Living with A.S.

[Anek]

 

[Germanamazon]

@Obsinosterous @Anek thank you!!

 

[Matan]

 

[Mamatigerj]

 

[MadamMeow]

Happy Birthday!

 

[Germanamazon]

Ok body,
Since when did the ability to single leg hop or calf rise leave us?! Here I am trying my best and it feels like you don't want to move, or can't move. Using both legs no biggie, just the right leg, hey works. Left leg? It's gone, just poof! Slightly frustrating love.
*sigh is this what AS looks like? Or is it one of the wonderful extras that comes along with it?
On the up side. Shoulder strength is booming. Upped my weight, and my reps. Yay!
Walking is doing OK. Rainy days are trouble though, but working on it.
Food is good, not perfect. Don't want perfect. I want loads of anti-inflammatory, not perfection.
My vitamins are in check, love the ashwaganda, helps my mind. I'm thinking of adding Collagen. should help joints and bones. Worth thinking about.
So for today I will get going. Have appointments to get to.

 

[Germanamazon]

It is the first of decemeber and the 1st Advent, christmas time has officially arrived.
I do not feel it since it has been up in the stores since the end of July! July bees!! So yeah Christmas spirit is lagging.
I have my advents Kranz done. Made it all myself,
Need to get some black or red christmas ornaments tomorrow and put some on there. It's lagging a bit of contrasting color.
My goal for December is to do the fit December. Day 1 is done and accounted for
I will also try some new vegan recipes. Thanks to a thread chat with our wonderful @neilarey and the tips of tofu to try and to just go for it. I will start with a recipe a week and build from there.
I have a family that isn't all to fond of change. Believe it or not married for over 20 years with 2 kids 11&7 (well almost 12&8), and two of them are super picky eaters. Only one of them is a kid .
I have absolutely no problem with cooking two meals. If affordable. I do that fairly often to get some variety and to get the kids to try new things. We have the rule of a trial bite. So that means I need to meal plan and write a shopping list.

I have been reading around in a few check in logs. So many bees doing so many things! I found some inspiration here and there for myself. Planned out programs for a year, or a list of challenges they want to do, goals everywhere. Absolutely amazing. This place is my pick me up when my head is going down a dark path .

So now off O go, meal planning etc

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Your wreath looks good @Germanamazon . Are the skulls traditional? Or your own addition?

 

[Germanamazon]

Your wreath looks good @Germanamazon . Are the skulls traditional? Or your own addition?

My own Addition. Here in Germany all things poinsetta and baubles are more Traditional. I like the skulls and bones look more

 

[Germanamazon]

Inhad a very good day!
I did fit December day 2
I did day 2 of one and done
I did Band it level 1
And had a walk in rhe City.

I tried the banana bread Muffins from darebeets. So so good!
I made vegan shepherd's pie for my dinner, the fam got spaghetti and meatballs. lovely food all in all.
I was all in all vegan today. Not all too many changes with the things I usually eat. I already use oat milk instead or regular, instead of meat I used lentils for then pie today. Lunch was soup and sandwich. I had a vegan spread made of bell pepper and lentils, topped it with beets and seasoned it on some fresh bread. *chefs kiss*
That paired with a veggie broth soup with bak Choi and parsley. I was so satisfied. Oh and a orange as desert.
I planned my dinners for the week, so that I'm not scrambling when it's time to cook. I have to get some of that Taifun tofu that was recommended. I want to try the creamy eggplant with lentils this week too.

 

[Germanamazon]

I am proud of myself.
I switched day 8 with 9 of fit December instead of letting it slide due to back pains. Living with A.S. has it's nuisances.
So far I have did my daily one and done challenge and did my fit in December daily. 8 consecutive days. On most days I did a second workout in the afternoon or had a long walk. Like today, walked around the flea market and then the christmas market with friends, then my other workouts in the evening before TV and quiet time. It's a huge thing for me keeping it up on the weekends. Shows my inner self that it is possible.
I will keep up my streak.

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

Hugs, well done! Though Christmas markets are fun but tiring!

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Great work @Germanamazon !

 

[Germanamazon]

Hugs, well done! Though Christmas markets are fun but tiring!

They are tiring but not due to walking. People and all the different energies take it out of me.

Great work @Germanamazon !

Thank you !

 

[Germanamazon]

What a change in my mental health I have been experiencing. It has been getting better on a daily basis.
I wonder if that is the reason behind my thought process today.

I want to change myself to a better me, my mental health is getting better, I would also love to improve my physical health.
Exercise is going very well, did my day 10 of O&D and FiD plus took a walk. Now I want to concentrate on my nutrition. Food can be your biggest health improvement or your hardest working poison.
I have absolutely no idea where to start though. So for now I will concentrate on adding more veggies and fiber as a start. Sounds good doesn't it? I feel concentrating on adding food instead of taking food away feels better. I hate the idea of forbidden foods. Makes me want to eat them just so much more.
Example: tonight I am cooking spaghetti Bolognese. I will add Zucchini noodles to the normal noodles. Maybe trade whole wheat for the normal noodles for me. They have more fiber that regular noodles.
After dinner I will sit down and write up what I could make tomorrow for my meals. Look up the macros etc. I already have a broad calorie and macro range for me (Depending on how fast I want to lose weight. Except that is not important at the moment). I already have tried a few darbeets recipes. The creamy eggplant with lentils was fabulous! The ones that I have tried and liked I will recook this week.
What else does one do to improve health? If anyone has tips, please I would love to see them.

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

I like your approach to changing your diet. The more healthy food you eat, the less you will want to eat the less-healthy things. So that part almost takes care of itself in the end.

When I was looking to improve my diet (and also to lose some weight), two things that helped me a lot were 1.) committing to eating only homemade food, and 2.) committing to eating a salad a day. DAREBEE has Challenges to help you track these things:


(I see that you already do a lot of cooking. So you've already got a good start on this one.)



Of course, in 2024, it is pretty much impossible to eat 100% homemade all the time. So you decide in advance what exceptions you will allow. (For example: I allowed myself to keep eating commercially-prepared cheeses and hot sauces. But I switched to making my own salad dressings.) Then you do the best you can within the goals you have set for yourself.

The more we prepare our own food, the better control we have over the quality of that food. It can also really help with reducing the less-than-healthy eating without outright bans. (For example: Say you really love cookies. You don't want to say cookies are forbidden, because then you will just crave them all the time and probably give in at some point and eat them. But if you bake your own cookies, you can make them with less sugar than you would find in store-bought cookies. You can bake them with whole wheat and/or nut flours instead of refined wheat. So you still get to eat the treats that you love, but you've made them healthier.)

For my salad-a-day challenge I allowed myself to put pretty much whatever I wanted into my salads (fruit, cheese, nuts, seeds, fish, grains, etc.), so long as the bulk of the salad was some kind(s) of green vegetable, and any dressing was homemade. I had my salad for lunch because, at the time, I was responsible for feeding my father most days and he would not go for eating just salad for dinner. (For lunch he mostly just ate a hard-boiled egg, or a handful of peanuts. So I would give him that and then make my own lunch anyhow. So switching out my old lunches for a salad was a lot easier than trying to do the salad for dinner when I would also need to cook something for my father.) I also challenged myself to eat a different salad every day for the first month, so I would not get bored. Then I asked my fellow Bees for suggestions of their favourite salads. I learned some tasty new recipes this way!

On the exercise front: you are already doing the most important thing by being consistent! Adapting as you need to, but doing something every day is key to long-term success.

 

[Germanamazon]

I am busting with pride.
Living with A.S. isn't easy, on a lot of days it is hardly bearable. The aches and pains that come with it on a daily basis can really. . . Yeah let's not go there.

Today I am bursting with pride in myself. Haven't had that feeling on a bit.
I am on day 11 on one & done and fit in December. Plus I accomplished my goal of 500 kicks for my Christmas ornament. All this on a high pain day (My level 8). My back is killing me and I did my things anyway. (Ok FiD was a hallpass day, but done is done!)

For today I have done enough.
Tomorrow I have an appointment with my doctor. Need to tell him about the pain increase etc.
Rest of my early evening I will read and crochet. I feel good.

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Truly impressive work, @Germanamazon ! You deserve to be proud!


I hope your doctor's appointment will lead to meaningful help with the AS symptoms.

 

[Germanamazon]

Well, today my doctor was more drug dealer than doctor. I know he can't help it, he's kind of done everything he can do. I have to give the meds "time to work". I have been taking the one for over 3 months, the fast acting one for 3 weeks now, and my hip and lower back still make standing or sitting for long hours very painful. So IBU 600, 2 times a day, up to 4 times a day. The only solution he had.
I am frustrated. Short and simple.
So today I did a short day. Due to lack of a other way of saying it.
I did:
O&D day 12
FiD day 12
Lugged 3 boxes of wood up one set of stairs.
No deep cleaning and no long walks. I let my hip rest a bit. Let's see how it feels tomorrow.
My plan for tomorrow is:
O&D day 13
FiD day 13
Band it level 1
Anywhere abs level 1

Let's see how I am feeling/doing tomorrow. It is my lucky day.

 

[Obsinosterous]

I'm sorry the doctor was no help today. More drugs isn't the answer any of us want to hear. Good for you staying active and improving your diet.

 

[MadamMeow]

Congrats for getting that Stocking!

Really sorry the pain is so bad today though, and hope that settles down soon.

 

[NightWolf714]

I'm sorry to hear that you've been struggling with pain so much and the meds are only doing so much. That sounds incredibly frustrating. But I think it's great that you're still trying to keep with it and adjusting for each day.

 

[Germanamazon]

Wow day 16 of the one and done challenge and fit in December. I have done each day so far without skipping a day, and only used one hallpass so far.
I was so happy I started wondering what should I do when these two are done. It's hard to choose the next 30 day program cause on some days I can do level 3 workouts, but most days only level 2.
Taking that into consideration, I chose foundation as my 30 day program and epic legs as my challenge. Foundation I will switch between level 1 and 2, on really good days I'll aim for level 3.

I will also have a go at the only homemade for 15 days, and the no junk food challenge for 30, except both more as a streak challenge. So no diligence for the complete time, just a see how long we can do this at one go thing. That way I stay cool and don't zoom in on what I can't eat and then want it even more. I have a problem with "verboten". My inner kid goes nuts when I say something is a solid no.
This time around I have everything printed out so I won't forget it. Bad case of out of eye out of mind (Thank you A.S.). I will hang the printed trackers on my kitchen cabinets where I see them first thing in the morning.
I think I have my bases covered for success.

 

[NightWolf714]

Congrats on the progress with the one and done and fit challenges! Best of luck with the food streaks!

 

[Maegaranthelas]

Chronic Illness really like to mess with any plans you make xD
But I love to see you improving your fitness and strength <3
I heard that improving your strength (slowly!) can be as helpful for AS as it is for HSD/EDS
Strong muscles help prevent the stress on our joints and thus prevents issues from getting as bad.

And I also just focused on adding more veggies to my diet, and ended up flexitarian =D
Too many allergies to go vegan, but I feel a lot better now meat is no longer a default food.
It's like my body spends so much energy digesting it that I just have none left to do stuff with
(okay and I really like how veggie stuff takes much longer to go off than meat, I am also very forgetful)

 

[Germanamazon]

Hi and welcome @Maegaranthelas, yeah a plant Based diet does help a lot! Check out darebeets.com there are a lot of really good recipes for veggie Based foods.

So update
I have completed 24 days of fit in December So far with only twohallpasses. The same goes for one and done, just without skipping

Inhave actually lost some weight during all this too. That was a surprise. The only thing I have changed other than my daily dose of exercise is writing down what I have eaten. Believe me it's cool and helps me focus cause I also write down my supplements and extra stuff I do like the workout or exercise of the day. That way I don't forget anything.

Here in germany we still have two more days of Christmas. Today it's off to Oma's (grandma), and tomorrow we are staying home and friends are coming over. I hope the whole darebee community is having a happy healthy holiday.

 

[MadamMeow]

Merry Christmas!

 

[NightWolf714]

Merry Christmas!

And I didn't know about Darebeets, so I appreciate the info!

 

[Germanamazon]

@everyone at darebee merry christmas I hope everyone had a happy and stress free holiday with people you love.

 

[Germanamazon]

Day 26 on my journey.
Amazing how many positive things can happen in a short amount of time.
I have completed day 26 of one&done and Fit in December, I feel better in my body (still ignoring the pain), over all mental health has improved, I am in a better mood, I am more active with my kids, don't get upset easily, overall I have a much more positive attitude.
I have lost some weight, about 3,5 kilos, and my skin looks clear.
I think slowly but surely it's time for the next step in my journey.
If neilaray brings out something that interests me more for the monthly challenge I will change it but so far I have chosen Epic Legs.
I will challenge myself with the early release January program, and for my accountability program I will do foundation. For me this means I have to do foundation daily just like the fit in December, but the January release if I have to skip a day it's OK. My goal is not to skip anything at all, but we all know life happens and flair ups come and go.
I will keep writing down what I eat, but not count calories. I will start tracking the amounts of fruit and veg I consume and build up the portions.
I will try new recipes from darebeets and from my aldisports app. Overall concentrating on nutrition.
I think for my next 31 days that is more than enough.

 

[Maegaranthelas]

That sounds like a thorough and wonderful plan for the next 31 days!

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Huge congrats on all of your progress @Germanamazon ! Those are well-earned wins!

Your plan for the next month looks solid.

 

[Mamatigerj]

I hope you had a lovely Christmas, @Germanamazon!

Your plan for January looks great!

 

[Germanamazon]

I tried the workout of the day: steel works.
Did level 1 with wall push-ups instead of floor push-ups. Not ready for those yet.
I am stoked about being able to do that

 

[Fitato]

So proud of you for doing such a great job at the Fit in December challenge! Hurray! I'm glad you're feeling better lately.

Did the diet change end up helping with your inflammation?

 

[Germanamazon]

So proud of you for doing such a great job at the Fit in December challenge! Hurray! I'm glad you're feeling better lately.

Did the diet change end up helping with your inflammation?

Hi @Fitato and welcome!
Yes it truly did! I have noticed a significant difference by leaving all pork and turkey out of my diet, and sunflower oil. Those always made me feel worse after consuming them.
I have advocated to leave those out of people's diets that suffer from A.S. in my support group. Those who have done so also say they notice great difference.

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

By curiosity, do you just skip oil, or replace sunflower oil with something else (olive oil, butter, something else) ?

 

[Germanamazon]

By curiosity, do you just skip oil, or replace sunflower oil with something else (olive oil, butter, something else) ?

I use coconut oil or rapseseed oil. I do hope Google translate that one correctly. Here it's Rapsoel. I also use plant margarine, there is no sunflower in any of those.

 

[Germanamazon]

Today is badge day
I have completed Fit in December this morning. With a total of three used hall Passes and two days switched around.
I also completed One&Done yesterday.
I am proud that I will be completing 2024 on a strong note.

2025 I want to start on a strong foot too.
I hope all Darebees will go into 2025 happy and healthy.

 

[TopNotch]

Congratulations!

 

[Fremen]

Congrats

 

[NightWolf714]

Congrats on both!

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Congratulations on completing Fit December and the One & Done Challenge @Germanamazon !

 

[Mamatigerj]

Happy Badges Day! And Happy New Year, @Germanamazon!

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

Happy badge day, and wishing you a strong start of the new year!

 

[Maegaranthelas]

Congrats on finishing strong!
und Guten Rutsch

 

[MadamMeow]

Congrats for One & Done and for Fit December!

 

[Germanamazon]

 

[Germanamazon]

So hello 2025
Hi darebees!!
It's the second day of 2025, and I am still going. Sometimes I think slower that a snail on Valium, but I'm going.

Was at my docs today. Yipyips nothing new there. Except telling me with A.S. I should get used to the idea that IBU will most likely be my best friend from now on. I know it could be worse. Just wished we could freaking figure out why it's always my hip that is killing me.
Showing him my booklet made him get bigs eyes though. Working out daily, step count, what I have eaten. Not many bring that much information with them. I just really like my notebook

It's well put if you ask me.
I also bought the new.green powder Aldi has in it's stores now starting today.

It is really green, and I mean GREEN! It has a slight scent of nori, and aldi needs to work on the taste a bit. It's not terrible, but it could be a bit better.
My doc looked at my supplements and said I should add fish oil and take my Magnesium with Vitamin D before bed. I am doing a lot of right things.
My wins so far:
Abs standing day 3
Foundation day 2 level 2.

Goals for tomorrow: day 4 of abs and day 3 of Foundation, and day 1 of hero's journey.

 

[Germanamazon]

Hey just checking in
I did abs standing day 4
Foundation day 3

I started the 16:8 way of eating yesterday in the hopes it will help with my A.S. pains. Today is day 2, had to eat a little later than 6 p.m. I won't be fretting over it.

I was getting slightly bored here home alone with my sniffles and slightly sore throat. So I read the guide of working out while sick. Gave it some thought and went oh heck with it. So I pushed play. Hero's Journey day 1 level 1. Had to do the mountain climbers elevated though. Me and the floor with a move like that isn't working with my shoulders and spine.
My sniffles and the rest aren't feeling any worse. Took my time with it, and am happy to have started.
Let's see how I am doing tomorrow.