September | 2013 | Fighting Fibro with Fire

The Plan, update #6

It’s taken four months and 316 miles (yes, I have walked 316 miles over the last four months!!), but I have officially reached the halfway point of my weight loss goal! A full 25 pounds, gone! YAY!!!

As part of my celebration, I decided to do a google search for things that weigh 25 pounds, so I could get a visual of what I am no longer carting around:

an average 2 yr old
a 25 lb barbell plate
25 one lb full butter boxes
a small dog
10 ft metal chain
5 bags sugar
25 foot balls
a 19 inch flat screen T.V.
3 one gallon jugs of water

I have to say, the image of carrying these things around with me is pretty strange… no wonder I’m always so tired!

It’s important to remember, however, that the weight loss is just a fabulous side effect of what I’m actually trying to accomplish. My original goal with all this dieting and exercise was to fight my fibro with fire. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, and after 12 years of just living with the disease, I decided to fight back. I decided to take my life back from this invisible menace and I DID. I stopped sitting around feeling sorry for myself, waiting for some miracle cure and started taking care of myself.

It was not easy. My biggest obstacle was myself, I had to fight not only against my own feelings of doubt and depression, but also against my own body. When my body was screaming at me to stop, I had to quite literally force myself to keep moving. It took a long time for me to get past the initial pain of making myself exercise, but I didn’t give up.

I’ll be honest, I was in a very dark place when I discovered the strength to fight this; I didn’t just wake up one happy morning and decide to do it. It wasn’t until I found myself considering suicide that I realized things had to change, that I had to change things. In truth, I am thankful for the events that led me to that dark place, because without them, I would still be wallowing in the misery that I had allowed the fibro to create.

I am not saying that I am cured. The fibromyalgia is something that I will have to battle every day for the rest of my life, I have accepted that, but I know now that it IS possible for me to live a fairly normal life. I know now that my struggles with this disease have made me a stronger person and I have discovered how to put that strength to good use. Yes, the fibro puts limitations on my life, but I have learned that there are ways to work around those limits.

Some days are harder than others, but in the end, I know that fighting through those days is what makes days like today so awesome. 🙂

Laughter is awesome!

Here’s a question: aside from being pictures of cats, what do these two photos have in common?

The answer: they make me laugh like a lunatic. Hopefully, most of you reading this find them at least mildly amusing as well, if not, well, I can’t help you. 🙂

These pictures are part of a photo album on my phone that I call my “laugh arsenal”. I’m trying to start a new habit. The idea is that whenever I start feeling down or just bad in general, I pull up my funnies and get in a good laugh. We’ve all heard the saying, “laughter is the best medicine”, and I’m finding it to be totally true. In fact, I’m even forcing this new habit on my bestie; if one of us is having a “sad moment” or just feeling down, the other texts over something hilarious. It’s amazing how much better you feel after a good laugh, and laughing burns calories! Hello, weight loss plan!

The best part about including someone else in the fun is picturing their reaction to whatever bizarre image you’ve sent them, assuming they aren’t sitting right next to, of course. I find that imaging my friend’s face when she next picks up her phone, (especially if it’s first thing in the morning…), often makes me laugh harder than whatever I sent her in the first place. Admittedly, I do have an odd sense of humor, so she does get a lot of very strange pictures… It’s amazing what you can find on the internet when you google “funny pictures”.

The only major problem I’ve encountered with this little idea is that sitting in a room by yourself and laughing aloud for no apparent reason can make people question your sanity. That’s ok, I just show them this:

Viola! No more questions… Just kidding! Although, I’m betting that if I really needed a laugh, that would be a great way to get one! I’ll have to tuck that idea away for later. Maybe I can use it the next time I’m sitting in a doctor’s waiting room… 🙂