Blog Post by IFBB Figure Pro Ellena Reidie I’m so excited to share some great news. Today I left my endocrinologists office in tears… Again. This time they were tears of joy. My quarterly cortisol results came in off the charts even my doctor was shocked at the drastic improvement I made in the last 3 months. For a while my results were showing only slight improvement, from a daily total cortisol level of 8.2 to 12.4 now to over 100 and I couldn’t be happier. My doctor originally diagnosed me with severe adrenal fatigue and advised it would take approx 2 years from the cases she had seen previously. As a professional athlete I guess I didn’t take it too well in the beginning but dealt with it and did everything I could possible in order to give myself the best chance at recovering. Basically I approached my recovery like a 2 year program. Finding a great doctor that put me on the correct path was the first stepping stone, listening to her advice and being consistent was another. I wouldn’t say it’s time for me to jump up on stage again, but it’s time now to continue to maintain these great results while focusing on getting back to a comfortable weight. I’ve managed to drop 4kgs in the last few months and it’s certainly not from dieting, more food and regulation of hormones is what has attributed to that. I really can’t express the weight taken off my shoulders and the amazing feeling inside knowing that I beat this in...
Blog Post by IFBB Pro Figure Athlete Ellena Reidie It took me many months to be able to talk about my Adrenal Fatigue and Metabolic Damage. I decided to write a blog not only to tell my story, but to allow others going through similar to never feel alone. I knew some women were feeling the way I was, but I was not prepared for the response that my blog received. I had so many emails from women from around the world telling me their story and it really broke my heart. I would never wish this upon anyone so to hear how this affects so many lives was quite hard. I don’t have all the answers but I’m willing to share my recovery in hope that just like my first blog, will help others in making steps in the right direction. If you don’t know what Adrenal Fatigue then I suggest you check out my previous blog – what I want to discuss this time is my recovery progress, something that’s actually quite hard to find if you’re suffering AF and Metabolic Damage. Like I mentioned in my first blogs had been feeling extremely tired, moody and nothing really excited me anymore. My skin was dry, I’d break out in hives, constantly felt like I was coming down with a cold and I was sleeping 2-3 hours after training. To maintain my weight was a huge struggle and I felt like my body was working against me. After being diagnosed with AF my doctor put me on a protocol of supplements, medication and hormones. I’m not sure exactly what results I expected...
Blog post by IFBB Pro Figure Athlete Ellena Reidie At the start of the year I spoke about my body not responding like it usually did and my concern over having metabolic issues. Because there is no test to prove metabolic damage I couldn’t be sure that I had it, no doctor totally understood what I was going through because the blood tests they ran all came back normal and to them I looked normal despite me being the biggest I had ever been. One doctor suggested I try his new weight loss flavouring which is sprinkled over each meal; one doctor said I should eat healthy! This was so frustrating because I was eating clean like I had a show coming up with one cheat meal which was also clean. I bought books on metabolic damage, trolled forums and the Internet and was 100% sure this was me. I looked back and realized that each prep got harder, each prep involved more cardio, and each prep was more restricted in calories. Although I was successful in terms of accomplishing my dreams, placing well and turning Pro I certainly was not successful if you base my results on my health. I looked at my recovery and off season, each year got easier to put on weight, each year got just as restrictive in calories and each year I tried my best to stay in shape despite what my body wanted. I started working with a highly respected trainer to help me take the stress out of putting my meal plans together, of course I didn’t lose weight which would have been expected being on less than...
Blog Post by IFBB Pro Ellena Reidie. Some of my fondest memories are from travelling to compete overseas. This is something that I had done a number of times prior to earning my pro card and I highly suggest that if you’re a serious competitor competing overseas is a must (assuming you have the opportunity and funding of course!). Here are some of the reasons I believe that it is something that should be on your competitive “Bucket List”. Learning about your body: This is something money can’t buy. You will understand how flying for long hours effects or doesn’t affect your body, not to mention lack of sleep or rest. This is the time to really put the hard yards in, be prepared in advance and pedantic with your prep. Exposure: The fitness industry in huge overseas, particularly the USA. There are always opportunities for interviews, photo shoots and creating video diaries and blogs of your journey. Representing your country on stage: Although you’re competing in a category, you are still representing your country. Gone are the days where you need to be competing at the Olympics to represent your home country. Meeting new friends, idols and networking: You never know you might bump into. I met Ava Cowan in 2007, prior to her competing within the IFBB and have followed her progress since. To this day I’m like a shy school girl in front of her. Meeting people from around the world who share a common interest is a great thing. Gives a sense of...
Blog Post by IFBB Pro Ellena Reidie. My name is Ellena and I’m a food addict Ok so I was addicted to food.. Now, well… My relationship with food is quite like a roller coaster. Most days I enjoy my meals, other days I hate trying to fit all of them in…But in saying that I also don’t waste my time obsessing about food. I was always a lover for food; I was a great eater and rarely craved sweets. Often I would have steak and fettuccini carbonara for breakfast and snack on tuna salads and sandwiched throughout the day. After I began my first comp prep is when it all started to spiral out of control. From never eating chicken to having boiled chicken 5 times a day and being on a strict regime, something happened mentally and I believe hormonally. I started to crave things I never normally would have. I remember only a few weeks after starting comp prep I binged on a whole packet of Tim tams. This continued… Not binging but craving and after the show was over I gave into what my body ‘wanted’. After a few weeks of giving into your body you tend to get over it and want to eat clean again, but then the vicious cycle begins all over again. Food was my ultimate distraction; it prevented me from going out for dinner, or drinks to anything social. Why? Because I was afraid I would give into these cravings. I would dream about food, read recipes and flick through cook books constantly. I Hid nuts in the car for when I was starving and purchased an...
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