Hello! I'm New Here!

[Steffy]

Hello!

I stumbled on this forum a couple days ago and thought I would take the time to introduce myself. I am 41 years old, female and overweight.

I became extremely ill 3 1/2 years ago and was finally diagnosed as having lupus. I have had several surgeries in the past 3 years as a result of the lupus and between the dibilitating pain, fatigue and depression, I have managed to put on quite a bit of weight. I have always been on the larger size (I swear my skeleton is at least a size 14) but the way I am now needs to be corrected. I got my "wake up" call in April when I went to my Rheumatologist and was told that my liver enzymes were 3 times the normal values. It really scared me. I also weighed myself and found that I weighed 287 pounds. I knew then that something had to be done in order to be alive to see my children graduate from college, get married, and some day have my Grandchildren.

So, off to our local YMCA I went and stared working out in the pool 3-5 days a week for 2 - 3 hours each visit. I can only work out in the pool right now because the arthritis I have makes it difficult for me to exercise on land. Currently I am participating in a Yoga class, Water Aerobics, Core Strengthening and Muscle Toning. I am proud to say that between making healthy choices when I eat and working out, I have lost 24 pounds in 5 weeks. My goal is to lose 100 pounds in a year. A very difficult goal, but I think if I persevere I can reach it.

I know I will need support from others going through the same thing, so I thought I would join you. I hope to be a support for you too! I am lookingforward to meeting you.

Steffy

 

[Steve]

Hey Steffy... that's quite the journey you've had so far. Be assured that you're prolonging the distance and improving the quality of the remainder of the journey.

It's great to hear about how you're taking control while facing these challenges.

Congrats on your success so far!

 

[Steffy]

Be assured that you're prolonging the distance and improving the quality of the remainder of the journey.

Thanks Steve! I am really working at this to become a life-style change so I may have a long and healthy journey. There are so many things that you cannot control when you have a chronic disease, but how I exercise and what I eat can certainly be controlled by me. So, I will control what I can and just deal with what I can not.

I appreciate your support.

Steffy