Today’s post is very personal, so if you don’t like that sort of thing, feel free to skip it.
In my red velvet pancake post, last week, I brought up heart health and how it’s important to take care of one’s heart. What I didn’t mention was:
I once took my own heart for granted.
Awhile back, I wrote a post about my weight and diet.
The post briefly referred to a time when I overdid it on the running while simultaneously—and accidentally–underdoing it on the eating. But I never elaborated much on what happened. Since I’m trying to be more personal on the blog, I thought I should tell more of the story, especially so none of you ever take your hearts for granted like I did:
It was in high school. I was big into athletics, playing both varsity soccer and tennis. As soon as I started running, I was hooked on that too.
But nobody remembered to tell me just how many calories athletes burn.
At this time in my life, I knew nothing about nutrition, was always running from one activity to another, and would eat whatever I could get my hands on when I had a rare free moment…
Of course, I’d also *just* switched to a vegan diet, which meant I was inadvertently taking in fewer calories simply because I’d fill up on bulky foods.
I didn’t realize I was losing weight—weight I couldn’t afford to lose—until people started taking my mom aside and asking if I was okay. She hadn’t noticed either; when you see someone every day, it’s hard to notice a gradual change. She appeased their fears by answering, “Oh, Katie’s just like I was as a kid: always eating, never gaining an ounce. Who knows where it all goes?!” But as more and more people continued to approach her, we had to face facts: something wasn’t right.
We booked an appointment with the pediatrician, who confirmed I’d lost a lot of weight. But then she also told me something else: My heart rate was extremely low, as was my blood pressure. I’d never heard the words bradycardia or hypotension before, but just the mention of such grandiose medical terms terrified me. (I think, if I remember correctly, my resting heart rate was 42 bpm.) The pediatrician referred me to a cardiologist.
That week between doctor visits was the scariest of my life. Imagine having to go about your daily routine, focusing on fractions and friends, worried all the while that you might have a dangerous heart defect. Obviously, I wasn’t running at this point; in fact, I was afraid to move at all. I was even afraid to go to sleep at night!
Finally, the day of the cardiology appointment arrived. After performing an EKG, they stuck a bunch of stickers on me, squirted some freezing-cold blue gel on a probe, and rubbed the gel around my stomach for half an hour. Then, after what seemed like hours of waiting (because I was so nervous), the cardiologist came in.
Turns out my low heart rate wasn’t a problem. (Athletes often have heart rates in the 40s. Even now, mine is usually in the low 50s.) But the doctor did advise me to gain back the weight I’d lost before I started running again; I’d been feeling sluggish and dizzy, and my low blood pressure #s were troublesome.
Happy ending: I took their advice, got healthy, and when I came in for my follow-up, six months later, the doctor told me I could even run a marathon if I so desired. (Thanks anyway, doc. I did not so desire.)
The reason I’ve never shared this before with is because I was embarrassed to admit how I took my health for granted and risked doing serious damage simply due to lack of proper care of my body. But I’m smarter for it– if I feel like something isn’t right, I won’t ever ignore it again like I did with the dizziness, sluggishness, and friends’ voiced concerns in high school.
My body is amazing, and that’s why I honor it every single day: with healthy foods (but only if they’re also delicious), with enjoyable exercise, and–above all–with plenty of good-quality rest.
Edit: Yes, I know there are a lot of disgusting rumors circulating about me online. For my own sanity, I’ve blocked some of the worst gossip sites so I can’t look at what the trolls are saying anymore. The rumors I saw in the past were either half-truths or (more often) full-blown, hurtful, and seriously ridiculous lies made up by people who have never even met me. There’s not a way to edit the stuff said on other sites—and it’s a free country so people have a right to say what they want. But please remember to consider the source when you read something. Anyone can say anything online, but that doesn’t make it true. If you’re ever wondering about something, just ask. I’m not trying to be devious or hide anything in my life.
(And yes, I know a lot of people are finding this page because Google decided to give out “chocolate covered katie anorexic” and “chocolate covered katie eating disorder” as suggested search terms. Unfortunately I can’t do anything about that either; it’s self-perpetuating. People are always going to click on it out of curiosity.)
Thank you so much for sharing that; it might really help someone else in a similar situation.
Don’t be too hard on yourself and embarrassed though; a friend of mine’s got lupus and she once said to me “you never know how ill you felt till you feel better”, which was proved to me with my coeliac disease; it was only after I went GF and had treatment for a blood condition diagnosed at the same time, that I had the benefit of hindsight and could look back and realise just how rubbish I’d felt before.
So glad you’re ok though 🙂
sometimes we think as teens we can do anything to our bodies and they will be fine. not so! i had some scares as a teen but not the same issue, still it was from not respecting my body’s needs. thanks so much for sharing!
Haha so true! Like all my friends who go to tanning beds every week! They are so going to regret that… even if they don’t get skin cancer, they’re going to look like prunes when they’re thirty. I keep telling them that, but lol they don’t care!
I had a very similar experience, although I knew I was losing and was okay with it. I was a swimmer (about 4/5 hours six or seven days a week), and I wasn’t eating enough. My blood pressure and heart rate were low (mine was 43- were so close!) Thankfully I gained the weight back and am back to my healthy state- glad you are, too!
I think that’s great that you’ve reached a point that you’re comfortable to share. It might inspire some people to hit up the doctor in case something is wrong. So often it’s easy to associate health [especially heart/blood pressure] scares with overweight people, but this isn’t always the case. Healthy is healthy, no matter your size. Seriously, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing your story, it always amazes me how many people can relate to other blogger’s stories – I used to think I was the only one concerned about everything I ate.
In high school, I went through restrictive phases where I would eat only 700-1200 calories/day. I knew it was bad, but I thought I was being healthy about it because I would have a piece of fruit or a tiny, iceburg lettuce salad for lunch. I am so glad I got out of that phase because I realize I had no energy, I was always anxious, and not very happy.
Katie thanks for being so honest on your blog — but I am so sorry to hear about those issues. I’m glad you are ok!
Oh low heart rates are scary. When I was in my best race shape (I was on the nationals triathlon team at my university) my heart rate was about 50 bpm. And although I was my fastest then, I was not my healthiest. I was underweight as well and had to gain weight. I feel so much better now… Its weird being told that you look really different or that you arent in good condition when you think you are being super healthy and dont see much of a physical change in your appearance. But its important to listen and to take action – I am so glad that you did! I think another really important sign of health (when doing sports or not) is having a regular menstruation.
Thanks for sharing Katie!
low HR is scary. You are so wise for going to the doctor at that time. I think we all need a little debriefing on our hearts and how exercise (too much or too little) can effect it. Such wisdom katie, thank you!
LC
I have had a lot of health scares. Mainly doing with my anorexia. I am getting better though, and taking care of my body helps things get back in line. Some things, unfortunately, are irreversible though.
thank you for sharing such a personal post!
Katie, thank you for sharing this story. It takes real courage to post something like this! All I can say is that you are very lucky to have friends, teachers, and parents who love you so much to get you to the doctor and get you healthy again. You are also awesome because you overcame the little hurdle and became stronger as a result. And thank goodness you’re back to good health!
This is definitely a story that was worth sharing. If there is anything we MUST do, it is to listen to our bodies and know when to ask for help. It is so good that you sought the advice of a medical professional before your weight loss began to have permanent affects on your body!
I don’t think there is anything to be embarrassed about. You were young and naive and if anything, the whole point of growing up is to gain life experience and learn from it. If you had never had this happen to you, you may not be quite the advocate for healthy eating as you are now!
Wow. What a scary time for you!
I must say- it’s cool that you got into running in high school. I kind of wish I would’ve at that time too. Just like you-I didn’t know squat about nutrition.
I’m so glad you saw a cardiologist! Imagine if you would’ve kept running on empty 🙁
I sort of had the opposite problem last year-I was running a lot but had a ton of stress, so I was treated for hypertension and high blood pressure. My resting heart rate was around 90 (!!)..
Three cheers for becoming heart healthy!
Thanks for sharing Katie! I’m so glad you did what was right for you and took care of your health. Thanks for getting the message out there that we need to be vigilant about our own health/bodies.
Thanks for sharing your story, Katie! That must have been really scary, but I’m SO, SO glad that everything turned out just fine! I was once underweight too, but now I’m back to a normal, healthy weight! 🙂 I think that it’s really important that when I found out that I needed to gain weight that I did it by eating healthy foods (just more of them) and still exercising instead of chugging junk foods and not exercising. It sounds like you did the same thing! 🙂 Yay for healthy eating!
Thanks for sharing, Katie! The same exact thing happened to me a few years ago…I got so much into health and wellness and cut out dairy and gluten at the same time, but didn’t really know what to replace it with (therefore leaving holes in my diet). I lost 15 pounds in a few months and didn’t notice it until my parents said something. At first I started playing tennis much better because I was working harder and running faster (I was smaller). But then I became weaker and my endurance wasn’t good enough, so my game dropped. I started literally shaking during practice and matches, but I didn’t know why.
I lost my period, which really scared me. They put me on a scale, and I realized-whoa, I’m underweight. So, I developed a way to gain weight, and started doing a bit more strength training and gained 20 pounds. I feel so much better and my tennis has improved dramatically! I have to take some extra hormones to get my period back, but all is well!
Thanks for the post, Katie 🙂
Gosh, we sound so alike! That’s exactly how my story played out: at first I was super-fast and was winning everything and OWNing on the tennis court as well… but soon I was feeling sluggish, dizzy, and just awful.
So glad you were able to get better… and from what I hear, you’re tearing up the courts again ;).