You can have fibromyalgia and still workout

The logo above is one I made to possibly go on custom shirts my team can wear at our Tough Mudder in June of next year. Yes, I have fibromyalgia. Yes, I will be running a 10-12 mile military designed bad ass obstacle course in a few months. Am I in pain a lot? Yes, I am. But it is not as much pain as it was before I started getting healthier. To be honest, once I started exercising regularly my flare ups went from 4-5 times a week to once a week. It was very difficult at first, I was having to fight through a lot to keep up with my workouts, but as time went on it got easier and easier. There are still days where I can't do exactly what I planned. If the kids get up crazy early or are sick and I miss my morning workout it gets very difficult because my flare ups typically happen at night. Whenever I have an evening workout its like playing roulette because I have no idea what shape I am going to be in when I finally get around to getting down to the basement to do my video. BUT, I still do it. IT IS WORTH IT! There is a very good chance someone reading this right now has their laptop in bed with them, heating pads on their legs/back/neck/anything , just waiting for it to finally ease off and you are thinking "Yeah right, I'd be happy just to walk right now." I know, I get it, I'm there with you. Exercising really does make it better. If I stop my workouts, like when I get injured or if there is a holiday that throws me off like Christmas just did, within a week I am back to getting my flare ups several times a week again. I ask this of anyone with fibro... Please, start getting more active when you aren't having a flare up and do it on a regular basis. Also, start cutting out processed foods. Your body has no clue what to do with all of those chemicals and they are making you sick in more ways than you know. And consider an elimination diet to see if you are sensitive to anything. For me, it was gluten. Cutting out gluten has made a huge difference in my life. So start by picking one thing and cutting it out entirely for a couple weeks, if there is no difference than you have no sensitivities to that food. If you do notice a difference I would consider sticking with it. Going gluten free has not been easy for me, there are a lot of learning curves along the way, but compared to the pain I am in when I eat gluten it is completely worth it. You can treat your fibro with healthy eating and exercise, I promise you. Is it going to go away? No, it's not, I wish it did because I would do anything to make it go away entirely just like you. But it WILL make it easier to live with. And I am not going to let my fibromyalgia hold me back.

It is not a quick fix

I have a secret to share with you. No it's not a diet pill. No it's not a magic drink that will make all your fat fall off overnight (though Shakeology is awesome, nothing can do that). No you can't eliminate one type of food out of your diet and lose 100 lbs without changing anything else. The secret is.... that there is no secret. Sucks, huh? You have all the knowledge you need to lose weight right now...at this EXACT moment. Think about it! You know you need to eat healthy to lose weight, right? You need to eat lean meats and fresh veggies and fruit, and you aren't doing that right now, or at least not as well as you could be. You also know that you need to exercise and burn calories to lose weight. You need to be active. Ta da! Your secret formula has been revealed. Now, I know you are rolling your eyes at me. Just like I would have been a year ago if I had just read this, but that truly is the only way it is going to work. It isn't magic. The hurdle we all have it that we want it to be easy. We don't want to work for it, but it takes a lot of dedication and hard work to do it. That doesn't mean that you can't lose weight, it just means that you are going to have to work hard to do it. And it is going to TAKE TIME. You didn't gain 20lbs eating a doughnut, you gained that weight eating multiple doughnuts, so it makes sense that it is going to take multiple workouts to burn it off you again. The problem isn't that people don't know how to lose weight, the problem is that we aren't willing to put in HARD WORK and stick with it for a long period of time. That's why it is a lifestyle change and not a diet, because you need to find a healthy alternative to how you have been living that you can do from now on because it takes time. You will quit a diet that makes you miserable after a week and it has done you no good. Every positive change is a step in the right direction, just keep making those steps until you find a median that you can stick with long term. There are some things that are considered unhealthy by other people that I can't live without, I'll be honest, and the main one is coffee. I love coffee. I can't seem to function without it, and I like it sweet with creamer. I would never be able to give up sugar like other people, I've tried. But just because I don't want to give that up doesn't mean I can't eat healthy during my day. You have to find a plan that fits YOU.