Since April, I've been on a bit of a journey. By "a bit of" what I really mean is a "HUGE WHOPPING CONSUMING TREK." You see, it involves my body.
Before you roll your eyes and click away, thinking, "yeah, I'm here for crafty things, not this," hang on a minute. I just wanted to write a post to explain a little more about me, Lauren, the girl with the hook. There are a few reasons why my posts have been few and far between. Here's a big part of what's been happening the past 8 months:
In April this year, I was diagnosed with some health issues, some of them likely relating to my weight at the time. I was pretty shocked. I mean, there I was, at 29, a gal who never took any prescription medications or was ever diagnosed with anything other than a little near-sighted action at my yearly eye appointment. Yep, I was stunned.
(on a side note: I've been overweight my whole life. I honestly don't have the best eating habits. I knowingly make poor choices. I'm human.)
So on April 4th, I walked out of the Dr.'s office, unlocked my car, sat in my seat, and took a look at the six prescriptions I was now to fill and take regularly. It was a big moment for me. At that moment, the voice in my head said very clearly:
'You have two options. You can either sit here and cry that this is happening to you. Or you can start right now, TODAY, and be better because of all this.'
And that was it. Sitting there in the cool spring sun, I decided that the second option sounded better than the first, and I went for it. I started choosing healthier, and I took up walking. I became a pro at figuring out the nutrition value in foods versus what I needed to put in my body. As for those prescriptions? I filled them, and took them regularly. One of them in particular made me incredibly ill for the first 4 months I was on it. But I was determined to stick with it. I joined Weight Watchers, and found an amazing group of people who are journeying through the same thing.
I just realized that today makes 8 months I've been living my life a little differently. I have lost 44 pounds in those 8 months. I know that's not a huge amount. I know that there are many others out there who have lost twice that amount in that time. But this isn't their journey. It's mine. And to me, 44 pounds lighter is a pretty big dang deal. I feel so much better, and it's hard to explain how. I can move around easier, and everything, from sleeping to walking to sitting in the seat at the movies, is easier to do. I have a long way to go to get to my "ideal goal weight". Rome wasn't built in a day. This body of mine won't be, either. It is and will continue to be a struggle at times. I know I won't always make the smartest choices. I know I'll choose relaxing sometimes when I should be working out. But I plan to reach my goal. My body needs it. My health truly does depend on this.
As for the 6 prescriptions? I am still on them. My body has adjusted well for the most part, and for the first time in years, things are stabilized with me. My diagnosis is incurable, and I know I will likely be on medication for the rest of my life. But you never know - maybe one day my Dr. and specialist will decide that I am healthy enough to lower a dosage, or give me an alternative. Until then, I will remain faithful to my new eating habits, my new exercise habits, and staying on track with medicine.
There are times, weeks even, where I wake up feeling incredibly ill. I know it's not a virus or illness. It involves my body, the food choices I've made, and how everything reacts to my medications. When this happens, sometimes I become violently ill, unable to leave the house. Some days it is a dull nauseous feeling that always overstays its welcome. It can be very hard for me to focus when this happens. At times it feels like all of my energy is spent on talking myself into not throwing up, or getting sick. There are mornings I have to pep talk myself to do the simplest of things. When all of this happens, crafting gets put on the back burner. I hate hate hate that. I love crocheting, knitting, creating jewelry our of metal and paper. I love to design and plan for the making of such things. But many days my body has other ideas. Thus, my blog remains sparse with posts about the lovely things I've made. Oh, I have plans to make them. But so many of my plans have yet to become a reality. I'm hoping this changes.
If you've read this far, thank you! I know this wasn't about crafts, and was probably more than a little boring, so thanks for sticking it out with me. Please feel free to leave a comment below. This is still a craft blog, and I am still going to be posting a LOT of fun projects and ideas. Now you know why sometimes I'm pretty quiet on here. I have great hope my posts will increase. My body just needs to cooperate!
(on a side note: I've been overweight my whole life. I honestly don't have the best eating habits. I knowingly make poor choices. I'm human.)
So on April 4th, I walked out of the Dr.'s office, unlocked my car, sat in my seat, and took a look at the six prescriptions I was now to fill and take regularly. It was a big moment for me. At that moment, the voice in my head said very clearly:
'You have two options. You can either sit here and cry that this is happening to you. Or you can start right now, TODAY, and be better because of all this.'
And that was it. Sitting there in the cool spring sun, I decided that the second option sounded better than the first, and I went for it. I started choosing healthier, and I took up walking. I became a pro at figuring out the nutrition value in foods versus what I needed to put in my body. As for those prescriptions? I filled them, and took them regularly. One of them in particular made me incredibly ill for the first 4 months I was on it. But I was determined to stick with it. I joined Weight Watchers, and found an amazing group of people who are journeying through the same thing.
I just realized that today makes 8 months I've been living my life a little differently. I have lost 44 pounds in those 8 months. I know that's not a huge amount. I know that there are many others out there who have lost twice that amount in that time. But this isn't their journey. It's mine. And to me, 44 pounds lighter is a pretty big dang deal. I feel so much better, and it's hard to explain how. I can move around easier, and everything, from sleeping to walking to sitting in the seat at the movies, is easier to do. I have a long way to go to get to my "ideal goal weight". Rome wasn't built in a day. This body of mine won't be, either. It is and will continue to be a struggle at times. I know I won't always make the smartest choices. I know I'll choose relaxing sometimes when I should be working out. But I plan to reach my goal. My body needs it. My health truly does depend on this.
As for the 6 prescriptions? I am still on them. My body has adjusted well for the most part, and for the first time in years, things are stabilized with me. My diagnosis is incurable, and I know I will likely be on medication for the rest of my life. But you never know - maybe one day my Dr. and specialist will decide that I am healthy enough to lower a dosage, or give me an alternative. Until then, I will remain faithful to my new eating habits, my new exercise habits, and staying on track with medicine.
There are times, weeks even, where I wake up feeling incredibly ill. I know it's not a virus or illness. It involves my body, the food choices I've made, and how everything reacts to my medications. When this happens, sometimes I become violently ill, unable to leave the house. Some days it is a dull nauseous feeling that always overstays its welcome. It can be very hard for me to focus when this happens. At times it feels like all of my energy is spent on talking myself into not throwing up, or getting sick. There are mornings I have to pep talk myself to do the simplest of things. When all of this happens, crafting gets put on the back burner. I hate hate hate that. I love crocheting, knitting, creating jewelry our of metal and paper. I love to design and plan for the making of such things. But many days my body has other ideas. Thus, my blog remains sparse with posts about the lovely things I've made. Oh, I have plans to make them. But so many of my plans have yet to become a reality. I'm hoping this changes.
If you've read this far, thank you! I know this wasn't about crafts, and was probably more than a little boring, so thanks for sticking it out with me. Please feel free to leave a comment below. This is still a craft blog, and I am still going to be posting a LOT of fun projects and ideas. Now you know why sometimes I'm pretty quiet on here. I have great hope my posts will increase. My body just needs to cooperate!
Next post: Christmas completions (thus far)
Stay tuned!
Comments
Post a Comment