So who am I?

My name is Teresa Espindola. In short, I am a 45 year old mother of 4 who went from nearly being in a wheelchair to holding National powerlifting records. Wait, what? Let’s rewind….I was a pretty healthy young lady who married at 19. At 29, I had my first child, then had 3 more every couple of years. I was pregnant or nursing a baby for 8 years straight, all while my body was failing me because I had a genetic condition I knew nothing about. Every time I was pregnant, I was having muscles spasms in my back that got worse and worse with each pregnancy. By the fourth pregnancy, I was unable to even get out of bed to get in the car to drive my other kids to school. I was falling apart. Two weeks after my fourth child was born, I bent over to pick up my shoes and severely injured my back.

I had herniated a disc and torn a muscle. I could not hold my body upright. As I sat in the doctors office in the most extreme pain of my life, he gave me an ultimatum. He said “I am not sure exactly why your spine is compressing, but you need to loose weight and become an athlete or you will be in a wheel chair within 7 years”. Say what???!!! I was angry and upset that he said those things, but it got me thinking. I was heavy and unable to walk, or even sit in a chair and I have four kids. How am I going to raise them? I was fitted for a brace with metal bars to hold me upright and started intense physical therapy. A few weeks later, I was able to get on my elliptical..for a whole five minutes before it kicked me off because my heart rate went too high.

My good friend dragged me kicking and screaming to a weight loss group where we learned a low glycemic diet. There was a contest for most weight lost..and I am competitive, so I followed the rules exactly! Over time, I lost 50 pounds. I won the contest! I was now able to do 40 minutes on my elliptical…but I stalled, and I was still having bouts of back pain, and I didn’t feel as fit as I wanted to be. Sleeping was torture and my hips were always in pain.

My oldest daughter had many health problems and with my research over five years and a great genetic doctor we finally figured out what was wrong with all of us (future post). We have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Our ligaments are too stretchy. Me and three of my four kids have it…and it can be debilitating. My spine could not be supported properly. I have all the back problems related to Ehlers Danlos Syndrome…degenerative disc disease, SI joint dysfunction, bulging and herniated discs, narrowing of the spinal canal, sciatica, scoliosis…the list goes on and on. I like to research and found that with a good diet and muscle building exercise, we can improve our quality of life! I tightened up my family’s diet by switching to paleo.

About two and a half years ago I started lifting weights. I could only squat the bar (kinda), I could only bench the bar (barely)…but I wanted more. My best friend became my workout partner and trainer and we never looked back. Now I can bench 175, I can deadlift 355, and I can squat 225….although squat is still my weakest lift because of my hips. I no longer have daily pain. I do have bouts of pain, but I recover quickly and am not bed ridden like I was before during an attack. I compete two to three times a year and have a new outlook on life. I hold national records and state records. Power-lifting saved me. I hope to share my life, my lifting, my diet, and anything else that can possibly help you decide to make that change to a healthier life, regardless of your circumstances!

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