Health Problems Holding You Back?

I have several health problems that have made life a little more of a struggle for many years. Nothing super horrible, but still it wears on me. I have had endometriosis since I was about 14. I have had 4 surgeries for it. It has caused me daily pain for almost 20 years. My most recent surgery did dramatically help reduce that, thankfully, but I have pain from the internal scar tissue still.

I have hypothyroid, which just this week has been found to be due to Hashimotos disease. I am on a daily medication, but still have a lot of the symptoms.

I also have gastroparesis (among a few other things, that I won't bore you with).

Gastroparesis is "paralysis of the stomach." The washboard like part inside the stomach that is supposed to move and agitate to break down the food is much, much slower than it should be. It causes me a lot of discomfort. The food sits in my stomach and causes bloating, pain, nausea, gas, belching, and just downright feeling miserable. I have days where I do a lot better and then some days where it is really bad. Certain foods aggravate it; meat (unless ground up) and raw veggies. These foods take a lot more work to digest. Well, the past 2 weeks I have been eating a lot more meat (because I wasn't eating enough protein before) and a LOT more raw veggies. I eat a salad or 2 a day now. So the past couple days I have been miserable. Today I have been so nauseated that I didn't want to even eat. Worse yet, I didn't want to exercise. I mean, would YOU want to exercise if it made you feel like you were going to throw up all over the floor??

I actually considered skipping my workout today. Then I realized that I can't keep letting my health problems slow me down. Too often I haven't done things or put off exercised because of my endometriosis pain or my gastroparesis symptoms. I don't want to use them as excuses any more. Obviously if the pain were to increase during exercise then I would slow it down...or if I did actually throw up all over, then I would stop... but I won't let the fear of what could happen stop me.

It was 10 pm tonight.... I thought real hard about just doing a double workout tomorrow instead, but I decided it was best to just push through it. It helped that my husband needed to get his workout in also and that our 8 year old daughter was begging to workout with us. So reluctantly, I did the 30 minute Cardio Fix.

I pushed myself hard. Harder than I have the past 2 weeks! It felt great! Sure I felt like I was going to throw up...but I still felt good.

I am not saying that all health problems should just be pushed through. I know from speaking with my doctors that it is safe for me. So always consult a doctor first to make sure it is safe for you! I think back to the season of Biggest Loser where the theme was, "No more excuses!" I am not going to use my excuses any more.

I have a Spartan Race to prep for! I can't let anything get in my way! Plus, I want to be healthy for my husband and kids. I want to be around for as long as possible.

I know it isn't easy to workout with health problems, but there are ways to modify and do some for of exercise to just get your body moving. And it is possible to adjust your diet no matter what. Nutrition is the most important part. No more excuses. Your health is too important. Make small steps to eating healthier and it will soon get easier. Plus, eating healthy can actually cure some ailments or at least reduce the problems associated with the disease. The effort is so worth it.

A Little About My Journey Thus Far

For my first post, I want to share a bit about me.

I am 33 years old, married and have 4 kids (ages 13, 8, 4, and 3). That is the me now.... but I would like to go back a little further...hope that I don't bore you!

My whole life I was thin. I was actually teased in high school for being so skinny. I had girls tell me, "you are so skinny you make me sick." How nice, right? I could eat anything and everything (and I did) and not gain a pound. I remember working at Burger King and my manager would let me eat whatever I wanted. In one shift I would eat a whole basket of chicken tenders, a basket of onion rings, a couple of whopper jr's, french toast sticks, tons of sugary soda... It was sickening really.

Then when I was pregnant with my first child I finally gained weight.... a LOT of weight. I went from 110 lbs to 185 lbs! After she was born, I stayed around 150. It took a couple years, but I finally got back down to the 120's. I felt pretty good and actually confident about my body. Then I had my 2nd child. After she was born, I worked so hard to get healthy. My husband and I joined a gym and I worked out 2 hours a day, 6 days a week. I ate only 1500 calories a day. I was doing more for my health than I ever had before. But I gained weight. A LOT of weight.

This is me in 2008 (my 2nd child was 1 1/2 years old). BIG difference right? Yes, pun was intended ;)

It turned out that my thyroid was all out of whack so it didn't matter what I was doing, I just kept gaining weight. It took a little while to get my thyroid under control and I slowly lost some of the weight. In the picture above, I was at my very heaviest weight- 210 lbs.

I have since had 2 more kids. My youngest just turned 3 and I am still trying to finish losing the weight I gained back in 2007. I am down to about 158 right now. I hadn't been this weight in about 7 years. I still would like to lose some more weight, but more importantly- I want to get healthy. Health isn't just about what the scale says. Health encompasses physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well being. I want to be healthy in all aspects.

There is much more about me and how I got to where I am now, but I will save it for another time. I hope that as I share my struggles and successes that it may help others in their journey. I know that doing this blog will also benefit me. It will keep me concentrating on my health more. I hope you will join me on my journey!