{"id":50908,"date":"2020-07-01T19:21:13","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T19:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/virusreports.net\/the-80-20-rule-and-low-impact-exercise-helped-me-lose-60-pounds\/"},"modified":"2020-07-01T19:21:13","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T19:21:13","slug":"the-80-20-rule-and-low-impact-exercise-helped-me-lose-60-pounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/virusreports.net\/the-80-20-rule-and-low-impact-exercise-helped-me-lose-60-pounds\/","title":{"rendered":"The 80\/20 Rule And Low-Impact Exercise Helped Me Lose 60 Pounds"},"content":{"rendered":"
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My name is Eileen Davidson<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, and I am 34 years old. I live in Vancouver, British Columbia, and I am a full-time single mom, freelance writer, and rheumatoid arthritis patient advocate.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Before I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), I was told my wrist and hand pain was due to carpal tunnel syndrome caused by my physical job as an esthetician. But when I went on maternity leave at age 26, my symptoms never got better. They only increased, and others manifested.<\/p>\n

After the birth of my son, it got worse. I struggled to hold him without my joints feeling like they were on fire. And that feeling was no longer just in my hands and wrists, but also my knees, ankles, feet, neck, and back. I also had unrelenting fatigue that I couldn’t shake, no matter how much rest I got or caffeine I drank. <\/p>\n

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\n<\/source><\/source><\/source>\"eileen<\/img><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Here I am in Richmond, BC, with my son in 2013. This was two years before my RA diagnosis. At the time, I was in pain and struggling with my self confidence in my abilities and appearance.<\/em><\/figcaption>

Eileen Davidson<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

I returned to work after a year of maternity leave, but I only lasted 12 months.<\/h2>\n

My aunt had RA, so I was familiar with the signs. She was ultimately confined to a wheelchair, and she also struggled with diabetes. I was terrified this might be my fate, so at age 29, I requested an RA blood test from my family physician who referred me to a rheumatologist to go over the lab work and my diagnosis. Lo and behold, my blood work came back positive for seropositive rheumatoid arthritis. (Seropositive means there are antibodies in my blood to mark the disease.) Finally I had a definite answer and a diagnosis for my pain. <\/p>\n

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\n<\/source><\/source><\/source>\"eileen<\/img><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Rocking the hospital gown look back in 2016 before I knew where my RA journey would ultimately take me<\/em>.<\/figcaption>

Eileen Davidson<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

My life changed drastically after that. I was placed on disability, and everyday activities like grocery shopping, laundry, and showering became painful and exhausting. I gained weight and sank into a deep depression. I went through many different medications to treat both my rheumatoid arthritis and depression\u2014over a dozen in the first few years\u2014until we found drugs that worked. <\/p>\n

But finding the right medication wasn\u2019t enough. I knew I also needed to make some major lifestyle changes. <\/h2>\n

So, I educated myself about how to take care of myself and treat my disease. I quickly learned being active and shedding the extra weight I had been carrying would help me move forward in my journey with rheumatoid arthritis. <\/p>\n

I started with my diet. What I eat has a significant impact on how I feel, and I wanted to pinpoint which foods made me sluggish and bloated. Through trial and error, I found that these were highly processed foods or foods high in sugar. Eating more fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins, and choosing wholesome starches (like brown rice or bean pasta, for example) over refined carbs<\/u><\/a>, left me feeling so much better. Plus, they helped the weight start to come off. <\/p>\n

I now follow the 80\/20 rule. <\/h2>\n

This means that 80 percent of the time I eat healthily, and 20 percent of the time I eat whatever I want. I also implemented elements of the Mediterranean Diet into my 80\/20 style eating because research shows<\/u><\/a> it can benefit inflammatory diseases like RA. I go through a lot of hummus, chickpeas, feta cheese, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes, garlic, oregano and lemons in a week. <\/p>\n

Living with the very debilitating symptom of fatigue, I stick to simple recipes. I purchase precut vegetables, always keep frozen vegetables on hand and do a lot of pre-making and batch prepping so I’m not devoting too much energy to cooking each day. Sometimes I make dinner at lunchtime because the pain and fatigue tend to ramp up in the evening.<\/p>\n

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\n<\/source><\/source><\/source>\"a<\/img><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
I am obsessed with getting as many greens as possible. Saut\u00e9ed kale and spinach is an easy way to get a ton in! I used peanut butter and Braggs Liquid Aminos to make them less boring. <\/em><\/figcaption>

Eileen Davidson<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Here\u2019s a typical day in my diet:<\/strong><\/p>\n