KIMFITNESSCHIC NEEDS A TANK!

November 25, 2013
KIMFITNESSCHIC NEEDS A TANK!

So I decided to go to the chiropractor today and I haven't been there in about 3 months.  It made me think about why I go to the chiropractor.  Hmmm, why do I go to the chiropractor?  Then I started to think about what the reason was that I started going.  Here's my story.  

THE MUSTANG LOSES AGAINST THE MACK TRUCK
                   When I was about 22 years old, I was driving to the gym early in the morning in my car at that time (purple Mustang).  I had just pulled up to a red light in Etna and all of a sudden I felt my car moving forward rapidly into a school bus full of children and finally ended smashing into a metal pole.  A little confused to say the least, I had no idea of what happened!  Well, guess what?  Can't guess, okay I will tell you.  A Mack truck was coming down the ramp and lost it's breaks and smashed into the back end of my mustang, which pushed me into the school bus and the metal pole!  Ouch!  Well guess where the Mack truck ended up.  The Mack truck after smashing into me ended up halfway through the house on the intersection.  Definite BIG OUCH!  The truck had to be going pretty fast to hit me and then go halfway through a house!  Yep, that was the second time a vehicle that I was in made the front page news.  The first time was the summer before my 9th grade year, when a drunk driver, who was drag racing hit the stopped car that I was in at an extremely fast speed.  However, that is not what this post is about, so I will have to share that story on a later date.  Back to my original story.  So, what happened?  I was taken to the hospital for MRI and other testing.  They completed the testing and said I was good and I could leave the hospital.  I was relieved to be alive and to be okay.  That is one of the many days that I know God and guardian angels were looking over me and protecting me!  I was told by the police that if the truck wouldn't have turned his wheel slightly and hit the back of my car straight on, I would have been pronounced dead on the scene.  Wow, I really felt grateful to God!  

I WAS NOT OKAY AT ALL!
       So I went home and went on with my day.  I was sore.  I woke up the next day, ready to work out because at that time, I was working out two times per day!  Well, I went to the gym and I was having so much pain and felt like I was constantly going to pass out!  I was in extreme pain, nauseous and felt like passing out for about a couple days to a week and still trying to stick with working out!  Well, let me tell you, it was not working!  Do I go back to the hospital? No, because I was told that I was fine!  So at this time I was working out at a gym that had a chiropractor right inside the gym.  I went to the chiropractor, told him what had happened and expressed the amount of pain that I was in with tears rolling down my cheeks from the pain!  He said let me get xrays and let's see what I can do for you!  X-rays came back okay and he said let me start adjusting you a couple of times per week.  Well, I said sure, because I was willing to try anything to get rid of the pain so that I could hit working again heavy!  He adjusted me and after a period of time (which I forget how long), I felt better and I was able to get back to lifting heavy again.  YEAH!

MY VEHICLE LOSES AGAIN
              Well, let me tell you it is not a running joke in my family that I need a tank for no reason!  I think I have been hit by other vehicles and animals so many times, that I do need a tank!  So fastforward some years.  At this point, I was working at an approved private school in Sewickley.  I was driving home from work and as I am driving through an intersection on Millerstown Road, a vehicle runs the stop sign and smashes into my vehicle sending me across the road into the bushes.  I am sitting in my car confused when the people living in the house come out and ask me if I am okay.  I don't know if I am okay and I don't even know what happened!  The nice gentleman tells me to turn my car off and is there anyone that I want them to call.  Well at this point, I can't even remember Fred's number.  I find my phone in my car and call Fred to tell him that I have been in another accident!  Meanwhile the police and ambulance are on their way!  So the police come and ask where the pain is and they are deciding whether to take me out of the car or whether to cut the roof off of my car to get me out because of the pain in my neck!  Well, I end up getting out of the car and I once again am taken in an ambulance to the hospital!  Fred can't get through because they have closed the road off both ways. I get to the hospital and they do tests again and said I had a concussion and whiplash!  I am released from the hospital with Fred.  So for about two years after that I was in major pain and tried many interventions to get rid of the pain!  I was having spells where I getting light headed, nauseous and had constant stabbing pain in my neck and back.  I was having a hard time doing my work because of the pain.  However, my biggest FEAR was how am I going to take care of my children with being in constant pain!  

I HAVE WHAT?
          So I tried multiple interventions to attempt to get rid of the pain!  I did Physical Therapy including water therapy by a Physical Therapist for a period of time and had some relief, but not enough to manage work and kids.  I tried accupuncture, vitamin B injections and pain medications!  Wow, talk about being a Zombie!  I couldn't even stay awake or function with the pain medications!  I think those lasted maybe a couple of days before, I said forget it!  I was getting discouraged and searching for answers.  If you know me, you know that I will keep searching until I find the answer! At this point, my PCP stated that she thought I had Fibromyalgia based on symptomology, but referred me to the Cleveland Clinic.  So we decided to take a trip out to Cleveland Ohio to the specialist for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  I went out there and they confirmed the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome!  Wow!  Now what am I supposed to do?  I have two small children to take care of and I am working full time!  So they prescribed me natural supplements, which helped some, but I was still in pain!  At this point, I was fed up and I wanted something that worked.  What did I do?  I found another chiropractor because the chiropractor, who I went to before had moved to a different location and I was living about 45 minutes away from there at this point.  I found another chiropractor.  Who my children and I have seen for over 9 years now!  WOW, that is a long time!  I haven't had treatments the entire 9 years though!  Anyways, back to my story.  I started being treatment by the chiropractor and was provided with natural supplements!  Wow, what a difference! My pain was decreasing and my ability to complete everyday activities without pain was increasing!  YEAH!  By the way, if anyone wants to know the chiropractor or supplements, let me know!  I actually just got information on the supplements today for a close relative, who has a concussion to hopefully help her out of the pain so she can work again!

SOMEONE GET THIS GIRL A TANK
      By the way, I also hit a deer and had symptoms again after that!  What did I do?  Of course, I went back to the chiropractor and he adjusted me for a period of time and I went back on the supplements!  Back to myself again.  So the fact that I haven't been to the chiropractor in 3 months and I was not in any pain is FABULOUS!  Oh, yeah I forgot to mention that the first two vehicles were totaled and the third vehicle should have been totaled but wasn't!

RELATION TO HEALTH AND FITNESS
       How does this relate to health or fitness?  Even if you are in pain, don't give up on searching for natural ways to eliminate the pain. Chiropractic care is beneficial for adults, children, pregnant women.  It helps keep your spine in proper alignment, so that all of your body systems can function properly.  It also helps release toxins from your body.  It can help with a host of symptoms!   Also, just because there is a lot of pain and you have to give up working out for a period of time, doesn't mean that you have to give up exercising forever!

I hope you enjoy this!  God bless all of you!

Kimfitnesschic

My own fitness journey to start becoming healthy

My weight through transformation

Background

I had two C-sections with having my children, who I dearly love.  However, I ended up weighing 200 pounds after I had my second child.  My belief at that point in time was "I am never going to have a firm, toned stomach after having children and C-sections.  At that point in time, I was not really working out at all.

Getting ready for Women in Wild Challenge with my mother

Then one day, my mother asked me to do the Women in the Wild Challenge with her because she thought it would be fun to do together.  So I agreed to do the challenge.  The challenge consisted of running 5 miles, biking 12 miles and doing an obstacle course.  My mother was of course training and asked me if I was training by running.  I said "yes" I was training, but I really wasn't.  I know, that was bad of me to lie! So approximately 2 months prior to the challenge, I began walking on the treadmill.  I began walking at approximately 3.0 miles per hour and would take it up to maybe 4.0 miles per hour for 20-30 seconds.  I think at that time, the fastest I could run was maybe 5.0 miles per hour for a brief period of time.  However, I utilized the shaping techniques that I used for my career at that time to gradually increase the time and speed. One day at 5am, I went to spinning class for the first time and walked out after 5 minutes.  I came home and told Fred, "F**k spinning" and went back to bed.  However, if you know me well enough, then you know that I will perseverate on not being able to do something until it drives me absolutely CRAZY.  So, I decided to start by using the sit down bike at the gym.  I did that for awhile and then decided that it was time to try spinning again.  Well guess what, spinning was extremely hard, but I MADE it through the ENTIRE class.  YEAH!   I think, by the time of the challenge, I was maybe able to run at 5.5 miles per hour and was able to complete spinning classes. I went to the challenge and was determined that I was going to FINISH NO MATTER WHAT!  Guess what, I did finish!  Yeah!  However, I was sore for about 2-3 days afterwards.

Second year of Women in Wild Challenge with my mother

So I continued to walk/run on the treadmill and did some exercising classes. Guess what!  My mother asked me to do the Women in Wild Challenge again.  This time, I was super excited to do it!  So, I did it and made it through the challenge a little easier this time!  YEAH!

Training for Tough Mudder

So, I was at my cousin's Halloween Party on October 2012 and my other cousin asked me if I wanted to do the Tough Mudder.  Of course, at this point, I said yes because I enjoyed the Women in the Wild challenge so much and at this point I wanted to see how far I could push myself and my body.  So Fred and I talked about how I was going to train for the Tough Mudder.  We decided that we were going to try Insanity.  Well, let me tell you something!  The first week that we did Insanity, we both felt like we were going to die and that we were going to need to call an ambulance to the house!!!!!!   IT was TOUGH!!! But guess what,  I refused to quit, so we made it through the entire program. What is next?  We decided to try the Asylum.  So we completed the Asylum and loved it also!

TOUGH MUDDER TIME

 Well, then it was time for the Tough Mudder.  IT WAS GO TIME!  I was so nervous whether I could finish the Tough Mudder or not?  However, I kept telling myself "KIM YOU WILL FINISH THIS OR DIE TRYING".  I know pretty extreme!!!  However, this is how I motivate myself! As we were standing there at the start gate with all of the people and everyone is jumping up and down and shouting "Hurrah", IT IS SUCH AN ADRENALINE RUSH!!!!!  I was soooo pumped, that I couldn't wait to start!  And then, the race is on!!  WOO HOO!  I will describe everything about the Tough Mudder experience at a later date!  But, we all finished the Tough Mudder and I completed all but one obstacle successfully!  I fell off the Funky Monkey because I did not have enough upper body strength!  I was determined to do it the next year (2014) and complete all obstacles successfully.  Also, Fred was interested in doing the Tough Mudder with me the following year, so I was determined to set up a program that would ensure that BOTH of US could be ready and complete all obstacles.

MY major fitness transformation occurs

Well, then again, what is next!  Of course, it would have to be Focus T25 because we already had done two of Shaun T's workouts and LOVED them!  I also continued to run.  At this point in time, I was able to run at 7.0 miles per hour.  I could run 8 miles without walking at all!  However, at this point in time, I also decided that I was going to start clean eating and cleansing!  So I started taking meal replacement shakes two times per day and cleansing my body three times per month.  Little did I know that I was going to have amazing results in a short period of time!  In two months, I had lost 13 pounds and 6 inches!  I felt better inside and outside!  I felt like a brand new person.  The increased energy was INCREDIBLE!  I no longer craved sugar and wasn't starving myself!  I was actually eating 5-6 times per day.  Yes, I do have cheat meals, but overall I eat clean!

At this time, I decided to become an Independent Team Beachbody Coach!  But I will talk about that tommorrow!

God Bless You All

Who is Kimfitnesschic

 



 Hello, I am Kimfitness chic!  This is my first day of blogging, so I figured that I should share a little about myself and my family.  I live near Pittsburgh, PA.  I will be 38 years old in three days.  I have an amazing partner, Fred, who I have been with for almost 11 years and who I am currently engaged to be married to.  I have two amazing children (Skylar and Johnathan).

In my past life I worked with children with autism as a Therapeutic Support Staff, Behavioral Specialist Consultant and Teacher at an approved private school.  Although, I loved working with the children with autism and their families, I decided that I need to be home for my own children.  Fred, being the supportive partner, that he is said to me, "why don't you just quit your job and stay at home with the children".  Shortly before this, I had started working as an Independent Team Beachbody Coach.  So after a few weeks of trying to manage everything and watching my son's behavior dramatically decrease, I decided it was time to resign as Behavioral Specialist Consultant.

Prior to this time, I worked full time and tried to manage my house and family as best that I could.  However, it was extremely challenging because I had multiple therapies for both of my children growing up.  My daughter was born with Torticollis (wry neck), speech and fine motor delays.  So over the years, we had her receiving therapy by Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists and Speech Therapists.  Then when my son was approximately 1 1/2 years old, he started to go down hill.  His attention span drastically decreased, his inappropriate behaviors increased and his speech was delayed.  I took him to the doctor and the doctor said that he was fine, "he is just a boy".  Luckily, because of the Developmental educational and professional background and early intervention for children with disabilities background, that I had, I did not listen to the doctor.  I also had mother's instinct that something wasn't quite right.  I made a call to Early Intervention and had the team of Early Intervention professionals come into my house and complete an assessment of my son to see if they had any concerns.  Yes, they definitely had concerns!  They had concerns with:  his decreased safety awareness, his fine motor skills, his speech, his behavior and his self-help skills.  They started providing Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Developmental for him.  They also noted that he had the rosy red cheeks (that never seemed to go away), keratosis pilaris and allergy shiners under his eyes.  They suggested that I have him seen by a professional for food allergies.  I had told them, that both children had seen allergists and the allergist completed a skin prick test to determine that my children did not have food allergies.  However, they told me that the specialist, who they referred me to, did not do the skin prick test, but did a blood test to determine food allergies.  So I decided, I needed to at least give it a try.  I took both of my children to the specialist for food allergies.  He recommended doing hair analysis and the blood test to test for all food allergies.  Got the results back.  GUESS WHAT!!!!!!  Both of my children had multiple food allergies and were placed on a glutein-casein free diet.  Now, little did I know that all of the pain that I had for years in my stomach was really food allergies manifesting themself in pain.  Also, the hair analysis noted that my children were extremely toxic with mercury, lead, arsenic and cadmium.  The specialist recommended nutritional supplements for my children and also to DETOX them.  DETOX my children, what are you kidding me!  Well, we agreed to give the children a supplement that the children took orally that would bind to the toxins and pull them out of their body.  At this time, the children were also placed on Zinc, Magnesium, Cod Liver Oil, and Nutritional Multi-vitamin.  Now, insurance didn't cover this, so we had to pay BIG money to get the support that our children needed.  However, what is most important to a mother and father?  YES, their children being able to live to their full potential and be happy.  In the meantime,  I had both children placed on a waiting list with a Developmental Pediatrician, who specialized with glutein casein free diets, supplements and helping improve the quality of life for children with special needs.  However, there were 200 people on the waiting list for this specialist.  In the meantime, we ended up having BHRS services come into our home and daycare to help support our children.  We had Behavioral Specialist consultant and Therapeutic Support staff for both children.  It is very difficult having strangers come into your house and help your children, when that is the same thing that I did for a career.  However, it is not wise to provide therapy on your own family!  Fast forward about 1 year and both of my children finally got in to see the specialist.  YEAH!  Well, after having blood tests to for specific genetic disorders, we found out that our son, had Fragile X grey zone!  Devastating to hear that news!  However, I didn't care what he had, I still loved him and I was determined to help him overcome it as much as possible.  We had Outpatient Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy added.  I will never forget the day that he was sitting in the living room and starting piling all of his toys in the middle of the living room, repeatedly saying over and over again, "gotta take toys to sunnyside", "gotta take toys to sunnyside" until I blocked him and redirected him to something else.  To make things worse, I had psychological evaluations for him and was told that he didn't have "Autism" because he didn't stim and the fragile X ruled out autism.  I went round and round with numerous psychologists, who i worked with.  The doctor, who specialized in autism and glutein-casein free diets, said to me that he did have autism and that it didn't matter what the diagnosis was.  However, me working as a BSC, I knew that it did matter because the professionals working with my son had to develop the treatment plan based on the diagnosis, which by the way was "Disruptive Behavior Disorder, NOS".  Are you kidding me!!!!!  So after explaining why diagnosis matters, the autism doctor (we will call him) referred us to a colleague of his for neuro-psychological testing.  ALL of this while I was doing everything humanly possible to help the clients that I worked with.  AND I COULDN'T HELP MY OWN SON!  Well anyways, I took him to the psychologist referred by the autism doctor for neuro-psychological testing. Guess what I was told?  Yes, he did have a mild form of Autism and Fragile X grey zone frequently occurs with autism!  She also told me that his brain "gets stuck" at times, but he had normal to above average intelligence.  All of the hard work and refusing to give up was finally starting to pay off!

Well, I guess this is a lot more about my family and me than I had planned to share.  However, when you can understand what the journey has been for our family, then you will be able to understand the type of person I am and why I am the person I am!  I will share more tommorrow about me and more recent events!