Chiropractors and Me

I don't like chiropractors. In fact, they scare me. I don't look down on them or anything, especially because I know they help alot of people, but I'm personally not a chiropractor girl.

I visited one in college to help me with some back issues. Every once in awhile, my back would pull and would hurt for about 3 days. One time the pain was so bad I broke down and visited one. Two appointments and three MONTHS later, I was still in pain. I got it into my head that I was never going to visit another one.

Once again, I'm dealing with some back issues. These ones have been ongoing for about a year now. Part of it is weight and part of it is a nerve that seems to have gotten lodged all up in my business. The hope was that exercising would help, and it actually has. I'm building strength and endurance and I'm moving better...some days. My back, though, is a constant source of discomfort, and it's getting frustrating.

My co-worker recommended her chiropractor today. I wasn't buying it at first. Sure, I'm in pain now, but better the pain I know than the pain that could be ten times worse. But once I started paying attention to her, I actually started thinking about it. The doctor is part of an alternative health group that uses a different method of realignment that involves a weird tool that looks like a gun or a drill. I got some of the details but I'm still a little hazy as to how it actually works.

Hazy or not, I went ahead and made an appointment. I know it contradicts my anti-chiropractor thing, but at this point, I'm willing to try something new. While a regular adjustment is never going to be acceptable, something akin to a massage might be helpful. I'm hoping that not only will a couple treatments have me feeling better but maybe it'll also help with my workouts.

This has also started me thinking of other natural or alternative pain remedies, including acupuncture or heat massage. If anyone out there has any suggestions, please let me know. In the meantime, wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed that this whole being "thumped" in the back thing doesn't make things worse.

Giving Up Pop

I’m on another mission to give up pop/soda/sugary carbonated beverages that offer no nutritional value whatsoever.  It’s hard though. At the time of writing this, I’m on my second pop-free day and I’m craving a Coke. Or a Diet Coke. Or a Diet Mountain Dew. Instead, I’m drinking coffee with only a little bit of creamer (eventually I’ll go back to drinking it black) and a bottle of water.

I know the healthier of the options is water, and I go through phases where I love water. I like the add-ins, I like it plain, I like it for tea. But I love my soda too.  I’ve been told that you can’t be “addicted” to pop, but if it’s a matter of it all being in your head, then I’ll admit…it’s in mine.

I drank diet pop for a long time, disregarding anything people told me about it being bad for me. My mom drank it for years and had no issues, and I felt less guilty drinking it instead of regular pop. I knew it had the tendency to make people crave sugar, but when I was watching what I ate, it didn’t seem to matter.

Last year, I gave up pop altogether for about two months. During that time, I realized that I wasn’t hurting as much and it eventually clicked that I really did have a bad reaction to diet soda. Instead of being smart and just sticking to my no-soda plan, I started drinking regular. My intentions were good. I’d only have one a day and I’d watch it in reference to my calorie intake.

Unfortunately, I have some health issues that require I take into account more than calorie intake. No matter how good my intentions were, regular pop wasn’t any better. The sugar content has been messing with my system and within just a couple days of drinking it, I felt “puffy.”  And yes, I’m puffy anyway, but this is sort of puffy that makes you feel like someone wrapped you in saran wrap (I’ve never been wrapped in saran wrap…I’m taking a guess).

I’m trying it again, because they say if you keep trying, you’re not really quitting. Or maybe I’m just saying that to help me feel better. There are a lot of things I love to drink that aren’t soda:  juice, tea, Powerade, milk,  coffee, and the occasional alcoholic beverage. So why the heck is it so hard to stay away from pop?

Just a couple days in and I’m feeling okay. I’m not 100% pain-free yet, but I’m working on it.  A friend on Facebook said the first week was the hardest, so if I can just power through it, I might be okay.

Here’s to hoping.

Headaches

There was a time when I rarely had headaches. When I lived in Michigan, I remember having a few headaches and only two migraines. After I moved to OKC, they started becoming more frequent but they were still sporadic enough that it didn't seem to be an issue.

After I moved, to Kansas, however, I started getting one or two on a weekly basis. It doesn't seem to matter what I do: drink more water, stay away from caffeine, have caffeine, sleep well, exercise...none of these things have ever worked. I almost always have a headache toward the beginning of the week and then another one towards the end of the week.

The severity varies, but I have not been immune to the occasional migraine. I remember one migraine I had in our previous apartment that had me banging my head against the wall. Seriously. I know this sounds counterproductive, but the pain was that bad. The only thing that seemed to relieve it was to have J press down hard on my temples. The pressure relieved the pain, but of course when he stopped it was that much worse.

Today was a potential migraine day, and I still don't know if I'm in the clear. I took some ibuprofen and napped, and while that seemed to take the edge off, I'm still having some head issues. I've also been nauseous off and on during my waking hours. Strangely, noise doesn't make it worse. In fact, I've been listening to podcasts through my iPod and that actually seems to dull the pain. Maybe it's because I'm not focusing on the pain, or maybe it's some weird scientific thing. The pain gets worse when I stand up.

Hopefully I'll get some more sleep tonight and feel better for tomorrow. It's a day off from work but I have some things I need to get done before the work week starts, plus I'd like to get together with friends tomorrow night, and I don't need a stupid headache barging into my plans.

Hope it was a good 4th for everyone who didn't have a headache!

ALF

The Biggest Loser 8 - Episode 1 (w/ Spoilers)

Due various and sundry things, it took me a couple days to get around to watching the season premiere of The Biggest Loser. Just in time for the motivation Jon and I need to get back into our own workout routine. I'm serving this up with some spoilers, so if you haven't watched yet and want to enjoy any and all surprises, then move on...nothing to see here.

In their ratings quest to outdo themselves, this season brings in heavier people than last season. Dan from last season is back to continue to lose weight. I really like that guy. He seems genuinely nice and he was a real support and motivator to start out. I also really like Shay and I was glad that Dan chose Shay to partner with. I think he can definitely be a good influence on her.

I'm on the bench on the fact that two of the people are already having medical issues. Of course they need to work on getting healthy, that part's not disputed. And its hard to to play the exploitation card when the contestants are more than willing. But I'm not sure if it's supposed to be motivating in a "This could happen to you" way or if it's just a reflection of how much the show pushes these people. It took me weeks to be able to walk a mile. I was thrilled when I finally did it, but to be thrown on the road and told to do it when you're almost completely out of shape (Dan being the exception here and maybe a few others) is insane.

It's really too early to get a good idea of who I do and don't like, but there were a few first impressions stood out.

I'm not a fan of the pink team. Amanda is just kind of pointless and Rebecca left a bad taste in my mouth with this quote: "I'm so much more than a pretty face." This would be true, but in the context it was said, she was basically saying she needed to lose weight so people would see her more than just a pretty face. Like what, a thin body? I'm all about being healthy and feeling good about yourself, but bitch, please...some of us weren't even given the pretty face part and actually had to develop a personality. Aesthetics won't last, and while that may have just been an emotional offhand comment, it kind of irritated me.

Besides Dan and Shay, I really like Abby and Mo. My heart completely broke for Abbey, who lost her family in a car accident a few years back. If the show didn't get me emotional already, then that will do it. She seems like a really cute and genuine and honest person too, and I think she's there for all the right reasons, no matter how hard they are. She even said that death would be easier, but she chooses to get up every morning and now she's chosen to do TBL. Go Abby!

Mo is the sweet old guy who makes me want to drink coffee and visit with him because his voice is so soothing and he just seems nice.

I like the decision of the trainers to train at the same time, but I'm not sure how long that's going to last. At some point I expect they'll split off into teams, but I would think double teaming the contestants would be the most effective way to do it. I wonder if this decision is based on Jillian's track record (not being fair to poor Bob) and all the whiny crap that happened last season. I noticed Bob trying to be a little more hardcore and I had to laugh when one of the contestants said that Bob seems nice when you watch him on TV but in real life, he's not. Of course with Jillian what you see is what you get.

It's obvious that alot of these people are carrying emotional baggage and I hope they deal with it at some point during this show.

I was ambivalent about Alexandra until she made the comment that she wished her partner would have stepped it up more. It showed a lack of support aht bugged me and I was glad to see her go, though I am now intrigued to see who her "crush" was. First instinct: Dan. But my mom made a point that she may not have specified if it was from this season, so maybe it's Mike from last season. Or maybe it's neither and we get to wait three months to find out.

First episode down and now of course I feel like I should be running laps around the block. Not going to happen, but at least I know it'll offer some motivation down the line.