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 Mel Knight – Activewear Online VIP In June, Activewear Online held a competition where two lucky customers won a $250 Activewear Online voucher and a training session with one of our Activewear Online sponsored Athlete. Mel Knight was one of those lucky people and she tells us about her session with IFBB Pro Ellena Reidie. For more information on Ellena, please see her website: www.ellenatsatsos.com and her facebook page: www.facebook.com/aussiefigurepro On Saturday 28th July, I got the pleasure of having a 2 hour one-on-one session with Ellena Reidie IFFB Pro. This was thanks to the guys at Activewear Online for the great competition they ran during June. I was so nervous the week leading up to it. Here I was a housewife, mum of 2, who has only been on a healthy lifestyle journey since September of last year, about to meet a high profile body builder. I’m sure in my mind I thought she would just laugh at me when she saw me. It was the complete opposite though. Ellena would have to be one of the most encouraging and positive people I’ve met for a long time. We started off the session, having a chat about my goals, what I want to achieve and my current regime. Once she had an idea, we got stuck into some training. I chose to do a full body workout, so I was able to get some fresh ideas and advice that I could take back into my training. We started with legs, doing squats and lunges. After that was the upper body, doing a combination of small drop...
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...
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