Nearly three years ago, I was sick and I needed to make
changes. The changes I needed had to be life altering. I was tired beyond words.
My days consisted of me getting out of bed to get my kids to school and then me
to my split shift job. I’d come home from my morning shift of work and sleep
from 9 am to 2:30 pm. I’d wake thirty minutes before I had to be at my
afternoon work shift. I’d eat a quick snack and leave. I’d arrive back home a
little after 6 pm get dinner going, check in with my kids, help them with
homework, eat, chat with my husband and then fall asleep on the couch. Along
with the fatigue, I had trouble breathing, a persistent cough and I was
overweight. I would have loved to exercise but I had no energy. I tried every
over the counter medication for the cough and nothing worked. Finally, I went
to a doctor.
I spent the next six weeks with the doctor telling me all of
my ailments were in my head because none of the prescribed medication was
helping me. I was depressed; well that’s what the doctor said, despite me
saying I wasn’t. I changed doctors and I begged for and received the thyroid
test and a chest x-ray. I feared lung cancer because I was a smoker (reformed for
about a year at that time). I found out that I had a non-functioning thyroid and
I had suspicious looking nodes on my left lung. My thyroid was so bad that my
doctor asked me how I even dragged my ass out of bed. To this day I have no
idea other than I had too. The suspicious nodes are still present in my lung
today. Diagnosed with asthma, emphysema and hypothyroidism is difficult at any
age but at 37, it made me feel old.
That was and still is my reality, however I have a dream and
slowly over the last three years, I’ve made small strides to making it come
true. My dream is to live a healthy life that is easily sustainable. I don’t
mean Green though going green has played a small part with my improving health.
No, when I say sustainable I’m talking a life plan that I can work everyday and
not want to quit. Three years ago, I couldn’t breath and I weighed 225 pounds.
Today I have my asthma under control with medication and my emphysema has not
gotten worse. I can now walk my dogs up to five miles a day. Instead of me not
being able to keep up, my dogs are now trying to keep up with me. My diet has
changed too. I eat a mostly vegetarian diet. I do eat poultry, fish and
occasionally pork. I’m doing it for health reasons not because I think it’s
cruel to eat animals. For nearly two years, I’ve been eating a vegetarian diet,
exercising and taking my medication as prescribed and can say that I feel 10
years younger today than I did when I got sick. I’ve lost 50 pounds too! My
goal is to lose 40 to 50 more over the next 18 months.
From this point on I plan to journal my highs and lows
losing the next 50 pounds. My dream is to be healthy and that means a healthy
weight, a healthy mind and soul. I’ve found a sustainable plan for me and as I
move along my journey, I will share it along with more dreams and realities.
Until next time, live well and in the now.
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