Built Skinny

After 3 weeks of training nearly every day, I found myself having to take a week off from the gym.

It wasn't what I wanted, but it was what my body needed.

You see, it was a Thursday and I decided to grab two 30 lb dumbbells.

I was standing in front of the mirror looking down at the ground.

I bent my knees, made sure my back was flat and stable.

I grabbed a 30 lb dumbbell in each hand.

I started to bring my hips forward, moving the dumbbells above my knee.

The weight felt okay - not too heavy.

And then it happened, my lower back decided to holler at me.

In other words, I tweaked my back.

I put the 30 lb dumbbells back and then moved on to lying hamstring curls because I couldn't JUST leave the gym so abruptly - who knows who was paying attention and what they would think of my extra short workout.

So I did a few reps on the lying hamstring curl machine - my back was quiet during them.

I then walked myself home.

That night I barely slept. My back wanted to really chat.

The pain was annoying - so much so that I decided to take Advil to help with any inflammation.

Yes I did put ice on my back the first day.

The next day I started putting heat on it - may I say heat helped the most for me.

Anyway, let's talk about the point of this article.

Living in pain.

Tweaking my back reminded me of how miserable I am when I feel pain and have to live with the pain.

It reminded me of how I used to walk around being in pain all the time and not fully knowing it.

Physical pain is something I was always accustomed to.

It is what you get used to as an athlete - you jam a finger, sprain an ankle, get a bruise, pull a muscle - you kind of just keep it moving. The desire to get back in the game over powers any pain.

Welp the game to get back into isn't here and this 30 year old body is still learning its limits and how it feels.

Experiencing a pulled back reminded me why I live my current lifestyle...

to feel GOOD everyday.

It is that simple!

So let's dive a bit more into pain.

There is physical pain from exercise and accidents.

There is physical pain from food choices.

There is emotional pain from growing up and living life.

What I have learned on this journey is life is 100x more challenging when I am experiencing pain.

Pain affects me in several ways:

1. it keeps me from getting a good nights rest

2. it leaves me feeling MOODY

3. it makes me impatient

4. it makes me antisocial

5. it zaps my energy

6. it slows down my ability to manifest

... and so much more.

Life is DIFFICULT for me when I live in pain.

At one point I accepted my pain.

It was what I knew.

It was what I was comfortable with.

The idea of seeing a doctor or changing my diet was way scarier.

I didn't know if those things would work out.

I wasn't sure if it would actually get rid of my pain.

Would it be worth it?

I then realized what do I have to lose?

I can stay feeling miserable or I can take a risk and see if it works out.

If you're experiencing physical pain here are a few ways you can work through it 

- keep in mind most of these are not quick fixes.

1. see a chiropractor

2. get adhesion removal done (I highly recommend Barefoot Rehab in Denville NJ)

3. go to an acupuncturist

4. receive reiki healing

5. see a doctor who specializes in what you are experiencing pain in

If it is food related then I suggest seeing a functional medicine doctor and doing an elimination diet.

The body changes all the time, but sometimes we need a break from foods that are keeping us inflamed.

If you are living with daily bloating, heart burn, acid reflux, or other physical ailments then please look into your food choices.

A few simple changes can be life changing!

So let's talk about emotions.

There is a wonderful book by Don Miguel Ruiz called The Mastery of Love where he describes a world where everyone has a skin disease that hurts when touched and for thousands of years people have learned to protect their wounds in order to relate to others.

The description he shares shows us how we are full of emotional wounds.

When we are holding on to old pain we are easily triggered and it negatively impacts our relationships.

Think of it this way, when you don't resolve something then anytime it is mentioned you have an emotional reaction to it being mentioned.

When you work through your pain you can get to a more neutral place so you aren't as easily triggered.

Here are some ways for you to work through your emotional pain.

Keep in mind forgiveness is always FOR YOU.

You can heal pain or forgive someone else without ever having to talk to that person.

This is your life and your emotions.

You have the power to choose.

1. write, write, write - whatever feels good for you - one of my favorite techniques is writing a letter to someone or writing what it is I need to hear to feel better

2. family constellation session

3. talk therapy

4. meditation

5. reiki session

What I want you to know is you can heal yourself.

You can decide to work through your pain.

In my mind, life is too short to live in pain.

While I am here on Earth I want to feel good and enjoy it.

I hope this episode inspires you to start to look for ways to really work through your pain.

I know how enticing a quick fix may be, but it won't be worth it in the long run.

Start slow.

This journey is your own.

Remember, you can let go of the pain.

You can live a life that feels AMAZING!

If you want to learn more, check out the podcast episode I did on this topic:

You are looking to make a lifestyle change.

You've been working on it for awhile now.

However you are starting to feel like you are walking in place.

Making progress - somewhat ...

when will you just arrive where you want to be?

when will it just happen?!!

I understand if you're starting to feel frustrated.

Any journey you take can feel like that,

especially if you are slightly impatient.

Here is the secret though.
You have to take daily action.

This is where the non-negotiables come into play.

A non-negotiable is something you absolutely have to do in
order for you to get to where you want to be.

What the non-negotiable is 100% depends on your journey.

For example, if you are on a health journey and looking to heal your gut
a non-negotiable may be one (or more) of the following:
- starting the morning with a probiotic
- starting the morning with celery juice
- avoiding gluten completely
- avoiding dairy completely
- taking supplements to heal your gut lining
... it is something that is getting you closer to your goal.
It is also something you have to do every day to get to your goal.

Another example if you are looking to grow your online business
could be one of the following:
- post to social media
- connect with 10 people
- check emails + respond
- respond to comments on social media platforms
- brain storm program ideas or content ideas

Whatever your non-negotiable is, it will get you closer to your ultimate goal
and it is something you have to do every single day in order to get to your goal.

(excerpt from Wake Up, Girl! A 6 Week Journey to Learning Yourself - 2020 Journal)

So how do you put this all together and actual make a new habit?

1. You decide what it is you want to change in your life.
2. Figure out your ultimate goal.
3. List all the steps you need to take to get to your goal.
4. Come up with the one activity you must do every day to get to your goal.
5. Schedule it into your day.

Bonus - include more than one activity, if possible, to get you closer to your goal more quickly.

Keep in mind, you don't want to feel overwhelmed.

Any change can feel a little disruptive at first until you get used to it.
One of the best ways to succeed with this is to introduce one small change at a time.

Eventually the small changes will just become a new habit.

You got this!

Sometimes we don't realize we are 'off'.

We get so used to going through the day and marking off our to-do lists, 

that we can't really see ourselves.

We may not notice that ...

1. we don't feel great

2. we aren't ourselves

3. we are barely smiling

I spent years going in and out of this phase.

I was stressing myself out by doing too much.

I was emotionally everywhere.

I didn't feel good often.

Looking back I can see I was lost.

I wasn't clear on who I really am and

I wasn't embracing my truths.

If you are experiencing this right now,

please know it is temporary and you will get through it.

 It will get better.

You will feel like yourself again.

For now, I want to share what helped me remember how to smile and connect with myself

in hopes that some of the things I did will also help you.

Remember, you have to experiment and figure out what you like.

This is all about YOU!

1.  Started to listen to new music again

For the longest I kept playing the same playlist on repeat,

but growing up I was a BIG music person.
Somewhere, somehow it all just stopped.

I started to venture into new music and find things that would make me smile and light me up.

The new songs would also get me dancing and moving, which instantly cheers me up.

2. Tried new hobbies

I thought of things I always wanted to try (ie. painting) 

and the things I always loved to do (ie. rollerblading)

and I started making the time for these activities.

I would remind myself it is okay and fun to be a newbie.

Nothing has to be perfect - just do my best and really enjoy the activity.

3. Became friends with myself again

I made time to be alone in nature and I would listen to my thoughts.

Half the time I would find myself laughing because  my thoughts were just ridiculous.

I also started to do things I liked by myself (ie. dinner + a concert).

It was so freeing to enjoy an evening by myself doing things I enjoyed.

4. Remembered so many things.

Every day I would focus on what I was grateful for.

When I'd find myself complaining I'd zoom out and recognize this doesn't matter - in the grand scheme of life what I am whining about is insignificant.

I focused on being fully present every day.
I'd notice what would happen when I showed kindness to a stranger.

I would appreciate the sky and the color of it or the warmth of the sun on my face.

I'd remember I am this one small person on a planet that is revolving around the sun.

I'd pay attention to nature and watch animals and see how they just live.

I'd smile at the simple things.

I did things I enjoyed.

I focused on doing things I enjoyed.

I watched the way in which I spoke with myself.

I remembered the things I love to do and I did more of them.

I learned more things I enjoy.

I did my best to laugh every day.

I don't know fully how I got so far from smiling.

I know fear consumed me more than calmness.

I was scared of being sick and feeling sick.

Plus I was tired of not feeling well.

I took my power back and figured out my health.

Because I feel good, I know I smile more.

Because I feel good, I am excited about adventures.

Because I feel good, I am excited to live.

Your life is just that, YOUR LIFE.

It doesn't matter how it looks to someone else.

What matters is how it feels to you.

Everyone will always have an opinion, 

but who are they - why does their opinion matter more than yours?

(little secret - it doesn't. their opinion doesn't matter more than yours)

Are you living your life for you?


If you are looking to become more aware of yourself, then I suggest using the 6 week journal I created called Wake Up, Girl! This journal will help you recognize what is going on for you emotionally, physically, and spiritually and help you make the changes you want.
buy a copy by clicking here

Guilty confession ...

I haven't been eating enough.

I haven't been eating enough for too many weeks.

As a result I haven't been working out.

I just don't have the energy.

My mind feels foggy too.

I keep getting a little overwhelmed with everything going on.

 My patience and resilience may be a little low too.

And if I push my body too much, I end up sick.

This just means the last few weeks I have been

sleeping more, relaxing more, and have been pretty lazy.

Maybe a better way to rephrase all of this is:

I have been providing myself with a ton of grace

and I was only focusing on surviving through the holidays.

So now I am re-cooperating and just taking my time to get back on track.

I mean who says new goals really have to start on January 1?

Maybe mine will start February 1 instead. 

HMPH!

 All  jokes aside, not eating enough is really becoming a problem for me.

If you saw the blog post before this one (click here to read it),

then you'd know I got my blood work done recently and I still have a ton of work to do.

First order of business is for me to start eating more food.

How do you start eating more food if you don't have the appetite for it?

This is the dilemma.

I don't really WANT more food.

I know this is partially a result of my current habits.

Okay, so now I  have to make a new habit.

Like I REALLY HAVE TO DO THIS if I want to feel my best and be my best.

My first thought - what are things that increase my appetite naturally?

1. exercising / burning more calories

2. eating more regularly

I know my body freaks out sometimes when I exercise too much

without having enough fuel to support it.

So the idea to start exercising and then start eating more

probably won't be the best route.

Instead I am deciding on eating smaller meals more often.

This will naturally get me back into the grove of eating.

Today I want to share a few tips with how to succeed on starting to eat more.

I know I am not the only one out there experiencing this issue.

It's like sometimes you get too busy, you just aren't hungry, 

or you don't feel like making anything to eat because you are tired from your day.

It happens. It is okay.

We have to acknowledge though when we aren't fully taking care of our bodies

and do what we need to do to rectify it.

Without our health, we are nothing.

Okay so you want to start to eat more.

Here is what I suggest in order to really succeed at it.

1. Buy foods you LIKE and WANT to eat

This also means ditching any ideas of 'this food is really good for me' 

or 'I shouldn't eat that because it is bad for me'.

We cannot have any guilt here.

Understand it is temporary and your taste buds will change.

Right now we just have to focus on consuming MORE.

Eventually we can dive back into WHAT you are consuming and make it better.

Of course though please avoid really unhealthy and junky food.

Make smart decisions.

2. Plan out your meals ahead of time.

Pack your lunch the night before.

Get your snacks together.

Figure out 3-5 days worth of meals during the weekend 

so it is one less thing you have to think about during the work week.

3. Have food readily available.

Stock your fridge up with foods you can easily grab and eat.

Some good examples include fruit, coconut milk yogurt, rice cakes, hummus, cucumbers, peppers, carrots, nuts, etc.

Make it easy on yourself.

If you have food already prepared, you won't think twice about what you are going to eat
and you will be more inclined to eat.

4. Eat smaller meals more frequently.

You may have to remember what feeling hungry feels like 

and get used to the first cues when your body is telling you it is hungry.

Don't wait hours to eat.

5. Be mindful of how you are eating

Do your best to eat in a calm environment, thoroughly chew your food, and take small sips of water while you eat (consume the most amount of water in between meals).
You want to enjoy eating again so make it as fun as possible.

Stick with this and be consistent.

If you find yourself in a situation where you are running out of food,
then stop somewhere and buy more.

Carrying extra snacks with you is also really clutch especially,
if you find yourself getting randomly hungry.

With any new habit it takes time.

Focus on it one week and one day at a time.

Your body will adjust and you will be surprised with how much energy you have
once you start eating enough.

In the comments let me know you're favorite tip!

I was really scared to go over my blood work with my doctor last week.

These types of convos typically include:

- scary news

- things I have to keep working on

- a bunch of supplements I need to start taking

... fun times

I keep doing it though.

Going back to this one doctor to get my blood work done and talk about the results.

I keep going back because I need to know.

I look at all of this as an experiment -

I want to see the work I am doing pay off.

Plus this doctor is quite fabulous!

He is way more than just a doctor!

He checks in about:

- my mental health

- my career

- my relationships

- what else is new with me

AND he really explains to me what is going on with my physical health.

Wait, hold on ... before we continue ...

if you are new to my blog - WELCOME - it is nice to see you here! 

Let me introduce myself ...

I am Khrystle Rea

(a health coach, fitness coach and reiki healer)

and I have been on a crazy long journey of healing my health.

Here is a very short [recent] version of my health story.

January 2018 I had blood work done with Dr. Mike Gruttadauria.

I decided to see him after seeing countless other holistic doctors 

with hopes that he could help fix my gut

so salads wouldn't make me feel awful,

and help with my mental health.

My first round of blood work showed my amino acids were in the basement.

Let me post a picture so you can see ...

They were extremely low.

My body wasn't absorbing nutrients.

Why would it matter though if my aminos were low?

Well ... your amino acid levels can impact:

- your brain functionality

- your mental health

- your energy levels

 

Amino acids are crucial for good health!

They are the building blocks of life!

[If you want to get really scientific with it, then I would

suggest that you google amino acids and see exactly how they work in the body.]

So Dr. Mike put me on a protocol and we started making some progress.

I got tested again about 8 months after and things were improving.

My amino acids were still pretty horrific though.

Meaning my body wasn't fully absorbing nutrients.

My gut still needed help.

I continued taking supplements and being 100% gluten free and dairy free.

As a health coach, I really like to experiment.

I like to see how I can heal my own body.

Dr. Mike has always been supportive of this, 

which has made him the perfect doctor for me.

So in July 2018 I decided to start drinking celery juice every day after reading

Medical Medium by Anthony Williams.
In that book, I felt like was describing my entire health history.
It really hit home for me.

(you can read a post I did when I first started celery juice here)

A few months after that I decided to start eating more intuitively,

which meant more plants and basically no meats.
[intuitive eating is when you eat foods based on your intuition and how you feel about them.
I had gotten to this place where the idea of chicken made me nauseous, so I stopped eating it.
In general, I didn't care to eat animal eat.]

For over a year now, I have been:

- plant-based

- gluten free

- dairy free

- egg free (for the most part)

- not a ton of soy

- not a ton of corn

When I reached out to Dr. Mike for another round of blood work [in December 2019],

I had no idea what would show.

A piece of me was scared that everything would be worse.

I mean, I haven't really been eating animal meat at all.

I knew I was feeling better though,

so I was slightly hopeful.

 ... drum-roll please ...

Check out these amino acid levels!!

Alright, so I know they aren't AMAZING,

but they are better!!

In other words ....

something I am doing is working!
WOOOHOOO!!

In my mind, all I have to do is increase how much I eat.

I often find myself guilty of eating less than 1000 calories a day

and with the way I eat that is unacceptable.

I should be eating more food now than ever.

So the current goal is to increase my food on a daily basis,
take a multi-vitamin, and take some amino-acids.

My body is healing and it is getting better!!

The blood work this time showed my body is doing well on a plant based diet.

I AM SO RELIEVED!!

I am okay.

I am OKAY!!
I want to like shout it out to the whole world!

If you've ever experienced poor health then maybe 

you can relate to this emotion of recognizing that 'I am really okay.'
It is so freeing!
It feels way better than worrying every minute about your health.


If you haven't experienced this yet, then I cannot wait until you do!
It is such a blessing to get back to living and not worrying about health issues.

What I am realizing, as I right this post, is that it has taken me:

- dedication

- time

- commitment

- experimentation
- trusting my intuition

 for my body to heal itself.

This has been a really long journey - like +10 years for me.
I finally feel like I am in the best health I have ever experienced.

I want you to know that you can heal and feel this way too!
It is MORE THAN POSSIBLE!!
You got this. Keep on putting in the work!

If you are in the market for a functional medicine doctor, here is Dr. Mike's info:

website: www.theoptimumu.com

All of our sessions have been over the phone, so no worries if you don't live near him.

If you want to chat more about my experiences with Dr. Mike then please feel free to reach out to me.

The thing I want most in this world is for everyone to heal and feel their best!

Let's make it happen!! It is possible!!

By the way, if you are looking for a coach to hold you accountable on your health journey,
then feel free to shoot me an email at info@khrystlerea.com.
I work with women 1-1 helping them figure out how to eat for their body.

You see gluten and dairy and I had this thing.

I'd say no more and then find myself welcoming them back in.

We'd get together and I would remember why I left ...

the stomach pains

the awful gas

the congestion

the brain fog

the fatigue

the emotional roller-coaster

I wanted to be rid of them for good, but I struggled to say goodbye.

How could I let go of baked mac and cheese, pizza, and cheese ravioli?

We were all so close.

My body was suffering though.

My stomach was constantly in pain.

I went to another doctor and he said these friends of mine have got to go for good.

And that was that.

January 2018 I officially broke up with gluten and dairy.

The games we were playing since 2009 finally came to an end.

Guess what - they don't miss me.

They aren't even thinking of me.

What great friends - pft!

I don't need them anyway.

I have replaced every single one of them with a non-dairy and gluten free version.

HA take that old friends!

That's right, there is

- gluten free vegan baked mac and cheese

- gluten free vegan bread

- gluten free vegan cookies/cupcakes/donuts/ice cream

- gluten free vegan chocolate

... the list goes on and on

In fact, I have a ton of new friends!

I feel amazing when I hang out with them.

I don't even remember what my old friends were like anymore.

So last night I hung out with a vegan cheeseburger 

and we had the BEST time.

(Vegan Cheeseburger from Love Life Cafe in Miami, FL)

I am going to keep making new friends, 

especially because there are so many more friends for me to meet!

Drop a comment and let me know some of your favorite gluten free vegan friends!

If you've ever wanted to figure out if you should break up with gluten and dairy, 

I am running a 6 week program that starts January 19th.
This program will help you learn how you feel with
these kind of friends in your life.

learn more about the 6 week program by clicking here