MommyGyver Body Launch
I have a long history with medical and weight issues. For those of you that may be unaware of my story, I will share it here. I apologize for the length, I tried to keep it as concise as possible without losing important details. I was a very active child and teen. I walked to and from school whenever I could, worked out in my spare time- doing everything from yoga to kickboxing. In high school, I was involved in extracurricular boxing and martial arts. I was an avid biker and swimmer. From a young age, I suffered from chronic pain. When I began puberty, the pain intensified and my legs would hurt so bad sometimes that they'd just give out on me. I learned early on that my high level of physical activity for whatever reason, seemed to alleviate the pain. I continued to be a firm believer in physical fitness, and in my early 20's, I began training in competitive martial arts. Specifically, I focused on Muay-Thai, Jiujitsu, and Karate. My body never felt so good. I had abs to die for, could bench press more than my own weight and could leg press weight over two and a half times my own body weight. My body was absolutely beautiful. I was a size 2/4 and loving life! At 27, I became pregnant with my daughter. The pregnancy wasn't horrible until the very end and I kept going into preterm labor. My baby girl was born at 36 weeks, healthy, and beautiful. It would seem that all my health left my body when my daughter did. In what seems to be an overnight change, I began to experience the body aches I had dealt with my whole memorable life at a level I had never imagined before. Sometimes the pain would seem so bad, I wouldn't be able to sleep, and I'd lay there screaming and sobbing for days. At times, I couldn't walk. I fought depression hard and found comfort in food. Lots and lots of food.
I was unable to workout anymore. Within a year of my daughter's birth, I had gone from a size 2 to a size 22. 150 lbs to 235. I was huge and miserable. I tried to push through it. I tried to work out. Thinking that my body was resilient and would bounce back after years of martial arts conditioning, I jumped into working out head first. My first week of my quest to get my body back, I foolishly elected to begin the Insanity program. A few routines went by and I was sore but fine. Then it came time to add Globe Jumps into the routine. Jump number one sucked. Jump two felt like I had been stabbed in my kneecaps. Jump three, I fell to the floor shrieking. I had torn the Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) in my left knee. The explanation I got from my doctor was- "You're too fat and shouldn't have tried to do exercises that were dangerous." Yes, he called me fat. Yes, it hurt. I was mad, in even more pain than I had been in prior, and I felt defeated. How could I stop being fat if my body wouldn't support the exercises I was doing to try and lose the weight to begin with?
From 27 to 35, my weight fluctuated up and down. Diet change, supplementation, and exercising as much as I could through swimming and low-impact activities brought me down to a size 8 for a few months, then the weight came back with a vengeance. I got it back down again in 2014, only to once again have it balloon up again. What was wrong with me? The only medical diagnosis I had for anything at that point was hypoglycemia. I was akin to going almost all day without eating for many years. I have always been a person that works in high stress, high output type of environments, and for lack of better options, I was fueled by energy drinks and coffee. When I was 24, I collapsed at work. I had gone to get a sandwich because I felt odd and shaky. I knew I hadn't eaten anything since the night before. When I went into the food court at the mall I was working at (I was in retail management at the time) I ran into a colleague and began to chat with him. His voice began to sound like he was moving farther and farther away. He must have noticed something was wrong with me because he reached out and grabbed my arm. Within a moment, everything went black and I collapsed in his arms. Thank goodness he was there, or I'd have fallen to the floor. Emergency services were called, and I was carted to the emergency room at the local hospital. My own doctor at the time was able to come in, as he taught the resident students there. Test after test was done, and they determined that I may have had a seizure. My blood sugar level was 38 when they tested it. I was admitted for observation and more testing including a glucose tolerance test. During the test, I began to shake wildly, and I lost consciousness again. My blood sugar had spiked from 75 to over 300, then immediately crashed below 30. They told me I was "reactive hypoglycemic" and "prone to seizures". From then on, I had about one seizure every week or so for the next few years with months of lulls... just long enough for me to almost forget I had the issue to begin with. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I had become so paranoid about having a seizure and any damage it might cause the baby, I began to eat constantly. Anytime I felt shaky or weak, I stuffed my face with whatever I could find. I would eat until I was legitimately stuffed. This behavior continued on for years. At the age of 30, I was the biggest I ever was, and the sickest I had ever been. Seizures seemed to happen more often, body pains were at a peak of frequency, and I was beyond miserable. Flashing forward through the weight loss and re-gain, I was 34 and pregnant with my son, Jacob. This pregnancy was miserable for me. Everything hurt, and I felt like the whiniest person alive. At 20 weeks, we were made aware that something was really wrong with Jacob, but because the doctors couldn't pinpoint what was wrong, and if it was life-threatening, we would not- COULD not even think of terminating the pregnancy- as was suggested by that doctor. (Side note, I never went back to him after that suggestion was made.) At 27 weeks, Jacob was born by way of emergency c-section because the doctors felt that he would not survive in my womb any longer. His heart rate would dip and stop, and he was growth restricted. Without getting into the very painful details, Jacob passed away after fighting every day of his life in the NICU. When he passed away we had no idea of why- other than his organs were failing, he was retaining a lot of water, and was in a lot of pain. He passed away in my arms on an afternoon I wish I could burn out of my memory. Where I wouldn't have him pass anywhere else, the trauma from his death- his sweet eyes looking into mine as the light left them... ripped me to shreds emotionally. It was during my pregnancy with Jacob that my general OB told me that my own body was failing and to seriously consider the fact that having any more children could kill me. My circulation was failing in my legs, my hair was falling out, and the pain was yet again at an all-time high. My own dog had been trained to come when I screamed for help, and pull me up should I fall to the floor. Life was looking really, really grim. Some time after Jacob passed away, we received the diagnosis of his illnesses. GALD. Gestational Alloimmune Liver Disease. In a nutshell, my body saw Jacob as an invader and attacked him. Similar in process to RH factor issues, my body had tried to kill my baby. This disease was not genetic, but it was considered congenital. I was told that I had a 90% recurrence risk for this to happen again, and each subsequent pregnancy could have issues worse than the prior pregnancies. My daughter was only slightly jaundiced at birth. She was small, but not as much as Jacob, and otherwise healthy. Between the pregnancy with my daughter and the loss of Jacob, I had miscarried twice. Now I knew why. Jacob died, and a few months passed. I knew I wanted more kids and had begun looking into adoption. My husband was of the opinion that risking my life was not worth having another baby that could also die. I disagreed, and apparently, so did my body. When I found out I was pregnant with my second son, I knew I had to pay attention to my health. I got into contact with the foremost expert on GALD, and entered into an experimental treatment program that was not just new, but brutally expensive. From 12 weeks to the end of my pregnancy, I had to have IVIG treatments once a week. I had to resign from my position at work due to the amount of time I was in the hospital for observation and treatment and lost insurance. Each treatment cost between $8k and $15k. What insurance we did have until it terminated covered whatever it did, which wasn't all of it, and then for 6 weeks there was a gap in coverage until we could find an option to help us. Those fees were paid out of pocket by us. We moved into a smaller home, gave up our car, and used every bit of savings to pay the bills. Why? Because in the 189 other cases that were treated, 80% were relatively healthy and lived with minimal issue. It was worth the risk and every cent. While I was undergoing the IVIG treatments, I noticed my body pains were subsiding and I began to lose weight. I was 35 and high risk for infant loss and my own health was on the line, but I felt better than ever. I was determined to use that as my opportunity to find an answer to my health issues. By then, I had reached out to the GALD expert and inquired if alloimmune disease shared any link to autoimmune disease. He said yes, there is a pattern that indicates a link, but that they didn't know how or why. That was my cue. I made an appointment with my general practitioner. I demanded to get a referral to an endocrinologist. I was going to get answers and it seemed NO ONE wanted to help me. For the last 20 years, doctors were so quick to hand me pain pills and medicines that treated my symptoms but nothing to treat a disease. I had wrangled my blood sugar issues on my own without medication. As I write this article, it has been over 2 years since I have had a seizure. I monitor my blood sugar regularly, but I noticed that shakiness doesn't mean hunger, and if I eat the right things throughout the day, my sugar stays balanced, and I stay seizure free. Instead of stuffing my face 3 times a day, I began to graze on little things all day long. Issue one: HANDLED. I got the endocrinologist appointment, and the doctor was rude if anything as I explained what I wanted from her. She was quick to dismiss me- put off by my research into my own symptoms, and stated that she "earned the MD after her name, and her first name is not Web." She was implying that I was a hypochondriac Google doctor and that I knew nothing about what I was saying. I was livid and raised my voice at her, demanding that she do the bloodwork. It costs her nothing to do, takes no time to send to the lab. "This is my list of tests I'd like you to run, shut up and draw the blood. I will pay cash, right now." That was the last thing I ever said to that doctor. Her nurse came in with a disapproving look on her face and a dozen vials in her little tray. She took the blood and made several comments about she hopes I'm just overreacting and paranoid. She sees this type o thing after an infant loss, blabla. I wanted to punch her. I stormed out, absolutely convinced that maybe I *was* crazy. What the hell would I do if I was wrong? I would look like such an idiot, I thought. I calmed myself by reminding myself that I hadn't used Web M.D. or Google results to determine what I thought I had, but rather, I read scores of medical journal reports, studies, and books on autoimmune diseases. I was convinced I had Hashimoto's disease, and possibly MS or Lupus. I was horrified, but determined to know. Three days later, I was with my husband and stepson at his Tae-kwon-do school when the doctor's office called me. "Here we go," I thought to myself. I answered. It was the bitchy nurse- only she wasn't bitchy. Her tone was soft and sheepish. She was stammering as she addressed me. "Mrs. Hinks, the results have come back, and first I want to apologize for the doctor and my poor responses to your concerns. I hope you can understand the number of people that come in with their diagnoses outlined on their own- and there's absolutely nothing wrong with them..." I interrupted. "How bad is it?"
She said- "Well, autoimmune issues exist often in bunches. They like to hang out together. Can you please go somewhere quiet so that we can talk privately?" Oh.Shit. I thought she was going to tell me I was dying of cancer, AIDS, Ebola... the way she was speaking, I was convinced she was giving me a death sentence. She continued- "Your tests indicated that you do, in fact, have thyroid antibodies. Your hormone levels are normal but based on this battery of tests, we are confident in diagnosing you with Hashimoto's disease. Unfortunately, the rest of the tests also indicate that you have Sjogren's and you have markers for Lupus. We need you to come in for further testing to see if that's a fluke if it's in fact Lupus, or if there's something more like MS. Your reported muscle weakness and loss of control of your grip at times has our concerns elevated. Again, please accept our apologies for not believing you. You are very astute and tuned in to your symptoms. We'd like to provide you excellent care going forward." Speechless. I wasn't going back there. Not after the way they made me feel. I called a specialist in autoimmune disease and explained that I was having IVIG treatments for my pregnancy- and was feeling better. He advised that I should wait sometime after I deliver my son to have further testing, as the IVIG could possibly throw the test results. My son turned one year old in August. I am scheduling the follow up in the next month.
While pregnant, I lost 15 lbs. My son was born prematurely. Another 36 weeker. He was 5lbs- and entirely healthy. My son is 17 months old today and is 37 lbs, and wears a 3T. He's the height and weight of a three-year-old. You would never know he was such a miracle child or what we went through to have him. The weight continued to fall off after his birth. Slowly, but consistently, I dropped a few pounds a week. The way I did it was a complete diet change. Even though my celiac and gluten allergy tests came back negative, I removed almost all gluten from my diet. I stopped eating refined sugar. Processed foods. I always loved to cook, consider myself quite the foodie, and began to pay more attention to nutrition and ingredient labels. As I write this, I've lost over 70lbs and am now a size 4/6. My pain has been almost entirely eradicated. My hair is growing back, I have energy. My moods have leveled. I am now going to the gym again... for the first time in 10 years, on the cusp of my 37th birthday, I am going back to the gym- and I can handle it. It is possible the IVIG treatments benefitted my autoimmune issues and jump-started my body again. Whatever the reason, I am looking at this as a second lease on my life. It was THIS that motivated me to create MommyGyver Body. The website is live and the full program will begin immediately with full launch starting 12/1/17. Membership is affordable, and along with your membership to the website, you also will get members-only discounts and offers for savings on products that will help you in your journey into better health. We are building a community around the same no-nonsense brand that MommyGyver has become. No bullshit, no kool-aid... just food, fun, and fitness. I am also partnering with medical professionals as wellas fitness and nutrition experts to provide recipes, exercises, and lifestyle changes catered to moms that might not have the ability to hit the gym at all times. Fitness for both the primarily at home as well as frequent gym goers will be a facet of the program.
Real nutrition, real fitness, and real goals for real moms with real issues. A real life program catered to YOU. The mom struggle is real. We spend our days loving and nurturing our families, and often times our own needs are set aside or forgotten altogether. Take a little time for yourself to invest in yourselves. I'm a busy woman, (and until now, this was another one of my excuses) but if I can dedicate just a little time, battle and overcome physical issues, and get into shape and into the best version of myself that I can, I'm hoping that you will take a little time to join me. There is no magic pill. But there is magic and it resides inside of all of us. It takes two things to hit your goals:
- a decision -dedication You come to me with your decision made to be dedicated to becoming healthier, and we will take the journey together. Thank you for reading my story, and I hope to see you at MommyGyver Body!