Rebuilding Myself, One Workout at a Time

An important aspect of my nontoxic journey involves improving my physical fitness. For me, this means eliminating harmful visceral fat and gaining muscle. Having a heart attack at 40 was eye-opening and motivating in several areas of my life. One of those areas was the amount of exercise I was doing, or the lack thereof. During my recovery, I was required to track my blood pressure, oxygen saturation, respirations, and weight. My amazing husband researched and found several devices that track these and all send the information to the iHealth app.

I am no longer required to track my vitals, but I have continued to track my weight. The scale we bought is called iHealth Nexus Smart Scale and is available on Amazon for about $40. The scale tracks your weight (of course), BMI, body fat, muscle mass, body water, lean mass, bone mass, visceral fat rating, and daily caloric intake. The scale can be used for up to 8 people. Currently, Amazon is running a sale for $10 off, so the scale is only about $30!

Once I was strong enough, I started cardiac rehab. The goal was to track my heart rate during different exercises like walking on a treadmill, using an elliptical, riding a stationary bike, and weight lifting. For 4 months, I went to rehab 3 times a week for an hour each time. During each session, I could feel the improvement in my stamina and strength. After I graduated from cardiac rehab, I joined a gym so I could continue my progress.

I continued to go to the gym sporadically, but little by little I went less and less. The gym is not very convenient and is boring to me. It's also overwhelming because there are so many choices, and I don't know what is best for me to do. In January, while on a trip with a friend, she suggested an app she had been using called Ladder. The app has different teams with different coaches who specialize in various workout styles and approaches. Once you pick your team, you will get 7 different workouts for Monday through Sunday. Each week, a new set of 7 appears. I love this because I can work out in the comfort of my home, and someone coaches me along. It's like personal training in your pajamas. I aim to work out 3-5 times a week. Since starting this app, about 3 months ago, I have lost 11.5 lbs and gained almost 2 lbs of muscle.

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This week, I incorporated Pilates into my exercise routine. I've only completed one full class so far, but I really enjoyed it. I'll keep you updated on my progress soon.