Rio's Journey To Better Health

Rio

New member
I have had some rather disheartening health problems this last year and have gone through periods where I have felt significantly ill. For 2 months last winter I thought I was going to die. And ever since, I have felt frail and weak. I hate feeling unhealthy and I struggle a lot emotionaly with it. I have a family and we have a small construction business. I have a lot of responsibilities. I can't accept being sick.
I need to be able to visualize getting healthier and fight for it with my entire being so I can finish raising my children.
I am a mother of 5 with 3 of them grown, but one of the 3 lives at home part time still. So I have two boys at home all the time, 12 and 8.
I am 39 years old, 5'5" weigh between 140 - 142 pounds depending on how well my digestive system is working and if I have any swelling/water retention. I know I need to lose some weight, but the imminent priority right now is getting healthy. I need to feel well enough to at least start getting in some exercise, like walking. In one more week, school starts back up here so that will help and I also have a doctor appt where I will ask why I feel so tired and achey all the time. I wake up in the morning with my feet hurting and sometimes my arms aching before I even get out of bed. I spent most of the summer taking ibuprofen on a daily basis. That can't be healthy. I've got to find something that will help me.
I would like to post the different things I try to document what is helping me and what doesn't. I really don't want to spend another winter almost bed ridden. I had big plans of getting in shape and getting healthy this summer, but I haven't felt well enough to exercise. Instead I've been researching all my symptoms to see what it might be. My own guess is that there are several things going on. My gall bladder is having problems and I have symptoms of hypothyroid and adrenal exhaustion. It pretty much sounds like I'm falling apart. And I pretty much feel like I'm falling apart.
Some times I feel discouraged and feel like giving up and other times I think that if I do that, my health will just get worse. All the people I know that have lived long lives stayed active doing things they enjoyed. I keep them in mind as my motivation.
 
Tired

Man this is an active forum! My journal was on page 3. Will I ever find it again if I wait several days to post?:confused:
I had to run a bunch of errands today and so breakfast and lunch were one of those things you squeeze in to make sure the kids get fed and you really don't put much thought into it. I had half a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast had to force myself to eat that to keep my blood sugar stable and lunch was barbecue boneless wings (a couple) and potatoe salad and baked beans. Still not sure what to make for dinner. Sigh. I just feel so tired. ttom is coming up, which may be contributing. I'd like to try taking some iodine or something to see if it helps with my tiredness! I've got a lot of stuff that needs doing!
A cup of coffee sounds good about now, but I still want to be able to sleep tonight.:sleeping:
 
Weight this morning 141.4
My goal is to be under 130 pounds and have more strength and endurance by my next birthday. I just celebrated my 39th birthday on Aug 4th. The more I think about this, I think the best way I can achieve it is by exercising and being much more physically active. Whatever physical hard labor I can do, I should be doing. And I should start some weight training, even if it's only lifting a couple pounds and doing some arm curls and squats. I don't live near a gym so whatever exercise I do, has to be at home.
Hard work never killed anybody right?
 
My doctor appointment isn't until Monday. Thanks for asking nc_bmac.
Weight this morning was 140.4
I took some grapefruit fiber so I expect that will increase my weight as it has done in the past. I have some supplements to try to help boost my thyroid, but I'm waiting to try them until I see how my doctor appointment goes. I should make it clear that I do not want to boost my thyroid in order to lose weight, but to feel better. If that is what is causing me to feel ill, I want to get it back to working order so that I am feeling better. I just hate feeling like I'm so tired all the time and having my body hurt all the time. I feel like I'm 80 yrs old, instead of 39.
I find it really hard to make time for exercise and healthy eating. This is going to be a challenge for me. I can already tell the next 5 days I won't be able to get any "deliberate exercise" in. My boys need hair cuts and I've got errands to run. Sat we'll probably head to the mountains for a load of firewood. That is good exercise, if I'm able to contribute. Last time my husband had to do most of the work, but I will try my best. It will be good for me. Then there is church and shopping and my taking my kids to school Monday and then on to my doctor appointment.
I need to look into some exercises I can do at home that involve weight training and some to strengthen my back. I need to plan on setting my morning aside for Tuesday for some good exercise!
 
Rio,

I'm sorry to hear that you are having a difficult time but I'm glad you have a positive attitude about it. You sound very busy, but I'm rooting for you.
 
Weight this morning was 141.0
I just don't seem to have time to post anymore! As long as I'm feeling better I guess that's ok. My 12 yr old is in football and we are running around a lot going to all of his games.
Today I walked over 3 miles! That was a long way for me! It did take an hour. My feet hurt every day when I wake up in the morning. I can't seem to lose any weight though. It's just so hard to do. If I cut calories, then I don't have energy to exercise and if I exercise...it seemed my walk just made me really hungry today. Sometimes when I focus on just cutting calories, I don't eat a balanced diet and I know that's not healthy either.
The problem is, sometimes I spend too much time obssesing over my weight and it makes me really unhappy. Lately I have felt much happier, but I haven't been putting too much thought into how much I weigh. I have a great husband who loves me the way I am.
I do have a goal though. This last weekend we hiked this beautiful trail in the mountains and my goal is to be able to hike the whole thing, all the way to the lake. I need to ask my husband if it's 3 miles one way or round trip. I need to get into shape so that I can hike that trail.
Maybe I should concentrate on my exercise, but I'm also afraid of putting on more weight. I definately don't want the scale going up!
 
Weight this morning was 139.4
I went for my walk again. I made it as far as I did yesterday. I have to push myself to go that far and the trip back home is a tiring one. I want to persevere and keep it up though. I think that's the key to good health is pushing myself with exercise. I think if you're not pushing yourself, you're not making progress.
I am doing much better than I was last winter. Last winter I couldn't even hardly do the laundry or stand and wash dishes. I'm still not a hundred percent sure what was wrong with me, but I had one doctor tell me it was my gall bladder and it did sound like it was true. I did a lot of research and tried a lot of supplements to flush and stimulate my gall bladder and liver and for the most part I seem to be better in that regard. But I need to build up my strength and stamina and over all health. Looking buff would also be a nice benefit, but feeling good is definately first priority here.
I really need to add in that my spiritual health actually comes before my physical health. I have made myself very unhappy in the past focusing too much on how I look and it is not healthy to lose that balance. If I put my God first, then I have peace and happiness and I can squeeze in enough time to accomplish all the other things that are important to me, like taking care of my family and getting my exercise in and time for friends.
My fitness goals are being able to walk farther and farther and maybe to be able to jog some of that distance. I also want to be able to do some weight lifting and increase my strength.
I found out that trail we walked this last weekend is 3 miles one way. This is a guess on my husbands part. Maybe it is something we could do next summer.
 
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