Breaking it Down

OK, what components go into health and this elusive thing called "wellness"?

Spritiual
Relationships-family and friends
Sleep
Nutrition
Movement: stretching/ strength building/ aerobic
Environment
Work
Hobbies


I've been working SO HARD ya'll, on getting all of these areas in my life at a better place using baby steps. The spiritual part...well, been doing that for years. I won't go into that for now, but the other stuff...of course I've been blogging about it, so this is nothing new.

Of course I've been working a lot on trying to figure out all that is going on and why I feel sick every day, and I think I've finally arrived at some knowledge and acceptance: Fibro, Epstein Barr, and Hashimoto's (autoimmune) --henceforth to be referred to as the trifecta of badness.

I'm at last, as of this morning, taking a medication to help me cope with my fibro symptoms, which will hopefully also lift a bit of the depression I struggle with. It's called Savella.

On the food thing...the latest thing I cut out of my life was coffee, switched to black tea, then down to green tea, then decaf green tea...and today it was ice water in the morning... and with each subsequent change I have started sleeping better and better and better. Who knew? (Well, lots of people, actually).

And the sleep is helping my energy levels a little bit. I knew it would. The last three times I've been into the doctor I've talked about my inability to sleep. Too bad she did not say "cut out the coffee". Oh well. Better late than never.

So the sleep thing is improving.

And because of the GAPS diet I feel like the food thing is in a good place. I don't over eat. I promise. Yes, it is possible for someone to be obese and NOT overeat. Just like I refuse now (new year's resolution) to put a known poison into my body, I also refuse to NOT nourish myself adequately).

So the next big glaring weak spot for me to tackle in my wellness journey, as the trifecta of badness allows, is movement. No, see, I'm not even gonna call it "fitness" or "getting in shape". That's too ambitious. I'm just gonna call it "movement". As in: "I'm gonna take my cane and my fat trifecta self and shuffle around the block for 30 minutes if I can." or "I'm gonna fall on the floor and while I'm down here maybe I can do some stretching exercises." Awesome. I gotta add some gentle movement in, and I do mean gentle.

My habit, heretofore, is to always go at exercise with all guns blaring and then I die about two weeks later and lay around in a fibro flare for the next six months. And since the definition of crazy is to do the same thing over and over and expect different results (he he...like joining weight watchers for the umpteenth time...not gonna happen, or watching Biggest Loser to try and inspire my inner Jillian with more self loathing than I already possess to whip my rear into shape when that's just going to bring on a flare of mono AND fibro...anywhoo...) I'm not going to do the guns blazing exercise thing anymore. No ma'am.

I have to figure out how to exercise WHILE I FEEL LIKE DOO DOO. So it's gonna have to be small and simple and do-able. Doo-doo-able. whatever.

Today I did some pilates for, like, ten minutes. Yesterday I dragged myself to the fitness room and walked on the treadmill at an excruciatingly slow speed (well, excruciating for my pride. My legs thanked me) for 25 minutes. And no, I couldn't keep going that extra five to make it a half an hour. The trifecta is to blame.

I have never been this pathetic out of shape in my life except when I had just had a c-section, and even then my overall fitness was better.

Today I did the intro "core basics" (ten minutes of easy stuff and how to breathe) of a pilates video. It was do-able but I could feel it.

So, that is the one big hole in my mental pie chart of wellness: Exercise. And I can't go all out. But slow and steady, as the proverb goes, wins the race.

Comments

Sounds very sane! Will be praying for you. I too know the whole go with guns blazing exercise routine ... I usually last about a month and then I get REALLY sick ... flu/cold/bronchitis/asthma that just knocks me flat for a few weeks. :-P I'll be praying for you on this new approach.
You can do it! Just do whatever you can. Like the widow & her 2 coins.

I did a long 6 mins @ 1.5 speed yesterday. It's what I could do. I was aiming for 3, so I surprised myself I could do 6. I hold my head high. No one laughs or even looks my way. If they do, my plan is to smile & keep doing what I can.
Deanna said…
Right with you in so many ways, figuring how it should look and fit together is difficult. Peace.