Cured Disease. Put on 27lbs of Muscle

January of this year I was in ICU. The 18th, my birthday, was spent discovering I no longer had the ability to speak. 19 yrs battling 5 diseases, 1 leaving me without the use of my bladder for 10. Catheters. Then a suprapubic catheter. The sp tube insertion caused so much blood loss I need 12 transfusions & 8 bags of iron. When I regained my speech it was time to walk. Two doors down was all I could muster.
Fast forward to today. I went from 153lbs to 180lbs now. I haven’t missed a day logging my meals and tracking my macros. I hadn’t been muscular since my early college days.
I began training with a catheter bag strapped to my calf. Rack pull max was 135. Leg press was 120. Migraines. Bloody urine. 4 staph infections (3 on the site of the tube). C diff. Fevers, some in excess of 103. Never missed a workout. Some days (counting burpees, jump squats, or pushups, abs, and the weight routine my original trainer had me on and I’m well over 300 workouts in). My original trainer even cussed me out. Demeaned my family. Threatened me. And kicked me off the social media platform he invited me on to lead when there was none. I never missed a day posting there either. Instagram is my new daily posting platform.
Adversity is now what I use as a catalyst to keep myself motivated on an entirely new level. For the past 6 weeks I haven’t needed a trainer. He had me on so many carbs that I was losing weight and feeling miserable. The workouts I had mastered and was no longer seeing gains in the mirror. On the contrary I was losing weight. My immune response was lowered. That’s why I was kicked out. Bc I had a detailed question and never heard a response. Finally asked if he even cared before phrasing a basic question and bc i told him I couldn’t afford $250 a month for not being coached. Motivation is his strong suit. Detailed form advice and detailed PERSONALIZED meal plans aren’t. Each person has a different body. A different metabolism. A different set of problems. Nothing diet and exercise can’t fix. Now I have no trainer.
The past 6 weeks I readjusted my macros to fit my research for a disease that isn’t supposed to have a cure. I’ve been peeing on my own for over 3 months now - the first time in a decade. Most of the time it’s without pain. I have a ton of pain in other areas, but my main goal was to not have my bladder removed - which was the plan. Would have meant THREE consecutive birthdays in a row in intensive care. From barely being able to walk 30 feet to working out 7 days a week no matter how busy I am.
From needing to self carb upwards of 40x in a 24 hr period during flares and being curled in the fetal position to peeing on my own and hitting my workouts even harder during flares.
MyFitnessPal has been my Bible. I haven’t taken advantage of this community yet bc I believe in long term, sustained results. My specialists are now writing a case study on how I’ve done this. I’ve gone from 12 prescriptions a day, 19 on my formulary (7 prn), down to 2 a day and one prn. Circadian rhythm. Regularity. Militant diet. Militant exercise. I didn’t even fully enjoy thanksgiving and Christmas meals bc even though I hit my macro goals, it was with foods I no longer enjoy.
I’m just getting started. Having the suprapubic catheter was just phaser one in a lifetime journey. But with all the knowledge this app provides combined with the knowledge available today along with an indomitable will, I feel like I can do anything! Thank you MyFitnessPal for making eating right easy, fun, and habit forming! For addictive personalities like myself - what better addictions can there be than logging healthy meals, counting macro and micronutrients, and tracking your workout routines. Most ppl want to lose weight in 2020. I want to gain more. I’ve been able to maintain body fat under 6% while bulking and remaining flexible. I’ll be starting my own YouTube channel. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai along with MANY other opportunities afforded to me by simply being consistent. To whoever is reading this. Know NOTHING is impossible. No disease is “incurable.” With the right mindset and commitment to diet and exercise - anything is possible! Have a happy and healthy New Years even. While others are out partying I’ll be planning my workout for January 1st. This is more than just a passion. This is a way of life. No more merely existing. Time to thrive!