Sweating should be forbidden when a person exercises! I do NOT like the feeling of salty sweat dripping into my eyeballs!
It Stings folks!
And I get all sticky feeling, and I stink . . . and it's just not right! EW!
It might be because it takes too much time and energy to bathe everyday... and when you sweat, you SHOULD bathe. I'm not judging here... just making an observation...
I think the REAL reason I don't like to sweat is because with chronic illnesses, we have learned to equate sweat with some negative things in our lives...
Like:
- if we sweat, we probably have a fever. Even though our temperature might read 98.6, for us that is could signal a fever - which means feeling feverish, then chills, then fever. then...
- if we sweat, it means that we have over done it AGAIN because we were feeling good for awhile and got everything on our list (and then some) "accomplished" while we could.
- If we sweat, our bodies are rebelling against us and we are headed for a flare up of whatever disease we are battling.
- If we sweat, we have to use extra energy or "spoons" to bathe, and heaven forbid wash our hair which takes even more energy! . . . and then a nap to regain that energy if we are lucky . . .Who has time for that everyday?
- If we sweat, and we bathe, we probably find out that we need to shave our legs because the hair on them is braid-able because we haven't had the energy to shave for awhile.
- If we sweat, we are going to need the rest of the day to sit down, and therefore miss out on all the other plans we have made (and will have to cancel . . . AGAIN) and just watch TV instead of live. . . we live vicariously through TV reality shows often enough anyway.
- If we sweat, we have to admit to ourselves how "really" out of shape we are, because we have ignored our bodies "need" for exercise. But we have to ignore it because it is so far out of reach of our energy stores. Can I get a "I feel guilty" here?
- Basically, if we sweat, we have to think, acknowledge, and either fret because we "just can't do it" or we do it and then "fret" over the consequences.
Does that sound familiar?
I'm sorry that you have to go through this in your lives.
I'm sorry that I understand what you are going through.
Chronic Illness Sucks Balls.
Yes, I said that.
(but you and I both know that's true.)
You're welcome.
As I was thinking about sweating today (while sweat was stinging my eyeballs) and all the negative connotations it implies for someone with a chronic illness, I also started thinking about all the good things sweat does for us. Things that I had forgotten about for so long! So here's a new list to consider:
- If we sweat, we can control the amount of sweat by following (in my case) the moderator of the activity we are doing. For instance, today I started a new exercise program through BeachBody on Demand called "The Shift Shop". (think playground games meets football training). It was really fun, and pretty intense, but they have someone doing a moderation of the exercises and you can follow that person. . . I couldn't even keep up with the moderator! But I did my best. I think I was sweating more than the hardest level person on the session was! So I controlled my amount of "sweat" or energy that way.
- If we sweat, it means that our body is building muscle, which means that we are GETTING STRONGER. If we aren't getting stronger, we are getting weaker. That's all we need with a chronic illness . . . something else to make us feel like crap!
- If we sweat, we REMOVE TOXINS from our bodies! Those toxins make us feel like YUK! Toxins build up in our bodies from all the meds we take, and processes that aren't working right in our bodies. Sweat is one way our bodies rid itself of some of those toxins. That's freakin' awesome right there!
- If we sweat, we are doing something POSITIVE for ourselves, and something that no one can take away from us for today! AND we did it ourselves!
- If we sweat, we SHOULD bathe, and that makes our loved ones love us even more! At least they will appreciate that we don't stink anymore, and that is always a good thing!
- If we sweat, we create endorphins, which are hormones that make us feel good. Endorphines are great for depression and help lift our spirits! Chronic Illness Warriors suffer from depression a lot! I know it's hard to start the process of sweating from exercise when you are depressed...it's the last thing we WANT to do... get out of bed and move.... but it WILL help! It will help even MORE if you get your pretty little face in the sunshine! Which will also make you sweat!
- If we sweat, we are taking back CONTROL of our lives. We are choosing to work to control the amount of pain we feel (instead of IT controlling US), the movement of our limbs, the strength of our muscles, and the attitude of our minds.
After thinking about this for awhile, while I still don't LIKE the way I feel when I sweat, I DON'T have to hate it.
To be Politically Correct, I was bigoted about sweat. :)
(If you know me, PC is something I am totally NOT! I don't think you can be truly sarcastic and be PC. . . and I enjoy sarcasm so much! It makes me happy on hard days! It's like punching hard days in the face!)
Although I'm addressing you, the reader, I am also documenting my journey with Beach Body and Shakeology and the effects that it is having on my body, my fibromyalgia, chronic migraines, j-pouch, blah, blah, blah...my health. With that said, I want to say something.
As I have been exercising, I have found that there is something else happening in my body. I haven't been quite able to pinpoint it until last night.
As I have been drinking Shakeology along with doing the Beach Body exercises, and following the food plan (basically learning portion control . . . AGAIN . . . ok, and that chocolate and diet coke are NOT a meal , it's my stress diet. . .)
MY BODY IS HAPPIER!
Drinking Shakeology is giving me the nutrients that my body needs. I don't think my body has been able to absorb the nutrients that it needs because of all my gut issues and food sensitivities. Whenever I eat anything "clean" my body processes it pretty fast, and then dumps it. Because of that, I don't think that I was getting the nutrition that I needed, and my body went into "starvation mode".
(if your body doesn't dump [a polite way to say diarrhea] but holds on to the waste, Shakeology will help with regularity)
Starvation Mode is when your body holds on to every calorie that it gets, converts it to fat to be "stored" for a possible famine in your body due to lack of nutrition. It's very hard to lose weight this way, because your body just won't let those calories go! It saves that energy because it might need it later.
As I understand it, that causes stress on the body, which causes cortisol, another hormone, to increase. . . making MORE fat. It's a vicious cycle, and makes us feel worse.
I am starting to believe that Shakeology is allowing my body to absorb the nutrients! It's something that my body is accepting, and that is letting my body interpret nutrition! I think that alone is allowing my body to release that stored fat, and that is why I am starting to see a difference on the scale! And I'm doing it without the cravings! CRAZY!
Because of the ability to absorb that nutrition, I am also seeing my body get stronger, and having more energy. At least that is my Theory! All I know, is "SOMETHING" is starting to happen in my body.
And those are my thoughts today. Apparently I AM capable of more than this:
If you would like more information on Shakeology or Beach Body Fitness, either click on the link, or comment ME in the comments section. I hope that you have an awesome day, and do something POSITIVE for yourself today!
YOU ARE WORTH THE FIGHT!
Shakeology Recipe for the Day!
In a shaker bottle:
8-12 oz cold water
1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology (I use dairy/gluten free, Vegan)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon (anti-inflammatory)
1/2 tsp Ginger (anti-nausea)
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Allspice
-OR-
3/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
Shake Vigorously
(then I add ice, as I like mine REALLY cold!)
1 red container
Drink to your health!
I hope all my chronic illness friends have a great, pain free day! . . . and a few less pain meds! :)
-Erlyn
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