Balanced Health Solutions (BHS) Program-Day 1

5/26/10 Day 1 on the BHS program

Today is my first day on the Balanced Health Solutions program based out of Sparks, NV. This program assesses a person's overall health, which includes eating and exercise habits, weight, % body fat, circumference measurements, metabolic age, daily stress, and toxins one is exposed to (i.e. jobs near chemicals, living in a polluted area, etc.), basically lifestyle. This assessment was right on with what is going on in my body lately in comparison to my doctor's assessment.

A little bit of history about me, I have been under copious amounts of stress the past 2 years of my life. In addition, while I was in college, I worked 30 hours per week and helped take care of my elderly grandmother. Within the past 2 years, my mom was diagnosed with a very rare and life threatening Cervical Spine issue that needed IMMEDIATE attention and surgery. She had a "halo" attached to her skull and was in the hospital for about 1 month pre and post-surgery. When the news was first mentioned to my family, we were all in shock. I decided my mother's life was more important than anything else so I gave up some of my work hours and helped my mom in the hospital post-surgery (nurses were there but unfortunately they were so understaffed they were not able to help that much; I chose to stay there and help her since she couldn't even feed herself). Also, I helped my father with the family business since my mom was unable to do her job. Her rehabilitation was very slow and she was unable to complete simple daily tasks for quite some time. After 1 year and thinking she was on her way to a "normal" life, the doctors found that the cement they used to fuse her neck together created a bone spur that was causing even more damage than the first diagnosis. Again, she went through surgery and rehab, but this time her rehab has been much slower and more challenging. It has been a little over 1 year since the second surgery and my mom is finally able to complete simple daily tasks.

For anyone who has been through a stressful situation such as this one knows what consequences follow, possible weight gain or loss (no mater how healthy you attempt to be), mood swings, depression, and the list goes on. Unfortunately, I did gain some weight and noticed I was not as excited about life as I usually am. I continued to workout, eat healthy and spend time with friends to lift my spirits. Those times were very challenging for my entire family and now that things are moving forward, I have made even more of an effort to "get my life back". I had a physical done by my doctor to assess my body's response to the stress and I started having issues with my Thyroid. I found it extremely challenging to lose even a pound. As my doctor mentioned and any health professional knows, anytime a person is under huge amounts of consistent stress, their body begins to do opposite what we want. It does this to "protect" us from the elements. This goes back to the "caveman" theory stating when humans lived in pre-historic times, food was not always present and as easily accessible as well as life could be very stressful at times (i.e. living through a tough, cold winter, etc.),therefore the body stored fat to preserve the energy for when it was really needed.

Now, I must remind you I grew up a competitive athlete playing various sports year round, going from one practice to the next and even practicing when I was not at practice or in a game. I have always and still workout 3-6 days per week, which includes running 3-10 miles, lifting weight in a circuit style (all the fun and crazy tire flipping, Olympic lifting and plyometric type workouts) and deep stretch/yoga. My workouts are never less than 45 minutes. I eat healthy and probably stay within 1600-1800 calories (kcal) per day. I give myself either 3 splurge meals or 1 entire splurge day each week. My splurge day usually consists of eating dark chocolate (yum) and maybe a glass of wine with dinner, possibly some SUSHI!

OK enough history, now about my assessment, it stated my Thyroid is having issues as well as I am under copious amounts of stress. All that could lead to becoming pre-diabetic and hypothyroidism. I have a very high percent body fat (well very high for me...I will disclose this information at a later date) and my metabolic age is 50..yikes! Stress does horrible things to a body.

Now onto the actual program, like most nutrition programs there is a sample menu I may follow but, really I only need to stay within a certain calorie range each day. They recommend 1000-1100 calories, but since I workout more I am allowed 1400-1500 calories per day. I eat only the recommended foods (different from the actual menu), which is an assortment of almost every vegetable and fruit you can think of, including avocados (yum). The only foods I am not allowed to eat within the 20 days are grains and anything "white". I am able to eat yams and sweet potatoes in small portions. The first 2 days are simple healthy eating and exercise then days 3-5 are a "detox" period when I drink only a certain liquid combination. Since I work out a lot I am allowed 1 serving of protein (2 eggs, 1 chicken breast or a small fish fillet). This will be interesting. The rest of the program includes body wraps, infrared sauna and exercise (prescribed by yours truly). Again, interesting. I am looking forward to the day by day results.

On a side note, those of you who know me know I am more old school in my coaching/training and my philosophy about nutrition. I believe people should just eat healthy (fruits, veggies, low fat proteins and healthy grains), not in excess and exercise most days of the week. I have had bad experiences with D.C.'s so needless to say, I am not a huge fan of chiropractors (like strength coaches, unfortunately many not so good D.C.'s have given the smart ones a bad reputation) and "detox" programs but Balance Health Solutions will be referring some of their patients to me; I figured how best to know what their patients are going through but do it myself. What could it hurt? I do respect their knowledge and background as well as their in depth assessment.

My experience today has been nothing out of the ordinary. Although, I did fall asleep earlier than normal last night; please note, I did use one of the hormone balancing supplements last night and as a result, I felt more peaceful and slept very well. I sleep well most of the time, but last night I felt so much more calm. It was fabulous! Was my calm mind because of the supplement? Possible, especially since this supplement has been link to hormone balance in post-menopausal women in various legitimate research studies (I used to present for Raley's and one of the topics I happen to cover was HRT, commonly known as Hormone Replacement Therapy and I reviewed many studies discussing alternative therapies to HRT). Although, some may argue it was a placebo effect, which is also a possibility. My blog will display the long term results. I promise, I will do my best to be unbiased and fair in every way.

I am eating healthy but instead of grabbing a Cliff bar (aka "healthy snack") when I am in a hurry (especially since I forgot my lunch today, totally unlike me), I eat more veggies. Of course I eat veggies and fruit a majority of the time, now I am relying on them as my main snacks instead of the "healthy snacks". I feel no different overall and my mood has been good and even all day.

Well off to my workout....Stay tuned daily for the updates. Let's see how much weight I lose and how I feel in 20 days!