Getting back to fitness: Week 1

Tweet

Last 3 months have been the longest break I have taken from my workouts since 2009. And thanks to my extreme sickness and medications, I struggle with even 5 lunges today. But what seemed like an even bigger shock is it is SO MUCH harder to start from scratch. Hmm..

Now I start to wind down within 5 mins of anything that is cardio intensive (I mean 3 mile sprints were a breeze before so it is very demoralizing for me now). This is so so so hard. Now I get it why people who have never worked out their entire lives shudder at the thought of it.

So I thought why not make it simple and responsible by journaling some of the progressive routines I will be using to gain back all the muscle and stamina I have lost.

Firstly, we need to focus on getting the basics right before starting the routines. This is essential because most of us have very little understanding of the basics of fitness and tend to ignore them. To ease into a fitness regimen it is important to first take care of basics and then build from there (aka everyday diet and well-being). I have skipped many of them owing to my illness but no more excuses. So here goes:

- Drinking plenty of water. I almost always don't do this. Your energy dips when you don't consume enough water. Sometimes when I get a slight headache or I am stressed out, all I do is drink some water. It really helps. Plus, water is the most natural way to flush toxins. The reason we need to drink more water is to get rid of excess sodium or toxics in our body.

- Taking care of your spine.  This is another thing I tend to ignore. Owing to long hours near laptop or other gadgets, it is not just your eyes but your spine that will hurt. It is the single most important part of your body. It is very very important to maintain a good posture, regardless of whether you are standing or sitting. Worthwhile to practice sitting straight without back support for few minutes each day like the meditation/pranayama pose. Even better if you can do some back stretches and yoga routines every day for few minutes. You can fix anything in life, except for a damaged spine.

- Getting adequate stress-free sleep.  I have been really erratic with my sleep schedule. This is in fact the simplest lifestyle change and yet so tough to stick to, given our "busy" lives. 7 hours on an average is said to be best duration. But things to note are: to keep away from gadgets before sleeping, ease into sleeping i.e relax and clear your mind of troubles, put away lights that might interfere with your sleeping. My bedroom windows face street lights, so it is very annoying. I will need to fix this by getting thicker curtains.

- Getting adequate Vitamin D. Believe it or not! We don't get enough Vitamin D anymore. Yeah, I know that is ridiculous right? Tell me how much time you spend out in the sun these days? Rarely. I don't even see people taking a walk. Half our lives are led in air conditioned rooms and cars. A little sun exposure is all we need.

- Keeping active.  Don't sit for too long. Get up even if it is for 2-3 mins once every hour. This will help in the blood circulation and you will feel less sluggish. (In fact, I opted for a standing desk at work last year and it really kept me fit and nimble.) Always take stairs! This is one of the most natural ways to rev up your metabolism anytime anywhere. Apart from that of course, you should aim for intensive cardio routines for a minimum of 20-30 mins, atleast 3-4 times a week if not everyday. I will talk about them in my later posts. 

- Eating a well balanced diet. Please don't starve! Rules of a good diet are simple - aim for multiple colors in your food selection. A few greens, reds, yellows. You get the point. Keep away as much as possible from processed foods - fried food, soda, cakes etc. Try to reduce sugar/salt intake in your foods. Don't drastically cut them - you will have a rebound! Instead try to reduce a bit at a time. If your body is used to a certain kind of carbs, you don't have to replace them completely - you will get fatigued. For eg: I am a big fan of rice. I eat generous amounts of rice everyday. Instead of cutting rice completely from my diet, I try not to eat rice for dinner most of the days. This is my way of controlling rice intake. You can also substitute with brown rice, but I really don't care. You should almost always eat what you like, just keep an eye on portion control that's it.

- Practicing to breathe. I have NEVER done this. And sincerely, I always turned myself away from mindfulness or meditative practices. This is definitely a very new thing for me. So I am not going to advice on this like I know it; because I don't. So I am going to start with a 5 min meditation everyday and go from there. Let's see how this goes. 

So anyway, this week my aim is to get back to habit with the above and include some easy stretching routines (my next post). Hopefully this helps you all.

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. --Jim Ryuh"

PS: I can tell you how hard it was being sick and miserable for more than a month. I have learnt the hard way that good health is the greatest gift from God and I am definitely taking care of it and being grateful for it, from now on. 

The Rest is Noise

Tweet

"Do you really think it will be full?", I ask my friend seated beside me, busy checking on his office mail.

"Ya sure it has been what..like 45 mins now?"

I nod. I was chugging down a liter of bottled mineral water. I was due for an Ultrasound Scan. The first ever in my life. And I was waiting for my bladder to get full.

"Umm can you google search what's the average time for a woman?", I ask my friend. I add, "No I am not joking. Please?", I plead him. Just for the record, that day I waited 3 hours.

That morning when I had arrived I read the big information banner outside the ultrasound room about safety precautions and a pregnant lady's photo beside.

"Umm, remind me why am I doing this? Isn't this for pregnant people?", I ask my friend. Both of us shrug. I was asked to get tested for an acute infection in my body.

The first time I entered the room, the technician was annoyed with me.

"How much did you drink?"

"2 glasses", I said nonchalantly.

She rolled her eyes and pointed the monitor with a little disgust. "Look that is 10 ml. I need atleast 400 ml in your bladder."

"Oh I was told to drink 2 glasses."

"No you come after drinking a liter and only if you feel your bladder is blasting."

Ok I say and come out and drink. I was puking on water beside my friend.

"This is like Ellen Page drinking Sunny D in Juno", I say and both of us laugh.

December 2012 and it was supposed to be the holiday season. The hospital had a tiny christmas tree in the corner but hoards of people sick with illnesses and worry. And this day was my only "light-hearted" day to be for a month from then.

I ran fevers of 104F. I wondered for the first time if 104F was this, then how would a third degree burns patient feel? 

My mom once touched my cheek when the temperature was a little over 104 and she immediately withdrew her hand back. As if she touched a boiling pot on stove.

"It was like touching fire. My fingers didn't lose the heat till about a minute.", she told me later.

Every night, somewhere between crack of the dawn and early morning, I had viral attacks. I would be under two thick blankets and a winter jacket and bouncing up and down the bed. The virus gave me horrific shivering for an hour each night. 

"It was like in the movie exorcist, as if you were possessed.", my dad said the few times he managed to baby step to my bedroom. Dad is chronically sick and cannot move freely.

It was enormous pressure for mom. She sometimes held on to my body to hold me from shivering, but the shaking was so uncontrollable she would get thrown off. "I was scared. I thought if I held you it would stop", she told me later, naively.

After the shivering, I ran temperatures as high as 104 for few hours and then withdrew into sweating profusely - the only time I would remove the blankets and jacket off my body.

The viral attacks (sometimes multiple times a day) left my body in so much pain, that I coudn't even turn to one side of the bed on my own. So going to bathroom was obviously a nightmare. It was an ordeal that lasted atleast 30 minutes. Some days I would drink less so I didn't have to make an extra trip to the toilet.

The antibiotics proved no match to the infection in my body. The doctors couldn't tell what sort of infection it was and where it was in my body. Their medicines only made it worser. They gave me mouth blisters. All kinds in my mouth. In every nook. About half a dozen atleast. 

I stopped eating. I couldn't talk without my mouth paining now.

I was confused, upset and started cussing. I would call the virus all sorts of swear words. I would cry sometimes and yell at God. As if, mysteriously he had conspired against me. 

"Why me?", I shouted every sleepless night as I waited for the viral attacks. I turned phobic.

Weeks went by, but not one doctor could diagnose me. I took a battery of tests. Each time I got the test reports, you would think I would be happy seeing "Negative" results. But I cried. I cried because if I was positive on a test, that meant I am still not diagnosed for this GOD DAMN INFECTION.

My condition worsened every day. Some days my digestion would be upset for no reason. I stopped working. I ate less and barely smiled. I couldn't bear noise - the loud sounds from TV. Music disturbed me. I waited through silent days and nights. For the first time I heard the clock ticking in the room. Each minute was hard to pass by. 24 hours seemed so long to me. 

Each day I lost confidence and weight, both in large measures. In 2 weeks I was down 7 kilos (15 lbs). My parents tried to motivate me. My dad mocked me saying I had no guts to face it all. (He always uses reverse psychology to provoke or motivate me.) I was in pain and I didn't care. I dreamed about taking a hot bath (I hadn't bathed for a month now.)

"Do you think I can get back to shape and run long distance? I've lost all muscle.", I asked my friend. "You just breezed through the half marathon, you can do anything.", he said with a truthful tone to his voice.

Slowly the cussing stopped and I started praying. Praying to God. Begging for mercy. My friend had meanwhile visited temples, held special prayers and prayed hard. My mom prayed. My friend's mom prayed hard. Finally I was put under a clinical trial of drugs without diagnosis of the disease. There was such a thing called Fevers of Unknown Origin in the medical literature. That was me now, experiencing it. 

The doctor said, "You may or may not tolerate these drugs. It depends on how much your body can take. These drugs are very powerful." I didn't care. By this time I had made my mind to get out of this. I popped about 10 drugs a day, 4 of them that were so large I feared I would choke on them. But I didn't say a word. I just prayed and said "God just let the drugs work."

And they worked. Slowly, but steadily. Giving me hope, confidence and fixing my wrong attitude along the way. I made my mom sneak in a pack of Lays Chips and a bottle of thumbs up just because I wanted to taste something salty and sugary (although I am supposed to eat healthy more now than ever). Life felt good for the first time in months.

All my life I felt that I was a self made woman. That I didn't require help. Nobody's help. Not even God. Help was for losers, I thought. Help was for lazy people, I thought. Many moments I took my parents and friends for granted. The only people who became my strong support system through a time that was unimaginable for me.

I didn't understand how this infection in my body was even humanely possible - I worked out few times a week, I ate healthy and I prided myself about never falling sick for 28 years of my life. I despised silently those who fell sick, because I thought it was their own doing. Until I saw my own father falling into depths of chronic sickness. And still I hadn't developed enough empathy for the sick. Now I have a new found admiration for people who fight ill-health EVERY SINGLE DAY of their lives. I cannot imagine what that must be. Because I have had enough for a month and a half - enough to throw my confidence and hope, off-balance.

The thing is there is an important lesson hidden in every experience. But there is something about failures and tragic experiences that bring in a change in you. In those days of sickness, I realized how much I wanted to do in life. That life is too short. That we take our life for granted - our good health, parents, friends & close ones, happy memories, opportunities etc. People with permanent disabilities and far fatal diseases live life with confidence. Then why are we, normal average people, plagued by worries?

The mysterious thing about happiness is it is in our perspective. For ages, people have researched, studied and taken surveys about happiness. But I realized it is in accepting the moment - whatever that is. It is in the way we view things, cherish things and see the positive in everything. The tragic experiences in our life test this faith of ours to be happy, no matter what. 

It is tough to be happy, if you choose to. It is easy to be happy, if you choose to.

Now I pop about 5 drugs per day like candies and joke about the orange color of my urine (a result of the drugs). "It is more like the sunset orange.", I describe to my mom who reacts with disgust to my rather detailed descriptions.

Even now when I think about my illness, I shudder. I am still recovering but it feels like a miracle to get rid of viral attacks. But the miracle happened when I resolved to fight it and get out of it. When I saw people around me give strength it felt foolish to sit in a corner and cry.

Because that one moment when I decided to be positive and have a little faith, I chose happiness. And the rest...the rest was just noise.