Tuesday was my 57th birthday, and as Thanksgiving nears, and the holidays approach, I am thrilled with how much my life has changed this year.  2013 has been an amazing year for me, and Best Fitness - Drum Hill has been a huge part of my incredible transformation.  I have been reborn, totally renewed, and I am full of joy each day.  I am very thankful for everyone who as been a part of my healing journey.

I started coming to the gym in January when a friend offered to drive me so we could work out together, as we used to years ago.  I had given up driving, and had even sold my beloved Prius (my Zen Car) a year earlier in 2012, when I was at the absolute lowest point of my life.  I had been beaten down by progressive MS, and I had lost all hope that there was any help for me.   No neurologist, no doctor, no MS drug had ever helped me, even a little bit.  I had tried to stay active, even after I gave up many joys of my life, skiing, camping, hiking, biking, gardening: I tried to walk as much as I could and eat the absolute best "healthy" foods.

But severe, debilitating fatigue, 24/7/365, was getting worse every year, and my energy was disappearing. It was a vicious cycle.  The less I moved, the weaker I became.  But when I overdid it, I took me longer and longer to recover.  Eventually I was too exhausted to drag myself upstairs to go to sleep, or even shower, so I just slept on the couch.  My life consisted of TV and my laptop.  At least I could try to keep my mind active with surfing the web, playing video games, and being on face book, but it wasn't enough. I was terribly lonely, isolated, and too tired to literally without any hope.  My life was over, and giving/selling my car to my son, in January 2012, was a very practical, realistic move, but it was devastating to me.

Right after my car was gone, my daughter urged me to check out some doctor with MS who had healed herself with diet.  Right.  Another diet ... but I loved my daughter, so I looked into Terry L. Wahls, MD, and watched her TEDx talk on youtube.  Wow.  I was inspired enough to order her book, Minding My Mitochondria, and watch all her videos until it came.  

I started eating a lot more organic veggies; within 3 days I had a little energy, and that was enough to motivate me to jump in full force.  I spent that entire year totally changing my diet, until I was only eating massive quantities of organic veggies and berries (Vitamix smoothies every day), plus some wild seafood, free range poultry, and a bit of 100% grass-fed meats, plus some nuts and seeds (and their oils, milks and butters), bone broths, organ meats, sea vegetables/dulse, and lots of amazing herbs and spices. These foods are incredibly healing to my body.  Everything else is toxic to my body.  I don't miss any of the old foods I thought I would never be able to live without.  I wasn't living while I eating these ... I was dying. That is he truth.  Now I am living.

In 2012, I changed my diet, and I was moving a lot more.  My horrible fatigue was totally gone, I was getting a lot more energy, enough to shop for, and prepare my amazing healing foods.  I had my life back, and it was wonderful.  

In 2013 I started at the gym.  I eventually made my husband get another car, because I wanted his Prius.  I needed a Zen Car again, to go to the gym as often as I wanted, and go search for my healing foods.  I worked out as hard as I could, but I was hurting myself.  My knees started hurting, my back was hurting, and I could barely remember how to walk.  My balance was improving, but I still needed to use my walker.  I like to do everything myself, but eventually I realized I needed help.  I had come so far, and I wanted to keep moving forward.

Somehow another miracle entered my life, and for a change, I trusted my gut and tried something totally new.  I reached out for help, and one of the Best Fitness trainers, Josh Robinson, was there.  Josh changed my life, in grueling hour long sessions, 3 times a week.  I was extremely motivated, but terrified at what I was getting into, honestly. It turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. Josh helped wake up my severely weakened muscles, and had me doing things I never imagined I would do again. I loved heading to the gym and never missed a session.  Josh made me believe that I could possibly start skiing again, and maybe walk a 5K, and go hiking again.  WOW!!!!

When Josh headed back to finish school, in September, I was scared that a new trainer wouldn't be able to help me as much as Josh had, because I had come so far. My balance was much better and I could walk without ever using a cane, wheelchair, or my walker (with a seat), except at the gym, when I am getting my butt kicked!  I  began working with another great trainer, Mike Derkrikorian.  Mike picked up right where Josh left off, and my healing journey is continuing.  My life is amazing.  I love going to the gym nearly every single day.  I love taking as many classes as I can, at my own speed and with modifications, because I get so much out of everything I do.  Mike is helping open up a whole new world of possibilities. I know that the only limitations that I have are the ones I put on myself.  I am not my disease.  I am not a victim.  I embrace positive thinking, and I even meditate now.  I know that negative thoughts are very toxic to my body, and cause me pain, mentally and physically.  Sending positive messages to myself is very healing for every single cell of my body.  I am choosing to heal every day.  And it is working for me.  

One side effect of my new lifestyle is that I have lost 42 pounds since starting in February 2012. Considering that I don't "diet", I eat to live, and I get no cravings because I do not eat any the foods that used to cause my cravings, and probably made me suffer.  I do not want to suffer.  I do not want to go back to that deep, dark pale I was at.  For me, listening to my body is the most important thing. 

I am excited about the future, and I look forward to embracing new experiences, and doing the things I loved from the past.  I want to snowshoe this winter, for the first time. I plan on enjoying winter instead of dreading it and being trapped inside.  I need sunshine.  I want to ski, or try snowboarding.  I want to golf again, and I am getting closer to walking a 5K (with my walker at first) because I can now do 2.84 miles on the treadmill while holding on, though I am slow at this point. I may even want to try skydiving some day. There is nothing off limits.  My life is perfect and I wouldn't change a thing, and I know that if something isn't working for me, I can come up with a plan to improve it, always. I am a warrior.

2014 is right around the corner, and I will start the new year in even better shape than I am now.  I will continue to eat my healing Wahls/Paleo foods, and maybe even lose a little more weight over the holidays.   I am also waiting patiently for the release of Dr. Wahls new book in 2014, called The Wahls Protocol: How I Beat Progressive MS Using Paleo Principles and Functional Medicine.  I am hoping that more and more people learn to believe in the healing power of their own bodies, just as I have learned in a very profound way. Diet and exercise, positive thinking, and total honesty with myself - these have all changed my life. There isn't a quick fix or a magic pill coming to save the day, but everyone has the strength in themselves to at least take babysteps in the beginning, because there is hope.