Once upon a time...

[cerulean]

Whelp,
 
It's time to find the bravery to speak up and introduce myself. As a life-long shy person, speaking about myself isn't something that I find easy, but ever since the scale tipped 200 I know I've been needing to make a change.
 
My story starts in high school; 2004 to be exact. I started the Atkin's diet and lost 40 lbs, going from 215 to 155. I still own the skinniest pair of jeans that I never fit into. Senior year and throughout college I didn't have the healthy habits I needed to make my weight loss permanent. Freshman 15? At least. Then, in 2009, I was dealt a blow.
 
I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Suddenly, all my aches, pains, fatigue, anxiety, hypersomnia, and depression had a name. I wasn't going crazy; there was a real ("real") medical reason as to why I was flunking all my classes and was having trouble working. Through all of this my weight kept creeping up, up, up.
 
Now, almost 4 years later, I've got a handle on the FM. But money's been tight and fast-food is addicting. Now I'm at my all time highest weight of 243.
 
I know if I get my BMI down to a healthier level, I can maybe reverse a lot of my current ailments (sleep apnea and PCOS primarily). Also, if I feel better and look better, maybe I won't be so freaking insecure when it come to dating (  lol).
 
I don't know if FM will ever go away, but I really want to give it a run for its money. Fibro was a funny way of screwing with your head. You dread the flare-ups so much, that you dread doing what may cause them. Excercise, for example. But, ironically, excercise is supposed to help. Yet, as you're in agony three days after a yoga class you don't see how this much pain could be worth it.

 

I think if I can find the sweet spot, the cusp, the breaking point, the escape velocity, whatever, that it'll just be smooth sailing from there. Maybe that's just wishful thinking though. I do know that at some point I will achieve the results I'm looking for and I'll be able to look back upon this moment as a the beginning of a wonderful story.  

[Laureleye]

I swear that they put something addictive in all of that junk.  There is a good thread here on eating healthy on a budget.  Remember that 80% of your fitness is what you eat, so there is a good place to start with minimum pain involved.  Don't be afraid to start out your fitness at your own pace and take as many rest days as you need.  Good luck.  If you need any help getting started, give a shout. 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

The addictive stuff the put in fast food is white flour.  Processing food makes it taste "better" but soo much worse for health, and fast food is almost nothing but highly processed food. Laureleye is right. Eat better and your body will be happier.

[Lydieboo]

I think if I can find the sweet spot, the cusp, the breaking point, the escape velocity, whatever, that it'll just be smooth sailing from there. Maybe that's just wishful thinking though. I do know that at some point I will achieve the results I'm looking for and I'll be able to look back upon this moment as a the beginning of a wonderful story.  

 

I don't know about smooth sailing - if you ever find it let me know!  But better than the smooth sailing is the moment when you decide that it's worth keeping up the fight, even if it never gets easy.

 

I will admit that I don't know a lot about fibromyalgia, except that it can be very painful and that a lot of people have seemed to have really good results from clean eating.  If you haven't looked it up yet, I would strongly recommend checking out the Whole30 movement, as well as Paleo eating.  (I find that dairy messes with me and makes me bloated, but if that's not the case for you, Primal may be a good way to go.)

 

The good news is, there are loads of us here ready to support you!  Speaking of which, what specific goals are you looking at?  Are you considering getting in on the 6-Week Challenge that starts next week?

[cerulean]

Thanks guys.

 

Lydieboo, as far as goals...

Looooongterm: Join the 100 lb weight loss club;

Intermediate: 5k on May 4th

Immediate: 80/20 clean eating; increasing physical activity/excercise daily (I work on the 5th floor, so this shouldn't be too hard, lol.); get my bi-annual check up; increase water intake.

 

I've got the motivation that I've been lacking for years, so I'm hoping that keeping up the fight moment will come, and that I'll be ready for it.

Thanks for the Whole30 link. I've been looking at Sisson's 21 Day Transformation book, but I'll give this a look, too!

[DaygloNirvana]

Hi cerulean.

 

In 2000 I started having symptoms, but didn't get my diagnosis of FM until 2002.  They've tried tons of medications to help the symptoms but nothing's worked, and I refuse to live a life dependent on narcotic pain meds.  I understand what you're going through when it comes to flares and overdoing things.  Exercise isn't a short term solution to FM, it's something that is supposed to help reduce the flares (or there severity) over the long haul.

 

Feel free to contact me if you like, especially if you need support during a flare.  It's nice to have someone who understands the pain.  Namaste.