a blog about lipedema, lymphedema, and love
I missed last week because I was traveling for work – something that until recently seemed impossible. In 2018 I flew to a new city to start a new job. My weight was climbing toward 300 pounds, I was swollen for no apparent reason, and I was crushingly exhausted all the time. Now I know… Continue reading Angel By The Wings | Music Monday
Happy Tuesday! This should have gone out yesterday, but I messed up the calendar. Oops! How do you date when you have lipedema and follow a strict keto way of eating? Confidently. At least that’s how I’ve approached it. My strategy has been as follows. I put several full-length pictures on my profile and said… Continue reading Good as Hell | Music Monday
This week I hit a huge milestone that I never imagined I’d see when I started keto in October 2020. I am officially in onederland. That’s right, a few days ago I stepped on the scale and was out of the 200s – and solidly there at that. I finished a big work project a… Continue reading Onederland (Free)
It doesn't matter what other people think about your body. It matters how you think about it, talk to it, and feel inside it.This is the second time I've lost more than 100 pounds. The first time was from a place of anger, self-hatred, and body shaming. Even at my smallest I was miserable, agonizing… Continue reading Be the Lightning | Music Monday
Turbulence continues to rock the world and 2022 isn’t the fresh start many of us hoped for. Added stress from persistent and escalating world events is the last thing those of us with chronic illness need to add to our lives. Stress increases my inflammation and swelling so – as much as I care –… Continue reading Brighter Days | Music Monday
I love fasting, but it didn’t come to me naturally or easily. Before I knew I had lipedema, I spent years counting calories, restricting, and over exercising in an attempt to shrink my body. Of course, having an undiagnosed fat disorder made that a Sisyphean task. Endless. Impossible. Or so I thought. Doctors and researchers… Continue reading Why I Love Alternate Day Fasting (Part #1) | Fasting February
Today we wrap up January, Sturdy readers. How did it go for you? I’ll be honest. I haven’t written about it here, but it’s been a hard month for me. Winter is never my season. The cold. The darkness. None of it charges my batteries. It’s no wonder, then, that over the past week I… Continue reading Someday | Music Monday
Small steps add up, Sturdy Women. This week I’ve been reflecting on life and how a couple years ago--even a couple months ago--I couldn’t have imagined where I am now. A year ago, I was feeling discouraged with keto and thinking about giving up. A year before that, I didn’t even know the word lipedema. … Continue reading Ain’t Got Far to Go | Music Monday
Today I am officially over the halfway mark in my challenge to go dairy free for a month. It feels good and, honestly, it’s going better than I expected. Last week Milkademia saved my luscious morning coffee from extinction, so this week I turned my attention to finding substitutes for some of my other favorite… Continue reading The Keto Food that Finally Replaced my Cheese Crisps | Non-Dairy January
Today I am officially one week into my month-long non-dairy challenge. I am happy to report, Sturdy Women, that it is going better than expected. The first few days were touch-and-go as I overhauled my food choices, retrained my taste buds, and waded through headaches and fatigue, but I seem to be emerging into the… Continue reading Nut milk showdown | Non-Dairy January
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