How ballroom dancing helped Trish Marmo regain her competitive edge

How ballroom dancing helped Trish Marmo regain her competitive edge

The push and pull of illness and health was a very real reality for Trish Marmo, BSN, RN, NBCHWC and physical athlete. From debilitating autoimmune issues to performing on the competitive stage to defeating women half her age, one thing is for sure: Marmo has experienced a roller coaster ride of life's ups and downs.

Although Marmo has won several competitions throughout her career, her fight for lasting health has been a real challenge.

After years of trying to get to the bottom of her health problems, Marmo is on the road to recovery and is now training to compete in ballroom dancing, which she had to give up early on due to battling illnesses.

For those struggling with health issues, Marmo wants to share encouraging tips to help you maintain your health and take the first step toward healing.

A long road in the fight against the disease

Between 2011 and 2020, Marmo suffered from various "unexplained" health problems - some as bothersome as "Bell's palsy," others more serious, like uncontrolled hypoglycemia that landed her in the intensive care unit. However, it was only in 2021 that she noticed a new set of worrisome symptoms: sudden weakness and pain in the left leg, severe dry eye, numbness and tingling in the hands/feet, neuropathy in both feet, unexplained, debilitating lower back pain and neurological symptoms (difficulty swallowing/walking/lifting head, heart palpitations/irregular heart rhythm, droopy eyes, brain lightheadedness, mind-numbing fatigue, to name just a few).

From there, it took another 18 months, more than a dozen different specialists, and an exhaustive battery of tests before he was diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases: Sjögren's disease and mixed connective tissue disease.

At 55, Marmo has a team of specialists to help her manage the symptoms of this disease. In addition to her primary care physician, Marmo's medical staff currently includes rheumatologists, cardiologists, pulmonologists, ophthalmologists, neurologists and lymphatic massage therapists.

If there's one thing she's learned on this journey, it's that it's okay to ask for help. It might just be the only way to heal when you're struggling.

Bikini Boot Camp: From Quick Fixes to Long-Term Health and Fitness

In 2011, Marmo attended a “bikini boot camp” in hopes of getting into the best shape of her life. “Back then, I was more concerned with losing weight than competing on stage,” says Marmo. “Like many women, I was under the false impression that losing weight would solve all my problems.”

Little did Marmo know that attending this boot camp would change her life forever as she learned the not-so-healthy side of fitness.

Marmo weight-trained six days a week, adding hour-long cardio sessions once, sometimes twice a day — all while consuming just over 1,000 calories a day. As you can imagine, it was a recipe for disaster.

As a professional nurse, Marmo knew early on that the meal plans she was given were unsustainable, and yet she ignored her academic background in her desperate attempt to shed the pounds.

Luckily, even though Marmo knew that 1,200 calories a day was unhealthy for her, she found a trainer who helped her regain her strength, even as health problems continued (a misdiagnosis of mini-strokes and a host of autoimmune problems). and balance in the gym and encouraged her to heal the body through food, not starve it.

“It was the first time I encountered a trainer who focused on nutrition and total body health rather than the ‘quick fixes’ that the fitness and diet industry seemed to be promoting at the time,” she recalls.

This premise not only helped Marmo make a complete turnaround in her life, but also proved to be a life- and career-changing catalyst as she realized that she could use her own experiences to help others avoid the same painful experiences she had to endure.

Enter the stage before climbing Mount Fuji

From then on, Marmo spent the next eight months going off the medication and focusing on her recovery, and even though her strength was low, she fought day after day to heal her body and gain the strength she needed to stand on stage and be the best version of herself she could be.

In May 2013, Marmo took the stage along with over 120 other competitors - and while winning the Masters Division title was a huge achievement, it didn't compare to winning 3rd place in her size class against women the same age as her daughters.

Later that summer, she celebrated by climbing to the top of Mount Fuji at sunrise and feeling like she was on top of the world. After another big win in 2014 and second place in a fitness bikini competition, Marmo wanted to do more than just compete.

Helping others heal and getting on the dance floor

The fitness champion spent the next three years building an online business while also earning her advanced nutrition and behavior change coach certification and going through the rigorous qualification process to become a nationally certified health and wellness coach. Marmo transitioned from acute care as a hospital nurse to working privately online with clients in disease prevention and wellness.

“I knew I was called to help others who were at a crossroads in their own lives by helping my clients feel better and more confident,” she says. "I found that her weight loss was almost effortless and even secondary as her focus shifted from the number on the scale to healing her body and mind, as well as her unhealthy relationship with food."

While Marmo is still regaining her strength, she is currently training to compete in ballroom dancing - something she started doing when she experienced her last autoimmune flare-up, thinking she would have to give it up forever. “I love ballroom because it challenges me mentally and physically, and because I am competitive by nature, it pushes me to perform better than ever before,” Marmo says.

Marmo is proof that whatever you go through can be used for the greater good. And if you've walked through muddy waters, the reward lies in helping others in difficult times.

These little tips have helped Trish Marmo overcome several health complications

“When it comes to dealing with health complications, staying healthy and active can seem almost impossible, especially when extreme fatigue is involved,” says Marmo. Here are some things that have proven helpful in her recovery and might be helpful for you too:

1. Um Hilfe zu bitten ist ein Zeichen von Stärke: Umgeben Sie sich mit Menschen, die Sie und Ihre Bemühungen unterstützen, jederzeit der beste Mensch zu sein, der Sie sein können. An manchen Tagen mag das wie ein Aufwand von 80 % aussehen, an anderen vielleicht wie ein Aufwand von 40 %.
2. Priorisieren Sie sich selbst: Marmo ist ein großer Befürworter der Selbstfürsorge. Das bedeutet, dass Sie sich um Ihre geistige, körperliche, emotionale, spirituelle, relationale und existenzielle Gesundheit kümmern (oder um das, was sie als die sechs Säulen bezeichnet). Dieser Prozess unterliegt einem Auf und Ab.
3. Aus einer leeren Tasse kann man nicht einschenken: Es ist nichts Edles daran, sich so viel anzustrengen oder so viel von sich selbst zu geben, dass man sich selbst leer aussaugt. Nehmen Sie sich Zeit, Dinge zu finden, die Sie erfüllen: Zeit mit Freunden verbringen, spazieren gehen, Urlaub machen, ein Buch lesen, Podcasts hören, beten/meditieren, im Garten arbeiten – was auch immer Ihnen Freude und Frieden bringt.
4. Lass das, was du tust, genügen: An manchen Tagen hat Marmo das Gefühl, ganz oben auf der Welt zu sein und genug Energie zu haben, um „alle Dinge“ zu erledigen, und an anderen Tagen reicht es aus, aus dem Bett zu steigen und sich für den Tag anzuziehen. Wo auch immer Sie sich auf dem Kontinuum befinden, denken Sie daran, dass es ausreicht. Wenn unsere Zeit hier auf der Erde vorbei ist, wird sich niemand daran erinnern, wie viel von Ihrer To-Do-Liste Sie abgehakt haben.

As difficult as this journey has been for Marmo, she has learned a lot in the face of these trials and encourages those struggling with undiagnosed health issues to reach out for help; Remember, it is a sign of strength.