Author: Jackie M

  • How sickness and stress changes things rapidly

    How sickness and stress changes things rapidly

    It’s September 1st today, that’s right. The first day of month 9 of the year 2014. It’s also a Monday, and a public holiday so I thought it’d be a good time to finally share with everyone what really happened to me.

    To say that I have fallen off the bandwagon is trying to sweep things under the rug with a simple explanation. I was always trying to make healthier choices, even when I was indulging. Not that I’d want to use this as a proverbial excuse, but basically back in June when I was in the states…

    I got sick. Mysteriously sick.

    I started getting what I now know is eczema. I suspected for a moment, that somehow I picked up impetigo from dirty sheets when I was at a cabin at Camano Island, and that triggered an immune-response that cannot be tamed, but I can’t be sure. What I know though, that it was some kind of bacterial infection that lasted for months.

    As a tourist, it was challenging to get healthcare, and so I did what I could by using over-the-counter remedies and other people’s old prescription creams. It made me think of all the reasons why the U.S. is a terrible place to fall sick while you are on vacation. At least in the U.K., you have universal health and if something happened to you, you’ll get treated without then killing yourself in the process of paying healthcare bills.

    So I had all these dry spots that became infected. It was oozing a honey-colored liquid where there was a skin injury. It itched like hell and I felt like a leper. I couldn’t function, unless I popped an antihistamine, showered several times a day, and oiled myself from head to toe. I couldn’t sleep most nights, because the itching was intolerable, unless I knocked myself out with a Benadryl.

    I even tried to detox. That worked right after, but if I were to eat anything containing shellfish, which is typical in Malaysian cooking, or have some nuts, it would flare up again. Based on those reactions, it can be gathered that, though I have never had food allergies before, I was now allergic to all the known ingestible allergens. Dairy, nuts, and shellfish were itchy triggers.

    All of that made it so difficult for me to work out, so I stopped exercising. Naturally, that had consequences and it caused a lot of anxiety, which elevated my stress levels, which caused my weight to rise. So I was itching, tearing, oozing, not working out, and stressing.

    As you can see in the picture above, I look inflamed, bloated, and I didn’t feel good.

    When I got back to Malaysia, I thought maybe the humidity would help keep my skin moist. While it helped overall to relieve the incessant itching on the whole body, my wounds would not heal. Instead, I began developing other, newer dry spots that just won’t go away.

    By now my stress level, when calculated was reading at 333 on the Holmes-Rahe Stress Scale. It also happens to be a very destabilizing time in my life, as there are multiple overlapping life-altering changes including a house move where we’ll be losing 3,000 sq ft of space.

    Then last week, I went out to have dinner with my family, and my dad ordered this huge plate of big prawns that were absolutely delicious. My lips swelled up after I ate some. Never happened before, but all I could do is pop a Zyrtec, which helped bring the swelling down!

    Downcast and frustrated, I called and made an emergency appointment with my dermatologist. So my official diagnosis is this.

    Diagnosis 1
    I probably have nickel allergy. Somehow, my body has gotten so sensitive that, I can’t eat food that has high concentrations of nickel, food that comes in a can, or food that’s been cooked in stainless steel anymore.

    Diagnosis 2
    I have confirmed eczema, with secondary infection on all areas affected.

    Diagnosis 3
    I have a candida fungus infection on a few spots on my face and arms (which I was unaware of, and only started when I came back to this climate).

    So I was prescribed 4 types of creams and a fancy moisturizer that cost 85 bucks a bottle, told to apply the meds twice a day and the moisturizer 4 times a day. I have been told to cook in clay pots, and to cut out refined carbs and sugar as to not feed the candida. I was also prescribed antibiotics to clear my systemic infection.

    It’s Day 4 now. My eczema spots have cleared up and are not oozing anymore. That sandy feeling on my lips is gone, and I don’t feel like a leper anymore. Although I still have a long ways to go trying to fix everything, I’m just glad there’s some progress.

    I have no idea what happened to my health and I feel like Job in the bible.

    Instead of complaining though, I will stay in faith and continue to thank God for what he is doing in my life. I’m grateful for family. I’m also grateful for all the people who love me. In a few days, I’ll have better more reliable help, too.

    Now that the infection is gone, I’m going to get back to working out and eating extremely clean.

    I wish I had a more linear story to tell, but life is like this. Sometimes it gets in the way and you fall sick mysteriously.

    Anyway, that’s the reason why I look swollen and sickly. More importantly, I have already made a commitment to take care of my health and I won’t let setbacks take me down.

    Maybe this is God’s way of humbling me, so that I never forget that good health is not purely by merit, but that it’s because He allowed it.

  • 15 Ways to Avoid Getting an Infection at the Gym

    15 Ways to Avoid Getting an Infection at the Gym

    If you’re a germophobe, chances are, you know exactly what to do with those antibacterial wipedowns. For the rest of us normal, unsuspecting people who are well-meaning but largely unaware, the gym is one of those places where you can pick up all kinds of nasty diseases.

    According to the New York Times article written by Jane Brody, you could be unlucky and pick up MRSA, a staph infection that can be fatal. She also writes that the more common nasties you could pick up are athlete’s foot, jock itch, boils, impetigo, herpes simplex and ringworm. You can see pictures of the things you could pick up here. Here are some of the tips from the same article, and also some of my own.


    1. Always Wipe Down the Equipment Before Use

      A decent gym usually provides disposable antibacterial wipes, gels, and/or paper towels. If not, bring your own.
    2. Use Your Own Mat

      It is definitely easier to use the exercise mats at the gym, but imagine all the bacteria, fungus, and viruses that were transferred by the many people who have been using them living on there. Assuming your skin is exposed to a little patch that the cleaners missed, you would have picked up something. It’s just safer to use your own mat.

    3. Shower at the Gym After Your Workout

      This may itself be counter-intuitive, but showering at the gym after your workouts means that you give less time for the germs to populate and stay on the skin. Just remember to wear your own slippers, because you could also pick things up like athlete’s foot from the floor and other people’s slippers.
    4. Use Antibacterial Liquid Soap

      While I don’t recommend using lab gloves to avoid picking something up, you’d want to use germ-killing soap after exposure. It’s more hygienic to use liquid soap, than bar soap. Always wash your skin after it has come into contact with equipment or furniture that have high use.
    5. Use Separate Bags for Clean and Dirty Clothing

      The best way not to spread the infection around after your clothes have been exposed, is to bag it separately, and wash it separately (if possible). If not, just add a disinfectant into your laundry load.
    6. Don’t Share Towels and Clothes

      It’s very easy to share a t-shirt, or a towel when you’ve forgotten yours, but fight that urge. Not only would you be picking up your friend’s germs, you could also be passing something to your friend with the germs that you don’t know are already living on you. It’s just the responsible thing to do to bring, use, and wear your own.
    7. Wear Clothes That Cover Your Skin

      This is especially true for ladies. Most of us like to expose your skin with skimpy tight gym clothing because it just looks sexy, but if you wear capris instead of shorts, you’re creating a barrier for your legs from picking up things when you sit on benches and the floor. Same goes for your back when you are lying on mats. If your skin is exposed, assume contact exposure.
    8. Don’t Share Water Bottles

      No brainer here. Fairly easy to catch a cold or cold sores from someone’s water bottle.
    9. Don’t Share Personal Grooming Items

      Yes your nails are long, but you could pick up a fungal infection from a nail clipper. You could also pick up things from a hairbrush. Lice and fungus anyone?

    10. Change Your Socks and Underwear Daily

      It’s not okay to sweat in your socks, dry it, then reuse it again. In the same token, it’s not okay to flip your undies to wear it the next day. That’s totally fungally gross. Keep your feet clean and dry by changing your socks daily or after every workout. Women, use panty liners.

    11. Wash Yourself Well

      Pay attention to your armpits, groin area, and also between the crevices of your feet when you wash. Use antimicrobial soap, towel-dry and and you may want to use powder to keep those areas dry.
    12. Take Care of Existing Infections, Even if it’s Small

      Sometimes you may get fungal spots that are localized and small. If you do, take care of it immediately by applying anti-fungal medication like clotrimazole or miconazole. Don’t scratch or touch it as you don’t want it to spread to other parts of your body. Let the cream do it’s job. (P.S.: Talk to your doctor)

    13. Disinfect Your Laundry and Use a Dryer

      For those of us who live in very humid climates, it is very important to have a dryer because line-drying clothes can breed fungus and mold. Using a dryer helps prevent that. Just make sure that you put the dryer on air-dry setting when you are drying your synthetic, sweat-wicking fibers as to not damage your expensive workout gear.
    14. Use Antibacterial Workout Gear

      This is taking it up a notch, but current fabric technology from higher-end workout gear like Lululemon Athletica and Athleta carry silver-spun antibacterial workout gear. Sure, the technology is mainly used to combat stink, but if it kills or prevents germs from populating, then naturally, your exposure to live germs would be a lot less under those clothes.
    15. Wash Your Hands or Use Antibacterial Gel

      Finally, just remember to wash your hands after touching public surfaces. This is so that you don’t transfer it onto other parts of your body when you touch or scratch yourself. Eyes, nose, face, arm, mouth, head… those are very common places you’ll touch on a daily basis.

    Stay clean everyone!

  • Roxy Fitness Booty Shorts

    If you haven’t already figured this out, I love Roxy workout gear. This booty short seems awesome, but I don’t think all women can pull this look off. Check it out!

  • 16 Things To Know Before You Start Juicing

    It’s been a while, my readers. As most of you might not know, I was in the U.S. for almost 4 months. Now that I’m back in Asia, I have a bit of time to impress my juicing wisdom upon you. Here it is!

    1. Choose organic vegetables and fruits whenever possible.
    2. If you have to use non-organic produce, find those with thick skin like oranges or pineapple, so you’re minimizing your pesticide exposure.
    3. If it’s thin-skin produce, avoid the dirty dozen and choose the clean 15 whenever possible.
    4. Use a slow masticating slow juicer to retain the enzymatic and raw benefits (I use a Hurom that I lugged back from Korea). Those regular centrifugal juicers cut the produce and causes rapid oxidation.
    5. Carrot and green apple juice is the easiest starter juicer. I’ll share more juicing recipes in time, but for now, 3 medium carrots, and 1 large apple will yield a good 8 oz glass.
    6. Don’t throw away your pulp. Use it to make compost for your garden.
    7. If you are controlling your sugar intake, substitute fruit with vegetables.
    8. Wash your vegetables with a tsp salt to a 1.5 liter bath to remove dirt and kill creepy crawlies like pests and worms. Scrub the crevices with a toothbrush, or just cut it out. Stuff lives in there.
    10. The sooner you drink your juice after juicing it, the more nutritious and safer it is.
    11. Never leave it in room temperature for more than a few minutes if you live in hot climate. Refrigerate your juice under 8C.
    12. Avoid drinking juice that is more than 3 days old, especially if you live in a hot climate.
    13. You can freeze some juices to stop spoilage, but not all juices will thaw and look pretty.
    14. Make sure you don’t be a hero and juice vegetables that are not commonly used for juicing. Stick with what is common. Some produce are toxic raw (Ie. tapioca, su jai choy, etc).
    15. Drink juice on an empty stomach so that you can absorb the nutrients.
    16. Finally, listen to your body. For example, bittermelon is very good in controlling your blood sugar level. However, if you’re experience hypoglycemia or your muscles are going all tender, cut it out and reintroduce it back sparingly, gently and slowly.

  • Why You Do What You Do

    The words that are spoken in this video, cannot be topped by my futile attempt to match it’s awesomeness. I can’t.

  • Why Do You Run?

    When you feel your heavy legs protesting, listen to what other people who put in the work say. Video courtesy of Lululemon Athletica.

  • Water Bottle Dumbbells from Japan

    waterbottleweights
    I love dumbbells, but I have one problem. I am on the move and can only work out anywhere when I can steal some time, and weights are simple not very portable or practical to lug around for the whole day.

    That is, until I saw these water bottle dumbbells from Daiso. They’re genius. At only RM5 each, I can now make them into 1kg light weights with water inside, and also drink it after I’m done working out.

    Or I could use sand at the beach to make the weights a bit heavier (about 1.6-2kg). Then when I’m done, I could just pour the sand back on the beach and leave with those genius light plastic bottles. How awesome is that?

  • Roxy Fall 2013 Outdoor Gear

    Just because it’s getting colder in the north doesn’t mean you have to look like the Michelin man, or give up your outdoor workouts altogether. Look at the hot Roxy Outdoor Fitness Fall 2013 gear. It’s so hot it’ll warm you right up!

  • Buns of Steel from Women of Fitness [VIDEO]

    There’s really not much to say, except that when you watch this, you’ll feel like such a sordid loser for not working out. These girls work out hard to get those buns they want, I mean you and I want.