I'm still here!! So much going on, so much happening and the best part of it all..........

I'm feeling GREAT!!

I have a new position at the school I work at that has me very busy - I'm in the literacy department and just love it!

Outside of that, I'm still maintaining my weekly chiropractic appointments to maintain myself and to keep my body in optimal health.  I firmly believe that with the weekly adjustments my body has put my FMS down and has helped me stay feeling good.  I still get minor aches and pains in the same areas (hips and shoulders) but nothing even close to what I use to experience.  When I feel overly tired, I go to bed.  I've learned through all of this that listening to my body is the most important thing I can do.  And when I feel tired, I make sure to handle it instead of ignoring it.

Over the past 3 months I did a weight loss challenge with 3 of my friends using a program called Body By Vi (Vi is short for Visalus).  It's a 90 day challenge and it's simply, amazing.  Since getting sick back in 2010 I have gained 55+lbs - I finally got sick of the weight, sick of putting on my clothes that were too tight and finally just had it when I had to purchase a size that I swore I would never be in again (after losing weight in the past)  Depression was setting in again and I knew I had to take a stand before things got worse.

The 90 day challenge consists of replacing 2 meals a day with a healthy protein shake meal replacement.  It's packed with vitamins, has less than a gram sugar and tastes like cake mix - NO JOKE!  A lot of people say "once you start eating again you are going to gain the weight back" to which I have to laugh.  Don't think I'm not eating - in fact, I'm eating quite well.  I have a shake for breakfast, and every two hours another small meal consisting of a protein and vegetable - I eat all day to the point that I'm stuffed when it's time to eat again!  It's not a "fad diet" - it's a way of life - re-training yourself to keep your body fueled so it burns fat while maintaining lean muscle mass.  It takes a little getting use to but now, it's just the way I do things - I eat small meals every 2 hours.  Think portions too - portion control is where it's at.   Once you get use to measuring out your portions you get pretty good at knowing how much you can have at any given time.  I think a huge part of America's problem with Obesity is the fact that our portions are double and triple what they should be all the time - that means we are taking in double and triple the calories we should be on a daily basis - which in turn is going to be weight gain.  It's pretty simple really.

Exercise is suggested but not something you have to do too strenuously or even at all if you don't want to.  As we all know, exercise is another thing that those of us with FMS need to do so it should be incorporated anyway.

So after 3 months I am down 26 lbs and over 27 inches!!  I feel great, am wearing my clothes much better and am actually going to be entering to win the team challenge on a national level!!  Between myself and my team mates we have lost over 200lbs combined!  It's inspiring really.

Currently I'm doing another challenge to drop the rest of the weight I gained.  It's really just a way of life, eating clean and making smart choices.  Through all the struggles over the past few years, my weight shouldn't be a reason I'm feeling sick. I've slowly come around full circle and can honestly say that I'm feeling like myself again - feeling healthy, happy and full of life again!  I never thought I would be able to say that!  I really thought my life would be full of pain and suffering and never again be the same.  It's been 3 yrs and while the road has been a tough one, it's taught me so much about myself and others.

I hope my journey so far has made an impact on others and I hope my continued journey will as well - I am living proof that you can go from literally wanting to die to enjoying life again!  Please, if you have anyone in your life who is like me, share my blog with them, encourage them to follow me,  encourage them to NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER GIVE IN and do what it takes to find the right mixture that will help them get back into the game of life!  Remember back when I first started this journey to find my health?  I was a research freak - researching and researching until I was blue in the face - but it was all worth it - I have found what works for me, what makes me feel good and what keeps me going - you too can find it if you haven't yet - just keep on looking!  I promise it's out there!

To your health and until next time!

Do you even understand?? Maybe this will help

My post today is all about bringing awareness to everyone who reads this blog that doesn't understand or for those of you who are like me, sick......all the time and do understand but need help trying to get others to understand you.

FIBROMYALGIA - it's not the "catch all" diagnosis I've heard so many people say it is.....believe me, if you lived even one day with it, you would "GET IT" real quick! It's so very frustrating not being able to really talk to people who don't have it and trust that they understand......understand why you couldn't get out of bed today, understand why you couldn't do the dishes, laundry or clean your house....understand that you are not lazy....but that YOU ARE SICK......it's easy for anyone not living with it to say things like "oh just exercise more, you'll be fine" or "go to bed earlier and you won't be so tired".....and the list of "comments" you make to people who suffer with this disease goes on and on.....I've heard you, I know what you say and think about people like me....people who appear to be just fine on the outside - we are suffering on the inside.

I've compiled a few videos for you to help you possibly see inside the life of someone who suffers from Fibromyalgia and/or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome....if you love someone who has been given one or both of these chronic pain diagnoses - please take the time to watch these videos, take the time to try to understand what they are going through....take the time to know that when they say they hurt, they REALLY hurt........don't be another person in their life who just brushes them off as lazy or think they are faking it.......living with this is hard, frustrating and at times feels hopeless.....give us hope and just try to understand..........

Fibromyalgia Hurts

But you don't LOOK sick

Just offer some compassion and understanding

Anyone who doubts this condition should take this challenge. We will both go for a walk but first lets get on an even footing.

As you can't see or feel my daily aches and pains then I suggest we should wrap ourselves in barbed wire before we set off. Oh and have NO SLEEP the night before.

Then we walk today, tomorrow and every day thereafter until one of us gives up and takes the barbed wire off our bodies. I can tell you now that it won't be me because you see this barbed wire that I wear does not come off! It's called Fibromyalgia and I just have to learn how to deal with it, no matter what!

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, watch the videos and think differently about this condition that effects so many ......it's sad to know that there are still many Dr's out there who don't believe in this, many people out there who don't understand and many people that are close to people who suffer who just don't want to take the time to even TRY to understand what someone is going through.

Now let me remind you that I haven't always had to deal with this illness. I was only just diagnosed late last year after a bout of illness, after illness, after illness that finally landed me in a Dr's office and with this diagnosis after tests among tests among tests that came back NEGATIVE.........ask my family, I was SICK....I was in bed for 4 months SICK........now I have to deal with the after effects of that illness that started out as bronchitis, then pneumonia that turned into walking pneumonia......then a sudden onset of uncontrollable migraines, then constant dizziness to the point that I couldn't stand up and on and on...........it just was never ending until I ended up at the right Dr's office...........

I don't say these things to get your sympathy, but rather to encourage your compassion for anyone who has to deal with this day in and day out...for life. Fibromyalgia is triggered by various things, usually a tramatic incident or event.....mine was triggered by my prolonged sickness that landed me in the ER being tested for anything and everything to try to find out why I was so dizzy, with a migraine that couldn't be banished.

Please, feel free to share this blog with anyone who may benefit from reading my stories...that's why it's here!