For anyone wondering what it costs to have a chronic illness in the United States. This is only half of my yearly out of pocket because I have to have this infusion twice a year. Not including MRIs that are also twice a year and cost $800 per MRI and then $300 for the doctor to read the MRI’s every time; as well as follow up visits to my neurologist.

AKA: The One Where I Get My Answers After a loooooooong two weeks,

Had another MRI with and w/o contrast done at IU that showed no demyelination on my thoracic region but did show that I had a protruding disc, a wedged disc on T6-7 and some signs of disc desiccation from T6-T7 through T8-T9. Doc said it was related to arthritis? I’m gonna trust his judgement here, lol.

Had my second lumbar puncture through fluoroscope, went as well as can be expected. The anesthetic hurt more than anything and the few times he hit a nerve and made my legs jump, but what sucked the most was that I filled two tubes and then my spinal fluid quit, they had to readjust the needle a few times and have me cough quite a bit to try and get the last 2 tubes filled. 

Everything came back okay but my IgG Index and IgG Synthesis Rate were elevated and my Isoelec Focusing QL came back positive for Oglioclonal Bands (I have a call out to my doc to find out exactly how many bands were spotted because I am a curious dork like that and they don’t post those results on your MyChart, apparently.). Doc also sent me a message through my MyChart to let me know that I met the criteria for a diagnosis of MS and gave me some medicines to research for treatment options.  

So, now, I am sort of in shock because I knew it was an option, knew it in the back of my head but still to have someone tell you that you have MS is kind of-holy crap it’s real. 

But I got my answer, as odd as it is to say, at least I have an answer instead of out in limbo waiting and getting more testing done. 

When life decides to be a storm it rains in torrents.

My health journey has been interesting this last year, my goal of getting in better shape has been filled with quite a few bumps and pot holes - mostly pot holes. 

I have always wanted to start a blog/vlog about health and fitness and just general life type things. I have in fact had a fitspo blog on tumblr before in my twenties but the atmosphere just seemed so artificial - for lack of better terminology - and lackluster. 

Most bloggers seemed concerned with nothing more than getting their follower count up as high as possible and what freebies they could garner as influencers; and honestly at the time I thought the same I thought I had to have that high follower count to be considered legit - trust me you don’t. Half of the people that followed me (and I think it was around 200) didn’t even interact with me. Which was not what I wanted. I wanted to build that support system to help me stick to my goals not just flaunt a number.

I burnt out pretty quickly.

And my little tumblog died. 

Then life hit, I became pregnant, learned a whole new set of fears that had nothing to do with my weight and everything to do with this tiny little wisp of being that was dependent on me. But my weight stayed at the back of my mind. I had gained 60lbs while pregnant and continued to blossom because stress eating is a very powerful thing, apparently. 

I was in and out of the hospital with my wee one because of kidney issues, his horrible eczema, his tonsils and adenoids which had to be removed because it was hindering his ability to eat and breath and just a million other personal items that took all my focus. Then Covid hit and my job as a healthcare worker, I went back to school as well so I had very little time to focus on anything other than making it through the day and leaving everything else for future me to deal with.

So now as I enter my mid-thirties, my son is in school now and much healthier and able to be more independant, I have decided it’s time to start focusing on me and my goals, first and foremost of which is taking care of my health and body image issues.

This little vlog/blog will be my little oasis to post about my journey to becoming the best version of me that I can be and I welcome you all to join me on this path whether you yourself are on your own journey of self-discovery or have already made it to the top of that mountain and are ready to cheer on others as they make that same trek.

Quick Butt Workout (2-3 sets with 90 second rest between sets)

1.) Plie Squat :: 8-12 reps

2.) Single-Leg Bridge :: 8-12 reps per side

3.) Rainbow Leg Raises :: 8-10 reps per side

4.) Donkey Kicks :: 8-12 reps per side

5.) Bear-Plank with Leg Lift :: 5-10 reps per side

6.) Single-Leg Deadlift :: 10 reps per side (with or without weight)