I was digging through my desk drawers trying to find an empty notebook when I stumbled upon an old journal of mine from 2015.
It was just after being in competition prep for 11 months (yes, I did 5 competitions within 11 months – less than 1 year!)
This specific entry I stumbled upon stopped me dead in my tracks.
I had written out a list of all the things I was experiencing and noticing about my body.
It’s no wonder I was experiencing all these things after being on an extreme restricted diet and exercise regime for almost a year!
I thought I was living such a healthy lifestyle already because I ate very clean and I worked out everyday. I didn’t understand why someone like me would have these issues.
But what’s worse is that I continued to ignore these signs.
I was ‘listening‘ to my body for sure, I just wasn’t doing anything about them.
I continued to ignore them for months until they just became my ‘normal’.
And before I knew it, years had passed before I actually started to realize my body wasn’t going to fix itself on it’s own.
But if I wanted to start feeling better, I knew I had to actively do something about it.
My symptoms sucked, but they weren’t that bad. I could deal with it considering I already had dealt with it for so long already. I mean, what’s the difference, right?
Then when I was officially diagnosed with Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (HA) I finally stopped ignoring the symptoms and started to address them head on.
Within less than one month of going ‘all in’ of respecting my body signs, I fixed my biggest health concern: I regained my menstrual cycle!!!
Sure, it definitely helped to address them once I had some answers as to why I was experiencing them in the first place but it absolutely sucks that I had waited to be diagnosed with something so daunting in order for me to really make a change for my health.
Sometimes we ignore the issues for so long that they become deeper and bigger than they need to be and therefore harder to recover from.
I’m so lucky that I had the resources to recovery on my own in such a timely manner. I’m currently still learning how to listen to and respect my body’s signs and signals.
I urge you to start listening to yours too! Even if its just as simple as a headache – because when your body gives you an unpleasant sign, it definitely means something.
Here are some ways you can play detective and look for the patterns in your symptoms:
Journal– write out a list of issues you are currently feeling (like I had done in my 2015 journal entry). If you’re not currently experiencing anything, get into a habit of writing down negative symptoms when you do experience them.
Keep a food log – Sometimes symptoms like bloating, headaches, legarthy, or skin rashes occur after we eat particular things. If you notice something unpleasant every time after you eat food ‘x’, it’s safe to say you will want to reconsider consuming it!
Educate yourself – Listen to podcasts, read blogs, and learn about the signs you may be experiencing and where they might come from. Having answers like these will make it that much easier to commit to resolving the issues!
Let me know if this helps! Leave me a comment below and tell me about your experience.
