Wildheart Wanderings

For years, this was what I thought. Years of my life hoping. Years of my life dedicated to extreme exercise, extreme food restriction, extreme supplement intake, extreme everything. Years of thinking ahead to the next occasion and setting another goal of what I might weigh if I work hard enough. Years of believing that a few sizes smaller was THE goal. But I was wrong. When lipedema hit my life hard, though I didn't have a label for it at the time, I gained 50 pounds in thre

First, I'll start by saying I'd love to never hear this phrase again. Cheat days. Cheat meals. Just who are you cheating on? As an adult, you're allowed to make your own choices about what you eat and drink. So, this holiday season, let's have a new perspective. Know your body. Know the effects of what this food or that food does to your body. Weigh the mental and physical pros and cons and decide what you, as a grown human, will consume. That's it. After you've consumed it,

The question always comes when someone brings up another "thing" for a chronic condition. We already do so much each day. We already invest more effort into just keeping our pain and other symptoms at a low enough level to get through each day than anyone else we know. We already have tried and discarded a multitude of other promising options. We already are tired of doing all the things all the time. So the question of whether or not a new thing actually will help us, righ

Yes, I really do know. Those with the conditions I share like lipedema, lymphedema, and hypermobility or Ehlers Danlos, need the therapies that help us. We need activity and movement. We need things that move lymph and break down fibrotic tissue and restore our fascia and support overall health. However, and it's an elephant-sized however, those things hurt. If a cat stepping on your leg can be excruciating, how much more does it hurt if you're intentionally putting pressu

The biggest piece of my healing journey, by leaps and bounds, wasn't an "aha!" moment, but something I learned slowly. and also things I unlearned. For years I'd been told I needed to do certain things and I would be healthy (aka skinny). I listened to criticism from people in my personal circles, health professionals I saw, and experts out there who had never met me or anyone like me. I heard that people with conditions like mine had no hope of truly healing and that my bod

The last post I made feels like a lifetime ago. It was titled, "When the Basics are too Much" and I guess they truly were too much because life spun a little out of control and my own health and life needed attention before I could get back to helping others. It happens with chronic conditions, and with life itself. But God is faithful and God wasn't done. My spiral started when I slammed my hand in the car door and broke my thumb. I was in a removable splint type of thing

I often tell clients to give themselves credit for what they accomplish and grace for what they don't. A chronic illness introduces...

Every year we head to the ocean for at least a week. It's never long enough and I always shed tears when we leave. It's the only time...

It’s incredibly difficult to be a woman with lipedema. The only thing harder is being a woman with lipedema who is also a mother with a...

You can't dig too deep into information about lipedema without someone mentioning therapies. At first, you read that surgery is the only...

June is Lipedema Awareness Month and what kind of health and wellness coach would I be if I didn't talk about nutrition for lipedema...

My response to women who tell me that they've only done this small thing, that they've only hit this one goal, that they've only eaten...

We’re bombarded by so much conflicting information as we try to figure out what to eat to manage Lipedema. Anti-inflammatory, RAD,...

The day I said the phrase, it was somewhat out of exasperation. With a lot of compassion and understanding, but with some exasperation. ...

There is a truth that accompanies having a little-known disease that makes it even more difficult. Being alone. Let's look at that...

In the Facebook group I admin that is focused on using nutrition to manage lipedema (link below), we are constantly questioned about how...

I read a post by Dr. Amy Myers recently that made a lot of sense to me. It's nothing I haven't heard before, but it was a good reminder...

When did we decide we have to do it all? Lipedema is a word that gives so many women a sense of relief because the disease explains so...

Sometimes a few years can feel like a lifetime. Nine years ago today I earned this medal at Warrior Dash. Three miles, leaping over...

I posted on my Facebook page this week about a woman whose doctor asked her how many usable hours she had in her day as a result of...