Hello, hello...Anybody Home?

It's been a hot minute since I've blogged anything. Like for real, damn near 2 years. For awhile, I was using my site as a place to blog, but damn hackers got into it and I've since forgotten the password. Ah well, at least I still have blogger! So I decided today to pick my blog back up after realizing that some of my post on FB should be blog posts. Like my whole getting my sexy figure back. Okay, stop. I'm already lying. My figure is hella damn sexy. Nice hips and a thick booty? HELLO! Seriously, I'm trying to get back on track in a healthy manner.

I was recently diagnosed with pre-diabetes and a severe vitamin D deficiency. The pre-diabetes I wasn't surprised to hear because goodness knows my love triangle with Otis Spunkmeyer and Ben & Jerry (wait, I think this would be a love quadruple?) has been full in effect for the last year. I know, you're thinking: Makita, what happened? You were so on point the last time we spoke. Well, where do I begin...oh, I know I'll just make it short. I stopped giving a damn. Last year, I started off right. I was making healthy choices, hired a personal trainer, got rid of a lot of stress in my life. I was doing the damn thing. But then Spring came and my body started rebelling on me. I kept coming down with pleurisy (it's a very nasty inflammation of the lungs and chest) that was putting me out for weeks at a time. So I tried to combat it by letting my personal trainer sign me up for a month of fitness boot camp. All was going well with that, even hired a new personal trainer. But a week or so into August, my right arm started going numb on me. Yep. Freaked me the fuck out! After several doctor visits, I finally found out I needed to have surgery on my spine at the C5/C6 level known as Anterior Cervical Dischotomy Fusion surgery aka ACDF. So that happened in September. As you can imagine, my old demons with depression came to the forefront. I spent a lot of time depressed and scared I was going to die.

Think about it, someone tells you they need to cut into your neck and remove a cracked disc and replace it with a cadaver bone and tell me you wouldn't be scared. I dare you. It's some scary shit. Even though all of my friends rallied around me, I was still scared shitless and each time I woke up in the middle of the night because of pain or not being able to feel my arms, I cried until exhaustion took me. Anyway, the surgery was a success. I'm currently 4 months post-op (well, tomorrow I'll be officially 4 months post-op). My surgeon and physical therapist believe I am healing up quite nicely. So anyway, to make myself feel alive, I decided I wanted to learn Latin dances this year.

I don't know any dances out there that will make you feel more alive than Latin dances. I am currently learning Salsa and Bachata. It's been about a month for each and I couldn't love it more. (More posts about Salsa and Bachata another day) I'm so thankful to be active again. After a year of not being able to exercise the way I wanted to, I simply gave up. I went back to my not give a damn eating ways and added to my not being able to exercise after the surgery I really stopped caring. So fast forward to today and that explains the pre-diabetes (along with diabetes running in my family).

Now the vitamin D deficiency did throw me for a loop. Like damn, how am I a 2. Yes, a TWO!!!! The number that comes after one, but before three. Normal levels are above 30, anything between 20-29 are considered low. I'm so damn low, I'm vampiric. Though once I sat and thought about it, it made sense. Since I wasn't outside exercising anymore I wasn't getting enough sunlight. I work a 8 to 5 shift inside, Salsa and Bachata dance inside, read inside, eat inside, talk inside...you get the picture.

So what am I doing about it? Well, I was already in workout mode when I was diagnosed. I've been doing dance for about a month and if you think that's not a workout, think again. Salsa can burn at minimum (if done right and continuously) 450 calories/hour. Bachata another 450. On average, I'm taking 6 dance classes a week with 1 private lesson. That's 7 hours a week. That's just Salsa and Bachata and it doesn't include the Social Swing classes I like to take sometimes. So that's great that I'm getting more exercise INSIDE, but that's not helping the whole "you need sunlight Makita"issue. So I've added in 3 mile walks on non dance days and 2 mile walks on dance days OUTSIDE. IN THE SUNLIGHT. In addition, my doctor has me on medications to help with both issues. But overall, I think I'm making good progress. I also do 3 days of strength training to help with the recovery of my shoulder/arm/neck.

Most importantly, I'm helping the exercise by eating healthier. I'm currently doing a low carb/high protein diet that is diabetic based. I'm living like I have diabetes now so that I don't have to live with diabetes later. Is this a temporary thing? Nope. Why give myself health issues I have the power to control? I don't want diabetes. Yes, I admit I want a fat ass and smaller boobs. Two demons I have been battling since the dawn of my sexiness. Alas, I can survive those. After all, I gotta work what my Mama gave me. But diabetes? No. That is NOT the "D"I be talking about. Ha!

Anyway, that's me in a nutshell starting off 2014. I'd love it if you joined me on my journey.