This journey is unique for each person, but there is one commonality. You first must grasp the concept of neuroplasticity, and how everything in your life is interconnected.

 

The perceptions triggered in our mind impact our brain's neural dynamics, directly influencing our emotional and physical state. The challenge for most people is balancing out their distractions (negative perceptions) with more experiences that they truly, deeply connect with.

 

Increasing the frequency of these more profound, meaningful experiences can be life-changing. It creates the proper mindset for natural healing and empowers you to design better metabolic processes. By staying genuinely committed and consistent, you too will accomplish your health goals, just as I did through clean nutrition and functional exercise.

 

 

BRAIN MISFIRING
My world was dealt a blow during my senior year of high school when I was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), a neurological seizure disorder.

 

Then, in January 1990, just weeks after being diagnosed with epilepsy, I acquired bacterial meningitis. I have no memory for much of that year. I'm told it was a frightening experience and I was blessed to survive. Unfortunately, however, the bacterial meningitis increased my seizure frequency from one every couple of months to one every couple of days. 

 

So within just a matter of weeks, at age 17, my identity was shattered and full of uncertainty. I should have put my life on hold and figured out what was going on inside my head. However, I also didn't want to fall short of expectations and possibly inconvenience others. My young mind was seeking ways to deflect as if everything was still normal. 

 

I returned to finish my senior year of high school. I then worked over the summer and entered college at UNC-Chapel Hill that fall. I was moving forward with my original plans, but I also had to face new, harsh realities - coping with my epilepsy.

 

Over the next few years at UNC, I noticed how my seizure disorder compromised my cognitive abilities. I no longer had the same intellect and recall. What was once easy for me to understand in high school was noticeably more difficult in college.

 

Feeling slower mentally took a toll on my self-confidence. As an introvert, I became even shyer. I felt embarrassed, fearing my "dazed and confused" interactions would turn people off. The question I kept asking myself was, "What is happening to cause all these changes in my life?"

 

Lots of theories ran through my mind... 

• Maybe it was bacterial meningitis a few months prior. 

• Perhaps it was the slow destruction of brain cells occurring with each seizure. 

• Maybe it was the anxieties caused by chemical imbalances in my brain.

• Perhaps it was my difficulty adjusting to the college lifestyle away from home. 

• Maybe it was side-effects caused by all the prescription medicine I was taking to control my seizures. 

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I felt lost and out of control, except at the gym. 

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I looked forward daily to my light workouts at UNC's Woollen Gym. Doctors advised me not to lift heavy weights due to my disability, so I only performed balance and stability exercises. While other people were pushing the heavy loads, I focused less on quantity and more on quality - proper form, alignment, and slower tempo.

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This shift to self-regulate my strenth training taught me the importance of balance and connection. Fortunately, I gained a deeper understanding of calibrating stress loads. I started feeling the neural-muscular benefits of channeling my tensions properly. 

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Workouts served as my escape. Anxieties of an uncertain future were pushed aside. I was more aware of my reactions and responses to various stressors. That's how exercise helped me cope emotionally with my seizure disorder. 

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Looking back at those theories I ran through my mind, my problem was exploring the details for a single cause, a single trigger to my seizure disorder. I was trying to find a quick cure. However, I was going about it all wrong.

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Life instead is a matrix of all the influences and variances we allow into our environment. Everything from the massive to the miniscule is interconnected, and our perceptions directly influence not only our brain's neural dynamics, but our emotional and physical functions as well. 

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Throughout college, there was no change in my seizure condition. I was still averaging 15 seizures per month. I had no luck finding a quick cure. The medicines only succeeded at making me tired and feel useless.

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So in 1994, I decided on brain surgery (left anterior temporal lobectomy) to cure my epilepsy. It was helpful but not completely successful. When doctors began tapering back my medication in 1995, the seizures returned.

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The good news - the operation decreased my seizure frequency, and my condition was now finally controlled by medication. The bad news - the medication's side effects (constant fatigue, brain fog, inability to concentrate) continued.

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I started accepting my new reality. I shifted my attention to the corporate world, knowing deep down that I would most likely continue the medicine for the rest of my life.

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As we all know, work-life balance is challenging. I allowed long office hours to interfere with my personal time and regular workout routine. My lifestyle was consumed by meetings, business travel, little rest, and a lousy diet - all critical factors leading to poor health. In just two years I gained over 30 pounds, increased four pants sizes, and had dangerously high blood pressure.

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It took me another SIX years to wake up and realize enough was enough.  Instead of hoping for a quick cure from the medical establishment, I became more proactive and sought alternative remedies to better myself.

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BRAIN REWIRING
In 2008, at the age of 36, I started my health and fitness transformation. Since then I’ve been on a fascinating life path. I devoted more time and variation to my functional training routines. I've increased core strength and power by manipulating my workout volume, intensity, momentum, alignment, and tempo. Improving my diet (low-carb, high-fat) was a big factor as well. I now have excellent blood pressure, weigh 40 pounds less, and am down to a 29-inch waist.

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However, that's only the beginning!

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My nutrition and exercise cycles resulted in a healthier brain with more focus, clarity, and recall... empowering me to take another chance. In 2016 I again tapered down my anti-seizure medications, and this time it worked! I am now seizure-free and entirely off the medicine.

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Please understand - I'm NOT suggesting that those suffering from TLE should follow the same path as myself. I'm merely sharing my story as an example of how our body has the natural ability to heal over time if one consistently fuels it with the proper stimuli (movement, nutrition, sleep, lifestyle) on a daily basis.

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My path to clean health wasn't easy. It took relentless awareness, change, and self-discipline. However, achieving my goals under challenging circumstances was well worth it. I'm a stronger person now. I finally solved my brain issues using natural methods. A bonus side effect was getting a fit physique as well. I've been very fortunate and blessed.

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